"Let's see what you show me this time,

" Maebi whispered.

Both of them had used each other to satisfy their own needs. Maebi had satisfied her curiosity while Klautz had grown in strength. Had Maebi not used the pheromones, Klautz would not have been able to find the beasts as fast as he did!

NInjas, whenever using pheromones, usually lay out traps. But neither did Klautz have the time nor the knowledge of Maebi's actions to prepare one. Alas! This time too was all the same.

"Hiss!

"

Klautz ears twitched. He always had the knot in his brain that couldn't explain how the beasts were finding him so fast. While it wasn't anything unusual it was definitely uncommon for it to happen consecutively.

Klautz could only be happy that he didn't have to go through the hassle of finding them. He considered the day a lucky one.

Klautz put away his butchering knife as black matter wriggled out from his inventory forming into a ninja sword. He turned towards the direction of the hissing noise as he took his stance.

But, the hissing was rather low-pitched compared to the ones he had heard before.

'Don't tell me…'

A bulge formed on the snowy plains. It grew larger and larger to four times the usual size.

Klautz's mouth slacked as his eyes widened. He lowered his sword, unable to believe the scene that was planted in front of him.

'There is no way…'

Klautz knew instinctively that he couldn't fight it. At least not today. So there was only one thing that was left for him to do.

'How did it even come so far away from its nest!'

Klautz wasn't in the right mind to think of an answer. He didn't even have the time to think!

The Giant Serpent rose.

The snow from its back fell over as it came out of it extending its hood. Its tongue went in and out as it made a hissing noise. But Klautz hadn't waited to watch all of this. He was running away with all he had got, his back facing towards the serpent.

Klautz could rely on Maebi for sure but there was a possibility that she had set up the trap in the first place. If that was the case then she had hugely underestimated Klautz.

But what need did Maebi have to even create a trap, when she could kill Klautz herself? Several thoughts came out in Klautz's mind.

Maybe it was to take revenge for forcing her. Maybe she did so to make Klautz death look like an accident and not a murder so that she is not killed by her superior ninjas. Maybe it was just her having fun. There were a plethora of possibilities but Klautz had no time to pick out one.

'There is no point thinking. The way I am now I can't harm her. And doing anything to her won't chase away the beast either.'

The shadow of death was looming on his head and all he needed to do was run! He wasn't even sure if it was Maebi's doing in the first place.

"Damn!

"

Klautz had gained quite a distance from the serpent before it could even lay its eyes on him.

"Hiss!

"

It chased after Klautz who didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. It wriggled and crawled on the snowy floor leaving behind a huge white track of snow wherever it went.

"If I can get out of the Ice Post it will stop coming after me.,

" Klautz whispered.

But he knew that the plan only looked good in theory. In reality, it was impossible to do so. The Giant Serpent was more agile than the current Klautz! It was a class of its own nothing like the Ice Serpants Klautz had faced until now.

"Tch,

" Maebi clicked his tongue. Yet again Klautz had surprised her. How he was able to act so fast beyond her imagination!

"How?

" she whispered.

Maebi could dub KLautz as a coward but the time that she had spent with Klautz told her that things weren't simple. Klautz was extremely calculative just like her.

"How did he figure it out?

"

Klautz had figured out that with his current strength he would be unable to fight the beast. But how was he able to discern that out without exchanging a few clashes was beyond her!

Had it been someone else in place of Klautz, they wouldn't have been able to do anything before being thrown into the fight. Klautz had started running away even before the serpent showed its face. What kind of anomaly was this?

It was unexplainable. Maebi could only bite her lips as she watched the silhouette of Klautz running away.

"He won't be able to get away like this. Looks like I have to save him.

"

Maebi's shoulders dropped.

She wanted Klautz to fight the beast with all he had got. Sustain some injuries too. She would have only interfered only when his life was in mortal danger. But alas nothing like that happened.

If Klautz himself refused to fight, what could she do?

Maebi looked down at the icy floor below her. It was the place where she had released all of the pheromones. The Giant Serpent being the fastest of them all was able to appear first.

Where she stands now would soon be flocking with Ice Serpants who were undoubtedly slower than their king.

Maebi sighed.

"Is there no other way?

" she whispered to herself.

While Maebi was busy lamenting, disappointed with the outcome. Klautz was busy doing things in his own way!

"Hiss!

" The serpent cried closing in on Klautz.

Just a few seconds and the serpent would be able to close in the gap that Klautz had gained. There was no escape for him.

But Klautz wasn't one who gives in easily either. He ran through the snowy dunes that hid his silhouette making the serpent harder to locate him. It had become a game of 'hide and seek'!

***

Author:

Creation is hard for authors. Cheer me up with your power stones.

Let me know your thoughts about the chapter in the comments sections!