Chapter 94: Attacked
Airi turned and asked everyone:
"Shall we wait here for the hunters to return then ask them?"
Takeshi, Ayaka, and Elyssia all nodded.
Airi turned and said to the village chief:
"Then we will wait. We won't ask anyone to go with us; I know the hunters will be very tired upon returning, so just instruct us."
The village chief laughed out loud after hearing Airi speak. He nodded.
"Fine, then stay at my house."
Just then, Mimi stepped out from the kitchen.
"Then will you eat dinner with us here?"
The village chief turned and said to his daughter:
"They will stay here for the feast with us."
Mimi smiled brightly.
"Wonderful."
…
They were outside talking with the villagers.
Takeshi was playing soccer with a boy; they laughed quite brightly. The ball
made of roots, vines, and stone leaves, quite soft on the feet.
Airi was talking with an old woman.
Elyssia and Ayaka sat on a bench and faced the sky, watching the sky interspersed with the towering treetops within sight.
Elyssia: "The sky is so beautiful."
Then Mimi approached from afar; she smiled seeing them integrating with the village.
Stepping to Ayaka and Elyssia.
"Hey, let's go eat."
Ayaka snapped up, she turned back bewilderedly looking at Mimi, her voice confused:
"Eat? It's not dark yet?"
Mimi kept the smile on her lips and explained:
"Though it's light out, it is actually night. We calculate by an hourglass."
Elyssia turned back full of suspicion.
"Then how does everyone know about the night?"
Mimi: "That is because only in the swamp, when going very far. Over there it will be dark, but here it is not, only daytime."
Ayaka was still quite confused, but she also nodded it off.
"I see."
Elyssia: - "Forgot, this is a trial so anything goes, curious too much is a waste of effort."
Ayaka stood up and went to call Airi and Takeshi who were playing ahead.
Ayaka with Airi and Takeshi came over; Elyssia also stood up. They headed to the village chief's house…
Sitting at the dining table, before them were mostly dishes related to frogs. The aroma from the food slammed straight into their noses like a burst of vitality.
On the table were: grilled frog, frog soup, boiled frog, frog meat sandwiched with some kind of leaf, rice, and some kind of vegetable.
Takeshi pointed at the dining table, his voice curious.
"Is this all frog meat?"
The village chief nodded.
"Yes. Everyone eat naturally."
They shared the meal, eating frog meat they had never eaten before; on their faces they also felt quite happy.
Takeshi, mouth full of food, still tried to ask:
"Why don't I see any frog bones?"
The village chief set down his chopsticks.
"You go hunting yet do not know?"
"A frog is almost as big as a grown man. And the Frog King is slightly over 2 tharns tall."
The four who were eating immediately stiffened, bewilderment clear on all four faces.
Airi: "If it is that big, how to hunt?"
Mimi: "Do not worry; they are quite clumsy when attacking. So it is not too dangerous, unless there are very, very many or you fall into the mud."
Elyssia: "So everyone also uses bows to hunt them?"
Mimi nodded.
"Yes, because we need to maintain position. Sometimes the surrounding mud has nowhere to go; we must hold a spot and shoot them."
"It's simple; the only difficulty is during movement."
Airi ate a large piece of frog meat and thought:
* "If so, it's quite simple, isn't it? Maybe I could even go hunting right now. Now more flexible so not too afraid, thought it would be harder."
* "If there was anything difficult, they would have told it all; it seems that is all."
Elyssia: - "Ayaka and I know archery; Airi is not yet clear. But according to what they told, it's quite simple."
…
Sitting outside on a long bench after finishing the meal. Everyone seemed to have gone to sleep by this time.
Takeshi sat remembering the time at the dining table.
Takeshi: "So is there any other difficulty?"
Village chief: "No, it is quite simple. If you stay to gather more experience you can wait, or you can go hunting now. Just remember to be careful of the mud."
Returning, Takeshi spoke up, breaking the quiet space filled only with frog sounds:
"How about we go hunting right now."
Elyssia: "I feel the same."
Airi nodded.
"Hmm, now we'd wait a full three days. Let's just try and see."
Ayaka: "Is it alright?"
Airi: "I think it's okay."
Takeshi: "Then let's go hunting; I am eager."
"This trial never ends."
Elyssia was also very eager.
"Right."
Ayaka: "Things that simple, if we underestimate them we might receive a real end. Everyone keep breathing steadily."
Takeshi: "Then, hunting carefully is enough."
Having spoken, Takeshi stood up and went toward the village chief's house.
Elyssia appeared thoughtful.
"Going?"
Ayaka sighed, forced to nod seeing everyone unanimously wanting to go.
"Hmm, then we go hunting."
* "Hope no trouble occurs; those pieces of information are all, don't let anything else unexpectedly pop out."
Takeshi came over carrying the quivers and bows of all four with difficulty. He set them on the ground and propped his hands on his hips.
"Alright, let's go."
All four wore the quivers on their backs, hands gripping the bows firmly and ready to hunt.
