Chapter 383: Berserk Python!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Everyone, give chase!"
A few ladies were ready to rush out or fall away into a dead faint.
"Wait!" the luxuriously-clad youth, Young Master Lan, stopped the masses and uttered, "Since the trail had been found, fret not; it will not escape. However, if we enter the dangerous zone once again, we'd better be cautious."
The lady clad in blue gave a thin smile. Shades of unhappiness flashed across her eyes.
That luxuriously-clad youth muttered irresolutely to himself for a moment. Without moving a finger, he began to coordinate their movements, "As we move forward, the mystical beasts we encounter will inevitably become more powerful. Everyone, take note of the movements around us. Elder Hu, Elder Song, those of you with great cultivation skill should pay close attention."
The few elders uttered simultaneously, "I dare not accept such an honor, Young Master Lan. How can we not spare our efforts?"
The luxuriously-clad youth smiled and uttered, "To ensure nothing gets past us, let us form a circle of defense, with the few girls in the center commanding and dispatching orders, while the other brothers will watch in a direction each. In such a manner, even if there were to be any attacks, we will have time to react."
This young man seemed to be very well-versed, especially in the phrase of letting the ladies command in the middle. The five ladies on the scene chuckled faintly.
Of course, the idea of commanding and dispatching orders was nonsensical. The plan to thoroughly protect them, however, was genuine.
However, this phrase was uttered protect the self-esteem of the several ladies even a step earlier. What a painstaking effort indeed.
"There are few people who have passed by before us... There are almost no traces of humans crossing at all." As they walked in, the group of people whispered quietly to each other.
"That Cloudmallow Squirrel seems to have gone over there..."
"It bounced a little just now; what a fast little critter!"
"It is admittedly adorable; no wonder Sister Yunyan likes it ..."
Overhead, the fluttering sound of startled birds could be heard.
Whilst chasing the so-called " Cloudmallow Squirrel", they ventured further and further into the forest without being fully aware of their actions. However, there was no movement in their surroundings. All was quiet and tranquil and the mass of people did not care about their plight.
Finally…
"Brush..."
A strange sound suddenly rang out in the quiet forest.
Reacting quickly, everyone ducked simultaneously, covering up their silhouettes, yet they saw a few mystical beasts flit by, their silhouettes dashing across the jungle in front of them and disappearing into the trees.
"The Gale Wolf! That was a sixth-grade mystical beast, the Gale Wolf!"
The face of Elder Hu was relaxed, "Don’t worry young masters and ladies. Although the Gale Wolf habitually moves around in packs, it will definitely not be a threat to us. On the contrary, if we were lucky enough to find the location of their dens, we might able to bring several wolf cubs back. In that case, Young Master Lan will be able to make a fortune."
Young Master Lan laughed reservedly, "Well, with a sixth-grade mystical beast cub, we will definitely be able to make a fortune. However, why should I get rich all by my lonesome self? Everyone here must have their share in it."
The people that were present, including the few ladies, were apparently frequent visitors to this area for hunting. At this moment, there was not even a single trace of fear on their faces.
The sounds before them kept on ringing unceasingly. They gazed in the direction of the sound and saw packs of Gale Wolves dashing past frantically, with no care to where they were heading.
There was a group of leopards running pell-mell through the jungle, obviously trying to escape from the jaws of death. The cause for their frantic flight, however, was unknown.
After them came a group of pangolins. Although their speed did not reach that of the Gale Wolf nor the leopard, they too ran with all their might, their blocky bodies shambling quickly through the undergrowth.
Hordes of animals came pouring through in a similar manner.
In a short span of time, there were at least thirty types of mystical beasts that had passed through. They were all galloping away rapidly as if trying to avoid a terrible enemy.
"So many mystical beasts! Unfortunately, they were moving too quickly. The area covered by these woods is extremely vast; once we have missed them, it won't be easy to give chase." A youth sighed regretfully.
"Not bad indeed. By my rough count, there were almost thirty different types of mystical beasts that just passed by our noses. I wonder what could have frightened them so."
Another youth was, in a self-amused way, showing off his extraordinary memory powers, adept beyond those of his generation.
In the crowd, Elder Song, upon hearing this phrase, suddenly looked shocked. He seemed to realize something, and his expression turned grim.
"Young Master Lan!"
Elder Song advanced a few steps forward, "I'm afraid that the situation does not bode well. We have to immediately retreat lest it’s too late for us!"
Young Master Lan frowned, "What has happened? What are you talking about?"
"The mystical beasts are fleeing in droves in such a desperate manner. It is greatly probable that there are ace-level mystical beasts that are coming towards this direction. If that is true…" The face of Elder Song was now covered with perspiration. Apparently, in his heart, it was more than probable, it was a certainty!
Young Master Lan was no obstinate fool. Upon hearing the sound advice, he readily heeded it and uttered, "That is true. Everyone, turn around, now!"
However, it was a pity that the warning had come too late.
In fact, it had been too late for some time. These people, who had originally come for their targets, had already signed the forms for their own doom just by being here. Now, it was just a matter of realizing it.
Within the dark woods, a hissing sound could be heard. It seemed to come from every direction, surrounding and engulfing them in its sinister glee.
Along with the hissing sound, a sense of imminent carnage could be felt by the terrified group.
"It is a snake den! A horde of snakes!"
Elder Song's expression twisted in determination, "It is too late now to retreat. Quickly, clear out a piece of empty space, build up a defensive band in order to deal with the upcoming crisis! Old Hu, Old Kong, move swiftly!"
