Chương 62: Chapter 61 The Drake Hunt Begins

One month had passed since Karath returned. The long monsoon season had finally ended, and during that brief yet eventful period, the Bloodclaw Tribe had undergone several changes. While Karath remained secluded and devoted himself to studying magic, the tribal warriors continued constructing the enormous trap intended for the giant reptile under Krog's leadership. Whether through fortune or misfortune, the terrifying monster never appeared near the settlement during the monsoon.

Then, several days after the rains ended, two warriors on a hunting expedition discovered it some distance from the village.

"That must be the creature."

"It certainly looks like it." Now that Karath had returned alive, the warriors no longer needed to seek revenge against the monster. For that reason, they had not searched the forest for it. However, its presence this close to the settlement meant it could reach the village at any time. The warriors had agreed during their earlier meeting that they would not actively hunt the creature, but if it appeared near their territory, they would kill it.

Following the plan they had prepared, one of the two warriors concealed his presence and followed the drake while the other returned to gather the tribespeople scattered between the settlement and the hunting grounds. Unlike the ogre hunt, Buddy was not present to locate the scout and confirm whether every warrior had reached the trap. Since Karath began his secluded training, Buddy had refused to leave his side. The wolf spent every day lying outside Karath's house.

"You damned lizard!" Kurdan, the warrior following the drake, counted slowly to three thousand before shouting and hurling a stone at the creature.

"Hiss." The moment the monster noticed him, Kurdan turned and ran toward the trap without looking back. The warriors had established the procedure before preparing for the hunt. When someone discovered the creature, one warrior would return to gather everyone while the other counted to a predetermined number before luring it toward the trap. Thanks to Karath's lessons, the orcs could now count to at least four digits. By counting slowly, the scout could give the rest of the warriors enough time to assemble.

"GRAH!" Crash! The drake charged the moment the stone struck it. The creature fell for the provocation even more easily because the orc resembled the irritating prey that had taunted it during their previous encounter.

"Raaagh!" Kurdan sprinted desperately through the forest, feeling as though his heart might tear apart. How far had Karath managed to run while luring this monster away? Kurdan felt even greater reverence for Karath as he experienced the same pursuit. The drake was terrifying. Trees shattered repeatedly behind him, and every step the monster took sent tremors through the ground and violent waves through Kurdan's heart. If the creature caught him here, his death would accomplish nothing.

Driven by the single determination to guide it into the trap, Kurdan ran as though flames were burning beneath his feet. At the same time, Karath remained inside his house, researching magic.

"Perhaps Karath should return to the laboratory." He had already studied every book he brought back during the previous month. He had not merely read them once. Karath reread them dozens of times, searching for misunderstandings, overlooked details, and even the smallest clue that might help him. Although his mana capacity prevented him from freely using Third Circle magic, he now understood spells up to that level almost perfectly.

Unfortunately, the theories contained within Third Circle magic did not offer an easy method of killing the drake. Karath was considering returning to the laboratory for books containing more advanced magical theories.

"There is still one possibility." His efforts had not been completely fruitless. Karath had devised one method that might kill the creature. The problem was that the idea remained almost entirely theoretical. The method used every relevant resource currently available to him and could only be performed once. Small-scale experiments and practice were possible, but the moment Karath conducted a full test, he would lose the ability to use it again.

He had therefore continued searching for a safer and more reliable solution. Crash!

"Karath!" Uncle Goldin suddenly threw open the door and rushed inside.

"The drake has been found!"

"Should Karath go directly to the trap?" Goldin nodded when Karath referred to the procedure established during the warriors' meeting.

"Everyone is being gathered now. Go there immediately!" Karath rose before Goldin finished speaking. He seized his ogre femur and one object stored inside his leather bag, then ran toward the trap. When he arrived, the village warriors were gathering one after another.

"Karath!" Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Krog noticed him and approached.

"Karath will leave this battle in your hands."

"You will command this hunt, Krog."

"What are you talking about? Why should Krog command when Karath is here?" Krog had naturally assumed Karath would take control. Karath believed Krog was better suited for the role. He had spent the past month inside his house studying magic. Although he remained within the settlement and heard general reports about the trap and weapons, his information was probably less precise than Krog's. Krog had led every stage of the preparation.