Mimi stepped up from behind and spoke, making everyone turn:
"You want to go hunting right now? Not waiting?"
Takeshi: "Apologies, we are also quite eager already."
Mimi smiled.
"Be careful; remember to look closely before stepping. If you encounter a large number, you must retreat or hold a fixed point."
Airi: "Thanks."
Mimi smiled.
"You're welcome."
The four stepped down and walked onto the small soil patches of the trees growing there.
Each of them jumped over large tree roots and small patches of land not yet swallowed by the swamp.
Takeshi led the way, followed immediately by Airi, Elyssia, and Ayaka.
Walking a rather long distance.
Daybreak was dim, fog thick, the water surface shimmering silver.
The sound of frogs croaked everywhere, as if echoing from many sides, making it hard to determine location.
The smell of mud was pungent and fishy, the earth slushy, very uncomfortable.
Tall trees blocked the view, black silhouettes flickering moving under the water.
Walking on soft patches of earth gradually being swallowed by the swamp.
Takeshi, walking while observing, carelessly stepped straight into a deep mud patch.
A cry echoed: "Aa!"
The three girls ran over in shock, seeing Takeshi already swallowed halfway.
Airi sighed as if she knew this would happen, her face bored looking at Takeshi reaching two hands toward them and crying: "Help me!"
Airi: "I knew it."
Takeshi held out his bow wanting to make something to pull himself up.
"Help me."
Elyssia reached for Takeshi's bow and pulled; Airi went over and hugged Elyssia's waist and pulled.
Being hugged tightly by the mud made him extremely uncomfortable as he was squeezed. The feeling when pulled, the mud squeezed even tighter.
Takeshi remembered earlier when he relaxed his body it felt light.
Now the mud hugged up to his waist. Takeshi immediately lay out on the mud surface, two hands still holding the bow. He shouted:
"Pull slowly and lightly."
Suddenly at this time, around the four, many frogs appeared. Some came out from behind trees, some crawled up from the slushy mud.
Ayaka immediately nocked an arrow and pulled the bowstring tight; her movements were extremely fast.
"Everyone, they're coming."
Ayaka's eyes scanned once.
"About 12 frogs."
She targeted a frog at the closest distance to them (10 tharns). She immediately aimed the arrow at the frog and released.
The arrow tore through the wind and flew; the frog seeing this wanted to dive into the mud to evade, but it was too late.
The arrow pierced straight into the frog's neck and caused it to fall backward, motionless.
Airi stopped pulling Takeshi; she stood straight observing and drawing her bow.
"Ayaka and I will protect; help Takeshi."
Elyssia was still helping the stuck Takeshi; Takeshi's body had been pulled up a bit.
At this time, a frog from afar jumped over. It jumped straight onto a dried dead tree.
Opening its mouth and lashing its tongue toward Takeshi who was lying on the mud surface.
Whoosh!!!
Ayaka clearly showed her ability as the frog's slimy tongue flew at quite a high speed. Her arrow immediately flew and pierced through its tongue.
The frog grimaced in pain; it was trying to retract its tongue.
Airi fired an arrow that flew and pierced straight into the frog's neck, causing it to fall backward.
Ayaka fired one more arrow flying straight at the frog's head and finished it.
Takeshi struggled to pull his legs up; the mud slumped with a "gulp" sound.
He was annoyed by the fishy smell of the mud covering his body and grimaced.
"So fishy."
At this time, the frog pack seeing two of their comrades fall, they rushed in at once, wanting to use quantity to overwhelm quality.
Elyssia drew her bow, she shouted:
"Everyone, just wound them. Then finish them later."
The frogs rushed over, some lashing their tongues like a long rope. Some jumped continuously across land patches and trees to close in.
The three girls continuously fired arrows in many directions.
Some frogs rushing in were hit in the belly, some in the leg... others more intelligent even jumped in a "Z" shape to evade the arrows.
Takeshi stood struggling, unable to nock an arrow; once nocked, when pulling he would drop it.
Losing patience, he tossed the bow aside and tossed the arrows away. Picking up a stone and a slightly large piece of wood to throw.
He exerted strength, eyes wide, veins bulging, gritting his teeth and saying:
"Returning this much muscle power is enough to pelt you!"
The stone and piece of wood he threw flew straight at a frog closing in very near the three girls. The wood hit the belly, the stone hit the head, causing the frog's blood to splatter as it fell into the swamp.
Feeling something was wrong, now at the swamp. Frogs lay everywhere, some being swallowed by mud, some lying on a small patch of land; they were all motionless, seemingly dead. Several arrows were pinned on them, making them look like hedgehogs.
Only three were trying to turn and flee.
Airi and Ayaka were shooting at the bodies of the frogs lying down to check if they were truly dead or faking. Elyssia stopped and looked at the three remaining frogs jumping away.
Takeshi did not; he gritted his teeth, two hands gripping a rather large stone. He spun several times like a top, blue veins bulging all over his face.
"Die!"
Takeshi spun like a top, suddenly he released the stone; the stone following the momentum he created flew high into the air and fell straight onto a frog jumping away.