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Chapter 32
Chapter 32: Self-Assessment of Strength, Black-Green Great Serpent
In the jungle.
Tang Zheng walked east, his steps unsteady on the uneven ground. Perhaps because he had always stayed on the outermost fringes, he had been traveling for some time without encountering any wild beasts, or even magical beasts.
Buzz—
A faint, almost imperceptible sound of fluttering wings arose from a branch in the forest.
This was a strange bug, about the length of a thumb, emerald green like a caterpillar, but with a pair of thin wings.
This winged caterpillar slid off a verdant leaf, slowly descending toward Tang Zheng below.
However, just as it reached the space above Tang Zheng's head!
The iron sword arced through the air, slashing the winged caterpillar into two halves that fell to the ground.
*Gained 1 experience point.*
A faint, bloody scent diffused through the air.
Is it poisonous?
Tang Zheng glanced at it dismissively, his steps not pausing for a moment as he continued forward.
What a pity.
He hadn't mastered any detection magic; otherwise, he wouldn't have to rely on his own judgment.
Currently, Tang Zheng's three attributes—HP, Physical Attack, and Agility—had all reached 73 points.
Putting HP aside for now.
He had tested it not long ago; with 73 points of Physical Attack, swinging his iron sword with full force, it would only take three swings to cut down a tree as thick as a man's embrace.
If he used his fists, a full-power punch on a tree trunk could leave an imprint half a fist deep.
As for 'Agility,' the data wasn't as precise. Tang Zheng only knew that all his five senses had improved quite significantly.
Previously, with an agility stat of 63, when he encountered that rogue who should have been Level 8 or above, what was blinding speed to ordinary people felt rather normal, even a bit slow, in Tang Zheng's eyes.
The Rock Squad was the adventurer team Tang Zheng was most familiar with, and the strongest among them was their captain, Dosali.
Now, Tang Zheng felt he was likely a bit stronger than their captain.
Furthermore, he not only possessed Martial Skills but also Skills and Magic.
In a direct confrontation, Tang Zheng wasn't very confident, but if it were an ambush, he was fairly certain he could annihilate the Rock Squad, though he would undoubtedly be injured in the process.
From a weakling to now being able to rival the strength of a Silver-rank adventurer team, Tang Zheng couldn't help but marvel at the terrifying power of the innate ability, 'Player'.
The 'Player' captain, the leader of the Thirteen Heroes two hundred years ago, had aroused the Platinum Dragon Lord's apprehension precisely because of his rapidly increasing strength in such a short period.
He continued forward.
In the forest, the real trouble wasn't the conspicuous magical beasts and wild beasts, but rather the colorful bugs, most of which were highly venomous.
With Tang Zheng's agility stat, he wasn't afraid of these bugs' sudden attacks, but dealing with them was truly troublesome, and the experience gained was always in the single digits.
This severely slowed his progress.
Snap!
A fallen branch on the ground was stepped on by Tang Zheng, emitting a crisp snapping sound.
In the outer reaches of the forest, filled with various insect chirps and the rustling of leaves in the wind, this wasn't particularly noticeable, yet Tang Zheng halted his steps.
“Finally, I've encountered some decent prey. This is your territory, isn't it?” Tang Zheng turned his head, looking to his left.
He saw it.
At the intersection of several large trees' thick foliage, a pure black creature, dotted with faint green spots, lay motionless amidst the leaves.
Thankfully, it was daytime.
Although it was hidden within the foliage, its remarkably slender outline was still discernible. If it were night, Tang Zheng might not have noticed it at all.
Sometime earlier, Tang Zheng had already vaguely sensed something amiss. Although this area was part of the outer reaches of the Touv Great Forest, the number of wild beasts he had encountered was simply too low.
There was only one likely possibility for such a situation.
This area was the territory of a relatively powerful wild beast or magical beast.
Now, it seemed he had guessed correctly.
Tang Zheng's gaze swept over the black figure hidden in the foliage; its body was at least a meter long.
Still, what exactly was it?
Tang Zheng narrowed his eyes, holding his iron sword horizontally across his chest.
Rustle! Rustle!
The leaves rubbed against each other, creating a sound as if blown by the wind.
The hidden creature clearly realized it had been discovered. Facing this human who had trespassed into its territory, a red, forked tongue flicked out from its mouth.
The next moment!
The black-green figure sprung like a coiled spring, bursting forth from the lush foliage. Its maw gaped open as it lunged toward Tang Zheng below.
Its black-green scales, illuminated by the dappled sunlight, emitted a cold glint—they had a metallic texture!
Tang Zheng finally identified what kind of creature this was.
It was a snake!
And it was a giant snake, more than six meters long and as thick as two human thighs.
The Black-Green Great Serpent lunged forward, its reeking, gaping maw opened wide, aiming directly for Tang Zheng's head as it bit down fiercely.
Tang Zheng swiftly swung his iron sword, slashing powerfully at the Black-Green Great Serpent's head.
