Episode 97 Madame Eight Legs (3)
Kwakbang! Rumble……
In the place where the thunder went through, a black earthquake cloud covered.
It was obviously daytime, but it was night because of the dark clouds covering the sky, the pouring rain, and the crazy lightning.
Bikir made his way through the blade-like blades of the sword grove.
He had been following Madame’s trail since last night.
It is common sense to give up the chase if it rains while hunting. This is because the traces of the prey are erased.
However, even though the rain was pouring down like this, there were clear traces of the madam’s movements.
Half-melted chunks of meat are strewn all over the place.
They seemed to be part of the food Madame vomited up while eating, but she didn’t bother looking at what kind of meat it was.
Everywhere, mucus and excrement spilled by the madam blew into the water and gave off a terrible smell.
Thick hair that looked like black needles was flying here and there, and I could see that the grass and trees around it were charred and dead.
The traces are so clear, there is no reason not to trace them.
The hound advances along the path of death indicated by dead trees.
Vikir recalled Madam’s identity once again.
When we first met, she was completely immersed in the pitch darkness of the sea of water.
Therefore, it is not known exactly what shape Madame’s body is.
Even Balak’s warriors, who had suffered from Madame’s tyranny for so long, didn’t even know what Madame looked like or what kind of creature she was.
Only the chieftain, Aquila, could tell briefly about the identity of the madam based on obscure oral records.
‘……Certainly, looking at the traces, it’s hard to get a sense of what kind of species it is.’
Traces of crashing into and crushing logs or rocks like land war monsters Traces of flying across rivers or high valleys like raptor monsters Traces of digging tunnels like underground monsters… Biological characteristics of all monsters are all mixed .
What’s even more impressive is that they climbed up a rock wall with an inclination of over 90 degrees and soared in reverse.
Cliffs too high for even birds to climb. Madame climbed up this place.
Bikir raised his head towards the top of the cliff, obscured by clouds.
In order to meet Madame, it seems that I must climb this high place.
“……But before that, there must be something to prepare.”
After looking up at the cliff for a while, Bikir turned around.
As a result of looking around the edge of the cliff, this cliff is in the form of a lonely mountain.
It is a shape that sticks out like an awl on a flat surface.
Most likely, Madame was building a nest on that high hill.
Bikir roughly checked Madame’s location and then turned around.
If you fight now, it will be difficult to even save your life, let alone win.
Now that he knew where his opponent was, time was on Vikir’s side.
Bikir slowly moved away from the edge of the cliff.
While estimating just how high this sheer cliff would be.
* * *
Bikir arrived at a swampy area quite far from Madame’s nest.
Upon arriving at the edge of the swamp, the first thing Bikir did was to scatter the straw bales he had been carrying all along.
In the meantime, Bikir traversed the jungle sweating profusely, and Bikir’s hot harvest was deeply soaked in the straw pile.
Bikir blew those straws with his scent on the wind and scattered them everywhere.
Now, due to the nature of the convection current that wraps around the swamp, the straw that smells like Bikir will scatter as if it were enveloping the entire swamp.
Then, riding the wind, it will flow deeper into the flood sea.
In that case, not only could Bikir’s location not be identified, but there was even room to feel surrounded.
……Who feels that way?
“That’s the owner of this swamp.”
Bikir looked up and gazed into the middle of the swamp.
Soon, a log floating on the surface of the water sank.
And something huge began to crawl out of the swamp through the muddy water.
< Buckwamp Bog Salamander >
Risk Level: A+
Size: 9m
Location of discovery: Red and Black Mountains, 8th ridge
– aka ‘Dragon of Infinite Regeneration’.
A gigantic amphibian-type monster that lives deep in the swamp.
It has a strong territorial instinct and is gluttonous, so it swallows and sees everything that comes into the swamp.
It is feared by humans because of its invincible resilience, which quickly regenerates any wounds.
A being who has reigned as the overlord of this swamp for a very long time.
An old, gigantic salamander appeared.
A being whose entire body is covered with smooth leather and sticky slime.
In the mouth, the arms and legs of some natives, of which tribe they were from, were munching.
Bikir noticed at a glance.
‘That guy was Monsieur Hushu’s rival, maybe?’
Not too long ago, there was a huge snake named Mushuhush that became Baalzebub’s prey.
The snake’s competitor was that huge one right in front of him.
This old salamander came out wriggling a body that grew bigger and stronger with age.
[Shhhh-]
The old salamander looked around to find an intruder entering his territory, but he couldn’t pinpoint the direction.
It was because, at the same time as Bikir carried the straw he had harvested on the wind, he smeared mud all over his body to erase the smell.
[Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrledededed
by the swamp salamander continued to crawl along the swampy shore, sticking out its tongue.
Shall Bikir fight for a while? I thought about it, but soon gave up.
Catching Monsieur Hushu the other day was a matter of luck in many ways.
He had lost his territory and drifted away in a flood, so he had consumed a lot of stamina, and to replenish that stamina, he ate too much, which was not like his usual pace, and his body became dull.
In a tired, full, and sleepy state, he made an ambush, and even helped Iyen, which made the hunt relatively easy.
