The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, the Oriole Waits Behind
The sneaky reincarnator was short, Li Wei estimated to be less than 1.5 meters tall, with short limbs, and wore a suit of armor woven from some kind of jade. The jade pieces on the armor were crystal clear, unlike ordinary items. However, Li Wei was stunned when he saw the reincarnator's appearance clearly.
"Mouse?"
What Li Wei saw was indeed a large rat that could walk upright, and this rat was even wearing jade armor, which was quite incongruous. On the rat's back was a large golden package, the contents of which were unknown. However, rats that were 1.5 meters tall were rare, and it might be a reincarnator from some star field.
Alan, who was standing nearby, also saw the large rat and exclaimed, "It's Rat Star People! Quick, catch it!"
As he spoke, he was about to pounce, but Li Wei grabbed him.
"What are you doing? Don't forget, there's another lurking reincarnator down there!" Li Wei said, Alan calmed down, but at this moment her gaze towards the Rat Star People became intense.
"What's wrong with the Rat Star People?" Li Wei asked, puzzled, seeing the somewhat greedy look in Alan.
"You don't know?" Alan rolled his eyes at Li Wei, then whispered, "These Rat Star People are an anomaly among the many star systems. Their combat strength is generally not high. I heard that even their strongest Destroyer is only at the S1 level. But even so, they still upgraded their star system to level 5. Do you know why?"
Alan's words greatly surprised Li Wei. A reincarnator from a level 5 star field with a combat power of only S1 was indeed an unbelievable thing. Of course, Li Wei didn't really believe it.
"I knew you wouldn't believe me. The true skill of these Rat Star People isn't in combat, but in stealing treasures. You should know that there are many hidden treasures in mission worlds. Take the God's Ruins this time, for example; just from the name, you can tell it hides a lot of good stuff. But ordinary reincarnators simply can't find those hidden treasures. In fact, even if a treasure were placed in front of you, you might not recognize it. But for the Rat Star People, their specialty is discovering these treasures. So, relying on the treasures they find in mission worlds, they've built a very powerful star field. To put it bluntly, even a Rat Star People reincarnator with C-level combat power has enough treasures to fight against a reincarnator a level higher than them."
At that moment, Li Wei understood that this was a star system where people made their fortunes by stealing.
"The reincarnators controlling those giant snakes below must have been eyeing this Rat Star People for a while now. But Rat Star People are inherently suspicious and hard to catch, so they set a trap here beforehand! Xiao Kai, we need to find an opportunity to make our move soon. If we can get our hands on the golden bag on that Rat Star People's back, we'll be rich!"
Alan said excitedly, "Even without asking, Li Wei knew that the golden bag must be where the Rat Star People kept their treasures."
At this moment, the cautious Rat Star People finally walked into the trap set by the giant snake, but Rat Star People was completely unaware of it. He seemed to feel that he was lucky, and after carefully approaching the pool, he prepared to drink some water to quench his thirst. Just then, a cloud of water mist suddenly burst out from the calm pool.
The giant snake, hidden in the pool, suddenly attacked, bursting out of the water and lunging at the Rat Star People.
The attack was very sudden, Rat Star People was caught off guard. Just as it was about to be bitten by the giant snake, its jade armor suddenly burst out with light and Snake Strike.
The latter, caught off guard, was knocked back into the pool by the impact. The Rat Star People, as if waking from a dream, hurriedly got down on all fours, trying to escape.
However, the large snakes that had been hiding nearby had already emerged and surrounded it.
A fierce glint flashed in the Rat Star People's small eyes as he reached out and took something from the golden pouch on his back.
Li Wei recognized the object; it was a small bow and arrow. Like the jade armor worn by the Rat Star People, it was made entirely of jade, with some parts made of flexible metal and a bowstring. The Rat Star People didn't take out an arrow; they simply drew back the bowstring, and an arrow formed of a ghostly light appeared on the small jade bow and arrow.
The surrounding snakes seemed to sense the power of the small bow and arrow, and they all hissed incessantly. Then, a sharp flute sound came from the woods, and the snakes, as if injected with chicken blood, bared their fangs and pounced on the Rat Star People.
The Rat Star People raised the small bow and arrow, released the bowstring towards the sky, and heard a snapping sound as the glowing arrow was shot into the air.
Immediately, dozens of beams of light slashed down from the sky, instantly turning several of the leading snakes into pincushions. These snakes were pinned to the ground by the beams, struggled a few times, and then died.
The remaining giant snakes rushed to the front of the Rat Star People, but were forced back by the light bursting from the jade armor. For a time, they were helpless and could only circle around the Rat Star People, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
At that moment, a person emerged from the woods.
Li Wei recognized him immediately; this was the reincarnator who controlled the giant snake.
