Chapter 202: Prey, and the Prey

Under Da She Yi, thirty-two black serpents and twenty thousand elite troops were advancing step by step.

They advanced steadily, driving batch after batch of the Great Serpent Lair's forces to retreat toward the central area.

Ratfolk, dwarfs, dwarves, werewolves, ox tribe, snakemen, lizardfolk…… plus many huge spiders, lizards and other mounts, the various tribes fled in disorder, continually retreating.

Of course, there were also those who went against the current.

Groups of slaves with blood-red eyes roared loudly, clutching piles of Opening Mountain Thunder as they hurled themselves at the black serpents.

They roared as they reached the black serpents, spreading their arms and pressing their bodies against the serpents' bodies. The specially made high-power Opening Mountain Thunder on them exploded, with hundreds upon hundreds of Opening Mountain Thunder detonating simultaneously.

Clusters of black-red intertwined fire shot up into the sky; the tremendous blast made the black serpents' massive bodies tremble slightly, and a few specks appeared on their meter-thick scales, but that was all the Opening Mountain Thunder achieved.

Under strict orders from the major powers, the lizardfolk archers gathered in groups, pulling back their light wooden bows and shooting light wooden arrows at the huge black serpents.

These wooden bows and arrows had decent lethality against ordinary soldiers, especially when the arrowheads were poisoned, making them even more threatening to ordinary soldiers.

However, the black serpents' scales were over a meter thick; the wooden arrows of various lengths shattered upon impact, and none could threaten the black serpents.

Some lizardfolk leaders with a bit of cultivation and great courage shouted, mustered their bravery, rushed to the black serpents, grabbed their rough scales, climbed onto their massive bodies, and ran along the bodies toward their heads.

They hoped to reach the serpents' brains and fire at close range into their eyes.

This was also the most brilliant and most likely effective tactic the lizardfolk leaders could devise.

They could not get close to the serpents' heads.

On each black serpent's head stood a few golden-haired, blue-eyed, splendidly armored elite cultivators who, from afar, controlled flying swords that swooped in and easily beheaded those lizardfolk leaders.

Ribbons of cold light swirled around the serpents' heads, forming a solid barrier; these weak lizardfolk could not even approach half a step.

Groups of dwarfs and dwarves also charged out at the command of their faction leaders.

They carried buckets of sticky oil, ignited the oil from afar, then handed the buckets to the short-but-impossibly strong dwarves.

The dwarves roared as they hurled bucket after bucket of oil; the burning oil struck the black serpents, splashing and covering their bodies in large sheets of flame, which quickly spread across their massive forms.

Several black serpents were drenched with thousands of buckets of oil, and large portions of their bodies were ablaze.

Their thick scales insulated them from the heat, so the burning black serpents continued forward unperturbed; occasionally lowering their heads, a sweep of their long forked tongues would swallow dozens of people whole into their gaping mouths.

These slaves' harassing attacks were utterly useless against the black serpents.

Yet, urged on by the major powers, the slaves kept their bloodshot eyes, risking their lives as they rushed back and forth.

Countless slaves and people streamed past those slave warriors, fleeing backward while the slaves themselves launched desperate charges.

They charged forward, only to be blown apart, cut down, or swept into the serpents' bellies by their forked tongues...

The black serpents killed and devoured the slaves without hesitation, while the slaves, expressionless and bloodshot-eyed, continued to fling themselves forward.

The leaders of the major powers, likewise expressionless, continued to order the slaves to their deaths as if it were nothing.

Explosions shook the depths, blood sprayed, flames rose, and black smoke shot into the sky.

Countless silhouettes flickered and swayed.

The air of the Great Serpent Lair writhed, filled with the despair and terror exuded by creatures on the brink of death. The despair and terror on the faces of those fleeing in disarray, their twisted, distorted movements—if they could be turned into a painting, it could be titled 《All Beings of Hell》!

Old Blade Wind's group was extremely efficient.

Besides the Gold Dead Spirits, the top ten powers of the Great Serpent Lair each contributed a portion of their elite forces, gathering a total of one hundred thousand elites.

At minimum they were all at the Gan Xuan Realm or higher, capable of floating on qi or flying with weapons; the hundred thousand elite troops converged in less than half an hour at the border region between the Gold Dead Spirits and the Blood Curved Blade.

