Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Adelaide

Chapter 18: Adelaide

Under the moon, a man in steel-plate armor was desperately sprinting through the forest. Behind him, was a shadowed outline that could vaguely be determined as serpentine.

Adelaide had always boasted a huge snake, both to the ladies, and the men. So much so perhaps, that the gods thought it fitting for him to be bestowed with one— quite literally speaking.

Pursuing him was a serpentine entity that was abnormally long and thick. From head to tail it was approximately forty feet or twelve meters, and regarding thickness, it was around three boars dense. Above all however, its most discerning feature had to be its twin heads. Now this, was something Adelaide could never rival.

At the top of his lungs, he shouted over and over, “Help! HEEELP!”

Then in the distance in front of him, a man and a woman quickly burst out of the forest. Correspondingly, they yelled, “We’re here!” and “What’s the emergency!?”

Upon seeing two familiar members of his platoon however, he didn’t rejoice but quietly cursed his luck.

‘Fuck!’

“Run! Get out of here!”

Evidently, the people in front of him weren't who he was looking for.

Seeing the immense, forest-ravaging silhouette behind Adelaide, extreme fear caused the man to flee, and the woman to be struck frozen.

“Godsdamn!”

‘Why did it have to be the woman that froze!?’

The colossal serpent slowed its slither whilst turning one, then two heads to the direction of the female soldier.

In response, Adelaide, slowed his sprint, before in an act of suicidal heroism, lunged at the creature with his rapier.

At that moment, his focus concentrated into a single totality point. All the thoughts of chasing skirts, and who he would add to his list of fair maidens deflowered, had disappeared.

In concert, muscles and tendons twisted, the mana in his body briefly gained a higher level of precision and streaming flow— all to allow for an attack much beyond his level.

He and his rapier flew, not like a fired arrow but an instantaneous bullet.

Still, the colossal serpent was by no means ordinary, and had rightly so gained the classification of [Mythical].

It had definitely underestimated Adelaide— never expecting a prey that had fled on sight, bolting away without any resistance whatsoever, to suddenly attack with an extraordinary pierce…yet the danger had long been sensed, by both serpent heads, as soon as Adelaide had formed the intent to harm.

Before he shot out like a bullet, one of the serpent heads moved preemptively.

It was a highly refined sixth sense.

Adelaide’s piercing strike just barely missed going through one of the snake’s four eyes, and instead struck the scales just next to it.

This piercing strike was able to puncture through iron, and even the steel-plate that the other soldiers wore, but upon contact with the serpent’s scales, his rapier shattered, while the serpent’s scales was left with numerous cracks but no breach.

However, the two serpent heads hissed in terrible pain, which was exactly what Adelaide had hoped for. Their hisses were extremely loud due to their size, and finally the frozen woman snapped out of her daze and fled, all while holding her ears.

The twin-headed serpent didn’t give her another glance, and instead pounced on Adelaide’s figure.

Luckily, he still had enough stamina, mana, and mental endurance to single-point concentrate, and once again shot out like a bullet out of the twin heads’s path.

A thunderous crash resounded as small trees and large bushes flew from the subsequent impact. Reappearing just ten meters away, the blasting wind swept Adelaide's hair to the side, revealing his handsome face.

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…For a moment, he couldn’t help but think how cool he was; how his charming and elegant face under the dim moonlight, could be captured in a painting and sell as a masterpiece.

That was, before he broke out into a panicked run. His figure sprinted away so desperately that he almost stumbled and face planted.

“Help! Help! HEEELP!” Adelaide continued to scream without any sense of that previous grace.

Behind him, the twin-headed serpent hissed angrily, before once again slithering forward to pursue.

Although Adelaide had created a sizable distance from the serpent because of his shenanigans, that gap was slowly but surely lessening.

Frequently when the creature reached a certain distance, it would lunge at Adelaide, forcing him to use his extraordinary ability of concentration convergence.

This situation occurred five more times. By the end of the fifth, his lungs were burning and so were his leg muscles, his mana circuits were so depleted it felt as if they were withering, and a mind splitting headache was blurrying his vision.

The twin heads of the serpent looked at its prey with obvious disdain, and voracious anticipation. In its enhanced vision, the serpent saw that Adelaide didn’t have enough mana to sustain another dash.

“Help! HEEEELP ME!” He cried out weakly one more time, before finally tripping on a tree root, and tumbling harshly onto the forest floor. His surroundings rotated dizzily, going from ground to sky then ground again.

The cries of its prey along with its pathetic fall only made the serpent more eager— a sense of ridicule mixed with bloodlust filled the surroundings. As it readied one of its heads to pounce though, it suddenly stopped.

Something shot forward from the corner of its eyes, arriving explosively between Adelaide, and its two giant heads.

BOOM!

If the twin-headed serpent had lunged after its prey at that moment, it would have suffered the same blow that the earth did.

