BXBX NOVEL Chapter 125 - Sea Serpent
After a few days, words spread among the soldiers about divine justice who punished anyone who hurt others. The soldiers who tried to assault their female comrades? They were punished because one of them lost control of his skill.
The soldiers who bullied the weak? Unfortunate accidents would befall them. Then, rumors spread around about a vengeful ghost that would whisper in the ears of others.
Stories were made about the pitiful demise of this soldier, pushed by his comrades into killing himself. After a few days, none of the soldiers dared to mess around anymore.
As for the culprit himself, Nikolai was enjoying himself immensely. There was something about messing with people that seemed to relax him, and he slept in his stealth peacefully.
Although the draining mana would alarm anyone in their sleep, Nikolai learned to deal with it. His body also adjusted to the time cycle of the army, so he woke up before they did.
The trip toward the border was almost peaceful, if not for the giant beast in front of them. But, even for the Bestial Kingdom, the wilderness was dangerous for them. A testimony of that was the giant sea serpent that blocked their path over the bridge, giving them quite the headache.
The fact this bridge was the only route toward the border that didn\'t help, nor the fact that they carried essential supplies. As Nikolai admired the mighty monster, he overheard the conversation of the officer a distance away.
"How did the Scouters mess this up?" the officer was a lion-man with a dignified expression. The soldier beside him stuttered and didn\'t know how to reply, but the officer knew better than blaming his soldiers. "Forget it. We need to find a way across the river."
Nikolai\'s train of thought was quite different as he looked at the monster in front of him. If this monster was willing to attack so many people, it must have a reason to do so.
Lilith taught him that monsters weren\'t always mindless. Sometimes they were either trying to survive or protect their kin. So the beast didn\'t attack them as long as they didn\'t try to cross the bridge, which stood steady against the monster\'s attacks.
\'I guess it\'s the latter reason,\' Nikolai realized. \'What is it trying to protect? Its eggs or hatchlings?\' This was an opportunity to make some money, as both were valuable given the stats and skills that could come out of such a legendary monster.
The endeavor would be pretty risky if Nikolai were alone. However, how can he be alone with his comrades willing to risk their lives for him? As he turned toward the soldiers, Nikolai felt moved by their sacrifice, but he would accept it nonetheless.
As for whether his actions were morally right, that would be hard to say. These people will be trying to cross the bridge regardless, and Nikolai was simply using that opportunity to obtain some loot. However, he was not arrogant enough to give up a ready-meal delivered to him.
"A gift from the heavens cannot be rejected, even by one who hates the heavens. So I\'ll take this as compensation for the times Celestia wronged me."
Nikolai turned toward the army who was holding a strategical meeting. He walked unnoticed and stood hidden in the corner of the tent. If anyone knew of how powerful his stealth is, then he would be the world\'s most coveted spy.
"I believe we need to slay the monster for us to pass," said one of the captains, who looked like a human with antennasand scales. Nikolai had no idea what species it was, to be quite honest.
"And loss half of our men for a mistake by the scouts?" another woman who had snake-like features hissed. "You seem quite keen on this. Are you a human with a pair of sticks attached?"
Nikolai almost laughed at the accusation, and the others didn\'t hold themselves back. Instead, the antenna beastman glared at the rest before the half-lion banged on the table.
"Leave your petty grudges for later, idiots!" the lion roared, and it shook the camp. "We need to find a way across the bridge without losing any of our men!"
"Sir, how about we use some of the enchanted items we are taking?" said a small-framed captain. "It is better that we lose a few items than they drown in the river."
"Plausible," the lion seemed pleased. "We might get in trouble if we use them without permission, but it is the only way for us to make it before the attack."
\'The attack?\' Nikolai frowned as he heard those words. An attack on the Bestial Kingdom in his first year of the academy? It can only be that battle.
When he tried to cross the border, he came across Alil Village. At that time, he identified the village as the place that would be wiped off the map after a battle, but he didn\'t remember the details since he was studying.
He only came across the news in passing, so he didn\'t know what would happen. However, there was indeed the mention of a battle near the border, and an army of undead would rise from it.
"Can this be another of Val\'s fragments?"
Nikolai has already found two such fragments, and acquiring them made the trial get brought to a closer date. In the beginning, Nikolai had five months. After the second fragment, the selection was brought closer by two months.
There was a reason that his actions had such an impact on the date: he was stealing the fate of other candidates. There was a natural sequence of events, and Val seemed to have calculated the time for the candidates to find their fragments.
Nikolai was the anomaly of this timeline, as he knew the future. If there was indeed a fragment in the Demise of Alil, then Nikolai wanted to obtain it.
If he were lucky enough, he would bring the trial closer than The Lost Garden. His chances of emerging victoriously against those monsters blessed by Celestial were still slim, so Nikolai would be assured if he became a necromancer before that time.
As his thoughts reached here, Nikolai found out that the meeting was being concluded. The magical items were prepared, and Nikolai thought about stealing some of them. However, they had a complex seal that only allowed certain people to use them, so he gave up the thought.
The bridge was secured, and the serpent\'s temper grew uneasy as it saw countless soldiers boarding the bridge. Nikolai stood on the riverbank as he waited for the monster to start attacking before he dived into its den.
As the serpent gave a beastly roar and rose above the water, countless shimmering lights covered Unit 34. Then, finally, the battle against the monster began, and Nikolai crouched before he bolted forward to jump into the river.
His feet ran across the meadow in the dark dimension until he jumped into the water, and there was a change of shadows as Nikolai dived underwater.
Against his wishes, Nikolai couldn\'t breathe in the dark dimension if he was underwater. So he held his breath and looked around, hoping that the powerful currents generated by the monster or the stream wouldn\'t send him away.
The twin scimitars appeared in his hand, and Nikolai launched them toward the underwater rocks on the side. As he grabbed to the chains lest he drifts away, Nikolai looked at the body of the serpent sway in the water.
With each move of the serpent, powerful underwater currents threatened to pull Nikolai toward his demise. After a struggle of searching, Nikolai finally saw an underwater cave beside the monster.
\'Bingo,\'
Nikolai thought as he threw his other scimitar, and it cut across the water toward the lower parts of the river. The currents below were calmer, but the fight above broke Nikolai out of his stealth.
As he appeared back into the world, the force from the battle struck him. Nikolai used his Absolute Shield and watched with growing anxiety as damage notifications appeared.
[-50 DMG!]
[-54 DMG!]
[-32 DMG!]
The impact of the battle was unpredictable, and it came every few seconds. However, his shield stood firm as Nikolai\'s heart trembled at the ferociousness of the fight. The residue force of each monster\'s attacks was equal to an F-ranker\'s attack, which was absurd.
However, Nikolai knew that he was in for a treasure. He dived toward the cave as his shield negated the impact of the currents. As he was a few meters away from the entrance, the sea serpent gave a violent roar as its scaled body began slamming itself everywhere.
Without his stealth, Nikolai was bound to be found out if he got so close. The monster threw its body in Nikolai\'s direction, and his Absolute Shield took the attack\'s damage.
[-1029 DMG!]
Boom!
[-358 DMG!]
Nikolai was sent toward the wall of the river, and he slammed to it. The attack and the impact from it each took a giant chunk of his Absolute Charge, but they brought him close to the entrance.