The Dragonslayer (title is a w.i.p.)

Chapter 7

Armin got up. Brashik and he left Dohl Gago, checking his compass, and headed west to Poplub Swamp. On the way, Armin saw a flock of birds coming towards them, but just a few metres above. Armin lifted up his sword and electrified it, instantly frying it. He and Brashik ate it together on the way there. Armin decided this was a justified killing since he'd already saved lives by killing the dragons. Eventually they made it and glided above. A murky brown river bubbled and boiled below. The muddy banks were swamped by cattails, which he saw many slight movements in, and a concentrated population of gigantic frogs. Mangrove trees grew along with the vegetation, barely reaching above them. Their vines dragged along the floor. They noticed a bedraggled crocodile crawl out, its eyes practically glowing. He found a clearing near a small cave and decided to land. Being on the ground, he could see a lot of insects flying around and on the ground. One of Brashik's feathers fell off, and Armin picked it up. Brashik reached out his neck and snapped up a lotus the size of Armin's hand. They looked towards the cave and saw lots more of the lotuses. As they walked slowly inside, they realised the walls were almost completely covered. Something flew off the ceiling; Armin assumed it was a bat. It wasn't a bat. They walked until they realised that even the floor was covered in insects. Realising there was nothing in there, they turned around to leave. They started striding out when, unexpectedly, all the insects took off. First just a few, then more and more and more. Hundreds and thousands went by; they seemed to go on for ever. They kept coming. Armin and Brashik ran out of the cave, covering their faces. Brashik flew way up into the sky to see where they were going. Armin couldn't see anything; he felt like he was caught in a blizzard. Giant insects whizzed past his face like hailstones. He was completely disoriented, and occasionally one landed on his shoulder, and he had to bat them off. They all suddenly stopped, and Armin was caught staring directly at something he didn't recognise. Its legs were as big as his, and he could see thin skin flaps stretched out into wings. He looked up and slowly realised where the insects had come from. Staring down at Armin was a terrifying face with two massive horns at the back pointing directly at him. It was ridiculously skinny, to the point where you could see its bones. Its eyes glowed and were set out from its skull. It was the smallest and most agile dragon Armin had ever seen. It let out an ear-piercing screech of a roar, sending hundreds more of the insects towards Armin. A few flew past him, but most landed on him. He moved and flapped to try to get as many of them off his body as possible. They recursed back and continuously covered his body, biting him. He felt his blood being slowly drained out of his body. He pulled out his sword and started swinging it maniacally. Eventually, the bugs all flew off. But the dragon just sent more. It seemed to be fun watching him struggle. Armin, completely blinded by the hundreds of insects, heard an unexpected scream from the dragon. Once Armin had removed all the bugs from his face, he realised he was in the air. After a few seconds, he realised what had happened: Brashik had flown through the dragon's wing, piercing it with his sharp beak. Armin looked around as Brashik made dramatic evasive manoeuvres, flying ridicuously quickly. The dragon followed in hot pursuit, barely behind them. Somehow, the dragon was able to shoot through the air like an arrow and keep up with the much smaller Brashik. As Brashik made a sharp turn, the dragon turned sharper. Armin realised he couldn't rely on Brashik's speed and agility. He turned around, now flying backwards. Armin shot lightning at the dragon, which it easily dodged. The dragon released another swarm of hundreds of insects at him. He fired at the lightning bolts just before they reached him, and the strike went through all of them and then into the dragon. It screamed and started falling. It pushed its wings rapidly and forcefully, its entire body encased in static. It struggled as it fell, trying as hard as it could to stay in the air, but it just couldn't manage to stay in the air. Eventually, it fell to the ground. Brashik slowly spiralled to the floor. Armin inspected the body. The dragon struggled on the floor, its entire body being continuously electrocuted. Armin stared at it for a while before sinking his sword into its heart.