The Winged Serpent's Fury

A continuous line of tall wooden fences cordoned off a piece of land. Each fence was formed by driving logs nearly two zhang high into the earth and connecting them together; no horde of wild beasts could possibly charge through them. Within the enormous wooden barrier were stone huts and wooden houses, where a large number of men, women, and children dressed in animal skins lived.

It was a very ordinary tribe, a tribe of several thousand people.

“My child was captured several dozen li away,” a black-clad man muttered to himself as he walked through the mountain forests, heading towards the gates of this tribe. “And this is the nearest tribe.”

“Halt.”

The main gates of the tribe were closed. On either side of the gates rose two towering arrow towers, each manned by five robust beast-skin warriors. At this moment, they all drew their massive bows, nocked arrows, and aimed them at the black-clad man approaching from afar.

“Outsider, state your purpose!” a warrior on the arrow tower shouted angrily.

The black-clad man’s narrow, long eyes swept across them as if they were mere ants. He did not stop walking, continuing his advance towards the main gate.

The ten beast-skin warriors on the two arrow towers grew furious…

“Kill him!” Instantly, the ten great bows twanged with a series of BANG! BANG! BANG! sounds. Arrows whistled through the air towards the black-clad man. Each arrow could shatter a massive boulder or topple a towering tree. But as the ten arrows neared the black-clad man, they suddenly… BANG! BANG! BANG!

Each arrow exploded into dust.

The black-clad man continued forward.

“Not good.” The ten warriors on the arrow towers were greatly alarmed. One of them grabbed a buffalo horn and raised it, blowing hard.

“Moooo…” The low, penetrating sound of the buffalo horn spread rapidly, soon echoing throughout the entire tribe. The men, women, children, young, and old all swiftly grabbed their weapons and began to assemble. To survive on this land… every person, male or female, old or young, had to be a warrior capable of fighting.

As the tribe’s people gathered, shouting angrily, and charged towards the main gate—

BANG!

The tribe’s thick gate, made of black iron scale wood, exploded violently, splintering into countless wooden shards that flew in all directions. Each shard was more terrifying than the arrows of the tribesmen. In the blink of an eye, dozens of warriors near the gate were killed or crippled, their blood and flesh strewn everywhere. Yet the warriors showed no fear, instead shouting even more fiercely as they prepared to charge.

“Stop!” A commanding voice rang out.

A white-haired old man dressed in animal skin transformed into a blur, charging to the open space before the main gate. The enraged tide of tribal warriors also halted, turning to look at the white-haired elder in grey animal hide. He was their tribe’s chieftain.

“Great hero, this Gold Blade Tribe humbly asks what we can do for you,” the white-haired elder said, bending his back in deference. Someone capable of shattering a gate with mere released energy was undoubtedly a Xiantian lifeform. And a Xiantian lifeform… even within the supreme overlord of these lands, ‘the Ji Clan,’ held an extremely high status.

The black-clad man only now leisurely stepped through the shattered gate.

“I ask you this,” the black-clad man said, glancing at the white-haired elder. “Have there been any serpent demons appearing nearby recently?”

“Serpent demons?” The white-haired elder started, then quickly nodded. “Yes, recently there has been a serpent demon running amok, causing much disaster for many small tribes. The surrounding tribes reported this to the Ji Clan… and the Ji Clan dispatched Black Armored Guards to eliminate the serpent demon threat.”

A cold light flickered in the black-clad man’s narrow eyes.

So it was the Ji Clan!

The Ji Clan. The behemoth of this land. Even an ancient demon like him was reluctant to provoke them. He had suspected earlier that his child ‘Crimson’ had been captured by the Ji Clan, and now it seemed that was indeed the case.

“Killed, or captured?” the black-clad man continued.

“Captured alive,” the white-haired elder quickly replied. “The Black Armored Guards dispatched by the Ji Clan captured the serpent demon alive and returned. By now, they’ve surely arrived at Western Prefecture City.”

“Western Prefecture City?” A blazing flame—the flame of fury—flickered in the black-clad man’s eyes.

To great demons, Western Prefecture City was the most dangerous place of all. It was where the strong of the Ji Clan’s Western Prefecture gathered! Great demons dared not go there. For his child to be taken there… the chances of him rescuing it were exceedingly slim.

“Human,” the black-clad man said, his voice freezing cold as he looked at the white-haired elder. “Do you know who I am?”

Hearing himself addressed as ‘human,’ the elder’s face changed dramatically.

A demon!

Furthermore, one capable of taking human form. This was a terrifying great demon!

“Whoosh…” The temperature around them plummeted. Endless frost began to descend. Even goose-feather snowflakes drifted down, twirling through the air. A terrifying deep cold instantly spread throughout the area. One by one, the sturdy tribesmen nearby rapidly froze into ice statues, then shattered into chunks.

“Run!” the white-haired elder shouted to the tribesmen behind him, his beard and brows covered in a layer of frost. “It’s a great demon! Run! Hurry!”

“Go!”

“Quick!”

Gnashing their teeth with hatred, the tribal people suppressed their unwillingness and began to flee in panic. A few maddened sons of the tribe howled and charged at the black-clad man. But as they drew near him, the frost on their bodies grew thicker and thicker, and they soon transformed into ice statues.

The white-haired elder’s internal energy was deep and vigorous. He shouted with difficulty, “Are you provoking the mighty Ji Clan?”

