Chapter 173

Ch . 173 – Giant Centipede

I speed up to regain some of the momentum lost from when I went the other way .

“GICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHIiiI !”

As the giant centipede climbs up the hill, an unpleasant sound can be heard as it comes nearer .

Immediately, the huge head of the giant centipede can be seen . The me who, until just now, was always running away suddenly showed up here . The giant centipede is surprised and stops immediately .

Here it is, this is the gap that I was waiting for to attack . I smack the top of the hill with my tail and launch myself into the air to cancel [[Roll]] . Then I extend my wings to fly up in the air .

Together with the giant centipede, our eyes meet at the same height . Indeed, when looking from such a close distance, its presence is much more overwhelming . Eei, scary, I’m scared!

“GUuoooOOO!”

“GICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHIiiiI !”

Because I am flying, I fire off [[Kamaitachi]] towards the giant centipede’s eye . If it is the eye, I think I can damage it . It seems unlikely to be able to withstand this . I would appreciate it even if it just temporarily weakens its eyesight .

I fly in a path passing right by the giant centipede’s head .

I want to create a little more distance, but even if I fly about, I’ll fall prey to the centipede’s beam . Also, taking my next strategy into consideration, I’d like to prevail somehow with this relative position . [1]

The giant centipede opens its jaw to the left and right and heads towards me to bite me . Uge, scaryyy .

However, even if it is [[Paralysis Bite]], it has already been taken into consideration in my plan . This is a skill that is very easy to handle . When compared to a breath attack, it has no reach . Its power is unmistakably strong, receiving one blow would remove a person from battle .

It seems like the giant centipede wants to end this with a powerful attack rather than to land an easy hit . It seems to hold an intense grudge . This amount of resentment is just right, it will be easier for me to provoke it .

The giant centipede is eyeing me . Following my movements, it raises its head accordingly . As expected, its movement is fast . It is impossible to evade it using normal means .

I will handle it skillfully, if I make a mistake it will be instant death . I have simulated this scenario multiple times . If I can keep up in this state, how should I move around to the enemy’s tail? Following that path seems to be good .

Its jaws approach me . As I fend off its jaws with my wing, I use my tail, with my wing in between, to strike its jaws with all my might and propel myself forward using my wings .

“GUuuU……”

Pain runs through my wings, but I was able to escape from its jaws . I did not go up, but instead head around towards the tail of the giant centipede .

I have to withstand the pain, if I fall down here and stray from my plan, everything will be lost . I cannot be seen as weak now, rather, I have to look like I am calm and composed .

Taking a glimpse behind me, the giant centipede is already twisting its body towards me . In my plan, this is where I let the giant centipede use [[Heat Ray]] to pursue me, but my provocation was not successful . When I passed by just now, I was planning to attack it . However, it deviates from the plan, I cannot afford more than what was expected .

The centipede beam seems to consume a great deal of MP . All of this depends on that guy’s mood . Damn it, I know that this situation is bad, but, as expected, it is impossible . But there is no other option than this .

This plan is crazy . Compared to the original plan, the chances of winning are like a thin thread . Although that is the only thing that I have been doing until now, there is no choice but to escape .

At least now, even in this situation things would have been different if I had a skill that can provoke the giant centipede…… but I guess it’s impossible . That guy’s shell is too abnormal . Just a little poke is not enough, even if you hit its face with [[Kamaitachi]] there will be no reaction .

No…… something, I feel like I am getting something . First of all, the damage will not go through right? Perhaps I can use a skill which can do something to instigate it .

There’s only one, a skill that I never used before, [[Whistle]] . Somehow I instinctively know how to use it . First I narrow my lips, then follow through with magic power and blow out lightly . The keypoint is, to whistle . I never thought that this skill will have such a special use . I tried not to use it in the forest because it would have been troublesome if it had attracted monsters due to it making a loud noise .

If that is the case, I should able to draw the attention of the giant centipede . This is the last bet . With this, I’ll taunt the giant centipede to use [[Heat Ray]] .

I turn my head behind to stare at the giant centipede’s face and use [[Whistle]] .

Pyu~ Pii

Although there is a pause in between, it is loud enough to surprise others . Oioi, this, this won’t attract weird monsters, right? Maa, in this desert there is no one more dangerous than the giant centipede .

“GICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHIiiI !”

The giant centipede heaves its head up and starts to accumulate red light in its mouth . Yes, it is finally coming! Somehow I have smoothly achieved my goal!

