Chapter 111: Two Pieces of Scale
That guy, who defeated those Yakuza-like monkeys and their boss like he were some sort of a madman, suddenly appeared before us.
「Uwaa, this guy is bad news ...」
It was absolutely obvious at a glance that we're no match for this guy.
It would have passed off as a rhinoceros but the problem lay in its SIZE. Most of its features bore resemblance to the big animal but with a height and width a dozen times the I once saw in the zoo. What’s more, it’s a dozen times bigger than that delicious Great Boar.
I might be able to offer some sort of resistance if I were using a variety of my curses ... But I couldn’t imagine myself winning against this guy, it was simply gargantuan, and we're unfortunately weak in the face of such a powerful opponent like this.
「BURURU!」
This giant Rhino seemed to be the same type as that Great Boar. It gave off this appearance of the guy who would charge toward us on sight. Or should I say that this guy had been prepared to charge at us, I mean look, he’s already scraping the ground with one of the forelimbs!
「GUGAGA.」
「We can't, Rem. Let's focus on dodging that charge.」
I felt like thanking Rem for her show of loyalty by standing in front of me to shield me from that Rhino but alas, there was nothing to gain here even if Rem shielded me from the incoming assault. In the end, she would end up as a useless sacrifice.
The most we could do right now was change the trajectory of the rushing great boar. And, bear in mind, this Rhino's was double the size of that great boar.
Having said that, dodging to both sides was almost impossible, running away and showing our back against a charging enemy was even more idiotic than the first idea. Since we couldn't escape to the side or retreat ... Our choice was to escape from above.
Fortunately, there was a splendid, towering tree above us lending us its thick, overgrown, verdant branches as a shelter. Thus, we escaped above with my blackhair and Arachne Rem's thread, carrying Rem the 1st along with us. I reckoned this giant tree should be strong enough to withstand one charge of that Rhino.
After that―― Welp, let's think about that after we're out of the first danger!
「Come at us!」
「BURU, BUGOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
Thus, the giant Rhino rushed at us with an intensity that rivaled a dump truck. Yup, it was terrifying indeed, moreover, it's fast. This giant rhino was basically rushing toward us at top speed.
Oh crap, I might not make it in time. That huge horn might pierce my body in mid-air.
「UWAAAA, GO! BLACKHAIR BIIIIND!」
I, who got a goosebump imagining the worst possible future, threw blackhair's rope with all my might.
GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
My body was swaying like leaves in the midst of a storm, at the same time that roar felt like it ripped my eardrums apart.
Ah, is this the end of me. Or maybe, I've already died?
「UWAAAA! What the―― Ouch!?」
My entire body was attacked by a powerful shock after I experienced a brief floating moment. The dull pain was running through my entire body ... but I was still alive for now.
Should I say that I didn't even suffer from major injuries? I, who was feeling grateful for my luck, then propped up my body with an unsteady gait.
In hindsight, I surmised that I couldn’t only receive such minor damage if I were to be really struck by that giant rhino’s charge from the front.
But my doubt was resolved immediately.
「Wha-Wha-What the....... Hell is that?」
THAT thing was huge. It was even bigger than that dump truck-like Rhino. It was of a different class. As a demon, no, it was of a completely different level compared to the demon.
I was deeply moved to the point of forgetting my own fear in seeing THAT thing’s grandioseness and the overwhelming burly and powerful air around it. The reason being, THAT was the very embodiment of 『Strongest』 being in my imagination.
「... Dragon」
Ominous crimson scales, a long and flexible tail, a pair of long horns that growing from either side of its head, and lastly flame spark that spewed from its mouth every now and then.
Fire Drake・Salamander.
There was no other name befitting its appearance both in games and anime, it had the figure of fire breathing dragon with a pair of wings.
「W-WOOOOOOOOOW....」
Its figure bore too much resemblance to salamander but this another world just showed me a genuine wild existence through and through right in front of me.
