Chapter 101
101. Snake Hunt
Given how enormous the bows and arrows were, the sound of the incoming arrows was extraordinary as well.
-Fwoosh!
Sounds that could only come from large Dark Elf ballistas rang out here and there, followed by a rain of arrows.
Despite their enormous size, the arrows flew no slower than ordinary ones—in fact, they seemed even faster.
Did having four arms let them fire their bows with greater force? Either way, arrows fired with elven archery couldn't be dodged.
-Boom!
I activated Mana Detection and caught an incoming arrow on my shield. The sound of the impact was deafening, too.
And the force—fuck, this is even stronger than I thought.
Even with my stats and Mana Reinforcement, it was difficult to block properly, so the others were out of the question.
“Khhak!”
“Kheok!”
Those who failed to block the arrows properly had their bodies pierced and crumpled to the ground.
Nor was that all. Even those struck in nonfatal places staggered and collapsed immediately afterward.
As expected, the arrows themselves definitely had some additional effect. Did getting hit once incapacitate you instantly?
“Fuck, seriously.”
To find the reverse scale, it looked like we'd have to deal with those giants somehow first.
I closed the distance to the giant that had shot at me and swung my sword hard, cutting through its leg.
They were so huge that one hit wasn't enough except under extraordinary circumstances. Regardless of their defense, I had to slash them twice.
-Shhk!
While I was cutting one down, the other giants nocked another arrow—and the sword-wielding giants charged in.
“Hup!”
A few exceptionally strong fighters, including Mercedes, naturally brought down the giants in turn, but they were still a minority.
Most of us were helpless against the giants pressing in with their massive bodies while wildly firing arrows that never missed and always killed.
On top of that, the snake-dragon's body writhed and thrashed, while black branch attacks from the early phase rained down intermittently.
Fuck, I never thought I'd have to go through this shit again here.
I pulled a pile of iron balls from my inventory and scattered them at the warped elf giants.
Their attack power was strong, but their defense was pathetic, so even these casually thrown iron balls should be enough to kill them.
—or so I thought, but these shameless bastards also had the characteristically nimble movements of elves.
-Whoosh! Whoosh!
“Fuck, they dodged that?”
How were they so quick with those huge bodies? They lightly dodged the iron balls despite their simple trajectories.
Some of the weapons they carried were shields, too, so if they couldn't dodge, they even blocked the balls outright.
With four arms, they could use shields despite being archers. Their bodies were absurdly efficient.
“How do you find the elves I created myself, foolish human?”
As I cursed and cut down another giant, telepathy rang out in my head.
It was the voice of the High Elf King. Come to think of it, even immediately after transforming into a snake, the king had been able to speak properly. This bastard.
“They must be on an entirely different level from the two elf species born to protect and pioneer, for they are soldiers born solely for battle.”
“Yeah, you bastard, they look like shit on an entirely different level.”
“That is the thinking of a loser. Appearance is irrelevant. My elves, who will be the first to take root on a new star, will define beauty.”
From the way the king answered, the king seemed incredibly relaxed. Feeling mocked made me extremely irritated.
“Following the Forest Elves and Night Elves, I shall name my elves, who will newly rise on this new star—the Dawn Elves.”
Since the king wasn't speaking through a mouth, I couldn't stop the announcement. No, wait—his mouth?
Hold on. Why hadn't I thought of this?
Was it because I'd been fixated on the reverse scale as the obvious weak point? There were other weak points besides that.
“Recall everyone who's injured, and everyone who can't use Mana Reinforcement! No, just recall everyone! And bombard it!”
I reactivated Mana Reinforcement, which I'd briefly switched off, gripped my sword, and charged straight ahead recklessly.
**
All kinds of attacks flew at me again, but trusting my defense, I charged straight through them head-on.
-Kwagak, kwajik, kwagwang!
Adding the defensive power of Mana Reinforcement to the [Iron Wall] skill, I endured the attacks and broke through by body-slamming my way forward.
Sprinting at full speed, I soon reached the area near the snake-dragon's head. I leaped high from there.
Its jaws gaped open to swallow me as I leaped up. With a maw that huge, it could naturally swallow someone like me in one bite.
I temporarily removed the wrist magic tool needed for teleportation and Recall and put it in my inventory, then dived straight into its mouth.
Why struggle to find a weak point? If it's a living creature, then most of its insides should be weak points, shouldn't they?
Once inside its body, I wouldn't need to return in time for the bombardment, and I wouldn't have to deal with the giants.
