Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

Hujian Grand Canyon

The Serpent Priest's eyes snapped open, a flicker of joy flashing through his narrow, yellowish serpentine pupils.

He swished his tail, swiftly arriving before a cave, and spoke respectfully toward it:

"Great Elder, I've spotted many humans wandering outside the canyon, including the bait we deployed."

"Lord Ig's plan has succeeded!"

Rustle rustle rustle

From within the cave came the faint sound of scales scraping against the ground.

Soon, a serpent man with a slightly aged face emerged.

"How many of them are there?"

The Serpent Great Elder asked slowly, his voice carrying a hint of hoarseness.

"From what I've seen alone, there are over two hundred, all wearing the Human Empire's Special Forces uniforms."

The Serpent Priest said excitedly, "That means over two hundred are all Psionic Users and Ability Users. If we can devour them, the Green Snake Tribe will have achieved a great merit."

"Just over two hundred—hardly a great merit."

The Serpent Great Elder said calmly. According to Lord Ig's plan, this time they would use the subverted Imperial personnel to lure more Special Forces Team members here, consuming them batch by batch.

Some would be brought back to the tribe to fully extract their knowledge and experience.

Others would be released back into the Empire as Deep Cover Agents, regularly transmitting intelligence to the tribe.

"Great Elder! Great Elder!"

Just then, another Serpent Priest came rushing over, saying excitedly:

"I've spotted many human special forces soldiers—at least over a hundred. They've already entered the canyon."

More?

The Serpent Great Elder's heart jolted. Different Serpent Priests were responsible for different areas, sharing their vision through Snake Spirit Vision to monitor the canyon's surroundings with nearly no blind spots.

Now, two areas outside the canyon had already revealed hundreds of human special forces soldiers.

This situation was going even smoother than he had anticipated.

"Great Elder!"

"Great Elder!"

Within just a few minutes, seven or eight Serpent Priests came before the Serpent Great Elder, reporting what they had seen.

They had actually lured this many people!

The Serpent Great Elder was startled by the numbers the priests reported. He hadn't expected the Human Military Department to mobilize so many troops this time, sending over a thousand Transcendents.

That number far exceeded what the Green Scale Tribe could handle.

"Great Elder, should we withdraw from the canyon first?" one Serpent Priest asked cautiously.

"Withdraw what!"

The Serpent Great Elder snapped coldly, saying, "If the Green Scale Tribe can't handle it, aren't there other Serpent Tribes?"

"If we can devour all these Transcendents this time, it will be a crippling blow to humanity."

"I will report this to General Kuiling myself. Notify the other clansmen to hide well and absolutely not be discovered by the humans."

"Yes!"

The Serpent Priests replied in unison.

The Serpent Great Elder entered the cave, took out a Seven-Colored Conch, and poured his psionic energy into it. When the conch glowed, he quickly reported what he had found in Snake Language, requesting reinforcements from other Serpent Tribes.

"Good!"

A deep voice came from within the conch.

The Serpent Great Elder was overjoyed, a fiery gleam flashing in his serpentine pupils.

This time, the Green Scale Tribe was sure to earn great merit.

If they could gain General Kuiling's favor and enter the Royal Family's sight, the Green Scale Tribe would truly soar.

As dusk fell

Thousands of Imperial soldiers in Special Forces Uniforms entered the grand canyon. Yet within this vast and magnificent gorge, the entry of thousands was like a drop of water falling into the sea—their traces instantly vanished.

The steep cliffs, the deep ravines, the crisscrossing stone paths—like a massive and intricate net—swiftly absorbed them.

Below the canyon, dozens of Giant Burrowing Snakes broke through the earth, transporting the Elite Warriors of several Serpent Tribes to this location.

"Great Elder, the warriors from the various tribes have all arrived."

The Serpent Priest said excitedly, "They've sent over twenty thousand Serpent Warriors in total, including ten Fifth Order and two Sixth Order powerhouses. With the Green Scale Tribe's elites fully deployed, devouring this group of humans will be a piece of cake."

"Mm."

The Serpent Great Elder's lips curled upward. General Kuiling had placed great importance on this operation, dispatching tens of thousands of elite Serpent warriors, along with over a dozen experts above the Fifth Order.

Since that was the case, this battle had to be fought brilliantly.

Hiss, hiss, hiss.

One after another, small serpents lay hidden in the grass and among the rock crevices, covertly observing every move of the human soldiers.

Through shared vision, the Serpent Priests learned the distribution of the human troops and reported the situation to the Great Elder, assisting him in sketching a simple battle map.

Soon, a map marked with numerous red dots was born.

The Serpent Great Elder swiftly relayed his orders. The various Serpent Tribes began to move, spreading a wide net, vowing to catch the humans all in one sweep.

The night was dark and the wind high; fierce gales howled through the canyon.

The human soldiers continued their search within the canyon. They wore Multifunctional Helmets and carried rifles along with various cold weapons. Strangely enough, during the search, not a single person spoke to their companions—they remained utterly silent throughout.

However, this detail went unnoticed by the small serpents hidden in every corner.

A squad stood before the entrance of a cave. They switched on their searchlights, illuminating the interior as bright as day.

Yet, they failed to notice several black shadows slowly creeping up behind them.

The faint sound of scales scraping against the ground was drowned out by the howling wind in the valley.

Puchi~

Puchi~

Sharp blades pierced through backs, and hot blood splattered onto the Serpent warriors' faces.

Hiss~

A serpent tongue licked the blood, and a cruel, satisfied expression appeared on the Serpent warrior's face.

Rat-a-tat-tat~~

Intense gunfire shattered the silence of the canyon.

The Serpent elite swarmed out, encircling and hunting down the human soldiers within the canyon.

For a time, the sounds of gunfire, explosions, and screams filled the air.

The countless serpent spies scattered throughout relayed everything happening in real time to the Serpent Priests.

On the map, red dots were crossed out one by one.

The smile on the Serpent Priest's face grew brighter, as if he could already see merit beckoning to them.

"Something's wrong."

Just then, an old, solemn voice suddenly rang out.

The Serpent Priest turned his head and saw a face marked by extreme gravity.

The Serpent Great Elder stared intently at the map, muttering to himself:

"Too smooth. All of this is too smooth."

"Great Elder, isn't smoothness a good thing?"

The Serpent Priest couldn't help but ask: "Our warriors outnumber them several times over, and we have the advantage of familiar terrain. I think this kind of smoothness is perfectly normal."

The Serpent Great Elder stood at the edge of the cliff, overlooking the entire canyon. An inexplicable sense of crisis coiled around his heart, growing ever stronger.

"Abu, you underestimate the Human Psionic Users too much. They..."

Before he could finish, suddenly, a sharp tearing sound came from the distant sky, and an orange-red firelight illuminated the heavens.

The Serpent Great Elder turned his head, and in that instant, his pupils contracted sharply, and a chill ran through his entire body.

Those were missiles!

Hundreds upon thousands of missiles!