Although the deflected rock crushed the monsters following behind.
“Oh, now it’s arrows.”
Look at Pelerian being so nonchalant, as if he won’t die again.
He was right.
The sky visible through the gaps in the branches turned black.
Clearly, thousands of arrows had been fired.
Papapapapak!
They began to pierce the charging monsters.
But well, in fact, there was no need to worry about arrows.
Hadn’t the chimera snake’s branches withstood even the catapults?
Pak!
That thought vanished as an arrow stuck right in front of my nose.
It had managed to slip through the gaps in the branches.
Stupid tree snake. Can’t even block that.
And another arrow nearly hit me.
「Using Acceleration lv7.」
I responded instinctively.
Chomp!
When I came to my senses, I had succeeded in catching the flying arrow with my mouth.
“How did you do that!”
‘…I wonder?’
I had unknowingly reached the realm of catching blades with bare hands.
At this rate, I might really be able to respond to flying blades.
The arrow rain stopped.
And the human soldiers’ battle cry erupted.
The time for catapults and arrows had ended.
Now the melee combat would begin.
When we arrived at the plains, the human army was waiting for us.
I knew it would come to this someday, but I really feel like I’ve become a Demon King.
A Demon King leading an army of monsters!
“Grooooar!”
The chimera snake also roared.
Well, in fact, this chimera is the Demon King, and I’m more like the shadowy figure behind it.
And the three in the carriage didn’t need to be involved in this fight.
“Saak!”
I roared at Rania and the humans.
‘I’ll spare your lives, pay the price later.’
And I swung my dagger.
「Using Iron Lion School Sword Technique lv1」
「Using Slash lv4.」
I cut the wooden branches tying the carriage one by one.
When I tried this before, this chimera guy just wrapped the carriage tighter with its branches.
But now it wouldn’t have the leisure to pay attention.
Thud, thudud
As only a few branches remained, the carriage began to tilt and fall.
The humans screamed.
Just as the carriage was about to touch the ground.
I swung my sword at the last remaining branch.
「Using Slash lv4.」
Kuung!
The carriage wrapped in branches landed safely on the ground.
Light monsters stepped over it as they passed, while heavier ones avoided it to the side.
The humans were afraid, but they didn’t need to worry too much.
The wooden branches tightly wrapping the carriage were very sturdy.
And above all, it would be better than being attached to the back of the boss monster where the attacks would be concentrated.
The chimera snake moved forward, leaving the fallen carriage behind.
Then it was my turn to escape.
‘Farewell, chimera.’
Ahead, mounted knights were charging towards us.
Especially the huge holy knight in golden armor looked terrifyingly fierce.
“Look- at me-!”
That knight’s enormous spear pointed towards the chimera snake.
I waited for the moment just before impact.
I saw it, the thread of opportunity.
‘Escape!’
I swung my sword, making sword marks around where I was embedded.
「Using Slash lv4.」
And I poured magical power into it, using skills in succession.
「Using Black Scales lv2.」
「Using Acceleration lv7.」
「Using Heart-eating Leap lv3.」
「Using Stealth lv8.」
Swoosh.
My body was pulled out!
In this critical moment, I succeeded in escaping from the chimera’s body.
Now I just needed to dive into the crowd of monsters and escape.
It was a perfect escape.
The chimera snake couldn’t afford to turn its attention to me in front of the charging knights.
…That’s how it should have been.
“L-look at that guy.”
As soon as the chimera snake noticed my escape, it turned its body.
And looked at me with yearning eyes.
“Muaaaa!”
It cried sorrowfully and stretched its branches towards me.
It was as if it was calling out “Mama-“.
‘Aak!’
Was it because of that?
I could have shaken off the branches wrapping around me, but I didn’t.
Because it turned its head, the chimera snake’s nape was fully exposed to the knights.
“Die-!”
The huge holy knight thrust his golden spear into the chimera’s body.
Kwaaang!
An even louder boom than when hit by the catapults rang out.
The holy knight’s reckless cavalry charge was indeed terrifying.
The war horse of the knight at the front had its neck broken and died, and that huge chimera snake was pushed back.
“Groar-!”
For the first time, the chimera let out a pained scream.
Black smoke rose from the wound where the spear was stuck.
‘You stupid fool.’
I felt enraged.
‘I’m not even your parent, why are you so attached?’
This guy is just a temporary chimera created by the World Tree in my image.
I ended up sticking back onto the chimera’s nape.
‘And how could you just get hit by the spear like an idiot!’
I could see the holy knights thrusting their spears into the chimera snake’s body right in front of me.
I made eye contact with one of them.
The holy knight made a dumbfounded expression and quickly drew a small crossbow to shoot at me.
「Using Acceleration lv7.」
Pak!
Once again.
I succeeded in catching the arrow with my mouth.
To hell with it.
Now it’s a matter of survival for me too.
Zap!
「Using Beam lv2.」
“Argh!”
The beam hit the holy knight’s exposed face.
It wasn’t instant death, but the holy knight fell off his horse.
Crack!
The startled horse unfortunately stepped on the knight’s face.
「You have killed Holy Knight lv23」
「Your level has increased.」
‘Oh.’
And perhaps the chimera regained its spirit after seeing the beam after a long time.
Branches sprouted like thorns from the chimera snake’s body.
Pyupyupyupyu!
Unlike other branches, these were shining black.
Having seen the chimera’s status window, I could guess what it was trying to do.
‘Thorn Rolling lv10’, that skill for sure.
Unlike a snake, the chimera rolled on the ground.
More than five holy knights were instantly crushed underneath.
Crack, crunch-
Not even screams remained.
I raised my head again after ducking in surprise.
‘I almost got crushed to death too!’
“Groooar!”
Several holy knights were dangling from the thorns that had sprouted on the chimera’s body, pierced and shattered.
This has now become an undeniable boss monster visual.
And the enemy leader looking at us in shock.
──────────────
[Holy Knight Order Commander lv???]
──────────────
An old knight who looked incredibly strong at a glance roared in anger.
“You- bastard-!”
My ears nearly burst.
Dazzling aura streamed from the spear he was holding.
Don’t come!
「Using Beam lv2.」
Amazingly, the knight deflected that light-like beam.
A feat only Gunter had shown before.
“Groar!”
The chimera snake charged forward undaunted.
Hero versus Chimera.
That clash unfolded more anticlimactically than I had thought.
Just as the knight’s spear was about to plunge into the chimera snake’s body.
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The middle of the chimera snake’s body split wide open.
This was a feat possible only because its body was made of tree branches, not a real snake.
The spear blazing with aura pierced through empty air.
One of the pitch-black thorn branches forming the chimera’s skeleton shot out from below its neck.
Probably the only higher-level skill this chimera possessed.
[World Tree’s Thorn lv1]
Thud!
That thorn accurately penetrated the gap between the helmet and breastplate.
“Kuk!”
Blood gushed out of the knight’s mouth.
Even the spear in his hand fell to the ground.
His body sagged, dangling while impaled on the thorn.
‘Huh, huuh!’
No way.
One-hit kill?
Despite being said to have low intelligence, the chimera snake’s evasion and attack combination just now was too perfect.
Having pierced the neck, it must be instant death.
It was at that moment.
That Pelerian uttered one cruel word.
“Did you finish it off!”
‘Crazy.’
“… Why, what.”
And.
Indeed, the Heaven Defier magician was a great mage who went against the laws of nature.
Twitch.
The knight who had gone limp starts to move.
Pelerian’s resurrection spell had succeeded.