WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 67: I’m Not an Uncle, I Was Born Almost the Same Time as You
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A Chimera presumably created by the World Tree.
Was that why?
It was certainly no ordinary creature.
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【Root Chimera Lv. 100+++】
【Traits】
[Madness], [Ferocity], [Leader], [Low Intelligence], [Baby], [Crown]...
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Its level did not rise beyond 100.
Since it had been born at level 100, was it fixed that way?
Still, a baby was a baby. It grew bigger by the day. It had originally been about the size of a bull, but after devouring several monsters, it became larger than Insect King Riokk.
It was smaller than Father when he used Giantification, but giant was still the right word for it.
Was it because it was a Chimera made in imitation of me?
Or because it had both Low Intelligence and Baby?
Its status window was remarkably easy to read.
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【Skills】
[Tear Apart Lv. 20], [Roar Lv. 10], [Body Slam Lv. 10], [Branch Extension Lv. 20], [Quick Crawling]...
【Status】
[Madness], [Terminal Illness]...
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It possessed high-level skills that did not look particularly sophisticated at a glance.
That was why I couldn't tell how strong it really was.
It definitely looked absurdly powerful, but how powerful was it exactly?
Among the gathered monsters were some that did not seem inferior to Akims or Insect King Riokk. Yet they did not challenge the Chimera. They simply followed along behind it.
They were keeping some distance, so they were probably trailing behind us right now.
This Chimera was likely about as strong as them.
And in my opinion, being about that strong would not be enough to defeat Gunter.
I knew that because I had watched Medusa Mom be killed in a single blow.
I was the one who had angrily fired a beam at Gunter, but he was still a little scary.
Slice!
Gunter swung his axe spear and cut through the stems the Chimera Snake had launched at him.
The Chimera Snake was bold.
At the same time as it fired the stems, it charged at Gunter.
'W-Watch out!'
It tried to swallow Gunter in one bite.
Boom!
Gunter leaped high into the air and avoided it.
That would have been an effective dodge if the Chimera had been an ordinary snake.
But the Chimera's body was made of wood.
Branches extended from its body again and rushed at Gunter.
Whoosh!
This time, even Gunter could not cut every branch apart.
Several branches tried to pierce his armor.
Tatatatang!
Their force was so tremendous that Gunter was flung away.
Even while flying through the air, he adjusted his posture and landed, carving a deep furrow into the ground.
Clear dents marked his sturdy-looking plate armor.
Oh, maybe it actually had a chance.
'Go, Chimera Snake!'
My relationship with the Chimera Snake was strange.
I had clearly failed to dominate it.
It did not listen when I gave it orders, and I could not communicate with it either.
Still, it would not stand by if other monsters growled at me.
It also would not allow me to escape.
Anyway.
It charged at Gunter.
The knights beside Gunter tried to join the fight, but...
"Don't come!"
Gunter stopped them.
Without a trace of fear, he charged straight at us.
Then he sprang forward and swung his axe spear with his massive arm.
I recognized that stance.
How could I forget it?
That was the strike that had severed Medusa Mom's neck in a single blow.
Based on the status window I had once glimpsed from Gunter...
Moon-Cleaving Slash. That was probably the skill.
'Chimera Snake, run away!'
-You're really all over the place!
The Chimera Snake did not run.
No, it could not run in the first place.
At this rate, both its neck and mine were in danger of being cut off at once.
Then, in that instant.
Hundreds of branches shot out from the Chimera Snake's nape and blocked the way ahead.
Crack!
Gunter's axe spear split every last branch.
Then it buried itself deep in the Chimera Snake's face.
But Gunter's eyes widened, as if he had never imagined something would react to his skill.
An ordinary monster would have died instantly.
But the Chimera Snake, whose body was made of wood, was different.
It did not die. It pounced on Gunter.
Boom!
A cloud of dust rose.
Gunter swung the axe spear he had retrieved and knocked away the rushing branches.
And I...
*「You use Beam Lv. 1.」
I fired a beam at just the right time and harassed Gunter.
Then I discovered something surprising.
Every time I fired a beam, the Chimera Snake attacked toward it.
Pew, boom!
Pew, boom!
Once I noticed that, I carefully adjusted the direction of my beams.
In other words, I lured it away from Gunter and back toward the monster horde.
No matter how I considered it, we did not stand a chance.
Boom!
At some point, the Chimera Snake forgot it had been fighting Gunter and began chasing the beams.
Did it think it was a cat?
It felt like entertaining a cat with a laser pointer.
Gunter did not charge in. He stood there with his axe spear drawn.
Just as he was not alone, neither were we.
Perhaps because their leader, the Chimera Snake, was distracted, the monster horde charged at Gunter.
Did that monstrous human look like delicious prey to them?
Just as Gunter was about to be overwhelmed by all manner of monsters, his hair lifted slightly.
'T-That...!'
There was no way I could fail to recognize it.
Heavenly Thunder Decree.
Not the level 1 Heavenly Thunder Decree I had borrowed, but the real thing.
Lightning fell from the sky.
Crackle!
It was lightning powerful enough to halt even the Monster Wave for an instant.
