"Hiss!

"

The Giant serpent moved up and down the dunes as it hissed. But it didn't move too far away from Klautz. Thanks to its heightened senses that were much higher than Klautz, it could easily sense Klautz's presence.

But it could not pinpoint his location.

Thanks to Klautz's small structure as compared to the beast it was easier for Klautz to hide amongst the dunes. But it was only a matter of time before he got trapped by it.

"Hiss!

"

The snake passed so close to Klautz that he could even sniff onto its smell. It was a weird smell of the pheromone the serpent released.

'I can't afford to get detected.'

Klautz had stopped even his breathing and reduced his heartbeat as the snake's body passed in front of him.

*THud* *Thud*

Snow fell over close to the hole he had hidden himself blocking sunlight.

"Ha….

"

It was only after the snake passed that Klautz could take a slight breath of relief. Klautzears were perked up and he couldn't hear the snake's hissing sound anymore.

His chest heaved up and down as he took soundless breaths. But that didn't mean his hands had stopped working. Taking out a serpent hide from his inventory he began to cut it using his butchering knife for his convenience.

Klautz had always been resourceful. He had gauged his possible options and had formed the best plan possible.

That didn't mean he didn't have a plan B ready lest the first plan fails. In hell, you cannot expect things to go according to your calculations.

"This should do,

" Klautz whispered under his breath.

Even the drop of a pin would sound louder than his whispers.

He wrapped himself up in the hoodie he had just carved out. As long as he can fool the serpent into believing that it has lost its prey, Klautz can come out alive.

"Hiss!

"

The serpent was yet unable to find Klautz. The surrounding landscape changed thanks to its continuous motions destroying everything that came in between but alas nothing changed. What's more? The presence of Klautz was getting weaker and weaker. It was harder for it to detect him!

Klautz had even moved away from his hiding place as he found the opportunity making it impossible for the serpent to find him! The information that the serpent had on Klautz until now had become obsolete.

Klautz had the Adam's Ale and enough food to play the game of hiding and seek for days!

But the same wasn't true for Maebi.

"Hiss!

"

The serpent raised his head, spreading its hood wide as it looked around the landscape for Klautz's presence. But alas there was none.

But…

There was a presence far greater than Klautz that the Giant Serpent detected. Someone that could be a threat to its life!

As Maebi was lost deep in thought she had forgotten to hide her presence from the serpent. Alas, she wasn't as fast a thinker as Klautz. She lacked the wide variety of knowledge that Klautz possessed.

Usually, ninja can hide their presence from anyone weaker than themselves. But Maebi had been careless.

"Hiss!

"

The serpent felt an imminent need to erase the threat to its life. It charged towards Maebi with everything it had got!

"What!

" Maebi squeaked.

Her eyes shot out wide. For some reason, the serpent had started to chase after her. She could only wonder what was wrong.

'Where did Klautz go?'

Maebi wasn't sure herself. The Giant Serpent was supposed to chase after Klautz, not her.

But before she could think of a possible reason, the serpent had closed in. It was too late to dodge now!

*Swish*

*Clash*

She couldn't help but dodge the attacks. The Giant Serpent had attacked with its fangs. Its fangs were its only and most trusted weapon. But Maebi had blocked both of them, one with her ninjato and the other with her kunai as her hands crossed into an 'X'.

"Damn it!

"

Maebi gritted her teeth. Things didn't go quite according to her expectations. Nothing irked her more than when things didn't go her way. A small mistake had caused all of her plans to go crashing down.

But Maebi failed to understand that. She could only curse her luck for what happened.

'Every action has a cause and effect,' that is what Klautz believed but Maebi lacked enough experience to know how golden those words were.

She gritted her teeth as she put force in her arms. The Giant Serpent was pushed back. Its pupils shook.

Maebi was stronger than the serpent in every aspect! It was only because she was caught off guard that the serpent was even able to connect an attack!

*Crack* *Crack*

The serpent's fangs cracked as they were unable to bear the force of Maebi's arms.

