Chapter 139 - Earth Rat
Chapter 139 – Earth Rat
Ancestor-san’s teleportation magic can’t teleport a lot of people so he’ll teleport us using ordinary teleportation magic.
I entered a black hole and the next moment, I’m already in a different place.
That feels unusual.
The place we were teleported to is an open area in the forest. There are also rocks stacked up and there is a gap between those rocks which might be the entrance of the northern dungeon.
Thinking about it, these stacked up rocks looks like some kind of ruins.
Beyond those rocks is a big mountain.
There is still a distance before we can reach it but it’s quite impressive.
It looks like a wall.
Since this mountain is not visible from Big Tree Village, I’m actually considerably moved.
Magic is amazing.
While thinking so, I felt something strange on what I’m standing at.
…..
Is this soil?
The ground here is soft.
No, it can be considered hard but not as hard as the soil at the outskirt of Big Tree Village.
Even without using the AFT, this can be plowed.
The only problem is whether this soil has nutrition….
We’re in a forest so there is a possibility that this is not that nutritious.
Anyway, let’s try plowing it…ah, this is not the right season.
It will be winter soon.
While I was thinking about all of those, everyone arrived.
I want to postpone troublesome things but I still have to do it.
「Let’s greet them first.」
I’m not good at meeting people for the first time so I’m nervous.
I must not appear rude.
Since Hakuren and Rasuti had already come here before, I asked them to be the guide but not long after, I felt shaking and heard loud noises from the rock pathway.
And, the titans came out from the gaps of those rocks.
They look….hairy?
I can speculate where their hands and feet are but their whole body is covered with hair.
They gave a comical feeling similar to those you can see from a children’s show.
But, they really are big.
They exceed my height by a large margin.
About three meters…..no, there are also five-meter class.
Those titans come out from the gaps of the rocks one after another and run to where we are.
I wonder why.
I have a bad feeling about this….
There is no doubt that we are their goal.
While I was thinking about how to greet them, they separate into two and go behind us.
Eh?
When I was thinking why, Ann pointed the place where they came from.
After the titans came out, a big snake that is enough to swallow a man whole came out too.
Bloody viper.
Are they being chased by it?
I thought Hakuren and Rasuti have exterminated a lot of them before, is it one of the survivors?
I took out the hoe form AFT and took a stance.
Something’s wrong with the bloody viper.
Areh?
The bloody viper doesn’t seem to be chasing the titans and its rampaging to where it is.
Why?
Looking at it closely, the bloody viper’s tail is torn off and blood is flowing.
And a huge mouth is biting its tail.
「Earth rat!」
Ria shouts.
「It is a demon beast that is good at digging and attacking from the ground!」
Earth rat.
It is called a rat but it is good at digging, shouldn’t it be called a mole?
Anyway, it looks like a very dangerous creature.
The bloody viper was eaten in front of us.
「Oh, let’s beat it first then take its meat….」
Rasuti mutters.
Should we really do that….
The earth rat is looking at us.
The scared titans ran behind us.
Because of that, the earth rat goes to us.
On the ground.
Straight.
And so, I attacked it with my AFT in its hoe form. By the way, the others attacked too.
Hakuren and Rausti punched, Daga and Ria sword attacked, and Loo, Tier, and Flora attacked with magic.
Yup, overkill.
I feel like Ria’s sword attack is enough to kill it.
Anyway, the crisis is now over….or not?
The kuros scatter around while being cautious.
The spiderlings surrounded the outskirt of the rock area while spreading their webs.
It doesn’t look like that they are using it to trap something but they are spreading their webs to use it as sensors.
That makes me feel relieved.
While thinking so, the spiderlings made a commotion.
They are warning us from something. Suddenly, a part of the ground rises and one of the kuros was thrown out into the air.
A big mouth spread from the ground and swallowed the kuro who was thrown in the air.
………earth rat?
Another one came?
No, more than that….
「Uwawawawawawawa!」
Panic!
I must help it!
I’m holding the AFT in its hoe form….useless.
The kuro it swallowed may turn into fertilizer too once I use this and it will be too late to regret it.
Then how about ax? Hatchet?
No, the earth rat is about to dive on the ground to run away.
I caught its butt using the sickle form of the AFT and pull it out off the ground.
This feat is impossible if it’s just my power but I was able to do it with the help of the AFT.
The earth rat squealed in surprise.
I’m sorry but we are in a dog eats dog world and I want you to return the Kuro’s pup.
Using the sickle form AFT, I slashed the neck of the earth rat.
And tear its body.
I found Kuro’s pup.
It’s covered in gastric juice and doesn’t move.
Was I too late?
I became uneasy but it soon moved and woke up.
「Oohhh」
Great.
I made it in time.
What a relief.
Then, I noticed.
I am bloody.
Yeah.
Ah, I know that you want to show me your gratitude for helping you but we will only combine our dirt.
「There might still be something around! Do not let your guard down!」
I said that but the only careless one here is me.
「……I already checked using detection magic but I can’t detect anything anymore.」
「I have the same result.」
Loo and Tier can use detection magic so I had them check the surrounding.
As a result, there were seven earth rats in total.
Hakuren, Rasuti, Bulga, and Stifano run immediately as soon as one was detected.
And they rooted out all of them.
「Earth rats are usually living in the east….it is unusual for them to appear here.」
Ria tells us so.
Did something happen on the east?
Either way, I asked ancestor-san to return me to the village so I can wash my body.
It was a short trip.
I came back immediately.
「Thank you very much for the rescue.」
In front of the entrance of the dungeon, the titans bowed together.
A mass of hair.
There are approximately 50 of them.
There’s only a few of them huh.
Half of them has the same height as a human but…they might be children.
There are about 5 of them who were rescued from the stomach of the exterminated earth rat.
They were injured but at least nobody died.
That’s good.
「Now, since the earth rat doesn’t usually come here, do you know the reason why they have done so this time?」
「That….」
It looks like it’s not easy for him to say.
Why is he hesitating?
「I don’t mind. Please say it.」
「That…..before……the two of them came, a part of the dungeon collapsed as they exterminate the bloody vipers.」
The representative of the titans looks at Hakuren and Rasuti.
By the way, I remember receiving a report of that incident.
「It is dangerous to leave the collapsed part so we fixed it little by little….」
Don’t tell me….
「The collapsed part got connected to a hole and that’s where they came out.」
Ah….
I see.
Got it got it.
……
「I’m very sorry.」
I bow to the bowing titans.