The net woven from tiny electric currents perfectly covered the surface of the instantly intertwined vines, adding a layer of paralysis to the already resilient plants' excellent defensive capabilities. This allowed them to powerfully block the feathered serpent's desperate counterattack while paralyzing and delaying the impact of its massive body, thus providing an extra layer of protection for our escape.
However, unexpectedly, our preparatory measures did not work as expected.
This is not to say that our response was inadequate and unable to withstand a heavy physical attack, nor is it because the venom secreted from the glands from which the fangs were removed and the flowing blood corroded the plant net that served as a barrier.
Almost at the same time we reacted and prepared to retreat, a gleaming blade flashed down from another direction. In a flash, the giant snake that had struggled to get up was reduced to scattered pieces, mixed with other filth, which flew everywhere.
The pitch-black liquid splashed onto the defensive barrier, making a hissing, acidic sound. As it flowed down, the winding plant roots on the ground retracted as if avoiding snakes and scorpions the moment they were not touched. Those that were accidentally splashed on struggled and twisted wildly, making the defensive barrier vibrate and finally breaking off a piece of rotten, stinking, withered branch.
They all stepped back a little, looked up at the snake's body, and said angrily, "Can't you be more careful? Didn't you notice there were people here?!"
"...Hmph, that's not something I need to care about."
Accompanied by the sound of metal scraping against its sheath, a man in a familiar black trench coat appeared, stepping over the dead feathered serpent corpse, looking down at us from his high vantage point.
The fierce wind whipped open the dark hem of her clothes, and just then, dark clouds covered the sun, spreading out a vast shadow from above, plunging everything around into an endless prison in an instant, making it appear particularly eerie and terrifying.
The crisp sound of a sword rang out again, and the gloomy atmosphere vanished in an instant.
Apart from the still-warm bones and scattered pieces of bright red flesh that remain on the ground, the lush green forest is still as verdant as ever.
The vine that had been stealthily sweeping towards our ankles from behind was pinned down by the tip of the sheathed sword. Not even bothering to glance at it, the owner of the cold, indifferent eyes stared at us from afar for a moment after the boiling frenzy subsided, then turned to leave.
"Hey! Sword Demon! Aren't you coming with us?"
"..."
"Since the destination is the same anyway, it's not bad to merge now."
There's no need to associate with weak people who only know how to band together.
"But you couldn't beat me before."
Stopping Sheng from getting angry and choked up, I chimed in to help.
Anyway, this guy doesn't like hanging out with us, so it's good to have a chance to shut him up.
His sharp pupils pierced through again. The sword demon was silent for a moment, then surprisingly nodded seriously and drew his newly picked-up sword: "We can fight again and see who wins this time."
That's taking it a bit too seriously. It's just a verbal exchange; there's no need to turn it into a real fight.
Moreover, although the feathered serpents and giant crocodiles lurking nearby have been eliminated, there are still other dangers. Being exposed to such a strong aura of blood will inevitably attract other formidable creatures sooner or later.
At least I've already spotted quite a few scavenging birds circling and observing nearby.
Fighting now would only lead to bad things.
"I don't care," the Sword Demon said bluntly. "I'll kill any number of them that come."
This guy is really crazy.
Fortunately, the guy eventually sheathed his sword, glared at the air to scare away the carrion bird, and then did not make any further moves.
He held my body to avoid the scorched pits in the ground, took another half step forward, and then asked the most pressing question: "I haven't seen you in the main quests for the past few times. Were you dealing with something? What's your goal in coming to this dungeon this time?"
"...We clearly signed a non-interference treaty before."
“We did have such a treaty, but that could only be established if our objectives didn’t interfere with each other, right?” Sheng said. “What if we end up finding that we have the same goal? Would you rather we interfere with each other’s actions, or would you rather cooperate appropriately?”
"I can solve it by myself..."
"But there are things that even a person can't solve, aren't there?"
Sheng interrupted first: "Not counting this one, let's say we go to another dungeon. If you want to clear it smoothly, you'll definitely need someone to help you. Instead of standing at the entrance and grabbing some random guy to get in the way, how about we cooperate with someone we can trust? This shouldn't be a situation where we both lose out, right?"
It seems he really wants to tie Sword Demon to our side.
What do you know?
Faced with the sudden surge of momentum, Sheng hid his trembling left hand behind his back, turned around and looked at me, grinning: "We know a lot, and it may even include a lot of things you don't know."
The light red fluffy ball perched on the shoulder flapped one of its wings at just the right moment, chirping softly.
I could clearly feel the sudden, sharp gaze, almost painful, sweep past me, before returning to the emptiness that seemed to sink into a deep pool.
That was the same look I'd seen before through the [Fool's Curtain], a look that seemed to be stuck in a quagmire, wanting to give up on everything.
I suddenly remembered something.
In the previous cycle, the man witnessed the end and muttered to himself that he wanted to end everything before jumping into the scorching river of lava. So why, in this new cycle, apart from his initial madness, has he done almost nothing particularly irrational?
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