WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: HidingTurtle
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Became the Ophidian of the Apocalypse ◈
Chapter 70: Offer Tribute
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That monster...
Boom, craaash!
For a snake, it was covered in bark.
For a tree, it moved far too vividly.
When it swung its tail, a badger monster that was struck went spinning through the air.
“Gwoooorrrr!”
Its roar sounded nothing like a snake's.
If she had to compare it to something, it sounded like wind pouring out of a massive cave.
Was it volume? Lung capacity?
Either way, it was incredible enough to whip up a gale.
The wind even reached Rania, who was watching from behind the bars of the carriage window.
Since it had come from a living creature's mouth, it naturally carried bad breath.
And yet, that smell...
‘It smells nice.’
Rania found herself thinking that.
It was the scent of wind blowing through the forest, the refreshing scent of the Great Forest.
Though there was a faint, bloody smell mixed into it.
Something strange caught Rania's eye.
Another head had sprouted from the nape of that giant tree snake.
A small white snake wearing a crown.
Rania wasn't the only one captivated by the white snake.
Oliver and Zain also stared at it with wide eyes.
The white snake continuously fired beams at the ground.
They were called beams, but they had about as much force as arrows.
They couldn't understand why it was firing them into an empty patch of ground.
Then something astonishing happened.
The giant tree snake began spinning in circles after the beams.
Its speed gradually increased.
Pipipipipiping!
“Gwoooorrrr!”
The tree snake spun so quickly that it looked like a whirlpool.
For a moment, even the monsters couldn't approach, and the Monster Wave visibly slowed.
A little later, Oliver shouted frivolously.
“I-It stopped!”
That was right.
As soon as the beams abruptly stopped, the tree snake tilted its head in confusion.
Then, perhaps because its head was spinning, it slammed its head into the ground.
Boom!
Was it because the leader had stopped?
Several especially powerful-looking monsters settled down to rest.
The monsters around them also began lying down one after another.
In other words, the Monster Wave had stopped in this area.
Everyone present understood.
That tiny snake, sticking out like a king oyster mushroom, had accomplished this feat.
When the Chimera snake lay down, the little snake straightened itself proudly.
It looked remarkably dignified.
Then Nanaruk, the Hop Goblin, fearlessly leaped onto the tree snake.
“To think we'd meet again like this!”
They seemed incredibly close.
They hugged each other and made a huge fuss.
Could a Goblin really be friends with a snake monster?
The Hop Goblin herself was just as much of a mystery. Zain had never seen a Goblin that tall or strong.
Besides...
“Ssaak, ssaaak.”
“Oh, you want any leftover potions? Of course. How many bottles should I give you? Ten?”
“Shwit, shwit.”
“Ha ha ha, really? Puhahaha! You're as funny as ever.”
“Shisissit.”
“Stop it, stop! Hahaha!”
Zain thought,
‘Isn't she just pretending to understand it when she doesn't?’
What kind of joke had it told her to make her laugh like that?
No, now that Zain thought about it, something was strange.
‘How can that Goblin communicate with it?!’
The realization sent a chill down Zain's spine.
Perhaps the Chimera didn't like Nanaruk standing on its body.
It slightly lifted its head and growled.
Then the small snake barked at it.
“Sssaaaak!”
“Guuu...”
The Chimera dropped its head back down with a thud.
The little snake was clearly above the Chimera in the pecking order.
‘That little snake might actually be the real body!’
It wasn't strange for Zain to think so.
* * *
T-That startled me.
The Chimera snake nearly ate Nanaruk.
I yelled at it on instinct, but I hadn't expected it to obediently lie back down.
Crown of Domination clearly hadn't worked on it.
Maybe it listened to me a little now because we'd spent so much time together.
Without realizing she'd nearly died, Nanaruk vigorously stroked my back.
I raised myself even more proudly.
It felt great.
‘Success! I did it!’
“What did you do?”
‘Nothing! It's no big deal!’
I had successfully stopped the snake completely.
I'd managed to stop it briefly a few times before.
But this was the first time I'd made it rest entirely.
Even a Monster Wave needed rest.
Maybe because it was made of wood, the Chimera didn't rest much, but whenever it lay down, it slept for three or four hours.
Seeing it close its eyes now, it definitely intended to sleep. Unlike a normal snake, it even had eyelids.
This was definitely an impressive achievement.
-You really love praising yourself.
Pelerian sneered, but that was probably because they had a twisted personality.
After all...
*「You have achieved the accomplishment ‘Monster Wave's Suppressor.’」
What?
I hurriedly checked.
──────────────
【Monster Wave's Suppressor】
You have temporarily stopped a Monster Wave.
Your roar gains greater dignity.
──────────────
...Does this really count as an accomplishment?
No, it was true that I had stopped the Monster Wave, even if only briefly.
Then I could be even prouder.
