Six-Armed Serpent Demon

Page 20

The torrential rain and rumbling thunder drowned out all other sounds.

In the instant the lightning illuminated the sky and earth, a figure could be vaguely seen flashing and disappearing amidst the shimmering waves.

The braids wrapped in gold thread, the flawless white back, then transformed into a black and mottled snake body, and finally the black snake's tail disappeared into the water.

The six-armed serpent demon flipped over and plunged into the water.

A string of bubbles emerged from his mouth and nose, and his eyes resembled two burning emeralds.

Six greatswords were already held in his hands.

The enormous demonic body, like a giant serpent charging forward, parted the muddy currents at the bottom of the water, swaying and undulating, silently swimming towards the camp on the opposite bank.

Meanwhile, in the heavy rain, three figures were wading through the shallows of the riverbank, each step sinking deep into the water, holding up an inextinguishable flame.

These three men were also Samarachi soldiers, similarly wearing muscle armor and red cloaks. However, their muscle armor was made of leather, and their red cloaks were much shorter. Furthermore, they were not heading upstream, but rather downstream along the river.

One of them, panting, said, "Gandomael, are you sure more gold should really be downstream?"

"determine."

"I studied water flow and hydraulic engineering at the college," Gundomier said firmly. "Believe me, you're right."

The third person asked, "But why?"

"what why?"

"Why downstream, and not upstream?"

“This knowledge was imparted by the Archmage of Zaire,” Gundomel said. “You know, he once taught a few classes for us at the academy.”

The Archmage of Zaire once gave them an example when he was teaching them.

In an ancient land, there once flowed a yellow river. One day, the river swelled, washing away the pontoon bridge and causing the iron ox that held it in place to fall into the river. People tried to retrieve the ox, but couldn't find it no matter how hard they searched. They then searched downstream, but still couldn't find it. Finally, they received guidance from a priest who also worked as a martial monk, and they went upstream and found the iron ox at the bottom of the river, retrieving it from the water.

The monk priest told them that it was because the iron ox was too heavy.

The iron ox sinks to the bottom of the water. The current cannot wash it away, but it will gradually wash away the mud and sand beneath it. After a long period of erosion, a sand pit will form in front of the iron ox, causing it to tilt in the opposite direction of the current.

Then a new sandpit forms in the new location, and the iron ox falls down again. This cycle repeats itself, and the iron ox gradually moves upstream of the river.

"Gold is heavier than iron."

Gundomier confidently concluded, "The gold bars they found, like the iron bull, must have rolled into a sand pit formed by the water flow and slowly moved downstream to where they found them. So the real gold must have fallen into the water downstream of us, and the other gold should also be downstream."

As soon as he finished speaking, a strange clapping sound suddenly came from behind him.

Gundomel turned his head in bewilderment and was immediately horrified. He opened his mouth wide, but couldn't utter a sound.

At some point, Roger, the companion who had first asked the question, was lying face down in the shallow water by the shore, motionless.

Another companion, Clothair, was headless. Clothair's body floated in place, feet off the ground, but he was still alive, flailing his arms and legs and struggling desperately.

That strange gurgling sound was coming from Hilde.

Gundomel's teeth chattered, and his legs seemed to have turned into two nails, rooted to the ground, motionless.

"You told the story of 'retrieving iron oxen' very well. Although it's a story from my hometown, it's much better than the one I told someone before. Coincidentally, that person's frequently used community account is Zaire."

A strange female voice rang out above his head: "So congratulations, you've won the survival code for yourselves, Gundogmer."

The voices sounded as if many people were speaking at once, some deep and dignified, some powerful and resonant, and some soft and gentle... When combined, they had a captivating charm.

“Lift your head and look at me,” she commanded.

Gundomel looked up tremblingly, only to see two bright green lights shining high in the sky.

He raised the undying flame in his hand, and only then could he see clearly that a huge woman with six arms and a snake's body was standing in the darkness.

The damp skin reflected the white light of the undying flame, like bright jade, like ice and snow.

His broad chest was encased in bronze armor, and each of his six jade arms held a gleaming greatsword.

Gundomel also saw clearly that the Clothair, who was struggling in the air, was not headless, but had its head constricted by the black snake's body, and its feet lifted off the ground.

Fire seemed to flicker in her emerald eyes.

