Book Eater

Chapter 341: Unknown Land (2)

Tch, it is too late to avoid it.’?

Theo reflexively stepped forward and raised a hand. A wall of shadow rose from the ground, blocking the trajectory of the light ray. Ray type attacks were threatening because of their speed, but they also had disadvantages since they were such a pure form of energy. For example, Jerem’s wall of imaginary space had a property that sucked all the energy and turned it to zero, making shadow and darkness the nemesis of this light ray. However…

Jjejeok.

The shadow wall couldn’t handle the power of the ray and got a few cracks. Theo might not be all that proficient, but the power of the Cyclops’ ray was also stronger than he had anticipated. It was only a little below the level of great spells. Although it might be limited to this swamp, its level could be designated as a grade 3 disaster.

“Randolph! Titania!” Theo didn’t need to look back at both of them. “As soon as this wall disappears, split to the left and right! I’ll scatter the ray attack somehow!”

“Then I will completely stop its breathing!”

“I understand.”

There was no need to specify any more. Randolph’s falchions were drawn, and Titania’s bowstring was pulled taut. The shadow wall reached its limit and shattered.

Kakang!

Now!

Theo triggered the spell he had prepared a few seconds earlier. The second weakness of a ray-based attack was that you could take advantage of its nature as light. Theo used the double attribute magic of wind and water, and a prism in the shape of an octahedron appeared in front of the red ray.

Wiiiiing!

The refracted ray started to bend in eight directions. The moment the three people were exposed, Titania’s bow cried out like it had been waiting. The arrow tore through the wind.

“Grrrruk?”

The cyclops instinctively felt the danger from the arrow. Nevertheless, it didn’t move its arms or step backward. Instead, it turned its gaze from Theo to the flying arrow. The hot beam from the ray could burn even the arrows shot by Titania. The cyclops clearly had a good grasp of battle.

“Heh, you have a good head.”

However, Titania’s archery skill surpassed the cyclops’ cunning.

Chiik.?

One arrow disintegrated mid flight, but the one hidden in its shadow didn’t, nor the third. Titania had fired three arrows in the same orbit without any error. The first one couldn’t reach, and the second was a bit lacking. The last arrow pierced the cyclops’ eye.

“Kuwaaah!?”

.

Blood spattered across the ground as the ray faded away. The magic eye was ultimately dependent on the eye. It couldn’t be used properly with damaged eyes. Furthermore, the cyclops who lost an eye had lost track of something. The swordmaster of the twin swords, Randolph, had already flanked it. The cyclops’ shin bones and femur were split apart in an instant as Randolph’s blades traveled upward, slicing through the cyclops’ spine and ultimately through its carotid artery.

It felt like cutting a rock. The cyclops’ skin was tough and full of swamp mana. A good aura user would find it hard to cut a single line. However, it was no match for a sword master’s aura.

“Gruk...! Grr... Ru... Ruok.” Just two seconds after the shadow wall disappeared, the body of the cyclops was bleeding and torn to rags. Its opponents were too terrible.

However, Theo sighed bitterly. “Geez, I made a mistake.”

“What?”

Before Titania received an answer, they heard it.

Kwaaaang!

A pillar of fire rose in several places simultaneously, and black smoke appeared. There was a reason Theo had been wary of using magic after entering the swamp. It was hard to guess how many flammable gasses and liquids were present in a swamp that was thousands of years old. The rays of light that Theo had refracted had set fire to some areas of the swamp.

Fortunately, it isn’t all of the swamp…

Theo looked around at the flames and spoke to his group, “Stay ready.”

Randolph tensed. “What?”

“The disturbance will reach quite far.”

The cyclops was powerful, but the group was still quite a distance away from the center of the swamp. The monsters here would only be a little strong.

――――――――――――――!!!

The disturbance would agitate creatures far stronger than the cyclops. That wasn’t all. The ground started to shake from all the approaching creatures. Monsters were coming from all three directions except from where the party had come from. Theo estimated roughly a hundred monsters incoming as he looked through Hugin’s eyes, whom he had summoned in advance.

Let’s see the left side.

It felt like the side which had the most enemies. His vision greatly expanded, and he could see multiple creatures with green skin.

Orcs could be found everywhere on the continent, but Theo hadn’t expected to see them in the swamp. Experienced orc warriors could fight one knight alone, but most orcs could be defeated by a group of soldiers. He never thought it would be a species that could survive in this swamp.

They are all mutated. They might be stronger than an ogre?

He could see scales on their skin, and they had some aspects of a crocodile. The orcs were tall and oversized, towering over three meters in height. It was appropriate to call this the hybrid of an orc and lizardman. Furthermore, there were other creatures approaching from the front.

There were twin head ogres with two horns and a pair of wings, reminiscent of chimeras. Their skin was hard like iron, and the flames coming from their mouths were alarming. The swamp trolls looked quite dangerous too.

Finally, Theo looked to the right, and his eyes shook.

Heok!

Shortly afterward, the connection to Hugin was cut off. However, the image had been truly shocking. A hundred meter long six-headed snake was slithering toward them!

“Hydra...?”

The number of heads was a little off, but Theo guessed this was a hydra. A hydra was a snake with nine heads, an immortal body, and an incredibly deadly poison. It was in the same league as J?rmungandr and Azi Dahaka, something that couldn’t be opposed by mortals if it was in a perfect condition. Legend spoke of it only being defeated by a demigod, but it couldn’t be completely killed. Rather, it was buried alive? One needed a hero to defeat it.

... No, I can do it now.

In the legends, the hydra’s immortality came from the head that had golden scales. However, this hydra didn’t have any golden head. It didn’t have nine heads either, so it might still be incomplete or was a variant hydra. In that case, it wouldn’t be as strong, which meant Theo could defeat it.

