WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle

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◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈

Chapter 38: There Is No Bad XX in This World

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The Leap, Acceleration, Tear Apart combo was fast.

Was that a skill set collaboration? No, a combination?

Either way, it flowed so quickly that it felt like using a single skill.

An ordinary Goblin would have their heart eaten before they could blink.

But Skullcrusher Ayutar wasn't an ordinary Goblin.

Unlike the others, they even wore armor covering their upper body.

I had no choice but to target an exposed part, a hand or the neck.

I went for the neck.

My body was revealed for only an instant as sparks scattered.

Once the intense light faded, an even deeper darkness followed.

And darkness was my stage.

Without making a sound, I approached their nape.

Time to sink my venomous fangs into that stinking neck.

"Uoooooh!"

That was when Ayutar let out a monstrous cry and changed the path of their club.

At the same time, they struck me with their forearm.

I went flying through the air.

Damn, they noticed.

They had figured out that I'd target their nape.

Even if they couldn't see, they could block me if they knew where I'd attack.

Being small was miserable.

I flew through the air for quite a while.

I landed on a Goblin's shoulder.

"Uaaaaaah!"

Something cold and slick had latched onto them in the dark.

Krok's Goblin screamed like they had seen a ghost.

Fair enough.

"Get away from me, ghost!"

They really thought a ghost was strangling them.

With my night vision, I could see what the Goblin was doing.

They kept twisting around and slashing their sword in every direction.

It's okay! It's! O! Kay!

I calmed the Goblin down.

By biting their back and strangling their neck.

"Guurk!"

The Goblin went limp with that dying cry.

*「Your level has increased.」

As expected, Goblins gave great experience for the effort.

I dropped to the ground with a light thud.

The battlefield was utter chaos.

Goblins could see better in the dark than humans.

Even so, the night was dark.

Krok's Goblins, who had been carrying torches until just a moment ago, probably hadn't adjusted to the darkness yet.

They had no choice but to rely on starlight.

Pipipiping!

Yet arrows came flying from the forests on both sides.

The Runga Goblins firing them couldn't see either, but if they kept shooting, some were bound to hit.

Already, dozens of Goblins had died after being struck by arrows or crushed beneath carts.

"Shield bearers, gather up! Wolf riders, enter the forest!"

Even amid all this, some Goblins were trying to command the others.

There weren't that many arrows to begin with. Goblin metallurgy was poor.

That meant it was time for close combat.

A flock of ostriches burst out of the forest.

Runga Goblins riding ostriches raced across the nighttime field.

Red Claw Ostriches were nocturnal. They ran well even in the dark.

And they weren't ordinary ostriches, but Red Claw Ostriches.

Their already threatening talons were like blades.

"Kraaaagh!"

A heart-slashing ostrich!

The sacrificed Goblin screamed, spraying blood.

I'd wondered why they were called Red Claw Ostriches when their talons were white, but they turned bright red once covered in blood.

"Krrh!"

This time, a wolf pounced on one of the ostriches.

Its rider hung limply from its back, dead with an arrow lodged in their head.

Even so, the wolf that had tasted blood didn't stop tearing into the ostrich.

It was a melee.

No matter how effective Snake Zhuge Liang's strategy had been, bloodshed was unavoidable.

Goblins from the Runga Tribe and Krok Tribe were mixed together, fighting one another.

But.

-This is practically your stage.

A dark night without a single torch.

Brush that rose to shin height.

Screams and shouts that concealed the sound of moving through the grass.

This was the perfect environment for a snake to run wild.

Slither.

As I passed, all I had to do was bite an ankle once.

*「The proficiency of Deadly Venom: Neurotoxin has increased.」

It's true that white snakes look cooler than black snakes.

But black snakes were harder to spot. They had practical value.

I had to admit that.

*「Stealth Lv. 6 has become Stealth Lv. 7.」

Everywhere I passed, a Goblin fell.

Thud, thud, then thud.

*「Your level has increased.」

The proficiency of Deadly Venom, which had been hard to raise, was climbing rapidly.

*「Deadly Venom: Neurotoxin Lv. 4 has become Deadly Venom: Neurotoxin Lv. 5.」

*「Your level has increased.」

Once the number of Goblins I had taken down passed ten, Krok's Goblins began to notice my presence.

Death was crawling beside them.

"Watch out, it's a snake!"

"Damn it, aah!"

Some mistook grass rustling in the wind for me.

They flailed around, swinging their swords, but I was already gone.

Clang, crash!

Two Hobgoblins were fighting fiercely without paying attention to their surroundings: Nanaruk and Ayutar.

The two strongest warriors were still trading blows, sparks flying.

*「You use Elementary Elemental Magic: Earth Lv. 5.」

When I bound Ayutar's feet, they staggered.

Nanaruk's blade struck Ayutar's shoulder.

Clang!

Their crude armor stopped the blade from biting in.

