Volume 5 - CH 22.1

Chapter 5-22 : Encounter Ⅱ (part 1)

Now that the Giant Snow Centipede is targeting us, some of those people are running to the left and some others to the right just as Iris-san warned them.

A few people were kicked and got injured by the centipede as it rushed toward us, but we didn’t have time to worry about them.

「Kate-san, you stay here and protect Lorea-chan! Iris-san, you go with me!」(Sarasa)

「Okay!」(Kate)

「Aye, sir!」(Iris)

Kate-san stood up in front of Lorea-chan and drew her arrow, ready to shoot anytime, while Iris-san and I unsheathed our swords and dashed toward the centipede.

「First, we aim for the left legs!」(Sarasa)

「Roger that!」(Iris)

This Giant Snow Centipede can move quickly on the snow with its many legs.

If we can cut off some of its legs and reduce its movement speed, we will have an advantage because we can move swiftly thanks to the Snow Boots artifact we are wearing.

The people who were running away from the monster were dumbfounded when they saw Iris-san and I dashed on the snow really fast toward the monster.

Iris-san and I were running toward the centipede’s left side since its left antenna was damaged by Kate-san’s arrow.

I thought that it wouldn’t attack us with its damaged antenna, but I was wrong. When we were still about a few meters away from it, that monster swung down its left antenna at us.

However, its movement was kind of slow, probably because it was hurt, so it wasn’t difficult for us to avoid it.

Iris-san, who was running ahead of me, suddenly increased her speed drastically to avoid the antenna.

On the other hand, I slowed down a bit for a few seconds, waiting for the antenna to come down.

Iris-san successfully avoided the attack. The injured antenna couldn’t beat Iris-san’s speed and hit the ground.

Immediately, I, who had been waiting for that moment, dashed forward and swung my sword vertically at the antenna.

KSSHHHAAAAAAAAAA！！！

The Giant Snow Centipede cried loudly as its left antenna, which was as big as an adult male’s body in thickness, was cut off by my blade.

Right after, the giant centipede started moving slowly in a zigzag. Perhaps because it lost an antenna.

「Store Onwer-dono, I knew you would cut off its antenna, so I tried my best to dodge! Nice one!」(Iris)

As she complimented me, Iris-san sped up even more and swung her sword horizontally, cutting off a few of the centipede’s legs on its left side.

The giant centipede then lost its balance and collapsed to the ground.

「You did great too, Iris-san! Well done!」(Sarasa)

「Thank you!」(Iris)

Giant Snow Centipedes are one of the toughest monsters to defeat because they can move quickly on the snow and attack you with their strong antennas and jaws.

However, if you can move quickly on the snow without your feet being stuck in the snow, there’s a chance to win.

With the Snow Boots artifacts I made, we could easily avoid its attacks.

Now that its antenna was hurt and it lost some of its legs, this giant centipede is nothing more than just a large bug to us.

Well, it’s still threatening for normal people.

「Iris-san, you take the remaining left legs! I will go for the right antenna!」(Sarasa)

「Alright!」(Iris)

Iris-san and I split up. She went straight to the left side of the centipede while I went to the right side.

The Giant Snow Centipede seemed to be confused for a moment when we split up, but then it glared at me.

Seems like it decided to attack me first since it still has its right antenna.

It swung down its right antenna toward me

Fortunately, this monster is not very smart. If it was, it wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

Although the right antenna was much faster than the damaged left antenna, with my Snow Boots artifact, I can still dodge it easily.

I used body-strengthening magic to enhance my legs and stepped back quickly right before the antenna hit me.

Just like before, the moment the antenna hit the ground, I immediately stepped forward and swung my sword.

KSSHHH！！！

However, it didn’t cry this time. Instead, right after its right antenna was cut off, it immediately tried to attack me with its jaws.

I quickly jumped to avoid it and used the opportunity to try to attack its right eye.

The centipede realized what I was going to do and tried to move its body to the left to avoid my blade. Howeverー

「Ora, ora, oraaa!!!」(Iris)

ーIris-san was running while cutting off its remaining left legs.

The giant centipede who lost all of its left legs lost its balance and wasn’t able to avoid my attack.

I plunged my sword and stuck the blade deeply into its right eye.

Soon after, I pulled out my sword, jumped off its face, and started running along its right side while cutting off all of its right legs.

ーSlash! Slash! Slash! Slash!

I think there were fifteen legs on each side, so there were thirty in total. Those legs were slightly harder than the antennas but were not hard enough to stand a chance against my blade.

KSHAAAAAA！！！　KSSHHHAAAAAAAAAA！！！

The giant centipede who had lost both of its antennas and all of its legs could only wriggle on the snow, hoping that its body would hit us.

However, Iris-san and I could easily dodge it by taking a few steps backward.

「Alright. Now it’s time to end its life!」(Sarasa)

「I leave the rest to you, Store Owner-dono!」(Iris)

I nodded to Iris-san who was breathing heavily on the other side and concentrated my magical power on my entire body using body-strengthening magic.

I jumped high into the air, swung my sword vertically as I fell toward the giant centipede, and cut off its giant head.

Thus, our first fight against a Giant Snow Centipede was over.