Chapter 156: Snake Venom

【When the shadow that slithers beneath fixes its gaze upon you, your fate is already sealed.】

【When you see it happily appear before your eyes, check your vital points—you should already be dead.】

Li En knew the "Snake" had a terrible reputation, but he never expected it to be this outrageous.

The mastermind, who looked every bit like the mastermind and ultimate big BOSS behind the scenes, actually let out a girl-like shriek.

For a moment, Li En couldn't even tell who the real villain was.

"Hah! Stinky octopus head, bring it on!"

Watching the girl happily throw out flower-fist and embroidery-kick moves (enough to pierce the earth), Li En indeed felt reassured.

If it were only himself, it would seem he had already fallen into a desperate situation.

【Why is there a Snake? Why is there absolutely no news?】

"Fool, of course I worked hard to hide."

At this moment, Li En recalled that after entering the underground world, Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei had indeed been quite low-key.

In many situations she could have easily slaughtered her way through, yet she always merely watched silently; she could have personally driven back that beast attacking the city and fulfilled the alliance with the underground world.

It seemed that, aside from outsiders to the Divine Maiden, no one paid her any mind. Looking back, she should have always used mental suggestion to erase her own presence, but under such circumstances, she naturally could not act freely.

The only time she truly acted seriously was probably when she pursued and hunted down the Beast Prince who had sneaked away in the Spider-Man Village, directly pulling out a potential high-threat target in advance.

Just as the rumors said, the shadow that slithers beneath, when it appears, is often the moment it delivers the fatal blow.

【Kill her, kill her! Her frontal abilities are the weakest among all beasts. We have the Deer—yes, come back quickly! Save me! Save me! Otherwise, everyone will perish together!】

The giant beast on the battlefield, the massive monster currently locked in a fight to the death with two of its own kind, halted at this very moment.

"Moo." A long deer call echoed across the battlefield; the arrogant giant beast actually retreated at this moment.

Having discovered the Snake merely within the nest, it was already preparing to turn back without hesitation!

"Unfair! We are not the weakest! At least we are better than... uh, anyway, we are not the weakest."

The little girl pouting her lips seemed thoroughly angered by the "great truth."

But regardless of friend or foe, no one would take her performance seriously.

The Snake's words and actions are all fatal lies!

【Do not respond to her! Do not try to understand her! Kill her!!】

The mastermind's retreat was already too late, and the giant deer's counterattack was still on its way.

Amidst its furious roar, the gray-membraned twin pupils of those high-level Mind Flayers lit up.

Instantly, fireballs, lightning, and small "black holes" tore through this scene.

One Mind Flayer made a bizarre move; the next moment, three elemental spells were thrown at it simultaneously—it seemed to be an extremely rare time-acceleration ability user.

The high-level Mind Flayers' expanded mental power surged rapidly, yet the first wave they unleashed consisted of various elemental magics.

Because the knowledge chain shared by the mastermind indicated that the Snake is immune to almost all mental and control abilities.

Forcing contact with its mind would only be exploited and turned back against the attacker.

"A monster without a human heart."

"A twisted creature wearing human skin."

Believe it or not, these Mind Flayers cursed truly foully, and their strikes were indeed ruthless enough.

Yet, in their pale eyes, anger and killing intent actually appeared—for these Mind Flayers with such thin emotions, this was so rare it was abnormal.

One by one, spatial rifts opened, and the high-level Mind Flayers threw themselves into battle the moment they entered the hall.

In all likelihood, within this brief instant, all high-level Mind Flayers had been dragged over by the mastermind.

At this moment, Li En finally completely understood what kind of reputation the "Snake" held.

And facing such opponents, Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei still displayed a fighting style filled with smiles and joy.

Every strike, every kick, brimming with the joy filling her entire body.

A high-speed melee-type magical girl effortlessly dodged attack after attack.

"Eh? I've been ignored again."

At this moment, Li En realized the Mind Flayers and the mastermind were, once again, unconsciously ignoring him.

