Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Ji Ye wasn’t sure whether “maps” in the Land of Inheritance worked similarly to the ones in games, though he was happy to be rid of the hot and humid air in that jungle.

There was an obvious problem he had to deal with first, which was to scout this new area and learn about the terrain and the local monsters. His previous knowledge had just become obsolete.

This unfamiliar mountain was at least a thousand meters in height, raising the difficulty of scaling it and the danger that came with it. Even though his cave abode was right around the mountainside, the paths were reduced by half.

Thankfully, he would not really die. He was also extremely experienced in climbing mountains. Then, he could be bold!

With the Mantis Invisibility Cloak on him, he had only encountered two Rank-3, one Rank-4, and one Rank-6 creature on the way up the mountain, as well as a big herd of boars whose fur was as hard as pine needles!

They were no match for him who was an Ordinary Rank-8 player at the moment.

The fights all ended quickly except for when he was dealing with the boars, which gave him some minor troubles.

Due to his higher level, he barely gained any experience from killing the monsters. Apart from receiving about 10 EXP, the only spoil of war he received was a military ration—boar can food—produced by a northern nation famous for their bears.

“Huff…”

Ji Ye successfully reached the top after roughly four hours of climbing.

The area was mostly flat and dull apart from several low bushes and weeds,

which allowed him to discover his target right away.

“Hiss, hiss!”

He saw a large crater on the ground, filled with water that kept seeping out into nearby areas against the laws of gravity.

By the side of the pool was a beautiful waterfall that roared down the cliff.

Resting in the middle of the pool on an exposed rock was a pitch-black snake covered in ink-like scales that seemed to absorb all the light from the sky! Its body was as wide as an adult’s thigh. It had a pair of small and sharp horns about the size of thumbs sticking out of its head.

The information of the monster was already entering Ji Ye’s mind, probably because it was the main target of his mission.

[Black Serpent

[Level: Extraordinary Rank-1]

[Rarity: Commander]

[Description: A snake that somehow inherited a sliver of a Black Flood Dragon King’s bloodline as well as some low-level extraordinary powers.]

A Commander-level creature…?

Ji Ye never saw any before in the past.

However, he could guess that it was a higher level of existence than Elite creatures.

As for Extraordinary Rank-1, the forum had already determined that it was at least above the Ordinary level. It represented the partial process of “shedding ordinariness to become extraordinary”!

And it was not surprising to Ji Ye to hear about flood dragon bloodlines.

He was sure he would encounter more of those mythological beings from different folklores in due time like true dragons, phoenixes and Bi Fang.

Wait, those are—

However, after seeing the location of the Black Serpent, he didn’t choose to launch an attack or approach to observe it better. Instead, he chose to lie prone on the spot and not move. He even tried his best to suppress his breathing.

This was because when he discovered the Black Serpent, he had also discovered two other non-Earth “living creatures”.

In the sky, about 50 meters from the mountaintop, two condor-like creatures with wingspans of more than four meters were circling the pool. The feathers that looked like blades reflected a golden light under the sun!

Two rather handsome Golden Condors!

He couldn’t read their information without fighting them. Still, he believed those large birds would be pretty powerful monsters, having that kind of size. They were at least Ordinary Rank-8 or 9.

Apparently, the Golden Condors and the Black Serpent were in a standoff.

As for the reason for the fight, several crushed golden eggs just below the serpent were enough to paint a picture.

“Caw! Caw!”

In the sky, a loud shriek pierced through the clouds.

After waiting in the sky for 15 minutes, one of the condors—the bigger one and suspected to be male—could no longer bear the pain of losing its unborn chicks.

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After a sharp shriek, it suddenly flapped its large golden wings and dived down with a strong wind from above. Like a resplendent golden sword, it tore through the air and pointed straight at the coiled Black Serpent that had its head raised!

The male Golden Condor charged down at an extremely fast speed. In Ji Ye’s vision, a golden blur even appeared in the process. Even the Extraordinary Black Serpent in the pool did not react in time and had no time to shrink back into the water.

“Caw!”

The serpent did try to dive into the water, albeit too slowly. The condor’s dagger-like claws that looked enough to tear a grown tiger apart were already aimed at its neck.

Could it be that the “Boss” mentioned in his mission was about to be killed by another wild monster under his nose?

Ji Ye could not help but feel suspicious.

However, the sudden changes on the battlefield froze Ji Ye’s eyes.

It also proved that he had underestimated the Black Serpent!

Splash!

Just as the Golden Condor rushed to the surface of the water, a pair of golden claws reached out towards the Black Serpent. With the Black Serpent’s body as the center, the lake water, which was several meters in diameter, suddenly rose up, breaking the laws of physics. Caught off guard, the Golden Condor’s body was almost completely engulfed due to its high-speed descent.

Splash!

The Golden Condor, who was known as the air’s overlord, suddenly fell into the water. However, it instinctively panicked. The aggressive attack naturally missed.

“Hiss, hiss…”

On the contrary, the Black Serpent that had escaped into its home ground instantly counterattacked from the water. The Black Serpent’s body wrapped around the male Golden Condor’s body like a bolt of lightning.

“Caw!”

The male Golden Condor’s powerful wings were not enough to get it out of the Black Serpent’s binding. It couldn’t fly up.

After the pair of gigantic golden wings were drenched from entering the water, they became a burden to a certain extent. The lower half of its body had been forcefully pulled into the pool by the Black Serpent!

“Caw!”

Seeing this, the smaller Golden Condor who noticed the situation, swooped down to help.

A pair of sharp claws glistened like blades under the sunlight, attempting to grab the Black Serpent’s body that was coiled around the male Golden Condor!

“Hiss!”

Unexpectedly, before it could grab the Black Serpent’s body, the water surface exploded.

In the midst of the chaos, the two spikes on the Black Serpent’s head suddenly drilled out from under the rock. The snake’s mouth, which was originally only about ten centimeters in diameter, actually expanded to several times its size in an instant and bit the female Golden Condor!

The serpent’s mouth was not filled with two poisonous fangs like ordinary snakes, but two rows of white sharp teeth akin to flood dragons. In an instant, they had already bitten off the female Golden Condor’s neck!

However, the female Golden Condor’s sharp claws also grabbed onto the snake’s body and ripped off more than ten black snake scales.

“Hiss!”

Feeling the sharp pain, the serpent relaxed its strength.

“Caw!”

This gave the male Golden Condor a chance to escape. It took the opportunity to flap its wings and finally escaped the Black Serpent. After that, it struggled to flee.

However, it was obvious that it had been severely injured by the Black Serpent’s strangulation. In addition, its feathers were all wet, so it could not fly. In the end, it was directly washed down by the pool’s waterfall!

Husband and wife are indeed birds of one grove, but at the bourn of death each takes their separate flight! I thought it would seek revenge even at the cost of its life…

Ji Ye, who hid in the bushes and witnessed this scene from the beginning to the end, muttered under his breath.

However, this Black Serpent is not easy to kill!

Then, Ji Ye’s expression turned grave.

As far as he could tell, the Elite Rank-1 Commander level Black Serpent was several times deadlier than the Ordinary Rank-7 Elite Violet Jade Mantis he dealt with before!

He was sure he had no chance of winning if he was to face it upfront.

With the Black Serpent’s water-controlling technique, his only Extraordinary equal—Flame Burst Crossbow—was useless.

As for how to kill the Black Serpent and complete the mission, it seemed like he still needed more detailed preparations and a comprehensive plan!

On the other hand, the male Golden Condor that was heavily injured and unable to fly after being washed down the waterfall…