She didn't look at Gundogmer's face, but looked down at the top of his head.

Her eyes were unfocused, as if in a dream.

The moment he saw the demon's face, Gundogmer exhaled.

He felt no fear; instead, he felt a sense of peace and closeness from the godlike figure before him, and was captivated by the unparalleled beauty of her face, as if she were a dear friend and lover he had known for many years.

The mortal hunter's "Charm" spell worked.

“My,” the six-armed serpent demon paused, “my friend.”

Only by pausing in her speech could she soothe the escalating emotions within her.

The reborn one took a deep breath and deliberately slowed down his speech:

"Please tell me, who exactly is this Zairean Grand Mage who is telling you this story? What is his personality like, and what does he look like?"

Five minutes later, Gundomel and Roger carried the unconscious Clotilde back to the camp gate.

From a distance, the guards saw them and shouted, "What's wrong?"

Gundomel patted the dazed, slumped Clotilde on the shoulder.

"It's all because of this guy, he's obsessed with getting rich!"

Gundomel exclaimed, "He insisted on peering into the water to see if there was any gold, but he lost his footing, slipped, fell into the river, and was swept downstream! It took us a lot of effort to pull him ashore!"

They were then met with a burst of gloating laughter.

Well done, my friend.

The eerie voice echoed in Gundogel's mind, so familiar and beautiful.

【Thank you】

Her voice and tone invigorated Gundogan. A tingling pleasure filled his mind; he was too lazy to think about anything, and all thoughts vanished.

Now he only wants to do more for her. He would go through fire and water for her, no matter what she asks of him.

Gundomel couldn't help but turn his head and cast the most ardent gaze at Roger.

But Roger did not respond.

Roger, on the other side of Clotilde's body, struggled to support his unconscious companion's other arm. The once eloquent man now only bowed his head, uttering not a word.

Aside from Gundogan, no one noticed that Roger's brown eyes had been replaced by magnificent emerald green vertical pupils.

The six-armed serpent demon, transformed into Roger, was burdened with worries.

Calm down, stop overthinking, just treat it like a stealth game... relax and enjoy the game.

she said to herself.

She was like this in her past life as well. It seems to be a talent of hers: no matter how much trouble and anger she had in her heart, as long as she started playing the game, she could calm down and put it all behind her.

She took a breath and shifted her thoughts to the identity she was now in.

The real Roger had already drifted coldly downstream into the darkness. If anyone were to retrieve him, they would find a piece of flesh missing from his neck.

"A mortal body" is a pretty good infiltration ability.

Where is that deputy general Cons, whom you mentioned?

Her voice filled Gundogan with joy and determination, and he felt deeply that he was a useful person.

“This way,” he said softly.

Tusu huddled in a corner of the Samarach camp, squatting under the eaves of the longhouse, staring blankly at the dark rain.

He was completely lost.

Tusu and his people hurried back to the southerners' camp to report to their employers about their encounter with the snake-man. However, they were left waiting outside the commander's longhouse for a full four hours.

In the end, the Southerners only let old man Guruq in, and he was kicked out in less than a minute.

Tusu immediately stood up, looking hopefully at the old man, Guluk. He was the "warrior among warriors" in their tribe, and he hoped the old man would formally introduce him to the nobleman from the south named General Tankard. But the old man merely glanced at him, shook his head, and walked away.

The rest of the tribe left with the old man.

They needed to return to the village as soon as possible—no one could say for sure whether the snake-man-like demon would seek revenge; but other tribes, knowing their heavy casualties, would most likely come to take advantage of their predicament, plundering their food and women. The village couldn't be without adult hunters now.

Old man Guluk tried to persuade Tusu to go back with them, but Tusu was determined.

He wouldn't leave. Even if he was the only one left, he would stubbornly remain in the Southerners' camp and continue to fight alongside them. His intuition told him that the evil spirit would definitely appear here. This was an intuition honed by years of hunting in the jungle as a "warrior among warriors," and he was confident he wouldn't be wrong.

Just then, he saw Gundomier and the other two walking towards him, supporting each other.

The rain poured down, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

Tusu, crouching in the darkness, looked up absentmindedly at the three Samarachi soldiers before lowering his gaze again.

The lightning flashed and disappeared in an instant, plunging the world into darkness once more.

But a storm was brewing in Tusu's heart.