While talking, he then took the lead by drawing out his sword from its sheath. He slashed at a large tree, tearing it apart, and kicked the broken pieces, sending them flying far.
The few experts that were present finally reacted, and together with their hundred guards, they began to coordinate their efforts to survive.
Within a short breath, hundreds of trees around the area had been cleared.
Somehow, even the wild weeds on the ground had been stripped clean, thrown into a huge pile surrounding them. Various kind of sulfurs, anti-snake charms, and poisonous drugs were used to cover the ground in a circle surrounding them. Haystacks were watered with kerosene and within the center, they left a large, empty space in which to stand.
The torches in the hands of the few people blazed fiercely. Their faces were filled with tension. The moment they sensed that things were going downhill, they would immediately ignite the flame to create the barrier without hesitation.
As long as the fire was ignited, a defensive barrier of rising flame would deter the attacks of the mystical beats, increasing their chances of survival.
These people were utterly composed in their preparations for defense.
Supplemented by their manpower and physical resources, with their comprehensive combat strength, the initial snake dens attack was simply incapable of penetrating their shields.
However, the surrounding hissing sound grew increasingly saturated, more and more ear-piercing. The sense of danger intensified, solemn and insulting. Upon gazing into the distance with their utmost strength, their faces turned all pale in an instant, their bodies covered with cold sweat. The few ladies that were located in the dead center of the ring began to shiver.
As far as the eyes could see, all sorts of venomous snakes lay slithering on the ground and on the trees. They began to advance forward as if the place where the masses stood was their gathering point.
There were countless vipers. Some were crawling on the ground, whilst some were crawling between the branches, and others had gradually approached the outer circle of the trees, coiling around it, circles over circles…
Slowly, all the branches of the giant trees outside the circle of defense were swarming with vipers.
Through the visual estimation of these venomous snakes, their numbers had almost reached the point where even the leaves of the trees had become invisible!
At this point, the situation had turned remarkably dire, and yet the hissing sound from afar was still ringing in the air unceasingly. The sound of a large body dragging on the ground indicated a far larger viper was approaching.
The faces of the defenders had turned a pasty gray.
There were already millions of vipers that surrounded them, lurking in countless numbers in the darkened wood.
A few moments later, the sound of cracking branches could be heard. These were the sound of some tree limbs that could not bear the weight of the vipers and had snapped.
The trees here were old, and their strength would naturally be beyond that of an ordinary tree. Even so, many branches had actually fractured because it could not afford the weight of the vipers. It meant that there were at least ten to twenty snakes that were entrenched on a branch at the same time. The number of snakes and the degree of density had already reached the stage of becoming airtight. Throw in the first batch of snake dens that had since earlier arrayed their formation on the ground, the situation had rapidly turned catastrophic.
"We are done for..." the face of Young Master Lan was deathly pale. "It is said that there is a snake king within this mountain range. I'm afraid that it has discovered... This time, we are..."
"Pay attention!" The face of Elder Hu was also deathly pale. "The current plan is to die fighting, to seek survival and only to surrender upon death! We have a total of two hundred and thirty people. Judging by our strength alone, we are far better than the snake dens. To attack all at once is too wasteful, and since we have no time for rest and recuperation, it will cause us to lose the opportunity to maneuver. Hence, we are to be divided into three teams and each team will have to resist for at least for two hours!"
"Also, please, all young master and ladies, do immediately send out the signals that you have carried to ask for help, ask for assistance!"
"This way, we will still have a chance to survive."
The young masters and ladies of the noble families were all frantically taking out their rockets. A few of them trembled so badly, they dropped their signal rockets on the ground. They were in imminent danger, and they were fully aware of their jeopardy.
Fortunately, the signal rockets were not fragile devices. Under immense impatience and hurry, they were all finally dispatched.
Boom, boom, boom…
In the sky, the roar of exploding rockets could be heard, followed by a rich, thick smoke that would not disperse for a long time.
"Do not shoot the signals for help all at once! " Elder Chen was almost apoplectic with rage. This group of idiots had actually shot them out all at once.
It was an act of suicide.
Did you think that everyone would notice once you fired the signal rocket? Do you think that you have been blessed by the deities?
The snakes surrounding them were still gathering, growing more and more, almost to the extent of piling up. Layer by layer, they continued to stack up on one another but had not launched an attack.
However, this was even more frightening than a simple attack. The nightmarish scene had caused all the young masters and ladies to feel downright dizzy, without exception. A number of them had vomited, while some the women had thrown up bile.
Several elders and escorts expressed their utter helplessness towards these young masters and ladies.
To have accompanied these bunch of people out was extremely unlucky indeed.
These group of young masters and ladies looked glamorous; they were top-notched talents and future leaders. However, when faced with death, they were not even of the slightest use; they were preparing to drag the whole team down with them.
The masses who were looking forward to assistance arriving quickly found that the situation had turned worse. The surrounding sound of hissing rang louder and louder.
"Look ... my gosh ..." a voice blurted out in despair.
In the midst of the dense trees, they saw the shadow of a thick, giant snake appear. Behind it came even thicker, larger, longer ones ... and they were all heading rapidly in their direction!
At this moment, everyone lost their confidence in their chances of survival.
The snake dens began to attack.
With a sudden crash, all the vipers fell off, immediately forming a layer of coils half a foot thick. The mass of vipers covered the odor of the medicines.
Within the blink of an eye, millions of ferocious vipers surged like tidal waves, advancing upon the hapless group from all directions!