A Bored Lich

Chapter 165 - Bullfrog

The many trees and the sturdy patches of soil around them held strong as the giant pillar of swamp water slammed back down like a fallen curtain, revealing a frog bigger than the entire group combined. Its greenish slimy skin was covered in dark brown growths, which congregated at its eyes and head. Around its entire body was a layer of blue life essence thicker than the fog around them.

Doevm was merely inches away from its white underbelly, which the frog pressed to the ground as it stretched its large mouth open wide. Using his paddle, he pole-vaulted away just before the amphibian snapped its jaws, narrowly scraping against his armor.

"That is not a toad, it is a Bullfrog!" Doevm yelled. The Bullfrog croaked, opened its fanged mouth, and shot out a long, pink tongue. A cold wind passed above Doevm's head as he crouched under it. Just when he thought he could take a breath, the tongue pulled back, and a great weight slammed into his side. The air left his lungs as he spun uncontrollably, stopping when he slammed into the shallow water. Giant chunks of rotten wood pelted the area around him, pieces of the now broken log which the Bullfrog had struck him with.

As he got to his feet, his head still spinning, a large shadow casted over him. A spear whistled by, piercing through one of the Bullfrog's many growths. Puss, which had been trapped underneath, sprayed everywhere as the Bullfrog slid back. Its round, balloon-like body slammed into a tree, knocking it straight from its roots. "I know what Bullfrogs look like," Thomas called from behind the group. "And that does not look like any frog I have ever even heard of."

"Is this one of the creatures that you were talking about?" Frey yelled out to Doevm. He replaced his thrown spear with his Kopis, but couldn't push forward, barely able to keep his balance on his rocking Amphiboard like Thomas and Elero. Doevm couldn't respond. He was still coughing up swamp water and catching his breath. He just trudged through the mud to the back of the group, on one of the dry spots around a tree.

Elero, who had bent down to undo her braces, cursed as she was pushed away from the group. A single brace yet to be undone, she fell into the water. As she pulled herself back onto her Amphiboard, she yelled out to the rest of the group: "I can't fight with these things on. Can you hold him off?"

The Bullfrog finally righted itself and pulled the spear out of its face. The many teeth in its upper jaw stabbed into its lower jaw as it closed its mouth. It winced and bent its body low, waiting in silence. Doevm's eyes went wide. He tapped Frey on the shoulder and pointed to Elero. "She…noise…quiet."

The Bullfrog turned its head to the source of the loudest noise, the clicking of Elero's gears as she struggled. Another pillar of water shot up as the Bullfrog uncoiled its legs and launched towards her. Elero cursed. She condensed life essence around her arms and jumped off her Amphiboard in a primate-like leap right before her board and paddle were blown away.

Doevm chucked a couple of rocks, not at the Bullfrog, but at a tree right next to it. The Bullfrog's head snapped towards the tree's trunk as soon as the stones thudded against it. In the blink of an eye, the tree was ripped from the ground and swallowed. The Bullfrog spat it out before condensing life essence around its snout and crouching down.

"It sees by hearing and smell!" Doevm finally managed to cough out. "Aim for the underbelly!" Before the four could do anything with the new information however, the Bullfrog let out a short shrill cry and lept into the dense fog above.

Elero pulled her life essence to her eyes. "Frey, it's heading for you!" Frey raised his shield and covered his entire body in life essence just as the Bullfrog flew down. Its giant body slapped against his shield, sending bends along its surface. Frey's Amphiboard sunk into the water, which bubbled. Creaking of both his shield and arms filled the air. "You are nothing compared to my morning warm-up!" Frey yelled as he shoved the Bullfrog to the left, closer to Thomas. With the weight gone, the Amphiboard flew back up to the surface and flipped Frey off of it. "Goddess I hate these things-" Frey's words turned to bubbles as he fell into the water.

The Bullfrog raised its snout into the air and opened its mouth. Its teeth slid out of its pierced, bleeding gums. It flinched. Thomas took a step away back, his spear and body shaking. "Thomas!" Doevm yelled over. "Stop gawking at it and charge in!"

"Y-yes sir…I mean yes Doevm," Thomas hesitated before taking a step forward and falling off his Amphiboard. Curses rang out as he found his footing in knee-level water. He tried to close in, however his body wouldn't move. He looked back at his feet, which were rooted into the mud. Then he turned back to the Bullfrog, which was staring at him with its wart-covered eyes. "Nice froggy," Thomas put up his hands. "I'm not going to hurt you. Nice froggy."

