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◈ Ophidian of the Immortal World ◈

Chapter 22: Bloody Battle

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The moment Jegyeong heard the Wood Demon roar, he instinctively thought of the Human Race cultivators Cheongo had seen.

"Go see what's happening."

He tried to sound unconcerned, but his heart was beating faster than it ever had before.

Fortunately, Cheongo did not seem to notice his anxiety or fear. They casually said they understood, then flew toward the Wood Demon.

While Cheongo investigated, Jegyeong agonized over the matter again and again.

If they really were Human Race cultivators, what should he do? Should he save the Wood Demon or abandon it?

If it had been an ordinary demon fiend, he would have given it up without a second thought. But the Wood Demon was different.

It was a special demon fiend, and with its help, he would be able to hunt Demon Beasts with ease in the future. Having already experienced that convenience, he found it difficult to dismiss the option of abandoning it.

'It's too soon to be certain. They might not be Human Race cultivators.'

Perhaps a Demon Beast passing through had been captivated by the Demon Tree's fruit.

Jegyeong knew this was practically denial of reality, but until Cheongo returned, he did not want to let go of that denial.

Then Cheongo returned a short while later, shouting that they were indeed the same Human Race cultivators Cheongo had seen. Jegyeong could only squeeze his eyes shut.

'Damn humans! They're no help at all!'

Jegyeong, a human in his previous life and a Demon Beast in this one, ground his teeth.

Though he had retained his identity as a human despite living in the body of a Demon Beast, anger truly surged through him at that moment.

Still, anger was one thing, and the matter at hand was another.

"What was the situation like?"

"It's bad. There are too many humans, and the tree can't hold out. At this rate, it'll die."

Worry colored Cheongo's voice as they reported what they had seen.

Yet Jegyeong understood Cheongo's intent from the way they looked directly at him while speaking.

'This one.'

Cheongo was urging him to decide.

Abandon it, or save it.

Cheongo also knew how useful the Wood Demon was. Its fruit was valuable enough, but they had easily hunted a Demon Beast with the Wood Demon's help only a few days ago. It would have been stranger if Cheongo had not realized it.

Cheongo was thinking exactly what Jegyeong was thinking. The difference was that Cheongo could only consider it, while Jegyeong could make the decision.

Before Cheongo could speak again, Jegyeong made his choice.

"I think we should save the tree. With it around, we won't have to worry nearly as much about hunting in the future."

"Yes. That's right. We should save it."

As if that was exactly what they had been thinking, Cheongo clicked their beak.

"So, what about you?"

"Hm?"

"You've gotten stronger too. Can you fight?"

"Ah..."

Cheongo did not look particularly reliable, but they were still a Demon Beast.

Jegyeong could not expect much from them, but he could at least expect a little help. The question was whether Cheongo actually wanted to fight.

"I... I can fight too."

After hesitating and wavering, Cheongo answered in a firm voice.

Jegyeong stared at their unwavering eyes, then turned away.

"Then that's settled. Let's go."

* * *

"Watch your footing! We don't know how many of that demon fiend's roots are hidden beneath us!"

The Human Race cultivators' shouts occasionally rang out amid the Wood Demon's roars.

Roots lashed in every direction like whips, while Dharma Swords traced countless lines through the air. Each time a sword sliced through the air, a root cracked. Sometimes, one was severed entirely.

The Wood Demon's savage roars gradually lost strength.

In contrast, the Human Race cultivators grew more spirited as they realized the Wood Demon was weakening. Their morale rose, their attacks became more aggressive, and wounds began appearing across the Wood Demon's body at a faster pace.

Whooooo!

After releasing a long howl, the Wood Demon let its drooping roots and branches sag completely.

The Human Race cultivators looked delighted at the sight of the Wood Demon, which seemed to have completely abandoned all hope of survival.

"Don't let your guard down until the very end! It's a demon fiend!"

The young male cultivator who had wielded his sword most fiercely shouted.

At his stern warning, those who had been smiling hurriedly composed their expressions. But merely controlling their facial expressions could not restore their vigilance once it had already slipped.

Now, they waited only for the young cultivator who had shouted to finish off that demon fiend.

'It's over. It's over! There are five Spirit Fruits, so I'll get one too, right?'

Another young cultivator, standing farthest from the Wood Demon, was among them.

His eyes gleamed as he looked at the five Spirit Fruits growing on the Wood Demon's branches. There were five fruits and six people, so someone would have to swallow their disappointment. Still, he believed it would not be him.

'Persistent bastard.'

He sighed in relief as he looked at the Wood Demon, which had completely lost its initial ferocity and become like a rotten tree.

The battle itself had not been as easy as expected, but trying not to damage the Spirit Fruits during the fight had been even more exhausting. He had not dared use techniques such as the Fire Arrow Technique for fear of harming them, so he had attacked only with Dharma Artifacts.

However, using Dharma Artifacts consumed a great deal of mental strength.