-Shrrrk!
I slid down, scraping my sword along what seemed to be the snake-dragon's esophagus. Blood gushed out like a fountain, and my body became drenched in sticky digestive fluid.
At present, to keep my armor from being damaged, I had removed my equipment and was almost naked.
Normally, I should have dissolved and been digested by this digestive fluid or whatever it was, but my Corrosion Resistance was exceptionally high.
“But how are a snake's innards structured?”
I had entered through its mouth, so this had to be its stomach or esophagus. I wanted to target something like its heart—but was there any suitable way?
In that case, it was time for the item I'd prepared in my inventory. I immediately took it out.
A makeshift magic bomb assembled from mana stones. I had planned to cut through the reverse scale and ram it in, but this time, I'd use it here.
-Thunk!
I went as deep inside as I could, then swung my sword to make a wound and planted the mana-stone bomb securely in it.
“You abandoned your allies and entered my belly. Have you no attachment to life—unknown human?”
Noisy telepathy rang inside my head. The voice was slightly different from a moment ago. I guess this wasn't something the king had anticipated.
-Drip, drip!
Pitch-black bodily fluid poured from the wall—whether it was the stomach wall or something else.
Was this another means of protecting its body besides the giants and branches? When I lightly touched it, my fingertips began to burn as if scorched by fire.
The sensation and pain were both familiar. True to its nature as a snake, it seemed to possess poison of its own.
“Die a meaningless death in agony.”
Even as a baptism of venom poured over me with the Elf King's declaration, I didn't so much as flinch and touched the bomb.
What if it pierced my Poison Resistance and Corrosion Resistance? So what? The way I'd raised those resistances in the first place was exactly like this.
My regeneration and this bastard's venom, and my attack power and its HP, would go head-to-head.
“Let's see which of us dies first.”
Using the [Full Force] skill to boost my durability as much as possible and activating the [Iron Wall] skill, I set off the bomb.
**
My vision turned white, and my senses ran wild as the mana that erupted went berserk.
But I ignored it and wildly swung my sword while unable to see anything.
The snake-dragon's body surrounded me on every side, so no matter where I slashed, every strike hit its body. The problem was my own body, though.
[Passive Skill: Stun Resistance Level 13 acquired.]
[Passive Skill: Combat Persistence Level 16 acquired.]
Seeing several skill levels continuing to rise, it was obvious that I was horribly battered. In fact, the pain was no joke.
I felt like screaming, but perhaps something was wrong with my throat, because no sound came out.
So I ignored it and kept swinging my sword recklessly. I kept cutting and cutting at whatever was in front of me.
Then, as some sensation gradually returned to my body, I felt a rush of hot air.
-Fwoosh!
I thrust myself toward the direction the air was coming from and found myself outside. I'd split open the snake's belly and burst out.
-Graaahhh!!
The snake-dragon's raucous scream reverberated in my ears. While I rampaged inside it, I seemed to have damaged it from the outside too.
I equipped the teleportation magic tool I'd put in my inventory and requested a Recall.
-Zap!
Along with the characteristic queasy sensation of spatial teleportation, I returned to one of the allied forces' encampments.
“Good heavens, you're a mess. Potions—someone bring a potion!”
I waved off the soldier making a fuss after seeing what was probably my ragged body, then took out my own potion and drank it.
I tried to drink it, but it dribbled down, so apparently something had happened to my face too. It was a godsend that none of my limbs had been blown off.
“Krr…… ugh, ah, aaah.”
After recovering my body somewhat, I made a proper sound for the first time. Once again, my HP was significantly depleted.
But what mattered wasn't my HP, which would recover anyway—it was the World Boss's HP.
I left the encampment and examined the snake-dragon's condition. In that brief time, the outside had become an unbelievable mess.
“Huh, fuck, what the hell is that?”
Flames were burning across the snake-dragon's body, which was covered in scratches here and there.
So that's why I'd felt hot air—it was on fire. I asked a soldier in the encampment to explain.
“It suddenly started igniting on its own a little while ago. Some kind of magic, I think.”
It must be a new pattern triggered by its HP dropping. The community had said that the real fight began after its health was chipped away.
We had carefully prepared defenses against magical attacks. Even if it suddenly breathed fire, we could block it once without much trouble.
But the snake-dragon moved completely differently from what I'd expected. What followed wasn't magic, but a physical attack.
-Kwagwagwang!
With flames coiling around it, the snake moved its massive body and began sweeping across the earth.