Chương 77: We Came for the Small Ones

The forest below was completely different from the mountain road above. The air outside was cool, but heat rose through the ground here. Faint steam drifted from every crack in the rocks, and the earth beneath their feet stayed warm, neither damp nor powder-dry. Small beasts darted between stones along that warmth. Red fur ran to the edges of the shells on their backs, and the hard surfaces held a quiet sheen like fired clay. Kichan crouched, holding the wake-up rod just above the ground.

"Just a little shell." Riphiel did not find those words reassuring in the least.

"Do you truly mean only a little?"

"Yeah." The saber-toothed tiger had already caught the scent and shifted its weight onto its forepaws. Valkyrie lifted slightly from Kichan's shoulder, feeling through the warm air. Dust tried to climb out of the bag toward the gleaming shells, only for the back of Kichan's hand to push it inside again.

"Not you." Kichan circled a rock and blocked one of the red creatures. Instead of fleeing like a rabbit, it shot sideways in a sliding leap. A brief breath of heat rose from its back. Seen up close, the shell was not thick like true armor. It felt as though a thin layer lay between the outer shell and the fur. Unlike hide cooked for a long time over a griddle, heat continued to move from within this one. Kichan touched the mark it had left on the rock. A film as fine as oil remained where the creature had passed.

It carried almost no smell, but the warmth lingered after he lifted his hand. Even one properly caught animal would be interesting to cook.

"I'd have to skin it right away." Riphiel muttered,"Could you soften the phrasing, if only a little?" Kichan reached toward a crack in the stones. Three small creatures changed direction at once. They were not fleeing his hand. They were running from something larger. Every one of them ran the same way. The ground shook again. This time it was closer. One heavy tremor rose through their soles, sending warm dust raining from the cracks. The saber-toothed tiger growled at once.

Valkyrie pushed the scale shield forward and leveled the small spear from behind it. Kichan slowly raised his head. Something he had taken for a boulder was moving. A round back covered in moss and dirt heaved upward, shedding small red shell fragments. Layers of shells from the smaller beasts had baked onto one flank. Hot breath leaked from its mouth. Whenever it inhaled, it seemed to draw in the heat from the ground with it. Riphiel swallowed.

"I have never seen a creature like that." This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Kichan took one step back.

"We don't have to bother that one." Argaon answered with maddening ease.

"Its shell should be better." Kichan's foot stopped.

"What?"

"It has eaten the smaller beasts for a long time. The property that traps heat is likely far stronger."

"You should say that first." Kichan's expression changed. The man deciding whether to run vanished, replaced by the man calculating materials. Riphiel looked as though she had given up on everything. The giant monster slowly stood. It was low like a tortoise, but much heavier toward the front. Four short, thick legs ended in claws packed with blackened earth. When its mouth opened, red steam escaped. The small creatures had already disappeared. Their warm colony lay empty beneath it.

Kichan adjusted his grip on the wake-up rod.

"It looks slow, at least." Argaon said,"Slow, but hard."

"What about the belly?"

"I have not seen it yet."

"Then say that faster too." Riphiel drew a short knife instead of her bow, then put it away again. Her blade would not pierce that shell. The saber-toothed tiger circled, preparing to draw its gaze. Valkyrie raised a thin screen of water in front of Kichan. Dust's legs still twitched inside the bag, but Kichan had no time to check. The monster moved first. One step covered too much ground to dismiss it as slow. A forepaw came down, bursting the warm soil and driving the shock all the way up Kichan's calves.

He rolled aside. The tip of his wake-up rod struck the creature's flank, but it felt less like knocking on a shell and more like touching a heated iron pot.

"Ah, hot." His palm rang. The outer surface held heat. Argaon tossed out one observation.

"Attacking from the front is inefficient."

"Stop watching and tell me something useful."

"It feeds upon the whole colony. Judging by where the smaller beasts fled, there should be moments when a passage opens beneath its body." Kichan scanned the ground. Several shallow grooves left by the small creatures ran below its feet. Every one led toward the place where heat gathered. The ground beneath it was not completely sealed. The monster opened its mouth again. Hot steam spread wide. Valkyrie thickened the water screen, producing a sharp hiss and white vapor.

The saber-toothed tiger leaped to one side and pulled the creature's head around. Kichan used the opening to dive between the low rocks. The underside was hotter, but the thickness of the shell was clearly different. It lacked the solid layers of the back. Some parts of the belly had softened under the packed heat.

"There really is a weak spot." He slammed the wake-up rod into one of the grooves in the ground. The earth split, and heat began to escape through one side. The monster shook violently. Riphiel shouted,"To the left!" Kichan did not hesitate. He drove the wake-up rod into the thinnest point on the lower left. The hard shell did not break apart, but a section of its edge split open with a crack. Denser heat poured from the gap. Argaon watched and spoke low.

"Now you can obtain the shell." Kichan caught his breath.

"Only a little." But that little was already no longer little. The giant monster had not fallen, and hotter steam poured from the place where one edge fragment had broken away. Riphiel muttered with an expression caught on the edge of bitter laughter.

"It will not end with a little, will it?" Kichan did not bother arguing. He turned the shell fragment over in his hand. The outside was hard, the inside remained warm, and the grain was fine and intact. Even this much had plenty of uses. The problem was that most of the material was still alive and furious. The saber-toothed tiger darted sideways again, drawing its gaze. Warm earth overturned under the creature's claws. Valkyrie raised another water screen in front of Kichan.

Argaon still kept his involvement to a minimum, his eyes tracking nothing but the creature's weak points, leaking heat, and every turn of its body. Kichan found the gaze irritating, but he also knew it was useful. The giant monster lifted its body in full rage. Hot steam covered the lower forest. Kichan tightened both hands around the wake-up rod.

"Would you just stay still for a second?"