20demayo Chapter 13 Who Shot the Arrow?
Chapter 13 Who Shot the Arrow?
Instead of picking up its club, the giant angrily grabbed stones and broken pieces of wood from the ground and hurled them at the two men!
The tree's canopy began to shake violently, stones shattered and sprayed outwards like bullets, and wood chips flew everywhere, some even embedding themselves in Lucas's body. Ellie's dragon-skin cloak rattled loudly, countless fragments hitting it, and a strand of her long hair was severed and fell to the ground.
If you get hit by it even once, you're guaranteed to die!
"That won't work!" Ellie yelled, eyeing a smaller tree nearby. "We'll split up to distract it, make noise to confuse it, and then find a chance to run! Remember, it's stupid; its weaknesses are its eyes and the back of its head!"
"Ellie!"
But before Lucas could stop her, Ellie had already spotted the opening for the throw, got up, took a few steps on the tree trunk, and then kicked off with all her might!
On a clear summer night, with stars shining and clouds drifting by, and the bright moon hanging high in the sky, a girl's figure leaps high in the moonlight, streaking across the night sky, her long golden-brown hair flying in the wind, and her bright purple eyes sparkling.
Ellie Jane McFastie... Lucas's gaze followed her until a loud crash, and Ellie, wrapped in a dragon-skin cloak, crashed into the tree branches.
"Hey! Monster!" Her voice trembled with pain. "Come and catch me if you dare!"
The troll's attention was immediately drawn, and it roared as it turned toward her.
With a thud, a piece of wood hit its back; it was Lucas.
"You filthy, stinking beast!" Lucas yelled, "Go eat shit!"
The giant roared and grabbed a large rock, intending to smash it down on Lucas, but it was immediately struck on the shoulder by a broken branch thrown by Ellie.
"Come and get me, you idiot! Is your head full of rocks?"
......
The two men's shouts were like a swarm of flies buzzing in the giant's ears, and their attacks from all sides enraged it. It spun around, rock in hand, and then—
With a loud thud, the stone finally came flying at Lucas, embedding itself deeply into the tree trunk beside him, causing the entire tree to shake.
Lucas frowned as he looked at the giant monster with bloodshot eyes, roaring and howling.
Hoping the giant will get dizzy and fall down on its own? That plan is probably not going to work. Before it gets completely disoriented, the two of us will be smashed to pieces.
"Ellie!" he shouted suddenly. "Listen up, I told you to run, so just run!"
What? Before Ellie could even utter a sound, a beam of silver light suddenly shot out from Lucas's hand!
It's a flashlight, at maximum brightness!
The beam of light shone directly into the giant's wide, round eyes. The giant let out a roar, instinctively shielding its eyes with its arm and staggering back a few steps.
"Come down, Ellie!" he shouted, and another plastic bottle flew from his hand, hitting the troll hard in the chest.
White powder flew up and covered the giant's face and chest; it was a whole bottle of pepper!
"Achoo! Achoo!!!"
A deafening sneeze echoed through the forest. The giant's eyes throbbed with pain, its nose and mouth were pounded, and tears and snot streamed down its face. It flailed its arms wildly, its potato-like head seemingly about to explode.
"run!"
Ellie and Lucas tumbled down from the tree, ignoring their injuries, and staggered to their feet, ready to run.
"The stream!" Ellie gritted her teeth, hissing for breath. "Cross the stream and wash away our scent—"
A thunderous tremor shook the ground!
Perhaps it heard Ellie's voice, or perhaps it was just a lucky guess, but the monstrous creature, which had gone mad, charged over haphazardly, like an out-of-control truck, and crashed into Ellie!
"Ellie!" Lucas shouted, but Ellie didn't even have time to react—
"call out!"
Just then, an arrow shot out from the shadows of the forest with a whooshing sound and pierced the giant's thigh!
With another loud crash, Lucas tackled Ellie to the ground, while the troll's massive, one-ton body tumbled past them, crashing into a large tree and snapping it in two.
Who? Who shot the arrow?
Lucas looked up and saw a figure emerge from behind the bushes—a delicate, girlish face.
This face—it was the one who flashed by in the firelight and flashlight!
His gaze shifted downwards, and Lucas involuntarily held his breath. He had spotted another mythical creature. Ellie exclaimed in surprise, "It's...it's a centaur!"
It was a young girl, a centaur girl.
Her upper body was that of a delicate young girl, appearing to be only eleven or twelve years old. She had long, moon-white blonde hair, exquisite and beautiful features, and sapphire-like eyes that shimmered with tears. She wore only a corset woven from some kind of leaves, flower branches, and plant fibers, and her skin was fair and translucent in the moonlight.
The slender waist suddenly thickens down to reveal the body of a horse covered in the same white-gold coat, its long tail swaying restlessly.
She looked so elegant and beautiful, yet so fragile.
Meeting Lucas and Ellie's gazes, she bit her lip, her hand gripping the longbow trembling slightly with fear.
"I...I'm so sorry!" She stumbled back a few steps, her voice trembling and choked with tears. "I didn't mean to...it's all my fault!"
"What?" Ellie and Lucas helped each other to their feet, their bodies covered in wounds and blood. "You saved us. We should be thanking you."
"No, no," the centaur girl shook her head vigorously. "This giant was chasing me. If it weren't for me, it wouldn't have found you. I'm so sorry, so very sorry!"
Lucas understood. The troll had initially been chasing the centaur girl, but during the chase, she was drawn by Lucas and Ellie's campfire and the aroma of food. Perhaps approaching with the intention of seeking help, she was frightened away by the two. Then, the troll, having followed her, eventually discovered them.
"What's your name?" Ellie asked.
"Thea." The centaur girl pawed restlessly with her hooves and lowered her head.
"Thea, I'm Allie Jane McFastie." Allie then pointed to Lucas. "This is Lucas McGregor. What happened before wasn't your fault, but thank you so much for saving us."
Thea blinked her deep blue eyes, looking like she was about to cry.
Ellie nudged Lucas quietly and whispered, "My God, this centaur is completely different from what I knew! Centaurs are supposed to be extremely arrogant, skilled in astrology, believing they understand the fate of all things by observing the stars, and looking down on us humans. But what's wrong with Thea's personality..."
"Furthermore, a foal like her should be a priority for protection within their tribe; she wouldn't be alone..."
Just as Thea was choking back tears and about to say something, suddenly the branches crackled!