—(Damn it!)
Tyler promptly raised his protective sword and round shield, repelling and slaying the encroaching venomous snakes.
As he was occupied with the snakes, the Crimson Serpent King caught up and devoured the fallen horse in one gulp!
“Hiss— Hahaha!”
“Thought you could run? Try running now, hiss… Let’s see if you can outrun me!”
The Crimson Serpent King, Splurt, was brimming with confidence. Bereft of his warhorse, the youth had no chance of outpacing him.
Although the night was riddled with unexpected events, the Secret Saber: Blaze Steed would soon be his prize!
Upon closer inspection, Splurt was astonished to find that the youth who almost ruined his plan was none other than Banning, the very person the “Lord Earthly Ghost” had ordered him to surveil!
—(Humph, you’re just unlucky…)
—(Neither the Earthly nor the Heavenly Ghost can save you now.)
For the sake of the Secret Saber: Blaze Steed, Splurt was willing to pay any price. He wouldn’t give up when victory was so close at hand!
·
Having just repelled a wave of venomous snake attacks, Tyler had no choice but to deal with these minions first, even with the Crimson Serpent King nearby.
To quickly escape the snakes’ harassment, Tyler risked using the Secret Saber: Blaze Steed.
He ignited the surrounding dry grass with the sword’s scorching blade, creating a ring of fire that deterred the venomous snakes from advancing further.
Only then did Tyler have the luxury to concentrate on the towering Crimson Serpent King before him – this three-story tall snake demon exuded the most oppressive aura of any magical creature he had encountered thus far.
━━━━━━━━━
Splurt, male, 72 years old, Shadow Serpent Society · Lower-level Executive
Production Occupation: None
Manufacturing Occupation: None
Combat Occupation: Magic Spirit Walker – Lv63
Skills: 3 / 3
Life Energy: 2257 / 897+6572
Endurance: 965 / 568+2367
Magic Energy: 2126 / 6523
━━━━━━━━━
At a glance, Tyler noticed something peculiar about the enemy’s status information. Those “values with plus signs” likely represented the attribute bonuses gained from their transformation into the giant serpent.
Admittedly, the Crimson Serpent King boasted a terrifying appearance, but beneath that exterior, its various values had suffered significant depletion.
This indicated that Oleg’s desperate struggle had not been in vain.
More importantly, Tyler had a clear “insight” into the thoughts and considerations of the Crimson Serpent King, Splurt, from earlier.
Tyler quickly glanced at the edge of the withered forest, noticing a light approaching from a distance.
Consequently, he decided to take a gamble.
“Ahem… Splurt, I ran because I didn’t want to embarrass you.”
—『Combat Occupation Skill ‘Deceiver – Lv10’ has been activated and remains in effect…』
Tyler sheathed his weapon, calmly meeting the gaze of the Crimson Serpent King’s eyes, fearless.
The Crimson Serpent King was momentarily surprised to hear its own name.
“Hiss… You know my name? That old man Oleg has a loose tongue.”
“You’re mistaken. Oleg didn’t tell me… Your name was given to me by Lord ‘Earthly Ghost.'”
The Crimson Serpent King initially dismissed this claim, but the youth immediately followed up with a name that shocked him even more.
“Hiss… This is illogical… How could Lord Earthly Ghost possibly tell you, and how could you know Lord Earthly Ghost?!”
“It’s natural for you to be surprised. Lord Earthly Ghost had you surveil me as a test, a trial to see if you still possessed loyalty towards the ‘Organization.'”
The youth appeared remarkably composed, not at all like someone facing death, and his words seemed logical and consistent with the details.
Splurt shrank back, realizing that he had indeed neglected his loyalty to the Organization, the Serpent’s Shadow, over the past few years, focusing instead on obtaining the Secret Saber: Blaze Steed.
However, he had diligently and responsibly completed all the surveillance tasks assigned by Lord Earthly Ghost, so he shouldn’t have been held accountable by the Organization.
“Hiss… What do you want now?”
“Don’t worry, Splurt, I don’t want anything in particular, otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of luring you out here… I just didn’t want anyone else to overhear our conversation.”
Hearing the youth’s words, Splurt felt slightly relieved and commanded the venomous snakes to retreat in snake language, lest they cause any trouble.
“Hiss… Is the Organization satisfied with my loyalty? Hiss… I’ve always been diligent and dedicated in my surveillance work,” Splurt asked cautiously.
“Well, it’s not bad, but there will be other tests coming up. You need to be more careful, as not everyone who tests you will be as amicable as I am.”
With that, the youth turned to leave.
Upon seeing this, Splurt became anxious.
“Hiss! Please wait! That magical sword, it’s… it’s my possession…!”
“Oh, this sword?”
The youth glanced at the blade.
“The Organization will keep it safe for you for now, and return it to you once you’ve passed the test.”
With that, the youth continued walking towards the edge of the withered woods.
Watching the youth’s retreating figure and the Secret Saber: Blaze Steed grow smaller in his field of vision, Splurt’s initially fearful heart suddenly erupted with courage and determination.
“Hiss… Please wait…!”
The Organization was undoubtedly terrifying, but Splurt could not accept missing out on the Secret Saber: Blaze Steed once more.
“The sword must stay with me.”
Splurt’s voice became somber. 𝐎𝑽ℯ𝒍xt.𝔠𝑂𝗆
The youth glanced back at Splurt coldly, showing no fear.
“Splurt, are you saying… you’re betraying the Organization?”
“I don’t intend to betray the Organization, but I won’t let you take the sword,” Splurt declared as the Crimson Serpent King slowly approached the youth, his resolve unwavering.
“Then I will report your betrayal to the Organization.”
“Hiss… I bet you won’t live long enough to report it!”
The Crimson Serpent King coiled itself, preparing to charge, but just as Splurt was about to attack, a loud “bang!” suddenly filled the area with a cloud of smoke!
Splurt’s vision was temporarily blocked by the smoke, but it couldn’t stop him.
As a member of the viper family, the Crimson Serpent King had the ability to detect heat through its pit organ.
In the dark, smoke-filled environment, he could still “see” his surroundings by sensing temperature.
It wasn’t long before Splurt found Banning’s location; the youth was desperately running towards the edge of the withered woods.
— (I don’t care who you are! If I kill you, no one will know!)
Splurt lunged straight at the youth!
.
Tyler sprinted, spotting a flickering red light at his feet, and immediately executed a zigzag pattern to evade the Crimson Serpent King’s ambush!
However, regardless of his running speed, Tyler would eventually be caught by the Crimson Serpent King.
To escape, he had to find another means of evasion!
This alternative had already caught Tyler’s attention earlier, when his intellectual battle with Splurt not only aimed to extract information but also to buy time.
Now, the lifesaving means of escape was charging at full speed towards Tyler!
This mysterious light shimmering in the darkness of the night was the beacon of hope that could save him!