Assassination

The night was black as ink, without a trace of moonlight. Endless dark clouds gathered above the Tagor Desert.

Inside the Side Hall.

Chen Mo had been awake for quite some time.

After claiming an Incense Stick's Worth of Enlightenment Time, Chen Mo swallowed a Dou Master Pill, intending to break through to the sixth star of Dou Master tonight in one go.

As the Supreme Primordial Chaos Art circulated, vast natural battle qi flowed irregularly inside and outside the Side Hall before surging into Chen Mo's body in rolling torrents.

In the adjacent bedchamber.

Queen Medusa was handling clan affairs when she sensed the change. Yue Nu's voice then sounded outside the door. "Your Majesty, the Grand Elder wishes to see you!"

Queen Medusa frowned. Over the past few days, she had abolished several unreasonable clan rules.

When she had planned to abolish another one today, the Three Great Elders had strongly opposed her. They had even intended to gather the Eight Great Tribe Leaders for a joint vote.

Yet she had rejected them all by herself.

Looking for her so late at night—could it be about this again?

Queen Medusa set aside her work and walked out.

Not long after Queen Medusa left.

"Commander, Chief Mo Bas wishes to see you." A Snake-People guard came before Yue Nu and reported.

Yue Nu frowned slightly. She had initially wanted to refuse, but then she thought that Her Majesty was not in the royal palace at the moment, and Mo Bas had once been the Royal Palace Guard Commander. She decided to go see what he wanted.

"You two, come with me." Yue Nu selected two subordinates and left the royal palace.

A while after Yue Nu left, the Snake-Woman guard on the other side of the gate suddenly clutched her stomach in pain and hurried away.

The night was cool as water.

Beneath the pitch-black night sky, the entire royal palace suddenly fell silent.

Then, several shadows flashed swiftly through the corridors. Under the lamplight, the broad silhouettes of several Snake-People were cast against the walls.

They slipped quietly into the royal palace and moved ghostlike toward the Queen's bedchamber.

In the Side Hall of Queen Medusa's bedchamber.

As boundless battle qi poured into his body, Chen Mo had reached the critical moment of his breakthrough. At most, he needed a few more minutes to break through to the seventh star of Dou Master.

The window had not been closed. A cool breeze blew in through it, lifting Chen Mo's robe slightly.

Suddenly, several shadows flashed past the door, and a snake-like silhouette appeared ghostlike at the window, staring intently at Chen Mo, who sat cross-legged on the bed.

The wind stopped.

At a certain moment, Chen Mo suddenly opened his eyes. What entered his sight was a spear hurtling toward him.

Chen Mo's expression changed. He hurriedly activated Tian Yuan within his body.

Just as the spear was about to reach his head, a flash of sword light streaked past and blasted the spear into powder.

"What?"

The Snake-Person at the window was startled. A dark-blue longsword floated before the human, and under Zhu Huo's glow, a cold gleam flashed along its blade.

"Who are you?"

Chen Mo spoke while hastening his breakthrough, trying to stall for time.

"The one here to kill you!"

The Snake-Person at the window blurred and darted toward Chen Mo.

"Swordfall of Nine Heavens!"

Chen Mo shouted as he controlled Tian Yuan with his mind. After his Favorability Coin count reached 100, Chen Mo had used them to upgrade his Qiankun Sword Body to perfection.

His body had become a sword embryo. With daily nurturing, it could even raise the grade of spirit artifacts. Most importantly, he could control flying swords in the air and use skills through them.

"How is this possible?" The Snake-Person looked as though he had seen a ghost. The sight before him had overturned his understanding of the world, but he still forced himself to remain calm and shouted coldly, "Playing tricks!"

A powerful aura surged from his body. Under the system's scan, he was actually a nine-star Da Dou Shi.

He began battling Tian Yuan.

At that moment, the door was also pushed open, and three Snake-People walked in.

Under the system's scan, they were respectively a four-star Dou Ling, a three-star Dou Ling, and a one-star Dou Ling.

The instant they entered, they swiftly shut the door.

"You have some nerve, barging into Her Majesty's bedchamber!"

Chen Mo's face darkened. A dull sound came from within his body, and a surge of battle qi erupted from him.

He had broken through—the seventh star of Dou Master.

Chen Mo was confident he could handle a Da Dou Shi at this level.

But a four-star Dou Ling was far too much stronger. If he faced one head-on, Chen Mo had little confidence of winning.

"Hmph. You are merely a human, yet you dared to bewitch Her Majesty Queen Ye Su and enter her bedchamber. That is a capital offense." The four-star Dou Ling in the lead slowly approached Chen Mo.

"This was permitted by Her Majesty. Aren't you afraid that Her Majesty will punish you for this?"

"We are of the same clan as Her Majesty. Even if we kill you, would Her Majesty really make us pay with our lives? Go! Kill him!"

The four-star Dou Ling gestured. He guarded the door himself and had the three-star Dou Ling and one-star Dou Ling behind him close in to kill Chen Mo. Even if that human grew wings, he would not be able to escape.

"Commander Yue Nu, save me!"

Chen Mo condensed battle qi into a sword as he shouted loudly.

"Condensing battle qi into an object?"

The two Dou Lings rushing forward were slightly stunned. This was a method only Dou Lings could use. How could a mere Dou Master do it as well?

"What are you standing around for? There isn't much time. Kill him quickly!" the four-star Dou Ling barked.

The two Dou Lings stopped hesitating and charged toward Chen Mo.

Chen Mo's expression was grave. He had shouted for so long without receiving the slightest response. It seemed Yue Nu had been lured away. This was a premeditated assassination.

Although humans and Snake-People were mortal enemies, Chen Mo remembered that he had never offended the Snake-People. On the contrary, he had saved a group of them. Even if they disliked him, there was no reason for them to defy Queen Medusa and assassinate him.

Suddenly, Mo Bas's face surfaced in Chen Mo's mind.

He had offended Mo Bas before coming to the Snake-People Clan.

Perhaps Mo Bas was involved. He had previously been the Royal Palace Guard Commander.

He knew the defenses inside and outside the royal palace extremely well.

I have to escape!

In just a few breaths, Chen Mo figured everything out.

As the two attackers reached him, a pair of golden wings burst from his back. With a flap of those wings, his body shot upward and flew toward the window.

"Battle qi wings? Not good, stop him!"

The four-star Dou Ling's expression changed drastically. While still wondering what those wings were, he saw Chen Mo flying toward the window. He shouted and flashed over at the same time.

Fortunately, he reached the window before Chen Mo and blocked it.

"Get lost!"

The longsword in Chen Mo's hand trembled. He swung it, sending a brilliant meteor-like streak of sword light shooting toward him as overwhelming Sword Intent surged forth.

The four-star Dou Ling formed a spear to block it, but the dazzling sword light cut it in half. The sword radiance exploded across his body, shattering his armor and leaving him covered in blood.

Even so, it was not a particularly serious injury for him.

"Die!"

At that moment, Chen Mo had also rushed before him. The four-star Dou Ling immediately leaped up and threw a punch at Chen Mo.

But just then, one of Chen Mo's Kun Peng Wings suddenly folded in. His speed plummeted, and his body dropped.

The four-star Dou Ling punched empty air.

"Tian Yuan!"

Suddenly, a brilliant streak of sword light shot toward the door. Chen Mo stepped onto the flying sword, smashed open the door with the longsword in his hand, and charged out.