Chapter 129 The Uselessness of Words
“Partner, you haven’t forgotten the plan, have you?”
The Snake Queen spoke to me.
Combat.
Especially in large-scale battles like this, countless variables existed.
It was nearly impossible to proceed exactly as initially planned.
However, it was crucial to maintain the main framework.
If we failed to do that, we would merely be a disorganized mob.
“Gegek.”
Our forces were superior.
The Snake Queen and Argentarvis’s troops.
Additionally, the beasts that had remained neutral joined our side.
If we used our numerical advantage to push through, we could easily win.
That was, of course, assuming the enemy allowed it.
The enemy wasn’t stupid, so they must have devised ways to make up for their lack of numbers.
The Bird King had the ability to brainwash, meaning some of our allies could end up switching sides.
Although we planned to press the Bird King so hard that he wouldn’t even have a chance to use his brainwashing powers, it didn’t hurt to be cautious.
Even though our forces were in a favorable position, that alone didn’t guarantee victory.
This battle was likely to be decided by a confrontation between the leaders.
In other words, it would come down to a battle between divine beasts.
The Bird King, Filbang, Imoogi Bird.
The Snake Queen, Argentarvis, and Komodo-Lania.
Although they might have hidden forces, the publicly known ones were these.
I didn’t think their hastily reinforced troops would be stronger than those divine beasts.
A 3-on-3 showdown.
The side that triumphed in this fight would win the war.
Each of us would take on one opponent and secure victory.
… It would be great if things went that smoothly, but if even one of us lost, the entire plan would crumble.
One defeat could lead to the downfall of all.
The best strategy would be to use the Komodo secret technique — ganging up on one enemy to eliminate them one by one.
Of course, they wouldn’t just sit back and let that happen.
So, what should we do?
Take one down quickly and then join up with the others.
In simple terms, we’d gang up on them.
“I’ll take on the Bird King, but he won’t go down easily. If I could defeat him alone, this war would already be over.”
The Bird King was no easy opponent.
While I didn’t believe the Snake Queen would lose, Gaetsalgoadal was her equal. So, it was impossible for her to defeat him quickly and then help the others.
When facing the Bird King, the Snake Queen planned to conserve her strength.
She would hold out while cautiously probing the situation, then, after defeating the other enemy leaders, our forces would come to assist in subduing the Bird King. That was the core of this strategy.
“Filbang won’t be easy either. The former Bird King will take him on, but if Filbang is determined to evade, it won’t be easy to bring him down. His attacks are so widespread that our side will suffer significant damage too.”
Filbang had taken the position of second-in-command.
From my keen observations, it was clear that Filbang was at a higher level than the Imoogi Bird or the Beihj Bird.
Honestly, just by looking at him, you could tell he had “I’m the strongest” written all over him.
“The Imoogi Bird is different. I already cut off one of its wings, so it won’t be able to escape even if it tries. In other words, once we find it, the fight will be over quickly.”
One of the Imoogi Bird’s wings was definitely severed.
That meant it would be the easiest to take down first.
If Argentarvis or the Snake Queen went after the Imoogi Bird, the fight would end quickly.
That left me to handle either Filbang or the Bird King.
It wasn’t that I couldn’t hold out, but they were flying birds.
Since I was a ground-crawling lizard, they could easily ignore me and reach the Imoogi Bird before me, so I had no choice but to take on the Imoogi Bird myself.
“You have a heavy burden on your shoulders.”
“Gekgek.”
It’s fine.
I’m the lizard that took down the Beihj Bird; I can certainly defeat an injured bird with a damaged wing.
Besides, it didn’t seem like the Imoogi Bird was specialized in combat anyway.
“There’s always a chance the plan could fall apart, but it’s better than nothing. Even if we don’t meet up, as long as each of us defeats our assigned enemy, we’ll win the war naturally.”
Rumble.
The ground trembled.
The sight of countless troops heading toward Gaetsalgoadal’s nest was truly spectacular.
The jungle was a place densely packed with massive trees.
Moving such a large force simultaneously would present many difficulties.
But leading the charge was the Snake Queen.
As soon as she touched the trees, they fell effortlessly.
Kwaaang!
That’s how she cleared the way, and the beasts followed the Basilisk.
“Kyaaak! It’s the Snake Queen!”
“War, it’s war! Kyaaak!”
Parrots flitted about, making a huge fuss.
With such noisy advancement, the beasts unrelated to this matter had already fled long ago.
Yet still, countless beasts stood in our way.
They were Gaetsalgoadal’s forces.
Among them were flightless birds like the Terror Birds, and even some creatures as large as the Megatherium we encountered in the Soaring Dragon’s territory.
I knew all too well how strong they were.
Under normal circumstances, breaking through them would take time.
They were specialized in dragging out fights, with their immense stamina and tough bodies.
But we had the Snake Queen.
“Saaaaah!”
The Snake Queen let out a mighty roar.
The roar alone caused the leaves of countless trees to fall.
Gaetsalgoadal’s forces were startled by the sound.
They scrambled to scatter in all directions to avoid the attack.
The Snake Queen was a Basilisk.
And that meant that once you met her gaze, it was already too late.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
The petrifying gaze.
Every living thing that made eye contact with the Snake Queen turned to stone.
“…Gweong?”
The power was so overwhelming that even our own troops hesitated for a moment.
“Kiieeek!”
Soon after, a cheer erupted.
Each one of those soldiers could go toe-to-toe with the Black Dragon’s elite.
And she had neutralized them with a single glance, so it was only natural that the underlings would cheer.
