Moonlight spilled over the jungle at night, where a serene and deep atmosphere should have prevailed, but it was now completely shattered.
"A snake? That big?"
Rhode was momentarily stunned, then a glimmer of indescribable fervor flashed in his eyes.
Not far away in the forest, a massive serpent slithered forward, crushing boulders and trees in its path, forcibly carving a trail through the jungle.
Its entire body was easily twenty to thirty meters long, with a girth as thick as a barrel. Its dark green scales were the size of palms, and its triangular head bore a pair of sinister golden vertical pupils.
No wonder the other beasts in the forest were fleeing in terror—this was the presence of an apex predator.
With its sheer size and length, any black ape or boar caught in its coils would be crushed to pulp in an instant.
"Why is it you?!"
At this moment, Nia, who had been sprinting toward him, finally recognized Rhode by the campfire. Her expression changed instantly.
Without hesitation, she stomped the ground, pivoted sharply, and changed direction, intending to flee elsewhere.
Though she held some resentment toward Rhode, she wasn't about to lead such a monstrous beast straight to him.
But after running another ten meters, she suddenly froze—there was no sound of the terrifying pursuit behind her.
"Oh no!"
She skidded to a halt and turned around, her face paling in horror.
The giant serpent had abandoned her and was now charging straight toward Rhode.
"That damn idiot! What's he doing grilling out here so late? Does he think it's a bonfire party?!"
Clearly, the scent of food Rhode had gathered had attracted the serpent.
Cursing under her breath, Nia had no choice but to turn back. With a running start, she leaped into the air, her iron staff slicing through the air with a sharp whistle before smashing into the Black Python King.
Boom! The serpent's scales, hardened over who knows how many years, were unimaginably tough.
But Nia was, after all, among the strongest of the recruits.
Her powerful strike shattered the scales, leaving the skin beneath reddened and swollen.
But that was all.
It barely harmed the serpent—instead, it only enraged it.
Whoosh! The air screamed.
A massive tail swung toward her with terrifying force, the sheer wind pressure alone kicking up a gale. A direct hit would easily demolish a house or split the earth.
Against such a colossal creature, human strength was no match—at least, not for Nia in her current state.
"Shave!"
Whoosh! In an instant, Nia vanished from the spot, leaving only shattered ground where she had stood.In the next instant, the serpent's tail came crashing down.
Boom! Like a meteor striking the earth, the impact resounded like a thunderclap! The entire mountain forest trembled momentarily as an invisible shockwave rippled outward, sending rocks and soil flying in all directions.
The ground split apart, a jagged fissure extending over five or six meters.
"Whew, that was close."
Nia swallowed hard and couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat from her forehead.
Too terrifying.
And too unlucky.
She had been resting when suddenly the tree she was perched on split apart. The next moment, she saw this giant serpent. In a moment of irritation, she playfully gave it a whack with her staff—only to end up being chased all the way here.
Fortunately, she was incredibly fast and agile, and had mastered the explosive movement technique from the Navy Six Styles, Shave, which allowed her to barely escape this apex predator's pursuit. But it had been a close call.
Because of this, the fish-man Hatchan and the others hadn't intervened to rescue her, though Koala was already considering how to deal with this serpent after the mission ended.
Snakes were cold-blooded creatures to begin with, lurking underground with faint auras and able to go long periods between hunts. That was how it had evaded the Revolutionary Army's searches—until this mission, when it was finally discovered. Thankfully, there had been no casualties.
Seeing the serpent's attention drawn away again, Nia let out a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to continue this marathon, however, her peripheral vision suddenly caught a sword-wielding figure approaching the serpent step by step.
"Rhode?!"
"Is this guy trying to piss me off?"
Nia couldn't help but fume. Here she was, risking her life to draw its aggro, and he had the nerve to charge in like a suicidal idiot? Before, she'd thought he was just ignorant and fearless, but now she was convinced he was a full-blown reckless fool.
The memory of the serpent's earth-shattering strike was still fresh in her mind. Even she had no choice but to evade its fury, not daring to take it head-on. Yet this brat had zero self-awareness and was charging in like he stood a chance.
Did he think becoming a swordmaster at a young age meant he could cut down any enemy? Too arrogant.
Nia couldn't help but feel disappointed. "Talent is just talent. With that kind of temperament, he'll never grow."
"Rhode?"
Through the surveillance feed, the fish-man Hatchan frowned at the scene. "That's reckless."
An individual's strength was rarely enough to contend with such a super predator. Unless one's power completely overwhelmed it, inflicting fatal damage would be nearly impossible.
Just like Nia—she could hold her own against the serpent, but given its vitality, she'd probably exhaust herself before ever killing it.
Koala, however, smiled.
"That's a swordmaster for you."
In the world of pirates, every swordmaster was brimming with pride and confidence. They believed in their path, trusted their blades to cut through any obstacle.
This was a trait unique to swordmasters—especially young ones like Rhode! By now, Rhode had approached the serpent. He looked up at the creature, nearly thirty meters long. Even with only half its body raised, it towered several stories high, making humans seem like insignificant ants before it.
Logically, any normal person gazing upon such a behemoth would feel nothing but awe.
But Rhode's gaze was... odd. He studied the serpent up and down, like a butcher sizing up meat on a chopping block, considering where to start and how to prepare it later.
Different lands breed different people.
He remembered that in his past life, the longest recorded python was only about ten meters. This one was nearly twice that length! It looked absolutely delicious—er, terrifying.
"What a shame... you ran into me."
Rhode shook his head with a faint sigh.
Crackle!
Electricity sparked, thunder rumbled.
The very air tingled with a numbing sensation.Rhode was instantly engulfed by thunder, transforming into a blue luminous figure that illuminated the dark forest.
"What the hell? Thunder Power?"
Nia, who was about to charge forward with her staff raised to attack, froze in shock, her small mouth slightly agape.
Suddenly, Rhode stomped the ground, sending an invisible shockwave that scattered dirt and debris. The earth trembled violently beneath him, cracking into countless fissures as he shot upward like lightning.
As he soared into the sky, the Thunder Power surging through his body converged onto his blade, forming a massive thunder sword five meters long.
In the next second, gripping this five-meter-long thunder sword, he appeared directly above the giant serpent.
"This…"
Nia, watching from below, was utterly dumbfounded.
In her eyes, the handsome young man stood atop the serpent's head, wielding a divine sword forged from the might of thunder, as if he were an agent of heaven delivering divine punishment.