Toad

"Heh~"

Qin Chen chuckled, confirming a conclusion.

People really did laugh when they were speechless!

Did he have to be this unlucky?

Wolves ahead and tigers behind?

He wasn't a sandwich. He wasn't used to being squeezed from both sides!

Suddenly, the shadow ahead moved. A long, black, strip-shaped object shot out of its mouth and hurtled toward Qin Chen.

w(ﾟДﾟ)w

Qin Chen's face changed dramatically. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately crouched down.

The next moment, a shrill whoosh rang out above his head, accompanied by a thick, foul stench.

"Kid! You stopped because you're ready to surrender and—"

He Wen's perverse, excited voice rang out behind Qin Chen, then cut off less than a second later.

It was immediately followed by a panicked shout.

"What the hell is this?!"

Qin Chen raised his head slightly and saw He Wen bound tightly by the long, strip-shaped object.

When He Wen's sharp claws struck it, they only produced showers of sparks, without inflicting the slightest damage.

"Is that... a tongue?!"

A trace of alarm showed on Qin Chen's face. He swiftly turned around.

After taking a closer look, he finally made out the shadow's appearance.

A gigantic black toad!

An incredibly powerful aura radiated from its body. Qin Chen couldn't even determine its realm.

But one thing was certain: it was far stronger than He Wen.

He Wen couldn't resist at all as it dragged him toward itself.

As he saw himself getting closer and closer to that foul-smelling maw, He Wen roared.

"Holy Descent!"

The next moment, countless hairs sprouted from He Wen's body once more, and his frame began to swell. He even seemed on the verge of breaking free.

But that trend lasted for only an instant.

As the toad exerted its strength again, He Wen's enlarging body abruptly stopped.

His skin turned blood-red at astonishing speed. A look of unbearable agony appeared on his face, and a scream tore from his mouth.

"Ah!!"

"Pfft!!"

Blood mist burst from He Wen's body, and his aura instantly dwindled.

He could no longer resist as the toad dragged him back, swallowing him like a mosquito.

When it was done, the giant toad even ran its foul-smelling tongue around its mouth.

The whole sequence of movements seemed to take a long time, but in reality, it had lasted less than a few seconds.

He Wen, who had just given him such a hard time, was swallowed whole by the toad before his eyes. He had been in the Star Vein Realm.

Gulp!

Qin Chen couldn't help swallowing. As he stared at the gigantic toad glaring at him from not far away, he slowly stepped backward and gave an awkward smile.

"Um! Bro Toad!"

"I'm just passing through. I don't know anything, and I didn't mean to disturb your rest!"

"How about you just treat me like a fart and—"

Before Qin Chen could finish speaking, the black toad leaped into the air, its explosive strength sending up a massive spray of water.

It whooshed over Qin Chen's head and landed behind him.

It was incredibly fast.

(⊙o⊙)...

Qin Chen stiffly turned around, only to find those ghastly blood-red pupils staring back at him.

Looking closely, he could just make out a hint of human-like amusement in those blood-red eyes.

A whoosh cut through the air as the black toad shot out its tongue again, hurtling toward Qin Chen at tremendous speed.

At this distance, Qin Chen had no time to react.

A dull thud rang out as the enormous tongue slammed into Qin Chen like a speeding train.

Crack!

The clear sound of bones breaking rang out. The spot where the tongue struck Qin Chen's chest even caved in slightly.

In an instant, Qin Chen's body flew backward at tremendous speed like a cannonball.

A large mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.

After taking that heavy blow, Qin Chen could no longer hold on. He felt himself enveloped by endless darkness and lost consciousness.

He flew straight toward the blood-red vortex, then plunged headfirst into it.

After a few ripples spread across the Blood-colored Vortex's surface, it fell silent once more.

But the black toad suddenly froze in place, its expression shifting just like a human's.

(⊙o⊙)...

o((⊙﹏⊙))o.

w(ﾟДﾟ)w

In less than a second, its expression changed three times.

Even many human masters of changing faces couldn't hold a candle to this level of skill.

The black toad's body trembled slightly.

I'm done for!

It had actually knocked a human into the Secret Realm. If its master found out...

As though imagining a terrifying consequence, it vigorously shook its head.

No way! It would be fine!

That human's aura had been so weak. Even if he made it into the Secret Realm, he wouldn't survive for long.

There was no way he could affect its master's plans.

That's right! Everything would be fine!

The black toad kept reassuring itself.

Suddenly, a cold voice sounded around it, making the whole toad jump.

"Little Black! Can you explain what happened here?"

"Didn't I tell you to guard the Corrupt Abyss Secret Realm?"

A person wrapped from head to toe in a black robe stood not far away, watching the black toad with a grim gaze.

"Ribbit!!"

The black toad let out a terrified croak when it saw the black-robed person. Then it stood up like a human, gesturing with its forelimbs while croaking over and over.

After a while~

"You mean someone broke in here just now, and then you swallowed him?"

The black-robed person furrowed his brow slightly.

"Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit!!"

The black toad nodded vigorously, then lowered its bulky body and made its belly churn.

A few seconds later, it opened its foul-smelling mouth and spat out a corpse that had already lost all signs of life.

Much of the skin on the corpse had been eaten away by strong stomach acid, but his features were still faintly recognizable.

"He Wen?!"

A hint of confusion entered the black-robed person's voice.

He had seen that face not long ago, and had warned him never to come to Muyang City.

Judging from the situation, though, He Wen seemed to have taken his words in one ear and out the other!

"That useless Scarlet Tiger! He can't even control his own subordinates!"

The black-robed person muttered a curse, then fell silent. Only after a long while did he speak again.

"So He Wen just happened to stumble in here by coincidence?"

"Ribbit, ribbit!"

The black toad croaked twice more and nodded, putting on an agreeable expression.

It didn't dare tell its master that it had accidentally knocked someone into the Secret Realm.

Knowing its master, the moment it said those words...

It would be done for!

The black-robed person looked puzzled.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

What was He Wen doing in this sewer?

He had chosen this place because it was hidden and rarely visited.

That was why he'd placed the Secret Realm Anchor here. And yet someone had still come by?

After a long silence, the black-robed person raised his head and looked at the black toad before him. His voice turned cold.

"Get back to your task!"

"Stay here, and don't let anyone approach. If anyone comes near, kill them all. Understood?"

"Ribbit!!"

"Hmph!"

The black-robed person snorted coldly. The next moment, he vanished from the spot, as though he had never been there.

"Ribbit~"

Only after the black-robed person left did the black toad's tense body relax.

It wiped the sweat from its forehead with its right forelimb.

"Ribbit, ribbit! Luckily, I, Lord Toad, am clever. Otherwise, I'd have died young!"

Then it turned to look at the Blood-colored Vortex behind it.

"Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit! That weak human should be dead, right? Mm! He's definitely dead. Nothing could go wrong!"

After croaking, it returned to the Blood-colored Vortex and sank into the filthy water...