Battle with the Giant Snake

"Roar—!"

The fierce battle had lasted less than ten breaths, yet the giant snake's fury seemed to have reached its peak! It suddenly let out an ear-splitting hiss and spun its massive body like a top! Its deadly tail no longer swept in a simple arc. Instead, it whipped around like a divine dragon swinging its tail, tracing a strange, treacherous curve at a speed beyond Li San's expectations!

"Not good!" Li San's pupils shrank. He had only enough time to raise his blade and brace it at his side!

"Boom!"

A deep, thunderous crash! Li San was struck head-on by a battering ram! The thick-backed saber in his hands let out a mournful groan as it was smashed out of shape! An irresistible force slammed into his ribs! His protective Internal Force shattered like paper! The clear crack of breaking bones rang out!

"Pfft!" Li San spewed a mouthful of blood and flew backward like a kite with its string cut, straight toward Wang Wu!

Wang Wu, who had stood motionless like a statue, finally moved! He shifted his feet slightly and glided several feet sideways like a ghost, extending both arms to catch Li San as he flew toward him. A gentle yet powerful stream of Internal Force immediately flowed into Li San, steadying his churning blood and qi.

"Cough, cough... Fifth Brother..." With Wang Wu's support, Li San barely managed to stand. His face was pale and blood streaked his lips, but his eyes burned with a near-manic excitement. "This beast... really is formidable! It's definitely a Second-Order Demonic Beast! Tough hide, immense strength, and deadly poison... Cough, cough... I'm afraid even you won't be able to take it down quickly!" He spoke rapidly between coughs, his breath ragged, yet every word carried clearly to everyone present.

For the first time, a grave expression appeared on Wang Wu's sinister face. He didn't look at Li San. His icy gaze, like a pair of steel knives scraping bone, remained fixed on the giant snake, which had temporarily stopped attacking after driving off its foe. It raised its head and hissed a threatening warning.

"Mm." Wang Wu's voice was low and hoarse, like two rusty iron plates scraping together. His gaze slowly shifted away from the giant snake, sweeping over the badly wounded Yan Xiao Liu, the half-kneeling Ye Yun, and Zhao Si, who lay limp as a rag nearby, like a cold searchlight. There wasn't the slightest trace of concern for his companions in his eyes, only the detachment of a hunter assessing his prey and its value—and a killing intent as palpable as a blade!

When that gaze fell on Yan Xiao Liu, a chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to his crown, as though a poisonous snake had licked his spine. Every hair on his body stood on end! He understood at once: Li San and Wang Wu's earlier show of camaraderie had all been a disguise! This cold killing intent was their true face!

Ye Yun was half-kneeling on the ground, one hand supporting Yan Xiao Liu. His hand paused slightly as Wang Wu's palpable killing intent swept over them. He felt it clearly! It was cold and pure, carrying the resolve to destroy every obstacle in its path! The giant snake wasn't its only target!

"Stop wasting time on this beast." Wang Wu's voice rang out, as cold as a spring in the Netherworld, carrying the unmistakable tone of a command. "We'll join forces and finish them off quickly." He deliberately stressed the word "them," his gaze once again pinning Ye Yun and Yan Xiao Liu like a poisonous thorn!

Before his words had even faded, Wang Wu vanished from where he stood! In the next instant, he appeared at the giant snake's flank like a black bolt of lightning tearing through space! He was several times faster than Li San!

The long, narrow curved saber in his hand was no longer the cold, lifeless object it had been when he wiped it earlier. It had come alive! The blade hummed and trembled, emitting an eerie, low moan! A visible layer of strange, flickering aura, like black flames, suddenly blazed along its edge! It radiated a cold, corrosive presence, as though it could devour the light!

"Shhk—!"

Wang Wu's attack was nothing like Li San's forceful, unstoppable chops. It was like a venomous snake striking from its hole—cunning, vicious, deadly! His blade flashed like black lightning across the giant snake's hard scales!

A teeth-grating scrape rang out! This time, it wasn't just a white mark!

The curved saber, wrapped in that strange black aura, sliced through the giant snake's dark green scales, hard as fine steel, like a hot knife through butter, tearing open a vicious wound a full foot long! Thick, glue-like, dark green blood sprayed out like a fountain! The air instantly filled with an even stronger, more pungent, sweetish stench!

"SSSRAAAH—!!!"

The giant snake let out its most piercing hiss yet, filled with both agony and fury! Its massive body writhed wildly, its dark golden, slit-pupiled eyes instantly bloodshot! It suddenly opened its cavernous jaws, bringing a foul wind and two rows of dagger-like fangs down hard on Wang Wu!

Wang Wu's figure flickered like a ghost, narrowly evading the deadly bite! But the giant snake's frenzied counterattack followed at once. Its enormous tail crashed down on him like a collapsing mountain, carrying the force to destroy heaven and earth!

"Rumble!"

Wang Wu avoided a direct hit, but the scales along the edge of the tail raked hard across his shoulder! He grunted as his body shuddered. Struck as if by a giant hammer, he slid several yards backward, furrowing deep trenches in the ground. A trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth! Clearly, even someone as powerful as Wang Wu couldn't escape a Second-Order Demonic Beast's furious counterattack completely unharmed!

But the giant snake paid a price too! At the instant Wang Wu drew all its fury and met its tail head-on, Li San, who had been lying in wait nearby like a venomous snake, flashed a sharp glint in his eyes!

"Now!"

He endured the agony in his ribs and poured every last bit of Internal Force into the thick-backed saber that had already been bent out of shape! His body, taut as a bowstring drawn to its limit, suddenly burst into action! He became a blur, rushing in from the giant snake's blind spot—the rear of its tail—with a determination bordering on suicide!

His target—the wound Wang Wu had torn open beneath the giant snake's seven-inch mark!

"Die—!"

Li San roared like a beast! With all his strength, killing intent, and madness, he drove the twisted saber into the wound gushing dark green blood like a red-hot poker! Then he used every ounce of his strength to twist it wildly!

"Pfft! Pfft! Crack!"

Terrifying sounds rang out one after another: the blade tore through flesh, shredded membranes, and even scraped against bone!

"SSSRAAAAHHH—!!!"

The giant snake's hiss instantly became an indescribable, soul-piercing scream of agony! The pain and despair in its cry made the entire forest tremble! Its enormous body stiffened, then began thrashing, convulsing, and rolling across the ground without any pattern, as though every bone had been pulled from it! Its tail lashed like an out-of-control giant whip, splintering ancient trees and shattering rocks! Dark green blood poured from its wounds and mouth as though it cost nothing, instantly staining a vast patch of forest floor!

Its death throes were savage and terrifying! The instant Li San struck, the giant snake's frenzied writhing hurled him away. He spat out another mouthful of blood and crashed to the ground in the distance. After struggling for a few moments, he barely managed to get back up.

Wang Wu stood motionless like a boulder, coldly watching the giant snake's final frenzy. His eyes were icy and utterly still, as though he were watching a farce that had nothing to do with him.

The battle between man and snake had been utterly brutal. Though Li San and Wang Wu had eventually dealt the giant snake a grievous wound, they had paid a heavy price. Li San's face was as pale as paper, his ribs caved in, and several were clearly broken; his breath and qi were in disarray. Blood stained Wang Wu's lips, and his shoulder was torn open, revealing a wound deep enough to expose bone. Dark green snake venom clung to it, but he was suppressing it by force with his powerful Internal Force. His face had also taken on a faint greenish hue. Neither of them looked nearly as composed as before. They were in a sorry state, and their energy had waned considerably.