Chapter 120: Demon Snake

Wilderness Mountain.

Though called a mountain, it was in reality quite large, and could even be considered a continuous mountain range.

Looking at it from afar, one could see that the entire Wilderness Mountain Range was a deep brown color, with very little vegetation overall, mostly located at the foot of the mountain and in the valleys. The vegetation that did grow was of the drought-resistant variety.

"Wilderness Mountain…"

Chen Mu stood on a high slope, looking at the Wilderness Mountain in the distance with his hands clasped behind his back.

The reason for the barrenness of this mountain range was that the entire area had extremely dry soil, both above and below the surface. Even during the rainy season, this area received little rain and water, and therefore there were no settlements nearby.

"Form groups and patrol along the lines," Chen Mu instructed the two Demon Slaying Division black uniform guards and some Yu family guarding swordsmen and Anyu county yamen runners behind him.

Because there were no villages near the Wilderness Mountain, the patrol did not need to get close. They only needed to place fixed personnel along the open high ground, and have mobile patrols in more complex areas.

Chen Mu’s current location was about ten li away from the nearest village, and this distance was enough to allow for an alert if demons emerged from the Wilderness Mountain, as well as a quick response.

"Yes, sir," The two black uniform guards respectfully replied, and led the Yu family swordsmen and yamen runners away in two directions.

Only Chen Mu, a Yu family swordsman, and a county yamen runner were left on the high slope.

Because the vegetation here was sparse, standing on the high slope allowed them to see a large area, and any demons that appeared would be easily spotted.

The county yamen runner stood carefully to the side.

"There’s no need to be too restrained. Widen your field of vision, and don’t miss any demons that may pass by," Chen Mu said in a calm tone when he saw how nervous the yamen runner was.

"…Yes," the yamen runner quickly replied.

It wasn’t his fault for being nervous. The difference in status between him and Chen Mu was too great. At the same time, he couldn’t help but feel a little excited. Being able to serve Chen Mu, if he could make some contribution and catch Chen Mu’s eye, it would be a rare opportunity in his life.

Therefore, he kept his mind focused, scanning the surroundings, and not daring to be the slightest bit negligent.

In comparison, the Yu family swordsman was much more relaxed.

Chen Mu stood on the high slope for a while, until both the black uniform guards he had brought had disappeared into the distance. Only then did he turn his head and look at the Wilderness Mountain.

Suddenly.

The Yu family swordsman beside him said in a low voice: "Sir, it seems to be a demon."

"Yes, I see it." Chen Mu replied calmly, his gaze falling toward a certain direction. At the end of his line of sight, he could vaguely see a blurry figure repeatedly leaping in a deep gully.

Although he couldn’t see it clearly, its movements were beyond those of ordinary beasts, and was likely some type of demon. However, it was still far away, and after looking at it for a few moments, Chen Mu turned his gaze away.

During a demon disturbance, there was often no need to be too proactive. Demons would actively charge due to their frenzy.

Chen Mu continued to survey the area, while the Yu family swordsman occasionally looked towards the demon in the far distance. After about an hour, the figure that was occasionally leaping in the gully suddenly disappeared.

When he looked for it again, he saw that it had left the gully and was headed towards the high slope.

The Yu family swordsman’s gaze tightened.

Soon, they saw the demon approach. It was a leopard demon, with a reddish-orange body with black spots. Its shape and color closely matched the surrounding barren landscape. It was quite fast, and it was easy to lose sight of it if one didn’t focus.

"Sir, it seems to be a fire rock leopard. Should I deal with it?" The Yu family swordsman said in a low voice, his eyes fixed on the approaching leopard demon.

The fire rock leopard was a second-tier demon, within his ability to handle.

However, his words did not receive a response. When he looked to the side, he saw that Chen Mu was no longer on the rocks of the high slope.

When he looked again at the approaching fire rock leopard, he saw that Chen Mu, dressed in his blue uniform, was standing on its path.

"Roar!"

