Chapter 232: My teammate got bitten by a snake.

The eleven of them needed to gather five hundred stalks of Starba Grass. Divided evenly, that meant just over forty stalks per person. In theory, it was an easy job that should take no more than an hour.

Unfortunately, Starba Grass was particular about where it grew. It liked hiding in crevices between rocks, making it tedious and time-consuming to find.

Shu Li opened his herb pouch and counted the contents. Ten stalks.

That was all he had managed to collect in half an hour.

To find even that many, he had been forced to expand his search area. He was now more than two hundred meters from where he had started.

Shaking the dirt off his small shovel, Shu Li stood and looked around for his teammates.

After a moment, he frowned.

Everyone was within sight except Nasha.

Strange. Where had she gone?

"Sperien, what's wrong?" Angel called from a little over ten meters away, puzzled to see him standing still.

"Have you seen Nasha?" Shu Li asked.

"Nasha? Isn't she right over there?" Angel pointed, only to find that the spot was empty. "Huh? That's strange. She was there just a moment ago! Where did she go?"

Shu Li looked in the direction he was pointing. Large boulders lay scattered haphazardly across the area. Someone crouching to gather herbs could easily be hidden behind them.

"I'll go check."

He jogged over and was about to jump onto a large boulder when a scream suddenly rang out ahead.

"Ah! A snake!"

It was Nasha.

The others immediately abandoned their herb gathering and hurried toward Shu Li.

Shu Li leaped onto the boulder and spotted a black-haired girl lying among the rocks ten meters away.

"Nasha!"

He rushed over and crouched beside her to examine her condition.

Nasha's face was deathly pale, her expression twisted with pain. Her body kept convulsing, and her right leg was bent at an unnatural angle.

With no time to worry about propriety, Shu Li lifted the hem of her skirt.

A slender, pitch-black snake was coiled around her right ankle.

"Hiss!"

The snake opened its mouth, exposing venom-coated fangs, and shot toward Shu Li like an arrow.

Startled, Shu Li reacted with lightning speed. He caught the snake just behind its head between two fingers and yanked hard, pulling the half-meter-long creature free.

The others arrived just in time to see Shu Li holding the black snake between his fingers.

Seriu immediately drew his sword.

A flash of white light sliced through the air, severing the snake's head.

Shu Li promptly tossed the body aside. The headless snake continued writhing on the rocks, making his stomach churn.

"Did Nasha get bitten?" Xidi crouched down, gathered Nasha into her arms, and pulled up the fabric covering her right leg.

"What is this...?" Her eyes widened.

Two bloody puncture wounds marked Nasha's ankle, and half her leg had turned black.

"It's poisonous!" the others exclaimed.

Shu Li hurriedly took a thin cord from his storage pouch and tied it tightly around Nasha's knee to prevent the venom from spreading farther up her leg. Then he pulled out a dagger and brought it close to the wound.

"Nasha, bear with it for a moment," he said gravely.

Leaning against Xidi, Nasha managed a weak response.

"Mm..."

Shu Li tried to cut open the bite marks to drain the poisoned blood, but even after several attempts, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I'll do it."

Seriu took the dagger from him. Without the slightest hesitation, he made a clean incision across the bite marks, then squeezed firmly to force out the poisoned blood.

Once he had extracted as much as he could, Shu Li began chanting a water magic spell. A ball of water gathered in the air, repeatedly washing over the wound until it was thoroughly cleaned.

When he finished, the water disappeared, and the blackish-purple discoloration had faded from Nasha's lower leg.

"I have some medicinal herbs." Kumandi handed Shu Li a stone bowl used for grinding herbs.

Shu Li accepted it and found that the herbs inside had already been crushed into a paste.

The familiar fragrance gave him pause.

This was Luo Thorn Grass, a medicinal plant that grew only in the Faerie Forest. It was exceptionally effective at stopping bleeding, neutralizing toxins, and reducing inflammation.

Apparently, Kumandi had taken some from his storage ring and crushed it while no one was paying attention.

Once the herbs were ground into a paste, their original appearance was impossible to identify, so they wouldn't attract unwanted attention.

Shu Li scooped out the paste and applied it to Nasha's wound.

The medicinal juices stung. Nasha bit her lip, and fine beads of sweat covered her pale face.

Xidi held her tighter and murmured reassuringly, "It's all right now. Everything's going to be fine."

Shu Li finished bandaging the wound, untied the cord around her knee, and let out a long breath.

They had treated her in time. Her life was no longer in danger.

