Chapter 9: The Gaze of the Serpent Demon

Gazing at the serpent's body, which towered over them in the night, the young men could not conceive of any way to escape with their lives

The officer was taken aback, understanding Xiao Qiu's intention. He finally retrieved his protective talisman, but lacked the courage to use it, "My leg..."

The serpent demon truly needed to escape, and it was fleeing in a panic without regard for direction. It circled around a large tree, its body, nearly as thick as the trunk, resembling a small moving mountain. It glided past two bold youths and, with a flick of its tail, sent the two of them flying several steps away.

It is capturing prisoners. Suddenly, Xiao Qiu had an idea

Are you calm now

This is not the desperate strike of a small-town youth, but rather the formidable power emitted by the finest paper talisman of the Western Jie Kingdom. The serpent demon clearly did not anticipate this move; with a flick of its serpent head, it evaded that beam of light

"What is it doing? Isn't it supposed to capture prisoners?" Xiao Qiu asked in confusion

The sound of a copper bell rang out suddenly, and a beam of light slanted down from the sky, landing precisely between the serpent demon and the young men. As the radiance faded, a figure emerged, recognizable to all the youths except for Fangfang and the officer.

The two behind paused for a moment, then ran a few steps, picked up the long sword from the ground, and similarly shouted loudly, following closely behind Xiao Qiu to attack the serpent's head

Xiao Qiu slowly walked towards the officer

Xiao Qiu was actually very afraid, but this fear did not diminish his courage; instead, it ignited a fighting spirit in the face of despair. He suddenly drew his dagger and shouted loudly at the black hole above, striking a pose in preparation to confront the enemy

Such a scene would frighten everyone greatly. The fool, being slightly heavier than the others, was especially scared upon hearing this, tightly leaning against Ershuan's side, "What should we do? Why don't we hand over your family's chestnut-red horse?"

Ding ... ...

The moment he thought of more than ten solitary heads smiling at him in turn, the officer's patience reached its limit, and he let out a piercing scream. With a tumble, the chestnut horse was startled and jumped a few steps before stopping again, completely unaware of the danger.

The two stakes and one sword struck the serpent's body, hoping to carve out a passage. With a loud bang, the sharp talisman sword failed to even slice off a single scale, instead being deflected into the air and falling heavily to the ground. Ershuan possessed a fierce determination; without a weapon, he lunged at the serpent's body and bit down.

Xiao Qiu's courageous actions served as an inspiration to the besieged youths. Er Shuan raised the long sword behind him with both hands and took large strides towards the nearest serpent, his shout even louder than Xiao Qiu's.

"Yes, use the dagger! Use the dagger! This is a treasure that has slain monsters," the officer shouted, suddenly recalling that this dagger was his own possession, a remarkable artifact with a significant history. As he spoke, he hurriedly retreated, using both his hands and feet, hoping to distance himself from the serpent's head.

The young officer held his breath, which was not difficult, as he had completely forgotten how to breathe.

Lengzi grasped Ershuan's arm, "What does Xiao Qiu mean? Go with it? Where to go?"

The officer first nodded, then shook his head, and even dared not look at the snake demon.

The sharp sounds converged into a chorus, exuding a somewhat soaring momentum. The snake demon opposite seemed to be stunned, its two yellow eyes retracting several feet, and then quickly changing direction, seemingly intending to flee.

Xiao Qiu did not expect this matter; she merely felt that the officer's moves were a bit too swift and lacked precision. More than ten paper talismans were released, but they only caused the serpent's head to rise slightly, without hitting it at all

The bald man smiled at him for a while, but upon realizing it had no effect, he retreated behind the tree. Soon, another face appeared from behind the tree; the officer recognized this person as one of the veteran's aides he had brought along. Although he could not recall the name as recorded in the *Atlas*, he was certain of the man's appearance. The only oddity was that he was also grinning and nodding incessantly, lacking any semblance of the authority typical of the Xuanfu Army.

