Ch.57Titanium Mantis (1)

Thud…

A massive corpse fell from the sky. An enormous Owl Bear, appearing to be about 4-5 meters in size, plummeted from above, and whatever had dropped it flew away somewhere else.

With a whooshing sound, the unidentified creature disappeared.

And where the corpse had been dropped, another unidentified creature appeared.

Thud…

With each step, the massive creature shook the forest with thunderous sounds. It grabbed the giant Owl Bear with its enormous foot and disappeared back into the forest.

All that remained was the drag mark where the giant Owl Bear had been pulled away.

* * * * *

As we entered the forest, I felt at ease with the chitton feed I hadn’t experienced in a while. After receiving the blessing of the World Tree, the forest became incredibly comfortable, and I found myself reluctant to leave, feeling heavy outside its boundaries.

It seemed that this ability to recover and feel lighter while in the forest was more powerful than I’d thought. While I was contemplating how this felt like both a blessing and a curse, I sensed gazes watching us from afar.

“Then I’ll hide again! When I’m around, the demonic beasts don’t attack much! Don’t worry, I’ll keep healing your injuries!”

Mary’s figure vanished instantly, and the gazes staring at me gradually became more blatant.

Mmmrrrooooo———

I revealed my presence in the forest.

Kyaoooo——!!!

Shaaaaa——!!!

Demonic beasts responded to my call with their own roars. Considering how many Wearbeasts had appeared earlier at the entrance, and now seeing so many demonic beasts here, it was clear why this place was called the Forest of Demonic Beasts.

As we continued forward, an Owl Bear appeared. With its size and the powerful strength characteristic of bears, it might have posed a slight threat to an ordinary Minotaur, but… it wasn’t enough to threaten me.

When I grabbed the Owl Bear’s head with one hand as it charged at me, it roared and scratched my arm with its claws.

Ooook!!

I felt a slight sting from the attack as my wounds were still healing, but I crushed the Owl Bear’s owl head in my hand.

Crunch—

The Owl Bear, now just a Bear without the Owl, was finished, and I had my meal right there.

I could have eaten the bee carcasses from earlier, but they were a green mess that didn’t appeal to me. Fortunately, food came running to me on its own legs, allowing me to fill my stomach somewhat.

Mmmrrrooooo——

I continued making calls to draw aggro, and those who took the bait came at me one after another, making it feel like I was playing a defense game.

In one area, a Fang Wolf with impressive canines led a pack to attack me, while in another, Scissor Spiders with sharp forelegs lunged at me.

In one place, a centipede over 10 meters long crawled around spewing poison, and in another, a Wearabbit over 5 meters in size charged at me.

Various demonic beasts and strange insect monsters attacked me, which was fine, but one question arose.

Even if the demonic beasts and insect monsters here didn’t recognize a Minotaur, they should have been able to tell I was stronger than them, yet they showed no signs of acknowledging this.

In other places, monsters and demonic beasts hardly ever attacked me.

Animals, monsters, and demonic beasts typically have developed senses that prevent them from attacking opponents they perceive as stronger, causing them to flee instead. Yet the beasts and insects here were attacking me regardless.

“Muuuuu mmrrr? (Why are the demonic beasts and insects here attacking me?)”

After advancing a fair distance and with the sun setting, I took a break, using a recently caught Saber Tiger as a cushion while tearing off its leg. While having dinner with Mary, I asked about this strange phenomenon.

“Hmm—, I’m not sure about that either… Maybe it’s the influence of this forest’s master? They used to roam around fighting all the time, and perhaps the energy they spread throughout the forest has driven everything mad.”

“Muuu… mmrrr? (Will we be okay?)”

“Yes! I can use purification magic, so I’ve been casting it regularly. We’ll be fine!”

“Mmrrrooo. (That’s a relief.)”

I finished my dinner with the Saber Tiger meat, while Mary had dew collected on leaves she found somewhere, and then we went to bed.

