Chapter 5: The Big Crab and Tyr
Just as Tyr was amusing himself, suddenly a terrifying roar interrupted his thoughts.
It was a roar as thunderous as thunder, frightening Tyr so much that cold sweat streamed down his body, and all his pores shrank in fear. He hastily found a pile of bushes to hide in, only exposing a pair of eyes to survey the situation outside.
Thud, thud.
The earth trembled with the rhythmic sound, and Tyr looked up to see a colossal creature about thirty meters tall slowly passing by in front of him.
Because of its enormous size, the beast’s breathing became as howling as the wind, and its throat emitted a rumbling sound, making Tyr too frightened to even breathe. If such a creature were to roar in front of him, Tyr doubted he could remain conscious.
Roar~ With a roar every ten steps, the beast gradually moved away. All the trees in its path were knocked over, creating a mess, and it even trampled out a path.
“Phew…” Tyr slowly stood up from the bushes as he saw the beast moving away, wiping the sweat from his forehead, feeling a huge sense of relief.
Although he had no memory, Tyr understood clearly that he couldn’t provoke such a giant creature with his small frame. Even that imposing blond rascal he had encountered earlier would probably run away upon seeing such an extraordinary being.
Just as Tyr was considering whether to follow behind the beast to feign bravery, a cultured voice sounded.
“Excuse me, young man.”
There was the sound of someone’s voice, and Tyr immediately became alert, looking around him.
“I’m talking to you, brave young man.”
From the tone of voice, the other party doesn’t seem to have any hostility, which made Tyr secretly relieved. After a search turned up no sign of anyone, Tyr could only say, “Sir, if you want to talk to me, at least come out and meet me, how about it?”
This was the best response Tyr could come up with. If the other party didn’t show up, he didn’t intend to pay any attention either.
The owner of the “um” sound seemed to be lost in thought, then broke the silence to respond.
“If young man, you could turn your head and look at the heroic figure on the road previously trampled by that Beishan dog, I believe we should be able to have a pleasant conversation.”
The strange response made Tyr look around, but all he could see was a giant crab half-buried in the mud, its size rivaling half of Tyr’s body, with a poisonous green color that made it hard to approach.
Where is the heroic figure here? Tyr looked again carefully, only to find this crab. He couldn’t help but express some dissatisfaction.
“If you don’t want to meet me, just say it. Joking with a dead stinky crab won’t raise anyone’s goodwill.”
“What! You actually dare to call me, who is so handsome, wise, heroic, and invincible, a dead stinky crab! Don’t you think it’s a blatant blasphemy against a deity?”
The owner of the voice seemed quite angry, but Tyr thought the other party was still joking and had no intention of continuing to indulge him, so he turned to leave.
“Ah! Young man, please don’t go.”
Tyr still didn’t pay any attention and continued to walk away. He had thought he could find a difficult friend in the aimless forest, but he hadn’t expected someone so abnormal.
“Alright, alright, I admit I’m a soft-footed crab, come back!”
But Tyr seemed determined to leave, walking farther and farther away.
The owner of the voice sighed and suddenly changed his tone from the previous kindness to a serious one, saying, “Boy, do you think you could survive and walk out of this forest without me?”
Tyr paused, feeling a bit nervous in his heart, after all, he was too unfamiliar with this world. Forced by circumstances, Tyr had no choice but to turn back and look at the supposedly heroic and wise giant crab.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you understand yet? You saw the monster just now, didn’t you? There are creatures even more terrifying than that giant everywhere in this forest. And if I hadn’t noticed you earlier, you would have been dead when that knight wanted to kill you.”
The owner of the voice showed a hint of a cold smile, which sent shivers down Tyr’s spine. He glanced back at the path he had come from, realizing it was nearly a two-hour journey. How did the other person know from so far away?
“Let me tell you something else. Whether it’s a wild beast or a monster, living long enough naturally breeds wisdom. If you don’t believe a crab can talk, then just think of me as one of those creatures that have lived for tens of thousands of years.”
Tyr widened his eyes and walked step by step to the side of the green crab, murmuring to himself.
“This is something else.”
“I was wondering how a little guy like you ended up alone in this forest. Oh, I remember, there was a little girl with you, wasn’t there?” The voice of the giant crab paused, then chuckled slyly. “But it’s a shame that girl trusted you so much, and you still did that kind of thing to her.”
“What kind of thing?” Tyr blinked innocently, but the giant crab seemed unwilling to dwell on that topic. It coughed and continued, “Kid, how about we make a deal… wait, why are you standing so far away?”
“No… it’s just that you seem to have a strong poison, so I…”
“Hmph, foolish boy, you can’t even tell that my armor has been soaked in Dragon King’s blood for nearly a thousand years. This color merely indicates the ultimate resistance to magic and power.”
“Ah, I see.”
The stark contrast between Tyr’s bland response and the crab’s boastful self-praise was evident. In the past, Tyr would have surely made the boy sit down and listen attentively to how he became a great crab over ten thousand years. However, in these extraordinary times, it could be considered an exceptional period, and presumably, the other party wouldn’t have the patience to listen to his lengthy discourse. The green crab had enough self-awareness about this.
“What’s your name?”
“Tyr,” he blurted out without hesitation. He hadn’t even used this name before, so there was no need for an alias. Out of politeness, Tyr waved his hand and said.
“What about you?”
“Just call me Lord Kaming.”
“So, Mr. Kaming what you said earlier makes a lot of sense. How can I break through this forest? I believe you didn’t come from such a distant place just to chat with me.” Ignoring the ‘Lord’ part, Tyr voiced the question he most wanted to know.
“What’s also strange is that I walked in the forest for nearly four hours before, yet encountered no danger. How do you explain that? Mr. Kaming, I believe you only started observing me a little over two hours ago. Even if you truly have the ability to keep me from encountering any monsters during my escape later, how do you explain the four hours before?”
