MOVING LIKE A CRAB

The unusual situation of being on top of a fantastic creation from forgotten and magical ages delighted the unlikely hero. He couldn't stop clinking the mechanical crab's claws threateningly, it was just irresistible and funny!

CLICKT CLICKT

That's why he also couldn't get a satisfied smile off his half-masked face.

His opponent looked for a replacement for his lost spear, and threw some stones at Glax and his metallic monster.

His strategy was obvious to Glax, who could see from the top.

He intended to surround the machine and climb on it, avoiding the killer claws that could easily pluck out his limbs. He also had an extra short sword, and Glax did not intend to let him get close.

Thus, while maneuvering his robotic mount to avoid stones, Glax changed his position to always face his opponent. Unfortunately, the controls, although intuitive, were a little stuck, which made his mount slower than it should.

"My kingdom for a can of oil!"

Glax was unable to dodge a stone that hit him in the right side, on the ribs. He felt the vision darken for a moment and the breath was gone, his arm went limp. He was sure he had broken something, but he couldn't stop to think about it. He just wanted the adrenaline to numb the pain for a few moments.

He focused on attacking the warrior this time, as chasing him away didn't seem to have worked. Apparently, the guy also believed that running away was cowardice. Little did he know that 'honor was disposable'.

"What are you trying to do here? Defeat Goliath, my good man?"

Some rocks hit the scout in sequence, shaking the structure and slightly dislocating one of the legs, which lost its original stability. But it wasn't so worrying for Glax, who swallowed the pain in his side and swung a claw applying some force, hitting his attacker sideways.

The man crawled across the dirt trying to reach his fallen spear, avoiding Glax's subsequent attacks. He was faster than the machine, which slammed the metal claw on the ground leaving grooves.

"Stop rolling like churros in sugar! Damn! Crippled! Gears!" Glax muttered under his breath, angry at the mechanism's slow response. He knew the machine was losing autonomy faster than it should.

The man threw himself under the machine, and in a single movement, thrust his spear, which passed through the hollow structure under the body of the metal crustacean.

Glax lifted his chin when the tip of the spear crossed his saddle and stopped at centimeters under his jaw. The spear had passed inches from his balls!

"Your spear is not... big enough." He scoffed, looking at the man's face under his feet through the gaps in the structure. "Haven't you figured out who's in charge here yet?"

The man tried to pull the spear, but it split in half from the attempt. Glax pushed the leftover rod aside, and maneuvered legs and claws again before the smartass took another trick from his sleeve. Not that he wore long sleeves.

"HAHA!" He finally got it right and grabbed the warrior with the help of one foreleg and tweezers. The man was now dirty, bleeding from the first wound, and panting from exhaustion.

He tried to escape, and Glax put another leg over him. The man groaned, the weight was too great putting pressure in one single place.

But Glax hesitated. Looking at that guy's face, and killing him in cold blood... could he do that? It would be one thing doing it in the heat of combat, but he had to be honest with himself.

He halted the machine and jumped from it to the man's side. The guy grabbed his ankle in anger and pain. One of the legs was on his stomach, pressing…

"Okay, buddy. I don't want to kill you. Let's make a deal. You give me these things around your neck and look for others for you. Or ... I will be forced to kill you."

"F*ck off!" The guy spat on him, Glax wiped his leg with contempt.

"I thought you were going to say that." He crouched down and with the help of his sword, relieved the guy of his 8 necklaces.

His hands were still busy when at the last moment, he saw the amused gleam in the guy's eyes, and instead of looking over his shoulder, he threw himself to the side, rolling away.

Proctius landed right where he was, with a blow so hard from his long sword that he severed the arm of the warrior who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The man's scream echoed in the night. Proctius promptly turned to Glax.

"Oops!" For such a big man, the scary warrior was quite sneaky, but Glax was still faster. He needed a good chance to get back on his machine. He would need more than agility, he would need a few seconds of advantage.

"Okay, take this!" He threw the tokens he had just collected on the warrior. Proctius countered them with his sword and an angry howl, this time, but it was Glax's exact time to throw himself up the machine again, using one of the mecha's legs to briefly support his foot. Proctius for just a moment didn't sever his foot as he did with the other guy's arm. His sword crashed into the metal of the hinged leg, producing a clang that reverberated through Glax's bones, down to his teeth.

"HEY! Do not damage the mecha! It's a historic asset!" Glax pulled the gears fiercely, without even sitting on the saddle.

Proctius tried to climb the machine too, but Glax stopped him with a sweeping move from one of the claws, as far as he managed to maneuver it. He started to walk away... But one leg was stuck.

He observed with horror that the leg was jammed in the body of the other warrior. His hesitation about what to do, once again, took his attention, and this time it was too late. Proctius launched himself at Glax and hit him with a straight punch in the face.

Glax literally saw stars, as his head spun and his eyes looked up at the sky before they filled with tears of pain.

His body floated in the air, falling from the scout onto the building's half-destroyed staircases.

"OUCH!" 'What was that? A wrecking ball? ' He felt blood in his mouth, and his eye immediately started to swell. He caught a glimpse of Proctius on top of the machine, watching him from above with a winning smile.

'See, you bastard! Not over yet!' Glax stood up slowly, without taking his eyes off Proctius.

And boldly, he ran to the braids lying on the floor, gathered them in a hurry, and 'retreated'.

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TO BE CONTINUED

--CeritusOrbis kindly edited this chapter