* * * * *

Swish…

In the middle of the night, while I was on watch, I caught a very faint sound and focused my hearing. It was so quiet that I wouldn’t have heard it if I hadn’t been concentrating.

The sound came rhythmically, and I suspected it might be a demonic beast or insect trying to invade from another territory.

This territory had belonged to the Saber Tiger I’d eaten for dinner… Thinking it might be an intruder of equal or greater strength, I woke Mary.

“Mmrrrooo- (Mary, wake up. Mary.)”

She must have been sleeping deeply because she didn’t wake up after the first call. Only after calling two or three times did she finally stir.

“Hmm? What is it-?”

“Muuuuu, mrrr? (It’s an enemy. Could you hide and stay a bit further away?)”

Startled by my words, Mary quickly concealed herself, and I picked up the axe I had placed on the ground.

Not knowing when the creature might appear or how strong it might be, I remained tense.

Swiiish——!!!

With the sharp sound of something cutting through the air, I swung my axe.

Claaang——!!!!

The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out. This axe had belonged to the master of a kingdom that Rune Danjang had destroyed long ago, so it was likely made of titanium at minimum.

I reached out to examine what could produce such a clear metallic sound when clashing with such a weapon…

But it had already hidden back in the darkness. After the creature’s quick hit-and-run, I maintained my tension and used lightning to illuminate the surroundings to locate it.

Crackle—

Black lightning instantly brightened the area around me. As the light spread, it revealed the creature’s form.

A mantis.

A mantis about 6 meters tall, smaller than me, was there.

With scythe-like arms, folded wings on its back, and a body as thick as my arm. It seemed specialized for ambush attacks, with a slender build that looked like it would break with just one hit.

The mantis seemed startled by the sudden lightning and jumped up, revealing its vulnerability like a young specimen.

And I didn’t miss that opening.

Mwooorrr——!!!

With a roar, I threw my lightning-wrapped axe at the mantis’s position. For a creature specialized in ambush attacks, its attack power might exceed mine, but its durability seemed paper-thin.

Whoooosh——!!!

The lightning-wrapped axe flew in a straight line, pushing back the darkness as it headed toward the mantis.

But… before the axe could reach it, the mantis that had been there just a moment ago when the black lightning dispelled the darkness, vanished in an instant.

Swish——

And its scythe-like foreleg flew toward my neck. Seeing that visual that suggested serious trouble if I took a direct hit, I lowered my head slightly and thrust my horns forward.

Claaang——!!!

The clash of horn and scythe. The scythe’s hardness was beyond expectation, remaining intact even after hitting my horn. Thinking its cutting power might rival the Master’s aura, I tried to close the distance.

Mwooorrr——!!

Swiiish——

The creature made a low metallic sound as it tried to distance itself from me, while I surrounded myself with lightning to force it into a straight-line path. Despite its 6-meter height, the slender-bodied creature was incredibly fast, likely due to its light weight.

Rumble——

A speed difficult to match even with lightning. Even though it was only moving in straight lines, the speed difference was so great that I worried about losing sleep if I let it escape here. I wrapped the chain attached to my axe with lightning and swung it.

Whirrrr—!!

The chain flew instantly toward the mantis. The 20-meter-long chain seemed about to bind the mantis, but…

Claaang——!!

Its foreleg knocked the chain away, sending it rolling on the ground. But I had two chains. While the metal chain rolled on the ground, the chain made of lightning broke free from the metal one and successfully bound the mantis.

Swiiish——!?

The mantis screamed in apparent surprise. Its body seemed partially paralyzed by the lightning, moving in jerky motions like a lagging computer. As I was about to swing my lightning-wrapped axe to finish it off.

Swiiish——

My trait [Demonic Beast’s Sense] caught an attack aiming for my blind spot, and I successfully blocked it.

Claaang——!!!

Muuuu——!!

As I forcefully reversed my axe swing to defend my neck, another metallic sound rang out.

While my forcibly reversed arm was throbbing with pain, I turned my head to identify what had attacked me.

There was another mantis, the same size as me.