A freezing breath swept across the ground, frost racing outward. One man tried to leap away—his legs froze mid-step, shattering instantly as the serpent's massive form slammed down.
Screams filled the night.
Some fled blindly, abandoning all tactics and dignity. Others gritted their teeth and turned to fight, desperation burning in their eyes as spiritual tools were unleashed—blades, chains, talismans, and burning sigils streaking through the air toward the hovering monster.
Above it all, the three serpent heads moved with eerie coordination—one striking, one suppressing, one watching.
From the treeline, the fox laughed softly, voice calm amid the carnage.
The scarred man's pupils **contracted sharply**.
Water.
Not illusion. Not a summoned beast bound by flesh and blood.
**Condensed elemental manifestation.**
His heart sank.
"So you finally noticed," the fox said calmly, stepping forward as the black spear whistled past its shoulder, missing by a hair. "I thought you'd figured it out earlier… with all that water moving on its own."
Behind him, chaos worsened.
Some of the cultivators finally abandoned their disguises—bodies twisting, bones cracking as demon beasts revealed themselves. Fur, scales, wings—panic stripped away caution. What was meant to be a quiet harvest had become a battlefield soaked in blood and qi.
The scarred man's jaw tightened.
*This wasn't part of the plan.*
He had **not** come alone.
Two companions—both hidden deep within the forest—had already begun laying a **suppression formation** earlier. The plan was simple: he would pressure the fox, force it to reveal its cards. Once the formation fully locked, they would strike together and kill it cleanly.
But now—
The formation wasn't complete.
And worse…
Water qi surged violently.
The weapon in his hand **trembled**, its glow flickering as a massive wave of pressure rolled across the clearing.
**BOOM.**
An attack struck one of the water serpent heads coiled, its body collapsing inward—then **reforming instantly**.
The scarred man reacted on instinct.
He twisted his wrist—
The spear shot forward in a black streak, piercing through the air toward him. At the same instant, he attacked, his weapons laced with corrosive qi, arcing from the side—
But the fox didn't even turn its head.
A translucent barrier flared around it, rippling like glass disturbed by rain.
**CLANG—!**
The weapon struck and was deflected, spiraling away uselessly.
The fox spoke calmly, almost lazily.
"Don't get distracted just because your little plan fell apart."
The scarred man's eyes widened.
*It knows.*
His companions—where were they?
A sudden **screech** cut him off.
One of the hidden formation masters was ripped screaming from concealment as a serpent jaw condensed around his waist, crushing him midair. Runes flared desperately around his body—
**POP.**
Blood mist rained down.
The second tried to flee, formation disk clutched to his chest. A thin line of water sliced across the night—his head slid cleanly from his shoulders.
The fox tilted its head slightly.
"So much for your formation," it said lightly. "You really should've finished drawing it first."
A massive horned boar crashed through the underbrush, roaring as it charged one serpent—only to be wrapped instantly by spiraling currents that constricted tighter and tighter until its roar turned into a wet crunch.
A shadow-scaled leopard leapt from above, claws glowing—one serpent head snapped upward, jaws opening, swallowing it whole. Water burst outward, raining fragments across the forest.
Panic spread like wildfire.
"This wasn't part of the deal!" someone shouted.
"We were told it was just one—so who's doing this!"
"RETREAT—!"
Too late.
The fox stepped back from the scarred man's desperate counterattack, movements unhurried, eyes sharp and amused even as weapons clashed.
Its voice was calm, almost conversational.
"Did you really think," it said, parrying the jade spear with one hand while another spiritual tool struck from behind, "that I wouldn't notice a half-built formation being laid around me?"
The scarred man coughed blood, forcing distance between them.
"You were bait," he snarled. "Just bait!"
The fox smiled faintly.
"Just a fish," it replied, "we were never the hook."
As if in response, the water surged.
The stream exploded upward, more liquid rising, coiling, thickening—feeding the serpents faster now. Their forms grew sharper, denser, pressure rolling off them like waves.
Then——
The forest fell silent—briefly.
The three serpents, massive and imposing just moments ago, **exploded** under the combined assault of the cultivators. Spiritual blades, talismans, and attacks of every sort struck true, disrupting the water constructs at their core. With a shuddering hiss, the bodies of flowing water collapsed in on themselves.
Streams of liquid fell from the air like torrential rain, drenching the underbrush, soaking the fallen and fleeing cultivators alike. Branches snapped under the weight of cascading water. Pools formed in the soft earth, reflecting the chaos that had just unfolded.
The scarred man wiped blood from his mouth, eyes wide. "Impossible… how could something like that—?"
But the fox, calm as ever, stepped lightly over the slick ground, weapons hovering, eyes flicking to the rain-soaked remnants. "There," it said softly, almost casually. "All gone."
Around them, the remaining cultivators scrambled. Some cowered in the sudden downpour, others tried to regain composure and reform their formations. The forest, once alive with the motion of battle, now hissed under the falling water.
The lizard, still invisible, felt the shift immediately. The water currents, once solid as serpents, now flowed freely. It drifted above the forest floor.
The rain of shattered water serpents slid off its scales. It drifted downward, droplets scattering with soft splashes. Its body flowed with the water, scales rippling as if merging with the stream that had birthed the serpents.
Bending its head low, its horns stabbed into the ground. Tiny sparks of **lightning** began to crackle across its scales. At first faint, they danced along its spine and wings—but in an instant, the energy **intensified**, arcing violently, illuminating the forest in pale, jagged flashes. Leaves and mist shimmered under the electrical storm building on its body.
Farther ahead, the fox was locked in battle with the scarred man, weapons clashing, aura flaring, both nearing their limits. The fox's ears twitched—sensing something. Its gaze flicked briefly toward it.
The fox's eyes widened as it **caught sight of the sparks of lightning**, dancing across the lizard's scaled body. Its paw froze on the wet ground, splashing water beneath it. The realization hit instantly.
It thought: *Crap…*
The hair on the back of its neck pricked. Whatever was coming now wasn't just a threat—it was a storm.