Thornelius looked up at Colby, tilting his head at the sudden new cheesy additions on his master’s shoulder.

  “Don’t worry, boy,” Colby said, patting his head. “They won’t bite.”

  Thornelius barked. And because Colby didn’t speak Thornwolf, he had no idea how to react to him. Maybe Thornelius was hungry? Given all the leaves he lost, that might’ve been the case.

  “He’s asking if they’re enough,” a gruff voice came from above.

  Colby looked up and found Farmer Hound.

  “Of course they are. It’s not the size that counts, it’s how you use it.”

  “Keep telling yourself that, cheese boy.”

  “I will,” Colby said, getting up from the sand and closing his Inventory.

  When he stood up, he realised that the blockade of Su-sheep had been cleared, sort of. Instead of blocking the stairs to safety, they were further down along the beach, closer to the See-Star pens.

  “Whatever,” Farmer Hound said. “I don’t need your stalling or whatever it is you wanted to do. Once the problems cleared, they can go back into the sea. You can go home, cheese boy.”

  There it was. An out.

  He could run and hide in his home like a good little boy. But could he do that? He said he would put down that Lobster Mobster, and by Gouda, he was going to keep his word.

  “Sure. Once I’m done with this.”

  Colby closed his eyes and honed in on his Core. This next cheese idea of his was simple.

  Materializing in his hand was a [Hard as Cheese] [Cheese Helmet], soft on the inside and hard on the outside. It wasn’t for him; it was for the bestest boy in the world. Colby placed the [Cheese Helmet] on Thornelius, protecting the precious Thornwolf.

  As for his body, a modified version of [Cheese Chestplate]. Attached to it were multiple [String Cheeses] that connected to a pair of [Cheese Gloves] over Colby’s hand.

  Congratulations! [Cheese Helmet] has reached Level 3!

  Congratulations! [Cheese Chestplate] has reached Level 2!

  Congratulations! [Cheese Gloves] has reached Level 4!

  “What are you doing?” Farmer Hound asked.

  “Saving energy,” Colby said.

  Materializing around his shoes was a pair of [Cheese Boots]. They, too, were modified. The soles of the boots were connected, extending outward into a very literal cheese-board.

  Congratulations! [Cheese Boots] has reached Level 6!

  “Ready, boy?” Colby asked, looking down at Thornelius.

  He barked, angling himself towards the cove. The Thornwolf shook himself, psyching himself up.

  Thornelius was scared. Colby could see that. He was scared, too. LeMonkeys were one thing, but that Lobster Mobster was a whole other ball game.

  “I’m sorry, boy,” Colby said. “Here’s an apology treat for making you do this.”

  Materializing in his hand were multiple leaf-covered balls of mozzarella. Colby tossed it into the air. Thornelius barked, leaping higher than his small stature expected and swallowing the delicious treat.

  Well, except for one.

  Thornelius turned around and walked over to Farmer Hound. He placed a treat on the sand, offering it to him.

  “What’s this?” he asked, glaring at the Thornwolf.

  The Thornwolf refused to tremble and instead returned to its position, awaiting Colby’s orders to dash off towards the cove.

  “Mozzarella covered in spinach,” Colby said. “And some saliva.”

  Farmer Hound grunted, picking up the green ball of cheese, turning it around in his hand.

  “Why?”

  “No idea. You can ask him later,” Colby said. “ Let’s go, boy!”

  Thornelius barked. His paws dug into the sand as he kicked off. The [String Cheese] became taut, and the Thornwolf pulled him along with the first platoon of [The Ricotta Army] resting on Colby’s shoulder forward.

  He bent his knees low and stuck his arms to the side, struggling to stay upright on the somehow bumpier ride compared to the cheese skates. The sounds of claw-fire grew louder as they drew closer to the cove.

  Brief flashes of white and red light erupted before dissipating. Pebbles and stones pinged across the sand. Splashes of water sprayed out of the entrance.

  But thankfully, no shelled bullets.

