Qin Ming climbed up a higher slope, getting closer to where he had buried his armor. He hid behind a large tree that was thick enough for several people to wrap their arms around.
Sure enough, a group of eleven people came rushing toward the blood bamboo forest. They moved swiftly, like the wind, and in no time, they reached the valley's edge.
With the dim light around, Qin Ming could clearly see their faces. They were all young and strong, wearing shiny armor and holding cold, gleaming long knives.
They worked together seamlessly, moving in unison. When they reached the valley entrance, their stances with the knives were almost identical.
"Mountain patrollers!" Qin Ming recognized them.
They wore standard armor, just like Feng Yi'an and Shao Chengfeng, but the difference was that they were armed with knives.
This was likely a deliberate choice; long knives were more suitable for dealing with snakes, at least better than the standard iron spears usually carried by the patrol team.
As the light faded, the group took off their packs at the dim valley entrance, revealing various bottles and jars inside. They began mixing something.
Qin Ming thought to himself that they were indeed a group of experienced veterans; they might really be able to wipe out this nest of blood snakes.
Not long after, another figure dashed out of the dense forest and appeared at the valley entrance. Everyone turned to look at him.
The newcomer was panting and said, "Fu Entao and Feng Yi'an are not at the base, and it's quite strange; several wooden houses on the mountain have disappeared."
The others looked surprised at his words.
"Aren't they about to attack the blood bamboo forest? Where could they have gone? They couldn't have been wiped out by the mountain monsters, could they?"
"Recently, nobles from Chixia City and famous organizations have come. Some have already entered the mountain. Fu Entao and the others can't have run into trouble, right?"
The leader of the group, who had a strong presence, spoke up, and everyone else fell silent. "Right now, we shouldn't worry about that. Originally, I was concerned about sneaking into Fu Entao's territory to kill the blood snakes. Now that there's one less risk, it's better."
"Even the heavens are helping us!" one of the patrollers said.
The leader, Liu Huaishan, was very strong, like a brown bear. He said in a deep voice, "I'll say it again: if things go wrong, retreat immediately. Don't hesitate for a moment."
The others were there for their own second chance at life, while Liu Huaishan was there for his eldest son's chance. Otherwise, no one would risk their lives.
The group silently entered the valley and stopped. According to their earlier plan, the strongest among them, Liu Huaishan, moved forward alone.
As a second-chance survivor, he had a strong sense of responsibility. He carried various bottles and jars and, from a distance, ignited some of the substances inside, releasing thick yellow smoke, which he threw toward the fire spring.
He also accurately tossed several jars filled with powder and liquid into the dim "red glow."
As soon as he finished, he quickly retreated to a safe distance.
The other members of the patrol team felt a bit nervous and followed him back, nearly reaching the valley entrance.
The fire spring was engulfed in thick smoke, creating a loud commotion. First, several small snakes, a few feet long, darted out, swimming quickly nearby, as if scouting ahead.
Then, two large snakes, over four meters long, leaped out, their bodies glowing bright red. When they brushed against each other, they made a clanging sound, like swords clashing, their scales shining like red gold.
They charged toward the valley entrance at high speed, even lifting off the ground at times, like two blood-red spears piercing through the air, hissing menacingly as they grew furious.
The patrollers were stunned. How could there be two large snakes? This was completely beyond their expectations.
Liu Huaishan shouted, "Run! The snake repellent and the irritating smoke won't work on these blood snakes!"
In fact, he didn't even need to remind them. The experienced patrollers, who had roamed the mountains for years, knew it was time to flee and quickly escaped.
Liu Huaishan was the fastest among them. Although he had come from the back, his strong legs quickly overtook several people.
One of the large snakes chased after them, pausing briefly on a large stone at the valley entrance before suddenly leaping up, becoming a dazzling red light, and diving down, aiming to pierce through its target.
The momentum was terrifying, almost like a thunderous roar.
Crack!
The last patroller was hit by the four-meter-long blood-red spear, shattering his two layers of armor and piercing through him with the hard, iron-like snake head, causing his armor to explode.
This patroller was seasoned and had prepared well, placing a thick iron plate on his back. At the critical moment, it blocked the blood snake; otherwise, he would have been pierced through.
However, this didn't change his fate. The iron plate was slightly deformed from the impact, and he lost his balance, falling into the snow.
The four-meter-long blood snake was as fast as lightning, instantly wrapping around him.
If it had been any other snake, even a larger one, it wouldn't have been able to restrain a second-chance survivor. But now, the patroller was screaming in agony.