The fire rock leopard’s demonic eyes were frenzied. It roared fiercely at Chen Mu, then jumped high, pouncing at Chen Mu with a gust of wind, and swinging its sharp claws, trying to tear Chen Mu apart.

Ka!

A faint sound rang out.

Chen Mu’s right hand formed a blade, and gently slashed down at the fire rock leopard’s neck. With just one strike, the fire rock leopard’s pouncing posture suddenly stiffened. After falling to the ground, its body started twitching before gradually losing its life force.

Chen Mu reached out and lifted the fire rock leopard’s still twitching body like he was lifting a kitten. He carried it back to the high slope and threw it aside.

"Prepare it for roasting, for tonight’s meal," Chen Mu said calmly.

The Yu family swordsman quickly responded, and went over to process the fire rock leopard’s corpse.

After the Yu family swordsman was finished processing the fire rock leopard, Chen Mu casually picked up a piece of roasted meat and tasted it. The taste was a bit average, which made him frown slightly. But he still ate the whole piece of meat.

As the sun set, night gradually fell.

The Yu family swordsman felt somewhat relieved.

During a drought, demons that were stimulated into a frenzy often became calmer at night. Therefore, there wasn’t much need to worry about patrolling at night. However, he and the yamen runner would still take turns patrolling the high slope.

Chen Mu’s figure occasionally disappeared into the darkness. By the time the sun rose again the next morning, the Yu family swordsman, who had come to the high slope to look around, couldn’t see any trace of Chen Mu.

"Sir has left," the county yamen runner said in a low voice.

While he was slightly relieved, when the tension subsided, he also felt some regret that he wasn’t able to make any contributions. However, Chen Mu had surely gone to patrol the area, and would probably return here after a while.

…

Among the Wilderness Hills.

Chen Mu walked leisurely. Occasionally, demons approached from a distance and launched sudden attacks from behind, but he merely waved his hand, and these low-tier demons were directly killed on the spot.

After collecting only the most valuable items, he discarded the rest, not having the time to carry everything back.

"There are fewer high-tier demons than I expected," Chen Mu said, shaking his head slightly as he looked at the corpse of a demon deer after taking off a piece of its antler.

During his day and night of patrolling, he had mostly dealt with first and second-tier demons. So far, he had not seen a single third-tier demon. This was not what he had expected. Perhaps it was because it was still the early stages of the demon disturbance.

While he was pondering this, a sharp, cloud-piercing whistle came from the distant horizon, piercing the sky.

"A one-whistle?"

Chen Mu glanced in that direction, then changed his path and headed towards where the whistle came from.

A signal whistle was used for more troublesome situations that could not be handled. One whistle usually meant an unmanageable demon, often of a higher tier, and was only used in one area, to be handled by a blue uniform guard and their men.

Two whistles meant a large number of demons that could not be stopped, and would have a cascading effect, with two whistles passing from area to area until they reached a township, where the commander would mobilize troops to suppress them.

And lastly, there was three whistles.

This represented the most serious situation, where all personnel in a township would gather, and depending on the severity, would request reinforcements from the county government.

Chen Mu moved quickly. He tapped his feet lightly on the barren ground, and then leaped forward a long distance. Like a blurry afterimage, he quickly passed over the ground, and was soon approaching the source of the whistle.

At this moment.

On a high mountain rock, a Demon Slaying Division black uniform guard was anxiously lying on the ground behind a rock, his gaze fixed on the hills in the distance. A yellowish-brown snake was winding its way over the ground.

This was a third-tier demon, a rock scale demon snake. Its scales were as hard as mountain rocks, and even weaker attacks had trouble leaving any marks on its surface. This was a demon that the black uniform guards could not handle.

Even the blue uniform guards might not be able to capture it, and would only be able to confront it and wear it down to force it to retreat.

He had used "cloaking incense", and was hiding carefully without making any sounds. Under normal circumstances, demons would not be able to find him. However, he was very unlucky and had encountered a snake demon like the rock scale demon snake.

