Chapter 70: Flame Fruit!

"Pull!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

At the command, fully ten ropes and chains snapped taut, instantly binding the ten-plus-meter-long Fire-Swallowing Python tightly.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Sensing the anomaly, the Fire-Swallowing Python began to struggle violently, immediately shaking the fifty-plus guards about in all directions, causing several ropes to slip from their hands.

Fortunately, the guards in a few squads reacted quickly, rapidly wrapping around the surrounding tree stumps twice, thus preventing the ropes from slipping away.

Of course, of the ten ropes originally secured, only five remained, and the pressure the guards had to bear doubled directly.

"Lei Meng, act!"

Gervas and Lei Meng knew they could not delay, immediately drew their long swords, and leaped into the arena.

Seeing the two-legged beasts that had ambushed him run out, the Fire-Swallowing Python finally found a target to vent its rage and immediately hissed as it lunged at the two.

Meanwhile, the ropes originally fixed to the tree stumps on both sides immediately emitted a hissing sliding sound.

The explosive power in that instant was simply too strong; ordinary guards could not resist it at all.

However, although they could not completely immobilize the Fire-Swallowing Python, they could at least delay its speed.

"Beast, do you still dare to be arrogant?"

Gervas and Lei Meng dodged the Fire-Swallowing Python's bite from left and right, then rapidly rushed beneath it.

Pfft! Pfft!

Two swords, one from the left and one from the right, pierced the Fire-Swallowing Python's abdomen, causing blood to gush forth immediately.

Awooo!

The Fire-Swallowing Python's struggles became even more violent.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

In an instant, three of the remaining five ropes actually snapped directly, leaving only two iron chains.

Freed from more restraints, the Fire-Swallowing Python resumed launching a frenzied attack on Gervas and Lei Meng.

Seeing this, the two could only dodge first.

"Quick, everyone come help!" Knight Mi Gen anxiously ran to the remaining two chains and joined the pulling effort.

As the number of people pulling increased, the Fire-Swallowing Python's movements were finally restricted once again.

"Lei Meng, now is the time!"

Gervas and the other seized the opportunity, leaped into the air, and struck the seven-inch mark of the Fire-Swallowing Python, which had suddenly been delayed in mid-air.

Pfft! Pfft!

Cold light swept through the air two meters high; in an instant, blood splattered, and the long swords enhanced by battle energy cleaved two deep cuts on either side of the Fire-Swallowing Python's seven-inch mark.

The Fire-Swallowing Python let out a mournful cry to the sky; after a moment of violent struggle, its head finally went soft and drooped down.

However, for safety's sake, Gervas and Lei Meng continued to deliver finishing blows.

After delivering four more strikes, they finally confirmed the Fire-Swallowing Python was one hundred percent dead, and only then did the two breathe a huge sigh of relief.

"The Fire-Swallowing Python is dead! Glory! Glory to my lord!"

"Glory! Glory to my lord! Glory to Knight Commander Lei Meng!"

The guards on both sides immediately rushed out from the small woods on either side and arrived in the arena, cheering and jumping for joy.

Lei Meng and his lord exchanged a glance, then quickly went to the corpse of the Fire-Swallowing Python.

He was seen cutting into the Fire-Swallowing Python's abdomen with a dagger for a moment, then pulling out a green snake gallbladder.

"My lord, this snake gallbladder of the Fire-Swallowing Python can enhance eyesight!"

Gervas nodded and swallowed the gallbladder directly.

Afterwards, he indeed felt a warm current constantly flowing toward his eyes.

The warm current lasted for more than a minute; when Gervas observed the surroundings again, he discovered his eyesight had indeed improved significantly, at least he could feel it.

"If this were in my past life, selling this snake gallbladder to a crowd of nearsighted capitalist big shots for over a hundred million wouldn't be excessive, right?"

