Chapter 62: The snakemen

When the rest of the team reached Vesper’s position, they did not fully expose themselves; instead, they stayed behind the cover of a huge rock and merely peeked to see what the Snakemen looked like.

​The Snakemen were also resting under a massive boulder. Because they were cold-blooded like normal snakes, the heat was becoming unbearable for them, and they were cooling off in the shade. Unlike the Ratmen from the previous dungeon—who possessed many humanoid features—this group of Snakemen was essentially just snakes with two arms. They were fully covered in scales, had snake heads, and possessed long tails that they dragged as they moved, having no feet. For now, they were simply lying in the shade of the rock, seeking refuge from the scorching sun.

​There were approximately twelve Snakemen in total. Even from a distance, two distinct groups were recognizable.

​ where was A group of seven snakemen with pale-yellow scales, wearing simple leather armor and carrying wooden-shafted spears and they were in the outer perimeter of the circle clearly Novice ranked.

The other group of five Snakemen were noticeably larger, with deeper, light-brown scales. They wore thicker leather armor and carried higher-quality spears. Among them was a particularly large individual wearing a helmet, who was clearly the group’s leader.

​Since none of the Snakemen had legs, they only wore chest armor, leaving their lower bodies exposed like ordinary snakes.

​Seeing the enemy so relaxed, Smith realized these Snakemen clearly has taken the Slaughterhouse as a picnic because the human had not have the ability to retaliate so they thought were is no real danger. Because his party had stayed hidden, the Snakemen remained blissfully unaware. But that was about to change.

​Velvet gathered the group and said, "For now, Brenda and I will not directly participate in the battle. We will leave the fighting to Magenta, Astra, Valeria, and Vesper and the remaining of us will watch from afar and guard against any hidden ambushes."

​The group agreed. Magenta was visibly happy, eager for some action. Velvet, Brenda, and Fiona, along with Smith, retreated slightly further from the site of the action, leaving the four girls to handle the fight.

​Astra acted first.

She directly activated her Title and her aura surged to the beginning of Intermediate-rank she did this because they didn’t know the exact the combat capability of the other side so she went all out on the beginning.

Reaching to her waist, she pulled out several short arrows, holding them firmly between her fingers. She nocked them with rapid movements and fired three arrows within two seconds. Although these short arrows were meant for close-quarters combat, "close quarters" depended entirely on the archer; for extraordinary archer like Astra, even a hundred meters was close range. The Snakemen were only twenty meters away, making them practically right in front of her. Without even activating a skill, she released her shots.

​The Snakemen were casually resting when three of their companions were suddenly struck dead within milliseconds.the surviving Snakemen instantly went on high alert, grabbing their weapons and scanning their surroundings looking for the enemy that attacked them. The Snakeman leader, an mid Intermediate-rank creature, immediately tried to organize the remaining troops into a defensive line.

​Just then, Magenta charged toward the group like a runaway heavy train. Every step she took caused a small tremor in the ground.the remaining Snakemen Realizing an enemy was approaching, the Snakemen raised their spears to meet her charge head on. Magenta didn’t bother defending herself, she simply activated her Title making her aura reach the beginner Intermediate-rank and rushed forward.

​Before her body could collide with their spears, another whistling sound filled the air. Three more arrows found their targets, instantly killing the Snakemen in the front row. The defensive line they had just erected abruptly opened up, leaving a massive gap which exposed the Intermediate-rank Snakemen who were at the back of the formation.

​Though the Snakemen tried to attack Magenta to her side, their spear thrusts lacked the necessary force to even leave a scratch on her heavy armor or stop her momentum. Holding her battleaxe with both hands, Magenta activated her first skill, Heavy Stomp. Her left leg slammed into the ground in front of the disoriented Snakemen, sending an earthquake-like shockwave through the ground. The Snakemen’s formation crumbled as the ground shook beneath them.

​Twisting her waist, Magenta executed a powerful horizontal swing with pure brute strength—without even needing her second skill. Her axe cleaved through three Intermediate Snakemen like a hot knife through butter, meeting zero resistance.

​Seeing more than half his group of intermediate rank subordinates wiped out in the first exchange of the engagement, the Snakeman leader was paralyzed with shock and didn’t know what to do but just As he finally tried to react and directly fight with Magenta so as to buy time for his group to reorganize and launch a counter-attack suddenly a chilling sensation washed over his neck. Before he could turn, a dagger had already pierced his neck from behind and he couldn’t make a sound because his throat was filled with blood and like a puppet with its strings cut he fell to the ground. Vesper had launched a sneak attack, executing an opportunistic strike while he was distracted and finishing him in a single blow. Rather than lingering on the battlefield, Vesper immediately used her movement skill to retreat into the shadows.

​Only one Intermediate ranked Snakeman remained, and he was panicking all his companions where dead. As he turned to flee, a figure in purple armor rushed directly toward him blocking the path for retreat. With no route of escape, the Snakeman prepared to fight for his life.

​Valeria thrust her spear straight at him. Having not activated her Title, her thrust appeared predictable to the Snakeman. The weak attack he smiled and braced his own spear, intending to parry her attack outward. But just as his weapon was about to make contact with her spearhead, Valeria’s spear bent inward mid-air like a curveball.

​The Snakeman’s parry caught only air. Without losing any momentum, the curved trajectory of Valeria’s spear pierced directly through the neck of the last Intermediate Snakeman. His snake eyes nearly popped out of his head in disbelief—he couldn’t comprehend how even a metal spear could bend like that in mid-air. It was a question he would take to his grave as darkness swallowed him.

​Valeria shook her head unimpressed she had activated her first skill Elastic Armament causing the spear shaft to bend while thrust and it could be said it was really impressive.pulling her spearhead from his neck with a single fluid motion. The fight hadn’t been challenging in the slightest. Meanwhile, the last remaining Novice Snakeman was effortlessly picked off by Astra’s final arrow.

​The entire encounter of eliminating a twelve-member group containing five Intermediate-rank Snakemen—had taken less than ten seconds.

​Smith was thoroughly impressed by the girls’ teamwork. As they cleared the battlefield, he stepped forward to praise them. Astra had secured the most kills thanks to her range advantage, though Magenta had cleared three Intermediate Snakemen in a single swing, and Vesper had taken out the leader. Every girl had earned her merit.

​Knowing time was of the essence, they didn’t linger. As they had been worred earlier taht this type of slaughterhouse dungeon was far more dangerous than normal dungeons. The creatures were not restricted by standard operational zones and would not remain tethered to specific single point.

​Pressing forward past the cave exit, they exterminated every group of Snakemen they came across. To Smith’s surprise, the Snakemen were far more numerous than anticipated. Every hundred meters brought a new encounter. During one fight, a second group had even appeared from another direction, drawn by the brief commotion. Fortunately, because their battles ended so quickly, it didn’t trigger a massive chain reaction.

​Still, the lack of a clear line of sight was a double-edged sword that put them at a constant disadvantage. After fighting through several more groups, the girls began to show signs of fatigue, so they decided to sit down and rest for a bit and discuss their next steps.