Once they returned to the academy, he could prepare a bottle of scar-removal potion for her. After applying it for a month, her skin would be as good as new.

Of course, that potion was an exclusive Fairy formula, and some of its ingredients would have to be gathered from the Faerie Forest.

"We sprayed ourselves with snake and insect repellent, didn't we? So why did that black snake still bite Nasha?" Angel asked, baffled.

Repellent was essential when undertaking assignments in the wilderness. Before entering Woba Grand Canyon, every one of them had sprayed themselves to prevent bites from insects and snakes.

"Maybe this snake isn't affected by repellent?" Budno crouched beside the corpse and prodded it with his little shovel.

The snake rolled over, exposing golden scales along its belly.

"That's a Black Nagin Snake," Ace said with a frown. "Black Nagin Snakes usually travel in groups."

Shu Li stared at him in surprise.

"Are you saying... if you find one, there's probably a whole nest nearby?"

That was as horrifying as spotting a cockroach.

Ace nodded grimly.

Hector swallowed.

"Um... exactly how many snakes are in a nest?"

Ace tightened his grip on his magic staff and surveyed their surroundings warily.

"A thousand. Sometimes tens of thousands."

"What? Tens of thousands?!" Hector went pale with shock.

Seriu tilted his head, listening, then barked, "On guard!"

The Light Squad immediately shifted into battle formation.

Shu Li raised his magic staff and chanted a light-element physical defense spell, creating a barrier that enclosed everyone.

"Xidi, Hector, take care of Nasha."

"Yes!" they answered together.

"Everyone else, form a circle. Prepare to attack and defend."

"Got it!"

The group moved into position, protecting Nasha, Xidi, and Hector in the center.

"Here they come!" Amanda's pupils narrowed into vertical slits, his dragon's innate love of battle stirring to life.

Rustle, rustle—

Hissss—

In the blink of an eye, thousands upon thousands of black snakes came surging toward the Light Squad from every direction.

Some were as thin as fingers, others as thick as water pipes, and still others were as massive as pythons.

The sight made everyone's skin crawl.

They were almost as bad as that mob of rats that had terrorized Kesheng Town!

The snakes came on relentlessly, surrounding the Light Squad's glowing barrier from every direction. Those in the lead competed to be the first to slam themselves against it.

Fortunately, Shu Li had erected a defensive barrier at the level of an Intermediate Grand Mage. Even when thousands of small snakes collided with it, the barrier remained perfectly still.

When undertaking assignments in the wilderness, personal safety came first. Sometimes, that meant adapting to the situation.

Although Shu Li was pretending to be a Mage Apprentice, he had to use his true strength when danger struck.

"There are so many of them!" Budno exclaimed. "Do you think they're edible?"

Dixio's eyes widened.

"They're all venomous snakes! You'd actually dare eat them?"

At a time like this, he was still thinking about food!

Budno looked aggrieved.

"But I'm hungry!"

Judging by the sun's position, it was already noon.

Time for lunch!

Amanda stared at the endless procession of black snakes and licked his lips.

"I'm hungry too."

Every dragon possessed a formidable stomach. Poison meant nothing to them, and as long as the meat was tender, they could eat practically anything.

These black snakes looked quite appetizing.

They were probably delicious.

Unfortunately, Amanda was currently disguised as a human and couldn't return to his true form. Otherwise, the entire swarm would have made a satisfying meal.

The corner of Shu Li's mouth twitched.

"We'll have lunch once the danger is over."

No sooner had he spoken than the back of his right hand grew hot.

The Fire God's mark appeared, sending out a streak of red light that materialized into Falm's little round body.

"Is it time to eat? Is it time to eat?"

Falm gave an enormous yawn and flapped the batlike wings on his back, looking thoroughly half-asleep.

Oh, great. Another glutton.

Shu Li was at a loss for words.

He pointed at the black snakes attacking them outside.

"Black Nagin Snakes. Lots of them. Want some?"

Falm took one look, and drool began dripping from his mouth.

"Black Nagin Snakes! Delicious!"

As a tenth-rank magical beast that had lived for tens of thousands of years, Falm had eaten nearly every kind of magical beast and animal on the continent.

Black Nagin Snakes were very much on the fire dragon lizard's menu.

"Do whatever you want," Shu Li said. "Just don't let them swallow you instead."

Falm gave him a sidelong glance.

"They dare swallow me?"

These were ordinary snakes, not even first-rank magical beasts.

Swallow a tenth-rank magical beast?

What a joke!