The person was wearing a large cloak, obscuring their features, and was holding a flute in their hand. The flute music that had just driven the giant snake to attack must have come from this flute.
"Judging from this Reincarnator's attire, he should be a Level 5 Star Domain Great Snake Star Reincarnator. They are extremely powerful, brutal, and a very dangerous Star Domain race." Alan whispered to Li Wei, and Li Wei could clearly hear a hint of fear in her tone.
Sure enough, her next sentence was. "We'll just have to watch. We have no chance against the people from the Great Serpent Star Domain. It's just a pity about those treasures!"
Li Wei understood that the Great Serpent Star People must be extremely powerful. Based on his understanding of Alan, it was quite difficult for her to say such submissive words. Even against that S1-level cyborg woman, Alan had not yielded in words. This showed how terrifying the Reincarnators of the Great Serpent Star Domain were in her mind.
Looking at the Rat Star People, it too was filled with fear upon seeing the Reincarnator from the Great Serpent Star Domain. But at this moment, life and death were at stake, and even if it didn't want to, it had to fight the enemy.
The Great Serpent Star People didn't bother to speak at all, but instead raised his flute to his lips and blew out a piercing note.
Suddenly, the remaining large snakes began to tremble violently, their skins swelling and peeling off. The new skin was a very dark color and was obviously much thicker than before. But the snakes' transformation did not stop; the new skin continued to crack open, and another layer of skin grew.
After repeated shedding of their skin, the snakes' skins were now as hard as iron, as if they were wrapped in chainmail.
Now even Li Wei knew that the small bow and arrow in the Rat Star People's hand were probably useless.
The Rat Star People let out a soft hiss, as if pleading for mercy, but the Great Serpent Star People remained unmoved, blowing its serpent flute again and controlling its evolved serpent to pounce on the Rat Star People.
The latter revealed a resolute look, and quickly took out a palm-sized copper bell from the golden pouch on his back. He shook it sharply, and a series of bell sounds rang out. Upon hearing this, Li Wei, who was in a tree in the distance, swayed and almost fell off the tree, but he barely managed to hold on. However, Alan, who was next to him, suddenly felt dizzy and fell headfirst. If Li Wei hadn't reacted quickly, she probably would have fallen off the tree.
"Dizzy?" Li Wei looked at Alan, utterly shocked. Clearly, this was closely related to the copper bell in the Rat Star People's hand.
Looking at the field, the Ironclad Great Snake were also dazed and confused, then collapsed to the ground, presumably unconscious. Even the Great Serpent Star People swayed and staggered back more than ten steps before managing to regain his balance.
"The Soul-Seizing Bell? I never imagined that you, a mere Rat Star People, would possess such a treasure!" The Great Serpent Star People spoke for the first time, his tone one of shock. His voice was hoarse yet chilling, making it extremely unpleasant to listen to.
The Rat Star People was equally surprised. It had thought that with this treasure in its hand, it would be enough to put the Great Serpent Star People in front of it into a deep sleep, but unexpectedly, the other party did not faint.
"Hmph, don't forget, the soul power of the Great Serpent Star People is extremely strong. The Soul-Seizing Bell in your hand is specifically designed to attack the soul. Those with weak soul power, like my pets, will faint on the spot. However, you're too naive to think you can use it against me!"
As he spoke, he suddenly sprang up, and with a flick of his arm, two pythons shot out from his sleeve like lightning, lunging at the Rat Star People.
This move was extremely fast; before the Rat Star People could react, the python was already in front of him.
Fortunately, its jade armor once again proved its power, holding back the two pythons. The Great Serpent Star People opposite it, upon seeing this, revealed a sinister smile.
The two pythons suddenly burst open, transforming into dozens of small snakes as thick as a thumb. Just as the jade armor emitted its brilliance, the small snakes seized the opportunity to invade the Rat Star People's vicinity, opening their mouths to bite.
The Rat Star People immediately let out a piercing scream. It was instantly bitten more than a dozen times, and the snake venom spread throughout its body via its bloodstream. In just a moment, the Rat Star People staggered and collapsed to the ground.
"The jade armor you wear is indeed a treasure, but it can no longer instantly form a second defensive shield. I targeted this weakness, which is why I made my move. Hmph, your true strength is extremely weak. If it weren't for these rare treasures protecting you, you Rat Star People would have been Miejue long ago. However, letting you live is also part of our strategy. After all, if we Miejue you all out, wouldn't we lose a great source of treasures!"
After chuckling a few times, the Great Serpent Star People moved to the lifeless corpse of the Rat Star People and was about to take the golden cloth bag when a voice rang out from behind him.
"Excuse me, I've got my eye on that bag!"