Capítulo 20: New prey
The Goliath Frog was the biggest frog on earth and I remembered seeing some pictures of it on the internet in my past life.
It could become as big as a medium-sized dog, yet the frog in front of me would have made it look like a chihuahua in comparison.
The Real Goliath Frog was even larger than its goblin prey, a mottled behemoth easily the size of a large dog.
Its warty, greenish-yellow skin glistened, and its single, massive, shining eye seemed to pierce the gloom of the tunnel like a baleful moon in a starless sky.
The creature's powerful hind legs rippled with muscle, promising an explosive leap and its neck was already swelling as it prepared to use its signature attack to finish off the wounded Golbin.
By all means, that would have spelled the tiny gob's end, but I was already in the process of sprinting toward the monster.
The very second I saw the frog turn around the corner, I was already pushing my excelia enhanced Agility to the max.
My muscles coiled and uncoiled with unnatural speed, propelling me forward in a blur, and yet the frog's reflexes were more than up to par with my I-grade agility.
The frog's single, massive eye swiveled to track my approach, its predatory instincts recognizing the immediate threat I posed.
And just like I expected, it didn't hesitate before unleashing its most deadly weapon.
A blur of pink erupted from the depths of its maw, a spear-like tongue tipped with a barbed, wicked point.
Even to my heightened senses, it was a fleeting streak of motion, aimed directly at my exposed chest.
I knew from seeing Golbin's gruesome wound that it would pierce my flesh like a hot knife through butter should it hit, yet, with my momentum carrying me forward at breakneck speed, evasion was almost impossible for the current me...
'Good thing I never planned on dodging' I thought, a smirk involuntarily creeping on my face as I flung my makeshift shield forward.
The kobold leather sack, bulging with fifty magic stones, met the frog's tongue in a shower of sparks.
A crunch reverberated through the air as the barbed tip punched through the back of the sack, scattering glowing shards of magic crystals. But the momentum was slowed, just enough.
The tongue, now blunted and weakened, slammed into my outstretched left palm.
A searing pain erupted, a white-hot agony that radiated up my arm.
The tip of the tongue, pierced through the fleshy mound at the base of my thumb, exiting through the back of my hand even as I continued my sprint. Blood gushed from the wound, mingling with what might have been a weak paralyzing compound from its saliva.
Had I tried to tank it directly, my hand would have been skewered completely, and I might have even gained a brand new breathing hole for my lungs.
The pain was excruciating, like molten lava searing through my veins, but it did nothing to diminish my satisfaction as I forced my bleeding hand to curl around the fleshy appendage.
My clawed fingers sank into the frog's tongue with the force of a bear trap snapping shut. Razor-sharp edges dug deep into the slimy flesh, tearing through muscle and sinew.
A high-pitched shriek instantly echoed through the tunnel as the frog instinctively tried to retract its wounded appendage. The creature's tiny, primitive brain could only register the agonizing pain, driving it to pull back in a desperate attempt...alas, its instincts betrayed it, for this reflexive action only served to bring its death closer.
My body turned into a literal projectile as I used its attempt to reel back the tongue I was holding to further increase my speed.
The very last thing the frog creature ever saw were five shiny razors as my free hand slammed into its bulbous eye.
A sickening squelch echoed through the cavern as the delicate orb ruptured. A geyser of vitreous humor, blood, and shredded tissue erupted, painting the walls and myself in crimson and white colors.
The frog's pained shriek was also cut short as my knee slammed into its gaping maw, a bone-jarring impact that rattled its skull.
Newton's laws thankfully didn't betray me yet as the inertia of my charge carried us both forward, a tumbling mass of flesh and fury.
One hand remained anchored in the frog's ruined eye socket, my claws raking against bone, while the other maintained its death grip on the tattered tongue.
As a result, I couldn't protect my face as it scraped against the rough stone floor, a searing pain that barely registered amidst the adrenaline-fueled chaos.
The stench of blood and viscera filled my nostrils. as the world became a whirlwind of motion and gore for a few moments.
As our kinetic energy finally dissipated and we came to a stop, I felt the frog's body convulse beneath me, its muscles spasming in a desperate, futile struggle for survival, but its death was set in stone from the moment it entered my field of vision.
Without hesitation, I shifted my grip from the ruined eye socket to where I believed the frog's throat to be.
My claws, slick with gore, sank deep into the soft flesh beneath its jaw. I barely felt any resistance as I sliced through skin and muscle telling me that this monster was very ill-suited for physical combat.
There was a gristly crunch as I severed what felt like a windpipe, followed by a squelch as my claws pierced deeper, encountering pulsing veins and spongy organs.
I wasn't sure how a frog's throat differed from a human's, but the lifeblood gushing from the wound told me I had found what I was looking for.
Ignoring the gargling death throes of the frog, I attempted to rise to my feet.
My muscles screamed in protest as I pushed against the soon-to-be corpse, the bones in my legs and back creaking like old timbers in a storm. The metallic smell of blood laced with the musky odor of amphibian flesh, filled my nostrils as I did.
I finally heaved myself free, leaving the frog's lifeless body sprawled on the cavern floor, moving my attention toward the tongue still embedded in my palm.
Observing it closely, the tip of its tongue looked similar to a harpoon. A sheath of either keratin or something else encasing a slender, needle-like bone. Tiny, serrated spurs, like the barbs on a fishing arrow, protruded from the sides of this bony core, either designed or evolved to grip and tear at flesh, ensuring a clean puncture became a mangled wound.
'Yeah, good thing I grabbed it tight when it attempted to retract it...or I might have lost a few fingers...'
I shrugged before working my claws around the base of the barb, severing the tongue flesh with a few precise swipes.
If I couldn't take it out normally, then I merely had to cut it first and then push it out.
With a hiss of pain, I eased the remaining section free, the jagged edges of the wound stinging like an angry fucking beehive.
A fresh torrent of blood gushed from the wound, giving the cavern floor yet another scarlet paint job. With a wince, I clenched my fist, the muscles in my forearm contracting to staunch the flow.
Then, resisting the urge to begin my feast right then and there, my gaze swept over the tiny green form of a goblin, sitting against the cave's wall and slowly fading away despite its attempts to staunch the gaping hole going through its shoulder.
Golbin's skin paled to a sickly hue. His eyelids drooped heavily, revealing only slits of his eyes.
Yet, through the haze of pain and exhaustion, those eyes remained fixed on me with unwavering intensity.
A thin trickle of blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, mingling with the froth that gathered there with each labored breath.
And despite the obvious approach of death, the creature's spirit clung to a single word, whispered in a raspy, fading voice, that I could only barely hear due to my enhanced hearing.
"Purpose... purpose... purpose..." the insane little creature kept repeating...
And despite the supposed anatomical impossibility of such a thing...I felt my smile widen even further...
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