Using them a few times during a fight was manageable, but sustaining an entire battle solely with Dharma Artifacts was too much for cultivators in the early to middle Qi Refining Stage.

'The expenditure was high, but the gains aren't small. That Wood Demon is no ordinary creature, so the Spirit Fruits it bore cannot be ordinary spiritual treasures either. Even if I can't use them, I can trade them at the sect and make a huge profit.'

Thinking it had been wise to leave the sect this time, he waited for the battle to end.

He failed to notice the enormous presence silently approaching from behind.

Was it because he was exhausted from the battle? Or because the Spirit Fruits, hanging precariously from the Wood Demon's branches, were too dazzling?

Chomp!

Only after a huge mouth swallowed his entire body did he realize what had happened.

But it was already too late.

"Junior Brother Gyeong!"

One cultivator noticed the disturbance and shouted with wide eyes.

The cultivator sent their Dharma Sword flying at the newly appeared monster, but the monster casually knocked it aside with its tail. The Dharma Sword bent as though it would break and flew away, while the monster's scale-covered tail did not bear even a tiny scratch.

Crunch, crunch!

The monster, Jegyeong, chewed Junior Brother Gyeong in his mouth.

Flesh and bone broke apart easily beneath his sharp teeth, but Jegyeong felt profoundly uncomfortable.

It was not because the five Human Race cultivators were glaring at him as though they wanted to kill him.

It was simply because the act of eating a human stirred an instinctive revulsion within him.

'It can't be helped.'

What else could I do if I did not eat them? What else could I do if I did not kill them?

They would try to capture me and skin me as well, so there was nothing strange about my killing and eating them.

After skillfully calming his discomfort, Jegyeong examined the five Human Race cultivators one by one.

All of them wore grim expressions, but each seemed grim for a different reason. Some could not hide their fear, while others burned with rage.

'I'll start with that one.'

Jegyeong charged at the female cultivator, who was directing fierce hostility at him from nearby.

"Ah!"

The female cultivator looked startled for a moment, then quickly drew a talisman.

The Talisman Inscription on it began to glow, and the mud around her surged upward, instantly forming a wall like a city rampart.

Jegyeong frowned at the sight while charging at full speed, but he did not slow down.

Boom!

Jegyeong's body slammed into the mud wall, which was hard as stone.

The impact stopped him, but the mud wall also split with a sharp crack.

"Raaah!"

A numbing shock spread through his entire body, but Jegyeong paid it no mind. He pushed against the ground with his tail and shattered the cracked mud wall.

The female cultivator had already retreated, but the distance between them had not widened much.

"Attack!"

The other four cultivators attacked together, excluding the female cultivator who was busy retreating.

Spells they had been unable to use while fighting the Wood Demon now flew at Jegyeong without restraint.

Arrows of flame pierced into him, and heavy boulders crashed into his body.

Each attack hurt, but none were beyond what he could endure if he gritted his teeth. Jegyeong's sturdy body proved its worth once again.

Suppressing his pain and swallowing his groans, Jegyeong charged once more.

The female cultivator with the intense gaze was his target again.

"Ugh!"

The female cultivator's face turned pale.

Protective Talismans like the one she had just used were expensive, and cultivators typically carried only one or two. She was an ordinary cultivator as well, and the talisman she had just used was the only Protective Talisman she possessed.

Gritting her teeth, she poured Spiritual Power into her Dharma Artifact.

A thin, short spear floated before her, giving off a faint glow.

"Go!"

The spear, filled with nearly all her remaining Spiritual Power, shot forward in a streak of light.

It cut through the air in a straight line, aiming for Jegyeong's head.

Sensing the danger, Jegyeong swiftly moved his head aside. He could not evade it completely, however, and the spear dug into the center of his body.

"Raaah!"

A roar filled with pain and fury rang out.

Jegyeong's eyes turned red as he opened his jaws wide at the female cultivator.

At that moment, the young cultivator standing closest to the Wood Demon extended a hand with cold eyes.

The sword floating in the air and aimed at the Wood Demon changed direction.

"Caw!"

If there had been even a second, no, even less than that, the male cultivator's will would have reached his sword, and it would have flown toward Jegyeong.

But in that brief instant before it could, Cheongo shot toward the young cultivator like lightning.

"Damn it!"

The young cultivator was greatly startled by another Demon Beast's sudden intervention, but he did not panic. He dodged Cheongo's claws.

Qi Refining Stage cultivators could not learn flight techniques, but they could learn the Lightness Technique.

Some cultivators considered the Lightness Technique unimpressive because it did nothing more than make their movements lighter, and so neglected its practice. He was not one of them.

In fact, aside from his Primary Cultivation Method, he had devoted the most effort to the Lightness Technique.

Thanks to that, he avoided Cheongo's decisive ambush, which would have torn the head off nine out of ten ordinary cultivators.

Cheongo's decisive ambush had failed, but that did not mean it had been meaningless.

"Junior Sister!"

