Chapter 217: Serpent War!
Setting the Trap
Luke, Emily, Adam, and one others made their way to the rooftop, their designated defensive area.
Emily took a deep breath, spread her right hand, and flames shot out from her glove. The flames rapidly grew into a gigantic, blazing fireball.
"Go!"
The fireball streaked across the air and landed on a wooden house nearby.
Boom!
The house was engulfed in fierce flames, turning into a burning torch.
Emily waved again, sending more fireballs flying, landing on other structures. In a short while, every building except those immediately next to the tavern was ablaze.
The town became a sea of fire. Countless venomous snakes perished within it, their bodies charred and ruined. But compared to the massive number of snakes, this was only a small fraction.
Fire was the natural enemy of snakes, yet the snake army did not retreat in the face of such a massive conflagration. Instead, they bypassed the flames, circling around the non-burning areas to completely surround the tavern.
The snakes grew denser, packed tightly together on the ground like a perpetually writhing carpet.
A single Cobra was not terrifying. What was terrifying was the sight of thousands upon thousands gathered, becoming a black tidal wave. That spectacle was enough to horrify anyone.
August couldn't stand it. He slammed his staff into the ground.
"Expel!"
An invisible light wave spread outwards. Snakes scattered wherever it touched. The next second, a strange hissing sound, accompanied by sharp vocalizations, echoed through the town. The fleeing snakes immediately stopped. Their hoods spread, their heads reared high, and they charged furiously toward the tavern.
"Damn it!"
August cursed under his breath and quickly retreated behind cover. Becky Beckman threw a grenade into the snake crowd.
Boom!
Flesh and blood flew everywhere, creating a brief empty zone in the snake army. In less than two seconds, it was overwhelmed and swallowed by the surging mass of snakes.
A bead of cold sweat appeared on Becky's forehead. There were too many snakes; it was despairing.
Vima set up her heavy machine gun and opened fire, her tracers ripping into the tidal wave and blowing up countless chunks of flesh. Becky composed herself, shouldered her grenade launcher, and fired at the areas where the snakes were most dense.
August used magic to create a patch of muddy swamp in front of them, slowing the advance of the serpents.
The three worked together, temporarily holding the tavern's southeast area. But this was only temporary. The number of snakes was overwhelming. At this rate, their ammunition would be exhausted in less than ten minutes.
In fact, it only took half that time for them to run low on ammo.
The black tide surged wave after wave, constantly shrinking the defensive perimeter. The distance between the fighters and the enemy quickly shrank from fifty meters to twenty meters and continued to contract. Maeve's team couldn't hold out and fired a distress signal first, with Zatanna's and Bill's teams following right after.
Cobras are highly venomous and must be engaged at a distance, not up close. A single bite meant instant death.
Emily asked anxiously, "Is it time to initiate the next step of the plan?"
Luke frowned and remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the snakes that were almost within striking distance. He shook his head reluctantly.
"It has to be this way."
Emily pulled out a whistle and blew it hard. Receiving the signal, Roy plunged his hands into the ground. The soil churned, and huge wooden vines erupted, folding and climbing over each other to form a circular prison, completely surrounding the tavern.
The vine wall slowed the advance of the snakes. The pressure on the group was significantly reduced, allowing them to finally catch their breath.
At the village entrance, the snake king Eddy couldn't help but curse when he saw the wooden wall rise amidst the flames.
"Metahumans? Damn human scum! They tricked me!"
A snake king beside him sneered. "Two sorcerers, four metahumans, and eight professionally trained soldiers. Is this what you called a sightseeing group led by a clueless rich kid?"
"Shut up, Moore! My business is none of yours."
The snake king Moore said indifferently, "The Master's order was to eliminate them, every single one. I'm waiting to see how you plan to do that. Of course..." A smirk crossed his lips, and a flash of anticipation appeared in his eyes. "...you can always beg me."
"And me."
The brown snake king next to him chimed in. "Eddy, I'm looking forward to seeing you grovel to us."
The Ambush
The wooden vine wall stood tall before the black tide. No matter how violent or vicious the snakes became, they couldn't penetrate it. They could only coil and climb the wall, using their bodies to build a rising staircase of corpses.
Looking down from the sky, the densely packed snakes were a tangled mass, fighting and biting each other. Some snakes were crushed or bitten to death by their own kind before they could even climb. For a moment, corpses were everywhere, piled almost into small hills.
Eddy couldn't stand the sight. The snake army was large, but it couldn't sustain this kind of attrition. If the Master found out, he wouldn't be spared.
"I'll have to do it myself."
Eddy spread his dorsal scales, twisting his body. He shot out like an arrow, bypassing the burning houses, and reached the outer perimeter of the tavern. His head reared up, issuing a sharp hiss.
The surrounding snakes immediately parted, clearing a path.
Eddy slithered to the wooden wall. His thick tail whipped suddenly, striking the wall surface like a steel whip.
Bang!
The vine wall shook. With a loud creaking sound, the wall swayed violently and looked as if it were about to collapse, but it strangely held firm.
"Damn it!"
Eddy's expression was utterly ferocious. He raised his tail again. After three consecutive strikes, the vine wall finally collapsed. But just destroying this one section wasn't enough. Eddy slithered to another spot, preparing to repeat the action, but just as his tail lifted, a powerful suction force suddenly dragged him into the air.
Stan Darloff roared, "Maeve, Emmy, now!"
The two nodded quickly. Maeve's body burst with heat, and Emily controlled her thermal energy, transforming it into a fiery red column of flame that roared into the sky.
The fire column lit up the night sky, engulfing the snake king's body.
Eddy screamed in agony. His scales were scorched black by the fire, and his body thrashed violently, trying to tear apart the telekinetic field wrapped around him.
"Such powerful metahuman abilities!"
The two snake kings nearby exchanged a look, both showing shock.
These people were much stronger than the groups that had previously entered the forest. If they joined forces with the green monster living in the swamp, they could truly inflict devastating damage on the serpent's lair.
"We must inform the Master quickly and establish defenses."
In a single glance, both made their decision. They left without looking back, completely abandoning their comrade. Shortly after they left, a flock of Hummingbird drones took flight, heading toward the forest.
A short time later, a piercing sonic boom erupted from the forest. The sound waves rampaged through the woods with terrifying destructive force. It was a long time before the sound slowly faded.
A section of the forest had vanished. The bare ground was marked by a dozen large and small craters, each containing pieces of the Cobra Kings' flesh and bone.
Luke, who controlled the whole thing, let out a soft breath and patted Emily's shoulder.
"Leave him alive. I have a use for him."
Emily nodded, redirecting the column of fire to the vine wall that was now covered in snakes. The flames raged, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of burning flesh.
Deprived of the snake king's control, the Cobras finally reverted to their instinct and frantically scurried away.
Just then, five streaks of white light appeared in the distance. FBI Director Jack Harvey had arrived. Seeing the situation in the town, he immediately ordered his men to open fire without a word.
Five Huey helicopters unleashed their firepower. A hail of bullets and artillery fire turned the town into a battlefield.
The snake army coiling around the town was utterly annihilated. They had barely escaped the sea of fire only to be met with a military strike. Their bodies flew everywhere, and virtually none survived.
🗒️NOTE:
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 20 chapters in advance!