Chapter 127: The White Python

Without the slightest warning, an arrow flew forth. A little sprite living beside Fairy Lake in the Green Demon Forest had not even reacted before the shaft was already upon her.

“Clang!”

Ye Ran stepped forward and shielded Mandy, knocking the arrow aside. The leaves of the great tree ahead shuddered violently, and a figure swiftly shifted its position.

A hunter?

Ye Ran did not rush after the ambusher. Instead, he stepped forward and picked up the arrow. It was utterly unlike the iron arrows used by the elves—roughly made, yet highly practical. A barb jutted from its tip; once it entered the flesh, pulling it out would inevitably tear away a chunk of meat.

Only the hunters of Hunter’s Pit would use such vicious wooden arrows.

“Did they come for you?” Ye Ran asked.

Without knowing the attacker’s intentions, Ye Ran would not recklessly advance. If the target was Mandy and the troll, then he certainly could not give chase so readily.

Mandy folded her arms and snorted. “How would I know? Who could understand the thoughts of you despicable humans?”

She was a descendant of an ancient race, and had originally lived carefree beside Fairy Lake, concerning herself with neither the affairs of others nor the world beyond. Legend called her the embodiment of the forest, an angel who had fallen into the mortal realm. Thus, every month the elves sent her an entire carriage of snacks. The jackals, tigers, and leopards of the forest—even the trolls and demons—could not bear to harm her. In the cruel and primitive Green Demon Forest, Fairy Lake was the one untouched paradise.

But what the demons and trolls could not bring themselves to do, those damned humans dared. Ever since the loathsome mercenaries had discovered Fairy Lake, her life had been thrown into chaos. Mandy could swear that the despicable human race was the one she hated most.

Ye Ran kept his eyes fixed on the forest ahead. The ambusher had appeared and vanished in an instant, but he knew that if the man had some ulterior motive, he would certainly show himself again.

“Whoosh.”

Before long, a bleak and murderous wind swept toward them.

The wind was not particularly strong, yet when it brushed across one’s face, it evoked an instinctive terror. Ye Ran tightened his grip on his spear, becoming alert in an instant.

“Rustle!”

The dense woods ahead erupted with the sound of countless leaves. Branches swayed, bowstrings thrummed, and shadowy figures darted rapidly through the forest as arrows rained down like a storm.

The arrows fell in a swarm as thick as locusts, seemingly in utter disorder. In truth, however, they were chaotic only on the surface, for there was a clear pattern to their flight. Most of them were aimed deep into the forest, toward the source of the baleful wind. Only a small portion flew toward Ye Ran and the others.

Ye Ran had been prepared. He swept his greatspear through the air, sending wave after wave of arrows flying aside before they plunged into the ground.

The troll behind him gave a low growl, as though it had caught the scent of something it detested.

Mandy hid behind Ye Ran and said, “The troll says there are many people ahead, and many things that aren’t people.”

“Not people? Beasts?”

Ye Ran drove his Krevor greatspear into the ground, pried up a boulder nearly half the size of a man, and kicked it into the pitch-black forest ahead.

The boulder flew with tremendous speed, force, and accuracy. After entering the woods, it struck a man in the back with a booming crash and sent him tumbling through the air.

Terror appeared in the troll’s eyes. After catching the scent of that sinister wind, it actually retreated two steps.

Mandy shook her head. “It says they aren’t people, and they aren’t beasts. They’re very strange…and very frightening.”

Neither people nor beasts?

Ye Ran grew even more vigilant. He pried up two more boulders and kicked them into the forest, but immediately afterward, a thunderous rumble erupted ahead. One great tree after another was smashed down, while several black shapes were hurled from the darkness.

By instinct, Ye Ran was about to knock the flying objects away with his greatspear. But when the black shapes drew near, his pupils suddenly contracted. He withdrew his strike and reached out to catch one of them. The moment it touched his hand, he felt something warm and wet spread across his palm.

“Ah!”

The little sprite behind him let out a shriek.

The blood-soaked head in Ye Ran’s hand looked indescribably horrifying in the darkness. The little sprite had never even killed an ant—how could she possibly have witnessed such a scene?

And now dozens of heads came flying toward Ye Ran from the forest, all with coarse skin and bulging eyes.

Immediately afterward, another figure burst from the woods. He looked up, only to find Ye Ran standing before him with his greatspear in hand. Fury filled his eyes.

Ye Ran saw him clearly as well. He wore a short garment made of tiger hide. His body was no different from a human’s, but his head appeared to be that of a bear. Looking closely, however, Ye Ran realized it was not a bear’s head at all. The man had cut off the head of a black bear, hollowed it out, and worn it over his own, creating that grotesque and terrifying appearance.

“Hmph. It’s you.”

Ye Ran suddenly remembered the night they had fought over the Blood Clan’s secret treasure. In the woods to the south, he had also seen a man wearing a black hood attack them before vanishing in an instant. He had been in peril at the time and had not gotten a clear look, but now he realized that the two men’s features matched perfectly.

The man held a steel trident in one hand and a wooden bow in the other. He was clearly a hunter from Hunter’s Pit.

Their gazes crossed for the briefest moment. What Ye Ran saw in the man’s eyes was neither the confidence he had displayed that night nor the composure he had shown moments earlier. In their place were fury…and terror.

“Rustle!”

Another blast of sinister wind swept in from behind the hunter. He dared not linger any longer and bolted to the left.

“Do you think you can still get away?”

Now that the hunter had revealed himself, Ye Ran no longer held back. A blurred afterimage flashed across the ground as he shot toward the bear-headed hunter.

The hunter’s eyes narrowed. Although Ye Ran’s figure had vanished, the bloodlust radiating from him had grown even more intense. The hunter swiftly drew an arrow from his quiver, but this time he was too late. He felt a powerful force pressing down from ahead. His chest suddenly constricted. He wanted to release the bowstring, but under that oppressive force, he could not move his hand at all.

A flash passed before his eyes. Ye Ran appeared directly in front of him, and then agonizing pain shot through his wrist. A sharp crack sounded beside his ear.

Ye Ran smashed the spear against his wrist. Though he had held back, the hunter’s wrist was still broken.

A vicious glint appeared in the bear-headed hunter’s eyes. With his left hand, he drew the short blade at his waist and stabbed toward Ye Ran’s throat. Ye Ran snorted coldly and struck twice in succession—one punch to the hunter’s forehead, another to his nose.

Blood gushed from the hunter’s nostrils, and his knife hand went limp. Two punches had left his face covered in blood. Ye Ran then drove a fist into the back of his knee. Gritting his teeth, the bear-headed hunter dropped to one knee and glared up at him.

“You’ll die with me, boy,” he rasped.

“Whoosh!”

“Roar!”

The instant the words left his mouth, a vicious wind tore through the layers of trees. A black behemoth followed, its body exuding a thick, fishy stench. Only when it drew close did Ye Ran realize that it was a white python. The great serpent opened its jaws and lunged at him.

Ye Ran kicked the bear-headed hunter in the chest, then thrust the Krevor greatspear backward into the white python’s mouth.

In that instant, Ye Ran finally felt a power that could barely stand equal to his own.

He saw a white figure flash up to the treetops. The white python’s tail was joined to the figure’s arm, and beneath the moonlight, the newcomer looked like a ghost.

“You sensed my presence and still didn’t flee. Should I call that admirable courage—or foolish overconfidence?” the newcomer said in a sinister voice.

Ye Ran swept him with a glance. “I’d like to know that myself. Ever since Eli awakened and I obtained this spear, I’ve had no idea how strong I truly am. I hope you have enough power to find out.”