Chapter 117: Containment spell
After swallowing the small red parasite, the enormous King-Level Brown Serpent remained motionless for only a few seconds.
Veins pulsed beneath its scales.
Other small reddish organisms crawled across the ground, abandoning the corpses of the slain creatures and returning to their creator.
She absorbed them one after another.
Her scarlet eyes overflowed with hatred.
But...
To my complete astonishment...
Her face seemed to blush.
It was an expression utterly incompatible with such a monstrosity.
She looked like a teenage girl embarrassed by her first crush.
"..."
My eyes widened slightly.
This species truly is a bunch of depraved perverts!
Even while fighting... she still displays such filthy behavior.
Before I could analyze it any further...
BOOOOOOM!
The serpent exploded forward.
The entire ground shook violently.
Its gigantic body sliced through the air at an absurd speed.
My heart raced.
Too fast!
Even with my reflexes...
I could barely keep up with her movements.
Only the markers provided by the Biochip allowed me to predict her trajectory.
Without hesitation, I extended both hands.
For the first time since arriving in this world...
I cast my defensive spell.
—Light Shield.
Three golden magic circles appeared before me.
Then...
They transformed into enormous shields of light.
Each bore the face of a bull engraved upon its surface.
They began to slowly revolve around my body.
An intense golden radiance illuminated the entire cavern.
The heat they radiated was so intense that thin columns of steam began rising from the damp stones nearby.
Then...
The serpent attacked.
BAAAANG!
Her tail struck one of the shields directly.
The impact was monstrous.
My body was hurled dozens of meters backward.
I rolled violently across the ground.
My armor scraped against the stone.
Sparks flew.
Only after several rolls did I manage to dig my feet into the ground.
I came to a stop, still standing.
Breathing heavily.
I looked at my shield.
It was completely intact, but deep down I knew.
That was only the force of her tail...
If that blow had landed directly on my armor...
It would have been completely crushed.
While I regained my balance...
The enormous serpent opened her mouth.
Rows of venomous fangs came into view.
The putrid odor escaping from within resembled completely rotten fish.
She lunged straight at Probel.
—My Lord!
The two remaining Knights rushed forward.
The mysterious figure in the gray robe also charged.
But Probel was already staring death in the face.
—Hah!
—Nice try!
He roared.
His vital energy erupted completely.
His sword became almost invisible.
I saw only a metallic flash.
The blade struck the side of the serpent’s head with tremendous force.
Clang!
Nothing.
Only a tiny white scratch appeared across her scales.
My stomach sank.
It didn’t even break through her defenses...
Using the momentum of his own attack...
Probel spun his body.
He escaped the bite by mere inches.
The enormous fangs snapped shut on empty air.
—Protect my lord!
The two Knights charged forward without hesitation.
The serpent’s response was immediate.
She opened her mouth again.
She swallowed both of them whole.
She didn’t even chew.
I watched in silence.
Two Knights...
Vanished in a single motion.
Around us...
The few remaining acolytes finally unleashed another wave of spells.
"Fireball!"
"Poison Arrow!"
Several spells streaked across the battlefield.
A green arrow.
A yellow fireball.
Both struck the serpent’s body.
BOOM!
For the second time...
The creature actually suffered damage.
Two large burn wounds appeared between her scales.
She let out a deafening roar.
Her tail lashed through the air.
CRAAASH!
Not everyone managed to dodge.
I watched two acolytes take the blow head-on.
Their bodies simply exploded against the ground.
They became unrecognizable masses of flesh and blood.
"..."
Lurdot’s eyes widened.
"Lox!"
"Trax!"
His voice came out completely hoarse.
I saw tears mixing with sweat.
Another man spoke quickly.
—We need to retreat!
It was the hooded figure again.
But Lurdot simply shook his head.
—No!
—That damned snake killed my friends!
He took a deep breath.
Then he knelt down.
He placed both hands upon the ground.
A surge of green energy erupted around him.
The forest...
Even dead...
Still answered his call.
Countless roots violently burst through the ground.
BOOOOOM!
They completely wrapped around the enormous serpent’s body.
Vegetal arms.
Living chains.
Roots as thick as tree trunks.
Everything tightened at once.
The serpent roared.
She tried to move.
She couldn’t.
I watched in amazement.
What an incredible restraining spell...
Lurdot panted heavily.
—She won’t be able to move for approximately thirty seconds.
