Chapter 116: King brown snake
—Men, be careful!
—There’s light!
—There’s a light up ahead!
One of the guards’ shout echoed through the tunnel.
I immediately raised my head.
At the end of the passage, an intense brightness pierced through the darkness.
It looked like natural light.
But...
Something about it bothered me.
—Move forward!
Viscount Probel gripped his enormous sword with both hands.
We all followed him.
As we drew closer...
The light became more and more intense.
Then we finally passed through the tunnel.
My field of vision was flooded by an almost blinding radiance.
I looked up.
The ceiling of that gigantic cavern was covered with hundreds of translucent creatures.
They looked like jellyfish.
Their bodies glowed continuously, illuminating the entire underground region.
Since I had a great affinity with the light element, my eyes endured that brilliance without much difficulty.
While several soldiers immediately began to tear up...
I merely narrowed my eyes slightly.
I continued observing.
It was at that moment...
—Argh!
—Monster!
—Watch out!
The screams erupted all around me.
Before I could even locate the danger...
The Biochip reacted.
[WARNING!]
[IMMINENT DANGER!]
[Beep!]
[Step back two paces.]
[Crouch immediately.]
I didn’t even think.
My body reacted before my mind.
I stepped back two paces.
I crouched down.
Whoosh!
A massive claw swept right over my head.
The wind it generated would have messed up my hair if I hadn’t been wearing a helmet.
I took a deep breath.
With the Biochip’s night vision mode activated since we entered the cavern earlier...
I could see everything clearly.
In the remaining darkness of the cavern...
Several mutant lizards were climbing down the walls and ceiling.
They used the cave’s terrain perfectly.
They attacked from blind spots.
It was a carefully prepared ambush.
By the time Probel finally managed to react...
It was already too late.
I quickly surveyed the battlefield.
Corpses covered almost the entire entrance.
Many soldiers had been torn to pieces.
Some...
Had been partially devoured.
The smell of blood completely filled the air.
My expression turned serious.
The attack had lasted only a few seconds.
Even so...
More than half of the Black Iron Guards were already dead.
I looked at Probel again.
Of the soldiers protecting him...
Only two Knight-level captains remained.
Besides them...
Only the mysterious figure dressed in gray robes still stood by his side.
The acolytes had not escaped either.
One of them lay completely motionless on the ground.
Another desperately clutched his abdomen.
Blood flowed between his fingers.
I raised my eyes once more.
The so-called jellyfish floated slowly near the ceiling.
After the burst of light...
Their glow had diminished drastically.
I understood...
That flash had been a one-time attack.
Essentially a living flash grenade.
First they blinded their victims.
Then...
The lizards carried out the massacre.
Such perfect coordination could hardly have happened by chance.
Someone...
Or something...
Was commanding them all.
At that moment...
Lurdot appeared beside me.
He was still firmly holding his enormous book.
—Those creatures are called Brilliant Light Snakes.
He pointed toward the ceiling.
—They are subterranean organisms.
—The burst of light they produce can only be used once.
—After that, they need to rest for approximately one day.
I nodded.
Then I pointed toward the center of the cavern.
—The real problem...
—isn’t them.
—or these parasites.
—It’s that.
Everyone followed my finger.
At the center of the gigantic cavern...
Rested a colossal creature.
Around it...
More than a dozen mutant beasts remained motionless.
Lizards.
Bears.
Moose.
Various completely corrupted species.
They were all protecting a single being.
A massive brown serpent.
Its thick body remained completely coiled.
Even without moving...
It radiated an oppressive presence.
Lurdot’s eyes widened.
His book slipped from his hands.
Thump!
—A...
—An Adult King-Level Brown Serpent!!
Without answering...
I immediately activated the Biochip.
—Scan.
A few seconds later...
The information appeared.
[STATUS]
[Name: King-Level Brown Serpent]
[Race: Serpent]
[Level: Acolyte III]
[Attributes]
[Strength: 12]
[Agility: 7]
[Vitality: 20]
[Mana: 10]
[Skill 1 — Army Control]
[The King-Level Brown Serpent produces special parasites capable of controlling other creatures, turning them into slaves.]
[Skill 2 — Devour Vital Energy]
[All vegetation wherever it passes loses its vital energy.]
[An adult serpent possesses strength comparable to that of an Official Mage.]
[It is capable of turning entire forests into dead lands.]
