Chapter 188: Broken Weapons
Breaking free from the hypnosis, Rocky immediately lunged forward, his blades slicing through the air with a desperate precision, as he tried the attack [ Crossblade Slash ] to hopefully slice the snake's head into four pieces.
The python, unable to react in time, became a sitting duck for Rocky to strike, as Rocky's swords made contact with the beast's skin.
*Sllllshhh*
The impact was hard, and instead of slicing cleanly through the python's scales, his swords got nicked and damaged from trying to cut through the scales, which were harder than steel, causing the edges of the blade to crumple under the force.
*GUSHH*
The python hissed in pain, as blood spurt from its face, its body recoiling from the blow as it received a shallow wound to its face.
Thankfully, one of Rocky's blades has managed to penetrate deep enough to disable its left eye, as the beast could not open that side of its eye after suffering Rocky's attack.
As Rocky pulled back, his heart raced wildly as his mind spun with a whirlwind of thoughts.
'I desperately need a better weapon,'he realized, feeling the strain in his hands from the jarring impact.
'These academy-issued blades aren't going to cut it—literally. I'm not prepared for fights on this level.
My fears of walking down this trail were not unfounded.' He thought as he glanced at his damaged blades and grit his teeth hard.
The python, having recovered from the pain of the initial strike, turned its cold, calculating gaze using its remaining good eye towards Rocky.
*HISSSS*
Hissing angrily, it lunged at him with surprising speed for such a large creature, however, Rocky was ready for its counterattack.
Sidestepping the attack with ease, Rocky ensured that the snake's fangs snapped on nothing but empty air, as he easily evaded the danger.
'It's slow,' he thought, his mind racing.
'Bulky and slow, just like the university books said it would be….. It relies on its hypnosis and camouflage, not on direct combat. I can use that to my advantage' Rocky thought, as he felt hope that he could perhaps win this battle.
Steadying his breath, he tightened his grip on his damaged swords, as he looked for the opportunity to land one more attack.
'I can do this,' he told himself, psyching himself up as he decided that he needed to execute a rather dangerous move if he wanted to survive-
'I have to do this…' he thought, as he knew that he could not fail here, not before having saved his sister in the least.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Rocky saw his opening. The python, bobbing its head from side to side momentarily lost sight of Rocky with him slipping into its blind spot, as with a final burst of strength, Rocky lunged forward, driving his blade into the snake's head once more.
This time, instead of going for a one clear hit, Rocky decided to execute a more dangerous maneuver, as he repeatedly thrashed his blade violently into the beast's head, hacking at it constantly as he slowly penetrated deeper with every chop.
As if he were chopping wood, Rocky kept pushing with all his might until the python's movements ceased, as only after he was assured that the beast had died, did he finally allow his limbs a moment's rest as he sat down over the pythons dead body, while being covered in its stinky blood from head to toe.
Checking on the condition of his weapon, Rocky noticed the edges of his sword being chipped and bent horribly, as he realized at that moment that he had been incredibly lucky to have managed to kill the beast.
If his swords gave out sooner, he would have been rendered weaponless to fight such a massive beast and it would have been a fight that he would lose every time he fought it.
'I need to find better equipment,' he thought, wiping sweat from his brow.
'This trail is no joke. If I'm going to survive, I need to be better prepared. This was just the beginning, and I barely made it through.' He thought, as he looked at the shining fangs of the snake and it's hard scaly body and thought of a freakish idea.
With the immediate danger over, Rocky allowed himself a moment to think clearly as the forest around him seemed to exhale as well, the oppressive silence lifting slightly.
He knew he couldn't stay here long, but he needed a moment to gather his strength and replace his equipment if he could, as his current swords were absolutely useless now and could not be relied upon for another fight.
Oddly, as he kept staring at the snake's fangs, he suddenly remembered a lesson by Principal Liam, early into the semester.
The Principal, being a fanatic that wanted to teach his students how to survive in any situation, had taught them briefly about how to make make-shift weapons incase their real weapon ever broke down in a survival scenario, as recalling that lecture, Rocky wondered if he could create a new set of blades with the snake's fangs too?
Reaching for the python's fangs, Rocky's fingers trembled slightly as he touched the cold, hard surface of the fangs.
The fangs were long and razor-sharp, designed to pierce through tough hides and crush bones and were definitely much better than his swords.
'If these could be fashioned into weapons,' he thought, 'they might just be strong enough to survive this trail…..' he hoped, as using his damaged swords, he carefully pried the fangs from the python's mouth.
*Crack*
*Crack*
Each fang came free with a sickening crack, and Rocky winced at the sound.
Examining them closely, Rocky noted their weight and balance as although they were crude, he realized that if bound properly to a handle, they could be transformed into a useful weapon.
"Ha- the old man would be proud if he saw me today…" Rocky said, as he missed Principal Liam strongly at this moment.
—----
/// A/N - Privilege Update Chapter 5 of 5, that's it from my side ///