183 - - blue snake hunting

Without a sound, the black mud rises.

In an instant, it swelled up like a big bubble, and the next moment, it popped easily, revealing something from the depths of the mud.

It was thick and long, like a log.

But its color is a beautiful blue.

It was a huge snake that attacked us from the swamp.

The monster arced slightly and headed straight for its prey at a tremendous speed.

More than ten steps disappeared in a single blink of an eye.

The serpent opens its jaws in mid-air, sloughing off the mud.

The reddish lumen of the snake's mouth is lined with a row of sharp, gaping fangs.

The part of the snake that emerged from the mud alone was probably as long as several adults.

With a girth thick enough to hold a man, it could easily swallow a human being in one gulp.

The size of the opponent, however, is not so easy to deal with.

Sorrugum, with his axe and spear at the ready, let out a short exhalation, and then stepped strongly with his feet ankle-deep in the mud.

The monster crashes mercilessly into his shoulder.

A sound like punching a rock was heard, and black mud was scattered all around him.

But that was all.

The giant of the Purple-Eyed Tribe had almost perfectly blocked the body blow of a snake several times his own size.

Immediately, the second-in-command, his two-handed spear at the ready, stepped forward.

He swung the tip of his spear with all his might toward the head of the blue serpent, which was still biting the shoulder of the sorrugum.

The monster jerked slightly as the blow was well aimed at its eye area, and its body covered with blue scales undulated.

A moment later, the tip of the serpent's tail emerged from the mud.

Just as before, the tip of the serpent's tail reached out to the purple-eyed woman with blinding speed.

However, the vice captain seemed to have foreseen this movement.

The tip of the ear that had been crawling on the ground jumped up and deflected the blow of the tail as if to scoop it up.

But we could not control the difference in weight.

Unable to kill the momentum, we take a few steps backward with a dull thud.

It seems that her role was enough to get the tail's attention.

The next moment, Sorrugum, whose shoulder had been almost swallowed halfway, swings his axe spear down on the snake's head with only one arm.

--

The blade of the axe-spear, clothed in a purple current, strikes the monster in the side of the head.

Although it is a martial arts skill of the lower branches, it seems to have been powerful enough.

Not missing a moment when the snake's bite loosens, Sorrugum twists his body forcibly to create a gap.

Then he thrust his axe-spear, which he had re-gripped with both hands, out without a moment's pause.

--

The serpent shuddered as a large amount of electricity poured into its unprotected mouth.

At the same time, smoke billowed from its eyes and nostrils.

After thrashing its body several times, the snake slumped down into the sea of mud.

Amidst the peculiar smell of burning air, Sorrugum silently pulls his axe spear out of the snake's cavity, which has stopped moving.

The second-in-command rushes to the scene, grabs the head of the snake as it sinks into the swamp, and pulls it up.

The girls who had been observing the battle let out a bouncy sound as they watched the brilliant conclusion of the less than a minute-long battle.

"Wow, you got him in no time!"

"Is that a snake? That's a snake...it's a lot more gnarly than I thought it would be!

"Surprisingly quick for that size."

"Yes, he seems to be a tough opponent. I'm looking forward to it.

It is the second day since we arrived at the campsite in the haunted swamp.

Thor and his friends had accompanied Sorrugum on his hunt for the blue-striped serpent.

Actually, they were quite reluctant to take Moo with them at first.

However, after Moo had recently learned to cling to his thighs and beg, they managed to get him to agree to go with them.

He may have a stern appearance, but he seems to have a soft spot for children.

I was allowed to observe the battle of the Thundering Clan, and the way they fought was what can only be described as dynamic.

The fighting spirit needed to unleash a martial art is increased in the body when an attack is made or given.

Therefore, evasive maneuvers are not considered very important.

The theory is that the more they are hit, the more anger builds up, and the more they can hit back harder.

The way of fighting in sorrugum seems to be the exact application of this theory.

But in that case, of course--.

"Are you all right, Commander? You were bitten hard, weren't you?"

As Sola pointed out, Sorrugum's shoulder was badly gouged by the snake bite, and his entire left arm was turning red.

However, this seems to be an unfounded fear.

O Lord of the tree of life! Shed tears of compassion on our wounded children.

A man standing a short distance away from Thor and the others raised a priestly staff with a rain crystal stone on it, and the flesh on Sorrugum's shoulder rose up, closing the wound by itself.

The man's wound, which was meant to increase his fighting spirit, was to be treated by the water wielder.

Sorrugum, who had lost all trace of his wounds, remained silent and looked at Thor and the others.

He had set an example.

"All right, let's give it a try. Moe, the usual.

"Rairai!"

The child, who had activated the purple spikes and the lightning needle that strengthened his senses in succession, used the electric search to quickly find the monster's location.

"Tor-chan, there it is!"

"Okay. You got it, Sora.

"Yes, you're in good hands!"

Thor nodded his head lightly to the girl who responded in her usual cheerful manner.

When he glanced at her, Yuril gave him a small smile.

It seems we are all ready for this.

Thor relaxes, lowers his sword, and steps boldly to the edge of the depths.

The mud rises again, and a blue serpent leaps out from the place Moe had pointed out.

The monster, which should have attacked Thor as he stood there defenseless, stopped in mid-air as if it had hit an invisible wall just before.

--

Only the head was still, but the body, which had gained momentum, did not stop.

With a creaking sound, the body part of the monster's head was being crushed by the body part of the monster's head.

And then....

"Slide, ice!

With a dignified voice, the entire surface of the swamp is frozen in place with a crisp sound.

The lower half of the serpent, which had remained in the mud, is caught in it.

It seems that Yuril had easily figured out that the reason the second-in-command had gone to the trouble of interfering in the battle just now was to attract the tail's attention.

The countermeasure had a surprising effect.

The snake's body was also stretched out with an unpleasant sound, probably due to the unexpected force exerted on it by being immobilized in ice.

Then, Sora performed a new magic move--.

The lower half of the body, which has been ordered to reverse 90% of its power, begins to return to its original position.

The monster, its head pinned in the air, is helplessly separated from the body by its own power.

The thick sound of flesh ripping apart echoes across the mud.

However, even with the lower half of its body halfway gone, the serpent had not yet died out.

It was indeed a monster that had been born in the thick miasma.

With its fangs bared and its mouth wide open, the serpent turns its inorganic eyes on us.

Thor quietly lifts his sword to the monster's blue scaled face.

The reason why the second-in-command did not attempt a spear thrust is probably because of the slipping scales.

But Thor showed no sign of fear and swung his blade headlong.

A few seconds later, the monster's body begins to move.

The snake is about to strike at Thor, but the next moment, its head snaps open.

With a single swing, the blue-striped serpent's face is cut in two, and it sinks into the mud with all its strength.

Sorrugum and the others, who had been shown a battle of a different dimension from their own, muttered quietly.

"Is that the man who almost became the hero of Bossalia?"

"It's amazing. What happened to ......?"

"Mm. I knew I couldn't let it go."

Thor and his friends spent the whole day hunting snakes.