Man Snake

Ryan looked at him, and he immediately understood that Ryan was asking what they should do. He gestured for them to retreat. Just then, he suddenly felt a chill behind him, as though some powerful creature were watching him. He shoved Ryan aside and shouted, "Run!"

Ryan reacted quickly too, immediately dodging to one side. After escaping that attack, they looked back and saw white smoke rising from the clump of grass where they had been hiding, with a pool of unknown green venom on the ground. They looked up behind the grass and broke into a cold sweat. There was a huge green snake as thick as a tree trunk. Allen knew exactly what it was at a glance.

It was a magical beast called a Man Snake, a species native to Silverpine Forest. Its dark green scales formed a thick layer that encased its entire body without a gap. Even a Warrior like Ryan could only dream of breaking through its defenses. If this had been an ordinary Man Snake, Allen might have found a way to kill it, but this one was far too big. It looked as though it had been fed hormones, a full size larger than normal, and might even have been over ten meters long.

Allen knew at first sight that this was no ordinary Man Snake. While hiding in the grass, he had not noticed its approach at all. His mental power could not sense its presence, as though it were air. This Man Snake had to possess some unusual means of concealment. But there was no time to worry about that now. This place was far too dangerous, and they had to leave immediately.

The Man Snake was fast. The moment it realized it had missed its enemies, it launched a second attack. It slithered swiftly toward him and opened its jaws wide. He could even smell the rank stench rushing toward his face. Rather than panicking, he steadied himself. He released the spell prepared in his Soul Space, sending a huge Wind Blade shooting straight at the giant snake. Its momentum and proximity left the Man Snake no room to dodge, and his Wind Blade struck it squarely in the mouth. But the result was unexpected. His strongest spell had only drawn a little blood. The wound looked severe, but it was nowhere near fatal to the Man Snake. And that was a hit to its weak point. Had it struck the snake's body, it probably would have done nothing at all.

He realized they could only flee. They were no match for this Man Snake. Allen immediately ran into the woods, calling for Ryan to follow. Allen had reacted quickly, and while the Man Snake was still rolling on the ground in pain, they had already been fleeing for some time. When the Man Snake recovered, it lashed its tail in fury, instantly snapping a tree thick enough for one person to wrap their arms around in half. Then it began chasing Allen and Ryan like mad.

"Wait, take off your armor! You're too slow like this. At this rate, the Man Snake will catch us both before long." The Man Snake was a magical beast of Silverpine Forest, so the forest terrain gave it a considerable advantage, and it was no slow mover either. At this rate, it would soon catch up with them. Once it did, they would certainly die. Ryan no longer stood on ceremony. He hurriedly stripped off his armor and continued fleeing with Allen, carrying only a sword.

Allen was extremely anxious now. He knew that even this would only let them run a little farther. Before long, they would still be caught. Their only option was to find something to hold it back. Fel Beasts-the term flashed into his mind. This was Fel Beast territory, so this was where they were most numerous. With a plan in mind, he immediately changed direction and ran toward the pack of Fel Beasts he had detected earlier. Ryan clearly realized what Allen was doing and asked, "Will this really work? What if we get caught between them?"

Allen explained, "We can't shake it off. It has memorized our scent and won't stop chasing us. Besides, that furious snake needs something to vent its anger on. If you don't want that to be us, let it find someone else."

Ryan also realized that they could not escape by continuing like this. Steeling himself, he ran into the pack of Fel Beasts with Allen. The Fel Beasts soon sensed their arrival and charged toward them in excitement.

"Get out of the way!" Allen shouted to Ryan. Ryan's body reacted faster than his mind, and he darted aside, dodging the frenzied beasts. Just then, the Man Snake finally caught up. It hissed and slithered rapidly toward Allen and Ryan. The Fel Beasts also noticed its arrival and began turning to charge at it.

Allen and Ryan realized this was a good chance to escape and immediately ran into the woods to one side. An hour later, they returned to camp and ordered everyone to leave without even stopping to rest. The soldiers were puzzled, but seeing the mage and their captain drenched in sweat and covered in mud, they realized the two might have encountered some powerful monster.