[Upon reaching full maturity, it develops high intelligence and assumes a human form to facilitate reproduction. They are perverted and lazy by nature.]
I slowly exhaled.
Thank goodness...
It’s still young.
I immediately raised my voice.
—Lurdot!
—Don’t be fooled by its size!
—It hasn’t reached adulthood yet!
Lurdot looked at the serpent again.
Then he quickly nodded.
—You’re right.
—An adult easily exceeds one kilometer in length.
—This one is still far from that.
—Besides...
—The number of parasites it controls is also relatively small.
The Viscount raised his sword.
—So...
—Was this creature the one that destroyed the forest?
Lurdot answered without hesitation.
—Yes.
—The King-Level Brown Serpent feeds on the vital energy of plants.
—It is extremely lazy.
—It almost never hunts personally.
—It sends out its parasites.
—They gather food for it.
Probel narrowed his eyes.
—If we kill it... can the forest recover?
—In theory, yes.
Lurdot sighed.
—The dead trees will not return.
—But the forest can slowly be reborn.
Before anyone could make another comment...
The enormous serpent slowly raised its head.
Hissssss...
The sound was like two plastic containers filled with grains being shaken back and forth at high speed.
It was horrible.
Almost painful to hear.
At that very moment...
All the mutant creatures responded.
They roared.
And charged forward at the same time.
I smiled faintly.
Finally.
It was my turn.
I leaped backward.
Still in midair...
I raised my armor’s right arm.
—Biochip. Lock target.
[Target identified.]
[Mutant Tiger Bear.]
[Target lock complete.]
I aimed the launcher.
A single click was enough.
BANG!
The explosive crystal shot out of the barrel at high speed.
Less than a second later...
BOOOOOOM!!
An explosion shook the entire cavern.
Flames spread across several meters.
When the smoke finally began to clear...
The enormous Tiger Bear crashed heavily onto the ground.
Its head had simply vanished.
The rest of its body collapsed lifelessly.
The silence lasted only an instant.
The enormous Serpent slowly turned its eyes toward me.
For the first time...
I saw genuine irritation in its gaze.
Then...
A female voice echoed directly throughout the cavern.
"HUMAN!"
Her voice was filled with fury.
—If I were older, I would make you my love slave!
Everyone froze.
The acolytes.
The soldiers.
Even Probel.
They all stared at the serpent in complete disbelief.
—It...
—Spoke?
Someone murmured.
I remained absolutely calm.
The Biochip had already recorded that serpents of this species developed a certain degree of intelligence, reaching their peak once they became fully mature.
Therefore...
It did not surprise me.
But...
Even so...
A chill ran down my spine.
Love slave?
What a completely perverted and filthy creature...
Well... I can’t deny that I’m also a pervert who loves rape and forced sex, but I’m not a snake that lives in a cave like that magical creature.
Probel was the first to react.
His face turned red with rage.
—You wretch!
—You killed my men!
A burst of blue energy erupted around his body.
Tiny bolts of lightning began coursing across his armor.
His vital aura had finally been activated.
The very next instant...
He disappeared.
He moved like a gust of wind.
Every swing of his sword severed limbs.
Heads.
Blood.
Creatures were continuously torn apart.
I watched attentively.
So this is the true strength of a Great Knight...
His vital energy drastically enhances all of his physical attributes.
The few remaining acolytes also began to act.
Rank 0 spell models appeared one after another.
Fireballs.
Wind blades.
Rings of Slowness.
All kinds of basic spells streaked across the cavern.
But my attention was no longer on them.
I looked once more at the Tiger Bear’s corpse.
As expected...
Its body began to rapidly fall apart.
The flesh rotted away.
Scales emerged.
Then...
From the very bones themselves...
The same red veins appeared.
They intertwined.
Reconstructing that small grotesque creature we had pursued earlier.
Without the slightest hesitation...
The little red organism ran straight toward the Serpent.
It slowly opened its enormous mouth.
Revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
Its long tongue gently wrapped around the tiny parasite.
And swallowed it.
I watched the entire scene carefully.
A smile appeared on my face.
So that’s how it works...
Killing those creatures doesn’t eliminate the parasites.
You merely return them.
My eyes met the enormous serpent’s once again, and... was it blushing?
What the hell is this?
A chill immediately ran down my spine.
Is this how my rape victims feel when I look at them?
....
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