How much time had passed?
Kugung, kugugung...
After the world-shattering vibrations and whirlwind of dirt and rocks finally settled, I came to my senses. A clear blue sky greeted me. We had escaped the mountainous region and reached the plains.
Heading further north would lead us to another forested area, but hopefully, we wouldn't experience something like being tossed into the middle of a construction site again.
'This bastard isn't an enormous snake.'
It was Jormungandr, an immense earthworm, not a snake. That much was clear from the way it upheaved soil and rocks.
It was as if it was earnestly doing civil engineering work to enrich the farmland known as the continent.
"Ugh, kh..."
My body ached from being swept away by the dirt and rocks. I barely managed to stand upright.
Initially, I was near the middle of Jormungandr's body. But getting swept away by the landslide led me almost all the way to its tail.
I looked around, surveying the area. Was everyone else still alive?
"Ow, ow... Are you alright, senior?"
Evangeline was right in front of me, having shielded me from most of the falling debris.
As a result, her body was covered in scrapes and cuts. Blood was trickling down from her forehead.
"Evangeline, are you okay?!"
"I'm fine, hehe..."
Evangeline, who had glanced at me with a wobbly smile, suddenly grimaced. A bruise was forming on her pale cheek.
"No, I lied. It hurts like hell..."
"Drink a potion, quickly."
We had generously supplied potions to all party members before starting the operation. While Evangeline took out her potion to drink, I took out one of mine and sprinkled it on her wounds.
I then turned my attention to locating the other members of our party.
We were scattered everywhere, courtesy of the landslide.
I immediately opened my system menu to access the traits tab and activated one of my skills, [Map Creation]. This trait allowed me to visualize the area as a dot-based map.
A feeling of scanning the surrounding terrain enveloped me, and a minimap appeared on the upper-right corner of my vision. I used this minimap to pinpoint the locations of our party members still on Jormungandr.
'Two people have fallen off...'
Out of fifteen, two couldn't withstand the landslide and were thrown off the beast. They were two officers from Reina's reinforcement party.
The silver lining was that they were both alive. When I checked the party member info, their stamina was depleted but they hadn't died.
They had been supplied with potions and rations, so they should be able to return to Crossroad.
'With this, we have to proceed with the remaining 13 party members on Jormungandr...'
Not only were we all scattered, but the composition of the party had also gotten mixed up.
It raised questions about our ability to efficiently perform [Part Destruction].
However.
'There's no time to waste. If we don't have teeth, we have to bite with our gums.'
We had already wasted much time due to the unexpected landslide. Reorganizing the party now would cause even further delays.
I had already told the party members: if we were to scatter due to some unforeseen circumstances, everyone should participate in destroying the closest nerve center.
I furrowed my brows as I stared at the mini-map. Thankfully, the party members were evenly distributed among the three nerve centers.
'At this point, I have no choice but to trust everyone to fulfill their roles.'
"Yahoo! Evangeline Cross, fully healed! Just give me the command!"
Just then, Evangeline, who had finished her potion recovery, jumped up with her arms raised, shouting excitedly.
I nodded at Evangeline.
"Alright, Evangeline. Go fetch Kellibey, who's straggled at the end of the tail, and the two support mages on the opposite side."
With Evangeline and me here, that left five of us at the nerve center at the tail end.
Equipping a pickaxe in both hands, I eyed the nerve center—our target.
"From now on, it's all about speed. We need to destroy this nerve center first, then ride up the snake's body to assist the other party members."
Evangeline nodded swiftly, and I nodded back.
"Let's move!"
"Yes, Senior!"
As Evangeline ran off to retrieve the other party members, I swung down my pickaxe powerfully onto the nerve center of the snake monster, Jormungandr.
*Ding!*
A system window popped up displaying the progress of our nerve center destruction.
[Jormungandr - Progress of Area Destruction]
- First Vertebra: 6%
- Second Vertebra: 1%
- Third Vertebra: 2%
Apparently, I had taken some damage myself due to my reckless digging.
'Long way to go.'
Grimacing, I lifted my pickaxe and swung it down again at the nerve center. Despite my efforts, the damage percentage barely moved.
'Come on, at least act like it hurts, you snake bastard!'
Clang! Clang! Clang!
***
Jormungandr, Near the Center
"..."
Kuilan stared down at Lucas, who lay unconscious and covered in blood.
"Hmm."
Moments ago, when they were engulfed in a landslide of earth and rocks, large boulders had started to fall one after another over the Penal Squad, swaying like leaves in a storm.
Kuilan had resigned himself to death then. But it didn't happen.
- Get down, you idiots!
Lucas had stepped in front of the Penal Squad.
A knight known for his formidable defense, second only to Evangeline, Lucas had no choice but to collapse under the onslaught of falling rocks. He sustained injuries and passed out.
Thanks to him, Kuilan and the Penal Squad had survived without severe injuries.
"It's really strange. Both the commander here and the knight have gone to great lengths for our sake."
Kuilan muttered, shaking his head.
"...Could it be that I'm more important than I thought?"
Just then,
"Huh?!"
Lucas's eyes snapped open. Startled, Kuilan let out a small gasp.
"Sorry for the nonsense!"
"Heh... what? What did you say?"
Grimacing in pain, Lucas propped up his upper body. It was as if he had just taken a beatdown.
