Ch.58Titanium Mantis (2)

The owner of the giant scythe that attacked me. Apparently the mate of the creature I was trying to kill, it had been watching its male partner groaning from my lightning, waiting for the right moment to attack me.

The presumed female specimen, spinning the club attached to its front legs, was much larger than the male and had a substantial build, unlike the nimble male.

As a result, the scythe part of its arm was considerably thicker, almost looking like a club rather than a scythe. While I was paying attention to their physiques—as if the female was the tank and the male the damage dealer—

The female, apparently deciding it couldn’t wait any longer, charged at me.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!!

The female mantis approached me rapidly on its four massive legs, its large body making it look like a heavy tank.

Seeing this, I pulled the lightning chain and threw the male at her.

Shiiiiit—!

The male flew toward the female with a pain-filled groan, seemingly about to crash into her. But the female, as if she’d been waiting for this, thrust her scythe at the lightning chain.

Saaaak—

The female’s scythe, despite its thickness, was apparently quite sharp as it instantly cut through my lightning and rescued the male.

Shishishit

Making a sound like laughter, the female licked the male while keeping an eye on me.

Her posture suggested she was ready to counter if I charged. Seeing this, I twirled my axe and surrounded myself with lightning.

Crackle…

The lightning scorched the ground and burned trees, looking ready to attack at any moment. While the male and female watched each other cautiously—

I threw the axe I had been spinning.

Woooong—

The axe flew instantly toward the male who was disoriented from being electrocuted… but the female stared at the axe and deflected it with her scythe.

Claaang—

The axe bounced off with a metallic sound. However, this time, due to my strength and centrifugal force, the female’s left scythe was also knocked away.

Grooooar—!!

Not missing this opportunity, I charged at her. Running with thunderous steps, I lowered the horn on my head and rushed toward the male cradled in the female’s arms.

Shiiiiit—!!

But the female, apparently valuing the male extremely, moved away with the male as soon as she saw me approaching.

The wings on her back weren’t just for show—they carried both her heavy weight and the male’s as she flew up into a tree. My horn thrust missed, and we found ourselves in another standoff.

The male began to regain consciousness. Shaking his head, he seemed to have recovered from his dazed state and soon left the female’s embrace.

The female returned to the ground, and the male hid in the darkness, creating a 2-against-1 situation. I held lightning in my left hand and an axe in my right, ready to counter their attack.

A brief standoff. The female poised to charge at any moment, and the male hiding somewhere, waiting to slit my throat.

If I had to say which was more threatening… the male aiming for my neck from the darkness. While I waited, thinking I would pierce his neck without giving the female a chance to interfere if he came close—

Shiiiiiii—!!!

Unable to wait any longer, the female charged at me. A charge leading with her massive body. I prepared for the charge while also staying alert for the unseen male targeting me.

Then, collision.

Kwaaaang—!!!

Shiiiiiiit—!!!

Grooooar—!!!

The impact between me, standing nine meters tall, and the female of comparable height woke animals sleeping far away in the night. Nearby animals watched their battle with bated breath, desperately praying they wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire.

The female mantis’s scythes came flying in an X pattern, and I blocked the attack precisely in the middle by swinging my axe upward.

Claaang—!!!

Sparks flew as my axe collided with her scythes, momentarily revealing the female’s face in the light. As I raised my left arm to strike her face—

The male ambushed me from behind. His attack sliced my back, drawing blood, but I managed to wrap my tail around the male’s body and strike the female’s face.

Kwaaaang—!!!

Shiiiek—!?

The female seemed momentarily confused after being hit by my lightning-wrapped fist. Not missing this chance, I spun around toward the male trapped in my tail and struck him with the back of my hand.

Groooooar—!!!!

Unable to dodge properly while trapped in my tail, the male’s head flew off, meeting his death.

Apparently he really was just specialized in ambush attacks—his attack power was high, but his durability was paper-thin, causing his head to fly off with a single hit.

Shiiiiiek—!!!!

The female, who had been momentarily dazed, realized her mate’s death and let out an enraged roar. As if determined to kill me for killing her mate, she took to the air and repeatedly slashed with her scythes from her massive body.

However… she wasn’t the nimble male but the heavy-bodied female. Blinded by rage, she wasn’t utilizing her strengths properly.

If she had charged using her build as an advantage, she could have fought me evenly, but by needlessly flying around and slashing, she couldn’t put her weight behind her attacks, making them ineffective.

Easily blocking her attacks with my right-hand axe and horn, I gripped a chain in my left hand, wrapped it with lightning, and aimed for her lower body as she flew around.

The chain instantly bound the female’s lower body, and when her body momentarily slowed from the lightning’s shock, I pulled the chain in my left hand and dragged her to the ground.

Shiiiek—!!

The female mantis came crashing down instantly. In her confusion, she wildly swung her scythes, and I threw my axe from my right hand and picked up the male mantis’s corpse to throw at her.

Saaaak—

The male’s corpse split easily, like cutting tofu. She seemed to realize she had unconsciously cut her own mate and made a sorrowful sound.

Shiiiek…?

While her compound eyes were directed at the sliced corpse as if in mourning, I picked up the arm part of the male’s corpse—the only useful part—and struck the female with it.

Shaaaak—

The female ended her life without even screaming, killed by what had been her mate’s right arm scythe.

Groooooar!!!!

* * * * *

After the battle ended in the middle of the night, Mary, who had suddenly awakened, returned and treated the wound on my back before we went back to sleep.

I thought Mary wouldn’t be able to sleep after the sudden battle woke her up, but she said she slept well because she was exhausted from treating my wounds from morning till night, then sleeping, waking up, and repeating the same routine.

“That mantis is called a Titanium Mantis! They say the hardness of the scythe part is like titanium. The male has a small, agile body and acts as an assassin with one-hit kills, while the female is larger and slower than the male, but her scythe can cut even titanium! They say if both attack together, they can easily slice up about five Masters!”

“Groooar (Yes. They were even more threatening than a Master’s aura. I think it’s because of their size and physical strength.)”

“After all, even if humans strengthen their bodies with mana, without a foundation of basic strength, they’re bound to be weaker than monsters and demonic beasts! Since Khan is especially tough, battles here will be more helpful than fighting humans.”

As she said, this place was endlessly busy with constant battles. As we continued toward the center of the forest like we were clearing a gauntlet, demonic beasts and insect monsters from that territory charged at us.

Since coming to the Forest of Demonic Beasts, we’d encountered over 10 species of demonic beasts, and just as many insect monsters. The most threatening were the bees we encountered before entering and the Titanium Mantis couple we met last night.

Both were insect-type monsters, and despite being in the Forest of Demonic Beasts, only the insect monsters were threatening. Of course, as we get closer to the center, demonic beasts would likely become as threatening as the insect monsters, but for now, we carefully dealt with the insect monsters and moved forward.

After passing the entrance area, we could feel we were getting somewhat close to the center.

The air was as murderous as when I first confronted Commander Rune. If a being could emit such hostility and killing intent from this far away… it was probably stronger than Commander Rune but weaker than Lady Lassis.

This aura of hostility and killing intent likely belonged to the forest’s owner Mary had mentioned. My whole body tingled, and my instincts screamed at me to run away immediately.

I pushed forward, rejecting my instincts that told me I couldn’t win and should flee. Clearly none of the current participants could defeat this monster, but given more time, someone would surely emerge who could match it.

If so, shouldn’t I at least observe from a distance how strong it is?

With that thought, I continued forward, while Mary flew by my side, smiling as if nothing was wrong.

And so, we drew closer to the center of the Forest of Demonic Beasts.