Infiltration

This time, the Serpent Attack Tribe had entered the Golden City on their own. In the past, they had relied on their knowledge of the giant snake to visit the Golden City several times.

However, once they entered the Golden City, they were all frightened by the phantom of the feathered serpent atop the pyramid and didn't dare venture any farther.

Even so, they had reaped quite a few rewards. The Golden City was famous because most of its people used gold as decoration.

The Serpent Attack Tribe didn't need much. Coming once or twice a year was enough to find so much gold in the Golden City that they could buy plenty of fine things.

The people they had sent this time were all veterans who had visited the Golden City once or twice. The white liquid they had smeared over themselves wasn't for decoration; it lowered their body temperature so the giant snake wouldn't detect them.

The most dangerous stretch of the river was the section in front of the giant snake's cave. The people of the Serpent Attack Tribe could lure the giant snake away for an hour. They only needed to get through that mountain pass within the hour.

For these warriors of the Serpent Attack Tribe, that wasn't difficult.

It was only a short stretch, after all. They just had to run through it. As for the rest of the way, the giant snake generally wouldn't notice them unless they ran into it while it was feeding.

This time, they did the same. After quickly passing through the danger zone, they slowed down and took the weapons they had been carrying on their backs.

The people of the Serpent Attack Tribe used blowpipe darts and bows, and they also carried ordinary equipment like spears and swords.

They had fewer swords, though, since metal was hard to come by in this jungle.

Once they had taken out their weapons, they cautiously moved forward.

They had acted this way on their previous visits, too. According to their legends, the Golden City was a place where demons had been sealed and imprisoned, and they were afraid of being attacked by a demon army.

But they had been safe all the way, and now they were almost at the cave entrance where Liu Zhi had come out.

"See? I told you there was nothing to worry about," said one of the natives at the front. "We've been here several times. What demons?"

"But the Great Warrior said—"

"That's just what he thinks. If he were really as impressive as he claims, he'd be the chief by now. Great Warrior, my foot. He only got that title because he landed the final blow on that snake. He should think about how many people died in that battle. If I'd been there, I could've done it too."

As he spoke, the native at the front continued, "Still, his plan this time is pretty ruthless. He's using the White-skinned People's cursed weapons and the excuse that the demons are about to be released to drag people from several nearby tribes into this. Looks like our hunting grounds will be bigger next year."

"Wait, weren't the demons released?"

"How could they be? Nothing's happened for all these years. How could the demons suddenly be released? Don't worry. We'll go in and take a look, and by this time tomorrow, we can head back."

"But I heard the Swift Hawk didn't come back after flying over the valley. That's how the Great Warrior confirmed the demons had revived."

"You believe everything he says? Trust me, nothing's wrong. If the demons had awakened, this place would already be crawling with their minions. The fact that we made it here safely proves there's nothing to worry about."

Though they chattered on the whole way, they hadn't let down their guard at all.

They didn't all rush out. Instead, they sent one of the smaller, nimbler members of the group to scout ahead.

The white liquid smeared over the natives made them quite conspicuous in the darkness. After leaving the cave, the scout even circled around beneath a tree.

When he wasn't attacked, he didn't hurry back. He followed the river upstream to have a look around before returning to the cave.

"I saw it. It's not like the stories we heard before. There's no giant snake god on the pyramid. Could the legend be wrong?"

The native at the front was startled. "What did you say? The giant snake god's shadow is gone?"

"It's not gone. It's never been there at all."

"That's impossible. I've been here twice, and I saw the snake god's shadow every time. Could the legend be true? Is the snake god's seal gone, and have the demons really been released?"

With that, the native at the front hurried toward the exit.

By then, Liu Zhi had also heard that enemies were coming. He hurried to the river with the Corpse Soul Naga and ten Skeleton Soldiers, just in time to see seven or eight natives rushing out of the cave.

The natives hadn't expected to encounter anyone here. When they saw Liu Zhi, they all froze for a moment. Then one of them shouted.

Liu Zhi had spent so much time in the Golden City that he had seen countless examples of the writing of the three great civilizations. His Basic Language skill had improved enough for him to understand most ordinary speech.

It was hard to make out, like listening to a dialect, but he immediately understood the man's words: "Demons! Demons who rise from the graveyard with the dead!"

Well, that settled it. They were enemies now.

Liu Zhi didn't think twice. He waved his hand and sent his men charging forward.

The two Skeleton Soldiers who had mastered swordsmanship led the way. The others charged after them with their weapons raised, while the Corpse Soul Naga stayed beside Liu Zhi to protect him.

The natives were all terrified when they saw the skeletons charging toward them.

They had never encountered anything like this. They were used to facing wild beasts, and even when they faced supernatural forces, they faced the giant snake—not the undead.

But their innate bravery kept them from panicking. Instead, they launched an attack.

The blowpipe darts and arrows did no damage to the Skeleton Soldiers. The skeletons charged straight up to the natives.

The Skeleton Soldiers swung their flails down toward the natives' heads.

This showed just how important the weapons were. At first, the natives had attacked from a distance, but most of their blowpipe darts missed the Skeleton Soldiers. The few that struck them were useless. Blowpipe darts relied on poison, not stopping power.

The spears they used in close combat were just as ineffective. They often slipped right between the Skeleton Soldiers' ribs and could barely hurt them.

Instead, the Skeleton Soldiers seized their chance and swung their flails, made of stones and vines, smashing the natives' heads like watermelons.