Taking advantage of the moment when the snake was still fiercely attacking the dragon, I flashed right in front of it and used [Venomous Fangs] to bite its eye.
The snake wasn't defending its outer body at the moment, so it was immediately struck. It let out a loud scream in pain, and its body, which was tightly constricting the dragon, loosened a little.
The dragon took that chance to bite the snake back and threw it aside.
I also quickly flashed to the side.
That was close.
I still haven't fully mastered this skill, but I can see now that investing in it wasn't a mistake. I had intended to flash onto its body and bite its wound, but I couldn't control the speed properly.
After throwing the snake off, a growl resonated in my head.
Is the dragon trying to say something?
Does it want me to buy time? Or to risk my life??
Let me say this first—no matter what deal it offers, I'm not risking my life! Unless it can give me the same power level as the snake, because that's the only condition under which I could fight it on equal terms.
But looking at its current state, a rematch seems impossible, so it must be asking me to buy time, right? Thinking that, I nodded, even though I had no idea if I was guessing correctly.
Well, I've already agreed, so I have no choice but to follow through. Even if I run away now, the snake already sees me as an enemy. If I don't take it down today, my life will never be peaceful again.
Seeing that I accepted, the dragon sat down and closed its eyes without moving.
Nai wa!
I didn't expect it to trust me that much.
Doesn't feel too bad, honestly.
Just then, I suddenly felt a tremendous pressure—it seems the snake is getting angry, but it still hasn't recovered enough to use its skills, so I guess I can still manage, right?
Before I could finish that thought, it burst out of the rubble at high speed, clearly aiming straight for the dragon.
So I'm still being ignored?
Unforgivable.
I flashed to dodge its charge, then used [Paralyzing Evil Eye] along with [Heaven's Net] made of my silk, but it was only stalled for a few seconds before charging forward again. My web was pierced like it was nothing.
I used [Paralyzing Evil Eye] and [Heaven's Net] again.
My job is just to stall for time, so this should be enough, but I still couldn't stop that snake—everything I did felt meaningless.
Damn it.
I need to get its attention.
Though it sounds stupid, I have to try.
I tried to remember if I had any useful skills. If attacking its body doesn't work, then I'll have to target its soul, like it did before.
Oh, let's try this.
I stared straight at it and activated [Loyalty].
It wasn't blocked by anything but suddenly froze in place.
Did it work?
Could I possibly make it loyal to me?
I got a little excited, waiting for its reaction—but I was wrong.
After standing still for a few seconds, it turned toward me at extreme speed.
Nai wa?
Is it mad?
Why??
Its killing intent is even heavier than before.
I only wanted to get its attention, but now this is bad.
I quickly flashed away, using [Paralyzing Evil Eye] and [Heaven's Net] to restrain it.
The snake missed me and was held back again—it seems to be getting more enraged.
Now, it didn't care about the dragon anymore and focused entirely on me, making me swallow hard and brace myself mentally for the battle ahead.
Calling this a "battle" sounds cool, but honestly, there's no way I can win.
And so began the chase between me and the snake. Since it wasn't as fast as before, I could manage—but it did catch me a few times.
<
If there's anything keeping me going through this, it's that my skills keep leveling up.
The snake was fast, but I was holding out. At this point, all I've done is dodge and restrain, so things have been manageable.
Aaaa urghhhh.
I got distracted and it bit off one of my legs.
I take that back—it's not easy at all.
Right after that were a series of near-miss bites, but I managed to dodge them all. Has this snake gotten faster again?
<
I dodge! I evade! I run!
I get slammed! I get bitten! I'm dying!
I heal.
I keep running!
I'm suffering so much!
I'm still desperately dodging the snake, but I still get hit sometimes—two of my legs are already in its belly.
Each time that happens, I get even more focused.
Why don't I attack it back?
First, my mission is only to stall, not to kill it—so attacking is unnecessary. Second, most of my attacks rely on poison, and using poison on a venomous snake like this is just laughable. So yeah, I'm out of ideas.
The snake came charging again, but with divine timing, I managed to dodge—actually, I slipped and narrowly avoided it.
Good, good.
As long as this continues, I'll be fine.
