Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Scorpion-tailed Lion
"Oh, the poor horse."
The party immediately hurried down. Sera looked at the chunks of flesh and blood on the ground, not yet completely washed away, and shook her head regretfully.
"Not even a scrap of bone is left. It seems the creature we’re looking for has quite an appetite," Victoria said, looking at the patch of ground pressed into the clear outline of a horse. "It’s obvious the Hunter had its meal right here."
"But it’s clearly not very bright. Or perhaps just single-minded? It didn’t even eat the meat off all the packhorses before starting on the bones."
Aive scanned the area and quickly found other wrecked carriages and horse carcasses. Several of the carts had once been piled high with lumber, but the wood was now scattered across the field. It must have been Sulina’s cargo.
The horses that pulled these carts were "luckier" than the first one, which had been devoured completely. The ferocious beast had only picked off some of their flesh and sinew.
"There’s a body over here!" Delaford called for the others to see his discovery. "See? Looks like the big guy doesn’t like to eat people!"
When the group gathered around, they saw the body of a young man. He had grayish-green skin, a sloping forehead, a protruding jaw, and jutting teeth. A large, sharp claw had disemboweled him, spilling his organs onto the ground. Over the past few days, small creatures from the area had torn them to shreds.
"A Half-Beastman... He fought to the death to protect his employer’s property from the monster," Sera said softly. "May there be a place for you in the Hall of Heroes. Your valiant battle against the beast will be reenacted time and again before the throne of Grom."
Ron: "..."
’He didn’t really understand this custom, or belief, rather. The young Half-Beastman was certainly brave, but... again and again? Killed over and over by the monster that took his life? How is that a blessing?’
"Just ignore her," Aive whispered. "Only she and the Half-Beastmen can understand that culture."
’See? It’s not just a Transmigrator thing.’
"You two, stop bickering. Hand me a handkerchief," Victoria said as she bent down. Taking the handkerchief Aive offered, she plucked a needle-like spike from the Half-Beastman’s corpse.
"What is that?"
Ron watched with curiosity. ’Is this some kind of mystical technique? Like using needles to unlock your hidden potential?’
"A tail spike, I’d guess," Victoria said, her expression grim. "Our guard manual has a detailed entry on a creature that uses these. If I’m not mistaken, they weren’t attacked by a griffin at all, but another, more ferocious monster!"
"ROAR—!"
As lightning split the sky, a clap of thunder was followed by a roar like that of a savage beast, echoing across the plains.
Beneath the dim sky, Ron saw a massive, winged creature flying slowly toward them at a low altitude. Even from a distance, he could feel the sinister malice gleaming in its eyes.
"A Scorpion-tailed Lion! Just as I thought!" Victoria immediately adopted a combat stance. "Aive, get ready to engage!"
"You don’t have to tell me!" Aive’s tower shield was already in place.
Delaford looked at the approaching monster, a strange glint in his eyes. He had a spell, drawn from nature, that helped him inflict grievous wounds upon his prey. Anticipating a confrontation with a monster, the Goblin Hunter had prepared this very spell today.
"You lowly insects! How dare you trespass on my hunting grounds and steal my prey!"
As the Scorpion-tailed Lion drew closer, Ron got a good look at its abnormally large lion’s body, flapping dragon wings, humanoid face, and long, slender tail bristling with spikes. Only then did he truly grasp what it was.
The Scorpion-tailed Lion was, without a doubt, a monster. It had the head of a vaguely humanoid creature, the body of a lion, and a pair of draconic wings. A bristling mane ran down its back, and the tip of its long, slender tail was covered in a cluster of sharp spikes. While hunting, a Scorpion-tailed Lion could shoot these dangerous spikes to impale any prey within its tail’s reach.
And most importantly, these things usually hunt in packs!
"It must be a stray that hunted its way here," Victoria whispered. "If they traveled in packs, we would have already known about a Scorpion-tailed Lion nest in this area."
This is a relatively flat wasteland; it’s impossible for monsters of this size to hide here.
"Even alone, I’m more than a match for you!" the Scorpion-tailed Lion roared, its voice growing even louder after hearing Victoria. "One... two... two and a half! Excellent! The flesh and blood of two and a half humans! I shall thank you for your gift!"
"Say that again, I dare you!" Aive flung a bottle of Blazing Fire Glue. Unfortunately, in the pouring rain, though the viscous liquid ignited instantly upon contact with the air, it was extinguished just as quickly, dealing almost no damage to the Scorpion-tailed Lion.
"Wretched half-human, you dare resist!" Enraged, the Scorpion-tailed Lion dove, slamming its sharp claws against Aive’s shield.
"You stitched-together monstrosity, you have the nerve to call *me* a half-human?!" Aive, who didn’t have the best temper herself, immediately clashed with it. At her side, Sera and Delaford charged in from the left and right, flanking the beast. At the same time, Victoria’s Blessing Magic took effect, and the power of Ron’s Frozen Ray, amplified by the cold rain, left trails of ice crystals and cuts across the Scorpion-tailed Lion’s leathery wings.
"ROAR! Enough!"
The Scorpion-tailed Lion soon found itself overwhelmed. Its draconic wings abruptly whipped up a gust of wind, blasting away the smallest one—the one who posed the greatest threat—and lifting itself into the air.
"Watch out! It’s going to use its tail spikes!"
Ron shouted, his voice low and urgent. At the same time, a volley of Magic Missiles shot from his hand, bombarding the Scorpion-tailed Lion.
"CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!" The group quickly ducked behind Aive and Victoria. Following a series of metallic clashes, the vast majority of the tail spikes were blocked.
Victoria glanced worriedly at the shield in her hand, which looked like it was about to fall apart, and tossed it aside.
"You really need to get a new one!" Delaford yelled, grimacing in pain. He’d been hiding behind that unreliable shield and had taken a spike to the thigh.
"I’d love to!" Victoria didn’t have time to bicker with him. She cast a Healing Magic on the goblin. "Knock it out of the sky!"
"I’m trying!" Delaford rolled on the ground, narrowly dodging a pounce from the sky. He fired back with two arrows that sent sparks flying from the Scorpion-tailed Lion’s scales.
This was their first time facing a flying monster, and the terrain was not in their favor. It was difficult for Aive to protect everyone, and the Scorpion-tailed Lion could continuously dive from the sky to attack the more lightly armored Ron, Sera, and Delaford, making their lives miserable. The barbarian, in particular, was finding it almost impossible to even get close to the beast.
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