Among all the demons, besides the flying ones, snakes were almost the most troublesome. They all had different senses. Some had extremely acute hearing, some relied on scent, and some could even sense body heat.

Hiss hiss.

The rock scale demon snake arrived near the black uniform guard, flicked its tongue, and seemed to hesitate.

The black uniform guard’s body stiffened. He dared not make a single sound.

But just at that moment, a yamen runner who was also lying on the ground hiding behind him nervously gripped a rock. He accidentally broke off a piece of the rock, causing a snap sound.

Bad!

The black uniform guard’s expression changed.

He saw the rock scale demon snake that had been hesitating suddenly arch its body, turned towards where they were hiding, and then suddenly leaped out. It was like a brown arrow flying along the rocks. It was incredibly fast.

Just as the black uniform guard’s face turned grim and the yamen runner behind him turned pale with fear, a sharp sound of air being torn came from behind them. A streak of saber light came from afar, and drawing a long arc through the air, it flew towards the fast-moving rock scale demon snake.

Whoosh!

The rock scale demon snake was very agile. One moment it was moving straight forward, and the next it was suddenly twisting its body, with nearly one third of its body, including its head, rising upward.

With a clack, the streak of saber light finally landed, and it was no more than three inches away from the demon snake. It was actually a steel saber thrown from afar. Its blade had pierced through the air and was now stuck in the rock.

"Hiss hiss!"

The rock scale demon snake reared up, its tongue flicking wildly, seeming extremely angry and furious.

It ignored the black uniform guard and the others. Instead, it turned its head towards a figure at the bottom of the rocks and pounced at him.

"Hmph," Chen Mu snorted coldly. Although his hands were empty, he was not afraid. He used his right hand to form a sword finger, and struck the top of the snake’s head, forcing its rushing body to recoil downwards.

"The hardness is acceptable."

Chen Mu looked at the rock scale demon snake, which had merely paused after his attack, and showed no obvious injuries. He calmly evaluated it, then turned his body and went to the top of the rock, and grasped the hilt of the saber, with only a small part of it exposed from the rock.

With a clang, he pulled the steel saber out, then turned around and struck at the rock scale demon snake that had attacked again. The two collided together, sending sparks flying and a crisp sound of metal clashing.

Under the black uniform guard’s shocked gaze, he saw that the blade of Chen Mu’s steel saber had cut a large section into the demon snake’s head!

"Hiss!!"

The rock scale demon snake hissed painfully, and its body quickly retreated backward. Blood flowed from its head, and the frenzy and ferocity in its demonic eyes were much reduced. It turned its body and tried to escape.

But Chen Mu did not stop. He stepped forward with a cold expression, stomped on the snake’s tail, and with a horizontal swing of his steel saber, he cut its body in half!

The lower half of the rock scale demon snake’s body twisted and wrapped around Chen Mu’s ankle, while the upper half erupted in ferocity again and bit at Chen Mu. But it was no use. Chen Mu cut it into several pieces in a few moves.

So strong!

The Demon Slaying Division black uniform guard was shocked. He had encountered a rock scale demon snake once before, and knew that because of its tough scales, sometimes even a white uniform guard who had reached the perfection of tendon transformation could not break through its defenses if their weapons were not good enough. At best, they could only wear down the demon and force it to retreat.

Chen Mu, however, had used the Demon Slaying Division’s standard steel saber to cut the snake into several pieces in just a few moves. With such strength and saber skills, it was no wonder that Xu Hongyu valued him so much, and had even given him the authority to make decisions at the council hall.

"Thank you for saving us, sir!" the black uniform guard said as he climbed up from the rocks. He bowed respectfully to Chen Mu, his eyes full of awe.

Chen Mu was processing the corpse of the rock scale demon snake, taking its gall, heart, and blood, and discarding the snake meat with the lowest value. He looked at the black uniform guard and said calmly: "Continue patrolling."