“The effect isn’t as strong as I’d hoped. Some of them seem to be immune.”
Not as strong, huh?
Then what does that make me?
However, just as she said, there were some enemies who resisted the petrification.
They must have taken the Cockatrice and used its abilities to build up a resistance to the petrification.
But it wasn’t much of a problem.
“Kwaaaah!”
“Grrrrr!”
We had more than enough forces to deal with them.
“Part…? Par… tiiiiime!”
A massive beast, no longer a unicorn but now called a hornless beast, swept across the battlefield.
“Hooh, for the hornless beast to join us… Looking at its missing horn, it seems that it gave it to me,” said Argentarvis, intrigued.
Despite lacking a horn, the beast’s overwhelming physical power, coming from its enormous body, was more than enough to handle those enemies. Moreover, any foe affected by petrification shattered upon mere contact with its body.
The Snake Queen’s wide-range attack.
And the surge of the beasts charging forward.
The tide of battle was turning in our favor.
But, of course, the enemy wouldn’t just stand idly by.
“Uoooooooh!”
The sky suddenly brightened.
A mass of fire that looked like another sun had appeared.
Just as the Snake Queen had reduced their numbers with a wide-area attack, the enemy was trying to do the same by using a large-scale attack.
That fire clearly belonged to Filbang.
“If they had come from the start, they could’ve avoided unnecessary bloodshed. How wonderful,” Argentarvis said, looking up at the sky.
“Don’t worry about this.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Argentarvis disappeared.
Swaaaaaaak!
The sound of the air being torn apart.
Argentarvis soared high into the sky, flapping his enormous wings.
Kwagagagagagagak!
A fierce wind, filled with the profound energy of Argentarvis, blew.
Swaaaaaak!
The massive ball of fire fell toward the ground.
But Argentarvis’s whirlwind wrapped around it.
You’d think that adding wind to the fire would only make it grow.
That thought crossed my mind, but I quickly realized it was unnecessary worry.
Argentarvis’s whirlwind completely enveloped Filbang’s fireball, carrying it high into the air.
Kwaaaaang!
The massive fireball naturally extinguished in the sky.
“Since I received the horn of the hornless beast, I should at least earn my keep.”
“Uoooooooh!”
Argentarvis flew at incredible speed toward Filbang.
I could leave Filbang to him.
Since Argentarvis had recovered thanks to the horn, he wouldn’t lose to Filbang.
“It’s all roughly taken care of. Now, with the remaining forces here, we can clear this area. Let’s split up as we discussed earlier.”
“Gegek!”
I nodded.
Leading 20% of the overall troops, we each headed in different directions.
The Snake Queen went to face the Bird King, and I went to confront the Imoogi Bird.
Now that Filbang had shown up, their forces would have to come out as well.
If three of them ganged up on Filbang, he wouldn’t last a minute before dying meaninglessly.
But if that happened, it wouldn’t be a one-on-one; it would turn into a three-on-three.
The Snake Queen said we needed to avoid that situation due to Gaetsalgoadal’s abilities.
That’s why we were splitting up—so the Bird King would face the Snake Queen and the Imoogi Bird would come to me.
Of course, the Bird King could appear on my side, and the Imoogi Bird could show up where the Snake Queen was.
Even if that happened, we could still turn it to our advantage.
If I could dodge the attacks and buy some time, the Snake Queen could finish off the Imoogi Bird and then come to help me.
Now that the battlefield had shifted this way, the enemy would have no choice but to follow our lead.
I was dealing with the approaching enemy forces when suddenly—
Swaak!
A black feather flew toward me.
Thunk!
I quickly swung my hand, deflecting it.
“Hah, you wouldn’t have hit me even if I stood still.”
As expected, the Imoogi Bird revealed itself.
“That was just a greeting, a simple hello.”
…One of its arms should have been cut off.
Something felt off.
An unnatural energy lingered.
“Sigh, that damn Beihj Bird dragged things out for no reason, and now everything’s gone completely wrong.”
The Imoogi Bird looked annoyed.
“Well, maybe it’s his own fault since he ended up getting killed by the Snake Queen.”
What’s this guy talking about?
Does he not know that I killed the Beihj Bird?
Could he possibly think that after their retreat, the Snake Queen rescued me?
Did he believe the Beihj Bird was killed by the Snake Queen?
“You seem a bit smaller, don’t you?”
That explains why he’s standing there so confidently.
Right now, I had reduced my body size using my shrinking ability.
Even after taking a hit from my Gecko Death Beam, he seemed relatively fine.
In other words, he didn’t see my shrunken self as a threat.
For some reason, after reattaching his severed arm, he appeared stronger than before.
“Fighting you is such a hassle. I might as we—”
He was about to start running his mouth again, just like that woman I saw in the Snake Queen’s mental image.
This time, too, he purposely came out looking like that.
To provoke the Snake Queen.
If I let him go now, the Snake Queen would have to see this sight again.
[“State: Miniaturization” has been deactivated.]
Creak, crack.
[The effect of “Miniaturization Lv5” activates “State: Gigantification.”]
“What, what?”
The Imoogi Bird hastily assumed a fighting stance.
[“Dragon’s Reverse Scale Lv5” has been activated.]
“Sh-shit, why are you suddenly this big…?”
Sssssss.
[You have temporarily acquired “Gecko Death Beam Lv5.”]
“W-wait a minute. I just…!”
You never learn, do you?
Words are useless.
Zoooooooong!
A blue beam imbued with the wisdom of the Gecko pierced through the Imoogi Bird’s abdomen.