Hero's Adventure Tale (4): The Colossal Serpent Falls
The colossal serpent was a formidable monster, but it was no match for the hero.
It charged at him like a massive dump truck. But such straightforward attacks posed no threat to the hero whatsoever. Did it fail to grasp that its repeated assaults were utterly futile? Even with all that strength and size, a beast was still just a beast, it seemed.
"Kyaaaaah!!"
But this time was different. It slithered past the hero as he dodged to the side, then coiled its body in a swift circle, tightening around him. The classic serpent hunting method: envelop and constrict. But when the serpent was this enormous, the mere act of coiling destroyed everything in the vicinity.
For an ordinary human, it would've been an attack that swept away dozens or hundreds. But the only target here was the hero alone.
No matter how quickly the serpent constricted, the hero could slip out even faster.
"Too slow!"
And sure enough, the hero evaded the tightening coils by leaping upward. The serpent whipped its tail to strike him down—the exact same situation as their first clash.
Relying solely on size and strength with such clumsy attacks was pointless against the hero. Especially a move that had already been countered once.
But the serpent chose differently. Instead of a sweeping tail strike, it slammed its tail down on the airborne hero.
"Hm?!"
The hero swiftly swung his greatsword, hacking into the tail. But...
"Kiyaaaaak!!!"
The serpent screamed in agony yet refused to relent, pressing down with its tail like slamming a lid on a giant pot—forcing the hero into the trap of its encircling coils.
"Tch!"
Only then did the hero realize the serpent's intent, but it was a tad quicker. You're slipping, hero. Spending those leisurely days in the village must've dulled you. You weren't this slow when I was drilling you.
The serpent sealed him in and began to squeeze the life out of him, but...
"Haat!!"
With the hero's shout, dozens of slashing strikes burst forth from within the coiled serpent.
From the hero's perspective—who could slice through its tough scales—being trapped and constricted meant he could land hits from all 360 degrees. Indiscriminately unleashing slashes all around rendered the serpent's attack useless.
"Kieeeek!!!"
The serpent wailed once more. It had never sustained such wounds since acquiring its large, sturdy scales. Unfamiliar agony left it writhing in torment.
"Hoo."
The serpent's coils loosened, revealing the hero unscathed inside. Venom-laced blood scorched the surrounding vegetation black, but the hero stood tall in his newly donned silver armor, utterly unharmed.
"Kiyaaaaak!!"
The serpent charged again, fangs bared—its final weapon against an enemy impervious to scales, constriction, and tail strikes.
But the hero calmly observed the assault, then...
"Hup!"
Dodged by a single pace and smashed the serpent's left fang with his armored fist. The strike, protected by silver plate, was sharper than any dagger—the fang snapped off effortlessly.
"Kieeeek!!!"
Feeling the raw pain of its live tooth shattering, the serpent rolled on the ground, shrieking.
"Hoo... Disengage."
The hero released his silver armor, reverting it to the greatsword, and eyed the massive serpent. It was a wreck: shield-like scales shattered and torn by the hero's blade, tail mangled and bleeding profusely, one fang broken with venom leaking out.
The hero, meanwhile, bore not a single scratch—just a bit of dust from the serpent's thrashing.
Hm. I trained him, but he's come a long way. More than enough skill to smash monsters. It took a ton of effort since he was such a slow learner... Iron gets harder the more you hammer it. Even a dullard can sharpen up with enough work. Never mind how razor-thin the margin was for a human to endure. His heart even stopped a few times during those brutal sessions. Eh, I could restart it in a snap anyway. I'd even prepped resurrection magic.
The victor was obvious to anyone. The hero addressed the serpent, its momentum broken.
"That should be enough. No more rampaging—go somewhere else."
The serpent eyed him warily, ignoring his words—it probably didn't understand human speech. But sensing he wouldn't attack, it began slinking away bit by bit.
Hm... The hero's kind-hearted, sure, but letting a monster like that live? No good. It'll just attack others later. If he lets it go, should I snipe it remotely? No dark fragment in it, judging by how it shrugged off the hero's cuts. A lightning bolt as divine punishment would end it quick. Do it when the hero's not looking, just in case.
As the serpent crept away from the hero...
"Grroooaaarrr!!!"
A massive roar echoed, and a huge shadow blotted the sky.
"Urk?!"
"Kieeek!!"
The hero clutched his ears against the bellow; the serpent coiled its tail and fled. But the shadow pursued relentlessly, hurling a fireball that struck true. The serpent was flung far by the explosion.
"This is... a dragon…?"
Nope. Not a dragon—a wyvern. Just one pair of legs, see? Front limbs shaped like wings flapping constantly, balanced by hind legs and tail. Definitely a wyvern. Though its size was about three times a normal one's—small-dragon territory.
"Could that thing have been chased off by this dragon too…?"
Wyvern, not dragon! He hasn't seen a real one, that's why. Tsk. Can't exactly show my true form either. Oh well...
"Grrr..."
Flames flickered from the wyvern's maw. Its gaze no longer on the serpent—instead fixed on the hero, on his sword.
Hmm... Does that wyvern have a dark fragment? Sensing the one in the hero's sword? Dunno, but it feels plausible.
"Kiyaaaaak!!!"
The wyvern roared again; the hero covered his ears. The air itself trembled—a declaration of hunt.
"Urk."
The hero gripped his sword tighter. Fresh from one fight, yet untired. But this giant wyvern would be tough—a lesser dragon already strong, now laced with a dark fragment.
Still... the hero could handle it. I didn't raise him to be weak. Yeah. He'll be fine.
I stood, ready to teleport in if needed, and watched the battle unfold.
The wyvern struck first.
"Grr... Kyahaak!"
With a gurgling roar, it spat a fireball. The hero swung his greatsword, cleaving it neatly; the halves flew past and exploded behind him.
Hm. That fireball alone won't touch him. How many did I hurl at him during training? He'd be toast from mine if the wyvern's singed him. Slower speed, less heat, weaker blast radius. Wait, not the time to compare flames.
The hero leaped toward the wyvern; it raked him with hind claws.
Claaang!!
Sparks flew between sword and claw; the wyvern's claw shattered, unable to withstand.
Yeah, even dark-enhanced, a wyvern's claws can't match that sword.
The wyvern pulled back, assuming the hero couldn't pursue in midair. But...
"Haat!"
Thanks to my harsh training, he could springboard off the air a few times now! Mana-enhanced, of course—he said it's impossible barehanded.
"Kyaaa!!"
The wyvern spun, whipping its tail; the hero thrust his greatsword into it.
Spluuurt!
The blade tore deep into the hide; the wyvern thrashed in pain midair. The wildly flailing tail...
The hero drove the sword deeper to cling on, but like hanging from a whip's end, he couldn't hold—the blade yanked free.
"Urk!"
And so the hero plummeted toward the ground.