Chapter 157: Unexpected Harvest

The stealth ability of the Stalker is her greatest weapon. She waits in the shadows, patient and greedy enough to miss opportunities rather than expose herself needlessly.

That first strike—likely the only one she will ever make—often turns the tide of battle utterly.

When Li En acquired the deer's knowledge, he inevitably acquired much knowledge about snakes as well.

Comparing Zi Qiangwei's actions throughout, Li En finally understood just how lethal this "Stalker" was designed to be.

She had been hiding, always waiting for the chance to strike from behind.

When only one beast-prince was controlled and the others had not yet matured, she possessed a decisive combat advantage capable of reversing the situation.

She could have stepped forward, reached an agreement with the Divine Maiden, and eliminated that beast—but she waited, and did not act.

"That would have too high a failure rate. Even if you won, the other beast-princes would all flee." Eliminating the beast-princes had always been her primary duty as a snake.

As a snake, exposing herself openly in daylight drastically reduced her deterrent power.

She had been searching for the perfect chance to eradicate them all, waiting until now. Only when the second beast-prince was controlled and both beasts were linked to the Master Brain did the opportunity arrive.

"The prerequisite for sowing discord is two sides of comparable strength." The tactics of exploiting gaps and using others' force require at least two beasts capable of opposing each other.

It's hard to say whether Zi Qiangwei merely waited for this opportunity—or secretly pushed it into being.

When the opportunity finally came, she struck without hesitation.

This was also the root of the beast-princes' and the Master Brain's fear. They were not afraid of the snake itself, but of the reality of the snake emerging at this moment.

It meant they might already have been maneuvered into a dead end!

The snake's emergence might be nothing more than to mock their dying faces!

Reality unfolded exactly as predicted: what followed was a meticulously crafted death trap.

Zi Qiangwei successfully exploited their fear of her, drawing all firepower onto herself, making herself the bait—and all of this relied on one condition:

【Two. Two snakes.】

In its final moment of clarity, the mad Master Brain may have spoken the truth.

This time's candidate—the one capable of implanting mental suggestions into the Master Brain—must be a Privileged Holder of the "Heart's Authority." Only a snake of very high purity could do it.

The reality was: Zi Qiangwei had prepared the "snake venom," and had the other snake (Li En) inject it into her own "venom gland (brain)" to store it, then sent Li En to deliver the fatal bite.

She may have been the guide, even prepared all the tools and methods—but the final, lethal strike was indeed delivered by Li En.

【Awakened Divine Art: Challenge Evil (First-Ring Mind Control)】

Having fulfilled his vow to eradicate humanity's enemy, Li En felt he had taken a mighty step forward on his path as a Holy Knight.

He not only received an exceptionally precious divine art as a reward, but also felt a massive influx of Dao cultivation energy.

"Hmm, if I hadn't just become a Second-Rank Holy Knight, this alone might've been enough to push me to the next rank. What an immense weight of evil."

But even these were not Li En's greatest rewards.

When the immensely powerful psychic energy surged through Li En's body, something within him quietly hatched—and even underwent a qualitative transformation.

【Host's mental ability awakened. Gained mental ability: Mental Dialogue (Thought-Speech).】

In this operation, directly releasing a mental suggestion of this level inevitably triggered Li En's awakening of mental abilities.

This might have been destined: after all, a snake bearing the Heart's Authority could not possibly lack mental abilities. Li En was merely catalyzed ahead of schedule.

Even ordinary people, subjected to such an extreme level of mental infusion, would awaken mental abilities if they had the potential. It's hard to say whether Zi Qiangwei designed this intentionally.

There are precedents: some psychic races use the "Top-Down Awakening Method" to forcibly awaken mental abilities in their kind.

There was even a famous female hero of the mental ability lineage who awakened her power as a child while playing with a Purple Crystal Dragon (a dragon famed for its psychic abilities).

Legend says that when she used her power, she naturally emitted a purple crystal glow—the spiritual resonance of the dragon's nest crystals she had encountered in childhood.

【Host's mental ability remains in raw stone form. Please undergo professional training promptly to catalyze it, or it will decay on its own.】

It seems this unexpected boon is still unstable. At Li En's current physical capacity, the mental ability places a heavy burden on him.

Awakening a mental ability does not mean one can use it. "Mental Dialogue" is merely the most basic skill.

Over countless eons, various races have developed numerous mental-class professions and specialized systems for cultivating and utilizing mental abilities.

The most common are Sallyman's Mentalists, but there are also Psychokinetics, Mental Warriors, Psychic Druids, Arcane Shock Troops, Manic Thinkers—many more options—even Mind Flayers can be seen as an advanced psychic form, and of course, Snake Magic Girls too.

This cannot be rushed. Mental abilities are safest when guided by a mentor.

Li En might hope for a future card draw—among so many Heroic Soul abilities, surely some specialize in mental powers.

In fact, Kuku's Dual Thinking already greatly aids his psychic and mental abilities.

"Yay, we won!"

Among the mad crowd, Zi Qiangwei, cheerfully waving her tiny fists, stood out vividly.

