The crowd of vipers heard Mo Laodaâs order and charged at top speed into the midst of the humans.
Initially, the humans didnât respond until, finally, they saw several humans screaming as they were swarmed by vipers. Then the rest of the humans rushed to arm themselves.
âQuickly! Everyone assemble quickly!â Old Bai, as befitting his title of veteran tomb robber, reacted promptly by issuing this order. Other than the few humans who had already died from snake bite, the remaining few dozen humans quickly assembled, Liu Zhixin and Su Lao among them.
Mo Laoda and Yin Xiaoxiao, as before, were hidden in the underbrush. Mo Laoda brazenly poked his head out to look at the situation on the battlefield. Yin Xiaoxiao peered out from the underbrush, only revealing an eye. While Yin Xiaoxiaoâs soul was human, his body was still a viperâs. His body was filled with excitement as his blood surged. Yin Xiaoxiaoâs tongue flicked out of his mouth. This scene really made his snake blood burn with anger.
Mo Laodaâs tail gently pulled Yin Xiaoxiao back. Yin Xiaoxiao innocently looked at Mo Laoda. Mo Laoda sent Yin Xiaoxiao a warning glance and said, seriously, âLittle Idiot, you canât go out, okay?â
âIâm just looking, I swear I wonât go out!â Yin Xiaoxiao used his tail to pat his own chest/stomach (?) area, to indicate that he really was only looking, nothing else.
Mo Laoda continued to look at the tense situation outside, but his tail remained firmly on Yin Xiaoxiaoâs body. Yin Xiaoxiao grudgingly swung his tail. Really, he was only excitedly looking at this scene, he wasnât foolish enough to actually rush out into it.
Mo Laoda,as Clan Head, issued an order that the vipers release Su Lao and Liu Zhixin. Although the vipers could make neither heads nor tails of this order, they still unconditionally obeyed the Clan Headâs command.
The war had officially begun. Although the strength of this team was still quite formidable, and while this team hadnât made another embarrassing blunder like that other teamâs mistake with the tear gas, what did strength of power matter? Confronted with hundreds of vipers attacking, how many people would actually survive? Within the blink of an eye, five or six more men fell.
Su Lao and Liu Zhixin didnât feel too much pressure. The vipers, whether intentionally or otherwise, avoided Su Lao and Liu Zhixin. Occasionally, a few vipers approached Su Lao and Liu Zhixin only to feign defeat and retreat, then they would turn and slither to the other remaining cannon fodder humans instead.
And on the other side, Old Bai was panicking. They still hadnât found the old tomb yet had lost so many men! Old Bai didnât believe that there were no traps and other such mechanisms inside the old tomb. Heâd thought that, when they entered the old tomb, people were sure to die in those traps; but now so many people had died that, after they found and entered the old tomb, wouldnât he be the one to die in those traps <sup>1</sup> ? Old Bai clenched his teeth and bellowed, âItâs finally come to this. Everyone, donât hesitate! Take out everything youâve brought!â After saying this, he led by example and took a hand grenade out from his pocket.
Yin Xiaoxiao saw the item in Old Baiâs hand. At this moment, it didnât matter if he whispered or shouted, he hastily said, âHeitan, quickly have everyone retreat! The thing held by the man who just spoke is very powerful! More powerful than a bullet!â
Mo Laoda didnât question Yin Xiaoxiao, and only shouted, âVipers, retreat! Lan snakes, remain!â
Lan snakes were the most powerful snake after the Hei snakes and Mo snakes. By Mo Laodaâs thinking, if this thing was more powerful than a bullet, the Lan snakesâ defense should be strong enough to withstand this thing.
Immediately, all vipers had retreated from the clearing except for two or three Lan snakes.
The humans who were still alive didnât hear Yin Xiaoxiao speak, but they did hear Mo Laoda ordering the vipers. They immediately turned pale with fright. Old Bai stopped mid-motion.
Mo Laoda unhurriedly slithered out from the underbrush. The vipers and humans present all looked at Mo Laoda. Mo Laoda had been born to rule and, seeing the humans in front of him, Mo Laoda felt no fear. He only said, coldly, âHumans, youâve broken into our boundary. Did you think youâd be able to escape from here?â
None of the humans spoke, not because they didnât have anything to say but because they were scared stiff. Here was a talking snake! What did this mean? It meant that, instead of facing just vipers, they were now facing a group of creatures that were more formidable than themselves! As for the vipers, the humans were intruders. There were no creatures alive who would be willing to let another creature enter into their territory without permission.
Old Bai swallowed hard. To be honest, if it werenât for the item that granted eternal life, he would surely now want to flee the snake tomb immediately!
Mo Laoda hadnât expected the humans to answer his question. Look at these humans. How were they so weak compared to the humans in the inherited memories? If it werenât for their clothes that could withstand snake bites, if it werenât for the so-called guns that they were holding, to the vipers, was there any difference between them and ants?
Mo Laodaâs eyes narrowed. Since the Little Idiot said that the thing that the human was holding could have a great effect on the vipers, wouldnât it be good if he just took that thing? Thinking of this, Mo Laoda put this thought into action.
As opposed to the two or three Lan snakes still on the field, attention was focused solely on Mo Laoda. Only Mo Laoda could command these vipers, okay! This snake, whose whole body was pitch-black, was the leader of these snakes. The eyes of every human were unwaveringly fixed on Mo Laoda for fear that Mo Laoda would suddenly attack them.
