In the jungle.
Tang Zheng trudged eastward, one foot deep and the other shallow. Perhaps because he had remained on the outermost edge, he had not encountered any wild beasts—or even magical beasts—after traveling for some time.
Buzz—
The faint, almost imperceptible sound of a pair of wings fluttering came from the branches overhead.
It was a strange insect about the length of a thumb, green and resembling a caterpillar, but with a pair of thin wings.
The winged caterpillar slid off a green leaf and slowly descended toward Tang Zheng below.
However, just as it reached the space above Tang Zheng's head!
His iron sword cut an arc through the air, slicing the winged caterpillar in half and sending both pieces to the ground.
Gained 1 experience point.
A faint fishy smell spread through the air.
Poisonous?
Tang Zheng casually glanced at it, not slowing his pace in the slightest as he continued forward.
What a pity!
If he had mastered some kind of detection magic, he would not have needed to rely on his own judgment.
At present, Tang Zheng's three attributes—HP, physical attack, and agility—had all reached 73 points.
HP aside for now.
He had tested it not long ago. With 73 points of physical attack, if he swung the iron sword in his hand with full force, he could chop down a tree as thick as an armful in just three strikes.
If he used his fists instead.
A full-force punch against a tree stump could leave a fist mark sunk halfway into the trunk.
As for agility, the data was not as precise. Tang Zheng only knew that all five of his senses had improved considerably.
Back when his agility had been 63, when he encountered that Thief who should have been above Level 8, the speed that seemed incredibly fast to ordinary people had felt normal to Tang Zheng—perhaps even a little slow.
The Unassailable team was the adventurer party Tang Zheng knew best, and its strongest member was its captain, Dossari.
Now, Tang Zheng felt that he should be somewhat stronger than Dossari.
Besides.
He had not only mastered Martial Arts, but also skills and magic.
He had no confidence in a direct confrontation, but if he launched a sneak attack, he was fairly confident he could wipe out The Unassailable team—though he would be injured in the process as well.
From a weakling to someone capable of rivaling a Silver Rank adventurer team, Tang Zheng could not help but marvel at the terrifying nature of the Innate Talent, Player.
That Player captain, the leader of the Thirteen Heroes two hundred years ago, had drawn the Platinum Dragon Lord's wariness because his strength had continually increased in such a short time.
He continued onward!
The truly troublesome things in the forest were not the obvious magical beasts and wild beasts, but those brightly colored insects, most of which carried deadly poison.
With Tang Zheng's agility, he was not afraid of sudden attacks from those insects. Still, dealing with them was truly troublesome, and the experience they gave was only in single digits.
They seriously slowed his progress.
Crack!
Tang Zheng stepped on a fallen branch, snapping it with a crisp crack.
The sound was not particularly noticeable at the edge of the forest, which was filled with insect chirps and rustling leaves stirred by the wind, but Tang Zheng stopped walking.
"I've finally found some decent prey. This is your territory, isn't it?" Tang Zheng turned his head toward his left.
There it was!
Amid the interwoven thick branches and leaves of several large trees, a creature covered in pure black with faint green spots lay motionless among the foliage.
Fortunately, it was daytime.
Though it was hidden within the leaves, its rather long outline was still visible. At night, Tang Zheng probably would not have noticed it at all.
Earlier.
Tang Zheng had vaguely sensed something was wrong. This was the outer edge of the Great Forest of Tob, yet he had encountered far too few wild beasts while traveling through it.
There was only one most likely explanation for this situation!
This place was the territory of some relatively powerful wild beast or magical beast.
It seemed he had guessed correctly.
Tang Zheng swept his gaze over the black figure hidden in the leaves. Its body had to be at least a meter long.
What exactly was that?
Tang Zheng narrowed his eyes and held the iron sword horizontally before his chest.
Rustle! Rustle!
The leaves rubbed against one another, making a sound as though the wind were blowing through them.
The hidden creature had clearly realized it had been discovered. Facing the human who had trespassed into its territory, it flicked a red, forked tongue from its mouth.
The next moment!
The black-green figure shot out from the dense foliage like a spring, opening its bloody maw and pouncing down at Tang Zheng.
Its black-green scales gleamed with a cold light under the dappled sunlight, carrying a metallic texture!
Tang Zheng finally confirmed what kind of creature it was.
A snake!
And a giant snake more than six meters long, as thick as two normal human thighs.
The Black-Green Giant Snake launched itself at him, its foul-smelling bloody maw aimed at Tang Zheng's head as it bit down viciously.
Tang Zheng swiftly swung the iron sword in his hand and slashed hard at the Black-Green Giant Snake's head.
Bang!
The blade struck the Black-Green Giant Snake's open mouth heavily, producing a dull sound. Sparks actually flew where the black scales met the iron sword.
So hard!
Tang Zheng's eyes narrowed.
"Hiss!"
The Black-Green Giant Snake let out a pained hiss. Its six-meter-long body twisted, and its thick tail swept over from behind.
The tail cut through the air with a sharp buzz.
Seeing this.
Tang Zheng used the sword in his right hand to hold down the Black-Green Giant Snake as it tried to bite him. With his left hand, he grabbed at empty air, pulled another iron sword from the Item Box, and slashed toward the sweeping tail.
Bang!
Another dull impact rang out.
The astonishing force made Tang Zheng take a step back, his left shoulder shifting backward, but he successfully blocked the Black-Green Giant Snake's tail strike.
"Hiss!"
Other than the middle section of its body standing on the ground, the Black-Green Giant Snake's entire upper body and lower tail pressed against Tang Zheng, twisting constantly.
It seemed to be trying to curl Tang Zheng into its body and kill its prey with the Strangulation technique snakes excelled at!
But taking advantage of his agility, Tang Zheng held a sword in each hand. He blocked the attacks from the Black-Green Giant Snake's head and tail while steadily retreating.
"The scales are hard, and its body is slick. It'll be difficult to damage it by brute force."
Tang Zheng kept swinging his iron swords, occasionally striking its body, but the effect was negligible.
Hardness alone would have been one thing, but its slick body caused Tang Zheng's attacks to lose a considerable portion of their force upon landing.
He had originally thought it was merely an unusually large wild snake, but it appeared to be a magical beast!
In the New World, wild beasts and magical beasts were easy to distinguish. Any creature with some unusual ability could be classified as a magical beast.
Seeing that the human before it seemed unable to break through its scales, the Black-Green Giant Snake's dark yellow eyes lost some of their caution.
It gradually abandoned some defensive movements, and its attacks became more Berserk.
Bang!
Its thick sweeping tail was blocked by Tang Zheng's iron sword once more, carrying even greater force than before.
"Almost there."
Tang Zheng's expression did not change. He had already roughly figured out the Black-Green Giant Snake's attack patterns.
With his speed, it would not be difficult for him to escape the Black-Green Giant Snake.
But this was an excellent bundle of experience!
Bang!
Tang Zheng stomped heavily on the ground and quickly leaped backward, assuming the appearance of someone trying to flee.
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