She was smeared with blood, yet the silver light flickering over her body was healing her wounds. At this moment, Li En no longer believed she was truly immortal—her mental ability activated the beast's healing, but the cost still had to be paid, the pain still had to be felt.

Li En sighed. Though he had concealed many things from her, he had little reason to complain.

After all, he had gained plenty himself—and he was a results-oriented man. As long as there was no malicious deception or concealment…

"Uh, sorry. Some things I couldn't tell you ahead of time. It's not that I don't trust you—it's that if you knew, even if you said nothing, you might still be foreseen." Looking at the girl, still smeared with blood, running up to apologize, Li En sighed. He had a premonition: if the plan had failed, she would likely die before him.

"Girls should pay attention to their appearance." Li En pulled out a towel and wiped the delighted girl clean once again.

Seeing that Li En was not angry, the girl exhaled in relief. Though she understood his nature and knew he would comprehend, her excessive concern still left her anxious and uncertain.

Li En's magical knowledge also told him this was no excuse.

Whatever is known, whatever is done, leaves a trace.

Many powerful beings possess danger-sensing abilities. Psychic users are especially adept at this—many abilities like "Death Sense" or "Spider Sense" allow them to predict danger irrationally and in advance.

Once "someone intends to harm me" is confirmed, activating various prophetic abilities might inexplicably uncover the entire conspiracy.

Zi Qiangwei could conceal her plan (anti-prophetic), but if she told Li En, he had no anti-prophetic ability himself.

In her calculations, to ensure the plan's success, she had to conceal it from Li En.

"I believe you." The man tucked away the bloodstained towel, preparing to put it away.

His half-spoken words were cut off as something soft pressed against his lips—the girl suddenly appeared, tiptoeing forward as if teleporting.

This time, there was no annoying Sallyman. It lasted for dozens of seconds.

Li En gasped for breath only after a long while, pushing her away and opening his eyes to see those watery eyes, and that sincere, flower-like smile.

Then, in a blink, she pulled him into her arms.

"Hehe, it's you. I'm so glad." Zi Qiangwei struggled to suppress her impulses—some final plans remained uncompleted. First time should be at least a little more romantic.

It took Li En a long time to break free. He didn't even realize how lucky he was—it was still a battlefield, or he likely wouldn't have escaped at all.

But neither he nor Zi Qiangwei knew that she had overthought it.

Even if Li En had known the plan, his "Undetectable" trait would not have allowed the enemy to prophesy their scheme.

But now, Li En had more important work to do.

Almost all life around had gone mad. The slaves died instantly; most Mind Flayers exploded from brain rupture. The Master Brain still clung to life—but now, held in the dangerous grasp of the snake, it had become a remote-controlled puppet.

In the vast hall, one creature remained sane—but was about to die.

During the earth-shaking battle, the tubes inserted into the Black Dragon's head had been severed halfway.

Blood and brain matter continuously poured out, yet the Black Dragon's formidable vitality kept it from dying.

But perhaps it would have been better to die outright—its shattered brain had been submerged in a pool teeming with Mind Flayer larvae. Swarms of wriggling things now moved inside its skull. It was beyond saving.

Li En raised his holy sword, deciding to end its suffering—and to complete his first evolution in the process.

As the blade fell, Li En saw gratitude in the massive dragon's eyes.

——

While Li En began cleaning up, the battlefield outside had not ended.

The Mind Flayer forces were mostly destroyed. Large numbers of Mind Flayers suddenly died or went mad, dragging their slaves down in waves—the front line collapsed instantly.

Logically, the Dark Elves should have seized the chance to attack—but now, they were only fleeing in panic, too terrified to even look back.

"Boom!"

The earth-shattering battle grew fiercer. Massive mountains floated in midair, hurling "meteorites" at each other.

Horns against horns, teeth against teeth, mad eyes locked onto eyes brimming with desire—neither side could stop now.

The two Great Deer continued their brutal fight. Their regenerative abilities fueled their endless, bloodthirsty clash—like two stags locked in antler combat, only one's death could end it.

"What's going on?!" The other two beast-princes, accompanied by their Magic Girls, watched in utter confusion.

Had the Master Brain lost control? They could feel the chains binding their brothers loosening—but why were the brothers killing each other? Was this a struggle for dominance among the herd? But why so brutal?

Still, though they didn't understand the cause, it seemed to be their opportunity.

Whether to save their brother or fulfill their own mission, a beast-prince matured by psychic influence could become a powerful reserve force.

The rational ones made their choice: they hovered in midair with their Magic Girls, patiently waiting for the victor to emerge.

Even one survivor would be enough. They had no intention of dying by interfering in their brothers' fight.

But they likely did not realize they had lost their last chance to escape.

The "Deer King's" combat instinct had been activated. Would the victorious Deer King spare the other stags?

If it were a doe? That would be worse. The Deer King's other desires had been triggered too. Given the massive size difference, some poor souls would die in the most horrific ways.

Zi Qiangwei, of course, had the mood to play with Li En—her single strike had already driven all four Deer Princes to the brink!

"Don't worry, Li En. Focus on your evolution. The outside? I'll handle the harvest." The smiling Snake Witch had seen everything.

(End of Chapter)