As the debris cleared, the outline of a woman in her signature exquisite armor appeared. Just as she had departed, so too did she arrive just as dramatically, with chunks of dirt and debris flying into the air. To be honest, it was mostly because she didn’t have the masterful control to do things quietly, but on the other hand, she thought it suited her style.

Adelaide breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

At this moment, he was thanking his lucky stars he was able to attract her attention, although, he had not escaped his predicament just yet.

The noble young lady came from a station much higher up, but the details weren’t ultimately clear. Unless they bought their position with money and connections, those from higher stations most of the time had the corresponding strength, but both Ruby’s station and her strength were unknown. Additionally, there was simply nothing in the short few months of her service, to test the true limits of her might.

While fleeing from death though, Adelaide could only gamble that she would be up to par. If her Ladyship was at least on their company commander’s level though, it was enough to hold the creature off while he gathered more allies.

The twin-headed serpent shifted and slithered. Gathering itself, it coiled its body upwards, and two vague heads stared down at Ruby from above. It couldn’t stand on its tail, but it didn’t need to do so to have the proper psychological effect. Its heads could directly touch the branches twenty feet above the two soldiers, and as they stalked and prowled, circling the two while reappearing and disappearing behind the shadows of thick trees, Adelaide’s heart started to beat out of his chest.

In contrast, Ruby stood steadfast and firm. Gripping her sword, the hilt was brought near her face, while the tip of the blade was constantly pointed at and following the serpent’s twin heads.

Whilst she stayed relatively still however, her surroundings had started to shift restlessly. Wind started to swirl and sweep her surroundings, although it was actually the force of her mana that was doing so.

Adelaide had to first shake himself out of that predatory feeling of fear, and started to stand up. The situation he was going through offered a different and new sense of tension from his previous, but just the fact that the twin-headed serpent decided to observe and not straight-up attack, was a sign that the creature was wary of the woman in front of him. Using such an opportunity, he could use this time to go and invite help.

Just as Adelaide stood up however, he fell back down.

He stared incredulously at his legs, before a voice spoke from in front of him.

It was authoritative yet calm, and not at all like how the young lady usually spoke, “You’re suffering from depletion. Don’t stray too far from my back, but make some dista—”

Her words were cut off for in that moment the serpent struck!

Ruby’s eyes were always tracking the serpent, but nearing the border of the mystical lands, the twin heads of the serpent disappeared behind a massive tree, before miraculously splitting apart into two bodies, attacking from both her left and right flank.

In an instant her greatsword shined with incandescent blue light, all her muscles tensed, ready to release an explosive force. If she could, she would aim to cleave both of their heads in one-go, if she couldn’t, then just one was enough.

In the micro-seconds of that life and death exchange…the two serpents, each twenty-feet long with heads as thick as a carriages, suddenly reversed their paths in a criss-cross manner, and directly fled.

Under the sparsely moonlit forest, the two gigantic shadows combined into one, before completely disappearing from view.

…Adelaide was in a daze, still processing the events that happened. Ruby, was still in a sword stance, ready to receive their synchronized attack.

The look on the young woman’s face, directly contrasted with her imposing image. Her greatsword that was shining brighter than the moon, had started to dim into a faint glow, before finally fading away completely.

Her body was hesitating between shooting forward to pursue, and just letting it be, but in the end, she slowly lowered her greatsword, before placing it behind her back.

Moments passed by, when Adelaide couldn’t help but blurt out, “It…ran. It was actually afraid of you.”

Ruby paused for a moment, thinking about it deeply, before replying, “...Maybe. Maybe not.” She sighed out, releasing the accumulated tension from the encounter.

“Then why did it flee?” He countered.

Ruby replied, “...It probably just wanted an easier meal.”

Adelaide paused, before understanding the gist of what she said.

Why attempt to hunt a bear, when you could just go find a rabbit? There really wasn’t a reason for the serpent to risk its life.

Though, that also meant the young lady in front of him had that ability.

Whilst he was thinking, he raised his head upwards to see the beautiful girl sizing him up.

“You must be pretty capable to hold your own.”

‘A compliment?’

‘Going around calling people useless— this is a pretty good compliment coming from her!’

‘Heh. Could it be…this pretty face of mine can even sway icy and proud women!?’

Finally Adelaide replied, “Capable? Just enough not to lose my life! Haha!”

‘Ladies usually love the cocky type, but nobles like humility right? At least they pretend to.’

‘This is my chance to establish a connection!’

‘To add a noble lady to my list of bedded maidens!’ Adelaide thought to himself daringly and presumptuously.

To his disappointment however, Ruby hadn’t replied, and had already turned her back on him. The young lady walked forwards, looking at the snake’s trail of destruction from whence it attacked, to where it decided to flee.

‘South…’

‘That kid won’t get eaten would he?’