Still, their shoulder must have felt like it was being torn off.

Then I Leaped again.

I bit their exposed left hand.

And squeezed out every drop of venom left in my venom glands.

"Kraaaagh!"

The Neurotoxin would spread throughout their body in an instant.

Victory was mine.

Ayutar and I locked eyes.

Skullcrusher hadn't earned that epithet for nothing.

Ayutar had fighting spirit.

"Uoooooooh!"

They threw away their club and drew the broadsword at their waist.

"Y-You venomous snake!"

Then they cut off the left arm I had bitten with that broadsword.

Slice!

"Gasp, gasp! I'm alive!"

How afraid of snakes was this Goblin?

Blood spurted from their severed left arm.

Then a sharp blade cut through that fountain of blood.

It was Nanaruk.

Slice!

She must have aimed for their neck.

But in that split second, Ayutar raised their right hand to block it.

Thud.

What fell was not their head, but their right hand.

With both hands gone, defeat was certain.

Yet Ayutar refused to give up even now.

Using their larger body, they grabbed Nanaruk in a tight embrace.

Then they bit her nape.

"Aah!"

Even Nanaruk, a battle-hardened warrior, couldn't help being startled.

Why was this crazy Goblin so determined?

My prejudice that Goblins were nothing but weak mobs had now been smashed, torn apart, and erased without a trace.

Nanaruk shoved at them and threw her head back, trying to pull free.

Danger!

I climbed up Ayutar's leg.

I couldn't pull them away with my strength.

That meant I had to cut off their breath myself.

After climbing their leg, I slipped through a gap in their clanking armor top.

Ugh, sweat stench.

Still, I had a strong stomach.

I bit their belly over and over.

"Aaaaaah!"

Their scream rang out.

Consider yourself lucky.

If I had still been my old tiny size, I would've slipped into your belly button and come out through your mouth.

They finally couldn't endure it and began to run away.

I felt their body tilt.

With a crashing impact, the direction of gravity changed.

Skullcrusher no longer moved.

A thrilling chain of level-ups, the first in a while, began.

*「Your level has increased.」

*「Your level has increased.」

*「Your level has increased.」

Three whole level-ups.

My level had risen above ten.

A thrilling sensation spread through my entire body.

Would that make me sound a little perverted?

Let's call it a refreshing feeling instead.

I'll rest like this for a moment.

I'll stay covered by the armor and recover some stamina.

Like when I entered the bodies of the Chimera and Horn Jaguar, this situation felt strangely comfortable.

But I didn't stay long.

Ugh, the smell.

Honestly, this was a better environment than inside the Chimera's stomach, but it still felt unpleasant.

I tried to turn around and leave, but everything was soaked in blood, making it difficult.

I had no choice but to decide on a frontal breakthrough.

Ayutar's armor was a crude thing made by linking together pieces of iron.

If I slowly widened the gaps between the iron pieces, I could make a hole and get out.

So I did.

As I forced my head through, light greeted me.

It seemed they had lit the torches because the fight was over.

Naturally, our side had won.

Pwahk!

I finally burst out through Ayutar's chest.

The Goblins didn't greet me with bright smiles...

Well, only Nanaruk was smiling. Krok's other Goblins certainly weren't.

Kneeling as prisoners, they stared in horror.

"The snake ate Ayutar's heart!"

"The Heart-Eating Snake, for real!"

Ah, I suppose that's what it looked like.

This time, I hadn't specifically intended to eat their heart.

But a snake with a blood-red mouth bursting out of their captain's chest would look that way.

*「The epithet, 'Heart-Eating Snake,' has spread more widely.」

*「The rank of your epithet has increased.」

What?

I still hadn't gained the Ululullulu epithet, but the rank of Heart-Eating Snake had increased.

I immediately understood what that meant.

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【Heart-Eating Snake】

The terror of the Krok Tribe in the Great Forest.

A snake that grows by eating hearts, they have eaten the heart of Ayutar, captain of Krok's warriors.

They are known to possess a special skill that eats hearts.

By devouring an enemy's heart, they obtain more Magical Essence.

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Oh, the description had definitely changed.

It was more elaborate, and it clearly recorded what I had done.

I was a little concerned about the part claiming I possessed a special skill that ate hearts, since I didn't actually have one.

Then what did I need to do to gain the Ululullulu epithet?

Did I really have to spew lightning and kill that Headless Red Snake or whatever it was?

This wouldn't be easy.

"How did it go?"

Nanaruk had the warriors clean up the situation.

The bite wound on her nape had vanished.

That was thanks to the potions.

"We captured fifteen prisoners."

"What about the dead and wounded?"

"Six died. Five had limbs severed."

Around ten of the eighty or so Goblins were unable to fight.

But seventy Goblins were still in good shape.

This could be called a great victory.

-Thanks to me.

Thanks to Pelerian's potions.

