I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 440 A One-Man Battle

(PS: I got carried away writing this chapter, so it's a bit longer than usual. It's mostly action, but it doesn't really affect the main storyline. I personally think it would be a shame to delete it, so feel free to skip it if you're not interested.)

"What a cesspool..."

The image transmitted through the glass viewing window of the gas mask was very blurry, but even so, what Monokuma was seeing now still made him marvel.

The vast swamp in front of us truly lived up to its name, exuding a nauseating stench.

The decaying vegetation slowly decomposed in the murky mud, with bubbles bubbling up from the sticky black mud. When the bubbles burst, they released strong marsh gas, a putrid stench, and a kind of indescribable sweet and musty smell.

Even through the high-efficiency filter canister, the smell seemed to penetrate, stubbornly clinging to the depths of the nasal cavity.

As far as the eye could see, there were twisted, withered trees, floating rotten wood, and large puddles covered with greasy algae, their surface shimmering with a sickly, unsettling iridescence in the dim light. The air was hot, humid, and sticky, as if wrapped in a thick blanket soaked in sewage.

But for Monokuma, despite his sighs, he didn't hesitate at all.

Those hands, hidden inside thick protective gloves, steadily adjusted the grip of the flamethrower, aiming it at the nozzle in front of them. It was emitting a low, rhythmic hum, and a faint orange-red halo emanated from the nozzle. The scorching heat distorted the already blurry air in front of them.

He took a deep breath, filling his nostrils with the stench of plastic, and then steadily pulled the trigger.

"Whoosh... Boom..."

A condensed, blazing orange-white fire dragon roared out of the nozzle, tearing through the air with a sharp shriek, and slammed into the swamp in front of it.

The moment the flames touched the water's surface, they didn't extinguish; instead, they erupted into an even more intense combustion. The floating grease, accumulated methane, and rotting organic matter instantly became excellent fuel.

The flames, like greedy creatures, spread rapidly across the murky water, licking at the floating withered branches and leaves, igniting the decaying meadow, and sizzling the slippery algae, turning them into wisps of pungent black smoke.

The black and white bear's steps were steady and powerful, its legs, clad in high-top waterproof boots, moving slowly but firmly through knee-deep mud.

He slightly turned his body, and the flamethrower in his hand seemed to be an extension of his arm, the flames sweeping precisely across the target area according to his will.

Wherever the flames passed, the darkness was briefly dispelled, crackling and popping sounds emanating from them, and billowing smoke rising up, temporarily suppressing the suffocating stench of decay. In their place came the acrid smell of burning proteins and completely incinerated organic matter.

"Zi la..."

The flames swept across a corner where the remains of an unidentified animal were floating, causing the burning grease to splatter and making an even louder sound.

Monokuma merely tilted his head slightly to avoid the sparks, his hand movements remaining perfectly steady.

Through his blurry glasses, he calmly observed the burning effect of the flames, judging the next area that needed special attention.

"Burn it...burn it all away..."

A deep voice came through the gas mask, carrying an almost cold calm that contrasted sharply with the raging flames before him.

This is not an outburst of anger, but rather an efficient, necessary, and routine cleaning process.

The germs, parasites, and potential dangers that lurked in the swamp were all reduced to ashes in this purifying fire.

The heat of the flames penetrated through the thick fireproof suit, making his skin slightly hot. His breathing became heavy beneath the mask, each inhale accompanied by a soft hissing sound from the filter canister.

Sweat trickled down his temples, but was immediately absorbed by the lining of his fireproof suit. He simply adjusted the angle of the flamethrower slightly to make the flames cover the area more evenly, ensuring no corner was missed.

Suddenly, when the flames licked at what appeared to be an ordinary mud puddle, something below seemed to react under the high temperature, and a strangely colored blue-green flame with a strong chemical smell suddenly shot up, which then quickly went out, leaving behind a charred mark and an even more pungent smell.

Monokuma paused for half a second.

He squinted, peering carefully through the distorted heat and smoke over the area.

It's not biogas, it's something else.

Perhaps a player carrying a flamethrower died down there, or maybe some other trash sank to the bottom of the mud.

Everything is uncertain. Players have had so many places to clean up lately that Monokuma has to come and clean this relatively safe area by himself.