Thanks to Cheongo ambushing the young cultivator and interrupting his attack, Jegyeong finally swallowed the female cultivator in one bite.

She resisted until the end, but no matter how much she squeezed out her remaining Spiritual Power, it did little more than tickle Jegyeong.

"You monster!"

Words he could not understand rang out, though he could clearly feel the rage behind them.

They shouted as though they wanted to kill him, but none stepped forward to attack first.

That was exactly why Jegyeong had deliberately targeted the more difficult opponent first.

Since he was outnumbered, he needed to focus on reducing the enemy's numbers before anything else.

But if he killed someone who was already frightened or discouraged, the results would likely not justify the effort. Those whose eyes already blazed with determination would fight desperately whether one more companion died or two.

'Fights are about momentum.'

His condition was far from good after taking several attacks while killing the female cultivator, but he had successfully changed the mood of the battle.

It was still three against four, no, two against four, but they would now see this as a battle rather than a hunt.

That difference was huge.

They had come expecting a hunt, not a battle.

Jegyeong intended to press his advantage and continue attacking.

Normally, he would have dragged things out and waited for the Wood Demon's poison to take effect. Yet even after fighting the Wood Demon for so long, the cultivators showed no signs of poisoning. That meant they had some means of resisting the Wood Demon's poison.

There was no benefit in dragging things out. It would only put him at a disadvantage.

As time passed and the heat in his mind began to cool, the pain already spreading through his body would only grow worse.

"Jegyeong! Help me!"

Just as Jegyeong was about to move again, Cheongo's urgent cry for help reached him.

When he turned his head, he saw Cheongo being chased about by a sword.

Cheongo's flight speed had increased greatly after becoming a Demon Beast, yet they still could not completely shake off the pursuing sword. They continued their desperate escape by the narrowest of margins.

"Hold on!"

The sword's owner was the young cultivator Jegyeong had noticed from the start, likely the strongest in the group.

Cheongo was somehow keeping his attention now. That was more than Jegyeong had expected.

Originally, Jegyeong had told Cheongo to judge for themselves when and how to join the battle. He had said that because he had not expected much from Cheongo in the first place.

He had not thought cunning Cheongo would fight while risking injury. Cheongo was good at looking after their own body, so he had assumed they would merely pretend to fight for a while before fleeing without looking back if things became dangerous...

'So they do step up when it counts?'

Perhaps he had set his expectations for Cheongo too low.

Either way, Cheongo was doing so much that Jegyeong needed to return the favor.

"Hold on a little longer!"

With a savage roar, Jegyeong lunged at the nearest cultivator.

At the same time, Dharma Artifacts and spells flew toward him again.

Even his sturdy scales could not withstand attacks infused with Spiritual Power. Jegyeong's body split, tore, and lost pieces of flesh and scales in several places.

Still, he did not stop.

"Raaah!"

The instant he sensed something flying toward his eye, he quickly shut it.

Something sharp and hard stabbed into his eyelid.

It was a very different kind of pain from the rest of his body, but he ignored it as well.

Chomp!

Another cultivator disappeared into Jegyeong's huge mouth.

Before he could fully savor the satisfaction of taking down another opponent, a heavy impact and pain crashed into the middle of his body.

'Three left.'

He quickly looked around with one eye.

The distance between him and the two cultivators who had originally been nearby had widened considerably. The young cultivator who had been focused on Cheongo was now glaring sharply at him as well.

'This isn't good.'

He had seized the momentum. Naked fear showed on the faces of the two who had hurriedly retreated.

But the other one was a problem.

The young cultivator controlling a sword wreathed in flames remained calm even after half his group had died.

'Then you're next.'

Jegyeong made up his mind and changed direction.

His senses had dulled, and his body felt heavier than ever, but he dragged himself forward with all his strength and charged.

"You're truly a savage monster!"

The young cultivator thrust both hands forward, and three talismans rose before him at once.

As the three Talisman Inscriptions began to shine, his face turned pale.

"Die, monster!"

The three talismans vanished, and the three Talisman Inscriptions fused into one.

A massive blade of fire appeared.

Its presence was imposing enough, but the heat it radiated was so intense that everything nearby dried out in an instant.

Even Jegyeong, charging forward with one eye blazing, was seized by instinctive fear when he saw it.

The moment that blade pointed at him, he knew he would not escape death.

Whooooo!

At that moment, the ground beneath the young cultivator flipped over, and a huge root burst forth.

The root lashed at the young cultivator's back the instant it emerged. He reacted quickly and dodged, but he lost his balance for a moment and staggered.

Jegyeong did not miss that opening.

He closed the distance with all his strength, then broke through the blade of fire, which still floated in the air but swayed unsteadily.

Crimson flames wrapped around half his body, including his head.

"Y-you...!"

For the first time, the young cultivator's face twisted.

Before his wide eyes appeared a grotesquely distorted snake's face, open jaws, and blade-like fangs.

Footnotes:

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