The Crafter's Dominion: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 5)

by Jonathan Brooks

  After learning about the moisture absorption abilities of the Absorption Bombs, Violet had come up with a last-ditch defense if they needed it. Spread out unobtrusively along the ground was a net of over 100 of the Bombs, flattened into plates instead of round balls, and they covered all of the open space. Unlike the balls, they activated as soon as something touched one, and their rate of absorption was much slower over a longer period of time – but their range above the plates was up to 6 feet.

  As a result, as the monsters ran over the massive net of Absorption Plates, they started to have the moisture sucked out of them. The first plates they passed over basically just made them severely dehydrated; the next few started to cause their skin and organs to shrivel from the loss of moisture; by the time they reached the end of the Plate net, each of the monsters collapsed from the lack of moisture through all or most of their bodies.

  It happened slowly enough that those behind weren’t aware of the danger, and by the time they learned of it – it was too late. One of the Panthers managed to jump over the last half of the Plates to avoid being sucked dry, but the crew of Defensive Force Gnomes was there with their Flame Thumpers to knock it back into the Absorption field. Also unlike the Bombs that were chucked out at the rest of the horde, these Plates lasted for 20 seconds, which was more than enough time to kill everything that tried to invade their sanctuary.

  The next minute was filled with the destruction of the remaining horde of Beasts and Flora, a few of which managed to make it to the back side of their fence again, but were impaled by a half-dozen Mass Accelerator bolts for their efforts. Another member of the Defensive Force was killed when a Panther jumped over the fence from an unexpected direction and sliced her up with a swipe of its deadly claws – which was extremely sad and unfortunate – but overall, they had only lost 3 Gnomes and killed thousands of dungeon monsters.

  Of course, the 4 Giants were still coming…and Violet wasn’t sure if their Weapons of War would be of any use against them.

  Chapter 23

  While the Giants moved slowly in comparison to the other monsters that had just been slaughtered, that didn’t make them any less deadly. Their reach with the ripped-up trees they were using as clubs meant that they didn’t even have to be that close to cause some damage, and by the time the rest of the horde had been eliminated, they were practically within striking distance.

  “Give it all you got!” Violet heard one of the leaders of the Force call out, to which all 60 of their Mass Accelerators sang out, aiming for the Giant in the lead. The massive monster was only about 200 feet away from their front line, which was well within range of the powerful ballistae. With such a large target, none of the bolts missed their mark, slamming into the chest of the 80-foot monstrosity within a second of each other with so much force that the Giant was actually knocked off its feet. The ground shook from the impact of the multi-ton monster falling on its back, and Violet had to catch herself from falling.

  When she stabilized herself and looked around, she saw that the others on the Hauler with her were doing the same, though one of the Accelerator crew had fallen off. She doubted that he was seriously hurt, but it just went to show how powerful that minor quake had been.

  Yet, for all of the damage done to the Giant from the bolts, it wasn’t dead. Lying on the ground, a roar of pain echoed across the hilly grassland, causing the Journeyman Enchanter to cover her ears in response. Looking at the injured monster, she saw that its chest was peppered with bolts, sunk so far inside its body that they could barely be seen sticking out, but that wasn’t enough to kill the massive creature.

  It was going to take a lot more than that, though it was a good start. Already, the Accelerators were reloading, and just as the Giant sat up from its fall, the same Defensive Force leader shouted, “Fire!” Another volley of bolts shot out and hit the Giant again, this time aiming for something a bit more vulnerable: the Giant’s face. Still yelling out in pain from the initial strike of bolts, it was afflicted further as a few dozen went directly up its maw, puncturing the back of its throat. Another 2 luckily aimed projectiles went into both eyes, piercing them and blinding the massive monster; more than half of the rest were embedded in its cheeks or nose, though a half-dozen had been aimed low – right into its throat.

