De-Bugging Another World

VOL.2 Chapter 3: A bit to sentient for a snake.

The group had spent several days of travel since their banishment from Tora no Kiba territory and Aelanna's relief from her position as elder, although it basically amounted to a dishonored discharge when comparing it to a military.

As the only member of their group, Aelanna was somewhat familiar with the currently surrounding land so she was their guide this time as she told Ayame what roads to avoid ahead.

The young dark elf quickly took in the information and adapted smoothly to navigating the forest roads.

Huge trees lined the main road they were on and beyond the next turn always lay a surprise.

Nothing was certain in this nation that was said to be unsiegable.

That was mostly because armies could not reach one of the Cardinal Trees before having to retreat. In here your enemies were not the inhabitants or local soldiers.

In a forest where trees hardly showed a branch under three hundred feet high, and a single tree would make room for a mansion if carved into, you were an ant to the creatures that lived there.

The local wildlife was ferocious and deadly.

That left you with little hope of getting to a Cardinal Tree without combat skills.

Armies that patrolled the forest were local well-trained militia to keep their own populace safe.

Even bandits were a rare sight in the Southern Forest, however, running into them spelled certain disaster.

Suitable for a nation where wildlife took care of invaders, a group of bandits was just as deadly.

"Kanrish-Sama... I think I heard battle ahead..." Ayame spoke up suddenly, breaking the silence in the carriage.

"Give me a moment to see..." Kanrish replied as he began looking at his map.

There was indeed a group of about thirty people being attacked by a single opponent.

At his gazing between the map on his phone and ahead to where the group was, a thundering roar broke through the forest.

Shortly after one by one the dots on his map disappeared.

"Keep the carriage here. Akane, Misuki and Aelanna you three are on guard duty 'til I return." Kanrish spoke while calming the frightened Ayame.

"I don't know exactly what is going on there but if this continues, we can't... I'll come back as soon as the situation is safe." Kanrish continued while aligning his {Quick Cast} with a load of offensive spells and his only healing spell.

Frankly it was one he had hoped for that did not appear in the list though.

While running ahead, Kanrish called a heavy-duty machine gun from thin air before hiding behind a forty-foot-thick tree, one of the smaller ones around.

A glance at his {Tactical Overlay} revealed only five remaining dots trying to hold their ground while the same one that worried Kanrish, dashed around.

"The fuck?" He whispered while making his way to the edge of the clearing to find a massacre before his eyes.

Twenty-five people lay butchered. Charred and dismembered throughout the clearing.

Four men and a single woman were left standing.

Each of the men guarded one side of the woman in the middle of their formation.

Attacking them was a giant snake-like monster.

The entire body writhed with magic as it fired a large ball of flames it vomited up from its mouth.