His face had already turned completely red.
—Do something... Now!
—ATTACK!
Probel raised his sword once again.
At the same time...
The mysterious figure finally removed his cloak completely.
Beneath the fabric...
A massive black werewolf was revealed.
Dark fur.
Golden eyes.
Razor-sharp fangs.
He immediately began chanting a spell.
Meanwhile...
The remaining mutant creatures went completely berserk.
They charged desperately to defend their queen.
I smiled.
This was exactly the moment I had been waiting for.
I loaded another explosive crystal.
The mechanical launcher rotated automatically.
Locking the next projectile into place.
I pulled the trigger.
BANG!
BOOM!
Another shot.
BANG!
BOOOOM!
Another.
BANG!
BOOOOOM!
Successive explosions struck the serpent directly in the face.
As I fired...
I shouted for everyone to hear.
—The eyes!
—The eyes are its most vulnerable point!
—They’re far more fragile than the heart!
In reality...
I had another reason.
Don’t destroy the brain completely.
I still need the spiritual core.
That creature...
Will be a magnificent addition to my future Golem army.
The explosions blasted enormous craters into the serpent’s head.
Dark blood splattered throughout the cavern.
She howled continuously.
Lurdot’s roots began to smoke.
They were reaching their limit.
—Quick!
Lurdot practically shouted.
—I can’t hold her much longer!
I took a deep breath.
I looked at the launcher.
There was still one crystal left.
My largest explosive crystal.
Much larger than all the previous ones.
Its surface radiated an intense crimson glow.
I slowly chambered it.
The metallic mechanism locked into place.
My muscles tensed.
I fixed my aim on the serpent’s partially destroyed head.
Now.
BAAAANG!
The enormous crystal shot out of the barrel like a meteor.
The next instant...
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The explosion made the entire cavern tremble.
A gigantic pillar of fire completely engulfed the serpent’s head.
The flames rose all the way to the ceiling.
The creature began thrashing violently.
Her head looked like a gigantic living torch.
The vegetal roots groaned.
They were on the verge of snapping.
I breathed heavily.
I felt an almost childish satisfaction watching that monstrosity finally suffer.
—Take a breath...
—She’s already lost a great deal of her defense.
—Now!
—Now is the time to kill her!
At that moment...
The werewolf completed his incantation.
His deep voice echoed throughout the cavern.
—The Fury of an Alpha awakens!
—I see... and hear... nothing but violence!
—Bloodline of my ancestors...
—Transform into poisonous blood!
—And grant me the power to slay the King-Level Brown Serpent!
The moment he finished...
He merely placed his hand lightly upon Probel’s sword.
Ssshhh...
A thick layer of blood began completely enveloping the blade.
It grew.
Expanded.
Crystallized.
Within a few seconds...
The sword had nearly doubled in size.
It had transformed into a gigantic crimson blade.
My eyes lit up.
The Biochip immediately began an analysis.
[Analysis complete.]
[Weapon temporarily equivalent to a low-level Magic Artifact.]
An extremely efficient enchantment technique.
It was obvious that Probel and that werewolf had fought together for a very long time.
Without wasting a single second...
The Viscount charged.
His sword came down with all its might.
PUUUUCHI!!
This time...
The blade cut through.
A gigantic gash opened across the serpent’s neck.
Nearly half a meter deep.
The bone was already visible.
Blood gushed out like a waterfall.
The serpent let out an agonized roar.
Then...
She sniffled.
—Sniff...
Her feminine voice was filled with sorrow.
—What did this lady ever do...?
—I only... loved too much.
—Do you really want to kill me...
—For loving too much?
For a few seconds, I was completely speechless.
This creature...
Is completely unhinged.
Before anyone could respond...
She violently thrust her head forward.
BAAAANG!!
Probel was sent flying like a rag doll.
His armor caved in completely at the chest.
The crimson sword slipped from his hands.
It plunged vertically into the ground.
Soon after...
Crack...
Crack...
The blood coating began to fracture.
A few seconds later...
Even the steel sword itself shattered into hundreds of fragments.
I watched the scene carefully.
So there is a limit...
The enchantment increases its power tremendously...
But destroys the weapon in the process.
I was still analyzing the situation when I heard Lurdot’s desperate voice.
His face was completely red.
Veins bulged across his forehead.
—I...
—can’t...
—hold her...
—any longer!
....
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