Its output was on a completely different level from mine.
Because the skill caused lightning to strike its user, that much power could kill him.
He was human, not a monster, so it should have been even harder for him to endure.
But Gunter was unharmed.
He held that long axe spear aloft in one hand.
The lightning struck the axe spear.
Instead of shocking Gunter through his gauntlet, it seemed to swirl blue only within the axe spear.
-So that's how the skill was meant to be used.
'Damn equipment advantage.'
Was it thanks to the gauntlet?
If so, I might be able to use Heavenly Thunder Decree properly if I put something like an insulated glove on my tail.
Even if it was only level 1.
Then Aura surged from Gunter's axe spear.
Aura that glowed blue like lightning.
When he swung it at the monsters swarming over him...
Crackle!
The blue lightning mixed with the Aura and incinerated the monsters.
How many had that killed in one blow?
At least twenty, no, it looked like he had cut down thirty at once.
"Fall back. Maintain formation."
Gunter calmly directed his subordinates.
Hmm.
As expected.
*「You use Beam Lv. 1.」
Pew!
I lured the Chimera with a beam.
Then I slipped back into the running horde of monsters.
'Run away!'
When I glanced back, Gunter and the knights showed no sign of pursuing us.
Instead, the old men who looked like mages were making a fuss.
"Draw it, quickly!"
"What an incredible monster! A two-headed snake Chimera!"
Was one of those two heads supposed to be me?
They took out paper and began sketching the Chimera and me.
"I'm done! Take a look at this work."
"Wow. This is worth presenting to the academic world. What a find."
"But has there ever been a two-headed monster with one head that small? Could it be some kind of tumor?"
A tumor?
Then my eyes met Gunter's.
He was definitely looking at me.
'...The next time we meet, I won't let you off, Gunter.'
-Why don't you say that to his face?
'Because I'm a snake and can't talk.'
The day we met again would be Gunter's funeral day.
* * *
"Are you all right, Commander?"
"I'm fine."
Gunter waved off his subordinates' concern.
The knights marveled at how unharmed he looked.
"It did not look that strong, but it's been a long time since I saw a monster withstand Moon-Cleaving Slash."
"It is a shame. If we had dealt with it here, the Monster Wave would have lost much of its momentum."
"Is there not still a chance?"
"...Yes. We need to move if we are to seize that chance. Everyone, fall back."
The knights quickly prepared themselves.
There was still much to do to complete the unprecedented operation of redirecting the Monster Wave's route.
As the knights hurried to get ready, Gunter felt a sharp pain as he prepared to move.
He swallowed the blood rising in his throat.
It seemed he had suffered some internal injuries.
The monster had been tougher than expected.
And that small snake.
The second head, which had shone pitch-black, had clearly shown hostility toward Gunter.
He had never seen a monster like that before.
It was a question he could not answer.
"Master Alcandura, Master Ischen, Master Dezaka."
"You're going to tie your tongue in knots."
"Please take care of it."
"Do not worry."
They scattered a scent that monsters avoided and set magical traps throughout the area.
Finally, the mage Alcandura hammered several stake-like objects into the ground.
"Mm, this should do it."
"Let's go already, Alcandura."
"Hold on, you know I can't ride a horse by myself."
Only with Dezaka's help did Alcandura manage to climb onto a horse with much grunting.
They hurried after Gunter and the knights as well.
Perhaps because they were facing monsters, the horses' breathing was rough despite being well-trained warhorses.
"Easy, easy."
Just as Dezaka tried to calm their horse, another explosion rang out behind them.
Boom!
"Hey, the horse! Grab the reins!"
"Damn it, that startled me."
Dezaka grumbled.
"What was that? Did you set the trap wrong?"
"What do you take me for? Of course I set it properly."
"Then why did it activate already?"
"Don't worry. I made it charge itself."
"Then that's fine."
Some unlucky monster that had strayed from the path must have been burned alive.
That thunderous sound and the monsters' corpses would gradually serve as a barrier.
* * *
What had happened to those left in the Shadow Forest?
That was to say...
When the white snake entered a white cocoon to evolve.
When the barrier protecting the forest vanished and the World Tree's roots rotted, giving off a sweet scent.
When the monsters that had been drooling outside came flooding in.
What had happened to the group led by the white snake?
Thanks to the wise Gorilla, they were able to escape.
Despite the scent that made monsters lose their reason, they were fine.
It was probably not because they were intelligent enough to withstand it.
More likely, it was because the snake that had tamed them was still alive and well.
Fortunately, they fled into the forest.
The white snake's father had already left long ago, and Hailit Langrey had also departed after achieving her goal.
A Gnome who had been hiding and watching this process also left.
Dashnan, who had treated the Gnome like a slave, was now certain to be dead as well.
Still, some monsters suffered a great misfortune.
The Crimson Teeth Giant Centipede.
A monster on the verge of evolution.
And the babies she carried on her back.
Until then, she had not been tamed by the white snake.
It was more accurate to say that she could not be, rather than that she did not want to be.
She had needed to be careful to protect her children.
