The Island Of The Naga (5)

It wasn’t a joke—when the stone Azadine threw struck the sea serpent Naga, its skull caved in, its eyeball popped out, its neck scales tore apart, and its spine broke.

It was a grotesque scene, more like being hit by a cannonball than a simple rock.

“If we cut down the Nagas now, it’ll be easier when we fight in Vthuma!”

It wasn’t really the time for such remarks while the two of them were attacking the Naga army’s camp, but the fight had already begun.

“This bow from Grimslone is amazing. Doesn’t show signs of breaking, maintains itself with sap, and thanks to that sap, it doesn’t even get wet. It’s way more convenient and powerful than the old Moon Horn Bows.”

Azadine repeatedly launched stones with his bow, crushing the skulls of sea serpent Naga sentries stationed outside the barracks.

The Nagas on guard were struck down one by one, not even understanding what was happening.

“Scott!”

“Yes, boss.”

Scott began animating the dead Nagas with necromancy, and Azadine kept clearing out the sentries to make way to the next barrack.

Then he shot more Naga guards patrolling the area and handed them over to Scott as well.

After they passed three barracks, Scott had about twenty undead Nagas under his control.

However, the fourth barrack didn’t go as smoothly.

Guards began raising an alarm as they noticed the sentries had vanished from the other barracks they had passed.

–Bwooooo!

A horn blew from one of the barracks Azadine had passed through.

“Krururur?!”

Nagas began pouring out of the barrack.

“Alright. Scott. Do it!”

Azadine gave the order while firing more stones from his bow. As Scott advanced with his undead Nagas, the newly emerging Nagas were shocked.

“U-undead?!”

The Naga who shouted had his head shattered instantly. Every time Azadine fired, a stone the size of half a fist flew at an incredible speed, smashing into the Nagas’ heads.

“Good!”

Azadine looked around to find more stones he could shoot with the bow.

But… there weren’t many big rocks. Probably because the gardeners and servants of Dehashuram had cleaned up the area, leaving only small pebbles.

In a pinch, Azadine tried loading a small stone into the bow and fired it…

“Krururur!”

Several Nagas began transforming into massive forms.

With their transformation, their shells and scales thickened, and the stones Azadine fired could no longer break their surface and simply shattered.

“Damn. Their skin really is thick. If the stones aren’t heavy enough, it’s useless.”

Worse yet, some Naga spellcasters summoned mud elementals from the ground to form barriers against Azadine’s projectiles.

“Not bad.”

Impressed by the spellcasters’ quick reaction, Azadine stepped forward.

The Nagas responded to his movement, but Azadine used a technique from the Kazas Grimoire—Twilight Step—and disappeared into the ranks of Scott’s undead.

Then—

–Thwack!

A massive Naga, now armored in shell, had a blue longsword burst through its chest.

It was Azadine’s Azure Steel longsword, Parangi, that had pierced the Naga’s heart, bared like a set of fangs. Though he had seemingly disappeared among the undead, Azadine had now reappeared among the enemy and ambushed them.

“Gahk!”

A Naga spellcaster was kicked by Azadine and sent flying into the canvas roof of a barrack.

A giant Naga lunged at Azadine, but he stabbed Parangi into its upper palate, then swung the blade horizontally, slicing off the creature’s lower jaw with a brilliant blue flash.

“Yikes. The boss is pissed.”

Was it because the Nagas had eaten a human child and a dog?

Azadine felled the charging Nagas like autumn leaves and then swung Grimslone’s club upward into another Naga’s jaw.

–Crack!

Its jaw split in two, and its front teeth crushed inward into its skull, killing it instantly. It seemed Grimslone’s club only retained its non-lethal effect when thrown.

From the observatory of his mansion, Dehashuram summoned Shati.

“What brings you here, Dehashuram?”

“How long have you been serving him?”

“Ever since I was captured while fleeing from Salasma. So… a little over two months, I believe.”

“Have you slept with him?”

“Pardon?”

“Tell the truth. I won’t punish you. That was the agreement.”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Surprising. So he defended you without even a physical relationship? He seemed to care about you quite a bit.”

“That’s the kind of person he is. He probably thinks that by treating me kindly, I might at least harbor some goodwill toward him, even if not loyalty.”

“So? Did it work?”

“No. My loyalty lies solely with my homeland—the Naga Empire and Queen Cobra.”

“Good. That’s how it should be. Hmph.”

Dehashuram turned his eyes toward the Naga barracks.

“Still, I’m the one who requested it, but I’m not sure they can pull it off.”

“You mean Azadine?”

“Yes. I know he has achieved great feats, but can a mere human take on the sea serpent Nagas who’ve sold their souls to the Nether? Isn’t this too much for just three humans? What if they get captured and say I put them up to it?”

“With all due respect, Dehashuram, you needn’t worry. In truth, your invitation was very beneficial to both me and yourself.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Dehashuram was flustered by Shati’s words.

