Chapter Eleven: The Black-Ringed Giant Python
When disaster strikes, all you can do is accept it.
Leaving Wushan Town, Lin Lei and Bei Bei headed north. The sights along the way only deepened Lin Lei's silence. The entire Fenlei Kingdom had become a playground for magical beasts, and human corpses had turned into food for them.
On the desolate roads, apart from the occasional magical beast roaming by, not a single living person could be seen.
Suddenly, a figure appeared at the far end of the road, steadily advancing. Several magical beasts roared and charged toward it. But with just a few flashes of eerie purple light, those beasts were reduced to scrap. The figure continued onward, and perched on its shoulder was an adorable little black Shadow Mouse.
"Boss, should we find a place to rest? I'm getting a bit hungry," Bei Bei said via soul transmission, standing on Lin Lei's shoulder.
Lin Lei gave Bei Bei a helpless glance.
All along the journey, it was him doing all the walking. Bei Bei either stood on his shoulder watching the scenery or curled up in his arms sleeping. And he was tired?
"All right, there's a hill up ahead. We'll kill a beast there and roast it for dinner," Lin Lei agreed indulgently, as he always did with Bei Bei. For Lin Lei, aside from his little brother Wotton far away in the O'Brien Empire, Butler Xili, Uncle Hillman, and his three sworn brothers — Yeru, George, and Rein — he had no family left.
But whether it was Wotton or the others, meeting them now was far too difficult.
Only Bei Bei stayed by his side.
In Lin Lei's heart, he had long since come to dote on Bei Bei like a younger brother.
"This Purple Blood Divine Sword handles ordinary seventh-level and even eighth-level beasts with ease. But against ninth-level beasts, it's hard to break through their defenses and deal enough damage." Lin Lei glanced at the Purple Blood Divine Sword at his waist and sighed inwardly.
The sword was razor-sharp and extraordinarily fast, and it could bend according to the wielder's will — incredibly useful against swarms of enemies. But in a one-on-one fight against powerful beasts, Lin Lei discovered that the Purple Blood Divine Sword was sometimes less effective than his own razor claws or dragon tail.
At the foot of a low hill, Lin Lei and Bei Bei were roasting two wolf legs. They hadn't yet left the borders of the Fenlei Kingdom, so magical beasts were all around them. Still, with their strength, as long as they didn't run into a Saint-level beast, there was little danger.
"It's ready." Bei Bei grabbed a wolf leg and began gnawing on it with huge bites.
Lin Lei waved his hand to extinguish the fire, then picked up the other wolf leg and started eating. Roasted wolf leg, especially when paired with some wild herbs gathered from the surroundings, tasted truly delicious. Finding ingredients to use as seasoning in the wilderness was a skill one had to learn to survive in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, and Lin Lei was well familiar with it.
The wolf leg was much larger than Bei Bei's entire body, yet Bei Bei ate even faster than Lin Lei. By the time Lin Lei had finished half, Bei Bei had already devoured his whole portion.
"Ssssss…"
A faint, almost imperceptible sound echoed from the distance. Lin Lei's chewing froze mid-bite. Bei Bei's tiny ears shot straight up. The two of them turned to look behind them almost simultaneously—
A python's head.
A head as massive as an entire house, with eyes like eerie red lanterns that sent chills down one's spine. What emerged from the jungle was only the enormous head and a dozen meters of its body. But judging by the three-meter-thick torso, Lin Lei could easily imagine… the full length of this giant python must be staggering.
The dozen meters currently visible were just a fraction.
Looking at the alternating black and yellow patterns along the python's body, Lin Lei's expression changed.
"A Black-Ringed Giant Python." Lin Lei immediately identified the beast's species.
The Black-Ringed Giant Python was considered a superior existence among the python clan. A mature Black-Ringed Giant Python was a ninth-level magical beast, comparable to a Nine-Headed Serpent. Within the python hierarchy, Black-Ringed Giant Pythons were infamous as "war machines."
If you placed a Black-Ringed Giant Python in an army, it could absolutely slaughter a force of a hundred thousand.
A Darkness-system beast with powerful defenses and venomous fangs. Those were the hallmarks of the Black-Ringed Giant Python.
"Ssss… ssss…" The python flicked its forked tongue repeatedly, and those lantern-like, chilling eyes were fixed squarely on Lin Lei and Bei Bei. Clearly, this beast had already marked them as prey.
"Bei Bei, be careful."
Lin Lei's eyes remained locked on the Black-Ringed Giant Python, not daring to relax for even a moment. At the same time, black scales began to emerge across his skin, and sharp spines jutted out from his back. Spikes also appeared on his forehead, elbows, and knees, gleaming coldly.
*Tap, tap.* Lin Lei's dragon tail occasionally slapped against the ground. Beside him, Bei Bei's entire coat of fur bristled.
When the Black-Ringed Giant Python saw this, its massive head reared up high, clearly on guard.
*Whoosh!*
With a howling gust of wind, the python's body whipped around with terrifying speed. In less than a second, its hundred-meter-long frame lashed toward Lin Lei and Bei Bei like a battering ram. Lin Lei and Bei Bei attacked the python's body almost at the same instant.
*Shing!* Purple light flashed.
*Clang!* Lin Lei heard the ring of metal striking metal — his Purple Blood Divine Sword had only left a white scratch on the Black-Ringed Giant Python's body without managing to wound it in the slightest.
"Defenses really are something."
The python's massive body immediately began coiling toward Lin Lei. Once wrapped up by that body, Lin Lei knew — never mind suffocation, the sheer constricting force alone would crush him into a bloody pulp.
"Haaa—!"
Lin Lei's razor claws plunged into the python's body. A hissing sound tore through the air as the claws pierced through the outermost layer of scales, but they could sink no deeper. He felt astonishing resistance beneath the surface.
*Whoosh.* The python's body was about to ensnare him.
Lin Lei let out a cold laugh, yanked out his claws, and kicked off the python's massive body to dodge the coils. At the same time, he drove his elbow狠狠 into the python's flank. The spike on his elbow — a trait inherited from the Spiked Iron-Armored Dragon — packed devastating offensive power.
*Tsss—* The elbow spike pierced through the scales and slowly sank into the flesh beneath.
"What's under this Black-Ringed Giant Python's scales? How is the defense this terrifying?" Lin Lei's spike had only gone in halfway before it could penetrate no further.