Chapter 100: Visitors to the Lamia Village (2)
Chapter 100: Visitors to the Lamia Village (2)
"Ssshiyaaaaak!!"
"Ahhh! Run away!!"
"We're going to get eaten!"
The shrill cries of the threatening lizardmen sent the village youths scrambling off the sleds, running for their lives. The lamia who had brought them along hurriedly chased after them, shouting that it was dangerous and urging them to get back on her sled, causing complete chaos.
'An invasion? Could this be that reptilian tribal war Hayang mentioned last time?'
"We have visitors."
Hayang approached me at a leisurely pace, draping her usual outfit loosely over her shoulders. She stopped beside me and spread her arms wide.
'Does she want me to dress her?'
I adjusted her clothes, tightening the waist sash to secure it against the wind. As I finished, Hayang gave me a bashful smile and pressed herself closely against my side.
"Ssshiyaaaaak!!"
The seven lizardmen, hissing and shouting, flicked their tongues in agitation. Their cries were so loud that, even from over 20 meters away, they were ringing in my ears.
"They seem angry."
"That's obvious enough."
I looped the strap of my mana saber around my wrist, ready to grab it and swing the blade at a moment's notice.
For now, I had no intention of making the first move unless they initiated an attack. The lizardmen hissed and exchanged guttural noises, as if communicating, then suddenly pointed their bone spears—not at me, but at Hayang.
"Ssshiyaak!! Traitor!!"
It looked like this would require some forceful intervention. As I prepared to step forward, Hayang grabbed my arm.
"Stay still."
"They look like they're about to charge."
"I'll guarantee your safety."
Squelch. Squelch, squelch. The largest lizardman, likely their leader, began charging at us with the force of a mounted assault. My hand instinctively reached for the mana saber, unable to resist preparing for a counter.
'They're strong, but they lack skill. I'll split the spear shaft, disable their left arm to demoralize them, and press the saber to their face to demand surrender.'
"Kamang."
Just as I decided to step in, Kamang shot out from behind me like a bullet.
Whoosh—!
Sliding low across the swampy ground, Kamang closed the distance to the lizardman in a flash. The lizardman tried to stab her with his bone spear, but Kamang slammed her hands into the ground and spun her body 180 degrees.
Thwack!
Using her tail like a whip, she struck the lizardman's stomach, sending him flying backward.
"Ssskiyaaaak!!"
The lizardman roared in pain, throwing aside his broken spear and regaining his stance. But Kamang was already climbing up his arm, wrapping herself around his neck and limbs to restrain him.
'She's stronger than I thought.'
"Kamang may seem mild, but she's actually the strongest fighter in the village. Honestly, she could probably take down an entire small settlement on her own."
It made sense why Hayang and Kamang had the best house in the village. Kamang dominated with sheer physical strength, while Hayang managed the village as its priestess, wielding her primal holy powers.
Crunch...
"Ssskiyaaaak!!"
Even as Kamang grappled the lizardman, binding his neck and arms, the lizardman used brute strength to begin breaking free. He landed a punch on Kamang's body, making her recoil slightly.
Thud!
"Is she going to be okay?"
"She'll feel that one for sure."
Kamang wasn't taking the blows lying down, though. She used her tail to hinder the lizardman's arm movements, reducing the force of his punches. Still, it seemed like the fight might tilt in the lizardman's favor if things continued this way.
"If Kamang fought at full strength, she'd dominate, but... I guess she can't right now."
'Is it because she's been maintaining the mating ritual for 20 hours straight?'
On top of that, she'd shed part of her protective shell, making her more vulnerable.
"Could you help her?"
When Hayang let go of my arm, I picked up my mana saber to intervene.
"Not with that. If you defeat him using your equipment, they'll dismiss it as a win due to your gear and refuse to acknowledge it."
With a sigh, I undid the mana saber's strap, tossed it to Hayang, and dashed into the swamp toward the lizardman.
"Switch with me!"
"I could handle this, but... Ah!"
Kamang noticed the lizardman's fist heading for her lower abdomen and instinctively released her hold, backing away. The lizardman stumbled as his bindings were loosened, giving me the perfect opportunity to launch myself at him, channeling all my mana.
Unlike lamias, whose snake-like lower bodies make them immune to knockdowns, lizardmen have joints. I aimed for his knee, knocking him off balance before he could recover, and grabbed his loose neck skin.
'Now that's a literal "scruff of the neck."'
Usually, grabbing someone by the scruff meant grabbing their shirt collar, but with the lizardman, I was literally gripping the loose folds of skin on his neck.
Whack!
I punched him square in the snout.
When it comes to most creatures with distinct heads, there's no need to overthink it—just aim for the head. Reinforcing my fists with mana, I delivered another solid blow.
Thud!
The lizardman tried to retaliate with his tail, but I deflected it with my forearm and prepared another punch.
"Stop! That's enough!!"
'Wait, they can talk?'
Hearing the lizardman's surrender declaration caught me off guard. I glanced at Hayang to confirm, and she nodded.
"Let him go."
I released my grip on his scruff.
"So, you snakes have finally decided to lower yourselves to accepting the filthy seed of humans. No pride left, huh?"
"Except for one unsuccessful attempt, yes. And your words are as coarse as ever."
It seemed Hayang and the lizardman leader were familiar with each other, engaging in a tense exchange of words.
