Chapter 441: The Evil Snake

Chapter 441: The Evil Snake

Ren looked ahead, his gaze fixed on the dense forest ahead as if he had sensed something.

Suddenly, Cookie's ears perked up, and he let out a low growl.

In the next moment, a large fan-shaped area ahead reverberated with a rustling sound, as if hundreds or even thousands of small animals were rushing towards them.

Then, hundreds of red-eyed squirrels, each the size of a small dog with their flesh and blood exposed, charged towards Ren and Cookie.

Ren could sense that these red-eyed squirrels seemed mentally unstable, their fierce expressions revealing sharp incisors and crimson gums, a stark contrast to the peaceful state he had witnessed in the forest earlier.

Undoubtedly, the root cause of this situation was the Mother Tree Sect, which had likely conducted a special ritual in this area.

Facing the oncoming squirrels, Ren didn't use his newly mastered Crystalized Kill Move, 'Sawtooth Slash'. Instead, he casually pointed, and three dense, silver-glowing, grid-like metal nets rushed towards the squirrel horde.

"Whoosh!"

The red-eyed squirrels seemed to instinctively sense the danger and tried to leap and dodge, but the three metal nets suddenly shifted from an overlapping formation to a side-by-side arrangement, advancing in unison.

In an instant, the squirrels were like fish caught in a trawling net, and they were all captured at once!

"Shh!"

The extra-fine mesh of the metal nets left almost no room for escape, and a bloody storm erupted in mid-air.

"Pitter-patter!"

The flesh and blood of the red-eyed squirrels rained down like drops of blood.

In less than two seconds, the hundreds of red-eyed squirrels were annihilated by Ren's Liquid Kill Move, 'Multi-Cut Net'. The few remaining squirrels were quickly dispatched by Cookie, who swatted them with his sharp claws.

It was evident that Cookie seemed to despise these mutated squirrels with their exposed flesh and blood.

He barely opened his mouth to bite them, merely using his claws to kill them before disdainfully tossing them aside.

"This entire forest has been transformed," Ren muttered as he stared ahead.

Based on what he had observed from the airship, the affected area was vast, spanning tens of thousands of hectares.

"For such a large area, the Mother Tree Sect must have conducted a massive prayer ritual here, achieving this effect with the aid of divine power."

"But this prayer requires extensive preparation, including rituals, offerings, and multiple officiants. It seems the headquarters' intelligence is correct; without a traitor among the elves, this would be nearly impossible."

After a moment's thought, Ren continued on his way.

He recalled the map in his mind; although his destination was the elven town of Bashalan where Anna was located, he planned to make a stop at an elven outpost along the way to confirm his suspicions.

Meanwhile, in a clearing between the elven town of Basharan and Ferdinand City, a large magic array spanning hundreds of square meters was laid out on the ground. The array consisted of intricate intersecting lines forming triangles, circles, and other shapes, emitting a faint green glow.

This was actually a large prayer ritual of the Serpent Sect.

Upon closer inspection, one could see a deep crater several meters deep in the northeast corner of the array, as if blasted by a powerful spell or an extraordinary combat technique.

Even more striking was the sight at the center of the array, where hundreds of pure-blooded elves with beautiful features and slender bodies were bound together. Judging by their figures and faces, they were a mix of men, women, and children, seemingly captured from a nearby elven town or village.

"Quirut, Vice-Patriarch, that person's speed is too fast. We couldn't catch up, and he escaped again," said a man in a black robe with a python pattern on his chest, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a hint of fear in his voice.

The middle-aged man named Quirut was shrouded in a black robe, his face hidden beneath a black hood.

He nodded without blaming his subordinate.

The opponent's speed was exceptional, and they were highly skilled with a two-handed greatsword, their strength formidable and seemingly close to achieving the title of Sword Saint.

The opponent had first appeared the previous day in the elven town of Basharan.

At that time, they had just captured the town, and as they were about to gather the elven captives, the opponent had taken advantage of their momentary distraction to rescue a half-elf girl.

However, this wasn't a significant matter. The effectiveness of using such hybrids in prayer rituals was far inferior to that of pure-blooded elves, so he didn't pay it much mind.

Although this incident had somewhat embarrassed him as the leader, it was insignificant compared to the primary task he had been assigned.

