The hunting party consisted of five Lizardmen. Four of them had basic equipment made of hide that covered too little to be called protective equipment. Two out of four had long spears and two had steel swords and wooden buckler shields Bones recognized were human made. The fifth Lizardman was of a different sort. Larger and bulkier than the others but by no means hindered by his hulking presence.

He had deep olive colored scales and wore a brown leather chest protector with a metal pauldron covering left shoulder. The lower part was covered with simple cloth so as not to hamper the movements and he had shin protectors made of bones. Mix-matching equipment type reminded Bones of adventurers and he was sure some of the armor was taken off the bodies of dead adventurers that ventured too deep into the swamp!

Bones discerned the fifth Lizardman to be a leader of a hunting party by red tribal markings on his face and a haughty attitude. A youngling approached the warrior and handed him a partisan type of a polearm and a jagged shield with a row of spikes made of a snapping turtle shell. Equipped with sharp teeth, survival instinct and cold intellect, the party moved out and Bones followed at distance.

An hour later, Bones started losing patience. At the beginning, the hunting party moved fast in search of prey, but once they picked up a trail, they slowed down and proceeded with caution. Bones didn't know what game they were hunting, but it must've been quite something if it made the haughty leader remain vigilant at all times. On a few occasions when he got too close to the party, they noticed his presence and stopped to search the area. Since then, he remained at maximum distance while following from behind.

The party stopped once again to inspect the markings left by their prey and Bones groaned in annoyance. He thought about instigating a fight more than once, but held himself back. He would've lied to himself if he said he wasn't intrigued in what they were hunting by now. The party proceeded onwards and Bones waited for them to put some distance between them before he stepped up and searched the area. The ground was soft and watery, and there were trail marks of something being dragged along the ground.

These sliding marks are like that of a snake, but its size…

"It couldn't be a snake, could it?"

The Common Green Viper from the dungeon was huge. The biggest snake I've seen! But it pales in comparison. The trail left behind is twice, no! - Three times as wide. The marks are fresh, it couldn't have gotten very far.

Bones picked up pace and tracked after the party. As was gaining on them, he noticed the water level rising. He stopped and quickly stored his robe so it wouldn't get wet before he continued. Buzzing and croaking sounds resounded throughout the swamp and he was forced to slow down as the water level rose to his waist. Carpet of green covered the surface of the water frontward and the trees were few and far between. Bones fought his way ahead and shortly after, he spotted the hunting party three hundred meters away, weapons drawn and ready.

All five were standing above the swamp floor on a cluster of smaller spongy mounds of fallen trunks and branches covered with moss. Before them was a large mound and a dense thicket. Bones was still too far to get a sense of what was happening but guessed the party found what they were looking for. He bent down until the water surface reached his chest and started swimming through the duckweeds. Before Bones reached the cluster of mounds, the Lizardmen cautiously walked over and disappeared in the thicket. Bones climbed the mound, covered in roots and duckweed looking like a swamp monster and followed in their footsteps.

The larger mound wasn't spongy but solid ground, and beyond the thicket, Bones saw the hunting party on the edge looking intently a dozen meters in front of them. The Lizardmen adopted a crouching stance, their strong leg muscles flexing and ready to react at once. Bones stood on the tip of his toes a few meters behind in the cover of a bush, leaning slightly and looking over the crouching Lizardman.

In front of the hunting party in the horizontal float position was their prey, staying motionless on the water's surface, with a portion of its upper body floating above the surface of the water. Bones jaw dropped.

"Holy sh-"

The creature at the front was no prey. It was a hunter, an apex predator! With a swing of its flexible, laterally flattened tail, the creature propelled itself forward and in just a few swings, it was in front of the hunting party. Its next move left Bones stupefied.

"-it"

Hard Plated Snapdragon, level 49

Bones didn't plan to use Identify on the monster. He did it in a spur of moment as the monster lunged its body vertically out of the water and at the hunting party. The Lizardmen already expected the attack and reacted instantly, avoiding the creature as it continued its charge into the thicket and sweeping the lurking undead off his feet. Bones' was knocked back and sent flying into the water dozens of meters away in the process.

When he resurfaced, he saw a massive glistening dark gray lizard-like body on a cluster of mounds and the hunting party surrounding it. It had four short legs and clawed web toes, stout skin and the scales covering most of the body arranged in a regular pattern. Thick, rectangular horny plates occurred on the back with a row of sizable bony spikes running down the middle and all the way to its thick and massive tail. Its head had an elongated snout with a row of sharp and conical teeth it bore down on its challengers. Neither It nor the hunting party noticed Bones peeking above the surface of water and in expectation of the upcoming fight.

Bones never saw anything like It. He estimated the monster's body was around seven meters in length - twelve with the length of its tail. The Snapdragon lunged its hefty body at the nearest Lizardman, jaws open and chomping down. The Lizardman was quick to react and jumped back in time, avoiding the snapping jaw. The party circled the monster and the spearmen jabbed at its legs, aiming to cripple.

[Move! Don't get hit!]