  That seemed to do the trick that 60 bolts to its chest couldn’t accomplish; the softer skin of its neck was practically ripped apart from the impact of 6 Accelerator bolts, tearing its throat and jugular arteries open in a gory display of purplish-colored blood. The force of the impact once again knocked it back, though it was only a few feet that the enormous form slid backwards, slamming its head against the ground at the same time. Then, thankfully, the Giant stopped moving, disappearing moments later – to the cheers of the Defensive Force.

  Violet joined in, happy that they had a Weapon that could defeat the enormous Giant monsters, but their celebration was short-lived.

  “EVERYONE OFF THE HAULERS!”

  It was so unexpected that Violet whipped around to see what the leader was talking about, looking towards the remaining Giants – and what she saw froze her into inaction. Fortunately, the Force wasn’t as frozen in response; before she knew what was happening, someone had forcibly grabbed her, threw her over a shoulder and leapt off the Hauler.

  It was not a second too soon, because the next moment a ginormous tree passed through the space where the Hauler had been, completely demolishing the vehicle and everything on it. Still falling to the ground on someone’s shoulder, Violet watched in seeming slow-motion as the tree continued on its trajectory, smashing into another Hauler just behind theirs. The Enchanter could see the shocked faces of those that hadn’t been able to evacuate from the Hauler in time, as their bodies were destroyed just as quickly as the rest of the vehicle.

  Violet and her rescuer hit the ground a second later, and she felt herself dropped as a result; the fall wasn’t too bad, however, and after a quick roll she came to a stop. Looking up, she saw that her rescuer was none other than Princess Celeste, her face a mask of rage as she stared up at the approaching Giants. Violet immediately realized that the thrown tree club from one of the monsters had also destroyed their forward-most Burning Darkness barrier, and her field of vision could now encompass the 3 remaining Giants as they steadily made their way closer to the Defensive Force.

  Or what was left of the Defensive Force, at least; it seemed that the tree that had hit her Hauler and the one behind hadn’t been the only one thrown, because the now-weaponless Giants had taken out 2 vehicles, leaving them with only 2 Haulers still whole and undamaged. Worse than that, all of the Force members that had been at the rear, protecting the opened portion from attack, had been either hit by the flung trees or killed as shrapnel from the destroyed Haulers sliced through them. She couldn’t get an accurate count as she got to her feet, but she estimated that more than 50 of her fellow Gnomes had just perished.

  “Thanks, Princess—where are you going?!” Violet was trying to thank the Princess for saving her, but the battle-crazy Royal Gnome had taken off running – and was currently headed straight for the approaching Giants. What is she doing? Is she suicidal?

  Whatever she was, Violet couldn’t allow the Princess – the last remaining member of their Royal family – to go alone. The Journeyman Enchanter wasn’t a fighter, however, and she wasn’t sure what to do…until her eyes landed on the 2 remaining Haulers, their Mass Accelerators hanging limply in their cradles, without anyone operating them.

  “Up! Everyone up! Get to the Accelerators; the Princess is headed out there, so you need to back her up!” There were groans of pain, as not everyone had managed to avoid being hurt by the flung tree clubs, but they obeyed her shouts. Violet did the same, rushing to the nearest intact Hauler and pulling herself up the ladder before just about anyone else. Grabbing one of the bolts gathered up nearby, she placed it into the ballista, aimed it towards the closest Giant, and touched the Activation rune. The pulling of the “bow”
happened so quickly that she barely saw it happen, but the next moment the bolt flew out and flew true, hitting the Giant in the chest. A single bolt wasn’t much of a deterrent, and only a single grunt of pain in response showed that it actually hit the monster, but it certainly wasn’t enough to stop it. What it did do, however, was turn its attention from the Princess running full out, her hand-axes clutched in her hands, to Violet, already loading another bolt into the Accelerator.

  By that time, most of the other positions on the Hauler were being filled with Force members, loading bolts of their own. Before she fired again, she looked around and saw fear and shock on their faces, but it was also accompanied by determination. They were scared, but they knew that they couldn’t fail here; if they did, there wasn’t much to stop the dungeons around here from continuously expanding, eventually putting everyone’s lives at risk.

