Faool inhaled deeply as he watched as the pythons grew rger as they slithered their way towards them. He held his staff in front of him, holding it up with both hands, bowing his head to press his forehead against the cool wood. Kitool made aical motiht beside him.

  “Faool,” Kitool called.

  “Yes?”

  “You will not fall before me,” Kitool stated.

  “I am not like you, cousin Kitool.”

  “No,” Kitool agreed. “I wield Tigerstaff, and you wield a muaff.” Kitool pushed out the staff in front of her, with her cousin doing the same, the pair pleting their stretches together. “When they hear the tale, they will hear how you kept up with your cousin even when you did not wield one of your family’s greatest ons.”

  Faool’s lip trembled for a moment, before he let out a low sigh. He held the staff from either end, holding it raised in front of him horizontally, c the sight of the pythons for a moment. “I, too, am an Iyrman.”

  “Yes,” Kitool replied, and the pair tiheir stretches together.

  “Uvajin would look good in dress made of pythoher,” Uwajin said, swinging her bde around.

  “I was thinking the same for Minakan,” Naqokan replied, swinging her bde around too, though in a different manner.

  “I will kill one myself.”

  “I will kill two myself.”

  Uwajin turo faaqokan, raising her brow. Naqokan replied with a small smile, causing the tusked Iyrman to chuckle lightly.

  “It’s warm today,” Laygak said, swinging his bde iions he had learnt to prepare himself.

  “It’s almost the perfect weather,” Jaygak said.

  “Almost,” Laygak agreed.

  “Do you remember how to kill a boar?”

  “One swing at a time,” Laygak replied, sshing downwards.

  Jaygak wisting her front, before bending over to reach for the tips of her boots. “How do you kill a dragon?”

  “One swing at a time.” The young Iyrman sshed sideways.

  “How do you kill a god?”

  The young Iyrman thrust his bde forward, over his shield. “One swing at a time.”

  Jurot ched his entire body, starting from his feet and thighs, before making his towards his ned jaw. Then he rexed his body in the same order, inhaling and exhaling at the end.

  “Okay?” Jurot asked.

  “Okay,” Nirot replied.

  “Okay?” Jurot asked.

  “Okay,” Bavin replied.

  The Iyrmen could feel the vibrations in the ground as the pythons charged towards them.

  “We ’t interfere,” Adam said.

  The tribesfolk beside him, the same tribesfolk with the staff, bowed their head. Their eyes remained glued to the Iyrmen, who had not yet shown their capacity to butcher. Last time, they had to hold back for the tribesfolk, but this time, it was for the glory of their families.

  Laygak stared at the pythons ahead, lifting his shield up as they prepared to fight. ‘We do this.’

  ‘We fought hydras previously and were able to defeat them,’ Nirot thought.

  ‘Pythons are weaker.’ Faool thought, though the hought quickly invaded his mind. He held his staff out as if it was a longsword, ready to strike. ‘Last time, Adam assisted us.’

  The ground shook furiously as the giant pythons, each at least fifty metres long, slithered towards the group. Their skin was no doubt as thick as an Iyrman, their rge fangs easily rger thahe likes of Nobby. Just a single misstep and most of them would die, even Jurot would not e out unharmed.

  Bavin inhaled deeply a out an exhale. ‘I,’ the young Iyrman thought as the pythons were upon them, ‘am Bavin!’

  The hiss of the pythons were quickly drowned out by the cacophony of Iyrmen r as they raged. The pythons sped up at the st moment, their jaws snapping as they tried to swallow the Iyrmen whole. Their nimbleness was not betrayed by their rge, thick bodies, the pythons almost blurring as they began their assaults.

  Laygak’s eyes went wide as he froze in shock for a moment, for where his cousin oood, was now the tightening jaw of a giant python. A muffled voice called from within, before a bde pierced through the side of the python’s cheek, the bright light shining off the creature’s scales. The python hissed in annoyance, before another bde pierced into the side of its face. Jaygak forced her body to react, teariweewo holes to form an escape before she pushed her way through, almost dropping to a knee before she turned, raising her shield in front of her.

  Faool crashed his staff against the side of the python which had seemingly swallowed his cousin, though it bounced off against its thick hide. He spun his staff, before leaping up onto the python’s back, crashing his staff against its head once more, filled with his irength, though it didn’t eveister his blow. Faool’s heart pounding wildly in his chest before he inhaled deeply, f a fist, before he punched downwards, almost like a drill as his fist spun, before he struck the top of the snake’s head.

  Its entire body shuddered for a moment before it froze into pce, before he spun to the side and aimed a heel kick to its eye, using the momentum of the kick to spin himself to nd onto his feet. He turned back towards the frozen snake, while a shadow loomed across him, blotting out the sun as the spinning form of Kitool began to shower the rge python ih. Tigerstaff blurred as the staff crashed against the same spot Faool had struck to freeze the creature in pce, before she also forced a heavy blow into the python, finally hopping off to nd beside the young Iyrman, readying to face the creature together with her cousin.

  Uwajin and Naqokan darted oher side as the python tried to cim os fangs tearing up the earth as though it were bread. They grinned wildly in their rage, as Naqokan’s bde struck across the creatures side, fshing hot with divine might, while Uwajin forced her body into a deeper rage, reag deep within her as she tore into the creatures side, the pair beginning their dance of death.

  ‘What are the hell are they pying at?’ Adam thought, staring at the bination of Iyrmen and the number of pythons. He had thought Jurot, Jaygak, and Kitool would handle one each, but that wasn’t the case. Even if they had decided to partner up with their cousins, with Nirot and Jurot fag one each, it made seo allow Uwajin to handle one by herself.

  Bavin winced in pain as the venom of the giant python sizzled against his side, but he tore into the creatures side with his axe, barely managing to slice out a scale as his entire body shook. He was not like the Rot family, who were able to deal with the venom of a python, his family’s way was simir to that of the Kan family. His axe fshed white hot with divine magic as he tore into it once more, though he had only mao scar the creature.

  Nirot mao fend off her python by dang around it, keeping her shield up to force away a fang before she hacked into its side. She was pletely focused ohon she was fag, uanding even she couldn’t igs threat.

  Adam stepped forward, feeling something strike against his side, before he turned, gring at the tribesfolk elder. They raised a finger and shook their head towards him, before g their staff with both hands, smming it into the earth. Adam’s eyes snapped back to the group.

  The giant python which had aimed for Jurot, and the deliciousness of magic it could taste ing from him, ss head towards where Jurot had tensed his body towards, a only found the earth. Its eye sowards the Iyrman, who hadn’t even taken a step to the side.

  Jurot’s entire body was red hot with rage, and he raised his axe, sshing towards the creature’s eye. It let out a pained hiss as its entire body vulsed, Jurot expending every charge of Phantom, before he darted towards Bavin’s side. Though the snake made to move to strike at his back, its entire body writhed in pain from the blow which rocked its mind.

  Jurot’s axe sunk in to the side of the snake Bavin was fag, trying to catch its attention. “e!” The inal pn was for the trio to hahe likes of the pythons, with Bavin taking the pce of Uwajin in order t glory to his own family, and to allow Uwajin to fight beside Naqokan, where she preferred. Kitool, too, had thought to allow her cousin glory, and Jaygak did the same.

  This was not a matter of winning, this was a matter of creating a good tale for their cousins, who had entrusted their elder cousins thus far. Yet, Bavin had taken such a heavy blow, so Jurot was forced to assist. If Bavin fell, the battle became twice as difficult, and Jurot wouldn’t be able to face his brother.

  The rolls for this fight were insane.