Determined to demonstrate his authority, Falm flew close to the edge of the defensive barrier and released the oppressive aura of a high-ranking magical beast, intending to frighten the snakes away.

Under normal circumstances, the snakes would have fled for their lives the moment they sensed such a powerful creature.

But this time, rather than retreating, they surged forward even more viciously, slamming themselves against the barrier.

Falm waved his short, chubby claws, bared his teeth, and let out a low growl.

The black snakes completely ignored the little magical beast's babyish growling. They continued slithering forward, piling up against the outside of the barrier.

Falm was furious.

What kind of snakes were these?!

How dare they disregard the authority of a magical beast!

Outrageous!

If he weren't disguised as a tiny baby beast, he would have grown to his full size long ago.

Shu Li was equally astonished.

These black snakes were clearly ordinary reptiles, not even first-rank magical beasts, yet they showed no fear of Falm, a tenth-rank magical beast.

Who had given them the courage to challenge the authority of such a powerful creature?

"Sperien, aren't we going to attack?" Dixio asked, gripping his magic staff, itching for action.

"Not yet," Shu Li replied. "Let's wait until all the snakes have come out. Then we'll wipe them out in one go."

They were ordinary snakes, not magical beasts. A single fireball could incinerate a huge number of them.

Since the entire nest had apparently decided to come out looking for death, the least he could do was oblige them with a special family-extermination package.

Falm was beside himself with rage, flying up and down inside the glowing barrier.

"Let me out! I'm going to eat every last one of them!"

The barrier was a physical defensive formation. Nothing solid could pass through it in either direction.

Shu Li glanced at him.

"I'll let you out once there are fewer of them."

More importantly, they still hadn't figured out why the black snakes were unaffected by a high-ranking magical beast's aura.

Until they understood what was happening, they couldn't afford to let their guard down.

Seriu slid his sword back into its sheath and switched to a high-grade magic staff.

Narrowing his eyes, he extended his perception to investigate everything within a hundred-meter radius.

Apart from the black snakes continuously emerging from cracks in the rocks, he detected nothing unusual.

Hector's teeth chattered as he watched the swarm grow larger and larger.

"Th-this is getting completely ridiculous! How can there be so many?"

"Did we walk right into a snake nest?" Xidi murmured.

Nasha forced herself to rally and asked Xidi to help her stand.

"Are you sure you can manage?" Xidi asked worriedly.

"I'm fine now."

Nasha took out her magic staff and used it as a crutch.

"The wound doesn't hurt anymore."

She couldn't become a burden to her companions. She had to pull herself together and join the battle.

Seeing that some color had returned to Nasha's face, Xidi supported her by the arm.

"If you start feeling unwell, you have to tell me. Don't force yourself to keep going."

"Mm. I know," Nasha replied.

Ten minutes later, the black snakes had piled themselves into a thick, writhing wall around the defensive formation.

Their bodies slithered against the glowing surface, creating a nauseating spectacle.

If the group did nothing, the entire barrier would be buried beneath the snakes within minutes.

"They're trying to devour the light source," Ace said.

Once the glowing barrier lost the light sustaining it, the entire formation would collapse automatically.

"We're not waiting any longer! Let's clear out a batch first!"

At Shu Li's command, all eleven members of the Light Squad raised their magic staffs and unleashed a barrage of spells at the black snakes outside.

BOOOOM!

Fireballs, spheres of light, water arrows, wind blades, vines, and spikes of earth swept across the surrounding area in wide-ranging attacks, producing deafening explosions.

The black snakes were struck by spell after spell, dying in great swathes before they could even hiss.

Within moments, the first wave surrounding the barrier had been wiped out.

But even more black snakes came pouring out, viciously throwing themselves against the glowing shield.

Shu Li frowned as he felt the defensive formation begin to waver.

He immediately chanted another spell to reinforce it.

"Why are all these black snakes releasing so much black smoke when they die?" Hector asked in confusion.

"Black smoke?"

Shu Li had been so occupied casting spells that he hadn't noticed the smoke rising from the snakes' corpses.

That was...

"The power of darkness!"

He cried out in shock.

Shu Li frequently visited Wanaku, where the Dark Elves lived, to purify the Mother Tree. Of all the powers he had encountered, the one he was most familiar with was the power of darkness.

The moment he saw the black smoke emerging from the dead snakes, he recognized it.

No wonder they weren't afraid of Falm.

Any creature corrupted by the power of darkness would lose control and descend into a violent frenzy.

Only slaughter could temporarily soothe its maddened soul.