The serpent demon was completely indifferent to such an attack, opening its wide mouth and charging towards the nearest human

The officer's two eyes widened round, and he nodded reluctantly

Xiao Qiu took a step forward, facing the serpent's head, which was even taller than him, and said loudly: "Where are we going? Are we setting off now?"

Xiao Qiu and Er Shuan were easily knocked away, and the shouts of the young boys grew weaker. It was only then that they suddenly realized that it was someone else who had driven off the snake demon

"If you can't move, then I can only send you to it to fill its stomach," said Xiao Qiu, secretly gripping the dagger in his right hand. When there was no way out, he felt less afraid; after all, he would not just sit and wait for death.

The snake demon showed no interest in larger prey. The chestnut horse was kept outside; it ran a little farther away, sniffing around in search of grass. It did not abandon its master, nor did it consider rescuing him.

Puff

The officer remained still, and the faces behind the tree kept changing, as if they were determined to attract him in this manner

The young officer finally stopped screaming, having fainted for the third time in less than a day

At the same moment, Xiao Qiu also took action, pouncing onto the snake's body, gripping the dagger tightly and stabbing down with force. Knowing full well that this act would be futile, she still refused to back down.

Xiao Qiu felt that something had happened. Something fell into her arms, and she instinctively embraced it. After it landed, she looked down and was shocked to find it was a bald man's head, with a frozen, comical smile on its face. Xiao Qiu's hair stood on end, and she instinctively threw her hands back with force, discarding the last remaining part of the bald man.

Xiao Qiu covered the officer's mouth with one hand, saying, "Stop shouting, what good will it do?"

Xiao Qiu helped the officer to stand up, shaking his shoulders twice, "Are you feeling better? Can you walk?"

The snake demon, despite its unexpectedness, showed some apprehension towards the dagger, which, although not long, caused it to rise again. Its body swayed violently, throwing both Xiao Qiu and the dagger out.

This strike took everyone by surprise, as it actually penetrated the scales and pierced into the serpent's body

Xiao Qiu took a step forward, and the young men huddled together in nervousness, yet they were filled with admiration in their hearts

Xiao Qiu and Er Shuan, filled with confidence, thought that if even ten soldiers of the Xuanfu Army could not defeat the snake demon, how could they possibly fear two children? Instead, they quickened their pace to pursue.

A wheel-like beam of white light shot swiftly from the officer's hand, heading straight for the yellow eyeball of the serpent demon

This time, there were no soldiers from the Xuanfu army leading the charge. The snake demon seemed to recognize that this was a group of humans with little combat capability, gradually lowering its altitude and scrutinizing them one by one

The serpent demon was provoked; its serpent head swayed in the air a couple of times before it suddenly dove down, intending to settle the matter swiftly.

The giant head of the serpent demon gradually lowered, finally coming to within a few feet of the ground, its gaze parallel to that of the young men, emitting a hissing sound as if issuing some kind of command

Xiao Qiu got up from the ground, and with one strike, he saw immediate results. His courage grew stronger, and with a loud shout, he charged forward again

The boys were in disarray, dazed and confused for a while before they finally noticed the officer who was still screaming

The scream startled everyone awake, and Xiao Qiu and Fang Fang bumped their heads together, causing both of them to cry out in pain.

The officer slowly opened his eyes, first looking at Xiao Qiu with a bewildered expression, then noticing the enormous and slimy snake body beside him. He sat up abruptly, his mouth agape as if about to scream.

Previously, the officer abandoned the soldiers and fled alone, without witnessing the scene of the battle. However, at this moment, he was very certain that the faces that had mocked him were now reduced to mere heads.