Therefore, he did not delve into what was beneath the mud, but silently turned the nozzle around and added an extra, longer-lasting, and more intense stream of high-temperature fire to that area.

The scorching flames licked at the charred mud, completely burning away the remaining strange chemical smell, leaving only an even more pungent acrid charcoal. The high temperature caused the mud to boil and churn violently, emitting a bubbling sound like a hellish furnace.

Just as the flames were about to subside and the hum of the flamethrower engine subsided slightly...

"Crash!!!"

A sudden change occurred!

The boiling mud pit that had just been given special attention suddenly exploded. A dark green figure, carrying foul-smelling mud, steam, and scorching ash, shot out like a poisoned arrow from the depths of hell, breaking through the still-burning flames and smoke with astonishing speed, heading straight for the black and white bear.

It was a snake-man warrior, standing upright, and as tall as two people!
Its upper body was covered with slippery, tough, dark green scales, its muscles were bulging, covered with mud and scorch marks, and a pair of cold, yellow, vertical pupils flashed with a ferocious light in the murky air.

A gaping maw split open to the base of its ears, revealing two pairs of sharp, long fangs that gleamed with a ghostly blue light and were clearly laced with poison.

The snake-man's lower body is a thick, powerful snake tail that stirs up the mud, providing it with terrifying explosive power.

Its right forelimb, resembling a claw, gripped a large steel knife that had clearly been stolen from the Minieses, its blade covered in black mud and suspicious dark red stains.

ambush!

The snake warrior chose an extremely tricky time, precisely when the flamethrower's firepower was at its weakest and the operator's attention had just shifted from finishing off the enemy!
The snake-man, accompanied by a foul stench and deadly fangs, arrived in an instant; the cold glint of his steel blade almost pierced the blurred vision of his gas mask!
However, the black and white bear's eyes, hidden behind the observation window, only contracted slightly, without any sign of panic.

In that critical moment, he displayed astonishing composure and fighting instinct.

He did not try to back away. In the knee-deep mud, retreating rashly would not only be slower, but would also greatly increase the chance of losing his balance and falling.

Instead, he made a move that seemed risky but was extremely precise.

With his arms bulging, Monokuma swung the heavy flamethrower upwards and to the side. The steel barrier formed by the thick metal nozzle and fuel tank barely blocked the trajectory of the slashing steel blade!

"clang……"

A piercing clang of metal rang out as the steel blade slammed into the sturdy casing of the flamethrower, sending sparks flying and leaving a deep gash. The immense impact sent the black and white bear's entire upper body lolling backward, mud splattering beneath its feet.

Using the recoil from the block, Monokuma took a quick step back, stomping his right foot heavily into the mud to regain his balance.

Although this step was difficult, the flamethrower cushioned the impact, allowing them to create a precious distance of more than half a meter, thus avoiding being bitten directly in the face by the venomous fangs or being entangled by the snake-man.

As he parried and retreated, his left hand darted with lightning speed to a specially designed waterproof holster at his waist! The movement was precise and swift, without a single wasted movement. What he drew wasn't a pistol, but a ruggedly designed signal pistol.

The snake-man, having missed its first attack, let out a hoarse, angry hiss. Its tail lashed out, stirring up a large wave of mud, and its body compressed like a spring, preparing for a second, deadly pounce! Its cold, vertical pupils were fixed on the black and white bear, and its steel blade was raised high.

Just as the snake-man lunged out again...

"boom!"

A dull yet penetrating gunshot rang out, drowning out the noise of the swamp.

A bright green dot shot out from the muzzle of the signal gun in the black and white bear's hand.

But its goal is not the sky.

Monokuma's wrist didn't lift at all the moment he drew his gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

The gun barrel was steadily aimed at the chest of the snake-man warrior that was lunging at him again, which was covered with slippery scales!
The two were so close that the snake-man warrior's instinctive parrying motion was barely begun before he felt a punch land on his chest.

Although the initial velocity of a signal flare is not as high as that of a bullet, at such close range, it is almost simultaneous with the sound of a gunshot.

The fist-sized, blazing signal flare, burning intensely with magnesium powder and chemical propellants, slammed into the snake-man warrior's chest!
Immediately afterwards...

"Hiss... hiss hiss..."

