Chapter 196 Seven Snakes Encircling the Town

"It seems the commoners have either fled or are hiding in their homes, too afraid to come out."

Shen Suning whispered, her fingers reaching for the soft whip at her waist.

Bai Junyi pondered for a moment and took the lead.

"Let's head to the town center and find the Lizheng or anyone left behind to ask about the situation."

The group moved cautiously toward the town center along the main street. Chen Mu walked in the middle of the formation, his sharp gaze scanning the houses on both sides.

His senses were far sharper than the others'. He could clearly feel that behind those tightly shut doors and windows, people were indeed peering out in secret, but no one dared to open their doors or respond.

Suddenly, Ji Xiang, who was walking near the front, paused and raised her hand as a signal. Everyone stopped immediately, following her gaze.

At the corner of the street ahead, there was a pool of blackened blood. Scattered beside the blood were a few pieces of torn clothing and several bones that had been gnawed clean.

The bones were slender, looking like human arm or leg bones.

Ling Xiaoning turned pale and almost cried out, quickly covering his mouth.

Feng Qing stepped forward quickly to examine them closely and whispered.

"The blood has been dry for more than two days. The tooth marks on the bones are fine and sharp, with signs of corrosion, consistent with the gnawing of large snakes. The clothes belonged to an adult male."

Bai Junyi's face turned grim, and he gritted his teeth.

"Keep moving."

The further they went, the more such gruesome scenes they encountered. Sometimes it was a pool of blood in a corner, sometimes a few scraps of cloth under the eaves, and they even saw half a discarded corpse in an open courtyard.

Shen Suning suppressed her discomfort and stepped forward to examine several fresh bloodstains and remains, whispering.

"The Demonic Qi is very thick, and it's not from a single source. These marks..."

She pointed to several drag marks on the ground that led in slightly different directions.

"There's more than one."

Just as everyone was in shock, a very faint sob suddenly came from a nearby house with its doors and windows locked tight.

Although the sound was small, it was clearly audible in such a silent environment.

Bai Junyi immediately raised his hand, signaling Ji Xiang to go forward.

Ji Xiang crept up to the house, listened for a moment, and then tapped on the window frame.

"Don't be afraid inside. We are from the Prefecture Demon Suppression Division, here to eliminate the demons."

The sobbing inside stopped abruptly. After a long while, an elderly voice sounded from behind the door.

"Are you truly the lords from the Demon Suppression Division?"

"Yes."

After another rustling sound, the door bolt was slowly pulled back to reveal a crack. A pair of terrified eyes appeared first, followed by an elderly man with graying hair and ragged clothes.

Only after confirming the official uniforms and waist tokens on everyone did the old man tremblingly pull the door fully open. He fell to his knees with a thud, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Lords, save us! The monsters are eating people! So many people have died in the town!"

Bai Junyi hurried to help him up.

"Old man, don't panic. Speak slowly. Weren't there only a few incidents a few days ago? How did it suddenly become like this? Where is the Lizheng?"

The old man was helped up, but his body shook like a sieve, and his voice trembled as he spoke.

"The Lizheng... the Lizheng's family was gone the day before yesterday. We heard screams at night, and by morning, only a few bones were left."

The old man wiped away his tears, his voice hoarse.

"At first, it was just some drunks and people living alone who went missing. Everyone thought it was mountain bandits, but then..."

He pointed tremblingly toward the depths of the street.

"Starting last night, those things dared to barge into the town in broad daylight, terrorizing one family after another. They drag away anyone they see and scatter bones everywhere. Those who could run have long since fled. Only the old, weak, sick, and disabled like us are left, unable to run and forced to hide in our homes."

Bai Junyi's brow furrowed.

"Old man, what exactly is it? Did you see it clearly?"

"Snakes! Huge snakes!" Fear surfaced in the old man's eyes.

"Black ones, as thick as water buckets, with red eyes. They can release poison mist. There's more than one; I saw three slithering on the street. The sound of their scales scraping against the floor tiles was like a knife being sharpened."

He suddenly grabbed Bai Junyi's arm, his fingernails almost sinking into the flesh.

"Lords, I beg you to kill them. If this continues, this town will become a snake pit."

Bai Junyi nodded and said in a heavy voice.

"Don't worry, old man. We are here for exactly this matter. Go back inside and lock your doors and windows. No matter what noise you hear, do not come out."

The old man thanked them profusely and stumbled back into the house, bolting the door shut with a thud.

Everyone's faces were grim. More than three black giant snakes as thick as water buckets that could release poison mist—these were no longer ordinary snake demons, but ferocious creatures that were about to come into their own.

Lu Dachuan gripped his Thick-backed saber, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

"A Grade-C Superior rating... it certainly lives up to it."

Feng Qing notched an arrow to his string, his eyes warily scanning the surroundings.

"Snakes have always had a keen sense of smell. They should have already sensed the human scent on us."

Just as he finished speaking, a rustling sound came from the depths of the street corner.

The sound was light at first, like wind blowing through fallen leaves, but it quickly became dense and clear, like countless scales scraping and slithering over the bluestone slabs.

A fishy stench suddenly grew intense.

"Form ranks!"

Bai Junyi barked a low command, and everyone quickly formed a circular formation back-to-back. The newcomers were protected in the center, while the veterans were on the perimeter.

Chen Mu was positioned in the middle of the formation. Ling Xiaoning pressed close to him, his face deathly pale, his hand holding the short sword trembling slightly.

The sound drew closer and closer, and writhing shadows began to emerge from the entrances of the alleys on both sides of the street.

The first snake poked its head out from the street corner directly ahead.

The snake's head was as large as a bamboo hat, its pitch-black scales shimmering with a metallic luster. Its vertical pupils coldly locked onto the group, its tongue flickering out with a hiss, and saliva dripping onto the bluestone slabs, instantly corroding small pits into them.

Then, a second one hung down from the eaves on the left, and a third slithered out from the alley on the right.

A fourth, a fifth... there were actually as many as seven.

The smallest of these black snakes was as thick as a bowl, and the longest was nearly four zhang long. Seeing the group, they did not attack immediately but slithered slowly, surrounding the ten people in the center, poised to strike.

"Seven..."

Shen Suning's voice was a bit tight.

"The information from the Demon Search Division was incorrect."

Feng Qing shook his head and added coldly.

"It's not incorrect; it's that new ones have arrived in the last two days, or... they've hatched."

Fine beads of sweat broke out on Bai Junyi's forehead, but his voice remained steady.

"Don't panic. Lu Dachuan, Feng Qing, and I will keep an eye on the three largest ones. The rest of you, support the flanks. Newcomers, don't act rashly; wait for my command..."

Before he could finish, the largest black snake launched a sudden attack. Its upper body shot up like a spring, opening its bloody maw to reveal two venomous fangs, lunging straight at Bai Junyi at the front of the formation.

Simultaneously, the other six snakes moved, biting and coiling from different directions.

"Kill!"

Bai Junyi roared, his long saber slashing toward the snake's head.

Lu Dachuan and Feng Qing struck at the same time. With a flash of blades and shadows, they intercepted the two large snakes on the left and right. The other veterans used their own methods, swords and sabers flashing, as they engaged the snake demons in a chaotic battle.