The Serpent King

"Ugh... what the hell, no wonder that group suddenly appeared there." Jiu Ming's eyes twitched as he stared at a large pit dozens of meters in diameter before him. Below ten meters, the edges of the pit were dotted with pale purple High-Energy Crystals.

That wasn't even the worst part. What was even more unsettling was the dense mass of snakes coiled in the center of the pit!

Looking around the pit, Jiu Ming quickly confirmed that this pit must have been caused by some unlucky fellow who accidentally passed by here and then, for some unknown reason, it collapsed. It was clearly a recent collapse.

Other parts of the pit still had some standing mud pillars, otherwise, the pit would have already caved in.

Huh!?

Jiu Ming, who was planning to retreat slowly, stiffened. He looked down and met a pair of huge Snake Pupils. Faint arcs of electricity flickered within those pupils. Even more captivating was a deep purple orb on the head of this giant snake, about the size of a fist.

Half of it was embedded in its head. Hmm... a Dragon Pearl?

Alright, this was clearly a snake. This giant snake was definitely the leader of this snake group. Just its colossal body, which he estimated to be nearly a hundred meters long, was something Jiu Ming couldn't see anything comparable to. The longest one was only about half its size.

Without a doubt, if there were any rare treasures, the purple orb on its head would be it!

"You look down on me?" Noticing the disdainful and mocking look in the giant snake's eyes, Jiu Ming, who was already in a bad mood, forced a smile and immediately shifted his position. The next moment, over a dozen bolts of lightning struck where he had been standing. So what if it was a Snake King?

No matter what, it was still a snake, not a dragon. As long as this Snake King dared to leave its Snake Den below the pit, Jiu Ming dared to confront it head-on!

The regret left by the matter with the Misaka Sister had made him extremely unhappy. If there was a chance to vent, and this Snake King was actively 'provoking' him, it would be a waste not to deal with it! You look down on me?

When we fight, you'll know the price of looking down on someone.

Hmm... it's a Ghost.

"That was close. Fortunately, the snake swarm retreated for some reason," a Student said to Yang Zhi Yu, wiping the sweat from his forehead with lingering fear.

Yang Zhi Yu glanced at him. Retreat? You're being too naive. It's clear that for some reason, the snake swarm temporarily abandoned them. The most likely scenario is that someone lured the snakes away, perhaps the Hidden Supports.

They weren't far from the snake pit either. Rushing along, they arrived there in no time. Seeing the scene in the entire snake pit, even with their large numbers, they couldn't help but gasp. What good was having a large number of people!

If all the Thunder Snakes in the pit rushed out, they would surely be like unlucky fellows hit by a tidal wave, with not a single one able to escape!

At this moment, quite a few Students began to have second thoughts... This is terrible! Staying here, feeling terrified and constantly on the verge of a gruesome death, is truly unbearable!

To their dismay, when they turned back, they discovered their escape route had already been cut off...

This wasn't because the Hidden Supports hadn't noticed, but because even if they had, they couldn't stop it. Why were these Students, who were in the territory of these Thunder Snakes, experiencing such weak attacks?

The reason was that most of the snake swarm was lurking outside, waiting for the final pincer movement. Many Hidden Supports had noticed this. In such a situation, they could only consider themselves unlucky. A Snake King with clearly high intelligence had appeared in this snake swarm.

However, Exotic Beasts were still Exotic Beasts. Although this Snake King used some cunning tactics, the Hidden Supports here weren't at the point of despair. They all knew very well that with such a major upheaval, how could no one come?

Even if no one came, if a few of them ran out and exposed this matter, no one with any status in that Camp would be able to escape! They would all be held accountable!

"Don't worry, if you can hold on a little longer, reinforcements will arrive." In any case, hiding now wasn't a good idea. The Hidden Supports around them all emerged. There weren't many of them, only a little over twenty. Even so, it brought some relief to the panicked Students.

It seems the rumors from the early internship period were true; there really are hidden external helpers.

These hidden external helpers didn't appear as calm as they seemed. Looking at the rather lazy king snake in the snake pit, none of them felt confident. What if this king snake couldn't hold back any longer...

Anyone could see that the king snake wasn't something one or two people could handle. Even these hidden external helpers felt intimidated. If a fight broke out, let alone the students, they themselves wouldn't be able to protect their own lives!

However, a few of them discreetly glanced at the king snake's head a few more times. The value of that purple bead was beyond description; everyone who saw it was tempted!

Being worn by the Thunder Snake King, it was definitely a top-tier rare treasure of the lightning element.

Perhaps with it, even if one wasn't a lightning ability user, they could wield the power of an advanced lightning ability user. Not to mention the high price that super lightning experts would pay to get their hands on it. Well, that's assuming they could get it.