“Provoking?” The black-clad man’s thick, ink-black hair danced in the wind, and a crimson light flickered in his eyes. “The serpent demon is my child, my most beloved child. Not only will I provoke them, I will storm Western Prefecture City!”

“ROOOAR!”

An earth-shaking roar erupted.

In an instant, the black-clad man transformed into a massive black serpent, coiling and hovering in the air. The serpent’s two enormous scaled bone-wings stretched wide, seeming to blot out the sky and cover the sun as they loomed over the tribe below. The fleeing tribesmen looked up and were filled with unparalleled terror.

“It’s the Winged Serpent!”

“It’s the great demon of Winged Serpent Lake!”

Not a single tribesman had the heart to resist. From the moment they were born, they had listened to ancient legends about the ‘Great Demon of Winged Serpent Lake.’ They knew how terrifying the Winged Serpent was. Their Gold Blade Tribe simply could not withstand such a fearsome great demon!

“You all must die!”

“Every single one of you shall die!”

The colossal Winged Serpent, its bone-wings spread wide, glared down from on high, crimson pupils filled with madness. Suddenly, it opened its gaping maw. Whoosh… An endless, fierce black wind blew forth. The black wind scoured the very ground, tearing away the surface. Stone huts collapsed under its force. In moments, the vast black wind had engulfed the surrounding area for over ten li.

“Hah… Hah…” The tribesmen clutched their throats, their bodies swiftly turning pitch black.

“No…” a woman held her child, tears streaming down her face.

“Great demon… the Ji Clan will avenge us!” a powerful warrior at the peak of internal energy tried to hold his breath, but the poison seeped in through his skin. In his final moment, he could only release a bitter roar.

Moments later…

The dwelling place of the Gold Blade Tribe fell utterly silent, not a single sound to be heard. All the people of the Gold Blade Tribe lay dead—some frozen into shattered ice sculptures, others poisoned where they fell. The entire dwelling, and the area for over ten li around it… had become a land of death. Even the venomous insects and beasts had been poisoned to death.

The massive Winged Serpent hovered in the air, gently flapping its wings as it gazed down, sensing that all life had been extinguished. Only then did it swiftly rise high into the sky, disappearing into the distant horizon.

…

Night fell. The cold wind howled. In the distance, the towering, majestic walls of Western Prefecture City stretched off into the distance.

“Swoosh!” A black shadow easily evaded the patrolling Black Armored Guards on the city walls and stealthily entered Western Prefecture City.

“My child… where are you?”

Inside the city, the great demon ‘Winged Serpent’ began to search carefully in the darkness.

Having entered Western Prefecture City for the first time, the great demon searched for a long time, then discovered with bitter pain: “Demons, when captured alive, are all sent to the Inner City. And the Inner City is where the Ji Clan lives; its defenses are extremely tight. Countless Xiantian lifeforms live within… I simply cannot infiltrate.”

Sneaking into Western Prefecture City had been easy enough.

But infiltrating the Inner City?

That was the home of the Ji Clan’s Western Prefecture. How tight were the defenses of such a lair?

“Whoosh!”

A moment later.

High above Western Prefecture City, the Winged Serpent flew through the night sky. Using its innate water-manipulation abilities, it rapidly formed a thick mist to surround itself, creating a cloud cover. Hidden within the mist, it peered down at the Inner City from above, carefully observing every detail.

Dawn broke.

Ji Ning arrived alone at Dragon Fort. Today was the Cage Battle, held once every three days.

“Young master.”

The Black Armored Guards and various servants within Dragon Fort were all extremely respectful.

Ji Ning’s father was the number one expert of the Ji Clan’s Western Prefecture! Ji Ning himself was monstrously talented, and it was already widely rumored… that Ji Ning would be the next Prefectural Lord. His status was easy to imagine.

“Arrange the most ferocious demon,” Ji Ning called out cheerfully.

“A powerful demon just arrived recently, sent by Commander Meng. It has Fiendgod bloodlines,” a one-armed elder shouted loudly.

“A demon with Fiendgod bloodlines?” A delighted expression appeared on Ji Ning’s face. “Excellent. This time I can have a good fight. Quickly, send it into the cage.”

“Very good.”

The one-armed elder went to make the arrangements.

Dragon Fort was divided into two parts: the Cage and the Beast Lair. In the Beast Lair, all kinds of demons were kept, held in captivity.

“ROAR…” A curled-up crimson serpent, bound by iron chains, glared at the humans beyond its massive cage, releasing a deep, guttural roar.

“Keep roaring,” the one-armed elder snorted coldly. “You’ve devoured so many people; today is your death day. Go, open the gate. Release the chains… let it into the cage.”

“Yes.”

The servants tasked with feeding the beasts went to make the arrangements.

“Rumble…” The gate separating the Cage and the Beast Lair was raised. Light shone in from the distant passageway, and the crimson serpent stared at it, letting out another roar.

“Release the chains,” the one-armed elder ordered.

Click!

The locks on the chains were quickly undone. Feeling the layers of restraints loosening, the crimson serpent couldn’t help but shift, causing the chains to clank. When the final lock was undone… CLANG! The entire mass of chains fell to the ground with a deafening crash.

The crimson serpent cast a cold, venomous glance at the one-armed elder, then slithered swiftly out of the cave, through the passage opened by the raised gate, and into the cage beyond.

Inside the enormous cage…

A fresh-faced, rosy-lipped youth dressed in animal skins was watching it from a distance. The crimson serpent immediately felt its own saliva begin to secrete. Its experience devouring humans told it… the flesh of such a young human boy was the most tender and delicious.