The jungle hunter's eyesight was incredibly sharp; although the light was fleeting, he still managed to see those unforgettable emerald vertical pupils.

He just couldn't understand why those eyes were on a man's face.

At this moment, Vice Admiral Constance had just returned to his longhouse after inspecting the camp.

He wearily removed his helmet and placed it on the low table. Instead of immediately removing his bronze armor, he took a large cup of warm water from a slave servant accompanying him and slowly drank it.

Cons disliked Tankred a hundred times over.

He knew all of Tankred's little schemes, but he simply chose not to expose them. Cons, who believed that "a soldier's duty is to obey orders," would never utter a word of complaint to any superior, not even someone as greedy and shameless as Tankred.

But what happened today still made him furious, and he almost lost control of himself.

A dignified army commander actually abandoned his military duties to go looking for gold!

Cons snorted, picked up the heavy "Illustrated Compendium of Otherworldly Creatures" and "Complete Encyclopedia of Summoning Magic," and began to peruse them. Since receiving orders to come to Narubel Pass, he had already memorized the information in these two books about the six-armed serpent demon and summoning evil magic, but now he wanted to read them again.

Knowing yourself and knowing your enemy can help you win a hundred battles.

After all, the enemy is a six-armed serpent demon, making this mission extremely dangerous.

The home of demons is the lower planes. Most demons that appear in the material plane are summoned by magic and return to the lower planes when the magic ends. Demons that remain in the material plane for such a long time are extremely rare.

But it’s not like nothing.

After reading the information about the six-armed serpent demon, Cons opened the "Complete Book of Summoning Magic".

Summoning spells may seem like one type at first glance, but strictly speaking, they are actually two different schools.

The most common school of magic is "Summoning." This school of magic summons projected clones of demons from lower planes to assist in battle. The magic lasts for a very short time; once the spell ends, the clones dissipate, and the demons are automatically sent back.

Another school of thought, which is less mainstream than "Summoning," is called "Calling."

The so-called "summoning" is the use of powerful magic to attract the true form of a demon—not a projection or clone—from its home in a lower plane to the material world. The caster then uses various means to make a pact with the demon, forcing it to serve them long-term, thereby gaining immense power.

The Boto family, the founding Counts, are masters of the "summoning" school of magic, specializing in witchcraft.

Cons took out his notebook and began to carefully read the information about summoning, while also making notes and sketching, constantly pondering the weaknesses of the summoning magic demon and more efficient ways to win.

Wizards who master the "Summoning" branch are far fewer and more secretive than those who master "Summoning." This is because "Summoning" is far more dangerous than "Summoning," and therefore it is rejected by the mainstream magical community. To paraphrase an old wizard: Summoning magic is like letting a three-year-old child swing a giant warhammer; if they're not careful, they'll be the first to be crushed.

Once the true form of the summoned demon breaks free from the magical contract binding her, it will be an unprecedented catastrophe…

"Magic Contract..."

Cons stopped writing and muttered to himself softly.

This six-armed serpent demon was left behind by Eric van Boto eight hundred years ago. For such a long time, what kind of magical contract did the original exorcist Eric use to entice her to serve him until now? If we could understand the contents of this contract and utilize it, could we drive the six-armed serpent demon back to the abyss?

Just then, a servant's voice rang out from outside the door, ordering them to stop.

Then a man's voice interrupted Constance's train of thought:

“Sir, we are Soldier Gundomel and Soldier Roger. We have some findings about that demon, and we would like to report to you in person.”

Chapter 23 Thunderous Decapitation

Gundomel and Roger carried the unconscious Clotilde into the lieutenant's longhouse.

The lieutenant's two slave servants followed the three soldiers into the longhouse. The slaves were all tribal natives, with dark, shiny skin, thick lips, and curly hair. They were responsible for serving Constance's daily needs, as well as acting as his guards and messengers.

Lieutenant Cons was an exceptionally cautious man. He did not drink alcohol during military service, only water, and did not allow soldiers to bring weapons into his tent.

One of the slaves carried the swords that the three soldiers had surrendered before entering the house over one shoulder. Upon entering, he placed the swords beside Cons's low table, then stood between Cons and the three soldiers, effectively blocking their possible path. Another slave clung tightly to Gundogmer's back, his hand on the hilt of his short sword, staring intently at the back of their necks.