The officer nodded again

He could not continue, wishing he could faint again so that the snake demon would lose interest in him

Xiao He removed her hand from her mouth, and with her other hand, she smoothly handed a stack of paper talismans to the officer

"Hit the snake's body! Hit the snake's body!" Xiao Qiu shouted loudly, but the officer seemed to have gone mad, unable to stop at all. It was not until his hands were empty that he looked at Xiao Qiu in a daze and said, "There’s... there’s nothing left."

The officer regained his composure after a moment of extreme panic, saying, "I can move now, don't, don't give me to it"

The serpent demon's head moved closer, stopping a few feet away to observe the two humans. The officer was so frightened that he nearly collapsed, but Xiao Qiu quickly supported him, positioning herself in front to shield the stack of paper talismans from the serpent demon's view.

The serpent's head slowly lifted, stopping when it reached a height of over ten feet, looking down at the diminutive humans. A strange green light flickered in its lantern-like yellow eyes, moving from left to right before vanishing. Then, it opened its mouth, revealing long, sharp fangs and an unfathomable black abyss.

The snake demon remains unmoved; the more lively the prey, the better the effect of cultivating the demon body.

The youths of Yelin Town had attempted to escape twice before, but this time, under the direct gaze of the serpent demon, their legs felt as if they were frozen, rendering them unable to move even a step. They could only stand obediently in place, their minds numbed by extreme panic

The officer is the only one who has some understanding of the demons. The courage that has just been gathered seems to be ready to flee again. "It does not intend to take us away; it seeks to absorb the essence of humanity to cultivate its demonic form. Therefore, it wants us all to stay alive, for only the living..."

The serpent demon crawled around the young men, stopping when it was close to connecting its head and tail, encircling them within its body. It then continued to gaze at the humans, flicking its long tongue at each person as if searching for something

Xiao Qiu truly wanted to give the officer a good beating just like Er Shuan did. As a member of the esteemed Xuanfu Army, he was strict and cold when facing criminals, yet when it came time for him to step up, he was as frightened as a sheep, even less courageous than the timidest boy in Yelin Town. Fang Fang, a girl, was not as incompetent as he was.

I. Little Qiu locked eyes with the enormous round eyes of the snake demon, making an effort not to blink. She pointed at herself, then gestured towards the officer who had fainted not far away, saying, "Wake him up, and then we will go with you."

The other boys also shouted loudly, yet they still did not dare to move. Their cheers were unrelenting, their voices hoarse, and several of them turned red in the face but refused to stop.

The black hole is drawing closer, and Xiao Qiu is still shouting loudly. Behind him, the officer finally gathers enough courage, raising his right hand, "Void Slash!"

The boys were able to speak up, and Erliang was the first to consider a possibility, trembling as he said: "It has eaten its fill during the day, and now it has surrounded us, keeping us for breakfast."

The serpent demon unexpectedly made a dodging movement, which greatly boosted the officer's confidence. His right hand moved incessantly, producing one paper talisman after another, while he shouted loudly, uttering names like "Hundred Steps Strike" and "Ice Blast Divine Spike," yet there were none of the invisibility talismans or guidance talismans he had mentioned earlier.

Can you stand up

The desire to compete for the position of the youth leader in Wild Forest Town overshadowed all fears; even if there were a bottomless abyss ahead, Ershuan would leap down without hesitation.

The two pins broke free from the stunned hands, and with a slight wink at the companions, signaled them not to be afraid, for Xiao Qiu had her own plan

The serpent spirit blinked, as if striving to comprehend the words spoken by the tiny human, and then nodded, surprisingly understanding.

The officer fainted right near the midsection of the serpent demon, while Xiao Qiu, with her back to the serpent's head, knelt on the ground and pushed with all her strength

He swallowed hard, concealed the long sword behind him, and whispered: "Find the right opportunity, if you can run, then run."

The officer continued to nod

The heads that appeared in turn finally lost their patience; having failed to entice, the manipulator behind them revealed its true form. Suspended in mid-air at a height of two to three zhang, a massive serpent's head loomed, its two lantern-sized yellow eyes glimmering with a cold light