Draven was plotting a plan in his mind: as long as the Green Serpent took one more step forward, the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent could swallow him whole.

  By then, Draven would have more chips in hand—at least he wouldn't be on the defensive everywhere and could take more initiative.

  But just as the Green Serpent was about to enter the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent's most advantageous attack range, a sudden burst of powerful energy shot through the dark forest like lightning.

  The moment the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent leapt up, it was struck heavily by this force. Its short, stout body twisted violently and slammed hard into the stone wall at the village entrance.

  With a loud crash, the stone wall collapsed. The Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent writhed on the ground in pain, curling up in obvious struggle.

  Seeing this, Draven quickly retreated, a chill running through his heart. The Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent was a mid-tier leader with scales as hard as steel, yet it was injured by a single force blast. Even if its scales hadn't been pierced, this showed how powerful the attack was.

  At that moment, a figure slowly emerged from the depths of the forest, wrapped in a black cloak that concealed even their face. Draven's eyes narrowed, recognizing the visitor—Black Serpent.

  Black Serpent was a high-tier leader, which meant the situation was more complicated than Draven had imagined. He lowered his voice and said coldly, "I didn't expect the serpent tribe to hold me in such regard that even the First Elder would come personally."

  "But I've always wondered," Draven stared intently at Black Serpent, "aren't you afraid of Lord's punishment?"

  Black Serpent revealed a gloomy smile, his voice low and icy: "Fear, yes—but as long as it's done cleanly and efficiently, who would ever know it was us?"

  Draven had no argument against that. The Black Flag Territory had fewer than a hundred people; if the serpent tribe was determined, the entire village couldn't stop them.

  They could kill witnesses and destroy all evidence—even the city lord's office would find it hard to investigate thoroughly.

  Black Serpent spoke slowly, with a hint of mockery: "You're a strange one. When Green Serpent returned and said you were only a low-tier leader, we didn't believe it."

  "Tell me, how exactly did you manage this? Do you have some kind of treasure?"

  These words showed that Black Serpent had already gained a rough understanding of Draven's strength from Green Serpent's report. Black Serpent wasn't in a hurry to attack; instead, he wanted to probe Draven's secret.

  Green Serpent listened nearby, his face dark as iron, grinding his teeth fiercely: "I told you he was only a low-tier leader! Why bother talking? Kill him! Any treasure is ours!"

  Green Serpent was furious that the guardian beast's corpse had been skinned and dismantled. Now, he only wanted to personally kill the black wolf leader before him.

  But Black Serpent snapped at him: "Fool! If I hadn't intervened earlier, you'd have already been swallowed by the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent! That guy also has a symbiotic beast—don't be careless again!"

  Then Black Serpent stretched one hand from beneath his cloak, holding a serpent-headed curved blade that gleamed coldly.

  Draven felt the urge to retreat rising in his chest. It was two against two, both opponents a rank above him, giving him no advantage. Moreover, who knew how many more enemies were lurking in that dark forest?

  But when he thought of Viola and the helpless children in the village, his urge to retreat instantly vanished, replaced by a determination to fight to the death.

  The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  At that moment, a thunderous roar erupted behind him. A huge brown bear, all fours on the ground, charged straight at the two serpents.

  "Damn it!" Draven cursed, knowing without looking back that Liliana had come running out.

  What was she doing now?

  Draven was powerless to stop her and could only watch as Liliana, like an out-of-control freight truck, slammed fiercely into Black Serpent.

  Faced with the massive brown bear, Black Serpent sneered contemptuously, as if his entire body had lost weight, lightly drifting backward out of the way.

  At the same time, the curved blade in Black Serpent's hand gently slashed out, releasing an invisible burst of force that shot instantly toward the massive brown bear.

  "Get out of the way!" Draven shouted loudly, barely having time to warn Liliana to dodge this deadly strike.

  But everything happened too fast—there was no time to react.

  With a heavy thud, the bear was hit by the force blast like being struck by a giant hammer. Its whole body was violently thrown backward, crashing hard into a nearby stone wall.