Kuilan waved his hands frantically at Lucas.
"Sir Knight, are you back to your senses? How's your body?"
"...How long was I unconscious?"
"It hasn't been that long. We're still getting our bearings."
As Lucas tried to get up, Kuilan quickly stopped him.
"Whoa, how about you rest a bit longer? Your injuries are quite severe."
"..."
"I sprayed a potion on you. Just lie down for a bit longer and you'll feel better."
"I don't have time for that. I must ensure the Prince's safety right away..."
"Ah~ The Crown Prince is over there."
Kuilan pointed towards the tail of the snake, and Lucas looked in that direction as well.
Sure enough, far in the distance at the tail end, he could see Ash diligently hacking away at the snake's central nervous system with his pickaxe. He seemed fine.
Lucas let out a sigh of relief, and Kuilan grinned.
"Leaving that precious Prince to protect us instead, were we that important to you, this band of riff-raff?"
"Don't talk nonsense..."
Grumbling, Lucas pulled out his own potion and gulped it down.
"The Prince was under Evangeline's close protection. I trust her to handle it. On the other hand, you guys looked like you'd all die if left alone."
"..."
"If you all were wiped out, we would be short-handed for this operation. That would jeopardize the southern front. That's the only reason I saved you."
"Well, I'll take even such a functional and dry reason."
Grinning, Kuilan stood up first.
"Then, let's act worthily of being saved, shall we?"
Kuilan yelled at his subordinates.
"Hey, you guys! You awake yet?"
"Yes, Captain!"
The bandits, who had been on standby next to the snake's central nervous system, answered in unison.
Kuilan took out his pickaxe and slung it over his shoulder.
"Surviving such a terrible avalanche. I must be lucky."
"Ooooh!"
"Kuilan! Kuilan! Kuilan!"
"Alright, let's chip away and see what we get! Will it be gold or jewels, who knows?"
"Yeehaw, let's go~!"
"Let's strike it rich!"
The Penal Squad's five members swung their pickaxes in rhythm, gradually chipping away at the snake's central nervous system.
Sparks flew as they continued their work.
"...Seems like it was worth throwing ourselves in the line of fire."
Muttering to himself, Lucas glanced at Ash who was still busy with his pickaxe near the snake's tail. He then shifted his gaze to the snake's head.
Above the snake's head, he saw the silhouettes of two mages crouched down.
***
Jormungandr. Near the head.
"The view is breathtaking."
Reina mumbled as she looked down at the world whizzing by below them.
"It's just like how it feels to look down at the land below from the bow of the of the flying ship."
"..."
"Mmm~ the wind feels refreshing."
The wind was fierce due to Jormungandr's incredible speed, but Reina was unfazed and simply enjoyed the wind.
Beside her, Junior, who was curled up, looked nauseous.
"Ugh... I appreciate you blocking the rocks and the dirt. But why did we come to the head...?"
The one who had shielded Junior from the falling rocks and debris with magic was Reina.
Though she was grateful for the protection, upon regaining her senses, they had both ended up near the snake's head.
Junior, who was highly susceptible to motion sickness, found it incredibly uncomfortable to be on the violently moving head of the serpent.
"See, I'm a wind mage, and this place, where I can gather the force of the wind through my whole body—"
With a relaxed smile, Reina swung her hand.
"Is where I'm at my strongest, on the back of this snake."
- Swish-swish-slash!
Wind blades whirled from Reina's fingertips, brutally slashing through the neural center of Jormungandr.
Junior's eyes widened. She wasn't kidding. Reina's magic was indeed more potent than usual.
"Drawing magic elements from ground zero is a sign of a mage's power, but harnessing them when the environment is already saturated with those elements is also a display of a mage's skill."
"..."
"As a mage who deals with elemental properties, you should also be able to utilize the surrounding environment to your advantage. You're a tri-element user, so when you can apply this, you'll become even more powerful."
Junior shot Reina a disgruntled look.
"Are you acting like a teacher or something?"
"In the domain of wind magic, acting like a teacher is perfectly acceptable, don't you think?"
Reina grinned and seized the tip of Junior's fingers.
"Now, feel the wind, Junior. Channel this raging wind into your power."
Reluctant but intrigued, Junior followed Reina's instruction. After all, such teachings were invaluable.
- Kwoooaaah!
Elemental magic gathered at Junior's fingertips and a burst of wind gale plunged into Jormungandr's neural center.
It was the most potent wind magic Junior had ever used.
Junior mumbled in a daze.
"Utilize the environment..."
"Or guide the battlefield to an environment you can utilize. Elemental mages must always select and utilize the battlefield. Never forget that."
After imparting her wisdom, Reina stroked her chin.
"By the way, this snake has remarkably high magic defense. Guess it's not for nothing that it's a creature of mythical times..."
Despite their intensified magic attacks, Jormungandr's neural center remained resilient. Its magic defense was exceptionally high, indeed.
"Hey, Jupiter's daughter. Can you use your ultimate skill?"
"I mean, I can, but..."
"Then show me."
If Junior could unleash her ultimate skill, [Elemental Disassembly], they would have a chance at dealing meaningful damage.
Reina playfully tapped the head of Jormungandr with her toes and smirked.
"Let's rip this monster's head apart, the two of us mages."