Book 12 Chapter 2

The Feast of the Serpent Kings!

- Activation of the Deathly Flying Snake Formation

"Blood Palace is dead."

Blood Sword reported with a face as hard as stone.

"…I can't believe it."

Crimson Blood grumbled. He knew there were no victories without a price. He wasn't ignorant of that. However… while it might be necessary to sacrifice one thing to gain another, they hadn't achieved any results yet. Of course, they had prepared for some sacrifices, but they never imagined that even a squad leader would be lost.

"It's truly surprising that they've held on with such minimal damage so far. We've already lost Blood Palace, and they've lost nothing yet…"

Crimson Blood finally made up his mind and slowly turned back. Though ashamed, he felt he had no choice but to seek assistance from "them."

"I apologize for the trouble, but it seems a certain honored guest will have to step forward."

Immediately, a quiet yet strangely indifferent voice replied.

"Understood!"

From behind, where three elders had been silently observing the situation, the elder in green stepped forward and nodded. The elder was as gaunt as a dry twig, his face as harsh as a goat's, and his narrow, elongated eyes gleamed sharply like a viper's.

Looking at the eerie glow emanating from those terrifying snake-like eyes, it felt stranger that he lacked scales, which he surely should have. Furthermore, his thin, elongated, pale gray lips gave off a chilling aura, as if a forked, scarlet tongue were about to dart out at any moment.

This green-clad elder was Mo Saryeong, the "Divine Serpent King of Flight," one of the three honored guests deployed for this operation.

"I thought a knife for slaughtering cattle wasn't necessary for catching a chicken… I apologize for the inconvenience."

"Hehehe, it's alright, it's alright. Don't worry about it. Isn't it all for that person? This is hardly a task. Hehehe, frankly, I've been waiting like a newlywed bride on her wedding night, wondering when this old man would be called. You probably don't know how worried I was that my rusty old bones, left idle for so long, would end up being finished without even a drop of oil. Leave it to me."

Mo Saryeong, spewing a monstrous laugh and boasting, held a sinister snake-shaped staff in his right hand. Cast in a dark color like venom, with red gems embedded where the snake's eyes should be, this was his unique weapon, the "Staff of Ten Thousand Snakes."

With a single wave of the Staff of Ten Thousand Snakes, thousands of snakes obeyed his command absolutely. All of these snakes were venomous vipers with a potent toxin capable of subduing an ox in an instant.

"Alright, my darlings. It's time for a feast!"

*Hiss!*

*Shhh!*

With a shallow smile on his lips, he fiercely swung the Staff of Ten Thousand Snakes, and a sharp whistle echoed through the air.

As a signal, the ground around Mo Saryeong began to writhe as if darkening. A chilling "shush" sound, sharp and high, reverberated from within the dark waves. It was a spine-chilling sound like thousands of snakes singing in unison.

The writhing and cries spread in all directions like ripples on a beach. From the opposite side of the canyon, a "shush" sound was heard in response.

Blood Sword unconsciously frowned. It was a scene that was always incredibly grotesque. Though he prided himself on his courage and nerve, unmatched by anyone, he couldn't help but feel his hair stand on end at the sight of thousands of snakes reveling.

*Fwap fwap fwap!*

Hundreds of snakes emerged from the dark waves and, without hesitation, hurled themselves down into the canyon. The sky above the canyon was instantly filled with the shadows of black snakes. The "Flying Snake Formation," one of the Divine Serpent King of Flight's absolute formations, had been activated.

At this moment, Bi Ryuyeon was ascending a sheer cliff like a tightrope walker, using the technique of "Phoenix Dance Ascending Heaven," flying upward like a soaring phoenix.

It was precisely then that Na Yerin's scream echoed.

Yong Cheonmyeong, trapped within the "Iron Chain Soul Sealing Formation" and continuously swinging his sword towards the capricious, bad weather(?), flinched at the sudden scream of a woman.

Whose voice was this clear, celestial melody? Despite himself, infinite envy and jealousy welled up towards the unknown target.

He even had a ridiculously blasphemous thought: 'How many great monks in the sacred mountains would break their vows for the sake of the owner of that pure, clear, and sorrowful voice?'

If he could obtain her, or even have the slightest chance of winning her, there would be no shortage of those willing to abandon their monastic vows and break their precepts.

Those diligently pursuing enlightenment at the Shaolin Temple could be considered both supremely fortunate and incredibly unfortunate simply for not having seen her.

Though it was a contradictory statement, not seeing her, whose beauty even the heavens envied, was undoubtedly an immense misfortune. However, because they hadn't seen her, they were spared the temptation of worldly desires and the torment of anguish, allowing them to focus on their practice. He knew too well how many men had fallen prey to her unintentional allure.

Yong Cheonmyeong himself, upon first seeing Na Yerin, had to activate his most powerful internal art, the "Indestructible Diamond Heart Method," with all his might to suppress the surging lust. Not content with that, he recited the "Dharani Sutra" from beginning to end without pause. Only then was he able to escape the seductive illusion of desire and regain his composure.

At that time, if his training had been even slightly less profound, achieving the result of "ten years of study gone to waste" would have been no difficult task.

'Back then, I had been in the monastic order for so long that I had absolutely no immunity to the opposite sex.'

It was at that very moment.

"Kiiiiaaaak!"

As Yong Cheonmyeong was lost in thought, recalling the past, a shrill scream, utterly different from the one that had sent him back in time moments before, tore through the air and echoed sharply within the split canyon.

It was a scream so chilling that one might have thought their eardrums would burst.

Yong Cheonmyeong covered his ears for a moment, then looked up at the canyon walls with a look of disgust. His gaze was as serious as ever.

