New God and Old King (Please Bookmark)

"Moon Country?"

Compared to the samurai leader Toma's panic and terror, Renguang appeared much calmer.

After Master Taiyi's death, Renguang, the standout among Xuanming Temple's younger generation, became the backbone of the group.

The more dangerous the moment, the more a leader needed to remain calm and give others strength.

Renguang's composure came partly from his long-standing discipline, but also from the judgment he had made.

More than a hundred meters long, clad in heavy armor, and shrouded in corrosive venom, the Hundred-Foot Centipede was like a gigantic bulldozer, forcibly smashing a straight, broad path through the lush primeval forest.

Whether hills of earth or rivers, all were cleaved in two beneath the Hundred-Foot Centipede's incomparable strength.

But precisely because of that.

On closer inspection, the Hundred-Foot Centipede's route formed a certain angle with Moon Country, which stood at the edge of the forest.

Rather than believing the Hundred-Foot Centipede had gone to wreak havoc in a human city, Renguang was more inclined to believe that this Great Yokai's true target was the great serpent that had appeared in Shenjian Village.

Over the past dozen or so days.

More than ten Great Yokai that had once roamed the forest had disappeared one after another.

In this forest, the only one capable of such a feat was that Golden Boa of mysterious origins that had only recently arrived.

After entering the Extraordinary Domain, yokai could also develop intelligence no less than that of humans.

And a hierarchy built upon strength naturally arose within yokai society.

Just as the leader of the evil spirits ruled over the evil spirits.

Above all yokai in this forest, the Hundred-Foot Centipede stood high like an emperor, enjoying the offerings of every yokai.

However...

After waking from a single sleep.

The yokai living in this land had all been wiped out by the Golden Serpent, and the former king had become a lonely ruler with no subjects.

This was a struggle between a new god and an old king. Compared to that, the humans of Moon Country were truly insignificant.

Therefore, Renguang was certain.

The Hundred-Foot Centipede's true destination was definitely not Moon Country in the distance, but the valley in the same direction, steeped in an aura of mystery.

The small village had been renamed Shenjian Village after witnessing a god.

Huge disturbances occasionally rang out from the forest, yet no one dared flee outside.

Even Supernatural Beings could not remain active for long beneath such intense moonlight. The ordinary people living in the village naturally did not dare act rashly either.

Thus, whenever the radiance of the Red Moon descended.

It was an extremely dangerous time for the refugees living in the wilderness.

Tsukimi Sakura, a girl with cherry-pink hair and a straight, slender figure, stood atop a protruding boulder on the mountain peak.

Her smooth long hair bathed in red light and fluttered slightly in the mist.

In the distance.

Thick dark-green smoke rose from the primeval forest. The tall trees on both sides toppled one after another amid thunderous crashes, dust billowing everywhere, and now and then, a corner of the Hundred-Foot Centipede's black, savage Bone Armor could be seen.

Seeing the enormous yokai heading away from the village.

The weight hanging over Tsukimi Sakura's heart finally lifted. She let out a long breath, then flashed forward and leaped down from the towering peak.

The shrine stood by the lake.

It had merely been built from ordinary bricks and stones, yet beneath the Red Moon's light, it gave off a hazy, faint glow.

An inexplicably sacred light flowed through it.

Perhaps it was only an illusion, but upon stepping near the shrine, the radiation caused by the Red Moon seemed to lessen considerably.

Tsukimi Sakura did not dwell on it and strode into the shrine.

Inside the shrine.

Rinzi, dressed in snow-white ceremonial robes, her black hair bathed in red light, sat obediently cross-legged before the savage great serpent statue.

"Big Sister."

At the sound from behind her.

The girl turned around, and a faint golden gleam flashed through the depths of her clear eyes.

"It's good that you're all right..."

Tsukimi Sakura entered, shut the doors and windows, then tirelessly reminded her younger sister again.

"That monster has left, but this place still isn't safe. Under the Red Moon, all yokai become far more active than usual."

Though only a few years older than her sister, the young swordswoman already spoke with an adult's seriousness. "For the time being, I'll patrol around the village. Remember, no matter what happens, don't leave here. Understand?"

"Mm!"

Rinzi nodded obediently. "I understand."

"That's good. When I come back next time, I'll bring you bamboo shoot jelly from Moon Country."

A smile appeared on Tsukimi Sakura's face as she reached out and gently patted her little sister's head.

After turning and leaving, Rinzi raised her head and remained still for a long time, as though she were staring into the eyes of the statue before her.

"My lord, you have to win."

Not long after leaving the hot spring valley, they were alerted by rumbling sounds coming from afar.

The golden Great Serpent curved around a protruding solitary peak as it spiraled upward, openly releasing its immense aura and confronting the distant Hundred-Foot Centipede.

Even before they met, Su Heng had already judged that this opponent was undoubtedly stronger than any Great Yokai he had encountered before.

But when that body over a hundred meters long, with enormous hard mandibles, entered his field of vision, Su Heng still could not help but freeze for a moment.

"It's that centipede!"

"Huh?"

Gamia let out a puzzled sound. "Have we seen this big fellow before? I should remember food this big."

"More precisely, we saw the traces this centipede left behind."

"Oh." Once she confirmed that there was nothing wrong with her memories of delicious food, the Little Boa let out a long sigh of relief.

"Oh, right. What do you think this big fellow tastes like? Hehehe."

The Little Boa had already begun swallowing instinctively, letting out a string of excited hisses.

"Thinking about how to deal with your opponent's corpse before you've even defeated them isn't a good habit," Su Heng said much more calmly.

The opponent was actually even larger than the Little Boa was at the moment. Combined with its tens of thousands of sharp limbs and the huge Bone Armor on its back, its appearance alone

made it clear that this creature was an exceptionally formidable combatant.

"This is insane..."

Watching entire swathes of trees let out groans beneath the Hundred-Foot Centipede's feet before slowly collapsing, Su Heng could not help but sigh. "Under the effects of Red Moon radiation, even a tiny centipede can grow into something this enormous and terrifying."

The Little Boa was renamed Gamia, derived from the Midgard Serpent—the World-encircling Serpent of Norse mythology. Also, when I kept writing the old name later on, it felt too awkward. And honestly, anacondas seem to exist only in South America, so giving it a foreign name is fairly reasonable, right?