The blood snake tightened its grip, its red-gold scales clanging, and in an instant, the patroller's armor shattered. Many of his bones broke, and a bite to his face melted away the flesh.
This patroller died instantly!
In that brief moment, the terrifying nature of the blood snake was fully revealed: its body was as hard as iron, its strength was incredible, and it could leap like an iron arrow while being highly venomous—these were all fatal traits.
Another large snake had already leaped out of the valley and into the dense forest, catching up to a second patroller, who let out a chilling scream.
The large snake at the valley entrance abandoned the corpse and continued its pursuit into the woods!
When the fourth patroller was ensnared by the blood snake, Liu Huaishan suddenly appeared, wielding a sharp long knife and striking fiercely at the snake's body.
This was a full-force strike from a second-chance survivor. The bright blade cut through the air, and part of the snake's scales shattered, leaving a not-so-deep wound from which bright red blood flowed.
This was quite frightening; if it had been any other second-mutated creature or a second-chance human, such a fierce strike would have severed their body in two.
Liu Huaishan gripped the knife handle and continued to strike, but unfortunately, he couldn't land another blow in the same spot. The blood snake dodged, leaving wounds on other parts of its body.
In pain, the blood snake immediately released the patroller, who was clearly on the brink of death, and attacked Liu Huaishan frantically.
At the same time, its hissing attracted another large snake nearby, which charged toward him at high speed.
Liu Huaishan sighed inwardly, abandoning the injured snake and rushing into the forest without looking back. He had already missed the best opportunity to kill a blood snake and had to decisively give up.
The two large snakes relentlessly chased after him, but the injured one was slowing down. Its wounds made it ill-suited for the icy environment.
It came to a stop, hissed a few times, and finally slithered back toward the valley.
Qin Ming, wearing four layers of armor and a black scarf covering his face except for his eyes, stood quietly on the slope near the valley entrance, waiting.
In front of him, several iron spears were stuck in the snow, along with a long knife, while he had a long black gold hammer strapped to his back.
After a moment, he heard some noise and saw a four-meter-long blood snake returning, already injured, with three patches of missing scales.
Though it still looked bright red and slightly glowing, it was clearly weakened and not as fast as before.
As it approached the valley, Qin Ming picked up one of the iron spears from the ground, took a deep breath, and suddenly hurled it at the blood snake.
Then he quickly pulled up a second iron spear from the snow...
The blood snake was completely enraged. Several iron spears flew toward it at a terrifying speed, two of which shattered its scales again, causing wounds that were worse than the previous knife cuts.
It charged up a twenty-meter-tall tree and then leaped down rapidly, like a dazzling red light, piercing through the night, aiming to impale its target.
Qin Ming initially wanted to draw his knife, but suddenly changed his mind and gripped the long black gold hammer tightly, smashing it down to meet the snake's head.
The blood snake shot forward like a rainbow, but instead of hitting flesh, it collided with the heavy black gold hammer.
With a loud clang, a piercing sound of metal hitting metal rang out, and sparks flew. The four-meter-long blood snake fell to the ground, its body curling as it thrashed violently in the snow.
If it had been any smaller snake, Qin Ming wouldn't have used the long black gold hammer, as it was too slippery and unsuitable for smashing. But with the large snake charging at him with such force, he couldn't resist the opportunity.
The blood-red snake suffered a heavy blow, its head caved in and bones shattered, but it didn't die immediately.
Qin Ming quickly pulled the long knife from the snow, stomped on the snow beneath him, and rushed forward, unleashing his strongest power for a series of slashes.
With the sound of clashing metal, red scales fell away, and one snake head was severed!
"This is the 'resource' that can help me quickly achieve a second chance," Qin Ming thought excitedly, having just harvested a spiritual creature.
"Hiss!"
Nearby the valley entrance, several smaller blood snakes, ranging from three to seven feet long, began to swim toward him, some even leaping up like iron arrows.
Qin Ming swung his sharp long knife, and with all his strength, he cut through them one by one, adding six more snake corpses to the ground.
He took out a leather bag and started collecting his spoils.
Suddenly, Qin Ming felt a warning and quickly dodged to the side as an iron arrow shot toward him at a terrifying speed, embedding itself where he had just stood.
Two more arrows grazed his armor, sparking as they lodged into a nearby tree, deeply penetrating the trunk.
Holding his knife, Qin Ming looked at the few people not far away and said, "People are indeed different. While I’m here to hunt snakes, you all are here to hunt people."