Besides, I'd gained something practical too.
I had three or four hours to spare.
I could catch up with Nanaruk for a while.
‘Hey, Overlord.’
“What's up, Urooros?”
Nanaruk grinned.
It felt like we should bump fists, but sadly, we couldn't.
‘How did you conquer the Great Forest in such a short time?’
Even if the Runga Tribe was powerful, their numbers were limited.
Nanaruk was the only one capable of fighting several Hop Goblins alone.
“I have a secret.”
When Nanaruk shouted, Hop Goblin Warriors came running over.
“Look. Familiar faces, right?”
‘Oh, that's your little brother!’
Among the Hop Goblins was Nanaruk's younger brother, who had nearly been killed by Dashnan.
But somehow, he had grown much larger.
He was also unusually muscular for a Goblin.
I focused my eyes and examined them.
──────────────
【Hop Goblin Warrior Kadiram Lv. 4】
...
──────────────
Huh? His name had changed.
That was right.
The Hop Goblins had evolved again.
What on earth had happened?
“After they fought alongside me a few times, they all evolved.”
That was Nanaruk's explanation.
After evolving into a Hop Goblin King, she had personally led the warriors into battle. Some of them had evolved into Hop Goblin Warriors.
She really was a king.
If Father was a Unique Species, Nanaruk was a monster belonging to a Special Species.
I felt a little intimidated in front of her.
‘You're more amazing than I am...’
I'd fought hard too, of course, but...
“What are you talking about?”
Nanaruk laughed as if that was ridiculous.
“Aren't you the one leading this Monster Wave?”
‘...What?’
That couldn't be true.
The one directing these monsters as they swept across the land was this Chimera.
‘I-I've been kidnapped.’
“Huh?”
What did she mean, huh?
“I naturally assumed you were controlling it.”
‘Why did you think that?’
“Well, this tree snake listens to you. And more than anything... you're wearing a crown.”
Was she talking about this splendid crown?
Nanaruk said it as though it were obvious.
Then I realized something important.
Could Gunter and those mages think I was behind the Monster Wave too?
-You might become a public enemy of the continent.
Coming from Pelerian, who had once been declared a public enemy of Murim, that sounded even more believable.
I trembled in fear.
-Why are you so worried?
‘If they set up an enormous dragnet to catch me...’
-What nonsense. If that were going to happen, you shouldn't have become the Goblins' snake god in the first place.
Pelerian explained it to me.
-In fact, weren't you the one who helped that Goblin girl evolve into a Hop Goblin King?
‘Did I do that?!’
-Once those Goblins cross onto the continent and expand their power, you will become famous very quickly.
Nanaruk was looking at me with an innocent expression.
Yeah, it was you.
It had been you from the start.
The groundwork I'd laid.
-Either way, hunters will come after you because you are a monster. Don't get scared over nothing.
‘Yeees...’
-Look at me. I was treated as an enemy of the world, but after a certain point, no one even dared challenge me. You only need to be strong. Strong enough that no one dares come at you. Didn't you say that confidently before?
‘...Ah.’
-Become a Samunyeong!
Yeah, Pelerian was right.
I was almost ashamed of how scared I'd gotten for a moment.
I needed to get rid of that small-minded way of thinking!
Then Nanaruk had her subordinates bring over potions.
Twenty bottles of potion stored in bamboo tubes.
“Thanks to your potions, dozens survived. If you need more, I'll give you all the rest.”
If they left the Great Forest, it would be hard to make more potions.
With so many Goblins, Nanaruk probably couldn't use them as freely as water either.
Twenty bottles were more than enough to be grateful for.
I opened one bottle with Transparent Hand.
Then I had Nanaruk hold out her hand and poured some potion over it.
“I could just put saliva on it and it would heal.”
She was unbelievably tough, even with a wound through her hand.
“P-Potions!”
Someone shouted.
When I turned around, two humans were standing there.
It looked like there was a young girl hiding in the carriage too.
‘Huh.’
-What is it?
‘No, one of them looks familiar.’
That young guy in armor.
I felt like I'd seen him somewhere before...
As I searched my memory, the shattered carriage door suddenly flew open.
A small girl with blood running down her head burst out.
“S-Sir Snake!”
Like a soccer player celebrating a goal, she slid in front of me and dropped to her knees.
“Please save us!”
Then, with smooth movements, she bowed deeply.
Hmm, this human had excellent manners.
“Please share a potion with us. Oliver and Sir Zain are badly hurt.”
Huh.
That was an unexpected request.
Such a young girl wasn't begging me to save herself. She was bowing to a snake and asking me to save two older men instead.
‘Hmm...’
Honestly, it tugged at my heart a little.
I felt sorry for her too.
“What are you saying, human?!”
But Nanaruk shouted.
“You have no shame. Boys, clean them up right away... huh? Why?”