Doevm looked to Elero, who was still taking off her braces, and clicked his tongue. The water rippled around him as he bent low. The Bullfrog opened its mouth. Its many fangs neared Thomas's head. "Thomas!" Frey yelled as he enlarged his shield to its maximum size and threw it to Thomas.

The Bullfrog bit down only to taste metal. It croaked and slamming it into the ground so hard that it blew Thomas back. Dull thuds rang out, its tongue pelting against the shield. It reeled back and flailed its entire body around in the mud, smacking into trees.

Thomas clambered back on his Amphiboard and back paddled away from it. "Let's just run guys. This thing seems strong."

"Maybe for you," Elero said as she threw both of her braces into the spatial ring and reconstructed her deformed legs with blue life essence. She waded through the water to dry soil. "but I'm ready to take this thing down. I'm a noble and I'm fighting, why can't you do the same? I will not run from a fight. Doevm, Frey, can you two get it to jump? I'll take it from there." She crouched down. A massive cloud of life essence flew from her legs. "Thomas, if you don't want to be here, go back now. I don't think that shield is going to distract it much longer."

Doevm and Frey nodded to each other before moving in. Doevm held out his basic spear as he walked on the few patches of dry soil. Frey held his Kopis out and paddled closer.

Thomas cast his head down and glanced back down the foggy path which he had come. It was only a moment, but it felt like an eternity had passed as he stared back, his paddle still in the mud. He sighed before turning back around. His spear was still shaking as he faced the Bullfrog. "I fucking hate this," he said as he stepped onto one of the few dry patches of soil. "Guys, can you move out of my way please." Doevm and Frey parted, making room for Thomas.

'I've come this far already,' Thomas thought. 'It might be big, but Jameson is scarier.' He tightened his grip, his callused hands wrapping tighter around his worn spear. 'But I've always been scared, even when sparring. No matter what I've done, no matter which path I've chosen, I've always run…so, I've gotten pretty fast.'

He condensed life essence around his legs, which expanded. He breathed in and they shrunk. He breathed out and they expanded. 'At least, I want to be a little reliable. They can help me if I fall.' Then, he jumped, soil and plants blown back as the wind whistled around his body. He darted from dry spot to spot. Each time he landed, the Bullfrog would turn and rush at him only to smash its deformed face into the hard soil.

Thomas took a deep breath, now familiar with its pattern, ready. 'I don't need to kill it. I just need to annoy it. One hit and I can leave the rest to them.' The Bullfrog rolled towards his tree. Instead of jumping to another dry spot, he went up. The Bullfrog hit the tree and listened for more noise.

Thomas descended onto the Bullfrog's head and stabbed his spear right into the biggest growth. The poison opened up and flowed into the wound. The poison was however, soon ejected as the growth burst open. A mess of puss and blackened blood flew everywhere. The Bullfrog swiped at Thomas, but he rolled under. As he slid down, he ripped the Bullfrog's face open. The shield was finally knocked free. The Bullfrog swallowed it. Thomas lept away: "Damage won't cause it to jump. I think we just need to just wait for it."

As he landed on a dry spot, his legs wobbled, and collapsed. He cursed, punching them. "Work damn it." He pulled himself up with his spear only to fall back down.

"We'll take it from here," Doevm said as he and Frey moved in. The Bullfrog shook its head, flinging any and all liquids oozing down its body. In the popped growth's place was a giant yellow eye, which dilated as it locked onto the pair approaching. As its pupil grew, they noticed its strange rose-like pattern. The Bullfrog bent down. Blue life essence surged around its body. It coiled its legs, opened its mouth, and jumped.

Doevm lept out of the way. Frey however, stood still. Sweat dripped down his cheek. His frozen face drained of color. Reflected in his two wide eyes was the Bullfrog's rose-like pupil.

'What are you doing Frey?' Thomas thought. "Jump!" Frey shook his head and lept way too little too late. The Bullfrog caught him by his metal boot and slammed him into the ground so hard that Frey's Kopis fell out of his grip.

"Jump!" Doevm's voice echoed in the swamp, rippling the water. The Bullfrog's one eye went wide. It let go of Frey and, in one fluid motion, leaped as high as it could into the air. A pillar of water flew behind it. "Do it now!" Doevm yelled.

Elero took a breath, seemingly oblivious of Doevm's words. She predicted its path with the tip of her rapier, as if aiming a bow. A portion of the life essence around her legs moved to her eyes. As the Bullfrog went from rising to falling, she jumped. The air whistled around her as she struck its unprotected underbelly and came out the other side covered in its blood. The Bullfrog and Elero slammed into the ground, only she had protected herself with life essence. The Bullfrog remained still, dead.