Chapter 61

Chaos spread like a plague through the snake swarm; the originally fearless assault formation now showed clear fractures and gaps, as if sliced by an invisible blade.

However, this stagnation and chaos lasted only an extremely brief instant.

Behind the snake swarm, the writhing of that huge shadow outline seemed to quicken a bit; a will of destruction even colder and purer, like an invisible wave, swept over the entire snake swarm in an instant.

The fear in the eyes of all the Monstrous Snakes was instantly devoured by mad flames; those flames were fiercer than before, as if they would burn everything to ashes!

They no longer heeded the horrifying scene of flesh and mire intertwined on the ground, nor feared that invisible force that seemed able to crush everything; instead, they trampled the still‑twitching carcasses of their comrades, stepped over frozen blood‑stains, and turned into a thoroughly enraged, mindless black torrent, attacking with even greater brutality and recklessness, like a sudden storm.

The snake swarm let out a deafening hiss and once again madly lunged at the position of Li Qingxuan and the Black Goat!

Seeing this, Li Qingxuan knew it was no time for a head‑on clash; he leapt onto the Black Goat's back, and the two of them rushed back toward the fortress.

Behind him, the deafening hiss clung like a bone‑deep ulcer, relentless and impossible to shake off! The thoroughly enraged snake swarm ignored the blockade of the Shadowy Thorns, and countless slender bodies fearlessly slammed into the deep‑purple vines.

Spikes pierced the scales, Poison Fangs tore at the vines, and sticky fresh red blood mixed with the deep‑purple sap of the thorns, splashing about; the reek of blood and rot in the air grew so thick it almost solidified.

Using their flesh‑and‑blood bodies, they tore open several passages through the thorn thicket like a breaching black flood, dragging along the shattered remains of their comrades, accompanied by a hair‑raising rustling, and surged forward madly.

The distance shrank at breakneck speed, and a freezing killing intent almost pierced Li Qingxuan's back.

He could clearly sense countless emotionless vertical pupils behind him locking onto him, and that twisted, writhing huge shadow outline seemed to accelerate its movement, bringing a heavier sense of oppression.

Passing through the mist, the fortress gate loomed large in his vision; the main vine of the Shadowy Thorns was like a thoroughly enraged giant python, its deep‑purple oral apparatus flung wide, as if emitting a soundless yet soul‑shaking screech, while more branching vines madly probed out from the knotted city wall, strangling the snake swarm ahead.

The snake swarm entered the mist and scrambled about like headless flies, but thanks to its huge numbers, snake bodies kept pouring in, then bringing out even more, churning the mist into incessant turbulence.

Li Qingxuan pressed close to the Black Goat's broad back; a comfortable warm breeze brushed his cheeks, dispelling the bone‑chilling cold on him.

He glanced back and saw the rolling mist like boiling water, with countless snake shadows twisting and colliding within it; dark‑green scales flickered in and out of the fog, as if the gates of hell had been torn wide open.

The hissing screech mixed with the rustle of scales scraping frozen ground, like an endless curse, biting at them from less than five zhang behind.

Li Qingxuan's blade remained firmly gripped in his hand, snake blood still clinging to its edge and dripping slowly; he dared not relax in the slightest—deep in the mist, that huge shadow outline was eerily accelerating its writhing, and an intangible pressure, as substantial as matter, rolled over him, pressing his chest tight, as if the whole world were collapsing toward that source.

Li Qingxuan looked toward the base of the city wall; the main vines of the Shadowy Thorns kept extending outward, like awakening ancient beasts, their deep‑purple oral apparatus fully opened, deep inside flashing a greedy, blood‑like dark red gleam.

They wildly swung their branching vines; each thrust pierced the snake swarm with precision, bringing up clouds of filthy blood and shattered entrails, as if venting endless killing intent.

The thorns' spikes were coated with sticky bodily fluids; energy flowed like blood vessels, pulsing toward the roots at the city wall.

Yet the snake swarm's frenzy far exceeded imagination—they used their flesh‑and‑blood bodies to literally fill the gaps in the thorns, broken snake corpses piling up like a slope; subsequent Monstrous Snakes clambered atop their companions' remains, their icy vertical pupils locked on the gate direction, Poison Fangs madly gnawing the vines, emitting a grating, teeth‑aching screech.

"Roar!" the Black Goat let out a low growl, its hooves surged forward, and it slammed into the half‑open city gate.

Li Qingxuan seized the moment, backhanded a slash—his blade flashed like lightning—and cut down two poisonous snakes that had shot out from the side.

As the snake heads flew up, dark‑green venom splashed onto the stone of the city gate, corroding it into wisps of green smoke.

The main vine of the Shadowy Thorns suddenly contracted, coiling like a giant python, sealing the city gate tight.

On the deep‑purple vines, the blood‑sucking spiked oral apparatus opened and closed frenziedly; a silent, greedy hiss echoed in the air, instantly crushing the approaching snake swarm into mincemeat.

At the instant the city gate slammed shut with a boom, Li Qingxuan felt a tremendous recoil that nearly threw him from the Black Goat's back.

He steadied himself, and through the last sliver of light in the door crack he glimpsed the snake tide slamming against the city wall like a black tsunami; the mist ahead was utterly blown apart, countless Monstrous Snakes surged forward like stacked arhats, and the screech of their scales scraping the stone wall was almost enough to rupture his eardrums.

The vines of the Shadowy Thorns coiled and knotted across the city‑wall surface like living chains, strangling the climbing snake bodies—but the snake swarm's numbers were simply too terrifying.

Bright red blood flowed down the city walls, staining the entire fortress with a filthy battlefield aftermath.

Li Qingxuan drew a deep breath; the freezing air mixed with the strong stench of blood and rot almost made him suffocate.

He quickly stored the piled‑up snake corpses near the gate into his Atlas, feeling a faint warmth from his enhanced Constitution, but it was far from enough to dispel the chill in his heart.

Holding the fortress was merely a temporary respite; outside the walls, that huge shadow outline had already approached the edge of the mist, like a moving small hill, exuding a destructive, icy will.

The battle had only just begun.

Li Qingxuan quickly climbed onto the city wall; Li Feifei heard the commotion and also came out from the stronghold, spotting Li Qingxuan standing on the wall from afar, and hurriedly asked, "Qingxuan! What's the situation out there?"

Li Feifei's voice was urgent; she hurried up the wall, and when she saw the scene outside clearly, her breath caught.

Li Qingxuan did not turn his head; his gaze remained fixed on the surging snake tide below and the increasingly distinct huge shadow outline at the edge of the mist.

"The situation is rather bad!" he said, his voice hoarse, still panting from the fierce fight, his long blade pointing obliquely outward, "The snakes we see are endless, and behind them there's a big one!"

Plop! Plop! Plop!

On the outer side of the city wall, the vines of the Shadowy Thorns were engaged in a grim defensive battle.

Several thick main vines lashed like frenzied giant pythons, slamming hard into the snake swarm trying to cling to the wall; each heavy blow was accompanied by a sticky sound of shattering bones and splattering filthy blood.

Countless branching vines acted like precise poison‑stabs, shooting out like lightning to pierce the seven‑inch weakspot or eye sockets of the climbing Monstrous Snakes, greedily sucking their blood‑and‑flesh essence.

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