Chapter 83 – Snake Valley Plantation

Tribal-level monster settlements often possess certain totemic cultures.

Such totemic beliefs seem to possess incredible power in high-ranking tribes, but in elementary tribes, they are merely a form of artistic culture.

…Probably.

The Giant Snake Totem was crudely constructed, with a main body made from a giant tree trunk twenty to thirty meters tall. Through the Snakemen’s trimming with their sabers, it formed a towering wooden sculpture of a giant snake standing upright and looking down.

Its appearance couldn’t be called ordinary; it was just that the Snakemen’s artistic sense was poor. Even the eyes of the giant snake were carved with one significantly larger than the other.

However, at this moment, through the clouds of dust, Mu Yuan clearly saw the Snakemen’s blood on the ground rushing towards the Giant Snake Totem, almost forming small streams. A faint blood glow also emanated from the wooden snake sculpture.

I knew it couldn’t be this smooth!

‘Xuan Nation expletive’!

Upon his alert, the Undead General immediately spread his pale, tattered bone wings shrouded in eerie black mist. He soared into the air, bypassing numerous Snakemen warriors with bloodshot eyes, sliced through a massive Fireball flying from a distance, and his entire body began to emanate blazing black mist resembling flames.

Deadbone continuously built up momentum. As he flew close to the Giant Snake Totem, the black mist steaming from his body surged into his sword in an instant, swiftly forming a dark sword aura that he fiercely slashed down upon the giant totem.

The blood glow parted like water, but the next moment, an even more intense crimson light erupted, dissolving the dark sword aura.

Within the crimson light, a suffocating, extremely oppressive aura spread outwards from the Giant Snake Totem as the center.

Ten meters, a hundred meters, several hundred meters.

Inside the tribe, one Snakemen warrior after another turned their sabers towards themselves, cutting open their chests to let blood spill out, splattering towards the distant totem.

Outside the tribe, dark clouds blocked the sunlight, the air filled with a stifling atmosphere, and the aquatic plants on the marshland seemed to gradually bend under pressure.

Simultaneously, on the Giant Tree Totem, which used numerous Snakemen as sacrifices, the blood glow grew increasingly dazzling, as if thick blood was surging. This originally inanimate totem gradually began to come to life, revealing the true form of a giant snake!

It was reviving! It was descending! It was transforming!

If this were a game, this would be the cutscene for the grand boss’s appearance, revealing its form amidst urgent, shocking, and oppressive music! No matter how anxious the players were, they’d have to wait for the boss to finish its entrance.

But, the Eternal Continent is a real world.

The transformation process couldn’t truly be invincible; at most, it was just that his own output wasn’t enough!

“Use that!”

Deadbone also thought of it. For safety’s sake, one of the territory’s trump cards, the Mystic Crystal Lamp, had been handed to him by the Lord before departure.

He retrieved it from his Storage Ring and quickly rubbed the now-cleaned, brand-new crystal lamp three times.

In an instant, wisps of light blue smoke drifted from the spout, transforming into a unit whose body seemed composed of elemental particles, with a humanoid upper body and a swirling, vortex-like lower body.

「Mystic (Rare ★★★): Second Rank, Level 9」

A Level 29 Elite Peak master!It shot out with a command, arriving above the Giant Snake Totem. Its brawny arms swung out in rapid succession, leaving afterimages with each punch, while arcs of crackling lightning coiled around its limbs.

In the blink of an eye, the spirit unleashed countless thunderous fist shadows—too many for Mu Yuan to count or even clearly see—raining down continuously upon the Giant Snake Totem.

There was no deafening roar, but the viscous blood-red glow on the Giant Snake Totem visibly faded at a rapid pace.

The partially revived Great Serpent opened its mouth slightly, letting out a furious hiss. “I am the Serpent—”

Its voice was peculiar; though it wasn’t any language Mu Yuan recognized, he could still grasp its meaning.

But he paid no heed. Back when Deadbone was rubbing the crystal lamp and the remaining Snakemen were falling as the totem harvested them, he had already commanded all his troops to seize the moment and Charge.

Especially the Skeleton Warriors and Specters, who had been kept as hidden reserves!

Deadbone wasn’t listening either.

Formless, intangible Death energy drifted in from all directions, flowing into its body.

Visible streams of undead energy emerged from the Skeleton Warriors and Specters, converging on Deadbone like rivers flowing into the sea.

Black mist billowed!

Deadbone’s feet landed firmly on the ground, sinking deep. Bearing the hopes of everyone, it gripped the Treasure Sword, now overflowing with energy and nearly trembling. Step by step, it advanced, then brought down a sword beam dozens of meters long.

A black storm surged tens of meters high, tearing away layers of the earth’s surface, shattering the blood-red glow of the Totem Pillar, and collapsing it inch by inch until it vanished.

Only the Great Serpent’s unfinished hiss remained, echoing endlessly between heaven and earth.

Ding!

Prompt: Your Hero Deadbone has interrupted the revival of the Blood Totem. Will you destroy it?

Prompt: Only a Lord or Hero with purification power can truly destroy the totem.

Staring at the base, which remained unshaken even under the wash of undead energy, Deadbone cautiously approached and extended a section of its finger bones to press against it.

Whoosh—

A radiant light of purification shot through the clouds.

…

“That was indeed perilous. This Snakefolk Tribe had some tricks up its sleeve.”

The dark clouds gradually dispersed, and warm, gentle sunlight spilled into the Snakefolk Tribe, though it clashed starkly with the undead creatures roaming the streets.

Deadbone was still purifying the totem’s foundation, a process that would take some time.

Thanks to the sacrificial harvest during the Great Serpent’s revival, the remaining ordinary Snakemen—more than half their original number—had all fallen, their bodies desiccated without a drop of blood left.

The good news was, his troops were spared the arduous task of mopping them up.

But the bad news…

These sacrificed snake corpses yielded not a single drop of blood, nor any Soul Sand or Remnant Souls.

“Dammit!”

“Guji guji~!”

Dolai planted its hands on its hips and nodded repeatedly. This Great Serpent definitely had a death wish—it was making a note on its little list.

But aside from these sacrificed snakes, the Soul Sand extracted from the other Snakemen monsters was considerable. Moreover, the vast Snakefolk Tribe held numerous Treasures waiting for Lord Mu to rescue.

Captain Dolai couldn’t wait to start treasure hunting.

Mu Yuan also controlled several Hurricane Falcons, letting them fly freely over the Tribe, taking in the entire landscape from above.

“There are no more Snakemen in sight.”Because, as the fierce battle dragged on, the Snakemen’s eyes all glowed crimson as they threw themselves forward one after another. When the giant serpent revived, these Snakemen all committed suicide by slitting their own throats.

At the rear of the Snakefolk Tribe, near the hills, grew a special fruit forest.

“If I’m not mistaken, those are Snakescale Fruits.”

These fruits could either be directly consumed to enhance physical constitution or serve as primary or supplementary materials for potions, making them widely useful. This Serpent Scale Fruit Forest appeared to cover a considerable area.

At the center of the fruit forest, on several taller fruit trees, he spotted the rare treasure ‘Snakeblood Fruit’ through the Hurricane Falcon’s vision. This was a treasure highly sought after in the market for its ability to significantly boost a player’s physical prowess, and it also served as the main material for Snakeblood Body Tempering potions.

The Snakemen likely established their tribe here precisely because of this fruit forest and the distant Shrine.

Though there were no Snakemen within the fruit forest, it was filled with Goblins, Kobolds, and Cave Dwellers—all shackled and covered in whip marks.

Ah, so the Snakemen have learned to keep slaves now?

(End of Chapter)