128: Chapter 128 The Dead Tree Snake Blocking the Road
Hiss—!
A large snake as thick as a washbasin lay across the path before the three of them. Its withered skin lacked any luster, making it look like a fallen tree in the middle of the road.
It had originally intended to ambush passing Pet Beasts, but it was unexpectedly seen through and attacked by three young Beast Tamers, which infuriated it.
It released its hostility, but the three remained unmoved.
"Whoa, it really is a Withered Wood Snake!"
Mo Yu swallowed hard, feeling a bit of lingering fear.
If Yue Yun hadn't noticed something was off, he would have walked right past the Withered Wood Snake and been successfully ambushed.
Yue Yun lifted the cold iron long spear in his hand, his wrist flicking to create a spear flower. The sharp tip pointed directly at the Withered Wood Snake, his Aura clashing head-on without yielding.
Xu Qingfang also looked serious: "This should be the fourth three-star strength Pet Beast we've encountered, right?"
The closer they got to the dangerous areas of the Cangyuan Secret Realm, the more powerful Pet Beasts there were, and their strength increased significantly.
Xu Qingfang and Yue Yun exchanged looks. Yue Yun understood and retreated to Mo Yu's side, protecting him while staying alert for other potential Pet Beasts nearby.
"Withered Wood Snake, a Pet Beast skilled in camouflage. It has tenacious vitality and decent attack and defense attributes, with quite diverse skills. Its weakness is its dislike for moving, and its potential rating can reach C-rank."
Mo Yu raised his hand to push up non-existent glasses, his lips curling up due to his abundant knowledge: "Although the Withered Wood Snake can learn Poison-type skills, it isn't actually poisonous itself.
It relies on the Strangulation skill for ambushes. Its own immense strength provides a huge boost to the Strangulation skill, making it rare to find a rival among similar types of Pet Beasts."
Yue Yun listened with interest, nodding from time to time.
The Withered Wood Snake was indeed very good at camouflage; if he hadn't sensed that faint hostility, he wouldn't have discovered it either.
A Withered Wood Snake with extraordinary camouflage and a talent for ambushing actually wasn't poisonous, but was instead better at constriction.
However, considering the Withered Wood Snake's naturally sedentary nature, its preference for ambushing seemed normal.
"Pet Beasts really are peculiar existences!"
Yue Yun murmured softly.
Xu Qingfang commanded the Thunderwing Griffin to take flight. In an instant, it flapped its wings and threw out a thick bolt of thunder, attacking the Withered Wood Snake directly.
Seeing its camouflage completely broken, the Withered Wood Snake stopped hiding and immediately coiled its body. It actively absorbed the surrounding wood, condensing it into heavy armor with the support of a massive amount of wood element.
The thunder landed on the wooden armor, the shattered arcs of lightning crackling, but the Withered Wood Snake only swayed slightly.
It opened its bloody maw, which looked like rotting wood, and the decaying breath accumulated inside its body turned into a light gray Humus Toxic Miasma, pressing towards the Thunderwing Griffin with the wind.
Wherever the toxic miasma passed, the vegetation withered and the ground became soft and muddy, sprouting a large amount of white poisonous fungi.
Mo Yu watched with his heart pounding and quickly pulled Yue Yun back to a safe distance, fearing they would be affected by the toxic miasma.
Yue Yun, however, said: "What a powerful poison!"
Mo Yu opened his mouth as if to speak but hesitated, then shook his head and refocused his attention on the Withered Wood Snake to continue analyzing the situation.
"Although Old Xu's attacks deal high damage, the Withered Wood Snake has high resistance to lightning-attribute attacks. With the Withered Wood Armor skill as well, Old Xu won't be able to take it down anytime soon."
"Then how long do you think it would take me to take it down?"
"You? That would take even longer."
Yue Yun wasn't dissatisfied with Mo Yu's assessment; he even agreed with it, since he would need to get close to fight it.
The Withered Wood Snake's attack and defense attributes were not weak, and it was skilled in close-quarters Moves like Strangulation. At the same time, it possessed both armor-type and poison-type skills, with no obvious weaknesses.