"Karath has another task." He intended to use magic during the battle. Commanding the warriors while casting spells would be too difficult.

"You are capable of doing this. You prepared the entire hunt. Trust what you created, Krog." Krog had initially looked uneasy when Karath refused command. The encouragement strengthened his resolve, and he nodded firmly.

"It is coming!" A warrior watching the forest shouted. Kurdan was sprinting toward them at full speed. Crash! Boom!

"GRAAAAAH!" The enormous monster followed close behind him, advancing with overwhelming force. Karath cursed inwardly. Seeing the creature again after roughly five weeks brought back the same suffocating pressure. He was not the only one affected. The warriors hiding within the undergrowth around the trap radiated tension.

"Raaaaagh!" Whether to strengthen his courage or overcome his fear, Kurdan released a furious roar and ran across the concealed trap. The drake stepped onto it immediately afterward. Crack!

"GRAH?" The ground beneath the creature collapsed, sending it plunging into the pit. The warriors had accounted for its enormous weight. They covered the opening with thick logs, then concealed them beneath mud, leaves, and forest debris. Orcs and smaller creatures could cross without triggering it. The support would only break beneath something at least as heavy as an ogre. Unfortunately, the trap was not perfect. Unlike the bipedal ogre, the drake moved on four legs and possessed a long, lizard-like body.

Its momentum carried its front legs, upper body, and head into the pit. Its hind legs and tail remained hanging over the edge.

"Haaah!" The moment Karath recognized the problem, he charged toward the creature's suspended lower body. Flames gathered in his hand. While the drake struggled with its head inside the pit, Karath reached its hindquarters.

"Grenade in front, you bastard!" He threw the Fireball directly at its scaled backside. Because his simplified Fireball lacked guidance and direction, he needed to approach at close range and release the compressed flames manually. Boom! The explosion reached Karath as well. He threw himself backward the instant the spell left his hand, but he could not completely escape the blast. Karath raised both arms to protect his face and vital areas.

He avoided a serious injury, although the burning sensation across his arms suggested minor burns. The explosion knocked the drake's suspended lower body into the pit.

"Attack!" Krog immediately issued the command. Only then did Karath fully see what waited at the bottom. Dozens of sharpened stakes covered the floor. The warriors had used the ogre's bones to grind stone blades and sharpened bones into the finest points they could produce. Most shattered when they struck the drake's scales. However, the creature's immense weight drove several through the gaps and tore its flesh. Blood began seeping from its body.

The result revealed how much work Krog, the warriors, and the women of the settlement had completed during the previous month. They had designed a trap that only a massive creature could trigger. They had improved their weapons in the hope of piercing the drake's scales. Karath's influence was present in their work. He had taught them to construct traps from childhood and had explained weapon improvement to Krog. Even so, the orcs had created this battlefield without Karath's direct involvement.

The family and settlement that once seemed hopelessly primitive had progressed enormously during the past fifteen years. A possibility entered Karath's mind. Perhaps he would not need to use his desperate final method. If the warriors continued fighting effectively while Karath supported them with magic, they might defeat the monster. His prepared method could be used only once. He wanted to preserve it in case another creature of equal power appeared.

"Second group, circle the pit and throw spears to draw its attention!"

"First group, attack only when it attempts to climb out!" Krog had abandoned his earlier uncertainty and issued orders skillfully.

"GRAAAAAH!" As though determined to crush Karath's optimism, the drake roared and swung its tail. The pit was deep enough that the long appendage could only strike the ground near the opening. Boom! Its destructive power remained terrifying. The tail exploded through mud, stones, and exposed boulders as if it were a massive grenade. The nearly vertical walls surrounding the entrance began collapsing. As the slope became gentler, the drake attempted to crawl upward.

"You damned monster!"

"Die!" Despite witnessing the destruction, the warriors approached fearlessly. They threw spears and struck the creature's scales whenever it tried to escape. Unfortunately, even sharpened stone axes and monster bones struggled to penetrate its armor. That remained true despite the superior strength of the orcs wielding them. The ogre bones had improved the primitive weapons, but the tribe's limited technology could not produce the extraordinary edge of a true masterwork blade.

