Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 46 - . Thornhide Viper
Theo saw the creature in front of him with vigilance. He knew what it looked like from images. There were colored images of it in many of the beast taming guides, but seeing it in person was different.
The Thornhide Viper was all green in color, its body scaly, much like any snake one could find on Earth. It's eyes were just like that of a snake. It looked at everyone with what Theo felt like was hatred.
Except for the big thorns present all around its body. Theo didn't understand the use of most of the thorns on its body, yet now was not the time to think about it.
The viper hissed at everyone. It seemed to have expected company, but the pup had deceived it into standing in front of so many enemies, especially the big boar.
"Mantis, get ready to attack," Theo said as he flung the mantis into the air.
The mantis traveled through the air and gracefully landed on the ground, its eyes fixed on the scaly green snake in front of them.
If not for the thorns, Theo might still think there was no difference between this snake and the ones on Earth.
Much like how the boar was similar, yet had iron properties at the same time. And the same with the pup.
Hiss…
The viper hissed at the mantis. It seemed to see through its camouflage right away.
"This could be dangerous for the mantis, Young Master. Are you sure you want to go through with this? There is still time to back down," Clara spoke while focusing on the mantis, which had naturally camouflaged with the greenish ground.
"It's important, Clara."
'Mantis, Spore Lash,' Theo commanded, and the mantis's body twitched.
The viper's eyes twitched as if it had noticed a change.
And the next second, the mantis was running in a blur that Theo couldn't see—yet Clara could.
The mantis reached very close to the viper, which seemed ready for the attack. Its tail was near its head, poised to strike.
The mantis jumped quickly to reach the head of the viper with its forelegs.
When the forelegs and the viper's face were inches away from each other, the viper smacked its tail with as much speed as possible, sending the mantis crashing to the ground.
Theo winced. It seemed like the mantis could feel the hit this time, while the viper seemed ready to attack again.
The spores that had already spread around its face due to the tail's movement reached its skin.
The viper suddenly looked forward with sharp eyes when, all of a sudden, its whole body became limp, and it fell to the ground.
"Now! Metallic Strike!" Theo screamed, and the mantis, ready to attack again, leaped toward the viper's head.
A shine appeared on the mantis's forelegs, something Theo recognized completely—it was the Metallic Strike ability in action.
But just as Theo had screamed, there was a downside. The viper was pulled awake from its paralysis due to another shock.
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Fortunately, even that couldn't save it. It barely had time to react before the mantis's level 1 skill struck with more speed than before.
CLINK!
The metallic forelegs hit the scales of the viper's neck, producing a rough impact sound.
Theo and Clara watched the simple yet chaotic fight with intense focus.
When the mantis landed back on the ground, in the same spot as before, it felt like the task was done.
There was a deep gash on the viper's neck, causing reddish blood to flow down its green scales.
Theo rejoiced inwardly. The viper's condition didn't look good—it felt like it would be defeated at any moment now.
Yet Clara knew otherwise. She was still watching with the same level of focus as before.
The viper let out a frantic hiss at the mantis, which also seemed to think the battle was over. It moved its head so fast toward the mantis that Theo couldn't react in time.
Before he knew it, the viper had its long fangs embedded in the mantis's body.
"N-NO!" Theo exclaimed instinctively. The mantis's small body was halfway inside the viper's jaws.
The viper tried to dig its poisonous fangs into the mantis, but there was a 'CLANG' sound when it attacked—a detail Theo missed, but Clara did not.
Theo crouched while the boar stood vigilant, protecting him, so Clara didn't intervene. What Theo saw was the mantis's body still partially inside the viper's mouth. It was making small scratches everywhere in its mouth, hurting the viper, but the viper didn't seem to care.
Theo saw the cooldowns vanish simultaneously and gave a mental command: 'Spore Lash' to the mantis.
He didn't know what was happening inside the viper's mouth properly, but soon, the whole body of the viper shook and went limp on the ground again, its mouth hanging open.
Theo saw the opportunity.
'Metallic Strike!' he commanded frantically, and before he knew it, the viper was cut open from the inside—its lifeless head now inches away from its body.
The mantis crawled out of the viper, its legs shaking, covered in saliva. Amidst its calming greenish mossy body, there were hues of red—Theo didn't know if it was the mantis's or the viper's.
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[Moss Carapace Mantis killed a Thornhide Viper (level 1)]
[Grade(+) and level (-) difference detected]
[Adding 15% to the base EXP]
[EXP gained: 10 + 15%]
[Distribution: Theo Merrick - 4.6
Moss Carapace Mantis - 6.9]
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Theo finally sighed in relief, watching the mantis disgustedly lick the viper's saliva off its body.
"I can't believe it, Young Master…" Clara spoke, dumbfounded.
"Yeah, I can't believe it defeated something other than the rats and slimes, Clara," Theo said with a genuine smile.
"No, you don't understand…" she continued, still not taking her eyes off the mantis. "I was prepared to pull it out of danger at any moment, but I hadn't realized it would really kill a Thornhide Viper… An insect killing something like this… Unbelievable…"
