Reincarnated as a Dragon - A New life

7| Third Meeting

I wanted to avoid fighting as much as possible, and yet here I am, dealing with this monster of a plant. My body is aching from the cuts and bruises with the fight against the tendrils. I was relieved when I had cut them, assuming the battle had been won, but seeing the plant rise out of the ground? It feels impossible to defeat.

The carnivorous towers higher than it has before. Its new size made its original look like a small flower. Despite not having any facial expressions, I could tell it's angry. It's maw opens and closes feverishly as if it's itching to kill me.

This is bad. I'm in no condition to continue fighting. Ever since the fight with the black snakes, I've been constantly exhausted from roaming the forest. It doesn't help that I've also been starving the entire time. I just simply don't have the strength.

As I turn to flee using what little energy I have left, my legs give out under me. I knelt to prevent a total collapse. My messed up legs can no longer support my body weight.

Fearing for an attack upon my weakness, I quickly turn towards the plant, only to find it just standing there, doing nothing. In fact, its petals have closed around its head, taking the look of an undeveloped bulb again.

Huh? Was it just scared and became defensive? Well, I did just rip off what basically was his limbs. Though, I thought for sure that...

A split second after this thought, the plant jerks and its petals burst open, launching a concentrated barrage of thorns.

It's too late to dodge, plants shooting projectiles isn't something I would expect, so I quickly bring my arms up in an effort to block it.

The entire brunt of the barrage hit me. Although I am surprised to find that the thorns were not strong enough to pierce my scales, the same could not be said for my exposed injuries. I wince as the thorns tear through my wounds, deepening their severity.

As I lower my guard, I see the carnivorous plant rush me with surprising speed. It's roots whips wildly as it moves, kicking up clumps of earth in the process.

How can a plant be so damn fast?

There is no way I can run on my two legs, so I support myself on all fours, keeping the majority of the weight on my front arms.

Before I have a chance to move, the plant slams the ground simultaneously with its roots, using the force to launch itself forwards like a ballistic missile at shockingly high speeds.

"Gaah!?"

I nearly have a heart-attack when I see its fanged maw rapidly approaching my face. Its head scrapes the ground, leaving a large scar of earth in its path, yet its velocity remains unchanged.

I barely manage to sidestep out the way. Its petals graze my cheek before flying past and crashing straight into an unfortunate tree, snapping it in half.

The top part of the snapped tree falls backwards, pinning the carnivorous plant under its weight. It squirms underneath the log as it tries to get free, but it isn't going to hold it down for long. I can see the plant's tendrils shifting the trunk off its body.

What the hell is this plant!?

Its as if it had abandoned all sense of self-preservation and was completely obsessed with killing me. There's no way I can run, my legs are far too injured to sustain any form of movement. Even if I could run, the plant far outclassed me in speed.

Unless some miracle happens, my only hope would be to defeat it. I need to close the distance between us or I would just be shot by those thorns again. It's still just a plant, so if I can somehow get close to it, I could torch it with a point-blank firebreath.