This was clearly not a normal situation; even if Li En's strength was insignificant before them, his position was only a dozen meters away from the mastermind!

"These Mind Flayers' emotions are abnormal... have they been tricked?"

Right now, it should be an ability similar to the one that previously placed Li En's presence within the Black Dragon Knight.

Now, Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei has placed Li En's presence within her own existence, making herself the target that attracts attention.

Clearly, this still cannot last long.

Face-to-face deception can only attract brief attention and create visual misdirection; was it all just for himself?

"Why... I understand. I know."

Li En's pupils flashed with realization as he slowly and firmly walked toward the mastermind pool.

And the battlefield between Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei, the Mind Flayers, and the mastermind just happened to pass him by.

Those fatal spells happened to pass right by him; he already knew his duty.

"They really do trust me..."

This was Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei's setup from the very beginning; even her jumping out herself was merely to act as bait and a target—the stronger the individual, the harder they are to ignore.

And for the Snake, a single gentle kiss is enough to be fatal!

The Snake's sudden appearance serves to instill fear and unease in opponents, causing them to subconsciously ignore other targets.

The cunning Snake can effectively utilize even its own existence and its own terribly bad reputation as weapons.

Mental waves swept back and forth continuously, but before Li En, who had already been "controlled," these mental abilities were ineffective.

All he needed to avoid was the fluctuations of the various elemental spells, to prevent himself from being "hit out."

And for Li En, who possesses the Dragon Eye, this is not difficult. For some reason, he has already vaguely seen the "attack targets" of these monsters and can evade them in advance (Desire Snake Eye).

"Next, what should I do?"

Li En stepped into the brine pool of the Brain and simply blended in with the slaves massaging the Brain.

He looked down, only to see faint silver frost spreading outward with him as the core.

So, this is its poison.

"I see. Merely killing the Brain cannot solve the problem... The Snake is far too greedy; she wants to devour everything."

If they truly wanted to assassinate the Brain, Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei had a simpler and more effective method.

But what would happen if the Brain truly died? The Mind Flayers would flee, and the Beasts would instantly become the primary threat; the two Deer Princes, already catalyzed to maturity, would merge on the spot.

They would first destroy Moradorika, then destroy the City of Radiance, or worse, cooperate directly with the Dark Elves to unseal the Evil God first.

"The virus, from beginning to end, is the Deer's own knowledge; it is its instinct."

Li En also placed his hands upon the Brain and began massaging it, just like the other slaves.

But the fatal "poison of knowledge" began to gradually seep into the Brain's mind, and then... transmit into the minds of the Deer Princes controlled by it!

At this moment, the "massaging" Li En performed was also on the mind of the Giant Beast Deer!

"The Beast is the Beast of the Cycle; it is not merely the regeneration cycle of their antlers, but also their..."

Understand it, empathize with it, resonate with it, suggest to it; this is the standard procedure for mental suggestion. No force is required; one only needs to go with the flow.

"Whatever you want, I will give you."

In Li En's mind, memories of that twisted Holy Mother family surfaced, those monsters that ate their own children and kin, one after another.

"... They are cannibalistic monsters!"

The Deer are scavengers, and also rare prion virus carriers in nature.

This virus is actually not a virus, but a mutated, twisted protein that contaminates animals; it is an infectious special factor. Under certain circumstances, it is regarded as a warning from the Creator, existing basically only within cannibalism, with a mortality rate approaching one hundred percent.

As the natural Beast of the Cycle, the Deer is a rare large scavenger, especially one that eats the corpses of its own kind.

Their antlers, which need regeneration every year, can be supplemented by ordinary food for flesh and blood, but those rare elements, vitamins, and minerals are normally very hard to replenish... The flesh and blood of their own kind can naturally easily replenish everything!

This is the instinct of their genes; it is the survival rule they cannot resist; it is their original sin.

"Respected Deer Prince, your kin are already dead; they are merely living corpses. They look so delicious..."

A powerful suggestion was released from Li En's body, poured into the Brain, and then decompressed and released within the mind of the Deer Prince.