  They weren’t the only ones to realize that, because all of the War Machine pilots and Shredder Cone operators were already on the move – Felbar included. Violet couldn’t think about his safety, however, because she was currently aiming another bolt…and…fire! This one sunk into its upper shoulder, missing the neck that she had been aiming for. More bolts were fired sporadically as the other Accelerator operators fired as soon as they were ready, hoping to do some damage before the Giants got too close. While they didn’t have their clubs anymore, they could still stomp and smash all the Gnomes into a pulp with barely any trouble.

  A lucky bolt from one of the Accelerators managed to hit the next Giant in its right eye, causing the monster to bellow out and hold its hand to its face, while it attempted to pull out the projectile. That was the opening that the War Machines needed, as they rushed in and started to chop at the legs of the Giant, doing horrendous damage with large swipes of their axes. The monster attempted to pick up one of its legs to kick at the trio of Machines, but its other leg had been so damaged (down to the bone) that it snapped when all of the weight was put onto it. The massive monster suddenly fell, collapsing to the ground so quickly that it fell onto one of the War Machines, smothering it beneath its bulk.

  Violet couldn’t tell if the War Machine was destroyed and the pilot killed, though she was relieved that it wasn’t Felbar underneath the Giant. Instead, she concentrated on firing again on the prostrate Giant, her bolt flying right over another War Machine to land in the side of its neck. Yes! Just like before, the damage done to the throat was extensive, and her own shot was followed up by 2 more, tearing the vulnerable neck open even wider. A few seconds later, the Giant went still, disappearing…and revealing the crushed remains of the War Machine beneath it. Needless to say, Violet highly doubted that the Warmaster pilot inside had survived.

  Unfortunately, the other Giants were learning – or the Dungeon Core controlling them had learned; either way, the enormous dungeon monsters held their arms up in front of their face as they continued to approach, blocking any bolts from hitting anything vulnerable. The ones that hit their arms or chest were little more than pinpricks, and even trying to fire together wasn’t enough of an impact to do more than annoy the humongous creatures. Soon enough, they passed by where the other two Giants had been taken down, walking in step with each other, their footsteps causing the ground to rumble as they walked. In short, they were getting into dangerous territory, because a few more steps would take them in range of the main Defensive Force.

  Without any other option, the Shredder Cones attacked one while the War Machines attacked the other. The Cones did a spectacular amount of damage, shredding the skin and muscle off of the one on Violet’s left side, but the success didn’t last long; the Giant reacted quicker than she had seen it move before, punching down with both fists, smashing into 2 of the Cones at the same time, demolishing them into a spray of splinters. A third was kicked so hard that it flew at least 150 feet away before crashing and practically exploding from the impact, though the Giant was severely damaged as well. The fourth Cone went all-in and spun into the right leg while the left was kicked out, tearing it up and causing it to break; the Giant came crashing down in a similar fashion as the second, but it fortunately missed crushing the last spinning Cone in its collapse.

  Now vulnerable to attack, the Accelerators wasted no time in taking advantage. A dozen bolts sprouted around its face and neck, causing additional outbursts of pain, but nothing was yet lethal. At least, not until Violet saw a tiny form rushing at the Giant from behind.

  “Hold your fire! Concentrate on the other Giant!”

  Amazingly, they all listened to her, and Violet shot her next bolt at the upright Giant, who was currently dismantling their War Machine group with ruthless efficiency. That didn’t mean it wasn’t getting hurt, because axe heads and flames from Felbar’s War Machine were causing some serious wounds, but the Giant had picked up and crushed 3 of the Machines already, leaving just the grizzled Warmaster and one other to continue the fight. The remaining Shredder Cone was still trying to tear up the prone Giant, not seeing what Violet was seeing.

  Namely, that Princess Celeste – enchanted hand-axes still in her possession – was climbing up the Giant’s throat from the side. Even as it started to sit up, arm raised to smash the still-attacking Cone, the Royal Gnome struck, slicing open its throat with a powerful slash of both axes. There was a moment when nothing seemed to happen, and Violet wondered if Celeste had cut deep enough, but the next second a wave of purple blood erupted out of the wound and practically drowned the Princess in viscous liquid.

