Bound To The Dead: The Deceptive Class-E Farmer-Chapter 46: Battle of The Generals

King Geoffrey stood trembling on his royal balcony, his voice cracking with fury as he screamed at the soldiers around him, none of whom listened.

"You traitors! Filthy, ungrateful rats! I gave you power, rank..!"

"Where is Harper?! Harper will tear these bastards apart! HARPER!"

Thoom. Thoom.

The sound wasn’t footsteps, it was judgment.

From the far end of the square, Harper finally emerged.

He didn’t rush. He didn’t speak. His very presence silenced the battlefield.

King Geoffrey’s breath hitched. "Yes... yes! My warrior. My S+ hybrid. Kill them all."

But Harper didn’t move.

He raised a clawed hand and pointed at the two figures stepping forward, Corpuz and Broner.

"You’ve chosen betrayal," Harper growled.

Corpuz nocked an arrow, his stance cool and precise. "We chose what’s right."

Broner crossed his twin swords, their edges crackling faintly. "We chose to fight for the future."

A pause.

Then Harper smirked, his voice low and dangerous. "Then you’ll die together."

Harper cracked his knuckles and stepped forward, eyes locking onto his foes.

Corpuz raised his bow. "We’ll give you one chance to walk away."

Harper snorted. "I don’t walk away from garbage."

Broner’s swords hit the ground with a dull scrape as he entered a stance. "Then come and get it."

Harper moved with terrifying speed, too fast for someone of his size.

He closed the distance in seconds, aiming a heavy punch at Corpuz. But Corpuz leapt back, firing an arrow in mid-air. It hit Harper’s shoulder, but the monster didn’t even flinch.

Broner rushed in, swinging both swords in a brutal arc.

One blade grazed Harper’s ribs, the other slashed across his thigh, drawing a line of black ichor.

Harper growled.

Corpuz fired two more arrows, one for the heart, one for the knee. Both glowed like divine judgment.

Harper tore them out like splinters. "Is that all?"

Broner crossed his blades again, whirling into another combo, this time aiming for Harper’s neck.

But Harper ducked and slammed a fist into Broner’s gut. The swordsman flew back, skidding across the stone.

Corpuz kept moving, firing an explosive arrow straight at Harper’s face.

Harper blocked it with his forearm, annoyed.

"You’re annoying," he muttered.

Corpuz rolled aside just in time to dodge a punch that shattered a stone pillar. He had to keep distance. Up close meant death.

Broner groaned, but stood, blood dripping, still holding his swords in a reversed grip.

He charged again, slashing low and then spinning high.

Harper caught both swords with his bare hands.

Broner’s eyes widened. "No..."

With a roar, Harper yanked him forward and slammed him to the ground.

Corpuz fired another energy-charged arrow. It hit Harper’s chest and staggered him briefly.

Broner rolled away. Hurt, but still breathing.

Harper narrowed his glowing eyes. "Not bad for traitors. But now, I’ll stop playing."

He straightened his back. Muscles bulged. The yellow glow in his eyes intensified.

"I gave you a chance to amuse me," he said coldly. "Now I end this."

Broner surged forward again, hoping for a clean hit. Harper vanished.

CRACK.

Broner’s swords clattered to the ground as Harper appeared behind him and drove an elbow into his back. Broner collapsed.

"Broner!" Corpuz shouted, firing arrows.

Thud. Thud. Thud. They bounced off Harper’s skin like pebbles.

"You’re fast," Harper said, advancing on Corpuz. "But you’re not dangerous."

Corpuz backpedaled, launching a flurry of glowing arrows, none worked. Harper advanced like a wall of death.

Broner, coughing blood, forced himself up. His entire body began glowing faintly.

He roared and struck Harper with full power, staggering him.

Harper grinned. "That’s more like it."

His body began to warp, glowing with energy. Air shimmered around him.

"I was bored," he said. "Now I’m awake."

Corpuz and Broner exchanged a glance. One shot left.

"Time for Plan C," Corpuz said, panting.

Broner nodded. "Yeah. Cripple the beast."

Corpuz leapt onto Broner’s back, then launched high into the air. Mid-flight, he drew back an electric arrow...

[Storm Pierce]

At the same time, Broner plunged his swords into the ground...

[Earth Shaker]

Triggering a shockwave.

Corpuz fired.

CRACK!

The arrow hit Harper’s spine. Electricity exploded through him.

Broner followed up with a slash across Harper’s face.

For a second, it looked like it worked.

Harper dropped to a knee.

Then stood up.

The arrow snapped off him like a twig.

"Cute," he said.

He grabbed Broner’s wrist and twisted. SNAP.

Corpuz screamed and fired another shot, but Harper blurred forward, drove a knee into his gut, and sent him crashing into the wall.

No wounds. No fatigue.

Just raw, terrifying power.

"Combo techniques are good for parlor tricks," Harper sneered. "But you’re still not in my league."

