Splash~!
Filled with joy over the large amount of experience that she gained following the death of the large mountain gnoll, Scaly was brought back to the present by the sound of the water curtain running out of mana to resist the mountain gnolls outside. Collapsing on itself to reveal the wet muddy ground that had been created around Scaly due to the large amount of water created by the water curtain.
In a sense, it was a great thing for her that a mud field had been created and seemed to work well at slowing down the mountain gnolls trying to make their way towards her, while on the negative side, it had also made it more difficult for her to move around.
At least for now, it should be more positive that the mud field is around. After all, I can use the limited movements of the mountain gnolls to my advantage and kill them with my water magic before they have a chance to reach me.
Narrowing both her eyes as she thought about this while looking at the struggling mountain gnolls who weren’t used to moving through muddy terrain, Scaly gathered her mana to launch a few water blades towards the approaching mountain gnolls-
Whoosh~
Huh? M-my mana!?
However, as she was about to use her brand-new spell to attack the approaching mountain gnolls, she was suddenly reminded of the fact that her mana was in a rather dire state following her battle with the powerful mountain gnoll not too long ago.
Even just using the simple water blade put a strain on her remaining mana. Meaning that she wasn’t left with much before she ended up running out completely.
In the end, it was only at this point that Scaly realized that the mana drained by using the water curtain to keep the rest of the mountain gnolls at bay was far more than she had first expected.
Groowl-!
Grrrr-!
Seeing how the water blades throw out by Scaly essentially lost their strength midair before turning into small puddles on the ground due to lack of mana, the mountain gnolls that had originally been too fearful to make even the slightest sound while approaching her after seeing the strong mountain gnoll dead on the ground, seemed to regain some vitality as they began growling angrily towards her filled with renewed energy.
Unknown to Scaly, the fact that she had cancelled her water blade due to the clear lack of mana and not wanting to waste what little she had unless necessary, had ended up giving the approaching mountain gnolls confidence in the fact that she had weakened after her battle with the powerful mountain gnoll.
Because of this, by the time that Scaly realized that the mountain gnolls had increased the speed that they were approaching, it was already too late for her to use any of her water magic to keep them at a distance-
Chiiing~!
Instead, forcing her to use her claws to block the crude axe of one of the mountain gnolls that had managed to get close enough to attack her. In turn, causing her to take a few steps back. Finding herself stuck in the mud that she herself had created.
To think I ended up trapping myself...
Feeling her feet getting stuck in the recently created mud, Scaly could not help panicking as she watched the mountain gnoll with the axe retreat a bit in preparation for another attack, while another four of the mountain gnolls began approaching to attack her as well.
This... I have to get out of here!
Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to continue fighting the mountain gnolls in her current state for long without any mana left to use her water magic, Scaly decided on the spot to retreat and leave the mountain gnolls for now.
Even though she did feel confident that she should be able to kill all of them with enough time. Even without her water magic, she also had to consider the fact that the rest of the powerful gnolls that had left the camp earlier could return at any moment.
Considering how difficult it had been for her to deal with a single one of those powerful mountain gnolls, Scaly didn’t intend on trying to face a group of them at the same time. Especially so given that she would not have to face them one by one but would be forced to face all of them at the same time.
Not just that, but she would have to do so without any mana left for fighting.
Splash~ Splash~
With that in mind, Scaly didn’t care about the mud that splashed up around her as she moved. Covering her beautiful scales in a thick layer of mud. Not so different from what had happened when she had first arrived at the island following her secret journey across the sea on a human ship on the third floor of the dungeon.
Of course, there was one main difference from back then and that was the fact that the mud this time around didn’t come from the swampy environment she was going through, but instead came from her own water magic.
Thinking about this, Scaly could not help feeling a sense of regret over the fact that she had ended up creating so much mud with her water curtain spells.
After all, the mud hadn’t ended up helping her like she had first thought it would but had instead just ended up slowing down her speed as she was trying to make an escape from the mountain gnoll camp.
Even worse, observing the mountain gnolls charging towards her filled with killing intent, Scaly discovered that the mountain gnolls seemed to be having an easier time than her moving through the mud due to the fact that they stood on two legs and had to deal with less mud. Different from her, who was on all fours crawling through the mud with much difficulty.
Though the difference in strength should have at least given her an advantage, it had been completely erased by this fact. The mountain gnolls even closed the distance that had been created between them following her repelling the mountain gnoll with the axe that had managed to reach and attack her.
Chiing~!
Luckily, as she blocked yet another sharp weapon with her claws, Scaly was happy to at least discover that the mountain gnolls couldn’t easily fight inside the mud and gave her more than enough time to respond whenever they launched an attack towards her.
Not just that, but the mud field created by her water curtain spell wasn’t that large and she would soon reach the other side and gain the ability to move freely once again. At which point she should be able to easily escape from the mountain gnolls.
If the situation turned out to be worse than expected, she could always use her remaining mana to throw out a few water blades to stop them from following her while she ran away.
ROOOOOAR-!
However, just as she stepped out of the mud and made it onto solid land, about to turn around and escape in the direction of the nearby forest, a terrifying roar echoed out from the direction of the mountain gnoll camp.
[Mountain Dwelling Troll, lvl 57]
And turning to look in the direction of the camp, Scaly was terrified to discover that an enormous troll far larger than the troll she had seen back on the second floor of the dungeon had appeared in the middle of the camp at some point in time.
[Mountain Gnoll, Great Warrier, lvl 53]
[Mountain Gnoll, Commander, lvl 51]
[Mountain Gnoll...]
Not just that, but the group of powerful mountain gnolls that had left the camp earlier were also there, seemingly having chased after the massive troll, as a large number of them were busy fighting the troll and doing their best to restrain it from escaping or causing any more damage to the camp than it had already done.
GROOOWL-!
However, the important thing to Scaly was not the troll or the mountain gnolls who had returned along with it, but instead the fact that one of the powerful mountain gnolls seemed to discover her and was currently rushing towards her with killing intent. Making it clear that it understood what had happened and was moving in to kill her.
Groowl-!
Groowl!
Even worse than that, Scaly discovered that the mountain gnolls struggling through the mud behind her seemed to have been infused with energy following the arrival of this powerful mountain gnoll, as they soon jumped out of the mud and rushed towards her filled with killing intent
In Scaly’s eyes, it was clear that the goal of these mountain gnolls was no longer to kill her, but instead to restrain her for long enough that the powerful mountain gnoll could get to her and finish the job.
Their renewed strength might also have something to do with this, as they should have used some kind of technique or spell of sorts to temporarily increase their strength so they could catch up to her...