Tatehan crouched on the ridge, observing the amphitheater carefully.
The spaceship's AI had told him to exploit environmental advantages rather than charging in with a full frontal assault, and that was exactly what he planned to do. Was there a way to catch the monster off guard and kill it quickly? Frankly, that was the only real solution at this point if he intended to win this fight, to come out on top, put this thing down, and show it who was boss.
It sounded ridiculous, like he was thinking too highly of himself. But with the right determination and strategy, it just might work.
He could see large boulders scattered across the amphitheater floor, massive things that looked like they weighed thousands of pounds.
What if he could lift those and aim them at some exposed region on the monster's body?
He decided to experiment. Focusing hard, he used his gravitational powers to raise one of the boulders.
It lifted into the air, though the effort gave him a slight headache. His concentration wavered, and his head throbbed with dull pain.
He carefully lowered the boulder back down. At first, he'd wanted to drop it with force, but he quickly stopped himself when he remembered where he was, in the home of the mauler.
He didn't want to make too much noise and attract the creature. He couldn't imagine it suddenly emerging from one of those dark cave openings and charging straight at him.
So he controlled the boulder gently to the ground, his face tight with tension, fearing the slightest sound would give him away.
He needed to see if he could lift multiple boulders at once. That might be the only way to defeat the hulking monstrosity he was about to face.
Maybe when he was almost beaten to death, he could pull off a dramatic reversal, dropping the rocks from above and crushing the mauler. Maybe not kill it outright, but weaken it significantly. Injure it severely. Put it in enormous pain.
With it in that weakened state, that would give him the chance to perhaps strike at its neck or something vital. Though maybe the neck would be too large for his sword, so he might have to target the legs instead. He didn't know yet.
He tried lifting one boulder again. It took great effort. Then, as he attempted to lift a second boulder at the same time, he made a fatal mistake.
He didn't do it knowingly, it was just that he couldn't lift two boulders simultaneously. His gravity manipulation ability wasn't upgraded to that capacity yet.
"Shit—"
THUD!
THUD!
The boulders fell hard to the ground.
Tatehan knew immediately that the noise would bring out the monster. Well, what had he expected, trying to test his limits at a time as DIRE as this?
He almost facepalmed but stopped himself. Maybe this had happened in his favor. He needed the creature to come out anyway, and saying things like "Hey!" or "Hello!" or "Anyone there?" would have been a really bad idea.
The only way to lure something like that out, without revealing what kind of prey he was, was a loud disturbance. Two heavy impacts, actually.
It might give the mauler the impression that a rival monster had entered its territory, and Tatehan could use that moment to sneak in and attack.
Brilliant. Logical. A solid plan.
Tatehan couldn't hide his grin as he looked for a place to hide. It was a fearful grin, though, the kind that said, "So I might actually survive this?"
He decided to hide in one of the cave openings. But which one? How could he be sure the mauler wasn't already inside the one he chose?
Immediately, he heard loud footsteps approaching.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
About forty-eight thumps in total.
Forty-eight was a lot, but they came incredibly fast, and without even seeing the creature yet, Tatehan realized that it truly had multiple legs, just like the AI had warned.
"Shit!"
Tatehan quickly scrambled down into the depression and darted toward a cave opening on the opposite side. He felt reasonably safe assuming the mauler wasn't hiding in that particular cave. It wasn't like he was going to encounter another large monster in there. He was certain he wouldn't even find a tiny insect or bug, considering how hungry and ruthless the mauler was known to be.
And then came the final step, all the legs landing at once, creating one massive THUD that shook the ground!
Tatehan was now well hidden inside the cave, so he felt relatively safe for the moment.
He knew the mauler would stand in the middle of the ruined amphitheater, searching for the source of the sound. He held his breath and carefully peered out at it.
The Hexapod Mauler was nothing short of a nightmare come alive.
Its upper body resembled that of a shark twisted into humanoid form. It was sleek, muscular, and covered in rough, scale-like skin that shimmered like wet steel under the Martian sun. Its head stretched long and narrow, hexagonal in shape, with jaws serrated and jagged like twin saw blades. Rows of teeth lined its mouth, teeth that looked capable of chewing through a tank.
'Fuck!'
But below the waist, everything shifted into something far worse.
Its lower body was crab-like, six massive limbs spreading out from a hard, shell-like core. Each leg ended in curved, bladed tips that dug deep into the ground with every step. Chitin and muscle fused seamlessly, making it look like one of those ancient mythical creatures Tatehan had seen depicted in books back on Earth.
Steam poured from the gaps between its armor plates.
Tatehan furrowed his brow.
Steam?
He was sure he hadn't been warned about this. The spaceship's AI hadn't mentioned it at all.
As the mauler took steps forward, the ground sank deeply beneath its weight. That alone showed just how heavy this thing was.
It had two eyes, each glowing a dull, hollow red. They swept the area like scanners, cold and precise, searching for whatever had caused the disturbance.
This was the monster he had been journeying toward for the past fifteen hours. The monster whose roar was probably capable of tearing apart armored beasts like paper.
The Hexapod mauler now let out a low roar—intentional and controlled. It was probably a scanning roar, meant to check for any creature nearby, to locate the source of the sound. But even so, the roar sounded wet and distorted, like the ocean boiling beneath a violent storm.
This wasn't just another monster in the wastelands.
This was no bruteneck. This was no carapace bruteneck. This was no lunatic carapace bruteneck. This was no knight bruteneck. This was no dwarf bruteneck.
No.
This was the executioner of anything that wandered too close.
This was the Hexapod mauler.