  Above the chaos, the Lobster Mobster’s screeches cut through the air, swallowing the Knights-in-training as they shouted warnings, calling out its next moves.

  Doubt started to creep into his mind.

  Did he have a plan?

  He actually did.

  Was it a stupid plan?

  Weren’t they always?

  Why was he doing this? To keep his word?

  That was just an excuse.

  Truthfully, he was worried about Laine. She wasn’t able to pierce through its shell. And if she couldn’t do it, there was zero doubt that Helena or Noelle could either.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  But could he pierce through its armour? Highly unlikely.

  Good thing, he didn’t have to. At least according to his idea—which may or may not be easier thought up than done.

  Thornelius pulled Colby into the cove, giving him a first-hand look at what the three girls had been up to.

  The Lobster Mobster was alive, though it was more lobster than mobster at this point. Its tailored suit was now a patchwork of loose tatters that barely clung to its red shell. The rest of the fabric was either burnt, soaked, and sliced into confetti or a combination of all three that decorated the now sophisticated-looking sand.

  The only thing that remained that solidified its Mobster origins was the fedora in between its eyestalks—and maybe the barreled claws.

  Foam spewed from its mouth as it levelled its claws at the girls.

  “Sis!” Helena yelled.

  “I know!”

  The blue-haired Knight-in-training stood in front of the group. She plunged her blue sword into the sand. Water gushed from its tip, soaking the ground around them. With her other hand, she raised a blue round shield.

  Water poured from its face. It surged upwards, wrapping the group in a bubble of flowing water.

  A split second later, twin shelled bullets fired out of the Lobster Mobster’s claws, their blast echoing off the cove walls.

  They spun end over end and struck the water bubble head-on.

  The barrier shuddered. Waves rippled across its surface as the water churned, fighting to push the bullets aside.

  The bubble was forced back, boots scraping through wet sand. Then the bullets curved.

  They flowed around the bubble, caught in its current, and smashed into the rocky wall behind them.

  The bubble collapsed, splashing onto the sand below.

  Noelle panted, leaning on the sword she had driven into the ground. A dark trail of wet sand marked where she’d been shoved back from her original spot.

  Elaine and Helena [Dashed] forward, their swords igniting with Light and Fire respectively. Splitting to the sides, they sprang onto the monster’s thick barreled claw, using it as a stepping stone.

  As they launched off, their paths crossed mid-air. They swung their blades, striking down in a perfectly timed ‘X’ against the centre of the creature’s shelled armour.

  Light and fire flared out.

  When the glow faded, there was barely even a scratch.

  The Lobster Mobster screeched. Its massive claws whipped through the air, swiping at the two pests as they fell.

  Both girls twisted mid-air and kicked off the claws. They slammed back to the beach, boots skidding. Their swords dug into the sand, blades carving a long furrow as they were dragged backwards. Sand piled up behind their heels until they finally ground to a halt.

  If only she could’ve stopped sooner.

  She had landed inches in front of Thornelius.

  The Thornwolf veered out of the way, dodging Elaine. The same couldn’t be said about Colby. He still hadn’t figured out how to steer the cheese-board, much less stop.

  Confused about the sudden appearance of a Thornwolf covered in cheese, Elaine whipped her head around. When she spotted Colby, her face went from confused to annoyed, then angry, in an instant.

  Just before Colby crashed into her, Elaine sliced the [String Cheese] connecting him to Thornelius. Then she tackled him.

  Once again, the wind was knocked out of him.

  They tumbled across the sand, and Elaine threw herself over him as they rolled. As the world spun around him and [The Ricotta Army] hung on for dear life, Colby realised something.

  The Lobster Mobster had noticed his sudden arrival, too and had shot at him.

  Even worse, he was way out of his depth. And now he was dragging Elaine and the others down with him—much more than he had expected.

  When they finally came to a stop, she pushed him down.

  A sudden shower of sand rained over them.

  She shielded him with her much larger body until the shower ended.

  He blinked, staring up at the ceiling as his head spun.