However, this was pointless. Could Mo Laodaâs speed even compare to that of the humans present? Everyone only saw a blur and then, suddenly, Mo Laodaâs figure was no longer in front of them. At once, each human acted as though they were bracing for a great enemy, hands tightening on their weapons. But it was already too late. When Mo Laoda reappeared, this time right among the humans, there was a sudden scream from within the crowd.
The humans jumped in fright and followed the sound to see that Old Bai had already fallen to the ground. In not even five seconds, Mo Laoda had taken both Old Baiâs grenade and his life.
Mo Laoda tossed the grenade away with his tail and sneeringly said, âIf anyone takes this thing out again, donât blame me for acting impolitely!â After a pause, Mo Laoda added, âDonât you <sup>2</sup> want to find the old tomb? Donât say that I didnât give you <sup>3</sup> the chance. Of your group, Iâll let two of you go. As for which twoâŠâ Mo Laoda surveyed the remaining humans and said, âLetâs see what each of you are capable of! Vipers, obey my order: attack the humans until only two remain!â
As the hidden vipers once more returned to the field of battle, Mo Laoda didnât return to Yin Xiaoxiaoâs side. Instead, he stayed where he was, all the time paying attention to the humansâ actions. In the event that he saw a human come up with something else that could threaten the vipers, Mo Laoda didnât mind killing them.
Of course, no one knew that the âtwo peopleâ Mo Laoda had said he would let go had already been decided. The vipers would only spare Su Lao and Liu Zhixin; the other humans absolutely wouldnât be left alive. As a result, every man defended themselves and fought as best as they could. In the eyes of Mo Laoda, Yin Xiaoxiao and all the vipers, it was an utter farce.
The special clothes were only effective against Lu snakes and Huang snakes. Oh, and also against young snakes. However there werenât only Lu snakes and Huang snakes present but Hua snakes, Bai snakes, etc. The humansâ defeat was already ordained by heaven. Surely even Ji Zhao hadnât anticipated that, while he was taking many precautions against humans, humans would become so pathetic that they would be unable to withstand even a single blow.
Su Lao and Liu Zhixin were also attacked by vipers. However, this amounted to nothing more than being whipped by some snakesâ tails, having their clothes bitten by Lu snakes and Huang snakes, leaving fang marks but no actual envenomation, so the two didnât need to fear for their lives. Just a moment ago there had been nearly ten people left of the tomb robbing group. Now, only three remained, among which were the two, Su Lao and Liu Zhixin.
Just as the vipers were about to end the lives of the remaining man, to the surprise of all the snakes and the men present, before the vipers could sink in their fangs, Su Lao aimed his gun to eliminate the other man beside Liu Zhixin.
âBangââ a gunshot rang out. The other person fell. On the humansâ side, the only two left were Su Lao and Liu Zhixin.
When Mo Laoda saw that Su Lao really had shot that other human, his pupils suddenly shrank and his gaze grew cold. This human even went so far as to kill his own teammate. Letting this kind of human remain inside the boundary was really too dangerous!
Mo Laoda and the vipers didnât know that, for humans, this wasnât anything new. Among humans, there were those who killed their fathers and elder brothers. What did it matter if Su Lao killed a human who was unrelated to him? What was more, Mo Laoda didnât know that, because heâd just said that only two people would be allowed to live, even if the vipers didnât do anything, those ten or so humans would have started to fight each other. As long as they could live, even if it was only to live a minute longer, humans would do anything, whether by hook or by crook, to extend their lives.
Looking warily at Mo Laoda, Su Lao asked after he had disposed of the other man, âI believe we can leave now, right?â
Mo Laoda looked at Su Lao for quite a while before he said, seriously, âYes, thatâs right. The two of you can leave. But if you encounter another viper, I think itâll be unlikely that youâll be so lucky.â
Su Lao let out a âhmphâ and then lifted a leg to leave.
âHold on!â Yin Xiaoxiao suddenly slithered out and opened his mouth to order Su Lao and Liu Zhixin to stop.
Su Lao and Liu Zhixin stopped in their tracks and turned around to look at Yin Xiaoxiao. Naturally, Su Lao didnât know who Yin Xiaoxiao was, only that, when Yin Xiaoxiaon moved towards that pitch-black viper, the surrounding vipers all deferentially made way for this silver snake, even bowing their heads slightly.
âWhy did you come out?â Mo Laoda unhappily asked. Even though only two extremely weak humans were left, Mo Laoda still didnât want Yin Xiaoxiao to show his face. Yin Xiaoxiao curled his lip but ignored Mo Laoda. Really! He was standing here for the good of viperkind!
On the other side, when Liu Zhixin saw Yin Xiaoxiao, both his eyes unconsciously widened. They immediately returned to normal, but the hand holding his gun trembled slightly. This silver snake was the one that heâd run into at the riverbank! Liu Zhixin, of course, wasnât so incredible that he was able to recognize Yin Xiaoxiao on sight. Rather, it was because Liu Zhixin saw the wounds on Yin Xiaoxiaoâs body which were still covered with medicinal herbs.
Liu Zhixin suddenly had the absurd feeling that his team was attacked by vipers because heâd injured this silver snake! Liu Zhixin wasnât sure that his way of thinking was correct, but in his heart he felt guilt for the deaths of his team members.
T/N: Oops, mistook Wednesday for Tuesday since I was off this Monday. Sorry for the late post!
Footnotes
<ol>sentence restructured for clarity plural plural</ol>