69 A Minor Victory?

The magus never experienced anything like that in his entire life. He was respected by his peers and the commoners alike, treated well anywhere he went and could enjoy a leisure life without any worry. Sometimes, he had to participate in some operations for the Synnada Empire, but it never was very dangerous for him. Yes, people died around him multiple time, but the number of things that could pierce his magic shields was low. And when he saw the meager protection stuck in the throat of that giant monsters crumbling, getting shred to pieces, his mind blanked out.

After each second that passed, the serpent was opening and closing his maw more furiously than ever. Even from the outside, it was visible that the rocks won't stand a chance against the mighty creature, and that the magus needed to escape right now. But to their surprise, besides instinctively regaining his balance the powerful man was not doing anything. But after that small period of confusion, the warriors finally began to act.

The commander that was the closest took his precious saber in his two hands and tried to chop down the body of the snake. But to his dismay, his weapon didn't even manage to cut a single scale from the monster. Slashing one more time, two more times, again and again, what could cut open the durable skeleton of a Skorpus was ineffective. Sensing that the threat was too big for them, he stood back and shouted at the magus.

"GET OUT! NOW! FLY YOU FOOL!" That insult, in the end, broke the stupor the magus was in, and he realized that it was only a snake in the end. Laughing hysterically, he cursed his own weakness. "[Levitate]" All magus from every nation trained that spell because it was far too valuable. Being able to avoid the constraints of the environment, being capable of scouting large areas more easily was the main reason magus were so respected. Thanks to this single spell, the might of a magus was decoupled, if they had nothing to shoot him down.

And that was the case, what could a snake do against a flying human? Even if they still didn't know how big the monster was, it was certain that it won't be able to touch him fifty meters above the ground. A few seconds after casting that spell, he saw the protection that saved his life finally crumbling after the assault of the powerful teeth of the creature. Seeing their only hope surviving, the rest of the warriors shouted and redoubled of efforts to take down the giant snake.

But like their commandant, sabers were useless, and even the mithril arrows were only stuck on the cracks between two scales, not really damaging the monster. Because of this, they had to aim at unprotected areas, meaning the eyes and the mouth. But both were still a few meters above the warriors, inaccessible since the creature was staring at the magus. Even if he escaped, the powerful mage was still feeling that he wasn't out of the danger yet, even when he was visually untouchable.

"[Burning Hand]" Because they were in the desert, it was stupid to use any magic related to either ice or water, due to their reduced effectiveness. And even if most of the monster around here were more resistant to heat, there was always a point where the temperature was too high. Throwing a line of burning fire at the head of the creature, the magus saw it closed its eyes and maw while lowering its head. The spell barely scratched the scales of the snake, only leaving a darkened area on top of its neck.

The residuals of [Burning Hand] ended up hitting one set of wooden pikes in the outskirts of the base, not injuring any humans. After seeing this, the magus remembered that he still had allies that won't be pleased if they were hit by one of his deadly spells. In the hurry, he actually forgot about that while casting the hot fire.

As for the warriors all around the battle, they were looking at the magus with adoration in their eyes. Past the first sneak attack, the magus managed to hurt the creature and make it lower its head, a great victory. For them, they had no trouble imagining that the magus will beat the creature so hard that it won't be able to escape or be able, but with great injuries. On the other hand, the commandant had a far graver face, because he truly saw what happened and it scared him. Turning around, he was managing the new emplacement of the magic bombs, in case his worries were made real.

The handsome mage was preparing another wave of spells when he saw the monster straightening its spine and looking at him in the eyes. The two reptilians and alien iris were staring right into the soul of the human, slightly scaring him. From the beginning, the beast didn't act like one, but more like an intelligent animal playing with its prey. But still comforted by the idea of his own safety, the magus didn't notice the maw of the snake moving in a weird manner.

SPOO

"AAAAAH!" The cry of the injured magus resonated in the silent base, dumbfounding the warriors. Everything happened so fast that nearly no one noticed the small rock that was spat by the snake right into the shoulder of the magus. With horror, the latter realized that his very own spell that saved his life was now acting against him. A mere monster, managed to think about using a projectile to attack a flying target? The more he thought about that, the more he was shocked and scared.

SPOO SPOO SPOO

Retaining his screams of pain, the magus was hit one additional time in the leg. Thankfully, the monster wasn't able to throw those stones at a speed so high he couldn't avoid any. But for the moment, the human had no idea how much reserve the giant creature had in its possession, but remembering the important earth shield he created, the man shuddered. Regaining his spirit, he casted another shield to protect himself. "[Wind Shield]"

SPOOPOPOPOPOPOPO

A true burst of stones was systematically thrown at the flying man, nearly piercing the strong winds protecting him. But he held his ground, repulsing the stones in multiple directions, without caring about collateral damages. On the hot sand of the desert, the warriors of the Synnada Empire had to suddenly take cover to block the heavy projectiles falling from the sky. A few were unlucky enough to receive some on their heads, knocking them down for good.