Clang!
The sword blade slashed heavily against the Black-Green Great Serpent's open maw, producing a dull clang as sparks flew from where the iron met its black scales.
So tough!
Tang Zheng's eyes hardened.
“Hissing roar!”
The Black-Green Great Serpent let out a pained hiss, its six-meter-long body writhing as its thick tail lashed out from behind.
Its tail whipped through the air, producing a sharp whoosh.
Seeing this, Tang Zheng used the sword in his right hand to press down on the Black-Green Great Serpent as it tried to bite him. With his left hand, he made a grabbing motion in the air, pulling another iron sword from his item box and slashing toward the swinging tail.
Thwack!
A dull impact sounded once more.
The somewhat astonishing force caused Tang Zheng to take a step back, his left shoulder recoiling, but he successfully blocked the Black-Green Great Serpent's tail whip.
“Hissing roar!”
With its midsection braced on the ground, the Black-Green Great Serpent pressed its front half and tail down on Tang Zheng, its body constantly writhing.
It seemed to want to coil around Tang Zheng, using the constricting attacks snakes excelled at to kill its prey!
But Tang Zheng, utilizing his agility, held a sword in each hand, steadily retreating while fending off the attacks from the serpent's head and tail.
“Its scales are very hard, and combined with its slick body, it's quite difficult to damage it through brute force alone.”
Tang Zheng continuously swung his iron swords, occasionally slashing at its body, but the effect was minimal.
The sheer hardness was one thing, but its slick body also caused a significant portion of the force from his attacks to dissipate on impact.
He had initially thought it was just a large snake-type wild beast, but now it was clearly a magical beast!
In the Otherworld, wild beasts and magical beasts were quite easy to distinguish; any creature possessing unique abilities could be classified as a type of magical beast.
The Black-Green Great Serpent, seeing that the human before it seemed unable to penetrate its scales, showed a slight decrease in caution in its dull yellow serpentine eyes.
It gradually began to abandon some of its defensive maneuvers, and its attacks became more berserk.
Wham!
The lashing, thick tail was once again blocked by Tang Zheng's iron sword, its force noticeably greater than before.
“That should be enough.”
Tang Zheng's expression remained unchanged; he had basically figured out the Black-Green Great Serpent's attack patterns.
Escaping this serpent with his speed wouldn't be difficult.
However, this was an excellent source of experience!
Thump!
Tang Zheng stomped heavily on the ground and leaped backward quickly, feigning a retreat.
(end of chapter)
In the jungle.
Tang Zheng walked east, his steps unsteady on the uneven ground. Perhaps because he had always stayed on the outermost fringes, he had been traveling for some time without encountering any wild beasts, or even magical beasts.
Buzz—
A faint, almost imperceptible sound of fluttering wings arose from a branch in the forest.
This was a strange bug, about the length of a thumb, emerald green like a caterpillar, but with a pair of thin wings.
This winged caterpillar slid off a verdant leaf, slowly descending toward Tang Zheng below.
However, just as it reached the space above Tang Zheng's head!
The iron sword arced through the air, slashing the winged caterpillar into two halves that fell to the ground.
*Gained 1 experience point.*
A faint, bloody scent diffused through the air.
Is it poisonous?
Tang Zheng glanced at it dismissively, his steps not pausing for a moment as he continued forward.
What a pity.
He hadn't mastered any detection magic; otherwise, he wouldn't have to rely on his own judgment.
Currently, Tang Zheng's three attributes—HP, Physical Attack, and Agility—had all reached 73 points.
Putting HP aside for now.
He had tested it not long ago; with 73 points of Physical Attack, swinging his iron sword with full force, it would only take three swings to cut down a tree as thick as a man's embrace.
If he used his fists, a full-power punch on a tree trunk could leave an imprint half a fist deep.
As for 'Agility,' the data wasn't as precise. Tang Zheng only knew that all his five senses had improved quite significantly.
Previously, with an agility stat of 63, when he encountered that rogue who should have been Level 8 or above, what was blinding speed to ordinary people felt rather normal, even a bit slow, in Tang Zheng's eyes.
The Rock Squad was the adventurer team Tang Zheng was most familiar with, and the strongest among them was their captain, Dosali.
Now, Tang Zheng felt he was likely a bit stronger than their captain.
Furthermore, he not only possessed Martial Skills but also Skills and Magic.
In a direct confrontation, Tang Zheng wasn't very confident, but if it were an ambush, he was fairly certain he could annihilate the Rock Squad, though he would undoubtedly be injured in the process.
From a weakling to now being able to rival the strength of a Silver-rank adventurer team, Tang Zheng couldn't help but marvel at the terrifying power of the innate ability, 'Player'.
The 'Player' captain, the leader of the Thirteen Heroes two hundred years ago, had aroused the Platinum Dragon Lord's apprehension precisely because of his rapidly increasing strength in such a short period.