If he were to take Xu Qingfang's place, he wouldn't necessarily do better.
"Use Thunder Strike to break through its toxic gas!"
Lightning surged in Xu Qingfang's eyes. His Thunder Emperors Pupil instantly saw through the movement of the toxic miasma, making what was once impossible to handle clear to him.
A deep blue pillar of thunder was thrown out by the Thunderwing Griffin, crossing the sky and crashing into the toxic miasma. It exploded violently at the weak points of the miasma, tearing its airtight protection to shreds.
Shua!
Flapping its wings, the Thunderwing Griffin moved as fast as an arrow from a bow, boldly passing through the toxic miasma. Its already sharp eagle claws flashed with a cold light, slamming fiercely toward the Withered Wood Snake's head with a sharp force.
A low cracking sound was heard as the Withered Wood Snake's Withered Wood Armor was torn open by the Thunderwing Griffin. The sharp claws swept across the top of its head like knives, leaving clearly visible cuts.
The cuts were so clean that blood only began to flow slowly after the Withered Wood Snake reacted, emitting a foul odor similar to decay.
The Withered Wood Snake angrily activated its skill, and Animated Roots like tough old vines rose from the ground, reaching out to entangle the Thunderwing Griffin.
"Screech!"
The Thunderwing Griffin mocked it with disdain, using its unique griffin flight style to climb vertically, easily pulling away.
The Animated Roots rose high and then fell. The Withered Wood Snake immediately turned and attacked Yue Yun and Mo Yu, wanting to escape from under their hands.
Yue Yun frowned and balanced the cold iron long spear in his hand.
"Get lost!"
He shouted with full vigor, and the cold iron long spear flew out of his hand instantly, like a javelin or a meteor smashing toward the Withered Wood Snake.
The Withered Wood Snake was terrified.
It burst forth with the fastest speed of its life, hurriedly twisting its massive body in an attempt to dodge, but the cold iron long spear, carrying a sonic boom, pierced through the air and skewered its body with a smack.
Buzz buzz buzz!
The cold iron long spear pinned the Withered Wood Snake to the ground. The shaft of the spear was still vibrating violently, making an unnatural humming sound.
"Awesome!"
Mo Yu covered his ringing ears. Seeing the Withered Wood Snake pinned down so forcefully, he couldn't help but blurt out.
"We're both Beast Tamers, so how can the gap be this big?"
"This guy Yue Yun is just a Pet Beast in human skin!"
In the distance, Xu Qingfang also laughed and cursed: "Holy crap, Old Yue, you bastard, you actually stole my kill!"
Yue Yun spread his hands to show his innocence.
The Withered Wood Snake also recovered from the shock brought by Yue Yun. Its massive body actually shuddered, and it twisted frantically, trying to break free from the shackles of the cold iron long spear.
But the cold iron long spear didn't stop after piercing the Withered Wood Snake's body; it plunged deep into the earth, trapping it firmly.
Thunder erupted around the Thunderwing Griffin, and deep blue lightning continuously emerged, condensing into a huge thunderball that smashed down, illuminating the dense forest for a moment.
The Withered Wood Snake struggled unwillingly, its massive body twisting wildly in the thunder, seemingly about to break free from its shackles.
Shua!
The Thunderwing Griffin dove down, its sharp claws slamming heavily onto the Withered Wood Snake's head, killing it with a headshot.
Xu Qingfang brushed the dust off his hands: "Job done!"
Only then did Yue Yun walk up to retrieve the cold iron long spear. The residual electric arcs were like maggots on a bone, scrambling to drill into his arm.
The electric arcs exploded in Yue Yun's arm, but he seemed not to notice the pain, lightly shaking his wrist to flick the ash off the spear.
At a glance, he truly had some of the heroic spirit of a young general.
"Cool!"
Xu Qingfang and Mo Yu couldn't help but praise him. However, Yue Yun, who was being praised, didn't feel the same way, and his face was full of dark lines upon hearing it.
"Cool my foot, my whole body is numb from the electricity!"