For Shati—of the lowest status, practically a slave—to talk back to Dehashuram, a royal of the Naga, was already unthinkable in Naga society. But what she said was even more shocking.

She was saying it had been fortunate to invite Azadine and establish friendly relations with him.

‘Even if he is from the Messenger Clan, isn’t she far too taken with a human?’

Even Dehashuram, who was already criticized by the Naga royals for being too friendly with humans, found Shati’s attitude difficult to tolerate.

However…

“Let’s have a look, shall we?”

Using reconnaissance magic to observe Azadine’s party in action, Dehashuram was stunned.

–Bwooooo!

With the sound of a horn, sea serpent Nagas burst out of their barracks. It was no longer a stealth mission—now it was a full-on battle.

Then…

A Naga’s head flew into the air.

Nagas were usually about twice the size of humans… but Azadine wasn’t being overpowered in strength at all.

On the contrary, a faint glow emanated from his body as he overwhelmed the Nagas with sheer might.

“Kraaaaah!”

A Naga Colossal appeared, charging forward while swinging a massive ship’s anchor with both hands.

This enormous Naga was just slightly smaller than the one the Count of Salasma had transformed into in the past. Even so, watching such a colossal beast in motion was truly a majestic sight.

Though its size made it slower to react, the Naga Colossal spewed poison from its mouth toward Azadine.

It used the venom to cut off escape routes, then flung its anchor chain at him.

A moment where he had to choose: get drenched in venom, or be hit by the chain!

‘Poison in a Naga’s mucus and blood… like an eel?’

Azadine thought as he pushed off the ground.

The poison in eel mucus and blood wasn’t lethal unless it touched the eyes or mucous membranes.

He briefly considered just taking the hit—but instead of dodging the venom, Azadine ran straight at the anchor chain.

And then…

–Whoosh!

Azadine grabbed the bow slung around his neck and dropped his Azure Steel longsword.

Then, twisting mid-air to dodge the anchor and avoid getting entangled in the chain, he released an arrow from that contorted posture.

–Thwack!

Azadine’s arrow pierced the Naga Colossal’s thick skin. It hit so hard the shaft disappeared into the flesh—more like a burrowing parasite than a simple arrow.

After embedding several arrows, Azadine charged forward and reached for his club.

Grimslone’s club, which had been flying on its own, snapped back into his hand. Azadine grabbed it and struck the spot on the Naga Colossal’s skin where he’d just fired arrows.

–Thud!

The Naga Colossal’s already-cracked scales shattered, and the flesh beneath began to tear. The arrow shafts embedded in its flesh snapped under the blow and tore further into its body.

“Kyeeeeegh!”

The Naga Colossal twisted in agony.

It thrashed to grab Azadine in its fury, but Azadine moved too swiftly, spinning the club around his body.

The club flew in circles around Azadine like a pack of hyenas hunting prey.

At that moment, Azadine strung his bow and picked up the Azure Steel sword he had dropped.

“Such a big body… I bet I could get several servings out of you with a light slice!”

Blue swordlight danced through the air, cutting the Naga Colossal’s legs and tail fins in rapid succession.

It screamed in pain and sprayed toxic blood and fluids that would be deadly to humans, but Azadine stabbed his sword into the ground, flipping a flagstone to catch the splashing blood.

“Kuargh!”

The Naga Colossal charged and shattered the paving stones, trying to swallow Azadine whole, but Azadine dodged and instead sliced through its jaw.

‘It’s about the same size as the Count, maybe a little smaller. But strangely, it feels easier to handle. Maybe this one isn’t as strong as the Count was… or maybe I’ve gotten stronger?’

Was it because of the magical energy he absorbed daily from the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth?

Feeling the power surging within him, Azadine slashed through the Naga Colossal with his Azure Steel sword.

But then—

–Crack.

A sound came from the hilt.

The blade remained intact, but the wooden peg securing the tang inside the hilt had started to snap under the strain.

“Damn it!”

Azadine grasped his suddenly wobbly sword—Parangi—with frustration.

The blade was fine and could be fixed by replacing the peg… but why now? Thankfully, there were other usable weapons nearby.

Azadine picked up the anchor the Naga Colossal had thrown.

Even if it was for a small coastal vessel, no normal person could lift such a thing. Weighing as much as two grown men, Azadine lifted it effortlessly and swung it down onto the Naga Colossal’s skull.

The massive Naga shrieked—and the anchor’s hook pierced through its cheekbone and lodged deep in its face.

It tried to rise, but Azadine yanked the chain. Just like a giant bull being pulled by its nose ring, the Naga Colossal was dragged along by Azadine’s grip on the anchor chain.

“Hup!”

Azadine whipped the anchor chain around, knocking away the Nagas trying to charge him, then hurled the Naga Colossal off the seaside cliff.

As the colossal Naga screamed and tumbled down the cliff, a great column of water shot up into the sky.

“U-unbelievable!”

Among the watching Nagas, those who still retained some sanity screamed in horror.