A sound like a red-hot iron being plunged into cold water suddenly rang out, accompanied by the snake-man warrior's shrill, inhuman scream! It was no longer an angry hiss, but a pure, bone-deep wail of agony!
The signal flare was not an armor-piercing projectile; it did not penetrate the snake-man's strong muscles, but it was firmly embedded in the scales and flesh of his chest!

Even more terrifying, it was burning wildly! The chemical flames, reaching thousands of degrees Celsius, instantly ignited the mud, grease, and hair in the gaps between the scales, scorching the slippery flesh below even more fiercely.

Some people have a misconception about signal flares, thinking that they do not have the lethality of bullets.

Indeed, signal flares do not have the speed and penetrating power of bullets, but if you think they are harmless, you are making a big mistake.

Temperature is the most lethal factor in signal flares. Using magnesium and aluminum powder as the main combustibles, they can generate temperatures of nearly 1,600 degrees Celsius when burning.

The emerald green signal flares that Monokuma is currently firing are primarily composed of white phosphorus, which has a stable combustion temperature of 1,300 degrees Celsius and is extremely lethal.

The snake-man who was hit by a flare is the best example of a flare victim.

Through the dim observation hole of the black and white bear, which was filled with endless emerald green flames, he could hear sharp, viscous sounds, like scalding oil being poured onto a red-hot iron plate, or like countless venomous snakes spitting venom in despair.

Monokuma's reason told him that it was the sound of the snake-man warrior's tough scales and flesh rapidly charring, carbonizing, and boiling under the white phosphorus flames that were over 1,300 degrees Celsius.

The slippery scales no longer provide protection; instead, they become excellent heat conductors, instantly transferring terrifyingly high temperatures to deeper tissues.

Monokuma cautiously and quickly retreated.

After retreating more than ten meters away, he was finally able to see the snake-man warrior's current situation clearly.

The snake-man warrior went completely mad; it gave up attacking entirely... or rather, it could do nothing but struggle.

The enormous, half-human, half-snake body, like a living creature thrown into a steel furnace, was violently and uncontrollably convulsing, twisting, and rolling in front of the black and white bear.

Its proud snake tail thrashed wildly at the mud, splashing up large sprays of filthy water in an attempt to extinguish the flames from hell, but this was tantamount to adding fuel to the fire—...the mud not only failed to extinguish the white phosphorus, but instead caused the burning liquid to splatter, staining its arms, shoulders, and even neck!
The snake-man warrior tried to scream and hiss, but because its lungs were burned by the high temperature, even with its mouth wide open to the point of tearing, it couldn't make a sound.

At this moment, the air here smells nauseating.

The stench of the swamp, the charred feathers and scales, the burnt proteins, the pungent, sweet-smelling smell of burning white phosphorus (similar to garlic), and the even more bizarre chemical stench produced by the burning of the snake-man's blood and venom glands.

The smell even penetrated the highly efficient filtration canister, stubbornly stimulating the olfactory nerves of the black and white bear.

The snake-man's struggles quickly became futile and chaotic.

Its massive body writhed, curled, and stretched in agony in the mud, each movement fueling the white phosphorus flames and spreading them even further.

The flames on his chest had burned a large, charred hole, with carbonized tissue at the edges, and deep inside, you could even see the ribs, which had turned white from the high temperature and were steaming hot.

The flames spread along the wounds it had torn open to its arms and abdomen, greedily licking everything in their path.

Its movements grew slower and slower, its convulsions became smaller and smaller, and each breath it took was like swallowing scalding lava. The light in its vertical pupils was completely extinguished, leaving only a deathly gray aura.

Then the snake corpse lay quietly in the muddy water, the eerie phosphorescent flames still burning, spreading from its chest to other parts, carrying a stench and a white light... The magnesium and copper powder that made up the green light had burned out, and now it was using the snake-man's body as fuel to continue burning.

The black and white bear, like a cold sculpture, witnessed the entire cruel process of death.

The eyes behind the gas mask showed no pity or wavering, only an almost cold scrutiny, confirming the elimination of the threat.

"Click!"

A crisp click of a mechanism stood out clearly amidst the stench of the swamp and the crackling of flames.