He continued forward.
In the forest, the real trouble wasn't the conspicuous magical beasts and wild beasts, but rather the colorful bugs, most of which were highly venomous.
With Tang Zheng's agility stat, he wasn't afraid of these bugs' sudden attacks, but dealing with them was truly troublesome, and the experience gained was always in the single digits.
This severely slowed his progress.
Snap!
A fallen branch on the ground was stepped on by Tang Zheng, emitting a crisp snapping sound.
In the outer reaches of the forest, filled with various insect chirps and the rustling of leaves in the wind, this wasn't particularly noticeable, yet Tang Zheng halted his steps.
“Finally, I've encountered some decent prey. This is your territory, isn't it?” Tang Zheng turned his head, looking to his left.
He saw it.
At the intersection of several large trees' thick foliage, a pure black creature, dotted with faint green spots, lay motionless amidst the leaves.
Thankfully, it was daytime.
Although it was hidden within the foliage, its remarkably slender outline was still discernible. If it were night, Tang Zheng might not have noticed it at all.
Sometime earlier, Tang Zheng had already vaguely sensed something amiss. Although this area was part of the outer reaches of the Touv Great Forest, the number of wild beasts he had encountered was simply too low.
There was only one likely possibility for such a situation.
This area was the territory of a relatively powerful wild beast or magical beast.
Now, it seemed he had guessed correctly.
Tang Zheng's gaze swept over the black figure hidden in the foliage; its body was at least a meter long.
Still, what exactly was it?
Tang Zheng narrowed his eyes, holding his iron sword horizontally across his chest.
Rustle! Rustle!
The leaves rubbed against each other, creating a sound as if blown by the wind.
The hidden creature clearly realized it had been discovered. Facing this human who had trespassed into its territory, a red, forked tongue flicked out from its mouth.
The next moment!
The black-green figure sprung like a coiled spring, bursting forth from the lush foliage. Its maw gaped open as it lunged toward Tang Zheng below.
Its black-green scales, illuminated by the dappled sunlight, emitted a cold glint—they had a metallic texture!
Tang Zheng finally identified what kind of creature this was.
It was a snake!
And it was a giant snake, more than six meters long and as thick as two human thighs.
The Black-Green Great Serpent lunged forward, its reeking, gaping maw opened wide, aiming directly for Tang Zheng's head as it bit down fiercely.
Tang Zheng swiftly swung his iron sword, slashing powerfully at the Black-Green Great Serpent's head.
Clang!
The sword blade slashed heavily against the Black-Green Great Serpent's open maw, producing a dull clang as sparks flew from where the iron met its black scales.
So tough!
Tang Zheng's eyes hardened.
“Hissing roar!”
The Black-Green Great Serpent let out a pained hiss, its six-meter-long body writhing as its thick tail lashed out from behind.
Its tail whipped through the air, producing a sharp whoosh.
Seeing this, Tang Zheng used the sword in his right hand to press down on the Black-Green Great Serpent as it tried to bite him. With his left hand, he made a grabbing motion in the air, pulling another iron sword from his item box and slashing toward the swinging tail.
Thwack!
A dull impact sounded once more.
The somewhat astonishing force caused Tang Zheng to take a step back, his left shoulder recoiling, but he successfully blocked the Black-Green Great Serpent's tail whip.
“Hissing roar!”
With its midsection braced on the ground, the Black-Green Great Serpent pressed its front half and tail down on Tang Zheng, its body constantly writhing.
It seemed to want to coil around Tang Zheng, using the constricting attacks snakes excelled at to kill its prey!
But Tang Zheng, utilizing his agility, held a sword in each hand, steadily retreating while fending off the attacks from the serpent's head and tail.
“Its scales are very hard, and combined with its slick body, it's quite difficult to damage it through brute force alone.”
Tang Zheng continuously swung his iron swords, occasionally slashing at its body, but the effect was minimal.
The sheer hardness was one thing, but its slick body also caused a significant portion of the force from his attacks to dissipate on impact.
He had initially thought it was just a large snake-type wild beast, but now it was clearly a magical beast!
In the Otherworld, wild beasts and magical beasts were quite easy to distinguish; any creature possessing unique abilities could be classified as a type of magical beast.
The Black-Green Great Serpent, seeing that the human before it seemed unable to penetrate its scales, showed a slight decrease in caution in its dull yellow serpentine eyes.
It gradually began to abandon some of its defensive maneuvers, and its attacks became more berserk.
Wham!
The lashing, thick tail was once again blocked by Tang Zheng's iron sword, its force noticeably greater than before.
“That should be enough.”
Tang Zheng's expression remained unchanged; he had basically figured out the Black-Green Great Serpent's attack patterns.
Escaping this serpent with his speed wouldn't be difficult.
However, this was an excellent source of experience!
Thump!
Tang Zheng stomped heavily on the ground and leaped backward quickly, feigning a retreat.
(end of chapter)
