Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Rakrak's Warriors Blessed by the Bugs
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Rakrak's thirty warriors, blessed by the Blessing of Bugs, slew ten Froglin warriors in the time it took to draw a single breath.
The Lizardmen and Froglin preparing the feast began screaming and fleeing amid the sudden sea of blood.
Yur said,
"Don't rush into the chaos. Stay calm and seek out the armed warriors first. Kill them."
One of the warriors asked,
"What if the gray-brown Lizardmen attack us?"
"Subdue them if possible. If not, kill them. No choice."
"Understood."
Rakrak had already anticipated the possibility that the Froglin were enslaving the Lizardmen.
That's why he had cautioned Yur and the warriors to be mindful.
Rakrak clicked his tongue as he watched the Froglin warriors charging from afar with their war cries.
'Is this the worst-case scenario I imagined?'
Rakrak had been prepared for a fight with the Froglin ever since their first encounter.
He had recognized it back then from Owen's face.
'The face of one suffering.'
And Rakrak wasn't the only one who saw it.
Some read submission, others defeat.
It wasn't the kind of thing you could hide or fake.
'Maybe I can read it because we're the same Lizardmen.'
With something definitely being concealed, the Froglin were undoubtedly enemies of the Lizardmen.
The question was timing and method.
The Froglin were just as wary as Rakrak.
On the surface, the bartering sessions were friendly, but the scouts from each tribe engaged in fierce mind games.
Rakrak had gathered reliable people like Jaol, Yur, and Star Reader, along with others he trusted, to devise a plan.
They had bided their time through five bartering sessions, and in the end, the method was simple.
"Chief, let's fall back as they want."
"What if we end up in danger?"
"Don't we have our god? You said not to rely on Him too much, Chief, but if we stray onto the wrong path, He'll stop us. And if we try to take the right path..."
"...He'll help us."
Yur agreed with that.
"And our warriors are strong. Each one can take on three of theirs."
"Even with their bows?"
"Yes."
"Yur, confidence alone won't block arrows."
Yur shook his head.
"Even if the arrows fly true, they won't pierce the water buffalo skulls we've wrapped around our heads."
"We can avoid headshots by keeping our eyes open. But how do we protect the rest of our bodies?"
"What about this?"
Yur pointed to the scarab exoskeleton Rakrak had brought.
"It's best to wield spears with both hands, but now that we've received the god's blessing, our warriors can tear their slick hides with one hand. We can use the other to hold this and shield our bodies."
It was the idea of using the scarab exoskeleton as a shield.
Since they'd taken only a relatively small part from the scarab's body, it wouldn't cover the whole body, but holding it as a shield would protect about half the upper torso.
Rakrak initially wondered if it would suffice, but after testing it right there—matching spears with Yur and blocking a thrown spear—he approved.
"It'd be better if we could hold it more securely. Maybe attach a handle or strap it to the wrist."
"Yes, exactly."
"...Still, I feel like a surprise attack by our warriors alone isn't enough. I don't know how the god will aid me, but even if we win in the end, I'm worried about our warriors' losses."
Jaol, standing beside him, nodded.
"Indeed. We need a decisive victory, not a precarious one."
Rakrak looked at Jaol with hopeful eyes.
"Shall we split the warrior group? But if our scouts' intel is right, they have twice as many warriors as us. Splitting up would put us at a disadvantage. We have no other warriors."
"Even if not warriors... we do have someone who can fight."
Screams from the Froglin poured out.
The Lizardmen's counter to arrows wasn't just the ancient scarab shields.
Rakrak looked at Owen.
'Your heart must be conflicted. That's when you need to move.'
Rakrak didn't let Owen stand there dazed.
"Owen! I have a favor to ask."
"Y-Yes?"
"Pick up the bonfires around the feast grounds and burn all the houses."
"Pardon?"
The feast grounds were at the village center, and most houses were built by Lizardmen for surveillance.
Moreover, the dry, flammable houses all belonged to the Lizardmen.
The Froglin preferred mud huts.
"No choice. If they shoot arrows from afar, better to obscure their vision. Dry houses make smoke when burned. And it'll serve as another signal..."
"But..."
"Hurry! Convince the Lizardmen if needed. Tell them these black Lizardmen will save us from the Froglin!"
An arrow whistled through the air.
Rakrak flicked it away with his tail without using his hands.
"They're no match for us. Our warriors are busy fighting the Froglin. Hurry."
"A-Alright."
Owen grabbed a large burning log from the fire pit and started running.
He checked that the first house was empty and set it ablaze.
Then a group poured out from an alley.
Owen panicked, thinking they were Froglin warriors, but realized they were fellow Lizardmen.
Familiar faces, all.
"What are you doing, Owen?"
"And you guys?"
"Oboi told us to kill the black Lizardmen. We're heading to the village feast grounds."
The skinny, emaciated Lizardmen clutched wooden clubs unfit for weapons.
Owen said,
"I'm going to burn the houses."
"What?"