"…"

After a moment, he nodded with satisfaction.

"Hmm, it won't collapse."

*Kwahgwahgwahgwahkwang!*

The swirling vortex of the "Bicharyun" descended with ferocious momentum, its sharp teeth glinting menacingly. Caught in the wild rotation of the wind-cutting white blades, it would only be a matter of time before a soft human body was torn to shreds like a rag.

Bi Ryuyeon's response to this was as exquisite as a tightrope walker's. He lightly pushed off the iron chain with his right foot, using the elasticity to leap over the Bicharyun's cruel teeth as lightly as a feather.

From below, Na Yerin's worried cry could be heard. Bi Ryuyeon's ears perked up. Suddenly, his mood became exhilaratingly refreshing. He felt like waving and giving her a confident smile to tell her not to worry, but the annoyingly impatient enemies waiting above didn't give him the chance.

More than a dozen arrows flew towards him, piercing the air. Bi Ryuyeon had no intention of becoming their practice target, so he kicked off with his right foot once more. Then, his hands moved gracefully.

Six arrows were sent tumbling down like flies swatted by a fly swatter, while the rest passed through the air harmlessly, not even grazing a single hair on his head.

The members of the Blood Palace squad were horrified, thinking, 'What kind of guy is this!' Bi Ryuyeon's progress was unstoppable. Then, the sky momentarily turned black, and something fell down in a shower.

The Flying Snake Formation of the Divine Serpent King of Flight had been activated.

'What's this now?'

Now too lazy to even use his hands, Bi Ryuyeon heightened his Phoenix Dance to its extreme. A fierce current began to swirl around him, centered on his body. The instantly generated wind barrier absolutely refused to allow the venomous snakes to approach.

Snakes, cut into pieces by the sharp wind blades, fell to the ground with a thud.

"What is that?"

The eyes of the 10th Squad members, responsible for the Iron Chain Soul Sealing Formation, widened in surprise. A faint shadow, presumed to be human, had suddenly appeared before them like a ghost in the middle of the split canyon.

Even though they were both bipedal creatures, birds and humans were different species. Yet, the movement technique Bi Ryuyeon displayed was almost divine.

"Hello!"

Bi Ryuyeon waved cheerfully. Unit 1011, who was responsible for the iron chain he had ascended, subconsciously waved back. At that moment, a silver flash glinted from Bi Ryuyeon's left hand.

It was the last light he saw in this world.

"You…! Who are you! Everyone, form a formation!"

The ten members of the 10th Squad, who had been staring blankly at their comrade's absurd death, suddenly snapped to their senses and, wielding the unique iron chains of the Blood Chain Squad (the alias of the 12th Blood Demon Squad's 10th Unit), surrounded him from all sides.

In this situation, conversation was meaningless.

Questions like 'Who are you?', 'Who are you?', 'What is your age and affiliation?', 'Are your parents both well?', 'Do you perhaps have a pretty older sister or younger sister? If you introduce her, maybe I'll spare you…' were as worthless as dog droppings on the street to them, who were on the brink of life and death.

As the "Ten Path Iron Chain Formation" was activated, black iron chains, accompanied by the sound of air being torn, flew from ten directions, encompassing the directions of the Eight Trigrams of Qian, Kun, Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen, and the combined upper and lower positions. The apparent intention was to bind him from ten directions simultaneously and crush him to death with the black iron chains.

'Do these guys think I'm just a standing log?'

The thought, laced with contempt, lasted only for a moment before Bi Ryuyeon decided to prove with his actions that he was not a stiff scarecrow or a wooden doll.

*Chwararararang!*

Ten iron chains, emitting a rough metallic sound like venomous black snakes, coiled around Bi Ryuyeon's body like a condemned prisoner's restraints.

"Huk!"

At that moment, a gasp of astonishment erupted from the ten individuals, their faces contorted in shock, as if by prior agreement.

He was gone.

Where he should have been, and where he should have been suffering the agony of his bones being shattered by the merciless punishment of ten iron chains, the target was nowhere to be found.

Only a tangled mass of iron chains, intertwined like a chaotic knot, floated conspicuously in the settling ochre dust. The gazes of the ten simultaneously turned to the empty air. And they saw. No, they strongly felt that they had seen.

Though they couldn't see it with their eyes, obscured by the sunlight that turned the white clouds golden, their subconscious definitely saw it. The smile of the grim reaper, with the sun at his back!

*Fwap fwap fwap!*

*Shushushushushuk!*

At that moment, ten light spears, like sharp thorns, shot out from the brilliantly shining sun, emitting flashes of light. Like the power of a god, these spears of light pierced through ten hearts in an instant.

The ten members of the Blood Chain Squad, gazing at the last sun they saw, stood frozen like sunflowers yearning for light, like stone statues yearning to reach the sun across the heavens, and never breathed again.

"You…, you rascal!"

Seeing his ten subordinates perish before they could even take a breath, Blood Chain, the 10th Squad Leader of the 12th Blood Demon Squad, gnashed his teeth and glared at Bi Ryuyeon with a gaze full of hatred.

Bi Ryuyeon, landing lightly as if descending from the sun, met Blood Chain's simmering, venomous eyes head-on. Any further words would be a waste of time.

A tense situation!

It was at that very moment.

"Kiiiaaaak!"

From below the split canyon, where the clouds had not yet completely dispersed, a scream that could reduce a house-sized rock to dust in an instant echoed. Perhaps due to the reverberation within the narrow canyon, the sound, heard from far above, was even more bizarre and monstrous.

The corners of Bi Ryuyeon's eyes twitched for a moment.

"You're noisy!"