Mu Feng's words cut into Zixiao's frail little heart like cold knives. The boy stayed silent, clutching his hands tightly as they continued toward the massive gate.
Further ahead, Zixiao's gaze caught on another cage — this one immense, its black iron bars thick as tree trunks. Inside coiled a monstrous serpent, its scales pitch-black and glistening like oil under the dim sunlight. The creature was nearly as large as Mu Feng's house, and its body pulsed with restrained power.
Four crimson eyes glared from its head, burning with rage and hatred. The air around it seemed to hum with pressure each time it hissed, its chains rattling and screeching as it thrashed violently against confinement.
Around the cage, a group of men dressed in black robes struggled to keep control. They thrust their spears forward again and again, shouting commands to one another — but it was useless. Even from a distance, Zixiao could tell those ordinary weapons wouldn't even scratch the serpent's scales.
The serpent roared again, a deep, echoing sound that sent shivers down Zixiao's spine.
Their leader stood behind them, barking orders with a voice like rolling thunder.
"Ahh… you worthless idiots! Can't you even handle a damn little snake?"
He was a ruthless-looking man — tall and built like a war beast, his square jaw covered by a short, thick beard. His sharp, predatory eyes glinted with cruelty. This man's name was Dai Budhi.
Seeing his subordinates fail again and again, Budhi's patience finally snapped. Rage flared in his chest as he marched forward, his boots sinking deep into the muddy ground.
One of the black-robed men tried to stab the serpent once more, but before the tip of his spear could even reach its scales, a massive hand came from the side — SMACK!
Budhi's slap landed with such force that the soldier was flung through the air like a broken doll. He crashed into the black stone wall by the forest's entrance, leaving a bloody smear before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
The rest of the soldiers froze where they stood. Their bodies trembled, and several could barely keep control of themselves as the stench of fear filled the air.
Budhi's voice exploded again, booming through the clearing:
"You useless trash! Watch closely—this is how it's done!"
Snatching a spear from another trembling soldier, Budhi lunged forward. His arms bulged as he began thrusting the weapon into the serpent again and again, each strike sending blood spraying against the iron bars.
The serpent shrieked in agony, its massive body thrashing wildly. The sound was deafening—half hiss, half roar—as its four crimson eyes flared with pure hatred. It snapped its jaws toward Budhi, fangs like swords glinting in the dim light, but the heavy chains bound its neck and tail tight.
Instead of calming, the beast's rage only grew fiercer with every strike, its black scales cracking and its body glowing faintly with a dark, pulsating aura.
Suddenly—in the blink of an eye—a deafening crack echoed through the air.
The serpent's body surged with dark power as its muscles tensed like coiled steel. In the next instant, the chains snapped apart, and the iron cage exploded outward, sending shards of metal flying in every direction.
The ground quaked beneath the creature's fury. The shockwave hurled the black-robed men—and even Dai Budhi himself—dozens of meters away. They hit the muddy earth with bone-shattering thuds, their screams swallowed by the chaos.
Nearby, onlookers gasped in horror. Then panic struck.
"Run! Run!"
"The beast's loose!"
People scattered like leaves in a storm, their terrified screams echoing through the area.
The serpent, now free, lifted its massive head high. Blood streamed down its glistening scales, yet its presence was even more terrifying than before. It coiled its enormous body tightly, towering above the wreckage.
Its four crimson eyes locked onto Budhi, who lay trembling in the mud, paralyzed by fear. His entire body shook as he tried to crawl backward, his fingers clawing desperately at the wet ground.
The serpent's gaze burned into him — a predator's judgment upon its prey.
Then—ROOOAAARRR!
Its roar tore through the air like thunder. The sound rattled every bone in the listener's body. Birds from the surrounding forest erupted into the sky, fleeing in flocks, as the echo rolled across the mountains. Even the soldiers guarding the gate dropped their weapons in terror.
The air grew heavy.
The ground trembled.
And in that moment… the balance of life and death seemed to shift.
Budhi, shaking like a leaf, spotted a fallen spear glinting faintly in the mud just a few feet away. Desperation filled his eyes.
He clawed at the ground, dragging his trembling body through the sludge, reaching out with shaking fingers—
—but in the blink of an eye, the serpent struck.
Its massive jaw snapped open, revealing rows of fangs glistening with venom. A blur of black and red followed—then a wet crunch.
Budhi's scream was cut short.
The serpent's jaws closed around him from head to waist, ripping him apart in a single bite.
Blood exploded like rain, splattering across the mud, the shattered cage, and the terrified soldiers nearby. His severed legs twitched briefly before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.
The monstrous serpent lifted its head, Budhi's upper body still between its fangs, and swallowed it whole with a guttural, echoing gulp.
Then, as if the taste of blood awakened its rage even further, the creature reared up and let out another earth-shaking roar. The sound rolled through the forest like a storm, shaking leaves from trees and rattling the gates.
"Protect the entrance!"
"Get into formation!"
From the upper walls, soldiers in gleaming armor descended in lines, spears and halberds flashing under the dim sunlight. Dozens more rushed in from the lower gates, their boots splashing through the mud as they formed ranks.
The metallic clatter of weapons filled the air, mixing with the serpent's enraged hiss. The scent of blood and fear was thick enough to choke on.
Still coiled and blood-soaked, the serpent's four crimson eyes swept across them—an unspoken warning that more death was about to follow.
But all hope was lost.
The serpent roared again—a deafening, soul-shaking sound that split the air like thunder.
Then, with terrifying force, it swung its massive tail across the battlefield.
The soldiers' formation shattered instantly. Bodies were sent flying through the air like broken dolls, crashing into walls and the muddy ground below.
Those struck head-on were torn apart before they even hit the ground. The ones who survived the first strike screamed in agony, clutching at shattered limbs and twisted armor.
The serpent did not stop.
It slithered through the carnage, biting down on the fallen—devouring corpses whole, and tearing apart the still-living with horrifying ease.
Blood mixed with rain and mud, forming a crimson river beneath its coils.
The few who tried to fight back only met more gruesome deaths—their spears shattered like twigs against its scales, their cries echoing helplessly through the chaos.
Then, amid the storm of blood and screams, the serpent's four eyes began to move—
searching.
Its gaze swept across the ruined gate, past the mangled bodies—
until it landed on a small figure standing motionless among the chaos.
Zixiao.
The boy's entire body trembled. His breath was caught in his throat; his legs refused to move.
He could only stare as the monstrous creature's crimson eyes locked onto his soul.
Then, with a single flick of its body, the serpent lunged forward, tearing through the mud with lightning speed—straight toward him.
As the serpent leapt into the air, its jaws gaping wide, time seemed to slow for Zixiao. Every heartbeat felt like an eternity. He knew—he knew—this was the end.
But before the creature could strike, a shadow moved in front of him.
Mu Feng.
He stood like an immovable wall between Zixiao and death itself. Calm, precise, deadly. With a single motion, he lifted his right hand and removed his straw hat.
Then, with a subtle "sling", he threw it.
The hat spun through the air, whistling like a sharpened blade. Lightning fast, it sliced through the serpent's head, cleanly severing it into two halves mid-air.
The creature's lifeless body crashed to the ground. From the severed head, dark purple blood rained across the ground, misting into the cold air. The tail thrashed violently once… then fell still.
The straw hat, spinning like a deadly boomerang, returned to Mu Feng's waiting hand with a soft "sling". Its once-yellow surface was now dyed deep purple from the serpent's blood.
And all of this… had happened within a single, impossibly short minute.
Zixiao stood frozen, his eyes wide and shining—not with relief, but with a mixture of awe and pure, unfiltered fear.