Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Celebration and Gratitude
It had been a few days since Vikir had returned to Balak's town.
The Red Demise had been completely eradicated, but its aftermath was far from over. Despite being liberated from the horrors of the plague, many were weakened from dehydration and upset stomachs, and much food was needed for the sick.
So the unaffected fighters hunted hard for food for their families and friends.
Vikir and Aiyen were among them.
"Shhh... Found it."
Aiyen was quick to spot the prey.
Vikir's senses were honed, and he knew where it was.
Long ago, when Aiyen would say, "Look, it's right there!" and point to it with his finger, Vikir would reply, "Where? I don't see it." But now Vikir was almost as good at spotting prey as Aiyen.
The prey Vikir and Aiyen had their eyes on was one they had met before.
Charm charm charm charm
On a branch, a snake was devouring a large panther.
With a mouth as big as a catfish, an oddly flat nose, and sharp teeth.
<Mushuhushu>
Danger Rating: A+
Size: 32 meters
Found in: Edge 8, Red and Dark Mountains
- Named 'Full-body Digestive System Snake'.
A snake whose entire body is made up of intestines.
It boasts a large mouth and appetite that can swallow an elephant in one bite, and rumors have spread far and wide suggesting that the ancient monster Mushuhushu, which has lived since ancient times, can swallow an entire nation.
They are widely silent as they creep across the ground or swim through the water.
At first glance, you wouldn't think it was a snake at all.
Even compared to other typical Mushuhushu, this old individual is over two times as large.
They can reach up to 40 meters in length, weigh more than 5 tons, and have a mid-body circumference of up to 3 meters.
Considering that the typical individual stops growing between 25 and 30 meters in length, that's a lot of size.
Aiyen carefully examined the snake.
"He goes by Ka'ah, and he's a rival to Gustav, the reptile from the marsh far away. There could be no other creature in this locale that can match him."
Aiyen was right to be cautious.
The giant Mushuhushu named Ka'ah was enormous, but it made no sound when it moved.
Its natural protective coloration, silent movements, and overwhelming strength and size would have been enough to keep it as the dominant force in a region.
But today it had met its match.
Vikir bared his teeth at the snake.
"You're old. It's time to repay the debt of the rainy season."
Once before, it had attacked a Balak town.
It was a night of heavy rain. It descended the overflowing river and preyed upon Balak's champions.
Vikir had fought it with his baskerville tissue, but he had been unable to win and had only been able to drive it away.
By then, the water had risen so much that he too was being swept away.
"Now the water has gone down and it's regained its territory. It must have regained a lot of strength. Look, it has a big belly."
Aiyen pointed to the center of the giant python's body.
In addition to the panther that had just gone down its throat, the snake's stomach seemed to contain several other creatures.
One could guess by the way the snake's body was bulging in several spots resembling a string of pearls.
Aiyen drew his bow.
"If we get him, we can get the other meat inside, and since it's softened, it'll be perfect for feeding the patients."
"I agree."
Vikir nocked an arrow to his bow.
Aiyen gave Vikir a nudge and pulled the string.
"It takes a lot of muscle to draw a bow."
No wonder, given the tension of the draw.
Archers truly need more arm strength than most melee weapon users.
Especially since Aiyen's bow has a unique construction, with five strings and up to ten arrows on the string.
Pulling this off requires significantly several hundred kilograms of muscle strength.
Obviously, it's a much tougher discipline than wielding a sword or mace.
And then.
Puff-puff-puff.
The strength-loaded arrows flew out, wasting no time.
[...shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!]
By the time Ka'ah realized it, the arrows were already lodged in its throat.
Thunk.
Vikir drew his enchanted blade, Lucifer.
Ka'ah immediately closed the distance, going for the gold, and Vikir had been waiting for that.
Vikir shot off a volley of arrows, but when Ka'ah was close enough, Vikir slashed it under the jaw with Satan.
Snap.
The hard scales snapped in half and red blood gushed out.
At intermediate to advanced Graduator levels, the aura becomes thick and viscous, almost indistinguishable from blood.
Vikir continued to press his blade, dodging Ka'ah's serpent lash as it thrashed around him.
At this moment, Ka'ah tried to retaliate.
[Woosh! Woosh!]
It choked and regurgitated something.
Vikir recognized Ka'ah's intentions immediately.
"... It regurgitates the prey in its stomach to increase its mobility."
It was a typical attack pattern of snake-like creatures.
Once they have consumed a large meal, they can lie still and motionless for hours, and if they need to make a quick escape in the meantime, they will vomit the food in their stomachs to lighten their bodies so they can flee.
Ka'ah had lost its territory for a while due to the flooding of the river during the rainy season and hadn't been able to feed much.
It had also expended a lot of calories floating down the river and fighting Vikir, so it must be starving.
