"Take off the claws and fangs. They're worth a bit," Dougal grumbled, pointing at the beast.
Lican's eyes widened. He hadn't known they could be sold. Damn. He watched closely as the men skillfully extracted the claws and fangs, his attention fixed on every movement. So even the dead could be turned into something valuable.
"Okay, let's move on, man," Luoming said with a big grin.
Lican's wounds had already scarred over, and the bleeding had long since stopped. His lean frame remained crouched as he watched the group begin moving toward the northern area. He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should follow them, but curiosity eventually won. Keeping low, Lican crept after them, careful to maintain his distance as he listened to their conversation.
After about nine or ten minutes of walking, the group finally arrived at the Northern Mountains. The area was strangely quiet. No birds called from the trees, no insects buzzed through the grass, and even the wind seemed to have grown still. The men knew immediately that they had arrived at the right place, for the faint aura of a beast lingered throughout the mountains.
Luoming grinned, licking his lips. "Time to butcher this bitch. Hahaha!"
Dougal's brow furrowed as he stared up at the mountains, his expression growing serious. Meanwhile, Luoming patted the bag at his waist before reaching inside.
Lican's eyes widened.
Luoming pulled out something resembling a large incense burner, an object far too big to have fit inside that small bag. Lican stared at it in disbelief. He had heard of something like this before, though he had never seen one with his own eyes. Luoming handed the burner to Dougal, who placed it on the ground and lit it. Smoke immediately began rising from the burner, and the wind caught it, carrying it through the mountains without resistance.
Hidden in the shadows, Lican watched their strange actions carefully. What are they trying to lure out?
"Get into formation," Dougal ordered.
The group immediately split apart, each man moving into position while Lican remained where he was, not daring to make a sound. Twenty minutes passed in silence before a faint rustling caught his attention.
Lican's eyes shifted toward the incense burner as the trees began to shake. Something was coming. The rustling grew louder, and branches snapped beneath the weight of a massive body forcing its way through the vegetation. Then the creature finally emerged, and Lican's eyes widened.
A gigantic python slithered into view, nearly twenty-five feet long, its dark yellowish-red scales gleaming faintly beneath the light. Its enormous body dragged across the ground as it moved, crushing the vegetation beneath its weight. The python hissed, its forked tongue flickering through the air as it approached the incense burner, then stopped beside it and lowered its massive head.
The beast stared at the strange object curiously, unaware that several hunters were already waiting nearby. It had caught the scent of something intoxicating and followed it all the way here, expecting to find something alluring. Instead, all it found was an incense burner. The python lowered its head further, inspecting the object as though trying to understand what had drawn it away from its territory.
"Hey, bitch. We want to borrow your core, please."
Luoming's voice dripped with sarcasm as he drew his twin swords.
Then—
BOOM!
He stomped his foot against the ground, and a crack tore through the earth, shooting toward the python like a jagged line. The beast immediately sensed danger. Its massive body twisted violently to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack as the ground split beneath it.
ROAR!
The python whipped its enormous head around, its golden-red eyes locking onto Luoming.
"Ah—"
Luoming grinned, but while the python's attention remained fixed on him, Dougal had already slipped behind the beast. Tightening his grip on his weapon, he swung with all his strength.
CLANG!
His weapon slammed against the python's scales, sending sparks flying, but the scales didn't even break. Dougal's expression changed as he realized his attack had done nothing.
"Shit!"
He quickly pulled back, staring at the enormous creature in disbelief.
"This beast... does it have a turtle bloodline or what?"
Hidden in the shadows, Lican watched with narrowed eyes. That wasn't ordinary defense. Even Dougal's attack, delivered with the strength of someone at the Bone Marrow Cleansing stage, hadn't managed to pierce the python's scales.
Before Dougal could recover, the Flame Python suddenly whipped its massive tail toward him.
"Shit!"
Dougal quickly crossed his axe in front of his body, trying to brace himself against the incoming blow.
BOOM!
The tail slammed into the axe with terrifying force. The impact drove Dougal's arms backward, and before he could hold his ground, his entire body was hurled through the air. He crashed into a nearby rock with a sickening thud, the impact knocking the air from his lungs as pain spread through his body.
"F**k! Rhys! What the hell are you doing?" Dougal screamed, annoyance and pain mixing in his voice.
But the python had already turned its attention back to Luoming. Its massive head lunged forward, its jaws opening as it struck with terrifying speed. Luoming's grin vanished as he crossed his twin swords in front of him just in time.
CLANG!
The python struck, and the sheer force drove him backward. His boots scraped against the earth as he struggled to resist the impact, but the creature's strength was overwhelming.
"I can't hold on anymore!"
The python struck again, and this time Luoming couldn't completely block it.
BANG!
The blow slammed into his chest, sending a jolt of pain through his body.
"Gah!"
Blood burst from his mouth as he was thrown across the ground. He slid through the dirt, his back scraping against the rough earth, until he desperately drove one sword into the ground to slow his momentum. The blade carved a deep line through the soil before he finally came to a stop.
Luoming coughed violently, blood staining his lips as he struggled to catch his breath. The Flame Python raised its massive head, its cold eyes fixed on him while its body coiled against the ground, ready to strike again.
For the first time, there was no trace of amusement on Luoming's face.
Only fear.
Just as the beast prepared to attack, something shot out from the shadows.
A knife.
It flew straight toward the python's eye, cutting through the air with deadly precision. The beast reacted at the last possible moment, its massive eyelid snapping shut just before the blade reached it.
SLASH!
The knife cut across its eyelid, drawing a thin line of blood before clattering to the ground.
The python recoiled, hissing in pain and fury. A figure stepped out from the shadows, his expression cold and focused.
Rhys.
He didn't hesitate. Another knife flew from his hand, followed by a second and then a third. Several blades cut through the air, aimed at the python from different angles, each one intended to find a vulnerable spot.
But the sneak attack wouldn't work a second time. The python was already aware of him, and its massive head twisted as it tracked the incoming blades. Some knives missed completely, while others bounced harmlessly off its scales, leaving little more than faint marks behind.
Rhys's expression tightened.
"Damn."
A sudden roar erupted from behind him as Dougal bolted forward. Both axes were gripped tightly in his hands, and he sprang from the ground with a fierce expression, his earlier hesitation gone. The pain from his collision with the rock hadn't stopped him. This time, he wasn't holding back.
He poured his cultivation into the strike, and the air seemed to tremble around his axes as he raised them above his head.
"ROAAAAR!"
The Flame Python reared its head, but Dougal was already descending, both axes coming down with tremendous force.
SLASH!
The blades finally broke through.
Several of the python's dark yellowish-red scales were sliced clean off, exposing the raw flesh beneath. Blood splattered across the ground as the axes bit into its body, and the python let out an enraged roar that shook the surrounding trees.
Dougal landed heavily, his axes still gripped in both hands as he stared at the wound.
For the first time since the battle began, he had managed to hurt it.