  Shelled bullets were wedged along the rock walls of the cove. But now? They peppered the sand.

  Noelle hadn’t been deflecting the bullets just for fun. Apart from ensuring stray bullets never left the confines of the cove, it was to keep the battlefield clear, leaving them plenty of room to move about.

  Before he could even steady himself, Colby found himself slung over Elaine’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

  The world continued to spin around him. Though the world was pretty blue and wet now. They were inside another one of Noelle’s bubbles. And so was Thornelius.

  “Colby! What are you doing here!” Elaine roared, throwing him down. “I told you to go home.”

  “I’m here to help.”

  “What? You think because you defeated me in a duel, you’re suddenly better than me?” Helena snapped.

  “It’s not that.”

  “Then what!” Elaine screamed. “Because I’m bigger than you? Because you think you can start fighting monsters after the Thornwolves?”

  “No, Laine,” Colby muttered.

  “Then what!”

  “I was worried about you, okay!”

  Her face softened as she looked down at him.

  “I just thought that if I could help, then maybe you wouldn’t get hurt that much.”

  She sighed, then her face scrunched up in anger before she sighed again, “The thought is nice, Colbs. But we have this under control.”

  “It doesn’t look like it. That thing is huge. And you can’t even scratch it.”

  “We’re not trying to cut it, peasant,” Helena spat. “We’re going to dry him out!”

  “With swords? Can’t Helena throw a bunch of fire at it?”

  “She’ll run out of Mana before that happens. We need to take this slow.”

  “What if I have a faster way?”

  “Like?”

  “Clogging up its claws. That way, the next time it tries to shoot, it’ll explode or something.”

  “Did you really think we didn’t think of that, peasant?”

  “Is that a trick question?”

  “Colbs, not now. But if we could, we would. The only thing we have access to is sand, which, annoyingly, is what it uses to reload.”

  “Oh. Well, there goes my [Cheese Pouch] full of sand idea. Good thing I have a backup plan.”

  “Guys,” Noelle interrupted. “I can’t keep up [Whirlpool Sphere] much longer.”

  “Sorry. When it drops, grab this idiot and Thornelius and get out of here!” Elaine ordered.

  “No, Laine. I’m serious! I can help.”

  “Dropping!”

  “Go!” Elaine yelled.

  “Thornelius!”

  The flowing bubble collapsed with a splash, water slamming onto the sand below. Noelle chucked her shield and sword into her Inventory before lunging for Colby.

  Only to be intercepted by a charging Thornwolf.

  Thornelius tackled Noelle. Although tired, the blue-haired noble was still able to catch the small wolf, clutching him tight to her chest. She reached out to grab Colby—

  “Watch out!” Elaine yelled.

  The Lobster Mobster had its claws aimed at them. Elaine grabbed him while Helena grabbed her sister and the bestest boy in the whole entire world. They dove out of the way of the twin-shelled bullets, crashing into the sand.

  Elaine threw herself over Colby, bracing for a sandy shower. Except, there wasn’t one.

  Only an ear-piercing scream.

  The Lobster Mobster was desperately using its own claws to whack itself.

  “Is that…” Elaine squinted. “Cheese?”

  Ginger-cheese men scaled up the monster, climbing towards its claws.

  Colby looked back at his shoulders. Only a single, solitary soldier remained. It saluted him before jumping off onto the soft sand, sprinting towards its comrades to slay the foul beast.

  [The Ricotta Army] was smarter than they looked. They must’ve fallen off during all of that tumbling, and even without orders, they knew to execute the backup plan.

  “What else are you going to clog its claws up with, Laine?” Colby said. “And in case it doesn’t work out, we can always do your drying plan too.”

  Congratulations! [Flaming Saganaki] has reached Level 6!

  A ball of [Flaming Saganaki] shot out of his palm, clinging to the Lobster Mobster’s shell. Flames licked at its armor causing the mobster to shriek. It thrashed even wilder, struggling to beat the fire out.