Soon, the familiar flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder followed.
Patter-patter-patter —
The scorching rain fell onto the muddy rainforest ground, steam rising up and weaving into a massive net that seemed to trap everything beneath it.
Luckily, no matter how heavy the rain got, it usually didn't last long — rarely more than twenty minutes.
After setting out again, the expedition team had to return to the same stop-and-go pace they had during the day before.
They moved slowly through the rainforest, occasionally dealing with the various magical beasts that roamed the area.
However, until that afternoon, they had not encountered the "Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell" again.
Germain decided to change strategies:
"Now that we understand the ability of the 'Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell,' I think there's no need to waste time exploring the edges of the rainforest anymore."
"Our real destination is the swamp. Based on our past experience dealing with other 'Calamities,' it's very likely that the 'Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell' is guarding the area around the swamp."
"If we can find a large gathering of the 'Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell,' it means we're getting closer to the swamp."
"As for how to find where they gather, I think we should start by looking for those tribes that are fighting among themselves."
Everyone agreed that Germain's reasoning made sense, so they adjusted their strategy.
They began using En and telescopes to search for tribes that were engaged in fierce battles.
Whenever they found a group fighting, they would observe the area carefully, searching for signs of the "Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell," or at least traces they might have left behind.
However, it seemed the "Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell" might have already used "Dark Space" to jump away after causing the infighting, or maybe they had sensed the group's search and deliberately avoided them.
In any case, despite searching for a long time, they found nothing.
Still, the tribes locked in bloody, brutal battles, fighting until they were torn apart, were like lighthouses along the bay, their lights vaguely pointing the way forward.
At least they knew that the "Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell" had definitely been active in this area.
That night, they were ambushed again — two nights in a row of night attacks, which was very rare.
However, with the strength of their current exploration team, they easily fought off the attackers and killed the leader of the ambush.
Night raids no longer posed much of a threat to them.
The third day since their arrival at the rainforest had begun.
Because they couldn't find the whereabouts of the "Twin-tailed Serpent · Hellbell" after searching for so long, Germain and the others changed their approach once again.
To avoid alerting it, they stopped using the large-scale "En."
Perhaps the "Twin-tailed Serpent · Hellbell" had disappeared on its own because it sensed the wide-range "En" from Germain and Ging earlier.
This time, they used a smaller "En" and concealed their presence.
This way, they could still warn each other and try to catch it before the "Twin-tailed Serpent · Hellbell" escaped into the "Dark Space."
Finally, Ging accidentally discovered a "Twin-tailed Serpent · Hellbell" coiled on a tree branch while marking the area with a Möbius ring.
He was both surprised and delighted. He quietly left, returned to the group, and immediately told them about his discovery.
After nearly two days of searching, they had finally found a living "Twin-tailed Serpent · Hellbell." Everyone was a bit excited.
At some point, the "disaster" in their eyes had stopped being seen as a "disaster" and had become actual "prey."
Germain asked:
"Ging, did you see any other 'Twin-tailed Serpent · Hellbell'?"
"No, at least not after briefly observing with my eyes. I was worried that if I released my 'En' it would notice, so I didn't scan the surroundings."
Bisky nodded and said:
"You did the right thing. It took us so long to catch one, we can't let it slip away. These creatures are so sensitive…"
So, they all concealed their presence and stealthily moved toward the spot where Ging had marked with the Möbius ring.
Ging glanced in one direction, nodded to the others, signaling that the "Twin-tailed Serpent · Hellbell" was still in its original position.
The group didn't speak but followed the direction Ging pointed to, and sure enough, they saw the serpent, nearly blending into the environment, hidden behind several branches and leaves.
It coiled around the branches like a hemp rope, only occasionally twitching its soft, scaled body.
The exploration team of four didn't act recklessly. They did what hunters were supposed to do.
They held their breath, hid in the bushes, and quietly observed.
After a while, Germain suddenly waved at the others, then pointed in a direction.
The other three looked over and saw, on another branch, they discovered another "Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell."
For the next fifteen minutes, they noticed more and more "Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell" hiding in the dense, leafy forest.
Just a quick count showed that they had already spotted more than thirty "Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell" here, and there were likely even more they hadn't seen.
The group silently exchanged glances. Years of fighting side by side had developed a strong sense of mutual understanding, so they quickly understood each other's intentions without words.
With so many "Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell" around, it was clear that this was their habitat.
They had finally found the right path.
Perhaps the swamp was nearby.
Kin raised his hand to signal to the others. He first clenched his right fist, symbolizing the "Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell" habitat, then raised his left hand, representing the exploration team, making a circling motion.
The others quickly understood Ging's meaning.
Since the swamp was likely nearby, there was no need to waste time dealing with the "Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell."
They needed to quietly and carefully avoid the habitat and go straight for the main objective.
The three of them nodded in agreement with Kin's suggestion, and they began to move as silently as shadows.
However, just as they were sneaking around, the long-absent, scorching rain suddenly started to fall at the worst possible time.
Raindrops the size of beans plummeted down.
The "Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell," which had been lying still, all began to move because of the rain.
As they moved, a few "Twin-Tailed Snake: Hellbell" quickly noticed the presence of Germain and the others, who had been in a blind spot, and immediately raised their upper bodies, flicking their tongues.
Hiss—
Sssss—
Sssss—
A "Twin-Tailed Snake · Hellbell" noticed the Exploration Team of Germain issuing a warning. Soon, more and more "Twin-Tailed Snake · Hellbell" noticed the group of humans.
Germain and the others saw that hiding was no longer effective, so they all gave up. After a brief exchange of glances, they made a quick decision.
They stopped avoiding the area and instead walked straight through the "Twin-Tailed Snake · Hellbell" territory, planning to break through as quickly as possible.
However, the "Twin-Tailed Snake · Hellbell" hanging between the branches didn't retreat into the "Dark Space" this time. Instead, they all began to hiss and threaten the group.
This confirmed Germain and the others' suspicion: they were close to the swamp.
The "Twin-Tailed Snake · Hellbell" had abandoned their instinct to avoid danger in order to protect the swamp.
Earlier, other creatures like the "Botanical Weapon · Brion," "Immortality Disease · Zobae," and "Human-Keeping Beast · Pap" had shown similar territorial instincts.
Germain continued walking quickly and said:
"Don't mind them. Since they're 'counterattack-type nen-beast monsters' that only trigger upon death, let them hiss as they want."
The other three understood this reasoning and ignored the "Twin-Tailed Snake · Hellbell'" intimidation.
But the "Twin-Tailed Snake · Hellbell" were not going to let them go easily.
They swung their bodies, shaking their sacs to create "Dark Spaces" and skillfully dove into them.
The next moment, they appeared from all directions around the exploration team members, baring their poisonous fangs and striking viciously.
This scene was terrifying beyond belief—it was as if they had plunged straight into a pit of thousands of serpents!
********
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