But the following events had infuriated him!

The opponent had disrupted their prayer ritual, which was almost complete, on two occasions, once the previous night and again that morning. Additionally, they had attempted to rescue these pure-blooded elves.

This was a slap in the face!

Of course, he wasn't completely idle either; he had organized several encirclement and suppression operations, but the target still managed to escape each time.

It wasn't that the target's strength surpassed his own; Quirutt could tell that the target hadn't reached the Epic level. The issue lay with Quirutt himself. The blessing he received during the Primal Serpent's Prayer Ritual was the bloodline of the legendary giant serpent, 'Sladran,' from ancient legends.

This bloodline was known for its tendency towards gigantism, brute strength, biting, constriction, and deadly venom. In comparison, speed was his weakest attribute.

Conversely, the target seemed to excel in sword skills and speed.

This gave Quirutt a massive headache. "Has Minos arrived yet?" Quirutt asked, as if struck by a sudden thought.

"Minos should be here soon. Two hours ago, we received a message that he was less than a hundred li away from us," replied one of the subordinates standing nearby.

Minos was the top-ranked among the twelve Serpent Messengers.

Quirutt asked about Minos because he was known to be the fastest within the Serpent Sect.

If Minos had been present, the man with the broadsword wouldn't have escaped. With Minos' speed, he could have easily entangled the man for a moment, allowing Quirutt's attack to land.

"Alright, contact Minos and ask him to hurry," Quirutt instructed.

"Yes, Deputy Patriarch," the black-robed subordinate responded promptly and left.

"No need, I'm already here."

Before the words had even left his mouth, a figure appeared, its body shimmering with a faint white aura. In the next second, the figure stood before Quirutt, and only then did the loud rumbling sound of his high-speed movement reach their ears.

The man was in his early thirties, with golden curly hair and a slender build. His legs, in particular, seemed to make up seventy percent of his body, and in Rayen's previous life, he would have been considered a tall and handsome man.

He wore a noble hunter's outfit, giving no indication of his affiliation with the Serpent Sect.

However, upon closer inspection, one could see a connection to the Serpent Sect on the back of his left hand—an emerald green snake tattoo, vivid and lifelike, adorned his skin.

"Deputy Patriarch Quirutt," the young man named Minos said with a slight smile, placing his right hand over his chest and bowing slightly.

Upon seeing Minos, a rare smile appeared beneath Quirutt's hood. "Minos, you arrived even faster than I imagined," he said amiably.

"Just now, we encountered an enemy with exceptional speed. If you had been here, he wouldn't have escaped me," Quirutt explained.

"Deputy Patriarch Quirutt, you're too modest. Leave the tracking to me," Minos replied.

"Which direction did the enemy go?" Minos asked, turning to the black-robed subordinate.

"Minos, the enemy headed towards Ferdinand City," the black-robed subordinate promptly replied.

"Minos, the enemy's sword skills are exceptional, almost at the level of a Sword Saint. Just find him," Quirutt instructed.

"Oh? I understand, Deputy Patriarch Quirutt. I'll be on my way then," Minos said with a smile.

"Mmm."

"Keep an eye out for my signal."

Before Quirutt finished speaking, a loud rumbling sound filled the air, and Minos, who had been standing before them, gradually disappeared. Everyone realized that the Minos they saw was just an afterimage, and his real body was already dozens of meters away.

This speed was truly terrifying!

But those familiar with Minos knew that besides his speed, he was also adept at using deadly poisons, which was the reason he held the top position among the twelve Serpent Messengers.

Minos, nicknamed 'Evil Snake'!

Meanwhile, Rayen, after encountering an attack from red-eyed squirrels, faced two more waves of attacks from other mutated creatures within the next ten minutes. Although they were easily defeated, Rayen sensed something amiss.

It seemed like these infected wild animals were being controlled by someone.

If that was the case, Rayen immediately looked up, his sharp gaze piercing through the dappled tree shadows to the sky. Using his Bloodplume, he determined his current location within the Ferdinand Forest.

Comparing it to the map he had memorized, Rayen realized he was about seven or eight kilometers away from an Elf sentinel post.

"If my guess is correct, the enemy should be near that sentinel post," Rayen said, quickly heading in the direction of the Elf sentinel post.

