Roars filled the air as the creature was met with heavy firepower. It received the same treatment that I did, as powerful arrows and blasts of magic flew through the air. That failed miserably, unable to stop its massive tendrils from sweeping through the clearing. They swept through several of the slower guards from either faction, breaking limbs and lives.

The tendril came back around for another sweep, but the knight lady leaped into the air, and slammed her blade down upon it, severing it in two. The connected half quickly retreated back into the main body, while the severed half spasmed for a few moments, then laid still.

"The hell is that?" I asked.

The old man looked quite troubled. "It is called a 'Carrier', and it is a vessel for the corruption that plagues these lands."

The Carrier wasn't approaching us and trying to crush us with its sheer girth. There had to be a reason why, and I quickly found out what it was.

The corpses on the ground started to twitch, and they began to rise on their own. Severed limbs, missing organs, and severe blood loss were reduced to minor inconveniences. I looked carefully, and i could see tiny little parasites crawling through the undergrowth, and latching onto the corpses.

There were hundreds of them, all emerging from the Carrier. The forest squirmed with their presence. They seemed to only go after corpses, as they left the living well enough alone.

The old man looked towards the battle, towards me, towards the battle again, and finally back to me. He clasped his hands together and bowed his head. "Fellow Daoist, grace us with your assistance. We cannot allow any harm to befall our patrons."

"Can't handle it alone?" I smirked, scratching my growing beard as I looked down at him from atop Jeff.

He looked very, very bitter. "Prior to coming here, such a creature wouldn't be fit to kiss the ground I walked, but now...no, we cannot.

Jeff whinnied from below me. It seemed he had decided to hide the fact that he could talk, which was odd, but I'd ask him about it later. "Can you pay?"

He nodded, hands still clasped. "Indeed, we may have fallen, but we still possess the wealth of a great family. We would be in your debt."

The guards were still fighting the corpses, and the Carrier had produced more large tendrils to attack with. They flew through the air like whips, attempting to strike at the guards, but were largely intercepted by the lady knight. The rest of the guards were struggling to kill the bandits, as they were even more tenacious then they were in life.

It confused me. Clearly something was controlling them while they were alive, but now they were being commandeered like meat-puppets. Does the carrier have multiple avenues for control? I'd need to find out, in case I run into it again. Which I most assuredly will. If it has some sort of method of controlling living creatures, then I should just turn tail and run.

Some of the tendrils got past and turned some of the slower guards into a paste with a single strike, probably too fast for bronze-cores to even see. The lady knight screamed in rage. "Hurry the hell up and help me, you senile old fuck!"

He ignored her and continued to bow to me as I took in the situation and gauged my chances. If it did have such a method, then it likely would have used it already. I was probably safe, all the way over here.

People died while I mused, but that wasn't about to affect my decision. Risk assessment was important, after all.

"Do these 'carriers' have a weak spot?" I asked.

The old man nodded. "Its core is in the center of its body. Destroy that, and the creature dies."

I dismounted from Jeff and patted his flank. He got the message and skurried off in the opposite direction of the horrific monstrosity.

"Get its mouth open," I demanded. It wasn't so much a mouth as it was a gaping maw, but he knew what I meant.

"This senior thanks you," he said, gratefully, and flew off to rejoin the battle. He wasn't literally flying, but his stride was long and smooth, giving the illusion of gliding across the ground. It was an impressive technique. He rejoined the battle, and his blade flashed through the air, severing another appendage on its way to crush a guard.

"Finally decide to join us?!" snarked the knight lady, as she cut another fleshy limb to pieces. She seemed upset.

"We must force the Carrier's maw open, and grant our fellow Daoist an opportunity!"

"Oh, so now he wants to help?!"

"He seemed amicable to mundane rewards."

"Of course he was."

It was impressive that they had the room to bicker while fighting for their lives. Not my problem anyway, if they can't do their part, I'll just cut my losses and leave. I have no obligation to these people, and I like to think I don't care.

I drew my Walker and poured energy into it. I didn't need to load ammo into it, as the gun was more of a 'focus' for energy, as opposed to an actual gun. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to shoot more than six projectiles out of the air.

The more I focused into it, the harder it was, and the longer it took. I seemed to have time to give them a chance to do their jobs while I prepared to do mine.

The old man and the lady knight were cutting a path towards the main body of the creature, the remaining guardsman following close behind, keeping as many bandit corpses off of the duo's back as they could. Every few seconds, a guardsman would fall to a knife to the back or a tendril to the front.

There was very little brown left visible on the dirt road, as it was mostly obscured by blood and entrails. The carrier screeched with rage, the broken flesh that made up its body pulsating an even deeper shade of red as its tendrils stretched further, its influence on the surrounding forest extending more and more.

The roaring grew increasingly distorted with every injury the creature sustained. It was ear-splitting, and a sound beyond vocal cords. It didn't really bother me. as I was growing uncomfortably used to unholy screeches.

I could feel my Walker grow heavier the longer I infused energy into it, so I held out my left arm and propped the barrel against it. I'm not too sure, but I suspect the gun itself would explode if it wasn't for the added weight.

"I'll take the right!" shouted the knight, as they approached the gaping maw of the carrier. The old man nodded, and they split up. Both of them were knee-deep in red by the time they reached the mouth. The creature screeched and thrashed around, but the duo held strong.

The old man flipped through the air, jumping off of flailing limbs of red as he gracefully dodged or countered every attack aimed at him. I could see the energy condense around his body as he swung his blade, severing the muscle controlling the left side of the jaw.

On the opposite end, the lady knight was carving her way to her objective, also glowing with energy. She ignored minor hits to her armor and stopped the heavier ones with powerful, yet tightly controlled swings. The ground below her cracked as she put her weight forward, swinging her sword hard enough to carve through the opposite end of the jaw.

The creature's sad excuse for a mouth was now wide open, but so were the duo. They were surrounded by a mass of flesh, and the guardsmen lacked the skills needed to carve open a path of retreat. I questioned the wisdom of trusting their lives into the hands of a man they just met, but I suspect that they had no better options.

The old man didn't turn to me as he yelled. "Now's your chance, fellow-"

"I know!" I interrupted him. I didn't need him to call my damn shots. "Get the hell out of the way!"

They both created as much distance between them and the creature as they could, and I steadied my aim, barrel resting on my arm. I took a deep breath, and time slowed as the creature thrashed. I adjusted my stance, anticipating heavy recoil.

I exhaled and pulled the trigger.

The blast was deafening, even for me. My boots dug into the cracked ground, and I could hear the trees behind me crackling as the backblast reached them. The projectile itself blew a hole straight through several bandits, dozens of tendrils, straight through the center of the carrier, and out through the treeline above.

For a moment, I could see straight through the battlefield. I even caught a clear glimpse of the clear blue sky. Then physics caught up with the destruction, and blood rained down.

Several guardsmen were knocked over as the shockwaves from the invisible projectile reached them. The duo both covered their faces as the gore from the Carrier painted the treeline, and said Carrier collapsed like a puppet whose strings had been cut. So too did the bandits, whatever method it was using to control them dying with it.

There was silence as the proverbial dust settled. Or maybe they were all just momentarily deaf.

I gave the Walker a fun little twirl as I stowed it back into its holster, and readjusted my hat that had somehow managed to stay on my head. I did what I was paid for.

"Let's discuss payment."

-Combat Over-

-Assessing Performance-

-Skill(s) gained -Infused Shot IV-

-Core Progress 40%-