Snake

Lydia ducked briefly, while Ahmad sliced a clump of darkness vying for blood.

Then she tugged on the reins, signaling the horse to continue despite the sluggish, jelly like creatures that are breaking out of the snow.

They were black, about 24 inches in size, and had 6 inch teeth in their mouth that opens wide.

When another one attacked from the side, Ahmad slashed it, channeling a bit of his energy on the sword to ensure it was eliminated in one strike.

'Just what the hell are those?' 

'They've been popping out in this area for some time now, but at least they seemed less threatening when compared to the circular horned reptiles that tried to swallow us along with the horse earlier.'

'Ugh… I think I'm having a nightmare.'

'How else could I be seeing such things in reality?'

'Besides, how could so many creatures pop up on this route alone? It's like they could smell us.'

Lydia tugged on the horse and signaled it to stop when a leopard twice the size of the one they encountered earlier emerged at the curvature ahead. 

When it lunged towards them, Ahmad, who was already standing at the back, jumped and slashed it into two before stepping on its heart.

Then he hurried to the horse and signaled Lydia to go.

Unlike the way he fought before the monsters call, he's now channeling bits of energy on his swords so he could eliminate the beasts and monsters faster.

Because of this, he'd likely get tired faster, but he knew it was the right choice, because the longer they stay on the route, the higher the chances they would die.

As long as the monster who made the call remains alive, its influence on others will continue to grow stronger. 

Soon the beasts and monsters under it will go berserk, tripling their power. 

The more time passes, the stronger ones who initially resisted the call will gradually fall under its influence too, as long as they are slightly weaker.

Thus, no matter what happens, they need to reach the village as soon as possible. Even if a monster manages to break its barriers, masters who specialize in killing, hunting, and protection are stationed there, so there's a high likelihood they would survive.

…

Lydia eyed the injury on Ahmad's arm. It was bleeding too much so she pulled out the piece of cloth he gave earlier.

There was barely any blood on it since her clothing had absorb most before she used it.

"Raise your arm a bit," she said as she folded the fabric lengthwise.

Then she wrapped it around the diagonal cut and tied it in a knot as quickly as she could. 

Once she was done, Ahmad mounted. "Thank you, your highness."

"Welcome."

Lydia tugged on the reigns and signaled the horse to keep going while remaining alert of her surroundings.

'This is bad. After the leopard, the monsters and beasts we encountered were much stronger.'

'I'm physically fine since I've only been leading the horse, but Ahmad had already sustained injuries.'

'From what he told me, the village is still 20 minutes away. Since it takes him 30 seconds up to two minutes to fight stronger monsters, it might take us 30 to 40 minutes to reach the village with the horse.'

'However, I'm not sure if we can hold out that long.'

'If only we can climb a tree and remain unnoticed… but that's unlikely since it seems they can smell or detect our presence.'

'If we stop, we will be surrounded."

'Besides, with their sizes, they could probably tear down a tree or a shelter with ease.'

'Ugh, damn it…'

Lydia's pupils narrowed when she saw something black several meters ahead. Then her pupils dilated when she realized what it was.

'Shit, now what?'

Before she could tug on the reins, the horse stopped on its own, aware that's not something its owner could easily handle.

"Ahmad…" Lydia whispered. "Will it continue to slither away if we stay still?"

"No, your highness. It will definitely attack."

"How can you be so sure? It's definitely heading somewhere."

"We had eliminated several beasts and monsters on the way. Even if the monster who did the call is busy fighting, it had probably noticed us already, so the monsters who detect our presence nearby will definitely try to eliminate us."

'What?'

Ahmad handed her a dagger. "Here, take this, your highness."

"Thank you." 

Lydia gripped it tightly while eyeing the body of the snake that was passing by.

Its width alone was 1.5 meters. By estimate, she assumed it was even slightly larger than a titanoboa.

'No wonder he's giving me the dagger now. He's probably no longer confident he could fight while keeping me safe, or maybe he's not sure he could defeat it... but it's not like I could help him eliminate it with this dagger.'

Lydia's body hairs stood when she felt eyes on her.

When she looked up, she came face to face with the snake's wide open mouth that was moving towards them at a fast speed.

'When did it even turn around? I swear, some parts of its body are still in the same position as before…'

Clang

Ahmad blocked one fang by crossing his swords, but his arms trembled against the weight and pressure meant to crush them.

'It's big,' Lydia thought as a shudder ran down her spine. 'It can definitely swallow us whole, along with three more horses.'

'No, at this rate, it would just crush us.'

Lydia let go of the reins when she saw Ahmad's trembling hands.

'If I guide the horse away, he'll get pushed back and get eaten first.' 

'I…' 

'I… I need to do something,' she thought while pulling out the dagger from its sheath.

With trembling hands, she gripped the hilt tightly before stabbing the snake's lower gum as hard as she could.

When it pulled back, she was dragged along because she was holding onto the dagger too tight, afraid she might accidentally drop it with her trembling hands before she could even stab it.

"Your highness, let go, while it's still near the ground," Ahmad shouted as he catapulted himself from the back of the horse. 

Then he twirled his swords downwards in the air while aiming for the left eye of the snake. 

"Let go, now," he repeated. 

"O...ok," Lydia looked down before letting go.

'Near the ground, my ass. It's too high,' she thought as her eyes involuntarily closed. 'No, no I should keep my eyes open and land on my feet.'

As Lydia fell, Ahmad landed on the snake's eye. Then he stabbed it with his swords. 

Meanwhile, someone shot an arrow brimming with fire energy on the other eye. 

"He's finally revealing himself," Ahmad mumbled as he pulled out his swords and jumped down in a hurry to avoid the snakes trashing.