WWWASTJWTCAT?

6

Chapter 6

The tail that emerged bore no resemblance to Xu Nian’s. Each scale was as large as her coiled body, the sinister crimson scales bristling with sharp, backward-facing barbs. Judging by their dark purple tips, they were likely venomous. Xu Nian knew that a real hit from this would likely gut her.

She quickly retreated, but in the face of such a swift, forceful attack, escape seemed impossible. As the massive tail was about to strike, the lethal barbs nearly grazing her eyes, she felt her heart stop for a moment.

In that critical instant, a sword scabbard swiftly extended, hooking her body and whisking her away with incredible speed. The venomous hook narrowly missed her, averting a deadly blow.

Xu Nian understood then why Ji Yuebai’s water-repelling spell had failed. The spell, while splitting the water, couldn’t match the speed needed for quick evasion. It made one an easy target in an attack, especially against an opponent aiming for the air-filled barrier.

The demon beast missed its target, and the murky, dark waters expanded slightly. Then a twisted, horned serpent head emerged, opening its mouth to reveal sharp fangs, lunging again towards Ji Yuebai and Xu Nian.

“Damn, that snake is ugly,” Xu Nian thought to herself, feeling fortunate not to have been born in such a grotesque form. She tightly wrapped her tail around Ji Yuebai’s scabbard, daring not to move, fearing being caught in the fray.

Ji Yuebai, however, did not disappoint Xu Nian’s expectations. Brandishing her sword underwater, she engaged in a fierce battle with the ugly snake. Despite the serpent’s home-field advantage, Ji Yuebai steadily gained the upper hand, victory seemingly just a matter of time.

In a flash, Ji Yuebai found an opening and severed the serpent’s head with a swift, cold strike.

Dark blood gushed into the water, turning surrounding waters red. Xu Nian was about to say something when she noticed Ji Yuebai still staring at the deep water, not letting her guard down.

Suddenly, sharp cries echoed from the water, and the currents around them started to whirl, forming powerful, large vortexes.

Xu Nian was shocked. “What kind of creature continues to live even after being decapitated?” she wondered. She couldn’t recall any serpent species with such an extraordinary, bug-like ability.

However, her question was soon answered.

Two equally ugly snake heads emerged from the dark, murky water, attacking Ji Yuebai from both sides in a pincer move, while the barbed tail launched a sneak attack from behind, cutting off any escape route.

At that moment, Xu Nian saw the true horror they faced: an ugly three-headed snake. One of its heads had been severed, dark red blood gushing from the wound, tainting the water. The remaining heads, twisted in anger and pain, lunged towards Ji Yuebai and Xu Nian with gaping maws.

Now, Xu Nian and Ji Yuebai were in this together, tied by circumstance. Even if Xu Nian wanted to abandon Ji Yuebai and flee, there was no escape. If she managed to dodge the fierce attacks by chance, she’d still get caught in the dense whirlpools, becoming trapped prey within them.

As the bloodied maw approached, Xu Nian could almost count the grooves on the serpent’s fangs. The wide throat could easily swallow both her and Ji Yuebai whole. Closing her eyes, she silently prayed for Ji Yuebai to dispatch the hideous creature with her sword as she had done before.

She also secretly coiled her tail around Ji Yuebai’s waist, tightening her grip, fearing Ji Yuebai might find her a nuisance and let her go. But while she seemed reliable, her waist was too slender, giving Xu Nian no sense of security at all.