Chapter 32: Storm General, Jake Mercer
*Huff...*
*Huff...*
Jake gasped desperately, his breaths growing ragged and uneven. His body trembled ferociously, threatening to collapse any second.
In front of him lay unmoving corpses of his subordinates. In just fifteen minutes, his ten subordinates had been ruthlessly killed.
Jake himself was barely standing. Most of his ribs were broken, and splinters had pierced his lungs, while his left arm and right leg hung uselessly.
A large monster group surrounded him from behind. Be it mindless zombies, mutated hounds, or reptilians, they all worked together in submission to the white serpent.
*Cough!*
A series of violent convulsions assaulted his body, forcing him to cough a mouthful of blood. Holding onto his broken shoulder, he let the blood slowly trace down his mouth before staining his ripped clothes.
’So becoming a territory lord really made you this strong... I really should have killed you that day...’ Jake thought as he smiled heartily. Faint chuckles escaped his lungs, his voice guttural as blood flooded his lungs.
At this moment, anyone who cherished their life would’ve started thinking about ways to escape such a perilous situation. However, Jake was different.
’Ways to escape? Don’t make me laugh...’ he chuckled at himself... Or rather, his arrogant mindset.
For the last decade, he had been singlehandedly keeping the northern border of the Valeria City clean from monsters.
Years of victories had quietly convinced him that no monster could truly stand above him.
Now that he had finally come face to face with a truly strong foe, he couldn’t even reach its body.
Was it the feeling of ’dying’ that made him act this way?
Or was it the feeling of ’losing’ a fight so pathetically?
’The reinforcements won’t be coming, given how fragile their egos are...’ He lowered his head, recalling his last conversation with the stars.
The serpent slowly slithered forward, wriggling its split tongue in anger. It had originally come all this way to harvest its premade arrangements.
To prepare for its breakthrough, it had prepared a suitable environment for blood stones to grow.
But as soon as it reached the ravine, not only were its bloodstones nowhere to be found, it even saw an old enemy baring his fist against it.
Enraged by the loss of its precious materials, the serpent naturally made an assumption.
’That human bastard! He must have stolen my materials to stall my breakthrough!’
Opening its mouth wide, the serpent revealed its long fangs—dripping with blood-like, thick venom. Gathering its energy within its mouth, the serpent shot out a near-silent shockwave, covering its entire territory with ease.
Sensing their master’s summons, all of its subordinate monsters came running to assist and killed every last one of Jake’s group members painfully, resulting in the current situation.
’How could it get so strong? Were my efforts not enough? Why am I not stronger than a snake?’ Placing his right palm at the edge of his chin, he cracked his neck.
A strange pressure suddenly befell the surroundings. The monsters that had slowly been closing the distance with Jake froze in their places abruptly.
The giant white serpent, on the other hand, flinched slightly. Its cerulean eyes shone brightly, seeing a completely different kind of energy envelop Jake’s body.
"A general doesn’t run away over the dead bodies of his subordinates." He yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice getting clearer with each word spoken.
The dazzling yellow lightning that once channeled through his body flowed out uncontrollably as though a sturdy dam had just been opened.
Leaking from every pore of his body, it enveloped his body in a several-inches-thick layer. Wildly flowing into the air, the lightning stretched into all directions, forming uneven, jagged patterns.
The light blue stripes on his hair started to spread across all his hair, turning it into its shade. At the same time, the lightning around his body became berserk.
Although the change could not be seen normally, the serpent could watch it clearly. Sensing a potential danger, it quickly constructed an order in its mind.
"Kill him." Its voice echoed several times in its mind, getting louder. Strangely, however, the monsters nearby heard the orders.
In fact, upon hearing the serpent’s command, they felt their bodies slightly flinch as they moved forward unconsciously.
For a brief moment, their eyes flashed with a crimson hue. Suddenly enraged, the group of monsters pounced directly towards Jake.
Some bared their fangs; the others stretched out their claws, aiming for his vital parts.
Rumble...
The loud sound resounded through the sky as a strange shadow loomed over everyone.
The white serpent saw several blue threads stretching off Jake’s body, reaching the sky. Wild lightning poured through the threads like rivers descending from the heavens.
Even at a glance, it could tell that these threads were chaotic and fragile. Even the slightest movement could break them apart.
In an instant, Jake’s lightning underwent a qualitative change. Its color changed to bright blue, while the energy itself became more restrained.
However, one could tell that this transformation had taken a huge toll on Jake’s body. Several veins bulged out of his forehead as he bit his lower lip tightly to not lose his consciousness.
Before the monsters could even reach him, a series of similar sounds echoed in their ears.
*Bzzzt!*
*Bzzzt!*
The serpent who stood at the other side of the ravine widened its eyes in surprise.
’That speed...!’ Its eyes darted left and right rapidly as it barely managed to follow his movements.
At once, tens of monsters flew several meters in the air, a complete hole etched into different parts of their bodies—weak blue lightning lingering on their wounds.
Without having the chance to fight back, monsters began to die in an instant.
However, what mattered the most was that to normal eyes, one could not see Jake moving at all.
All one could see were several blinding flashes of cerulean light being cast every moment, with just as many corpses flying helplessly.