Of course, Lin Ming had high hopes, but reality was cruel. If Jade Vipers were that easy to catch, they wouldn’t cost 2,000 Gold Coins each, size notwithstanding.
Lin Ming had searched trees since morning until noon, and even after sunset, he’d combed most of the forest but found nothing. Now, sitting by a small stream with a campfire roasting fish beside him, Lin Ming frowned deeply, arms crossed. He muttered, “Why! Why! I’ve checked every vine on every big tree and found nothing. Why? When I slept, three appeared—I even killed two.”
“This doesn’t make sense! It’s illogical! I searched so many trees and not a single one!” Lin Ming grabbed a roasted fish and ate it, mumbling through a full mouth.
“Hiss!!” A massive roar echoed. Low-level Magic Beasts throughout the forest trembled; some hid in dens, others fled the deep woods for the outskirts. Powerful beasts watched the roar’s direction warily. Then they roared back defiantly—“Roar!” “Roar!” “Roar!”—a deafening chorus of a hundred beasts. They all advanced toward the source.
“Holy crap!!! What’s happening? Are the forest’s Magic Beasts rioting??” Lin Ming stared in stunned disbelief.
Right after the roar, fish in the stream beside him jumped violently, fleeing at high speed. Countless low-level Magic Beasts rushed past. Beasts that normally attacked humans on sight now ignored Lin Ming completely, eyes wide with terror—as if wishing for extra legs to run faster. They bolted like lightning!
Magic Beasts fled from trees, water, and sky. But a few creatures advanced toward the roar.
Class B Monsters—the Adamantine Ape, Wind Falcon, and two others—marched that way. So did other beasts.
Snakes.
Yes, snakes. Piles of them—in water, on ground, coiled on trees—colorful snakes crawling everywhere. They were packed so densely it resembled a snake tide. No! This was a full-blown snake tide! Anyone with trypophobia would collapse on the spot from sheer terror at the overwhelming number.
Lin Ming was startled. Even the two snakes in his sack thrashed wildly, trying to break free and head toward the forest center.
Lin Ming looked seriously toward the center. “Something big is about to happen.”
He scratched his head in frustration. “Ugh! So annoying! Why do I always run into trouble like this?”
Lin Ming sighed, grabbed his sack, and headed toward the forest center. “Sigh! No matter how troublesome, I have to go. No wonder I couldn’t find a single Jade Viper—they’re probably all there.”
“Let’s go! Catch enough snakes and get out. I don’t care about this mess.”
...
At the deep forest’s heart lay a huge circular clearing. Several powerful Magic Beasts faced off, divided into two camps along the circle’s diameter.
One side was led by the Adamantine Ape, including the Wind Falcon, Shadow Leopard, and Ice Demon Crocodile—all peak Class B Monsters.
The other side was a massive snake swarm—coiled on trees, countless on ground—especially four huge figures among them.
A deep blue Blue Demon Snake, an earth-yellow Spotted Viper, and emerald green Jade Vipers—all Class B Monsters. Behind them loomed an even larger, more terrifying black figure.
But this could no longer be called a snake. It had tighter scales and two small horns on its forehead—this was a Flood Dragon.
Lin Ming hid behind a large rock, watching the standoff. He gave the Black Flood Dragon a serious glance and thought, “Whoa! I’m really in deep trouble—a Dark Serpent is transcending to Flood Dragon!”
Lin Ming felt his luck was as bad as it could be. Serpent Transcending to Flood Dragon—a chance as rare as finding a diamond on the ground—had actually happened to him. He knew that out of ten thousand Dark Serpents advancing to A Rank, only a trace of a chance might allow transcendence; otherwise, they became ordinary A Rank Monsters.
Lin Ming finally understood. The forest’s snakes had come as Protectors for the Dark Serpent’s success. The opposing beasts felt threatened and came to stop it. They’d come alone, fearing failure would slaughter their clans. They’d dispersed their kin to preserve their bloodlines, arriving with a “succeed or die” resolve.
“Doomed! I’ll just grab a few snakes when I get the chance and leave. I can’t get involved in this,” Lin Ming silently told himself.
Just then, the transcending Dark Serpent hissed—a warning to the four beasts. The Adamantine Ape roared back defiantly.
“Hiss!!”
“Roar!!”
Watching the camps taunt each other, Lin Ming felt annoyed. ‘Damn it! Even without beast language, this looks like a fight. I need to grab snakes and get out fast. If they spot a human here, that Boss will kill me first!’
Lin Ming nodded, convinced his plan made sense. He gripped the rock, lifted the entire boulder, and held his sack in the other hand. Using the rock as cover, he crept carefully toward the Jade Vipers’ area.
“Thump! Thump! Thump!” The Adamantine Ape roared, beating its thick chest like a drum. It plunged both hands into the ground, ripped up a huge rectangular slab of earth, and hurled it like a frisbee at the Black Flood Dragon. The Black Flood Dragon shattered it with a single tail swipe. Battle was imminent.
“Crash!”
“Damn! They started fighting so fast!” Lin Ming muttered under his breath as broken rocks fell right before him.