*Thud*

*Crack*

The serpent's tail slammed onto the snowy floor as it felt the pain. Snow was raised as it formed a mist around its tail.

It was not until the fangs broke completely that the serpent was left speechless. Its tail stopped moving as the realization of its helplessness dawned upon it.

Its almond-like pupils shook as it felt an integral part of itself to eat dust on the snowy floor. Its fangs were its only weapons. Without them how could it expect to fight Maebi?

The Giant Serpent backed off. It should have never left its dam! Its body wriggled and twisted as it ran for its life! Maebi was more of a monster than itself.

"Shit! Stupid beast!

" Maebi cursed the beast not finding anyone to hold responsible.

Maebi didn't chase after it. There was no point in doing so. The beast being alive or dead didn't make any difference to her. The beast had already failed to do what she wanted.

"Where is that Klautz?

" Maebi squinted her eyes as her pupils shook left and right.

More and more Ice Serpents were accumulating around the place. Klautz had mixed with them, making his presence thinner. Even Maebi was unable to find him in this state!

Klautz sighed as he gazed at Maebi from her blind spot. The hoodie was still on top of him.

As Klautz hid from the Giant Serpent and sniffed onto its pheromone, he was reminded of how ninjas used the same for hunting. It was just a guess on Klautz's part but Klautz believed that Maebi used the same.

'Well doesn't make any difference what she used.' Klautz thought.

Klautz had moved with the prediction that the pheromone was used.

He believed that since the Giant serpent was attracted, the other serpents would be attracted too. It was just a guess but thanks to that his accurate hunch the plan worked better than expected. With so many Ice Serpent's around him detecting him became harder than ever.

"But why would she do so?

" Klautz held onto his chin.

That was a question that Klautz had weighing on his mind. His eyes squinted as a thought struck his mind.

"Don't tell me, Akihiko is pulling the strings again.

"

Klautz might be great in logistics and understanding the battlefield. But this time he had predicted things wrong.

"Damn Akihiko!

"

Akihiko wasn't responsible for his state. Maebi had taken her actions at her own discretion.

But if Klautz had got to that sort of conclusion, it would have been harder for Klautz to explain why Maebi resorted to such measures.

Why would Maebi have anything to do with him? That would have been a tough question even for Klautz. Maebi was a kunoichi from the Mizukigakure village. Technically she shouldn't have any relation with Klautz. They would never be crossing their ways. If at all they would have a ninja-representative relationship.

"In the end, nothing really happened. You failed again Akihiko.

"

Klautz smirked. He would be lying if he claimed that he didn't felt elated outwitting Akihiko again. It had fortified his belief that no matter what Akihiko does he would be failing time and time again.

Klautz had come out unscathed. He hadn't even sustained a single injury from the Giant Serpant.

Klautz removed his hoodie. Putting it on wasn't a good experience. The serpent's hide was slimy on the inside and icy on the outside for obvious reasons. The hide protects the serpent's from freezing alive.

Klautz turned towards Maebi.

"What are you standing there for? I said we are leaving,

" Klautz shout out forming a cone around his mouth.

Maebi turned around to find the person she was desperately looking for. It wasn't visible to Klautz from so far but she pinched her lips together as she grasped onto her lips.

"It would have been better if you had just died,

" she whispered under her breath.

Klautz's death would have made Maebi's life so much easier. Ever since the newbie drill began she had been just being tossed around like a doll.

Maebi bit her lips as she followed Klautz who ran around showing his back to her. Klautz felt no fear from her. She had already used her strongest card and there was nothing that she could do here.

"Not at least in this Ice Post...,

" Klautz whispered.

Klautz didn't plan to stay here either. The number of Ice Serpent's flocking here was too high. Klautz wouldn't be able to fight them all alone.

Had Klautz laid out a trap for them then matters would have been different. But Klautz neither had the materials nor the tools to do so.

***

Author:

Compiled today's two chapters into one ;)

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

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