“How can I give up now?”

The odds weren’t impossible. Theo looked back at the two others who were smiling as they held their weapons.

“I knew it would be hard when I accompanied you.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. Let’s do it!”

As it happened, the combination of the three was the best. The combination of a sword master, archer, and magician could display the best combat power regardless of distance. If they could complement each other’s weaknesses and maximize their strengths, it wouldn’t be difficult to wipe out the monsters.

Theo laughed at Randolph and Titania’s answers. “Okay, shall I take care of the weak bastards?”

His eyes shone as he looked at the mutant orcs coming from the left.

***

If there were two words to describe the southern swamp, it would be ‘fearful’ and ‘unknown.’ They were afraid because they couldn’t know, or they didn’t know because they were afraid. The sequence wasn’t important, but all those who tried to conquer or explore the swamp were killed, turning it into a prohibited area. Transcendents didn’t step into the area for an unknown reason, and over the years, humanity had lost the power to attack the swamp.

... At least, until today.

Kwarururung!

A few lightning bolts lanced through the air, causing the ground to boil and two trolls to fry. The trolls, notorious for their sturdy skin and natural regenerative power, were fried by the lightning. Theo set up a lightning spear and threw it at another swamp troll.

“Get lost!”

It was so fierce that the troll’s head vaporized, and the headless body simply collapsed. In retrospect, it was surprising that it didn’t die in one 7th Circle blow. There was still time to clean everything up, so Theo looked at the twinhead ogre fighting the other two.

■■■■■■■■―――!!

It was definitely stronger than he had expected. The ogre had pure power and speed, and it used its power efficiently to handle two masters by itself. It used its two pairs of eyes to block attacks, its wings to accelerate, and the durability of its skin to withstand the aura blow. Additionally, he had an earth-shaking fist that contained all its power. It was almost like Superbia.

But it is still lacking to deal with both of them.

The ogre was bound for defeat. It had lost a head, its wings had been torn off, and one particular injury was so deep Theo could see bone.

Randolph’s blue blades shone brightly. “Ha! Your bones are about to see daylight, you monster!”

Black blood splattered, serving as proof that Randolph was getting close to the bone marrow. Nevertheless, the mutant ogre responded savagely. It ignored the pain and bleeding as it tried to kill the humans. The strike was too fast for Randolph, who had just finished his attack, to avoid.

Chaaeng!

However, its fist was met by an arrow. The fist that contained the force of a battering ram was pushed back by a single arrow that had landed with perfect timing! The ogre had been subjected to this technique a few times and roared angrily. However, Titania was far faster than it. Above all, Randolph’s blades kept coming while the ogre was chasing Titania. Either way, the ogre was one-sidedly pushed and beaten. The monster that had never been pushed by force before reached its limit.

“This is the end!”

An arrow pierced the ogre’s mouth, causing it to step back. Then it raised its left hand to its face to pull out the arrow. One hand was in view, and a sword master would never sit by idly when a gap was revealed.

Clovis Two Swords Style. Hidden Technique. Triple Lightning Strokes.

Twin blades crackled with blue lightning as they left afterimages in the air. One blade accurately pieced the ogre’s throat, and blood gushed out like a fountain. It lacked the power to completely behead the ogre, but the amount of bleeding couldn’t be ignored. The ogre realized it had made a mistake and lowered its left hand.

“Too late you idiot!” Randolph shouted as a flash of lightning shot from his right hand.

The second strike was a diagonal slash. The ogre’s skin split cleanly from the left temple to the right jaw joint.

■■■■■――!?!

This was a fatal blow. Randolph’s blade had gouged the ogre’s skull and nearly pierced its brain. Before the ogre could back away, a bolt of lightning struck it. Randolph’s other blade had sunk in the same spot. It was the end of the mutant twinhead ogre. Half of its severed head slipped down, and the ogre’s body collapsed to the ground. The creature that would’ve caused a disaster outside the swamp had died.

“Sigh, the appetizer is done.” Randolph shook off the blood on his swords and took out a potion. He hadn’t received any injuries, but his skin had been scraped by the ogre’s fist. Theo wasn’t the only one to think about Superbia when facing that absurd power. Randolph would’ve struggled if he had to deal with it alone.

“It’s just the first match; there are more powerful monsters left.” Titania couldn’t hide her tiredness as she sighed.

Her role was easy compared to Randolph, but she had to constantly calculate the distance while she was shooting, so there was a corresponding consumption of mental power. Despite that, Theo couldn’t allow both of them to take a break.

“It has come a lot closer. It will soon be in sight.”

Although it might be imperfect, the hydra, the disaster which had been recorded in the old myths, was making its appearance. There was a chance of victory. Theo had been as sparing as he could with his magic power when fighting the twinhead ogre, and he had also refrained from using scrolls and artifacts in order to save it for the hydra.

The three people remained alert as they stared at the swamp and waited for the hydra to come. Then they saw it.

“... Wow, it is huge.”

It was much smaller than Hraesvelgr, who covered the sky with his wings, but the hydra’s size made it feel more real. The hydra was over a hundred meters long, and it had six heads. It was like a small hill wriggling around. The hydra looked down at Theo, and one of its six heads opened its mouth.

[Two humans, one elf... What a strange combination,]

A cunning voice tickled the ears of the three people.

Theo called out, “Six-headed snake, are you the master of this swamp?”

The hydra examined them with piercing yellow eyes.

[You don’t need to know.]

“...”

[By the way, in your body... I feel an unpleasant power. The strength and smell are the same as that corrupted god who repulsed my ancestors long ago...]

The hydra’s killing intent grew stronger. In this breathless atmosphere, Theo silently signaled his companions to be ready for battle. At the same time, six hydra heads opened their mouths, and their poisonous fangs aimed at the three people.

[Die.]