Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Luring the Snake Out of Its Den
Hujian Grand Canyon
The Snake-man Priest suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of joy flickering in the yellow, narrow snake pupils.
He shook his tail, quickly arriving at the entrance of a cave, and said respectfully to the cave:
"Great Elder, I discovered many humans loitering outside the canyon, including the bait we released."
"Prince Egger’s plan has succeeded!"
Rustle rustle
Inside the cave, subtle sounds of friction against the ground could be heard.
Soon, a Snake-man with a somewhat aged appearance emerged.
"How many are there approximately?"
The Snake-man Grand Elder slowly asked, with a hint of hoarseness in his voice.
"Just the ones I saw number over 200, all wearing the Human Empire’s Special Forces uniform."
The Snake-man Priest said excitedly, "This means all 200 of them are Spiritualists, Superpower Users; if we can consume them, our Azure Snake Tribe will make a great contribution."
"Only 200, far from a great contribution."
The Snake-man Grand Elder calmly said that according to Prince Egger’s expectation, this time they plan to use those rebel Imperial personnel to attract more special forces teams, then consume them batch by batch.
Part of them will be brought back to the tribe to fully exploit their knowledge and experience.
Another part will be sent back to the Empire to act as undercover agents, periodically conveying intelligence to the tribe.
"Great Elder, Great Elder!"
At this moment, another Snake-man Priest hurriedly ran over, excitedly saying:
"I saw many more human Special Forces soldiers, at least over 100, they’ve already entered the canyon."
More?
The Snake-man Grand Elder was startled in his heart, different Snake-man Priests were responsible for different areas, sharing the Snake Spirit’s vision for nearly spotless exploration of the situation outside the canyon.
Now, outside the canyon, hundreds of human Special Forces soldiers have appeared in two areas.
This situation is progressing even smoother than he anticipated.
"Great Elder!"
"Great Elder!"
In just a few minutes, seven or eight Snake-man Priests gathered before the Snake-man Grand Elder, reporting what they saw.
So many have been drawn here!
The Snake-man Grand Elder was shocked by the numbers reported by the priests, he didn’t expect the Human Military Department to send such a grand-scale deployment, over a thousand Extraordinary troops.
This number already far exceeds the Qinglin Tribe’s limit of what they can handle.
"Great Elder, should we withdraw from the canyon?" one Snake-man Priest cautiously asked.
"Withdraw what!"
The Snake-man Grand Elder sternly shouted, "We cannot handle it, but aren’t there other Snake-man tribes?"
"If we can consume all of these Extraordinaries, it would be a severe blow to humans."
"I need to personally report this to General Kui Ling, inform other tribesmen to hide themselves well, absolutely not be discovered by the humans."
"Yes!"
The Snake-man Priests replied in unison.
The Snake-man Grand Elder entered the cave and took out a Seven-Colored Sea Conch, he infused Spiritual Energy into it, and when the conch emitted a bright light, quickly spoke about his findings in snake language, requesting aid from other Snake-man tribes.
"Good!"
A deep voice echoed from within the conch.
The Snake-man Grand Elder was overjoyed, a fiery flash appearing in his snake pupils.
This time, the Qinglin Tribe is bound to make great achievements.
If they can gain General Kui Ling’s favor and come into the Royal Family’s view, then the Qinglin Tribe would truly soar.
...
The sky darkens
Thousands of Imperial soldiers dressed in Special Forces uniforms entered the Grand Canyon, but in this spectacular and vast canyon, the entry of thousands was like water drops falling into the ocean, disappearing without a trace.
The steep cliffs, deep chasms, and intersecting stone paths resemble a massive and complex web, quickly absorbing them.
Below the canyon, dozens of giant Burrowing Snakes broke through the ground, transporting the elite warriors of several Snake-man tribes.
"Great Elder, warriors from several tribes have arrived."
The Snake-man Priest said excitedly, "They’ve sent over twenty thousand Snake-man Warriors, including ten Tier Fives, two Tier Six Powerhouses, plus our Azure Snake Tribe elite, consuming this group of humans is a piece of cake."
"Hm."
The Snake-man Grand Elder’s lips curved upward; General Kui Ling values this operation highly, sending thousands of elite Snake-man warriors, including twelve Tier Fives and above.
Given this, the battle must be fought impressively.
Hiss hiss hiss
Small snakes rested within the grass and crevices in the stones, secretly watching every move of the human soldiers.
The Snake-man Priest learned about the distribution of the human soldiers through shared vision and reported it to the Great Elder, assisting in drawing a simple battle map.
Soon, a map marked with many red dots was born.
The Snake-man Grand Elder quickly transmitted orders down, and the major Snake-man tribes began to act, spreading a web, swearing to capture all the humans in one sweep.
...
Dark wind night, fierce winds stirred within the canyon
The human soldiers continued searching within the canyon; they wore multi-functional helmets, carried rifles and various cold weapons. Strangely, during the search, not a single person spoke to their companions, the entire process was carried out in silence.
However, this detail was not noticed by the small snakes hidden in various corners.
A squad stood in front of a cave entrance, turning on their flashlights to make the cave as bright as day.
Nonetheless, they didn’t notice, behind them several shadows slowly approached.
The subtle sound of scales scraping against the ground was masked by the whistling wind in the canyon.
Thud thud~
Thud thud~
Sharp blades pierced through their hearts, hot blood splattering on the Snake-man’s face.
Hiss~
A snake tongue licked the blood, the Snake-man’s face showing a cruel satisfaction.
Da da da~~
Intense gunfire shattered the silence within the canyon
Snake-man elites launched an all-out assault, encircling and annihilating human soldiers within the canyon.
For a time, gunfire, explosions, and screams continuously resounded
The small snakes dotted around communicated real-time occurrences to the Snake-man Priest.
On the map, red dots gradually erased.
The Snake-man Priest’s smile grew increasingly bright, as if seeing achievements beckoning.
"Something’s not right."
At this moment, a stern older voice interrupted.
The Snake-man Priest turned, confronting a distinctly grave face.
The Snake-man Grand Elder stared intently at the map, murmuring:
"Too smooth, everything is too smooth."
"Great Elder, isn’t being smooth good?"
The Snake-man Priest couldn’t help but ask: "Our warriors outnumber them many times over, and we have the advantage of familiar terrain. I find this smoothness quite normal."
The Snake-man Grand Elder stood at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the entire canyon. An inexplicable sense of crisis lingered in his heart, growing stronger.
"A Bu, you underestimate the human Spiritualists, they..."
Before he finished speaking, suddenly, a sharp whistling sounded from the distant sky, orange flames illuminated the sky.
The Snake-man Grand Elder turned to look, and instantly his pupils contracted, his body going cold.
Those are missiles!
Hundreds and thousands of missiles!