NIMBUS AND THE KNIGHTS OF CENFERUM

chapter 28 part 3

Adon looked deeply at Lonios and approached the shield wall his men had organized to make this meeting possible. When he reached behind the men, they, as usual, made way for him.

Then he seemed to concentrate for a few seconds, and smoke began to rise from his body. It seemed like his body was boiling, even the air around him began to get hotter, dispelling the icy cold of the ether. As if by magic, his once slender arms began to grow larger and fill the sleeves of his leather armor more and more. His shoulders and back were also growing larger, and finally, he started growing taller and taller, reaching the point where Boagrius, who was over two meters tall, seemed small next to him.

— Don't follow me — were the only words that came out of the knight's mouth.

— It's the Power of Explosion. I saw some users during the war, but none that reached this size — Lonios spoke, seemingly paralyzed by the scene.

— You had told me this story, but I would never have imagined that Sir Adon was of this Bloodline — Nimbus was amazed by the sight. — Why didn't you tell me that someone could grow this big?

— I didn't tell you because I've never seen anyone get so big, Nimbus, and there's only one explanation for this. He's not just burning the accumulated energy in his body; he's burning flesh, bones, and his own vitality as well. — While Lonios and Nimbus spoke, Sir Adon concentrated and kept getting bigger.

And now, that mountain of muscles that was once the obese Sir Adon was now looking with a demonic expression directly at the enemy command bridge, where there were several enemies in the way, and the fight was intense at that point. Then he ran towards the door, his unbreakable shield was in front of him, and no man, ally, or enemy, stayed in his way for long. Each obstacle was pushed, received blows from the mystical metal shield, or was summarily executed by the knight's sword, or crushed by kicks and punches.

— What is he doing? Valeros shouted when he saw his master go. — It's a suicide attack — he threatened to go, but was stopped by Lonios.

— Respect your master's request, only advance when I order.

— This order may be given to Valeros, but it does not concern me — Boagrius looked down at Lonios and ran after Sir Adon.

No one dared to defy the giant there.

Adon was approaching the entrance to the bridge at that moment, and the assault was easier than he had imagined; only a few scratches marked his body, nothing serious. Then he felt a powerful blow that made him take a step back. In front of him was a man wearing an unusual brushed steel armor, even larger and stronger than Boagrius, a true giant of metal, wielding a war hammer, probably extremely heavy because it was able to make a man like Adon stop running, and Adon could swear he heard characteristic gear noises coming from that metal-covered body. Certainly, if that blow were delivered to a common shield, it would be destroyed, and its user would no longer be conscious. But Adon had his shield, the Égipe, and it was as powerful as himself now.

The man tried to hit him again with the hammer, but with a lightness and speed that didn't match his size, Sir Adon dodged, tried to strike him with his sword, but didn't have enough reach because, besides being large, the giant's steel hammer had a huge handle, which kept enemies at a distance, weaker ones. But Adon was now a giant too and, surely, more powerful than that enemy.

Again, the metal warrior struck, this time Adon chose to parry the blow with his shield. When the impact hit him, shockwaves were thrown to the sides, and everyone, at least three meters away from the two, was thrown away. This was the true power of his shield; the Diamond Steel Shield had the ability to dissipate impacts and make them light for its user. As the blow came from bottom to top, Adon managed to rotate his body and approach the giant, and his attack this time was successful; his sword hit the man at knee height, right at the joint of the armor, making him lose balance and almost fall. Adon was surprised again; that blow should have severed the leg of that enemy at knee height, yet he seemed to only have his mobility reduced.

At that moment, Boagrius arrived and gave such a powerful bump to the man even bigger than him that he took a step back and staggered. Boagrius was relentless, plunging his sword into a recess in the chest armor of the steel giant. Again, the steel giant seemed not to care about the wound and continued to attack with his gigantic war hammer.

Then Adon charged and used all his enormous weight to push the enemy a little further back, and, taking advantage of this opening, grabbed the steel plate from the enemy's chest, tearing it off. To his surprise, inside the armor was not a man, but a dwarf operating various mechanisms; the steel giant was just a vehicle.

Seizing the opportunity, Boagrius delivered the mortal blow to the pilot of the machine, which immediately stopped moving. Adon was already in front of him, parrying with his shield the barrage of arrows falling on the two, fired by the protectors of the enemy bridge. Again, with an unusual agility, the knight didn't allow any arrow to hit his soldier, who now stood up, pulling his sword from the lifeless body inside the machine.

— Why are you here, Boagrius? I ordered you to stay with Lonios and Valeros and wait for the order to advance! — Adon looked at Lonios, and behind him lay dozens of enemies forming a path of bodies. Most of them were dead, but some screamed in agony with crushed bodies or severed limbs. All friends and foes on the decks of the two ships were now looking at him horrified. Adon just smiled and thought about the glorious end he was having. Then Boagrius's voice brought him back to reality.

— I'm sorry, sir, but I can't follow that order. I'll go with my oldest friend — his voice faltered for a moment. — I'll go with my father until the end.

A tear rolled down the old knight's face, and knowing the stubbornness of the soldier he had commanded since they joined together in travels through the ether, he consented.

— Then let's go, my son, to our final battle.

Someone more observant might notice a small tear welling up in the corner of the impassive giant's eye. He returned the smile, and the two charged again against the last obstacle between them, the enemy bridge, and the squadron of pirate archers positioned at the door and on top of the command bridge.

The duo ran, and the rain of arrows was intense. Sir Adon defended as best he could against the arrows launched at him and his soldier. A few more meters, and they collided with the archer squadron; the impact was devastating. Several were crushed just at the moment Adon collided his shield with them. The survivors were summarily executed by the two giants. The enemies above the bridge were knocked out when Adon threw his shield at them and caught it in the air when it bounced back.

Adon could hear the cries of his pupil Valeros calling his name, but he didn't pay much attention to it. The path was clear, and with his last strength, he punched the reinforced door, which collapsed in front of him as if it were made of paper. After that, Adon just wanted to rest, so he fell to his knees on the ground and looked at the sky, the same sky he had seen so many times in these more than thirty-five years, spent more inside a ship seeing this sky than on solid ground.

And Lonios shouted:

— ATTACK!

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Giant of Metal