Corpuz tried to steady himself, the impact knocking the air out of him.

His vision blurred for a moment, but he forced himself to refocus.

He staggered to his feet, pain shooting through his ribs.

"No time for a breather," he muttered, his hands still steady as he nocked another arrow..

His eyes were sharp, but his heart raced. "Stay back, Broner. We need distance."

Harper grinned. His face twisted into something almost inhuman. "You can try."

He lunged forward without warning. He moved faster than they expected. His claws came down, aiming straight for Broner.

Broner blocked with his swords, but Harper’s strength was too much.

The claws pushed the blades down hard. Broner gritted his teeth, straining to hold his ground.

"Not fast enough," Harper growled.

Broner swung his swords in a wide arc.

Harper ducked and moved like water. He twisted, then drove his rear leg into Broner’s side with a brutal kick.

Broner jumped, but not fast enough. The blow slammed into him, denting his armor and knocking the wind from his lungs.

"You’re too slow," Harper said. His yellow eyes glowed.

Corpuz fired. Arrow after arrow hit Harper’s body but bounced off or missed. Nothing stopped him.

"Why won’t you fall?" Corpuz muttered.

Harper charged at him. His claws cut through stone with every strike. Corpuz rolled to the side, barely keeping up.

Broner got back up and ran at Harper. He tried to land a clean strike.

Harper moved again, faster than before. His four legs powered him across the plaza.

He slammed his fist into the ground. A shockwave ripped through the air. Both generals flew back, their feet sliding across the stone.

"Is that all you’ve got?" Harper shouted, laughing.

Corpuz fired. It crackled with energy and exploded against Harper’s chest.

A burn mark appeared. Harper didn’t flinch. The wound closed fast. Too fast.

"You’ll have to do better than that," Harper said. His grin faded into a snarl.

Broner rushed in again. His swords clashed with Harper’s claws. Harper grabbed them with one hand and squeezed. Broner’s arms shook. He held on.

Harper twisted the swords out of Broner’s grip and kneed him in the chest. A crack echoed through the plaza. Broner gasped and dropped to his knees.

Corpuz aimed one last arrow. The arrow hit Harper in the face.

Boom!

The explosion lit up the sky.

Smoke curled off his skin as he wiped away the black scorch mark. A shallow hole remained for a second, then his flesh twisted and sealed, good as new.

"Annoying insects," he muttered.

He stepped toward Corpuz.

The general reached for his sword, but Harper was already there.

One claw knocked the weapon aside.

A hard kick slammed into Corpuz’s chest, hurling him into a stone column.

"You’re weak," Harper growled.

Golden energy pulsed through his muscles. His eyes glowed brighter.

"I’ll break you both."

Corpuz trying to stand. Blood dripped from his mouth.

"We’re not done yet!" he shouted.

Broner crawled to his feet. His body glowed faintly. "We won’t... give up."

Harper looked at both men. They were bloody, beaten, but still standing. He smiled.

"I like that," he said. "But it won’t help you."

—-----

In the distance, another explosion shook the plaza. It was Aiah’s firebomb.

People screamed. Humanoids dropped to the ground, injured or dead.

But some of the soldiers still didn’t move.

Many stood still, weapons ready, but unsure of what to do.

Some looked at King Geoffrey.

Others looked at Corpuz and Broner.

They didn’t know who to follow.

The king who chained the princess?

Or the generals who had fought beside them, and now standing with her?

So they stayed still, tense, waiting.

But above the wall, archers were already firing.

Some arrows struck their arms, legs, and even heads.

The humanoids slowed down for a second, but then they kept moving.

Their wounds healed fast. The arrows fell out of their bodies like they didn’t matter.

They fired again. More arrows hit. Still no effect.

The humanoids screamed and kept charging forward. They didn’t fall. They didn’t die.

Near the frontlines, Nai and Putol stayed close to Aiah, low flames dancing off their bodies. Just enough to shield the injured, not scorch the earth.

"Get them to the church!" Aiah shouted, arms outstretched, blocking arrows with raw heat.

Nai guided civilians while Putol smashed debris to clear paths.

—-----

Back to Harper...

Corpuz was on one knee. Broner was down, coughing blood.

Harper towered above them, the stone beneath him cracked and scorched.

"Enough games," he growled. "After I’m done with you, the farm boy is next."

Harper raised his arm, claws ready to smash Corpuz’s skull like an egg.

Broner spat blood, unable to move.

Corpuz tightened his jaw, staring ahead even as the shadow of death loomed over him.

Then...

CLANG.

The sharp sound of black steel slicing the air rang out.

Isaac appeared in the blink of an eye, his sickles raised, blades gleaming with deadly intent.

He landed between Harper and the General.

The ground cracked under the force.

His sickles slashed upward, knocking Harper’s sharp claw aside.

Harper’s glowing eyes widened. "What...?"

"You said I’m next?"

His eyes burned like molten fire, focused solely on Harper.

"Here I am, the farm boy."