The leader of the party instructed, drawing attention to himself. Bones didn't understand the exact words said but figured they were instructions seeing how the party's momentum changed each time he spoke. The spearman attempts at jabbing seem inefficient and only prove to piss the monster off as it hissed and trashed around. Perhaps that was the plan? To tire the monster out, Bones thought and remained observing the flow of battle.

The first blood was drawn when one of the spearmen managed to penetrate the skin and the monster slipped on the slippery terrain.

[Kill! Now!]

Immediately after, the leader shouted orders and the party launched an all out attack. The two buckler wielders charged and bashed their shields against the front legs while the spearmen attacked from behind. This time, with fully powered thrusts instead of jabs. The leader circled the monster but before he had the time to position himself, the monster swept with its tail, knocking down the spearmen and brushing off the shield wielders.

The attack failed and the Snapdragon lunged again at the nearest target, one of the unlucky shield bearers. The Lizardman jumped back, expecting the monster to snap its mouth shut but the monster kept its jaw wide open, and then its throat expanded, like that of a frog.

[Tongue! Shield!] The leader warned.

The Lizardman's eyes widened and he hurriedly put the shield up front but he was a step too late. After the monster's throat swelled up, its tongue extended in a whip-like motion with the speed of a projectile and wrapped around the warrior, then retracted, pulling him along with it. The Snapdragon snapped its mouth shut around the warrior's body and started violently shaking its head from side to side.

The captured warrior tussled to set free, but soon his struggles came to an end when his body split in half. The lower part flew off to one side and the upper to the other. The leader hissed and took advantage of the situation to deal a significant blow to the monster's side. With one warrior less, he took on a defensive role and taunted the monster while the others pecked at its health.

The fight lasted for a while and there were a few close calls but the leader was capable and his shield sturdy! It was precisely thanks to the leader's persistence and a Bash to the monster's head that blinded its eye, that made it possible for the party to whisk away at the monster's enormous health pool.

In its final struggle, it whipped its tail, smacking the other three warriors away and into the water while the leader dealt it the finishing blow. Exhausted and injured, two warriors crawled back on the mound, breathing haggardly. The leader also didn't look for the best. Blocking all that damage with the shield had taken a toll on his body, but it was worth it. Their hunt was fruitful and casualties minimal.

He looked at the dead body of a monster and exhaled. The body would feed the whole tribe for the next few days! All that was left was to send one of the warriors back to the tribe for help while they cut the body into smaller, more carriable pieces. It was then that the leader noticed one of the warriors missing.

While the party fought, Bones had Skully on standby while watching the fight coming to an end. He made sure to remember which Lizardmen were injured the most. The one with multiple fractures, broken ribs and arm, was his first target. The moment the Snapdragon flung him into the water, Bones had Skully take care of him.

[Sun'ar. Where?]

[ ? ]

The two warriors slowly and with great effort sat up and looked around in confusion.

[ ! ]

[ ! ]

[Leeches?] One of the warriors asked.

[No leeches! His territory!] The leader pointed toward the dead Snapdragon. [Something in water. Careful!]

Skully, distract them.

*splash*

All three abruptly turned in the direction of the sound just a few meters away and saw ripples on the surface of the water. While they were distracted, Bones surfaced, snatched the nearest sitting warrior and pulled him under the water.

*splash splash*

The leader abruptly turned and caught a glimpse of a lump of duskweed submerge. He made a step forward but stopped. A few seconds later, the surface calmed and the ripples disappeared. Three of his warriors down, Bones wondered what the leader would do next. He was greatly surprised when the leader looked up and produced a high pitched long shriek, then looked down at the water in the front. Bones could have sworn he sensed the leader grinning.

[We run!]

The two remaining Lizardman dropped their shields and dove into the water and made a run for it. Only then did Bones hear the splashing sounds of something in the distance.

"He didn't!?’" Bones exclaimed as he emerged from the water and looked toward the thicket. The splashing sound was drawing closer and he hastily dived and followed after the Lizardmen. Just a moment later, another Snapdragon came into view after crashing through the thicket and started gorging on the dead body.

The Lizardman were excellent swimmers and left Bones far behind. Bones wasn't flustered, for while they were great swimmers, they suck at running. The Lizardfolk could move at high speed in sudden outbursts, but long distances are not their strength. That's why it took the hunting party so long to get to the hunting spot and why Bones was losing patience following. The distance from the tribe to the Hard Plated Snapdragon habitat was roughly eight kilometers and a part of a swamp submerged accounted for one and a half kilometers.

Once he reached the muddy ground, Bones picked up speed and eventually caught up with them. Both Lizardmen noticed Bones' presence and knew they had to make the stand there. They were tired though, Bones could see the resignation in the eyes of the warrior as he was approaching. The leader was different. He made a few practice swings with a spear and took on an offensive stance.

[Come!]

Bones didn't understand what was said, but understood the gesture! He summoned Skully while identifying the two warriors in front of him.

Elite Lizardman Warrior, level 44

Lizardman Warrior, level 41