It is worth noting that, under the combined forces of all sides, all cultivators of the Gold Dead Spirits—except those who had fled early—were gathered, with over eighty percent of their cultivators, more than twenty thousand, forming a vanguard army under the threat of the various powers.

These cultivators ranged from Foundation Establishment to Gan Xuan Realm, from Chonglou Realm to Life Pool Realm; under coercion by the various powers, they each drank bowl after bowl of the 'Blood Battle Elixir' brewed from poisonous mushrooms.

The so-called Blood Battle Elixir is nothing more than a toxic drug that clouds the mind, robs consciousness, eliminates pain and fear for a short time, and turns one into a bloodthirsty beast.

The cultivators of the Gold Dead Spirits, numbering over twenty thousand, had bloodshot eyes; they continuously exhaled hot air from their nostrils, while dozens of elderly men in black robes nearby chanted strange incantations with wild gestures, guiding them toward Da She Yi's forces.

At first, these twenty-odd thousand Gold Dead Spirits cultivators moved slowly, their motions stiff.

But after they had traveled ten-odd li, the drug took effect, their qi and blood boiled, their consciousness utterly vanished, and one heard endless 'ao ao' howls; these cultivators then used their fastest means to madly charge toward Da She Yi.

The Life Pool Realm cultivators charged fastest, the Chonglou Realm ones a bit slower, the Gan Xuan Realm could barely fly on weapons, landing dozens of li behind, while the Foundation Establishment cultivators relied on their legs, sprinting madly; even if they ran faster than donkeys, they still lagged over a hundred li behind.

The three Life Pool Realm masters of the Gold Dead Spirits, captured by the combined forces, roared hoarsely and led the charge into the elite troops brought by Da She Yi.

More than ten splendidly armored, stern-aura Life Pool Realm masters swarmed forward, encircling those three bloodshot-eyed masters.

The three hesitated not at all, allowing swords to fall upon them; their bodies suddenly swelled, expanding like balls in an instant.

A dozen or so Chonglou Realm masters under Da She Yi let out a strange cry, simultaneously spewing pale green light from both hands, forming three green shields that enclosed the three.

With three booms, the three Life Pool Realm masters detonated without hesitation; the three green shields shuddered violently, and the hastily assembled forces of Da She Yi ultimately failed to contain the masters' self-destruction, as the shields burst open with dozens of cracks.

Terrifying shockwaves surged from the cracks, like blades ten-odd zhang high and hundreds of zhang long sweeping over the military formation of Da She Yi's troops.

Limbs and arms sprayed up tens of zhang high with a swish; thirty-odd Blood Light swept across, and three to four hundred Chonglou Realm elite soldiers, drenched in blood, collapsed to the ground.

Over two hundred were directly slain by the Blood Light, while the remaining over a hundred, missing arms or legs, lay on the ground emitting continual mournful wails.

Da She Yi, standing atop the black serpent's head, furrowed his brow, glanced down, and gave a low rebuke: 'Trash……'

The heavily armored warriors beside Da She Yi likewise frowned, quickly glancing at his towering, over-thirty-meter-tall, burly back; their faces simultaneously showed a hint of contempt, even hostility.

More Chonglou Realm cultivators of the Gold Dead Spirits surged forward.

The formation below had already readied itself; with a prolonged command, thousands of warriors drew their longbows and launched finely forged metal arrows.

The long metal arrows traced beautiful arcs, easily flying over two thousand meters, and fell densely into the ranks of the madly charging Gold Dead Spirits Chonglou Realm cultivators.

Having taken the elixir, these Gold Dead Spirits cultivators had no notion of dodging; they met the howling arrows head-on, continuing their charge, even forgetting to employ any defensive measures, simply throwing their bodies against the falling arrows.

The arrows pierced through their bodies with ease, pinning each Gold Dead Spirits cultivator to the ground.

Wave after wave of arrows rained down; of the hundreds of Gold Dead Spirits Chonglou Realm cultivators, only about two hundred managed to reach the prepared formation.

Before they could act, the over-a-thousand soldiers at the front simultaneously slapped their waist sword sheaths; thousands of icy sword lights flew out, crisscrossing wildly before the formation, and the two hundred Chonglou Realm cultivators instantly exploded into a mist of blood.

"Not bad this time…… It seems you truly are the elite of the Bodhi clan." Da She Yi chuckled 'hehe', reached down and seized; the blood qi of the hundreds of slain cultivators surged up, turning into vast streams of blood mist that flowed into his hand.