  That didn’t seem to deter the battle-hardened Gnome as she turned and jumped off the dying Giant, already sprinting for the other target in her sights.

  Violet went to grab another bolt, but her hands came up empty. Looking around, she saw that all of the others on her Hauler were either out or close to it; the situation looked similar on the other Hauler as well. We’re out of bolts! No! We’re so close. Looking down at the carnage of the other transport vehicles, she could see some bolts scattered here and there, but it would take a while to scrounge them up, check to see if they were able to be fired, and then brought up to the waiting Mass Accelerators.

  Almost as if the rest of the Defensive Force realized this as well, over 3 dozen of their remaining members were already running towards the Giant, with Flame Thumpers in hand and Ice and Absorptions Bombs at the ready. Violet was proud of them rushing to end the fight before it was too late, but she also realized that they might not be enough.

  It was time to use her backup weapon.

  Looking up into the sky, she saw the Aerie Roc still circling around. “Down! Attack!” she shouted, using all of her thoughts to direct the bird down to finish the job. She wasn’t sure if it would hear her over the sounds of the battle still going on, but she put everything she had into the order.

  Thankfully, that was all that was needed. Instantly after she finished her order, the Roc dove down at tremendous speed, looking like some sort of projectile itself. Talons extended in front of it, the enormous bird slammed into the head of the Giant as it was bending down to pick up Felbar’s War Machine. Long scratches marred the bald head of the Giant as it was rocked backwards from the impact, causing it to fall on its rear end.

  The Roc rose back into the air after it finished its dive, gaining altitude for another attack. However, before it could attack, she shouted, “Hold!” as a wave of Bombs from the Defensive Force suddenly impacted its sitting body, and Ice shards were suddenly embedded in multiple parts of its body. These were quickly followed up with Absorption Bombs, which didn’t have too much of a visible impact when they activated, though the roars of pain from the Giant said otherwise.

  In a rage, the massive creature bent forward, reaching further than Violet thought possible, and then opened its hand up wide enough to completely flatten a dozen Gnomes of the Force – that had just thrown the Bombs at close range – with a powerful *smack* against the ground. The Giant swept his hand to the side, sending another dozen Gnomes tumbling away, though how hurt they were w
as hard to judge.

  Felbar and the other War Machine attacked again, just as the Shredder Cone arrived, turning the Giant’s attention away from the individual Gnomes. Felbar was knocked away with an almost-casual smack by the Giant’s hand, though he wasn’t destroyed – only sent sprawling about 50 feet away. The others were in danger of being killed, however, as the massive creature turned its attention on them.

  “Attack!”

  The diving attack hit the Giant unexpectedly again, this time to its face, and the impact was so great that it knocked the humongous creature on its back. There were a few nicks to its nose and cheeks, but for the most part it was just stunned.

  But not stunned enough to not shoot its hand up to grab the bird by one of its talons as it tried to fly away. The Roc, caught by the powerful grip of the Giant, tried to peck at the creature’s fingers as it flapped its wings in an effort to get away, but the Giant’s grip was like a vise, not letting it get away. The other hand raised up, and Violet knew what was coming next; while the Roc was technically bigger than the Giant in terms of length, it wasn’t nearly as powerful or durable – it would be squished between the hands of the enormous monster, like a large chicken would be helpless in the hands of a Gnome.

  Violet watched in despair as the other hand managed to work itself around the neck of her Roc, despite its struggling to get away. As it screeched out in pain, before being cut off from the hand around its throat, the Enchanter saw something that gave her hope: The Princess was at it again.

  Having climbed up on the Giant’s throat during the confusion, Celeste used her hand-axes to cut into the throat. However, before she had done more than begin the wound, the hand around the Roc’s neck let go of its stranglehold and swiped at the annoying Gnome on its throat. The action caused the hand-axes already producing a wound to tear it open even further as she was flung away, opening up the artery and the throat worse than if she had been left alone.