I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 42

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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[042] The Great Serpent Tamer
As I led the serpent toward the campsite, chaos erupted even before we arrived.
“E-everyone, prepare for… for battle!!”
“Battle? Forget it… we’re all dead… don’t you see that size?!”
The adventurers scattered across the sandbar in blind panic, running in every direction.
Some had already surrendered to despair, collapsing where they stood.
An encounter with the Layer Lord—the boss of all bosses—was naturally cause for such a reaction.
｢The adventurers have lost their will to fight and fallen into despair!｣
｢Deep despair amplifies the [Chaos] skill, causing strength and agility to skyrocket explosively!｣
｢Those facing the colossal beast deny reality! Antagon’s Rune sneers with mockery.｣
I pressed my forehead and exhaled deeply.
“…I told you I’d go ahead and warn them for this exact reason.”
“As if that would hide something this massive? And don’t talk to me right now. The height is making me dizzy.”
Radi muttered with a pale face, eyes squeezed shut.
As I approached the sandbar and lowered the serpent near the adventurers, people began fainting left and right.
While I was considering how to salvage this situation, Malton came into view.
Unlike the panicked adventurers, Malton stood motionless, gazing up at the serpent.
He looked between me and the serpent alternately, then sighed as if utterly bewildered before speaking.
“Don’t tell me… you summoned this?”
“Yes, though to be precise, I forcibly awakened it from slumber.”
“Heh… you never cease to do the most absurd things. Would it be alright if I examined it more closely?”
“Well… as long as you don’t provoke it…”
─Hisssss!!
｢The Wetland Serpent retreats slightly!｣
｢The experienced serpent instinctively senses a dangerous opponent.｣
‘Huh…?’
The Layer Lord backed away?
“Hmm… it seems wary of me. Pity, but I’ll leave it at that.”
“Y-yes.”
“So if we ride atop this serpent, we can safely pass through the monster hordes and reach land?”
“No, I wish it were that simple… but it’s not quite so straightforward.”
If we rode upon its head and crossed the wetland, we could reach dry ground relatively safely.
However…
｢The prideful Wetland Serpent refuses to allow anyone it hasn’t acknowledged to set foot upon its head.｣
｢Even if the adventurers somehow persuade it to carry them, the slightest increase in speed from the Wetland Serpent would send them all tumbling off!｣
The Layer Lord possessed immense pride and was fundamentally a monster—impossible to control with precision according to my will.
Right now, thanks to Antagon’s blessing, it was showing such goodwill, but one misstep could shatter all my plans.
It was somewhat heartless, but with my life and my comrades’ safety as the priority, abandoning the adventurers and breaking through the wetland was an option… yet.
“…if I did that, while our chances of survival would be high in the short term, an even greater danger might befall us later.”
“A greater danger, you say?”
“Yeah, we already know we’re marked targets of the Kokokuran Warriors, right?”
“Of course. That’s precisely why we’re suffering like this. Their persistence is quite admirable, I must say.”
“But will they really give up the chase once we escape this Wetland?”
The answer is an unequivocal no.
When we fill our water skins at the Stream, when we camp at the Water’s Edge—they’ll hound us relentlessly at our most vulnerable moments, blades drawn.
Even if their feet bleed raw, they’ll track us down and swarm forth in overwhelming numbers.
The Dungeon’s underground waterways form a labyrinth they can navigate at will, allowing them to pursue us anywhere.
“…And by then, we won’t have the Serpent either. When the Kokokuran Tribe launches repeated assaults over the coming weeks, can we truly handle each one perfectly?”
“Impossible. If we’re surrounded in the dead of night, even you and I combined couldn’t survive unscathed.”
“Exactly. So we must crush them thoroughly while the Layer Lord is with us—break their will to fight entirely. That’s our only path to survival.”
Ding—!
｢You have obtained a clue regarding the Trial!｣
｢Fleeing merely turns your back on immediate threats! Unless you shatter your enemies’ resolve with overwhelming force, they will relentlessly pursue and drive their blades into your back!｣
Such is the nature of divine trials.
There are shortcuts, but no complete escapes.
Even when Heracles had Atlas retrieve the golden apples as a proxy to complete his labors, he could not escape the fate of bearing the celestial sphere.
In other words, we must charge forward head-on while we have the Layer Lord as our reliable ally.
“However… if we let the Serpent guard us nearby, the sheer force of her movements will capsize all our rafts. One accidental brush of her tail and we’re finished. She doesn’t seem capable of fine control, no matter how I look at it.”
