Chapter Forty-Four: Sir Will Avenge Us!

“Boss, do you really think those villagers will do as the gentleman said and obediently bring us what we want?” About ten miles from Snake Village, in a mountain fortress perched atop a small peak, a gang of bandits were feasting and drinking. Amid the revelry, a lanky man took advantage of a distracted moment to quietly voice his doubts to their leader—a fierce-looking man with a black tiger tattooed on his face.

“I don’t know,” replied the boss indifferently.

“What?!” The lanky man grew anxious at this nonchalant answer. “Then what should we do? If the villagers don’t bring the goods, won’t everything we’ve done be for nothing?”

“They wouldn’t dare!” The tiger-faced man bit fiercely into his chicken leg, then growled, “If they don’t bring it, can’t we just take it ourselves? Besides, that gentleman’s been making plans for us for so long—have you ever seen him make a mistake? Hmph! Those villagers are truly ignorant, thinking they can ask the gods for help with their sacrifices. There are no gods—if there were, we’d have been struck down by divine wrath long ago, just like those church folks say. Yet here we are, living comfortably.”

“You’re right, boss, I was just asking, that’s all!” The lanky man gave a nervous laugh and said no more, apparently convinced by his leader’s words.

Just as the bandits were about to resume their feast, a flustered bandit burst into the hall, stumbling and panicked, and cried out to the tiger-faced man, “Boss! There’s a huge… a huge… a huge number of snakes outside!”

“Snakes?” The boss spat out his mouthful of meat, kicked the bandit aside, and cursed, “What’s wrong with you, Little Six? I posted you as lookout and you come running back scared by a few snakes? You’re worthless! Afraid of snakes? If you’re scared of snakes, why be a bandit?” The rest of the bandits erupted in laughter at this.

Little Six, hearing their laughter, frantically waved his hands in protest. “No, no, it’s not that! There really are masses of snakes out there! A, B, XX—they’re all dead! Bitten to death by those snakes!”

“What did you say?” At the mention of deaths, the tiger-faced man finally took him seriously. He stood, grabbed Little Six by the collar, and demanded, “A, B, XX are dead? What happened? What’s this about snakes? Explain yourself!”

“Boss, it’s snakes! All snakes! There are so many snakes outside—we need to run! They’re coming for us!” Shaken by what he’d seen, Little Six’s only response was to repeat “snakes,” which did nothing to satisfy the boss.

With a dismissive toss, the tiger-faced man threw Little Six aside and ordered another bandit, “Dog Two, go outside and see what’s going on!”

“Yes, boss.” Dog Two nodded, shot a disdainful glance at Little Six, then swaggered out the door.

“Too many snakes! Run! Boss, run!” Less than a minute later, Dog Two’s shrill scream rang out from outside, sending a chill through the remaining bandits. None could understand what could terrify their companions so.

No one needed to check for themselves any longer. A figure shot back into the hall—Dog Two himself, but he was already dead, his chest caved in as if struck by something heavy.

As the bandits tried to figure out who or what had killed Dog Two, Zhou Tian appeared at the entrance, leading a swarm of venomous snakes from the Myriad Serpents Basin into the hall.

The sight of that multicolored, writhing mass—so many snakes that it made their scalps crawl—caused the bandits to swallow hard, their legs turning weak with fear.

Though these bandits weren’t bloodthirsty murderers, not a single one could be called good. Had Zhou Tian not appeared, nearly every resident of Snake Village would surely have perished at their hands. But cruelty to others is one thing—true courage is another. Had it been a person seeking revenge, perhaps they wouldn’t have been so afraid, but faced with this monstrous swarm, and remembering that Snake Village had just performed a sacrifice to the Serpent God, the connections were obvious, and terror gripped them.

“Serpent… Serpent God?” The tiger-faced man, trembling, cast a fearful glance at Zhou Tian amid the snakes and shouted the name that had formed in his mind.

Zhou Tian’s serpent-like eyes fixed coldly on him. Not in the mood for words, Zhou Tian let out a long, chilling hiss, signaling the snakes to attack.

The snakes from the Myriad Serpents Basin were fearless and fierce—at Zhou Tian’s command, they surged toward the bandits, with the tiger-faced man at the center.

Seeing the snakes swarm toward them, the bandits panicked. Unfortunately, trapped in the hall with the only exit blocked by Zhou Tian and the snakes, there was nowhere to run. All they could do was huddle together, shivering, unable to think of any way out.

“What are you afraid of? If you don’t want to die, move with me!” roared the tiger-faced man, his legs shaking even as he tried to sound brave. “They’re just snakes! We’ve killed people—why fear a swarm of snakes? Fighters, come forward and hold them off! Mages, prepare your fire spells—burn these damned snakes to ashes!”

His voice trembled, but facing death by snakes, the boss had no choice but to force himself to act. Sadly, his men were less than cooperative. Despite his orders, only a few mustered the courage to move; the rest, paralyzed by terror, dared not approach the snakes.

A sudden scream broke out among the group. Looking back, the bandits saw their leader wrench his weapon from the lanky man’s chest. Glaring at the others, he threatened, “Anyone who dares shrink back—dies!”

Brutal as his methods were, the threat of death proved effective. Facing the snakes meant likely death, but so did defying their boss, who had long ruled them through fear. So, despite their terror, after this bloody warning, the bandits had no choice but to force themselves to charge at the snakes.

But courage could not make up for the disparity in strength. Though the tiger-faced man was prepared to fight Zhou Tian to the death, he and his men were quickly overwhelmed by the relentless snake horde, unable to mount even a meaningful resistance.

Just before the tiger-faced man died, Zhou Tian seemed to hear him shout something about “the gentleman will avenge us,” but Zhou Tian paid it no mind. After ransacking the fortress, he led the snakes back home, leaving the matter behind.

(Well, after so long, it’s finally time for the antagonists to make their appearance. After reading so many novels about protagonists turning into demon gods, I wanted to return to the original purpose with this book and play the hero for once. Oops… maybe I just spoiled something! By the way, I’m grateful for all your support—the collection and click numbers are great and I’m satisfied. But the recommendation votes have been abysmal—despite nearly a hundred thousand clicks, only three digits’ worth of votes. I know this seems to be happening to a lot of books lately, but I can’t help but ask for your support. And of course, if you enjoy the story, a small tip would mean even more. Thank you all!)