But now it’s different.
The old salamander was moderately hungry and looked very uncomfortable to plant.
Besides, isn’t it a monster so strong that it’s on par with Monsieur Hushu?
If you fight back, you can’t guarantee 100%.
Even if he could win moderately, considering the fight with the madam that would follow, there was no reason to waste his stamina in a place like this.
‘But… I mean, I have something to do with that guy.’
Bikir waited until the bog salamander was completely out of the swamp.
And there was another thing Bikir was aiming for.
It wasn’t just to hide the location that the straws had just been sent on the wind.
It was also meant to lure ‘some dangerous creature’ that might be lurking beyond where the wind hits.
‘……It’s almost time to come out.’
Bikir thought, carefully following the salamander out of the swamp and into the forest.
at that time.
As expected, the reaction comes.
As the straw with Bikir’s body odor spread throughout the jungle on the wind, the monsters began to stir.
Large monsters such as minotaurs, ogres, trolls, etc. react.
However, they did not dare to enter the territory of the old salamander. It just drools at the boundary outside the realm.
……however.
Wow!
Only one.
There was a monster that was not afraid of the old bog salamander and burst into his territory.
Wow!
The ominous sound of flapping wings.
It was so terrifying that even the world’s bog salamanders flinched.
Before long, something huge appeared in front of the old salamander who came out of the swamp and into the forest to find Bikir.
It was like a dark cloud with a very large, wide and vast volume.
Sometimes it moves like a snake, sometimes it elongates and sometimes soars upward.
Vikir was well aware of this bizarre being with no clear form.
< Bone-sucking mosquito >
Hazard level (object): D
Hazard level (colony): S
Size: 3mm
Location of discovery: Red and Black Mountains 9th ridge
-aka ‘bone-sucking mosquito’.
No details are known, except that it sucks on bones rather than blood.
It was not one gigantic thing, but a colony made up of countless small things.
Wow!
Mosquitoes came in swarms and clung to everything around them.
The same was true for the salamander, which came out of the swamp and traveled quite a distance.
Bikir looked at the swarm of mosquitoes and thought.
‘These are really terrible things.’
Those mosquitoes were of worse quality than the mosquitoes people generally knew.
Common mosquitoes stick their proboscis like a long straw into the flesh and suck blood.
But what that mosquito coveted was not the blood of others.
bone.
They pierce the prey’s body with a much longer and sharper snout than common mosquitoes and then suck the bones, causing the victims to lose all of their bones.
Even more terrifying… these mosquitoes only feed on bones, not skin, flesh, blood or intestines.
After all, what happens to the beings who are wrongly caught by these terrifying mosquitoes? The old salamander began to show it in real time.
[Shhh!?]
The old salamander was frightened.
It spits out mucus from its body to ward off mosquitoes’ attacks, while quickly twisting and trying to escape into the swamp.
However, the mosquitoes responded much faster than that.
These mosquitoes, attracted by Bikir’s body odor, cling to the body of the salamander and die, hardening the mucus, and the mosquitoes that arrive later use the corpses of their colleagues as a stepping stone to sting them.
Soon the mosquitoes began to suck on the salamander’s bones.
Side-by-side –
The bodily fluid from the saliva of the mosquito dissolves only the bones of the salamander, and then turns it into liquid again and sucks it in.
The salamander tried as hard as it could to enter the swamp, but left the fire and water a few meters away and spread out.
This is because you have lost all the bones that support your weight.
Mosquitoes roamed the swamp for a long time even after they had sucked up all the bones of the salamander.
Kurreuk! lively!
That is until Bikir starts a fire and smokes it to drive away all the mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes disappeared as quickly as they appeared.
Bikir finally came out into the swamp and showed himself.
While burning the wet leaves just in case, creating a thick smoke.
“……indeed.”
Bikir looked around and nodded.
The bone-sucking mosquitoes were also scary.
Each mosquito is small and weak, but the danger level of the colony is far beyond common sense.
Bikir turned and looked at the swamp.
A salamander that fell to the ground just two meters from the swamp.
Surprisingly, he was still alive.
Although the body was limp due to the disappearance of all the bones in its body, it was still breathless thanks to its unique tough leather and vitality.
Of course, it seemed obvious that he wouldn’t be able to live that miserable life for long, since it only looked like water was filled inside the tough leather.
“…”
Bikir reached out and touched the salamander’s body once.
Flesh and blood floating around in tough leather.
Now he’s just a bag of blood.
“Okay. Well made. This will be enough.”
Bikir pulled the salamander’s tail, which was still breathing.
As the mana of a high-level grader flowed through the body, he was able to grab the body of this huge monster.
Moreover, the old salamander’s body was made of bones. It was that much lighter because it
had
disappeared
.
“Think of it as karma for having eaten so many humans.”
Bikir ‘s eyes were
cold as he led the salamander, which had become a huge bag of blood.
If it was short and long, it was a long preparation.
Now that everything is ready
, there is only one thing left. To meet the madam and kill her.
After that, I will leave all the debts of my heart and leave the jungle and Balak
. (鐵血劍家) A return to the Baskervilles
.