At best, their attacks left scars across the scales. For a creature of such immense size, those injuries were nearly meaningless.

"GRAAAH!" Like a human enraged by mosquitoes feeding upon him, the drake roared and raised its tail again.

"Retreat!" Krog sensed danger and shouted urgently. The orcs, whose bloodlust had driven them into a furious assault, immediately withdrew. Boom! The drake's enormous tail struck the ground where they had been standing. Mud exploded upward, and stones beneath the surface shattered into powder. Had they moved a moment later, the same would have happened to the warriors' bones.

"Throw the spears! Keep its attention away from the others!"

"First group, circle behind it!"

"Retreat!" The orcs moved in perfect coordination beneath Krog's commands. Karath remained behind them, recovering mana after using Fireball and supporting the warriors whenever necessary.

"Shield." When the drake's tail flew toward one of the warriors, Karath gathered and compressed the surrounding air into something resembling an inflated cushion. The shield burst instantly beneath the creature's overwhelming strength. However, the fraction of a second it created allowed the warrior to throw himself aside and narrowly escape being crushed. The battle continued in an uneasy balance. Under Krog's command, the warriors struck and withdrew while the drake's tail, claws, and head threatened them.

Whenever a crisis occurred, Karath used magic to support them. Small wounds continued accumulating across the monster's scales. Boom! Meanwhile, the drake's violent struggles gradually destroyed the pit until it could barely function as a trap. The warriors did not surrender. Krog and the others had anticipated this possibility. They were waiting for a single decisive opportunity.

"GRAAAH!" The drake finally destroyed enough of the pit for its upper body to climb out.

"Attack!" Rather than panicking, the orcs charged from both sides and divided the monster's attention. One warrior had spent the entire battle waiting for this moment. Kaden approached the drake as silently as possible. For the past month, he had trained only one movement. A downward strike. Normally, Kaden would have announced himself with a thunderous laugh. This opportunity had been purchased by the warriors risking their lives.

Even someone called a half-ogre in both body and mind understood that he could not waste it. While the drake focused upon the orcs attacking from either side, Kaden reached the front of its head.

"KHAAAAAH!" At the final moment, he released everything he had restrained. The strongest warrior in the settlement swung the ogre femur that the village women had spent a month sharpening in turns. His full strength descended toward the center of the drake's forehead. Boom! The collision produced a sound too violent to have come from scale and bone. The bone axe split the scale between the drake's eyes and cut into the flesh beneath it. That was the limit.

The opportunity created by Kaden and every other warrior failed to break the drake's skull. Karath cursed. At that moment, the truth became undeniable. The resources available within the settlement were not enough to kill this creature. His prepared method was the only remaining option.

"SCREEEEEECH!" Whether from the blood flowing between its eyes or the terrible pain beneath the wound, the drake released an earth-shaking shriek. Whoooooosh. A violent current of air gathered around its jaws.

"Scatter immediately!" Karath shouted the moment he recognized the sign. He had seen exactly what followed a month earlier. Breath. The creature was preparing to unleash the same devastating flames.

"Scatter now!" Despite shouting for the warriors to flee, Karath charged toward the drake. Even if they scattered in every direction, not everyone could escape the breath. If the creature released its attack freely, someone would die.

"Karath?"

"What are you doing?" The warriors followed his order, then shouted in alarm when they saw him moving toward the monster.

"Trust Karath and keep running!" Ignoring their worried voices, Karath formed a sphere of fire in his left hand and held the ogre femur in his right. He ran directly toward the drake's mouth. The roaring wind suddenly disappeared as Karath reached its head. The creature had gathered all the air it needed. Its swollen abdomen looked ready to burst. The drake lowered its head and extended its jaws to release the flames. Karath placed the Fireball beneath its lower jaw, then gripped the ogre femur with both hands.

"Home run, you bastard!" He swung with all his strength and struck the unstable Fireball just as it touched the drake's jaw. Boom! The impact detonated the spell and smashed an explosion into the underside of the creature's mouth. At the final instant, Karath added physical force and momentum to the magical blast. The drake's head snapped upward.

"GRAAAAAAAH!" Its breath erupted toward the sky instead of the warriors below.