"Introduce yourselves. This is the chief of the lizardman village allied with us…"
"Rolara!"
Rolara? That sounded like a feminine name…
'Ah, right. Lizardmen are only giving birth to females these days, too.'
"She's been investigating the unusual phenomenon in the swamp that I mentioned before. Since she's here, it must mean she's finished her investigation and is reporting back, right?"
"Let's talk inside."
At Rolara's words, the other lizardmen settled in the lamia village, lounging comfortably and basking in the sun. Hayang and Rolara entered one of the buildings together.
"Ban, you should come along too."
At Hayang's invitation, I followed them inside the building.
---
"Hmph! I identified three suspicious locations. At one of them, I discovered a presence absorbing the cold air flowing into the swamp."
"As expected, the elder's prediction was correct."
"Cold air?"
At my question, Hayang scratched the muddy ground with a twig, drawing a rough map of the area.
"This is what the elder told us: beneath this swamp lies magma."
"Magma…?"
I recalled the features I had learned in geography class.
"So this place was originally a hot spring?"
"If there were more water instead of mud, it might have been a hot spring."
That explained it—though the area near the swamp was freezing, it became warmer as you moved into the swamp itself. If this was a geothermally active zone, it all made sense. Essentially, this was a hot spring with an abundance of soil.
"Normally, the rising heat would get trapped between the trees, warming and even boiling the swamp. However, the balance is maintained by meltwater from the glaciers on the snowy mountains cooling the area. But if something is blocking the cold air mid-flow…"
"The swamp's temperature would rise excessively. But wouldn't that be beneficial for lamias and lizardmen, allowing them to be more active?"
"You humans always think in ways that suit yourselves!"
Rolara hissed in irritation, flicking her tongue. Hayang calmed her down and explained on her behalf.
"The problem is that this phenomenon has stopped males from being born."
"Are you saying the rising swamp temperature and the lack of male offspring among reptilian species are connected?"
"According to the elder, yes."
Hayang gently rubbed her lower abdomen as she continued.
"When we lay our eggs, their sex is not determined until they incubate. The temperature of the place where they're buried decides whether they become male or female."
"So, if the temperature is too high, only females are born, disrupting the sex ratio for species like lizardmen and lamias?"
"That's the elder's theory."
"Then why not just eliminate whatever is causing this?"
"Impossible."
Rolara immediately shut down the idea.
"It's not something we can hunt."
"What exactly is it? Are we talking about some mythical dragon?"
Dragons, aside from the kingdom's guardian dragon, had long since disappeared or gone dormant, becoming little more than legends. Even the kingdom's guardian dragon was not a pureblood but a half-dragon, a mix of human and dragon. Pure dragons had vanished entirely.
'If it really is a dragon… moving the entire species might be the only solution.'
But relocating the lamias and other reptilian species would be no simple feat. Unlike beastkin, who could adapt to human cities, lamias and lizardmen couldn't survive in dry environments. They needed swamps or wetlands to avoid their skin drying out.
"Fortunately, it's not a dragon."
"Then what is it? If it's not a dragon, we can just hunt it."
"It's not a dragon, but it's just as dangerous."
Rolara revealed the identity of the threat.
"It's a Frost Hydra."
A Hydra.
This legendary multi-headed monster was once revered as a divine being in less advanced civilizations. It was a massive creature classified as a siege-class monster, requiring siege weaponry to subdue. Its most notable feature was its ability to regrow two heads for every one that was severed unless the stump was immediately cauterized.
Historically, Hydras were recorded with anywhere from three to 99 heads. However, the 99-headed Hydra was a result of experiments by mages, artificially regenerating heads through repeated cutting and healing. In reality, the limit was around nine heads.
While Hydras couldn't fly or leave their swampy habitats and lacked magical abilities, their tough scales, powerful muscles, and attacks from multiple heads made them nearly impossible to fight. Some rare variants, like the Frost Hydra, could even use a freezing breath attack, rendering them even more formidable.
For reptilian species like lamias and lizardmen, the Frost Hydra's ability to lower the surrounding temperature was practically a death sentence. They wouldn't even be able to approach it.
'But I'm different.'
With the mana saber, which cauterized wounds as it cut, severing its heads would be feasible.
Of course, that was only in theory. Facing a Hydra, even with a mana saber, was extremely dangerous. Its multiple heads could attack from blind spots, and in a swamp, wearing armor would cause you to sink. Without armor, you'd be vulnerable to its wide-area breath attacks.
"And it's already too late. Fools have already submitted to the Hydra."
"What…?"
"Terrified, they swore loyalty to it. They believe the Frost Hydra will help them produce male offspring. Apart from the six who followed me, the rest of our tribe has already joined it."
"Does that mean the other lizardmen will attack us?"
"It's already begun. They'll be here in two days."
That didn't leave enough time to evacuate.
"The lamias are fast enough to escape, so I came to warn you."
"But if we leave, where do we go?"
Hayang's question left Rolara speechless.
"I don't know. But staying here means death. We can't even resist the Frost Hydra."
Hayang sighed heavily, realizing the gravity of the situation.
To them, the Frost Hydra was as catastrophic as a dragon was to humans.
"If we kill the Frost Hydra, does that solve everything?"
If so, it was up to me.
I was the only one here who could fight it, even under its freezing breath.