“What if we send the Layer Lord ahead alone to eliminate the creatures?”
“I’ve considered that, naturally, but then the monsters would flee from the Serpent and converge on us in overwhelming numbers. Could we handle that ourselves?”
“What if the Serpent coils her body around the rafts and carries us across?”
“Then she’d submerge and circle around to attack from below.”
“Hmm, my head’s already pounding… So our only option is to use the Layer Lord to thin their numbers as much as possible, while we personally repel any enemies that reach the rafts?”
“Yes. I’ll draw their attention first, which should minimize our casualties.”
Of course, we’ll have to accept some risk.
‘…Actually, a large-scale battlefield like this is right up my alley!’
Unlike before, I now have the Layer Lord as a formidable ally.
If the Serpent’s overwhelming power can instill fear in our enemies, I can unleash explosive stat increases with the [Chaos] skill.
“…Malton, gather the people quickly. We don’t know how much longer the Serpent’s patience will last.”
“Understood. I’ll prepare immediately.”
As a gurgling sound echoed from the Serpent’s belly, Malton’s lips curled into a grin as he hefted his mace.
* * *
Once prepared, the party rowed at breakneck speed toward the edge of the Island.
Riding the wake of the colossal anaconda, they pierced through the Waterway at speeds impossible from a raft alone.
Though there were occasional narrow passages, they posed no obstacle.
—Hisss!
Krrraaaaahhh!!
As the massive body swept through, vegetation was uprooted entirely, carving new passages in its wake.
The Adventurers rowing frantically behind the Serpent gasped at her overwhelming presence.
“Oh, oh my…! This is absolutely insane… to think we’ve actually tamed such a monstrous boss!”
“If he can tame a monster that powerful… what level is Doran even at? He might be stronger than Malton….”
“There was someone this strong in the Acaia Guild… I’ll have to report this when we get back.”
I could feel the Adventurers gazing up at me with eyes full of admiration.
But I had no mental capacity to care about their stares.
All my focus was poured into controlling the Serpent’s head scales as it kept trying to veer off course.
“Please, just go straight!!”
─Hisssss!!
“Forward, not right!! No, that’s left and this… no, Serpent!!”
─Hiss…! Hisssss!!
｢The Wetland Serpent ignores your commands.｣
｢The Adventurers who witnessed you commanding a colossal beast like a limb are filled with awe. Strength increases by 3.｣
After much struggle, we finally escaped Mangrove Island, and a vast wetland sprawled before us.
I harbored a faint hope that the Kokokuran Tribe might have withdrawn, but beyond the mist, countless enemies still writhed restlessly.
If anything, their numbers seemed even greater than before.
“That… that really wasn’t an exaggeration…! Such a massive army of monsters….”
“The numbers aren’t even the issue… did you see the shine on their equipment?”
“Lightning flickering on spear blades… I’ve never seen anything like that even at Knight Order parades….”
The sight of Kokokuran Warriors—mere low-tier monsters like Goblins and Kobolds—equipped with legendary artifacts created an overwhelming sense of incongruity.
｢You have encountered the Kokokuran Army!｣
｢They are in a state of extreme agitation! The Kokokuran Tribe recognizes you and Malton as the leaders of the invaders.｣
｢An overwhelming force! Surviving a battle against such numbers would be a remarkable feat indeed.｣
As the Kokokuran Tribe beat their weapons and roared savagely, the Adventurers flinched back in terror.
But this time, I had prepared a proper countermeasure.
When the Anaconda Lord Abos thrust her head through the mist, the situation reversed.
｢The confident Kokokuran Tribe has witnessed the true master of the wetland!｣
｢All creatures in the wetland who face the ‘Hyunsah’s Gaze’ fall into extreme terror! Their bodies are paralyzed. Creatures collapse en masse.｣
｢Antagon’s Rune absorbs the fear. The chaotic emotions it has drawn in have reached critical density! The Rune trembles with ominous portents.｣
｢You are progressing toward another condition for the hidden stat ‘■■’.｣
My stats surged at a terrifying pace, and I felt strength flooding into my limbs.
My fingertips tingled with such trembling omnipotence that I felt chills run down my spine.
The Rune had seemed pathetically humble compared to other sacred artifacts, but now it was not inferior in the slightest.
“…So you had such a trick prepared all along, did you?”
I had fled before, but things were different now.
I whispered to the Serpent’s head.
“Go and crush them. It’s feeding time, as promised.”
｢The Anaconda Lord Abos is extremely pleased!｣
In an instant, the water surface erupted, and a colossal tail swept across the wetland.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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