After imagining for a moment, he ordered his subordinates to handle the Fire-Swallowing Python's corpse, and Gervas, accompanied solely by Lei Meng, walked toward the mountain hollow.

Soon, the two saw a Flame Fruit tree, one person tall, deep in the mountain hollow ahead.

The fruit tree grew from the root of a five-to-six-meter-high giant rock; because it was blocked by the giant rock, it was generally quite difficult to discover.

And now, hanging on the Flame Fruit tree was a single crimson fruit.

The surface of the fruit flowed with magic and elemental ripples like flames, and it even emitted a faint light.

"My lord, this is a Flame Fruit! And it is a Flame Fruit that has ripened just now; no wonder that second-rank Fire-Swallowing Python guarded the rocky hill with few trees; it was for this!"

Lei Meng widened his eyes; this Flame Fruit was considered a relatively precious fruit.

Mainly because it could not only greatly nourish fire-attribute battle energy cultivators but could also serve as an auxiliary magic potion fruit when breaking through to the next realm.

If purchased, the market price would be around fifty gold coins.

Even he, the Knight Commander, would need ten years' salary to be able to afford it.

"Good luck; actually, Zhuizhuo told me in advance, but at that time I wasn't sure what kind of fruit it was!"

Gervas picked it directly, observed it in his hand for a moment, and then handed it directly to Lei Meng.

Lei Meng was stunned.

"What are you stunned for? Catch it! I am bestowing this Flame Fruit upon you!"

"My lord, the Flame Fruit is too precious! I, a lowly one, dare not!" Lei Meng immediately bowed his head in refusal.

This was a fruit worth fifty gold coins; how could Lei Meng dare to accept it.

"What dare or not dare? It is only a few dozen gold coins; compared to Knight Commander Lei Meng's status in my heart, it is still worth it!"

"And Lei Meng, aren't you preparing to break through? Eat it, and perhaps by tomorrow morning you could become a Silver Knight!"

"Otherwise, wouldn't all the great risks we took on this journey to deal with the Fire-Swallowing Python have been in vain!"

Lei Meng's eyes were filled with deep emotion.

Recalling how my lord had asked him this morning about his imminent breakthrough, he realized this entire journey had been for his sake.

"My lord!" Tears welled in the eyes of Knight Lei Meng.

"Lei Meng, you are the Knight Commander; do not be so sentimental. And do not let anyone else know!"

"Although this is my lord's grace, and no one dares to oppose or speak out of turn, human hearts are unpredictable; inevitably, some will harbor extra thoughts, which creates trouble." Gervas wore an expression of impatience, as if he found Lei Meng's hesitation distasteful.

"Thank you, my lord Gervas! Your subordinate will be grateful for your kindness for the rest of his life!"

When other nobles bestow favors, they fear no one will know!

Yet when my lord bestows a favor, he even asks me to keep it hidden.

Lei Meng felt that rather than worrying about others feeling jealous, it was more likely to preserve his own dignity.

After all, this favor was far too hot to handle.

Knight Commander Lei Meng knew that in this lifetime, he could never repay my lord's grace!

"Let's go; we continue our journey!"

Carrying the corpse of the Fire-Swallowing Python, Gervas's caravan proceeded toward the western side of Shishan.

After roughly half an hour, they spotted a canyon passage.

The drop in this canyon was not great; the steep cliffs on both sides were only over twenty meters high.

The entire canyon was over two hundred meters wide and more than a li long, with no large plants, only lush green grass and wild flowers just covering the knees.

Gervas knew this was most likely the canyon containing the Dragon Blood Grass, as the system had indicated.

Roar, roar, roar!

The moment Gervas's thought settled, several Fire Stallions nearby, as if smelling some delicacy, began to become unusually agitated.

"Quiet! Chase Wolf!"

"Quiet, Chase Rabbit!"

Lei Meng, Knight Mi Gen, and several other knights, unaware of the situation, hurriedly soothed and restrained their mounts, which had suddenly grown restless.