Now that everything was over, she thought it might be nice to live together with the white snake from now on.
The white snake did not dislike her, and she rather liked the white snake as well.
The children, who had lost their father, especially followed the white snake well.
Though they were different species, perhaps they could become family.
That was what she thought.
*「The concentration of Magical Essence in the air grows denser.」
*「Roots that failed to bear fruit are rotting.」
*「A foul stench rises from the rotten roots.」
Was it because she had not been tamed by anyone?
When she came to her senses, the Giant Centipede was already circling among the monsters.
Drawn by instinct, intoxicated by the scent, she had lost her mind.
"Kek."
"Keee!"
She regained her senses because of her children.
Big Eyes and Big Head were chewing on her antennae to wake her.
Then the mother realized something.
Only two of her children were there.
Bowbow, the daughter who had turned white and always been a cause for concern, was gone.
"Keeek!"
Startled, the Giant Centipede frantically searched for Bowbow.
She was nowhere to be seen.
Even after she hurriedly searched the entire area around her, Bowbow was gone.
Then the monster horde began to move.
Like one massive colony, it headed outside the Great Forest.
"Keke, keee?"
"Keh!"
When she asked Big Head where Bowbow was, Big Head pointed in that direction with clacking venom talons.
The Giant Centipede ran that way.
The scent that bewitched monsters no longer affected the desperate mother.
World Tree, please protect my daughter.
Please let Bowbow be alive.
Ah, how shocked the white snake would be if they learned about this.
They would certainly be furious.
They would ask how she could lose another child after already losing Big Eyes once.
In this desperate situation, the Giant Centipede found herself thinking that.
Tears rolled down her face as she worried for Bowbow.
She searched for Bowbow like mad, but she could not find her.
Thankfully.
Or perhaps because her prayer had been answered.
Bowbow was not dead.
At least, not yet.
Bowbow had fallen into the gaps between monsters heading in one direction and was simply running along with them without knowing why.
"Gwooo."
"Grrr!"
All kinds of monsters were mixed together.
There were ones that looked like lions and ones that looked like elephants.
There were even giant monsters that looked like giraffes.
Their hooves landed close enough to strike Bowbow.
Boom!
"Keet!"
Bowbow was terrified of the current situation.
She had simply slipped from her mother's back, but she had lost her mother in an instant.
As Bowbow looked around, she spotted the white snake far away.
For some reason, the white snake was with a large tree snake.
All the monsters followed the white snake.
The only thing Bowbow could do was follow the white snake too.
"Keeee!"
She cried out for the white snake with all her strength, but they were too far away.
It seemed like both her mother and the white snake had forgotten Bowbow existed.
They surely had.
Bowbow kept running as tears streamed down her face.
She could not stop running.
If she did, the monsters following right behind would likely trample her to death or eat her.
Several times, she tried to break away to the side because she felt like she would collapse from exhaustion and die.
But at some point, flames surged up before her and more monsters crowded in.
There was nowhere for Bowbow to flee.
She could not catch up to the white snake.
The white snake uncle, who had kept getting farther away, was no longer even in sight.
"Keee..."
At last, just as the young white centipede was about to give up on everything.
Crackle!
Lightning struck up ahead!
How could she fail to recognize that lightning?
It was the lightning White Snake Uncle had used when grilling meat for her.
Bowbow used every last bit of strength she had.
Her legs felt as though they would snap, but she did not stop.
At last, when she reached the place where the lightning had struck, Bowbow barely managed to break away from the monster horde.
"...Keee?"
But the white snake was not there either.
Only traces of a fierce battle remained, along with several scales that seemed to belong to the white snake.
And...
A Gnome's corpse, crackling as it burned.
The Gnome wore all manner of flashy tools and equipment.
A large hole had been torn through their stomach, and blood poured from it.
Their expression was twisted in shock, as though they had never imagined they would die here.
Even in her despair, there was a reason the Gnome drew Bowbow's eye.
Only half of their body appeared to remain.
Strangely, their lower half and right arm were missing.
They had not been cut off. There was no blood or entrails, only a clean cross-section, like frozen meat that had been sliced apart.
As Bowbow cautiously rummaged through the Gnome's body, she realized why.
It was a cloak.
It could not be seen, but something like a cloak was clearly covering the Gnome's right arm and lower half.
She bit it with her venom talons and tore it away.
"Keh!"
This was definitely a Magic Tool.
It had to be something similar to the ring Snake Uncle wore.
The parts of Bowbow's body covered by the cloak turned transparent.
Bowbow struggled with all her strength and finally managed to wrap the cloak around herself.
Then she vanished completely.
"Kekekeke."
With this, she would no longer need to fear monsters.
Maybe she would soon find her mother or the white snake.
Perhaps she could even hunt on her own.
Other Magic Tools remained on the Gnome's body besides Dashnan's Cloak, but Bowbow could not spare them any attention.
Soon, the spreading flames caught the Gnome's body as well.
The transparent Bowbow entered the forest.
It was still a story of the distant future, but the beginning of the legend called White Silence, or the Assassination Duke, was born from such a small blend of misfortune and good fortune.
Footnotes:
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