If they could instigate these students to go head-to-head and make a move in the chaos... it might not be impossible to succeed.

These thoughts could only remain thoughts. No one present was a fool; anyone who proposed this idea would surely be seen as having ulterior motives and would be ostracized.

It's better to endure for now. Once the reinforcements from the camp arrive, this place will definitely be cleared out. Scattered High-Energy Crystals could already be seen on the edge of the large pit, and they produced so many Thunder Snakes. The mineral deposits below must be very rich.

So, the Thunder Snake King would be unlucky then.

"Ah, it's about to start."

Seeing the snake groups that had already begun to move, the Thunder Snakes in the snake pit also started to crawl out. Jiu Ming paused, quickly checked his collection, and realized only the armor-piercing Steel Pipe and the one-time-use Imagine Breaker could be useful now.

Jiu Ming wasn't very optimistic about the latter. The latter only targeted abilities and energy within that scope, but the king snake displayed more than just lightning power. Its massive body, with a single tail whip, made Jiu Ming feel like he'd be on his knees if hit.

What good would it do to break through the Thunder Snake King's lightning attack then? It could destroy you with its sheer strength!

The king snake's innate force field, which was also lightning-attributed, could make its physical attacks ignore Jiu Ming's Soul Body's physical immunity.

The Steel Pipe was better. If he seized the opportunity, Jiu Ming could directly shatter the Thunder Snake King's skull and snatch out that purple bead!

Good stuff, who wouldn't want it?

The battle began. The hidden external helpers' combat experience was definitely richer than that of the students. In their state of uncertainty, ordinary students listened to the hidden external helpers a lot, avoiding many mistakes. Now, a mistake would cost them their lives; once dragged into the snake swarm, no one could save them.

There were also some Genius students who didn't need the hidden external helpers to say anything. They handled their own situations perfectly, which was quite reassuring.

Jiu Ming was in another location. It wouldn't be good if his identity was exposed. The students and hidden external helpers here also knew that there was another battle happening elsewhere. That was good; it helped share the pressure here, better than all the snakes gathering in one place.

"Is it about time?" Fighting while retreating, if he couldn't retreat anymore, Jiu Ming simply shamelessly drilled into a tree. These Thunder Snakes couldn't do anything to him. Being ganged up on, using the convenience of his Soul Body to cheat... is that not allowed?

He glanced at the situation in the snake pit. A large number of Thunder Snakes had already crawled out. The remaining dozens of the largest ones were still staying put. Big shots always had more prestige than their underlings, and appearing last was necessary. Of course, it would be even better if they didn't appear at all.

Based on the current situation, the battle on the other side was already precarious. No matter how skilled those students and hidden external helpers were, their stamina was limited. The number of these Thunder Snakes wasn't infinite, and they could wear them down. Unlike Jiu Ming, who could hide in a tree when facing an opponent he couldn't fight back against.

For them, being unable to fight back meant death. Teammates couldn't always help in time, let alone the fact that their stamina had already dropped to a very low level.

The battle had been going on for quite some time. Jiu Ming faintly heard the sound of gunshots...

The Thunder Snake King, which had been acting lazily, also noticed this. A few sparks of anger flashed in its lightning-filled eyes, seemingly because its 'good show' had been interrupted. Several low hisses sounded, and the dozens of largest Thunder Snakes around the Thunder Snake King also began to move.

"Everyone, put in some effort, reinforcements are here!" Hearing the gunshots, the hidden supporters quickly shouted. The students' low morale immediately rose significantly. With new hope came motivation.

"Hoo... finally... save me!!!" Yang Zhi Yu, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly had his shoulder bitten by a giant snake head. He was directly pulled into the snake swarm. The students around him didn't have time to react, and even the hidden supporters couldn't arrive in time.

A piercing thunderous roar, completely drowning out the screams, echoed from within the snake swarm. His fate was obvious. Those who had been pulled into the snake swarm earlier suffered the same fate, not one survived. Not only were they turned into charcoal, but they were also crushed by the dense snake swarm. Their end could not have been more tragic...

"Damn it! Those big guys are moving too! Everyone be careful!!" Since unleashing their ultimate moves, this was the hidden supporters' greatest fear. The large Thunder Snakes were few in number, but they were the most threatening. They could handle one at a time, but two or three against one would be difficult.

At this moment, Jiu Ming also moved. No longer entangled with the surrounding snake swarm, he rushed directly into the now empty snake pit. The Thunder Snake King immediately spotted Jiu Ming, the gray shadow heading straight for it. A lightning bolt as thick as an arm swept towards him.

"Come on, let's see who looks down on whom now...!"