Nevertheless, it was already consuming a lot of food to replenish its strength.
With a full stomach, its movements were naturally sluggish and sluggish.
[Sputter, murmur, gurgle].
Ka'ah had to vomit out all the large chunks of meat in her stomach.
That alone would probably shed nearly two tons of weight.
But.
"No way."
Aiyen's arrow interrupted Ka'ah's vomiting.
She fired another arrow, and another, and another, until it lodged near its uvula.
The target was the panther it had just swallowed.
Aiyen's arrows penetrated the scales that Vikir had split open, pierced the tough tissue, and lodged in the panther's body beyond the throat.
Perhaps giant spikes had impaled the panther's remains to Ka'ah's throat.
Normally, the bodies of other creatures Ka'ah tried to vomit would just pile up beneath the impaled and stuck panther, unable to pass through the throat.
Ultimately, Ka'ah was left with a strange swollen neck, unable to expel the objects in its stomach.
Thus, its movement became more unnatural, and, ironically, the view behind it was obstructed by the hood and ribs that protruded like those of a cobra.
In more ways than one, this was good news for Vikir, who had been aiming for
the primary targets of attack, the back of the neck and under the jaw.
...Kwasak!
Vikir unleashed Lucifer and severed the end of Ka'ah's spine, the nerve cord that connects its neck to its brain.
A gush of cerebral fluid, bone marrow, and blood spurted out.
Baskerville savage, tissue-eating. The six trap teeth dug into Ka'ah's body, relentless and determined.
Pow, pow, pow, pow! Thud!
Vikir relentlessly pounded at the wounds that had been inflicted upon it.
He relentlessly gouged, tearing flesh, breaking bone, and severing nerve fibers.
Even. Aiyen had spared no effort this time.
Boom!
Countless arrows lodged in the snake's hindquarters.
"What's going on?"
"...."
Vikir sighed inwardly at Aiyen's casual demeanor even at a time like this.
And then.
...Thump!
The raging rear snake, Mushuhushu, slammed its massive body into the ground.
It had been a long time since it had been challenged.
The champions of Balak had gathered for a strike.
They had been striving to feed the sick.
Catfish, salmon, carp, and other fish swollen by the rainy season. Giant lobsters and ancient lobsters from the Salt Stream. All kinds of nutritious mushrooms, roots, berries, and other ingredients were gathered to make soup.
The oxbear subadult that Ahun had caught earlier was his greatest achievement so far.
But the return of Vikir, Aiyen, and the wolf Baqira turned the tables once again.
Ahun slapped Vikir on the back and laughed heartily.
"No matter what I do, I can't beat you! Hahaha!"
It took all of Balak's fighters and wolves to lift and carry the giant snake.
The old ruler, who had long ruled this side of the depths, was now reduced to a tired mass of meat.
The lean meat was roasted, smoked, steamed, and sautéed.
The bones were made into stocks, medicines, and other things.
The guts and blood were boiled in water and made into soup.
The highly nutritious snake meat, pan-fried in oil and roasted until fatty and golden brown, reliably restored the patients' strength.
Moreover, the meat of other animals in Ka'ah's stomach was tender enough to be eaten by the younger patients.
Everyone was grateful to Vikir, showing him respect and love.
But amidst all the attention, Vikir had other things on his mind.
"I'm glad I caught Mushuhushu. It paid off."
The jackpot had been won.
Vikir's eyes lit up as he saw Mushuhushu's spirit inhabiting one of the three orbs of the enchanted sword Lucifer.
<Gorge Fly 'Beelzebub'>/Drill
-1 slot: Consume - Cerberus (A+)
Slot - 2: Silent Heel - Mushuhushu(A+)
Slot - 3: Sacrum - Oxbear(A)
Mushuhushu Ka'ah's move is in.
Vikir's passive is Silent Slope, which duplicates the snake's ability to make no sound when it moves.
"... Silent Heel."
Even if you're just walking around, you can change direction suddenly to create the same effect as if you were treading lightly.
This was a deceptive skill that could be incredibly useful for survival in the depths, and, even more so, for stealth, ambushes, and reconnaissance.
Additionally, Vikir's skill with a bow would prove valuable in the future.
"It must be similar to the sound-nullifying skill that Adolf the Frenzied used before."
Once, when Adolf ambushed Balak's hunting party to retrieve a Camus, silencing magic came in very handy.
Vikir nodded as he watched the beads at the base of Satan's handle glow red from the spirit of Mushuhushu.
All of a sudden.
A voice drew everyone's attention, including Vikir's.
"The shaman has completed his ritual!"
The guards shouted, and the mood in the town suddenly shifted.
The Red Demise had just begun, and the mysterious Ahheman, who had brought sacrifices to the altar and healed the sick, had finally emerged from the sanctuary.
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