  The wall collapsed with a thunderous roar, dust billowing everywhere. Draven's heart sank halfway; his first reaction was that the wall was ruined.

  Just as he was about to rush over to check the bear's injuries, a cold flash suddenly appeared before his eyes—Green Serpent launched a surprise attack.

  "Daring to be distracted at a time like this?" Green Serpent wore a smug smile as his spear stabbed out repeatedly, rapid and precise.

  Draven was forced to retreat step by step, barely able to parry the fierce thrusts with his long axe.

  Green Serpent pressed the advantage, closing in relentlessly, his eyes full of vengeful satisfaction. He wanted to avenge the slain guardian python and wipe away his previous humiliation.

  Yet he had no idea that Draven wasn't taking him seriously at all.

  Draven tangled with Green Serpent not out of fear, but to buy time and think of his next move.

  This guy was clearly heading straight for death.

  Draven took a step back, coldly staring at the crazed look in Green Serpent's eyes.

  Suddenly, Green Serpent felt an inexplicable terror seize him. His body stiffened; he tried to retreat but couldn't move.

  Before he could react, darkness swept over his vision, his consciousness rapidly fading—he lost all awareness in an instant.

  Draven's blade struck down with a sharp chop. In the terrifying surprise attack, he landed a precise strike on Green Serpent's vital spot.

  Using the momentum, he threw the now powerless Green Serpent toward the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent behind him.

  The Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent seemed to have long coordinated with Draven, opening its gaping maw and swallowing the flying Green Serpent in one gulp.

  Draven calmly picked up the spear that had fallen to the ground, glanced to confirm everything was settled, then quickly stored it in his storage ring.

  "Green Serpent isn't dead yet. Now, it's time for a proper talk," Draven said calmly.

  His peripheral vision caught the brown bear slowly shaking its head and rising from the ground, easing some of his worries.

  Looking at the situation, Draven tested Black Serpent: "If that's the case, let us live. The northern territory is yours."

  As long as they survived, those lands could be reclaimed eventually.

  Black Serpent responded coldly: "You're mistaken. We're not here for land. We want you—and the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent."

  As he spoke, Black Serpent lightly wielded his serpent-headed curved blade. His voice carried a subtle distortion, deliberately slow and sinister.

  "You can have the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent—but you must swear never to invade our territory again."

  Draven frowned slightly. Though it pained him, he still reluctantly agreed.

  They could find another contract beast if lost. The territory, after all, could be endured.

  But Black Serpent had no intention of letting it go. Continuing in that strange tone, he said: "Not enough. We want more than the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent—we want you and your symbiotic beast."

  "Quick! He's summoning reinforcements!" Liliana's urgent voice suddenly rang out.

  Draven's teeth clenched in frustration. What was this nonsense? Just because of some smoky makeup, they dared to act shamelessly?

  A high-tier leader resorting to such sneaky tricks!

  Burning with anger, Draven said no more. He withdrew, gathering with the Eyebrow-Patterned King Serpent and the brown bear.

  How could he not retreat? The enemy was a high-tier leader, a level of foe he'd never faced before, and victory was far from assured.

  Black Serpent's eyes lit up with interest: "Another quite interesting beast—good. I want this brown bear too."

  Clearly, he had never seen a talking beast before and immediately fixed his gaze on Liliana.

  The brown bear didn't back down, countering fiercely: "You're the real beast! Your whole family are beasts!"

  Draven saw clearly that the muscles in Black Serpent's face twitched slightly, as if enraged.

  Just as Draven was about to make a sarcastic remark, the sound of snapping branches echoed from deep in the forest, dull yet distinct.

  Soon, a black python far thicker than the previously skinned and green-smoked giant python slowly slithered out of the thicket.

  Black Serpent once again displayed his ghostly agility, floating lightly to the top of the black python's head.

  Draven swallowed hard and swallowed the words he was about to sarcastically utter.