It seemed like that Salamander nose-dived and captured that rhino when it was in the middle of rushing toward me. And I, a frail and insignificant human being, was blasted away by the aftermath of the collision of the two titans.
With crackling sounds, a bright purple electric discharge appeared on the surface of the T-Rex’s black scales. This electric discharge radiated even brighter from the area around it's back all the way to its tail, it's as if it was gathering the electrical power in its entire body.
[TL : Godzilla's breath?]
The next instant, dazzling lightning fired from the T-Rex’s mouth.
「WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
Thus, the giant monster's breath attack exploded in my vicinity for the second time today. My back went flying and hit a tree when the shockwave reached me.
「T-That's hurt, ah, UWAAAAAAAAAAA!」
I who tried to stand up was once again pulled back and crawled on the ground instead.
The T-Rex that had just fired its breath attack was rushing toward the Salamander with a loud roar. They said that the T-Rex’s maximum running speed was 50 km/hrs, but that thing's velocity was clearly more than 100 km/hrs.
The moment I thought that I was going to be trampled to death, it was suddenly jumped high above me. It landed right at the place where the Salamander had slaughtered the poor Rhino, causing a small scale earthquake.
The roars of the dragon and the dinosaur overlapped.
Upon a closer look, the Salamander retreated to dodge the T-Rex's lightning breath, leaving behind the Rhino's corpse. The T-Rex used that chance to snatch the Rhino's corpse.
Salamander's wrathful roar erupted seeing the T-Rex snatch its prey.
「UWAAA! STOP, STOOOOP!」
My insignificant cry couldn't reach the two giant monsters who were fighting a deadly battle to claim the Rhino's corpse.
I couldn't do anything but crouch in my hiding place and wait for the storm to pass.
I simply didn't care about what happened later. All I could feel was the tremor, and the thunderous war cry of the two giant monsters.
A while later, I noticed that the thunderous sound caused by the kaijuu-level battle was getting farther and farther.
[TL : Kaijuu ; giant monster like godzilla]
「Ha, Hahaha .... I'm ... Still alive!!!」
I had stopped counting by now and once again rejoiced in the fact that I’d survived.
Almost all the trees in my surrounding had been mowed down due to the kaijuu battle. The fact that I saw that battle up close and survived felt like a miracle.
Upon a closer look, I saw a huge trail toward one direction as if telling me the direction that those two kaijuu went in. When I strained my ears, I could hear a dragon roar-like sound being carried away by wind.
「Rem, Arachne, thank god both of you are safe.」
「GAGA!」
「KISHA!」
When I raised my face, I saw both Rem and Arachne above me as if protecting me from the debris. Their show of loyalty really touched my heart. Thanks, Rems. You girls bravely stood your ground to protect me despite facing against that nonsensical level battle.
Thus, all of us miraculously survived that storm.
Nevertheless, having witnessed a non-standard monsters battle ... I once again revised my evaluation about the other world monster. As expected, the likes of Gomas, Dogs and Monkeys were no more than small fries, there were far more terrifying monsters.
「Oh God, please do not make those kaijuu the boss of this area...」
I started to get extremely worried.
However, a good thing did happen to me.
「O-OOOH, The-These are the... Salamander's and T-Rex's scales!!!」
Because both of them were of the same rank, it was natural that their tough scales peeled off during the battle. I wondered how many crimson and jet black scales I could find in the vicinity. Though you couldn’t say that the splintered scales were beautiful, they were still precious materials for me.
『Firedrake's Scale』:Splinter of Firedrake's scale. Despite being a young individual at the beginning of its adult age, these scales were tough and fireproof.
『Giant Earth Dragon's Scale』:Splinter of Giant Earth Dragon's Black Scale. Despite being a young individual at the beginning of its adult age, these scales were tough and lightning resistant.
This was what my 『Intuition Pharmacy』 told me when I compared the two scales.
「Those monsters were ... Young ones?」
Thus, I trembled in fear imagining the future growth of those two young kaijuu.