Balmar continued to dig inside the head. More and more Prime Soldiers joining him. Together, they dug wider tunnels inside the snake. Of course, the head wasn't a safe, stable place. Blood, meat, and the shaking were quite a hazard. Sometimes the Prime Soldiers would slip on the meat. It was very slippery inside the place. The great amount of blood didn't make it easier either. They had to stick one of their blades at all times to prevent being thrown away.
"I have to say, sir. I never have been inside an animal before. Not to mention inside the head of a giant snake."
"Guys, this is not the time to talk."
"Goras! You made it," Balmar said.
"Who would take care of them if I didn't."
Balmar rolled his eyes at that. "You're too young to lead a group of hunters." He continued to dig.
Goras followed. "But we're the same age," he joked.
The Prime Soldiers dug more and more until they entered what seemed like a huge space inside the snake.
They also met more Prime Soldiers. Looking at their numbers, Balmar guessed around less than two hundred survived.
"This isn't the brain," someone said.
"It's the mouth!"
"Where's the mouth ball then?"
"What mouth ball?"
The man opened his mouth and pointed to something inside. "Ahh dess nutz."
"Snakes don't have mouth ball. I think."
"Shut up. Who cares about mouth ball," Goras said. "We should think about our next step."
Balmar looked around. "Since we're already in its mouth then why don't we attack it."
A soldier slashed the tongue, and the snake roared, shooting out wind from the mouth.
"It's probably not a good idea to stay inside the mouth."
"Run! Return to the hole!"
The Prime Soldiers dashed to the hole, but the snake was quick. It moved its tongue and slapped them. They stumbled on the floor of the mouth.
Balmar stood up. He was drenched in saliva. But he didn't have time to worry about that. The forked tongue moved like a snake and snapped towards them. The Prime Soldiers rolled away.
The snake shook its head and used its tongue to attack.
It's hard to fight against a giant tongue while experiencing a major earthquake at the same time. The Prime Soldiers could barely stand and they had to throw themselves around to dodge the tongue.
The tongue was like a dual-eyed whipped. It slammed the Prime Soldiers around.
"Cut that thing!"
Easier said than done. The ground was very unstable, and Balmar couldn't get any footing.
Suddenly, the snake stopped shaking and the Prime Soldiers dashed towards the tongue. It whipped towards them, but that was a mistake on the snake's part.
With the Doom Sword in hand, the Prime Soldiers sliced and diced the tongue to pieces. The world shook again. And the tongue wiggled around and attacked at random.
Balmar stabbed the floor to stabilize himself. This was bad. If they stayed here, then it would take a while to kill this snake. Only when they reach the brain would it be easier to kill.
Balmar looked upward. The roof of the mouth must be where the brain was. He had to get there.
"Goras, throw me high towards the roof."
"Don't you feel all this shaking?" He replied.
"Just try to do it. It might be our only chance."
Goras groaned and gritted his teeth. He rushed towards Balmar, grabbed his arm and shoulder before throwing him.
Balmar soared, swords in both arms, ready to strike. Just as he was about to give the snake a brain trauma, the cut-off tongue slapped him away.
He fell and rolled on the ground.
Balmar clicked his tongue. "Hey! Distract that tongue for me! Goras throw me again."
Goras seemed to understand his plan, so he didn't spit out another word of complaint and threw him again. He soared again. The Prime Soldiers below tried to distract the tongue. They failed.
Slap!
Balmar fell down again.
He sighed. "Let's try again!"
Slap!
"Again!"
Slap!
"Aga—"
Slap!
Balmar stood up. "Ag—"
Slap!
He then rolled away. This stupid tongue didn't even leave him some breathing space.
"This snake is smarter than we thought," Goras said.
"It also means that the brain is really there. If only I have my BC-79. I could blast the entire mouth with it."
Then Balmar realized something. "Goras, throw me again."
"Just give up and find another way."
"I have another way! Just throw me."
"Fine.' Goras grabbed his arm and spun. After gaining momentum, he released Balmar and launched him into the roof of the mouth.
Balmar held his swords tight. He eyed the tongue. It went for him.
Balmar smirked. "You know why humans are better than animals?"
"We learn from our mistake!" He threw a sword towards the tongue. Just like last time, it didn't go straight but clumsily spun in the air. The tongue slapped it, cutting itself short in the process.
Balmar laughed and held his other sword before ramming the roof with it. It went deep. He could feel flesh parting against the blade. Blood poured out. covering his face.
He didn't stop there. With a strong grip, he sunk his finger inside the wound, grabbing it. Then he pulled the blade and stabbed it repeatedly. He used all the muscles in his body to draw back and stab.
Moved back and stab.
Back and stab.
Back, stab.
The Doom Sword sheared through the flesh. And he felt some soft and chewy things at the tip of the blade. Balmar struck deeper. Faster. Stronger. He was like a ferocious lion striking his rival.
Stab. Stab. Stab.
The snake seemed to weaken after that.
Goras, and the other Prime Soldiers took that chance to ravage its throat with cuts and slices.
Then suddenly, something rumbled from the mouth.
Balmar noticed something was about to come out of the mouth. He saw Goras below and knew he would be hit.
"Get out of the way!"
Balmar let himself fall and rushed towards him.
He pushed Goras away and a thick green liquid came out of the snake's mouth and covered him. Balmar felt nothing at first. He thought he was fine but then his heart was suddenly in excruciating pain.
No, don't show pain. He held it and struck the throat as nothing happened.
"It's just a spit," Goras said. "Stop being so dramatic."
The snake fell with a thump on the ground.
The Prime Soldiers cut a hole in its mouth and exited. Around two hundred fully armored soldiers, covered in saliva, came out of the hole.
Only when they landed on the ground did they realize the true size of the snake. From the ground, the length was beyond their imagination. Its head was so big that they need fifteen Prime Soldiers just to reach the top.
The Prime Soldiers looked at one another.
Then they burst into cheers.
"WE WON!"
After they finished yelling in triumph, one soldier asked.
"Are we going to eat that?"
The soldiers laughed.
Balmar and Goras laughed too.
"That was a good throw," Balmar said.
"You're not bad yourself."
Balmar chuckled then he felt a sudden pain in his heart.