O~ O~ it is getting angry, it’s getting angry . Ma, this is it, it should be like this . Anyone would be angry if they were whistled at right after their attack was evaded . That would most likely include me too, I would chase them to the bottom of the cliff in a rage .

I rise in altitude and at the same time I slow down a little bit . I hang around the top of the giant centipede’s tail .

The giant centipede catches sight of me with its eyes, and claps its jaw in excitement . It is coming, it is coming .

Immediately it fires the centipede beam . You will not make it in time if you try to evade it from the moment you see the beam . From the moment the giant centipede takes aim, you have to move away . It must be subconsciously evaded .

If it is this close in distance . It will be easy to cut off from the giant centipede’s line of sight . It is not like the time when I was running away, this time I can fully focus on evading the centipede beam . Even if I am able to safely evade it, five seconds is my limit .

“GICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHICHII !”

I move my tail in the air to shift my centre of gravity, I use my wing and tilt my body to move towards the left . This way, I will have moved out of the line of sight of the giant centipede . Immediately to my right, the centipede beam is fired off .

I can feel an intense heat in my body . Even if it did not hit, this thing is already at the level of a biological weapon . To evade the centipede beam I fly to the right in a semicircular pattern . The centipede beam is following me .

Compared to a normal distance, it is easier to evade at a close distance . Nonetheless, with my strength, this is my limit for evading .

“GUuGAa !”

I breath out [[Plague Breath]] to cover my surroundings with a sinister miasma . [2] Now the giant centipede has lost sight of me . However, something like this will clear up quickly .

I rapidly descend and land near the rear end of the giant centipede . I strike the tail of the giant centipede with both my claws, put my strength into my jaw and bite it . After bracing my legs on the ground, I kick off while smacking my tail on the ground .

“GUuoOOOO !”

Making sure my wings are spread, I shoot [[Kamaitachi]] directly below me . The giant centipede’s back lifts forcefully .

In the midst of the miasma, I can see the giant centipede . It is like a mass of light .

I lift the body of the large centipede over to the place where the centipede beam passes by .

As expected of the giant centipede . That centipede beam, if you take it on yourself, there will be nothing left . The shell that you are proud of will be shattered . After that, it will be sufficient to just attack the part where the shell has shattered .

With this, I finally can properly damage you . Finally, I can feel like we stand on the same level . From here onwards it seems like there will be a fierce battle .

‘Jutto’ A short sound rang out . It seems like the body of the giant centipede is hit by the centipede beam .

“GICHIYAaaaaaaaaaaAAaaaaaAaaaaaa !”

Together with the loud screech, the giant centipede’s body moves greatly . Trashing heavily back and forth away from my mouth, my jaw seems to nearly fall off . It is a close call, my fangs which are holding on to it are almost pulled off . This giant centipede bastard is flailing all over the place . At this rate my entire head will be pummeled .

Because I cannot see due to the miasma in my surroundings, I am not sure what happened . In conclusion, I wonder how much damage the centipede beam had dealt to the giant centipede’s body .

It seems like the giant centipede’s tail has been thrown to the ground, I pull my fangs from the shell . I kick on the tail of the giant centipede to jump to the ground . Using my tail to reduce the impact and then following up with [[Roll]] . At the same time as my body involuntarily reacts to the skill, I run away to gain distance from the giant centipede .

Right after I left, the gigantic body of the centipede crumbles behind me .

“KICHIa, a aAAaaa !!”

The giant centipede makes a scream-like sound . This time the sound is much louder . Well, but, that sound, isn’t it far away?

Eh, wait a second? Is there something weird? What happened?

I raise my head to look for the head of the giant centipede . Towards the front where the dust has cleared, I can see the giant centipede with one third of its lower body now gone, rampaging around with an overturned body . Dark green body fluids flow out from the amputated area . A large number of legs are wriggling violently .

It’s movements look painful and it seems to be suffering . It looks like a drowning person struggling to grab onto something . At this moment, the giant centipede’s legs all look like the hands of a person . I shake my head to get rid of that creepy image .

Apparently, it seems that the centipede beam strategy has worked better than I had imagined . It did not just crush the shell, it cut its upper body and lower body into two . Just how much offensive power does it have? At the same time, I am really glad it did not hit me .

[1] Raw: それに後の作戦のことを考えれば、なんとかこの位置関係で凌ぎたい。

[2] Google-sensei’s alternative tl: “Cover your surroundings with vicious mockery . ”