Da She Yi rubbed his hands together, and a blood pearl the size of a human head appeared in his palm.

The blood pearl was crystal clear, radiating rich essence-blood energy; Da She Yi sighed contentedly: "This is the ideal food for our clan…… Only cultivators' abundant essence-blood can let us cultivate faster and grow stronger."

Da She Yi "hee-hee" coldly said: "Humans, they should be the prey of my Great Snake Clan…… you all can only be our prey."

Da She Yi was arrogantly talking to himself here, while hundreds of li away, Taotie Juan had already gathered with his subordinates, and through that strange crystal eyeball that had grown wings, they were far away staring at Da She Yi's every move.

"Great Snake Clan? What kind of snake is this? Hmm, black scales…… and also, this familiar scent…… in my bloodline, there is a memory of this aura……" Taotie Juan and the few Life Pool Realm subordinates beside him trembled slightly, the Xuanbing Ice Armor on their bodies continuously emitting a mysterious glow.

"Ah, ah, I remember…… Black Water Mystic Snake…… this is the bloodline of the Black Water Mystic Snake……" Taotie Juan narrowed his eyes with a smile: "Black Water Mystic Snake, strong defense, strong body, strong talent for controlling the essence of true water……"

Taotie Juan trembled all over with excitement, he stared at Da She Yi's body in the crystal treasure mirror before him, murmuring: "I will eat you, I need your bloodline, as long as I devour your bloodline…… I can become even stronger…… I will definitely become even stronger."

"Black Water Mystic Snake, merge into my bloodline, let me become even stronger…… then I will make Wu Tie that brat understand…… understand what the principle of being human really is." Taotie Juan clenched his fists tightly, grinding his teeth as he muttered lowly.

"Your Highness, this Da She Yi seems difficult to deal with……" Wa Yao said cautiously beside him.

"That's right, the aura of this Da She Yi is indeed difficult to deal with." Taotie Juan agreed: "But those black snakes are not as strong as him. These black snakes also have the bloodline of the Black Water Mystic Snake, but their bloodline aura is far weaker than Da She Yi's."

"We'll start by attacking these black snakes, devour them, then we'll deal with Da She Yi." Taotie Juan bared his teeth in a grin: "After devouring these great snakes, my strength will be enough to easily suppress Da She Yi."

He turned his head, looking at Wa Yao with a smile: "You definitely don't know one characteristic of our Taotie bloodline…… as long as a living being has its bloodline devoured by us, the more we devour, the stronger our aura's suppressive power over their kin becomes."

"After devouring these thirty-odd great snakes, that Da She Yi probably won't even have the strength to stand firm before me."

Taotie Juan laughed triumphantly, not waiting for Wa Yao and the others to speak, he impatiently charged toward the nearest black snake. The four Life Pool Realm experts of the Taotie Clan also had red eyes, charging forward with an unbearable greed.

Wa Yao narrowed her eyes, her pupils filled with an indescribable bewitching hue.

"Taotie bloodline still has such a divine effect? No wonder I feel a faint, extremely terrifying natural awe standing before him……" Wa Yao suddenly laughed: "Could he have eaten many people? That must be it…… they're not good things…… but I like it."

Wa Yao twisted her waist, raised the corner of her eye, and threw a flirtatious glance at Gongsun Cheng standing beside her: "I…… am far more useful than you. Whether it's doing work or anything else, I'm stronger…… and it lasts much longer."

Wa Yao laughed softly as she leapt into flight, chasing after Taotie Juan.

Gongsun Cheng's face gradually darkened, he firmly stared at Wa Yao's back, then suddenly let out an inexplicable cold chuckle: "Despicable person……"

Wu Tie bore the White Tiger Split, following close behind Old Knife Wind and the others, he strode forward to meet Da She Yi's army formation.

Behind them were a hundred thousand elite cultivators selected with great care.

Although their equipment and formation gave the impression of a disorganized rabble, their sheer number stationed here was also quite intimidating.

Old Knife Wind's head bore a blood-red curved blade spinning rapidly; he looked at the advancing twenty-thousand army formation ahead and shouted loudly: "Brothers, those fine armors, those fine weapons—whatever you seize is yours…… the good stuff is right before your eyes; if you lack the ability to take it, don't blame us."

Da She Yi stood atop the black snake's head, coldly eyeing the approaching Great Snake Cave Allied Army, and gave a contemptuous cold snort: "A bunch of food…… you also want to overturn the heavens?"