Indeed, Rayen soon encountered more frequent attacks from mutated creatures like flesh-bloated bears and fang-enhanced boars.

However, Rayen couldn't help but smile, as this proved his guess was mostly correct.

Suddenly, a loud cry from his Bloodplume rang out, and three mutated vultures with red auras charged towards his Bloodplume, leading to a fierce fight.

Ren quickly commanded Bloodfeather to disengage from the melee with the mutated vultures and dive downwards, with the vultures naturally giving chase and following suit.

As Bloodfeather landed in front of Ren, he waved his hand, and a massive silver metal net appeared, blocking the pursuing vultures.

The three mutated vultures, who were just diving, suddenly found themselves facing a large silver net, and before they could adjust their direction, they were sliced into three piles of meat, accompanied by a sharp hissing sound.

Feathers and blood rained down from the sky.

Bloodfeather happily chirped and rubbed against Ren before flying back into the sky.

It wasn't that Bloodfeather lacked strength, but Ren felt that with his master present, there was no need to let his pet get surrounded.

At that moment, the thin plate on his chest vibrated.

Ren took out the plate and infused it with his psychic power.

Claire's voice immediately came through: "Captain Ren, this is Claire."

"Claire, this is Ren. Please go ahead."

"Captain, sorry to disturb you. We've received the latest news from headquarters. Due to the involvement of the Elf Realm, the Serpent Sect has mobilized a large force, including Vice-Patriarch Quirutt and the first-ranked Serpent Messenger among the twelve."

"Sizzle!"

Suddenly, the sorcery transmission seemed to be interfered with.

Ren seemed to hear a distant, vague murmur in his ear.

Although his psychic power could easily withstand this level of interference, he had an idea of why even the birds in the air were affected.

After all, birds could sense danger and fly away.

"Vice-Patriarch Quirutt seems to be an epic-level powerhouse," Ren's eyes flashed.

Although Claire hadn't finished speaking, he already knew that she was there to remind him.

"As for the first-ranked Serpent Messenger, I think I've heard the Arida Sisters mention him. He's a guy with the nickname 'Evil Snake'."

"Interesting. I hope you're strong enough to let me properly test the combat power of a Draconic Blood Mage."

Upon hearing this news, Ren remained calm and unafraid.

After killing the mutated vultures, Ren soon arrived at a collapsed and burned-out building. According to the map, this was undoubtedly once an Elf Sentinel Post.

The ruins before him only vaguely revealed the remains of a square house and several long charred logs on the ground.

The charred logs were likely the support pillars of the sentinel post.

Ren touched the temperature; it had been over twenty-four hours since the fire, as there was no residual heat. He looked around but didn't find any Elf corpses.

However, there were several obvious drag marks and bloodstains on the ground, indicating that the bodies had been taken away.

If they had been devoured by wild animals, there would have been some traces left behind.

Suddenly, Ren stood up and looked towards a certain spot in the dense forest.

A hoarse voice echoed: "Slave Capture Squad? This isn't the place for you!"

"Haven't you been told? You've crossed the boundary. Get out of here!"

A hooded man in a black robe slowly emerged from the forest.

Apparently, he had misjudged Ren's identity.

In the forest, tracking with the keen sense of smell of hounds was a common tactic used by the Slave Capture Squad members in the Ferdinand Forest.

So, although Ren wore a wizard's robe, wizards weren't uncommon among the squad due to their strength. The main reason for the mistake was Ren and Cookie's unintentional resemblance to the squad's members in their appearance and pet pairing.

No wonder the heretic in front of him mistook them at first glance!

Upon sensing the man's aura, Ren felt a sense of familiarity.

It was similar to the aura of an enemy he had fought before.

Immediately, Ren realized something.

"Indeed, the aura is almost identical to that of the Flesh-Tree Spirit. It seems the Mother Tree Sect did attack the Elf Sentinel Post."

"However, from his tone, it seems that the Slave Capture Squad, or at least a part of it, has reached some sort of agreement with the Mother Tree Sect."

"In that case, I can't kill this guy directly."

"Perhaps interrogating him would be a more suitable choice!" Ren thought to himself.

As Ren's pitch-black eyes turned towards the man again.

For some reason, a chill ran down the black-robed man's spine!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end