After confirmation, they were just unconscious, not dead, letting the commandant breathe a bit. He had absolute trust in the promising magus and knew that only a few were above him, even with his relatively young age. So if he wasn't able to even injured the beast, only one man could really kill it, and it was the Archmage. Even if they managed to make that thing retreat, he was already convinced to ask for his help, and ready to plead his case even in front of the Empress. She wasn't as inflexible than her late father and was striving to improve the empire.

But for the moment, he wasn't thinking much about politics and imperial favors. Now, they had to use the magic bombs whether they liked it or not. Otherwise, the moment the magus died or was forced to flee, the rest of them will be condemned in a gruesome and painful end. They only had three magic bombs, with one having the infamous [Arc Lightning], responsible for turning battle between warriors to battle between mages.

Since the giant beast was neglecting them and only concentrating on the flying man, they used that opportunity to get closer and pierced at least one scale. Three of the strongest fighters of this camp, including the commandant were repeatedly hitting the same point, using all their strength in the maneuver. A few dozens of seconds later, due to the very immobile snake that greatly helped them, a scale was finally slightly torn, letting the more tender flesh behind it in the open.

That small hole was compared to the snake, but it was still at least an opening of 10 centimeters. In it, they managed to stick the magical bomb filled with the electric spell and activated its internal countdown. Retreating with great haste, the entire base was looking earnestly at this small device, while wailing about the now disheveled state of the magus.

From his prestigious golden clothes and his impeccable haircut, nothing remained. Even with his [Wind Shield] standing between him and the snake, the magus still suffered greatly under the constant barrage of projectiles. The worst part was the fact that he couldn't even flee now, because if he lost control of his shield, the next stone will hit his head and condemned him to die. The snake was now very accurately only aiming at his face, and only the strong magic winds were diverting the deadly rocks toward the less important areas.

He was feeling that his stomach was leaking blood inside his own body, but he couldn't do anything about that. As for his own mana, he was feeling more and more depressed. Normally, he should have easily been able to both levitate in the air and protect himself, but he had to cast [Wind Shield] again and again since the snake was destroying it every three or so shots. He didn't even notice, like his enemy, that the warriors were running away from the monster.

ZZZZZZZZZZIP

The bomb finally unleashed its deadly magic, creating lightning arcs on the entire body of the snake. The giant creature was convulsing under the lethal spell, not even moving anymore. The previously tall pillar erupting from the depths of the desert slowly began to fall, prompting every human in that direction to flee in panic. The massive body of the beast crushed everything under it, tents, equipment, useless wooden pikes.

STOMP

The shock provoked a cloud of sand, perturbing the sight of the warriors nearby and making everyone cough. Soon after, another thing fell from the sky, albeit something far less big. Seeing this, the commandant dashed and managed to grab the now exhausted magus before he hit the ground. But now, the powerful magician was barely stronger than a kid, his entire body shaking.

Seeing the dangerous state of the magus, but at the same time, the immobilized beast, the commandant had to make a decision. Risk their lives to kill that monster, or flee while they could before it was awake again? Giving the broken shell that was the magus to his most trusted subordinate, the commandant approached carefully the giant snake, to see how it fared.

No one was approaching the immobile body until they were asked to, because they had seen how sturdy and durable its scales were. Even now, they would take some times to kill it, since its maw was closed and its eyes protected behind their eyelids. Slowly extending his hand to touch that bastard, the commandant suddenly felt a cold sensation gripping his heart. The same he felt when he first saw the two blades piercing the body of that fleeing soldier.

"We need to leave this place, now. EVERYONE, GET OUT! THAT'S AN ORDER! LEAVE EVERYTHING AND FOLLOW MY LEAD! I WANT TWO MEN FOR EACH INJURED SOLDIER! NOW GO!"

Searching the surroundings, he made sure that no one was left behind while he ordered to his aide to get the magus out of here as soon as possible. He also told him to ask the Empress the help of the Archmage, only leaving the shocked messenger with his relatively heavy package. A minute later, everyone had exited the forward base, and the trail of fleeing warriors was seen on top of one of the nearby dunes.

The commandant was still in his tent, writing on a paper the instructions to potential survivors of the patrols. He didn't hope anything, but if at least one man was alive, he had to warn him. Nailing the directive on one wooden stick, he put it in front of his tent. Right before finally leaving, he threw one last stare at the immobile snake, still affected by the powerful spell.

The moment he did this, he saw the two eyelids opening and the eyes of the snake staring at him, like an ominous threat. Not daring to wait any longer, the commandant fled in panic, only looking back when he was nearly out of the small valley. Seeing the snake that hadn't move yet, he sighed, thinking about the fact that they didn't have a lot of time anymore.