Feels like I'm playing with a cute little pet or something.
No, I can't call this "playing" or call that thing a "cute pet."
Aaaa, Flash!
I got distracted for a second and the snake got right in front of me—thankfully I reacted quickly, or I'd be in its stomach by now.
The next few minutes were an impressive dodging showcase by yours truly. I've started getting used to [Flash], and since the snake is getting tired, it can't keep up with me anymore.
Of course, there were still times it almost got me.
<
Just when I thought things were going fine, the snake suddenly fired something from its mouth.
Shit.
It can use skills again?
I used [Flash] to escape, and right after that—boom—a small explosion occurred.
It wasn't that big, but if I had taken the hit directly, I'd be done for.
This isn't good.
While I was dancing around with the snake, it's been recovering—but based on that shot, not by much.
Still, I have to be careful.
I activated [Adamantine Body] for safety and continued with my evasion strategy.
The snake kept chasing me, occasionally firing orbs that I barely dodged. Even so, I still took some damage from the shockwaves.
At one point, the snake got close enough to slam me with its tail, but thanks to [Adamantine Body], I blocked it successfully. Honestly, it feels like the snake has become 100 times weaker—I could actually block it now.
But as if to slap me in the face, it started slamming its tail over and over again until [Adamantine Body] shattered and I got launched away.
That really hurt.
I had to quickly stabilize and re-activate [Adamantine Body]. This was my only insurance against a one-shot kill.
Great, now I not only have to dodge basic attacks but also watch for its skill usage. So far it's only used one kind of skill, but who knows what else it has in store?
As I was still dodging, I flashed away from a tail strike—then I got hit from another direction and slammed into a wall. Fortunately, [Adamantine Body] was still active, so I tanked the sneak attack.
I was confused where the hit came from, when the snake charged again, and I had to use [Flash] to escape—only to be attacked from another side again. This time I dodged it.
After retreating, I saw that now there were three snakes, two of them smaller.
Nai wa!
It used clones?
Even if the smaller ones don't hit as hard, three against one is still rough.
Before I could think too much, the three snakes started closing in on me.
I tried watching their movements, but suddenly only the biggest one was in front of me. It was the most dangerous, so I flashed away—then immediately dodged again.
As expected, a clone appeared behind me to strike.
But where's the third one?
I glanced around but couldn't see it.
That's when I figured out their strategy. The big one forces me to flash, the second appears behind me to ambush, and the third… I still don't know, but I better stay alert.
Another attack came.
I dodged.
Then the next time, instead of dodging, I took the hit with [Adamantine Body] to test the clone's attack strength.
Oof.
My back got slammed into the ground hard.
Okay… didn't break my armor, but still hurts.
I guess two hits in a row would break my defense. If it can't do it in one go, I still have a chance.
But how did that snake know exactly where I'd flash to and appear right behind me to strike?
I didn't have time to think further—a huge orb was coming right at me, so I had to flash again.
Damn, this is dangerous.
Thinking while fighting is ridiculously hard.
<
I'm guessing it's the third snake.
Looking back, that one hasn't shown itself at all—it might be acting as a spotter?
Aaaa, I dodged.
If that's the case, where could it be hiding?
This place is huge, but there aren't many good hiding spots.
I scanned around while still evading attacks.
<
I tried using [Sensing] but didn't detect anything.
Does it have a stealth skill that blocks my sensing?
If so, that's seriously annoying.
Since I can't find the third snake for now, I have to change my strategy—also to test whether they can still keep up.
After dodging the main snake's attack with [Flash], I instantly used [Flash] again. As expected, right after that, the small snake appeared behind me to ambush—but found nothing.
I saw clearly that it suddenly appeared out of thin air.
What skill was that?
This discovery only made me more confused.
What should I do?
The big snake has only been attacking normally, but I know it's waiting to recover. I don't know how well it can heal, but it might suddenly launch a super attack at any time.
<
Aaaa, thinking about all this is giving me a headache.
Can't we just fight like proper men?
Oh wait, I'm a girl.
Anyway, in short —I need to figure out their tricks soon, or I'm definitely dead!
Maybe the only thing keeping me going now is how fast my skills are leveling up.