Flustered, I bit Nanaruk's clothes and held on.
As expected of an Overlord, she showed no mercy.
‘Wait, don't kill them yet.’
“Do you want to kill them yourself? Ah, that would be better. To absorb their Magical Essence.”
‘No, that's not it...’
Pelerian clicked their tongue.
Still, they didn't seem to want the humans dead either.
-I don't mind if you kill them, though?
I ignored Pelerian.
Nanaruk was staring at me with wide eyes.
I felt like I needed to say something monster-like.
I asked Nanaruk to convey my words.
She happily acted as my interpreter.
‘I have something to ask.’
“I, Urooros, King of Monsters, shall ask you.”
‘...’
Her interpretation was extremely dramatic.
‘Umm... First, what's your name, little girl?’
“Reveal your name before you beg for your life!”
Nanaruk's interpretation seemed to have thoroughly captured Pelerian's heart.
-Excellent! Is it because you have become a king? You understand what dignity is.
This Elf had always liked pomp and posturing.
The girl answered calmly.
“M-My name is Lania Greylim. I am the daughter of the Viscount of Greylim...”
Ah.
She seemed to be the young lady of the territory that I and the monsters had just completely trampled through.
There had been a lot of corpses, after all.
“That awful Gunter... took Father away and imprisoned Mother in a tower... So I was on my way to my maternal grandfather's home.”
Gunter really was a servant of evil.
I was pretty sure I'd seen a ruined tower in the territory...
The girl who introduced herself as Rania began shedding tears.
‘Don't cry. Ah, this makes me feel awful.’
“I don't want to hear it. Stop making that crying noise.”
‘...’
Fine. Since things had turned out this way, I might as well act like a monster.
‘I'll give you one potion. What can you offer in return?’
These were the first humans I'd really spoken with.
The noble girl seemed not to know anything, but the knight and the older man probably knew some things.
Information, maybe... I also wanted their armor.
Oh!
The knight's armor had the exact same design as the armor Gunter and his lackeys wore.
I finally remembered.
Wasn't he that crazy pervert knight who had kissed my tail?
The Guard Captain had saved that knight and died because of it.
He had survived again.
That guy really had a stubbornly long life.
‘There are things I want to ask. Oh, and do you happen to have a spare sword?’
“If you wish to beg for your lives, offer tribute. Valuable knowledge or high-quality arms.”
‘Wow. You're amazing, Nanaruk.’
I was starting to enjoy this too.
I had once thought the Human-Faced Spider was worth 0.9 Nanaruks, but I was wrong.
Nanaruk was the irreplaceable, perfect interpreter.
If she didn't dream of building a Goblin kingdom, I would have wanted her to keep traveling with me.
I'd asked because the Elven Broadsword had broken.
Honestly, the Goblins' swords were terribly crude.
But the humans gathered together and whispered with serious expressions.
“My lady, are you truly sure?”
“It's all right. Treasure of the family or not, we need to survive.”
Then the knight brought over a dagger and carefully held it up.
“It is a treasure of Greylim Territory...”
Oh.
It was a wonderful dagger.
Its blade formed a smooth curve like the blade of a glaive.
The white gleam of its edge suited my taste perfectly.
“Its name is Ashira of Dawn. It is a dagger made from white silver iron, but...”
Ashira.
Even its name was beautiful.
──────────────
【Ashira of Dawn】
A dagger made from white silver iron.
Its excessive lightness is a drawback, but magic prevents the blade from dulling.
──────────────
I picked up the dagger with Transparent Hand.
Light!
Maybe it was because it was a dagger, but it was definitely lighter than the Elven Broadsword.
Ah, this cool feeling.
It had been a long time since I'd held a sword.
I immediately performed a sword dance.
The blade cut through the air, tracing beautiful arcs.
*「The proficiency of Awkward Swordsmanship Lv. 2 increases.」
It didn't look awkward at all.
The knight stared at me blankly.
Zain looked confused.
I asked why he was staring like that.
Nanaruk interpreted.
“Those are irreverent eyes.”
“A-Ah, my apologies.”
“Is something strange?”
“Those are movements of swordsmanship, not dagger arts...”
Were dagger arts and swordsmanship different?
I peeked at the knight's status window.
──────────────
【Knight Zain Lv. 27】
...
──────────────
He really wasn't much to look at.
Still, a few of his skills caught my eye.
──────────────
【Skills】
...[Iron Lion Standard Swordsmanship Lv. 12], [Dagger Arts Lv. 2]...
──────────────
Oh!
On the off chance, I looked at the older man behind him too.
──────────────
【Hunter Oliver Lv. 36】
【Skills】
...[Perran School Dagger Arts Lv. 20]...
──────────────
Drool dripped from my mouth.
I thought I'd found it.
Valuable knowledge to take as payment.
Footnotes:
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