I had used more than half of the nearly twenty potions on the Goblins.

The potions were extremely effective. Unless they had suffered injuries as severe as severed limbs, they were healed enough to keep fighting.

"Will we negotiate using these prisoners, Chieftain?"

Jadiram asked Nanaruk.

Tsk, tsk. What was with that soft-minded attitude?

"No."

Nanaruk and I had something else planned.

"We'll press on and attack Krok immediately."

Krok had driven all his warriors to their deaths.

We would crush him and reclaim my Dungeon.

-Strictly speaking, it's my Dungeon.

Anyway.

* * *

"Chieftain! Chieftaaaain!"

One of Krok's subordinates came running over, panting.

"Please come out!"

"What is it?"

Krok glared fiercely.

For the past several days, he had remained at the excavation site.

There had finally been major progress.

They had found the main entrance.

The numerous traps made it certain.

Because of that, they had already used up all the prisoners.

Now, they were sending in the old and sick Goblins of the tribe and using them like prisoners.

Public sentiment in the tribe had worsened, but Krok didn't care.

They couldn't defy him anyway.

Why was he being called out at such an important moment?

"Ayutar and all the warriors are dead."

"What?"

How could that be? He had assigned them so many wolf riders!

Besides, Ayutar had been the strongest Hobgoblin after Krok.

When Krok went outside, a Hobgoblin with a severed arm was sitting on the ground.

They had been one of the warriors who left with Ayutar.

"S-Sorry, Chieftain."

"...Did the other tribes form an alliance?"

Otherwise, there was no way they could have lost to the weak Runga Tribe.

"No, but... we were ambushed."

A grinding sound rang out.

Krok was gritting his teeth.

"What were Runga's losses? Did you kill them all?"

As long as that was true, it didn't matter.

The tribe's strongest warrior was not Ayutar, but Krok himself.

"I think we got around twenty out of a hundred, but..."

"What bullshit are you saying?!"

Just as he was about to kick the warrior who had returned alive.

Ding ding ding ding!

A bell rang.

A Goblin standing guard atop a hastily constructed watchtower was ringing it.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"

The cry rang out loudly.

There wasn't even a wooden palisade for defense at Elephant Rock.

"Roughly sixty warriors... no, seventy! Many ostrich riders!"

"Guhhh!"

Ayutar's subordinate, who had returned alive, began convulsing.

Had fear already been branded into them?

Krok's subordinate cried out urgently.

"Chieftain! I'll gather the warriors."

"Go stop them."

"And you, Chieftain...?"

Krok spoke with a stiff expression.

"I'll remain at the excavation site."

The subordinate was startled.

Wasn't Krok, the chieftain, saying he wouldn't take part in the fight?

"T-Then...!"

"Call Tamer Melchi."

"Ah."

"Hold them off. I don't care if every last one of you dies!"

After saying that, Krok went inside without hesitation.

The tribe's fate? Something more important lay below.

The mysterious man who had come to him one day.

The man who had helped him evolve into a Hobgoblin King and showed him the path to evolve even further.

He had said the legacy of some mage called the Reversal Mage or whatever was hidden here at Elephant Rock.

* * *

I ran with Nanaruk for half a day.

Then we finally arrived at Elephant Rock.

-There, that's it! Those rat bastards!

The excavation site remained beneath Elephant Rock.

Since the rock hadn't collapsed yet, it looked like they hadn't looted it.

Pelerian urged me to get inside quickly.

I had been planning to do that anyway.

"Thank you."

Nanaruk gave me a wink.

From here on, I would act separately from the Goblins.

Once the melee started, I would immediately find the Dungeon and enter it.

I had been riding on an ostrich, so my stamina was fully restored.

The remaining Krok Tribe members rang bells as they prepared to defend themselves.

Warriors came rushing out in a panic.

The battle was about to begin.

Krok's Goblins beamed in delight.

"Tamer Melchi is here!"

A Goblin named Melchi or something like that appeared.

They were a skinny Goblin shaman, wrapped in something like black cloth instead of armor.

"Kill them all, Melchi!"

There was an obvious reason Krok's warriors were happy to see that scrawny Goblin.

"Damn... this could be dangerous."

Even Nanaruk looked tense.

The epithet Tamer hadn't been given for nothing.

They commanded a monster.

A huge, enormous...

"That's a giant centipede."

A giant centipede.

A giant centipede with bright red venomous claws blocked the Runga warriors.

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【Crimson Teeth Giant Centipede Lv. 31】

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No, it was a Crimson Teeth Giant Centipede.

"Everyone, get ready to scatter. Kgh."

Everyone looked frightened.

I couldn't understand the situation.

Why was everyone so tense?

Isn't it common knowledge that giant centipedes are gentle?

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【Crimson Teeth Giant Centipede Lv. 31】

【Traits】

[Gentle]...

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See!

Footnotes:

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