Both giant Deer Princes paused; their feeding and scavenging instincts were activated. Compared to ordinary wild beasts, this instinct of theirs was actually a quite useful supernatural trait.

Before Li En, those Antler Disciples used small beasts to compensate for their defects; "cannibalism" itself is the supernatural trait of the Deer.

Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei did not lie; in normal combat, the Snake is the bottom-tier existence among all Beasts. But those who control the "Heart" authority are the natural enemies of all Beasts and top-tier masters at manipulating their instincts.

"Huff! Huff!" The giant beast threw its head back, panting heavily; its feeding instinct was fully activated, and it felt an uncontrollable thirst.

"So hungry, so hungry, so hungry..."

"So fragrant, so fragrant, so fragrant..."

The two controlled giant deer simultaneously had their cannibalistic instincts activated; the Snake's suggestion distorted their cognition, causing them to gradually view each other as corpses that could be eaten!

With suggestions, it is difficult to succeed by forcibly suppressing the other's instincts and desires, but if one follows their instincts, letting them "eat the good stuff, play with the good stuff," it often succeeds instantly.

This was merely the first layer of suggestion.

Mental suggestion, when stacked, becomes even more lethal, often multiplying its power several times over.

"Look, there are so many lovely does around... Isn't this horned buck very conspicuous? Kill it, and all the does are yours!"

In nature, beast herds often consist of one male beast king and dozens of females.

But the Deer are actually the most extreme... All the does are the Deer King's mates, and its formidable reproductive power means it fulfills its "divine duty" daily.

The Deer are the Beasts of Desire.

The Snake catalyzed this desire with whispers.

"Damn it!!"

"Mine! All mine!"

At this moment, the instincts of both giant beasts, derived from their nature as Beasts, were activated.

Beyond the right to survival, the first primal desire of life is to eat; the second desire is to reproduce offspring.

At this moment, with the two great desires activated, the third suggestion naturally triggered.

"Kill it, kill it, eat it, eat it, it's all yours, it's all yours."

The desire to fight and the desire to kill were also activated by the first two desires.

Deer grow antlers to show off their strength to gain mates, and also to gain victory in duels with their own kind; they possess an extremely strong fighting spirit toward their own kind!

With the three great desires acting simultaneously, at this moment, there was not a shred of reason or logic left in the giant beast's mind.

"It wants to kill you, kill you! It also wants to eat you, eat you!" Finally, sensing the other's killing intent, the survival instinct was also completely activated.

When the mind contains only instincts, they naturally revert to true "beasts," frenzied beasts controlled by instinct!

They have gone mad.

【Aaaaaaaah!】

The Brain let out a terrifying scream; too many "desires" and "emotions" rushed into its mind, directly causing it to "crash."

And outside, it had already turned into a human hell.

That giant beast, which had just been in a death match with the Goddess, that monster which had already crossed into Moradorika and was slaughtering indiscriminately, directly abandoned the battlefield and suddenly turned around.

On the other battlefield, enduring the attacks of two Magical Girls, the other giant beast, with eyes equally blood-red, charged toward its own kind.

"Boom!"

Finally, the two monsters directly collided "antler to antler."

The two monsters, each carrying their own gravity field, directly caused violent tremors throughout the entire underground world.

Cracks appeared in the earth, countless fragments of stone fell, and it seemed the entire region was about to be destroyed.

And the brains between the horns had already been smashed into brain paste!

【I... eat... kill... mate】 Countless emotions collided with one another; too many "desires" from the distant past were forcibly poured back into the main brain connected to the deer.

Thus, the main brain went mad too.

Then, all the mind flayers naturally went mad.

Next, the servants and slaves controlled by the mind flayers also went mad!

The entire battlefield had already gone completely mad.

And Li En in the pool looked at his own hands, somewhat unable to believe it.

He somewhat understood why snakes, despite having relatively poor combat abilities, enjoyed such a "beautiful" reputation.

"This... is snake venom?"

Purple Miss Zi Qiangwei is a snake, but isn't Li En one too?

(End of this chapter)