Chapter 23: The Seizure
“Such good luck—actually ran into a food snatch.”
In the middle of Serpent Valley, not far from the territory of the Viperhorn Venom Python, Zhou Ming was watching the scene ahead from a tall tree in the distance.
This time, the maturity of the Serpent Saliva Fruit not only attracted Zhou Ming but also drew in other serpentine Ferocious Beasts from the surrounding area with its unique fragrance.
Fortunately, the Serpent Saliva Fruit had not advanced into a Tier-4 Spiritual Object.
Otherwise, the emitted fragrance alone would have caused the entire Serpent Valley to riot.
The Scarlet-scaled King Serpent—a monarch among the mutated Scarlet-scaled Snakes—possessed the strength of a low-ranked Ferocious Beast.
Although its five-meter-long body was far inferior to that of the Viperhorn Venom Python, its venom was a dual mixture of neurotoxin and hemotoxin.
Even the Viperhorn Venom Python would find it difficult to resist.
The Iron-armored Python, a low-ranked Ferocious Beast from another world, lacked venom, yet it possessed an exceptionally powerful defense capable of withstanding a normal rifle barrage.
Even when facing an ordinary heavy machine gun, it could still hold out for a brief moment through sheer vitality.
Besides its formidable defense, its greatest strength lay in its constricting ability.
“So these are the other two low-ranked Ferocious Beasts around here.”
Seeing the situation before him, Zhou Ming felt somewhat relieved that no more Ferocious Beast-level serpents had been drawn in.
Taking advantage of chaos was good, but if too many Ferocious Beasts of that level gathered, he might very well drown in it.
The current situation was ideal for Zhou Ming to reap the benefits from the conflict between the snipe and the clam.
“Wait—something’s off.”
Zhou Ming turned his head sharply.
The vegetation not far behind him was trembling.
One of his Ironthread Snakes had lost contact—this was part of the precautionary measures he had arranged to guard against accidents.
“Hunters?”
As he caught sight of the disturbance in the distance, Zhou Ming’s expression immediately darkened—worse than when facing the Viperhorn Venom Python.
Ferocious Beasts were dangerous, yes, but as long as they weren’t at Beast King rank, their intelligence was limited—especially the low-ranked ones.
If something went wrong, Zhou Ming could still rely on cunning to think of a way out.
But if it were Hunters… that would be far trickier.
Those who ventured into the wilderness were either extremely powerful or veterans with life-and-death experience.
Most Hunters were heavily armed from head to toe.
Against ordinary combat suits, Zhou Ming’s Ironthread Snakes—aside from his No.1—might not even be enough to threaten them.
The next moment, the Ironthread Snakes beside Zhou Ming scattered in all directions.
Hundreds of spiritual threads interwove into a special sensory interface.
Spiritual Threads were a unique connection between a Beast Tamer and their beasts—even a Legendary Saint would not be able to detect them.
After commanding a sufficient number of Ironthread Snakes, Zhou Ming had discovered that when his and his beasts’ Spiritual Threads resonated together, they could form a special kind of perception—much like radar.
Perhaps this was because the split Spiritual Seeds shared the same origin, giving rise to such an ability.
However, Zhou Ming, with his limited advanced knowledge, merely speculated and did not dwell too deeply on it.
Since he was uncertain, he decided to investigate when the opportunity came rather than waste his energy now.
As the intruders drew closer, Zhou Ming could already see them with his own eyes.
Three middle-aged men, all dressed in standard combat suits, each holding firearms and sharp combat blades.
One of them, a burly man with a claw mark across his face, still had traces of blood on his blade—the kind likely left behind by small serpents like the Ironthread Snake.
Zhou Ming could see this clearly, thanks to the sensory field formed by his hidden Ironthread Snakes.
“Boss, we came just in time.”
As the strangers approached the Viperhorn Venom Python’s territory, the dense forest no longer blocked their sight, and the scene around the Serpent Saliva Fruit entered full view.
“Hmph, you’ve got the nerve to say that. If you hadn’t provoked that Violent Lion, we would’ve missed the timing altogether.”
A dark-skinned, lean man beside him snorted coldly.
“Hey, I didn’t know that Violent Lion would actually enter a berserk state! You know how rare that is!”
“Enough.”
A low, commanding voice interrupted them—it belonged to the leader of the small squad.
“Act according to plan.”
“Yes.”
At their leader’s words, the two men immediately stopped bickering and began executing their prearranged plan.
The dark, lean man climbed up a tall and sturdy tree, positioning himself perfectly to observe the surroundings of the Serpent Saliva Fruit.
He then removed a long, narrow case from his back, revealing a sniper rifle about one and a half meters long.
Roaring Type-3 Heavy Sniper—an advanced firearm among sniper rifles, designed mainly for firing armor-piercing rounds.
From his perch on a nearby branch, Zhou Ming watched the sniper rifle carefully, recalling its specifications in his mind.
“Long-range support.”
Judging by the man’s skilled movements, Zhou Ming could tell these people were a well-coordinated, experienced team.
Then, he saw the burly man with the facial scar take out a case, swiftly assembling a heavy machine gun and connecting its ammo belt to the box strapped to his back.
“Fire suppression.”
“What a professional setup… I wonder what their leader specializes in.”
Zhou Ming thought to himself as he observed them.
While those three were also preparing to act as fishermen profiting from the fight between the snipe and the clam, the Serpent Saliva Fruit finally ripened.
The pea-sized fruit began to emit a faint emerald glow, and the dispersing fragrance in the air gradually faded away.
The Serpent Saliva Fruit was ripe.
The Viperhorn Venom Python immediately lunged forward, attempting to swallow the delicate green tree whole.
But the Iron-armored Python and the Scarlet-scaled King Serpent instantly blocked its way.
“Hissss…”
Battle erupted in an instant.
The Viperhorn Venom Python sprayed amber venom like mist toward the two opponents.
The Scarlet-scaled King Serpent dodged swiftly, while the Iron-armored Python advanced instead, relying on its powerful defense to endure the attack and directly seize the Serpent Saliva Fruit.
Seeing this, the Viperhorn Venom Python rushed forward to grapple with the Iron-armored Python—its physical strength was not much weaker than its opponent’s.
The Scarlet-scaled King Serpent, having evaded the venom, darted toward the Serpent Saliva Fruit—but the other two pythons instantly ceased fighting each other and struck out at it instead.
Though Ferocious Beasts lacked intelligence, their instincts and the battle experience earned through survival in the wild allowed them to always make the best tactical decisions.
“No wonder Ferocious Beasts can deal devastating blows to humanity on Blue Star. Even without the alien races, mankind would never reclaim mastery over this world.”
Watching the three beasts clash, Zhou Ming couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
After all, once a Ferocious Beast reached Lord rank, it began developing intelligence—let alone a Legendary Beast King.
The violent battle shook the surroundings; stones flew, and trees as thick as a man’s wrist were snapped clean in half.
Fortunately, the three serpentine Ferocious Beasts instinctively avoided damaging the Serpent Saliva Fruit—otherwise, it would’ve been destroyed long ago.
The Scarlet-scaled King Serpent fought like an assassin—striking fast and retreating just as quickly.
The Iron-armored Python crashed forward like a living battering ram, clearing a path toward the fruit.
Meanwhile, the Viperhorn Venom Python, relying on its innate power, stubbornly held off both opponents, forcing the fight into a fierce stalemate.
Only Zhou Ming and the three unknown Hunters were left waiting—each prepared to play the yellow bird behind the mantis, or perhaps… the hunter behind the yellow bird.