With a flick of his left wrist, Monokuma smoothly swung the cylinder of the signal gun, and the empty cartridge, still warm from firing, clattered into the murky muddy water, splashing up a small, dirty droplet.

Monokuma's entire process was so fast it was almost invisible, as if it were just the natural movement of his fingers.

His right thumb and forefinger reached into the waterproof ammunition pouch at his waist and precisely pulled out a new, larger green signal flare.

His wrist did not tremble at all, and the signal flare slid into the magazine as if attracted by a magnet.

"Click!"

With a flick of the wrist, the magazine closed in one fluid motion. Then, the left arm was slightly raised, and the muzzle of the signal gun was pointed diagonally upward at the low-hanging, lead-gray sky shrouded in swampy miasma, thick smoke, and the lingering green light of the first signal flare.

The angle of the muzzle is precisely calculated to ensure that the signal flare explodes at a sufficient height and in the most conspicuous position.

"boom!"

A second, muffled gunshot ripped through the brief, deathly silence of the swamp, silence now broken only by the sound of burning flames.

This time, the bright green light, accompanied by a sharp and piercing whistle, shot straight and resolutely through the murky air, like a shooting star flying in reverse, towards the oppressive sky.

The moment the signal flare went up, the surrounding swamp, the mud pits and scorched meadows that had been temporarily lifeless after being burned by the flames, came back to life without warning.

"Glug... glug glug..."

It wasn't bubbles, but a denser, more viscous stirring sound coming from all directions.

The swamp, illuminated by the second green signal flare, was a ghastly green, resembling a boiling pot of dark green porridge.

Mud swirls rapidly formed at the edges of the charred remains, beside the embers that were not yet completely extinguished, and even in seemingly calm puddles.

Immediately afterwards...

"Splash... splash... splash..."

With a series of sounds of breaking through the mud, short, thin, dark green figures suddenly sprang out of the mud!
Its number is difficult to estimate in a short time.

The snake-men, like poisonous mushrooms sprouting wildly in a swamp after rain, appeared densely in Monokuma's field of vision.

However, Monokuma discovered that these newly appeared snake-men were much smaller than the warriors who had just been burned to death by the white phosphorus signal flares.

Most of them are only as tall as an average person, or even shorter, and their bodies appear shriveled and lacking in strength.

The scales covering its entire body were no longer a deep, dark green, but rather a dirty, dull gray-green, even with a sickly mottled appearance, as if it had been malnourished for a long time.

Their weapons were also much simpler, consisting of only rough bone spears, sharpened stones, or even just their bare hands, their claws covered in mud.

They emerged from the mud, their wet scales reflecting a dim light in the pale green glow of the signal flares.

But their movements carried an undisguised hesitation and...fear.

Almost all the snake-men, with their numerous, cold yellow or grayish-yellow vertical pupils, focused their attention on the center of the arena... on the remains of a snake-man warrior that was still burning faintly, emitting a strong acrid smell and a sweet, toxic odor of white phosphorus!
The sight seemed so terrifying that the snake-man, who should have attacked immediately, stood still after appearing.

A faint, suppressed hiss, filled with unease and fear, spread through the snakes, replacing the ferocious roars that should have been present.

They wriggled their tails, pacing restlessly along the edge of the mud, and impatiently slapped the murky water with their claws, splashing up tiny specks of mud.

Under the ghastly green light, those vertical pupils scanned back and forth between the black and white bear's steel fortress-like figure and the pitiful corpse of the warrior on the ground.

The snake-men's intention to attack was choked by immense fear. They surrounded the black and white bear, forming a constantly writhing, foul-smelling encirclement, but none of them dared to be the first to charge forward.

That still-smoking corpse is the most direct and bloody warning... If you rush in, you'll be burned alive to a crisp by those terrifyingly high-temperature flames!

Black and white bear didn't move either. He looked at the snake people thoughtfully, assessing their combat strength and intelligence.

The conclusion was then drawn that the snake people were weakening, and in every way—in terms of numbers, physique, intelligence, and savage bloodlust.

"It's a real shame that this event won't last long."

As Monokuma said this, he raised the flamethrower, but before pulling the trigger, he remembered something and checked the wound left by the snake-man warrior on the flamethrower.

"It should be fine, it can still be used for a while..."

(End of this chapter)