"Is that Shunen's order?"
"No. One of those black-scaled Lizardmen over there asked me."
"What the..."
Owen said,
"They're going to smash the Froglin."
"...What? That can't happen. No one can kill the Two-Headed Abomination."
Those words shook Owen's resolve too.
'Can Rakrak really win that?'
But Owen had already made up his mind.
"I don't know. But I've decided to help them."
"What if they lose? Then what? Shunen won't let it slide if he finds out we helped them."
Owen chuckled at that.
"Idiots."
"Why laugh?"
"We're burning our own houses. Not the Froglin's property—ours. What can they say?"
"Why burn the houses..."
"So the Froglin can't shoot their arrows properly."
The gray-brown Lizardmen fell silent at his words.
Owen was the smartest among these gray-brown Lizardmen.
They sensed that if this schemer was going all-in, it was worth following suit.
Flames licked the tips of the Lizardmen's clubs.
The Froglin village was engulfed in fire in an instant.
Aulroy's confidant and Shunen's friend, the Froglin warrior Oboi, was plunged into chaos.
The village was burning, and no word from the warriors at the feast grounds.
'Ten at the feast grounds, five sent to check what happened there. They're probably dead. Fifteen to Shunen, ten to me.'
Oboi had sent a runner to hurry the dozen or so in the upper village and the four guarding the island to the lower village.
Oboi was currently at the village outskirts by the lake.
'They definitely ambushed us. They're thirty in total. Even if we outnumber them overall, if they don't strike all at once, we're at a disadvantage. We'd get picked off one by one.'
But Oboi didn't think the situation was dire.
The ten warriors at the feast grounds wouldn't have gone down easily, and he'd ordered the gray-brown Lizardmen to surround them.
'Their feet are tied. The gray-browns just need to buy time. With Shunen, me, the healthy warriors from the upper village, and the island guards... that's forty-five. The fires make archery tricky, but one hit each is all we need.'
Oboi urged the warriors without panic.
"Everyone got their poison frogs?"
"Yes!"
"Battle could start anytime. Nock one arrow each. We'll move as soon as Shunen arrives."
Oboi had his ten warriors prepare for combat.
His warrior instincts seemed to foretell danger.
'Like when I killed that cockatrice... my heart's pounding.'
Oboi realized his gut feeling wasn't mere intuition.
"Something's coming from beyond the bushes!"
"Beyond the bushes?"
Oboi was puzzled.
That was the opposite side of the village.
But the black Lizardmen might have hidden their numbers from the scouts.
"Prepare to attack!"
Oboi confirmed the bushes rustling and shouted the moment something emerged.
"Fire!"
Arrows coated in poison toad venom flew into the bushes en masse.
But whatever emerged from the bushes didn't stop.
And it kept revealing itself, horrifying the Froglin.
It was long. Enormous.
"Lady Jaol, Manun's been hit by an arrow."
"Oh no. The eyes?"
"No. Manun's eyes are small. Seems one got caught in its teeth. Oh, it ate it. No, spitting it out now."
The massive drake, Manun—now over 6 meters after recent growth—chewed the arrows and spat them out with a thwack.
This young drake, still teething by its species' standards, had a habit of chewing anything that entered its mouth.
Annoyed by the distasteful flavor, it let out a massive bark.
-GRRROWL!
Jaol and her runner rode atop Manun's back.
The Froglin froze at the giant beast's roar, seemingly oblivious to the Lizardmen on its back.
Jaol lightly smacked Manun's back.
"Manun!"
-GRRROWL?
"You complain too much. See that dinner over there? I'm not saying skip it today, so go eat."
-GRRROOOOAR!
Manun charged at Oboi in the front.
Oboi was a seasoned warrior nonetheless.
He rolled backward, drawing an arrow, while Manun stumbled awkwardly and snatched another warrior beside him.
Its neck vanished between the molars and was torn apart.
'A monster not even comparable to the cockatrice!'
Oboi quickly smeared poison on an arrow and nocked it.
'Aim for the eyes? No, to feed it poison, the mouth... Wait, no.'
Oboi tore a poison frog from his belt.
The frog convulsed wildly.
"Everyone, release your poison frogs! Throw them into that monster's mouth!"
But Oboi should have realized from the first volley that poison wouldn't affect the drake.
Manun deftly snapped its jaws like when Rakrak tossed it treats, catching and swallowing the poison frogs with relish.
Jaol atop its back asked her runner,
"What are they doing?"
"They had frogs on their belts. They're tearing them off and throwing them."
"I saw that. Why are they giving us their snacks?"
Jaol knew poison frogs well.
After receiving the god's blessing, they were a somewhat spicy meal for Lizardmen.
And for poison and disease resistance, drakes surpassed even blessed Lizardmen.
The pondering runner answered,
"A gesture of goodwill, maybe?"
"Now? Too late. Tell Manun that."
Jaol poked Manun's flank again.
-GRRROWL!
Manun charged Oboi once more.
This time, it didn't miss.