บท 220: Sea Serpent I - Planning.
As the army of sea creatures marched on to the sandy shallows, whispers of doubt and panic began to seed their way into the forces that remained behind. The sight of the large sea serpent was the most evident source of discourse as many pointed in its direction.
"Oi, that's a bit too big, no? What is the Everlasting Ocean Sect thinking letting something like that through?!".
"Maybe it's just big for its size, looks can be intimidating; Are you going to run?" a snicker of laugher could be heard after that was said.
"But the other creatures seem to be cowering away from it… I don't think it's a paper tiger" a more astute cultivator pointed out with his brows furrowed, causing the others to notice the smaller creatures scrambling out of the serpent's way as it slithered on.
"Use your eyes fools!" Someone yelled "The Qi coming off that thing isn't something to laugh at!"
"Good Heavens! That thing isn't a simple Satiated beast! No… it's-"
"Lucid level! Fuck! Why the hell is that thing here?!"
Chatter was abound as the smell of nervous sweat spread between the camps as they glanced at one another, seeing if someone else would make the first move and run!
While the clown show was going on, the few that weren't immediately intimidated were carefully observing their fearsome foe, this included Shu He who had his territory focused on the giant creature while silently observing.
'It's massive, even bigger than that octopus… squid from before, based on its length it might even be more than 20 meters…' he noted its features as he compared them to the dictionary of creatures he had been building in his memories.
'It's a lucid level spirit beast, I can see that clearly from the state of its spirit heart… unlike a satiated level beast, it's far more robust and the Qi is higher quality… I doubt it's an evolved beast, at least… it's not like any other spirit beasts I've seen before so it's probably a lone species…'
The black scales shone in the dimming light as the bright yellow pattern stood out clearly.
'They look hard, and incredibly smooth… those patterns might be a natural warning… it has small fins along its body to help with swimming…'
He noticed small, hard protrusions hidden underneath the fins as he frowned.
'It has large fangs; the question is whether they're vestigial or…'
His sight moved to the amber eyes that seemed to be darting between the camps as if the serpent couldn't decide which dish to start with, unlike the other creatures there was no fear in its eyes, rather it seemed to think this was an opportunity for takeout.
'The Qi contained in those eyes is abnormal, they aren't simple' he closed his eyes as he put together his thoughts before he sighed and spoke to the two near him.
"Avoid the fangs, there are barbs hidden beneath its small fins as well, it likely has venom".
"Oh! Impressive, you deduced that from here?" Na Xue expressed with a 'O' on her face, her eyes had turned the pale yellow he had witnessed once before, a representation of her bestial side showing through.
"Could you tell?" He asked curiously.
"I had a hunch, there's a slight fishy smell coming from it… not the actual fishy smell! it's an unpleasant rot mixed with chemicals" she explained while tapping her nose.
"Hm, I missed that… your nose is like a dogs… err, wolfs" he corrected himself, almost forgetting his previous mistake as he shifted his territory's form, focusing on his scent of smell and mixing it with his sight producing what he now calls the 'Scentscape'.
He had always found this 'ability' useful when the scent he was chasing was overpowering, but much harder when it was vague, there were so many scents mixed together that isolating a vague one was hard without a reference.
He focused on the serpent's fangs and barbs and traced it backwards that way, straight from the source, soon he managed to pick up on the scent which caused his brows to wrinkle.
"Yeah, that's venom alright, and a strong one at that".
Na Xue looked at him with doubt "Shu He… you're human, right?".
"As far as I know" He shrugged as he watched Shu Xue holding her head up as her nose twitched.
"I can't smell it?" She said with a saddened expression like she was missing out on something, Shu He laughed and rustled her hair. "That's fine, we all have our strengths" he said which placated her as he cast his gaze to the other groups.
'Now, who will make the first move…'
Barely a minute later, right before the wave arrived, one man shouted out, silencing the dissent.
"Cowards! Those of you that don't have the guts to fight that beast, go and deal with the rabble! Don't you dare run or your disgrace will be remembered by everyone here!" Yi Yijun stood out with his thick brows and thin face as he drew his sword and pointed it towards the twilight.
"We of the Purple Spine Sect will take this glory!" cheers could be heard as the disciples around him bore their weapons.
"Hahaha! Brother Yi is correct, we of the Scarlet Eel Sect will stand with you!"
"If our Giant Sea Sect were to back down now, we wouldn't be able to face our founders!"
And with that, a wave of 'bravery' passed through the beach as a select few decided to take on the boss of the wave, but obviously too many taking on one target would be a mess, so the strongest of each group stepped forward as representative.
The rest stepped forth and began fighting off the other creatures, the intensity of this fight was much higher than the waves before as injuries became apparent barely a few minutes in.
On the other hand, there was a large gap in the wave where the serpent was currently coiled, watching everything that was going on with great interest, its intelligence wasn't normal.
Opposite it was the congregation of cultivators that had volunteered to fight it, this included Yi Yijun and two others from his sect, a lanky fellow and a couple others from the Scarlet Eel sect, a large bald man from the Giant Sea Sect, and a few other minor sect members, there wasn't a single independent cultivator.
And of course, there was Shu He, Na Xue and Shu Xue who were being stared at in the congregation with odd gazes.
"Shu He, was it? I'm surprised you decided to stay behind, your little friends already scurried off after all" Yi Yijun sent him a glance attracting the attention of the others.
"They know their limits, what's the point of biting off more than you can chew" Shu He sighed with a shrug "I'm only here because it seemed interesting".
"Interesting, you say?" The lanky man from the Scarlet Eel sect stepped closer to Shu He "Do you mean to say you're here to watch?" a hint of displeasure was clear in his voice.
It was Shu He's turn to scoff as he laughed "No, I'm plenty eager to get up and close with that creature".
A hearty laughter came from the side as Shu He felt a large hand slap his back "Great! That's what I like to hear! No need for cowards here! Isn't that right, Shi Le?" the large bald man laughed, causing Shi Le, the lanky man, to click his tongue and skulk off.
"I'm Ri Kong! It's a pleasure to meet a member of the Titanic Steel Sect here, I look forward to fighting with you!" He put his hand out as Shu He shook it, despite Ri Kong putting as much pressure as he could on Shu He's hand, Shu He was unfazed causing the bald man's to smile to deepen.
"I'm fine with those two, but why's there a kid here?" The lanky Shi Le nodded his head towards Shu Xue who was listlessly standing around "Can she even fight?"
As if hearing him, Shu Xue glanced towards him expressionless for a moment before her eyes sparkled for a split second, her expression changed as she spoke –
"Huh? You picking a fight, old man?" Her voice was rather monotone, yet the fiery Qi gathering around her caused a few to step back, including Shi Le whose jaw dropped before he walked off moping.
"I'm not old…"
Shu He was flabbergasted the words had come out of Shu Xue's mouth as he questioned who on earth was teaching her this stuff. He didn't need to look far though as he found Na Xue holding back a laugh as she held her thumbs up.
'This woman… I need to watch her closely' he felt a headache coming along, but he dismissed those thoughts as the serpent began moving.
"Watch what you're doing, don't step on each-other's toes! If you have anything to say, say it now!" Yi Yijun yelled out as the makeshift leader of his group.
"Be careful of it's eyes!" Shu He shouted out clearly so everyone could hear it, glances were sent his way as some nodded while others seemed to dismiss his warning.
'It's not my funeral' he dismissed those who ignored him in his mind as he glanced at his two companions.
"Ready then?".
"Definitely" a curt reply came from Na Xue while Shu Xue affirmed by mental transmission.
"Then, let's go".
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