After running hard for half an hour, he and the squad finally put some distance between themselves and that place and were safe for the moment. Ryan ordered a rest, and only then did he have time to catch his breath. Ryan came over to him and said with a smile, "Thank you for what you did back there. If you hadn't pushed me aside, I might really have died there."

He turned to Ryan and said, "I was still too careless. That Man Snake could actually block my mental perception." "That wasn't your fault. Oh, right, I was so busy running that I forgot to tell you. I picked this up back where the Man Snake was. Take a look and see what it is."

Ryan took out a strange stone. It was white and irregularly shaped. It was clearly incomplete, presumably a fragment broken off a larger rock.

Taking the stone, he sent his mental power into it without a second thought and discovered that it contained extraordinarily violent energy. He had never encountered energy this violent before. He could not control it even when he tried. But there was no doubt that this was a Magic Source. He thought of the Man Snake, which was a full size larger than normal. Could it have been affected by the Magic Source?

"Ryan, this is the Magic Source we've been looking for. That Man Snake must have been guarding it," Allen told him. Ryan looked at the supposed Magic Source in disbelief. "This is the Magic Source? It's so small. How could it have such a huge effect?" Hearing that, Allen wanted to explain, but suddenly remembered that the fluctuations of magic in the area felt different from this Magic Source. Moreover, this Magic Source did not give off much energy. It would take a great many stones like this to disrupt the magic throughout the forest. Yet he and Ryan had seen none along the way. They were probably only found near the Man Snake.

That was strange. Could this stone not be what had caused the changes in the forest's magic? He could not come up with an answer and could only tell Ryan, "This is indeed a Magic Source. It's only a small piece. Perhaps there are many more stones like this in the forest." Ryan remained doubtful. But they were already on their way back. They would leave all of this for Highlord Pelaven to handle.

A week later, Allen and the squad finally returned to the base, and everyone relaxed once they arrived. Just as they were about to enter, the soldiers ahead stopped them. "Halt! Who are you? This is Lord Pelaven's territory. We're under lockdown. Outsiders are not allowed in or out."

Allen and the squad were puzzled. Ryan stepped forward. "Jace, what are you doing? It's me, Ryan." The soldier named Jace took a closer look and immediately realized that Allen and the others were their own people. He promptly apologized. "Sorry, sorry, Captain Ryan. Why are you only getting back now? We all thought you were dead."

Allen and the soldiers in the squad looked at him in confusion. Jace quickly explained, "Captain, you haven't heard, have you? Almost every squad that entered the forest was wiped out. Apart from a few lucky squads, fewer than a quarter came back. After waiting so long, almost everyone thought you weren't coming back."

That did not surprise him, but surely it did not warrant a lockdown. Allen asked him directly, "What exactly happened? Why the lockdown?" Jace immediately answered, "Not long after the squads were sent out, those Fel Beasts attacked our base. Since so many people had been sent out, there weren't many left to defend it. Ah, we suffered heavy losses this time. Even Lord Pelaven flew into a terrible rage. He's already canceled your mission."

Allen was astonished by the coincidence. The beasts had attacked as soon as they left. Hadn't the beasts lost their minds after becoming Fel Beasts? How were they still so clever? "Captain, you'd better hurry inside. It's getting unsafe out here." Jace quickly let them in.

Afterward, Ryan told Allen, "Allen, I think I have to report what happened to our superiors. I won't be going back for now. Of course, if you run into any trouble, you can come find me. I'm usually in the camp nearby."

Allen nodded to him, indicating that he should go ahead. Then he returned to his quarters. After so many grueling days, he could finally get a good night's sleep.

The next day, shortly after waking, he received a summons from Highlord Pelaven. It seemed Ryan's report had already drawn the attention of those above.

He quickly tidied himself up and went to see the Highlord. When he arrived at the lord's hall, he discovered that Highlord Pelaven was not alone. There were many officers as well, though he did not know any of them. The only person present he recognized was the fifth-tier mage Larz, along with Ryan, of course.