Chapter 88 Earth-Yellow Light

Chapter 88: Chapter 87: Earth-Yellow Light

Snow Cake CHOMPED down a good portion of the Black Snake Monster meat. Once he had his fill, Han Ning led him deeper toward the northwest.

About 6.7 kilometers northwest of Biyun Resort, deep within the murky, stagnant water, they lay in silent ambush behind the massive billboard skeleton of a half-submerged shopping mall.

Ahead, about seven or eight Black Snake Monsters were roaming aimlessly. They gently churned the water with their slimy, scaled snake tails. Their humanoid upper arms occasionally pawed at floating debris, and their flat, monkey-like faces periodically dipped beneath the surface.

Soon after, faint whirlpools began to form in the small patches of water around their heads. Wisps of faint black smoke surfaced from the stagnant water, which they inhaled through their noses and mouths.

"GRRR..." A low rumble emanated from Snow Cake’s throat, as if he couldn’t wait any longer.

Han Ning had already shifted into his half-human, half-tiger Beast Form, keeping the position of every Black Snake Monster clearly in his sights.

"Attack!" he issued a silent Spiritual Command.

Han Ning kicked off the billboard skeleton with his thick hind legs, his body lunging forward and kicking up ripples in the water. He pounced straight toward a lone Black Snake Monster on the outer edge.

SMACK!

His tiger claws pierced through the curtain of rain with a terrifying whoosh, striking the relatively thin joint of the Black Snake Monster’s "neck."

"HISS?!" The Black Snake Monster didn’t even have time to react.

SQUELCH!

The tiger claws tore through the snake scales without any resistance, crushing its cervical vertebrae.

[Beast Form (Basic Level) Skill Level +5, Current 240/2000]

Almost the very moment Han Ning made his move, Snow Cake sprang into action.

"ROAR~"

The Tri-Colored Crystal Scale on his forehead flashed, and an invisible Spiritual Scream instantly rippled outward.

HUM!

The targeted Black Snake Monsters all froze, their eyes flashing with momentary bewilderment.

Snow Cake seized the opportunity to accelerate. Opening his massive jaws, he viciously bit down on another Black Snake Monster’s head.

CRUNCH! SQUELCH!

His terrifying bite force pierced through more than half of the Black Snake Monster’s head, sending foul blood gushing out.

[Three-Color Gemstone Crocodile Lizard Growth Progress +15, Current 255/550]

The battle erupted quickly and ended in the blink of an eye. Han Ning and Snow Cake coordinated flawlessly—one acting as the main attacker, while the other handled crowd control and finishing blows. Every swipe of the tiger claws efficiently claimed the life of a Snake Monster. Snow Cake’s Spiritual Scream interference, combined with the precise assassinations of his Crystal Stream Breath, proved highly efficient. In less than a minute, this entire squad of Black Snake Monsters was wiped out.

[Druid Growth Progress +60, Current Level 5, 1311/2000]

[Three-Color Gemstone Crocodile Lizard Growth Progress +62, Current Level 4, 317/550]

Snow Cake eagerly pounced onto the relatively intact corpses of the Black Snake Monsters, tearing off large chunks and swallowing them down.

CHOMP CHOMP...

The chilling sound of chewing echoed underwater. He seemed to have a special preference for this snake meat infused with Black Tide Energy, eating with an excellent appetite.

SMACK SMACK~

Snow Cake’s chewing sounds were exceptionally clear in an environment where only the pitter-patter of rain could otherwise be heard.

Han Ning’s tiger eyes constantly scanned the murky waters, and a sudden sense of warning flared in his heart.

"Snow Cake, on guard!" he ordered.

SPLASH!

In an instant, the sound of churning water echoed from all directions. Roughly twenty more Black Snake Monsters slithered out from the crevices of abandoned vehicles, from behind the half-collapsed billboard, and from various other nooks and crannies. These Snake Monsters were generally between two to three meters long. For snakes, this wasn’t considered long; in fact, they could even be described as thick and stubby.

"ROAR!" Snow Cake stopped eating. The scale on his forehead flickered, releasing another wave of Spiritual Fluctuations.

Just like the unfortunate souls before them, these Snake Monsters were swept by the wave and completely froze.

Han Ning seized this opening. His tiger body leaped up and crashed heavily into the center of the snake swarm.

BOOM! SQUELCH! SQUELCH!

His tiger claws tore outward, bursting the heads of two rigid Black Snake Monsters.

"HISS!"

A third one reacted slightly faster, violently slapping the water surface with its tail as it attempted to block with its thick, scale-covered appendage. But the terrifying strength behind the tiger claw forcefully shattered its Scale Armor. Digging into the snake’s flesh, Han Ning hoisted it up and hurled it at another Snake Monster attacking from the right.

BANG! The heads of the two Black Snake Monsters collided with the sickening CRACK of splintering bone.

"HISS..."

On his left flank, three Black Snake Monsters threw their jaws wide open. Three streams of thick, ink-like black smoke billowed out; wherever they passed, even the rainwater was corroded, giving off plumes of white smoke.

At this moment, Snow Cake nimbly sidestepped, his Crystal Stream Breath firing second but arriving first. A continuously fired Tri-Colored Beam pierced through the inky smoke, sweeping left and right to evaporate the venom into a pungent white mist. Unabated, it punctured straight through the eye socket of one of the Black Snake Monsters.

"ROAR!!"

Han Ning let out a tiger’s roar. Enduring the sporadically splattering toxic smoke, every swing of his tiger claws brought with it the muffled thuds of bursting bones and tearing sinew. Beneath his claws, the bodies of these Black Snake Monsters were no different from paper maché.

Snow Cake swam closely by his side, his Crystal Scale sparkling as he continuously unleashed alternating blasts of Spiritual Screams and Crystal Stream Breaths.

"ROAR!!"

SWISH SWISH SWISH~

The twenty-odd Black Snake Monsters were mercilessly slaughtered in the stagnant water. Despite their numbers, they were completely unable to break through the barrier of death constructed by one man and one lizard. Dark Gold and tri-colored light flashed and intertwined through the curtain of rain. Every flicker of light was accompanied by the miserable shrieks of the Black Snake Monsters. Foul blood dyed a large expanse of the water red, and mangled snake carcasses continuously sank to the bottom.

When the last Black Snake Monster, which had attempted to ambush them from underwater, had its spine crushed by Han Ning’s tiger claws, the scene finally fell quiet.

Over twenty streams of light radiating black mist floated up from the snake corpses, all surging into Han Ning’s body.

[Druid Growth Progress +240, Current Level 5, 1551/2000]

[Animal Companion (Middle Level) Skill Level +20, Current 215/200]

[Animal Companion (Middle Level) → Animal Companion (High Level), 0/500]

[Three-Color Gemstone Crocodile Lizard Growth Progress +256, Current 573/550]

[Three-Color Gemstone Crocodile Lizard Level 4 → Level 5]

"ROAR!"

The very moment the majestic, warm current surged through Han Ning’s body, Snow Cake let out a fierce, excited bellow.

"GRRR... ROAR!"

His massive body began to tremble violently. The porcelain-white scales covering his body emitted teeth-grinding CRACKING noises, looking as if they would shatter to pieces in the very next second. The Tri-Colored Crystal Scale on his forehead flashed rapidly.

HUM!

Suddenly, a wave of Energy Fluctuations—far stronger than any before—erupted from within Snow Cake’s body. His body jolted, and from the gaps between the porcelain-white scales covering him, a yellowish-brown halo burst forth.

"ROAR!!!"

Snow Cake violently threw his head back, letting out a roar that intertwined pain and excitement. His thick limbs continually kicked at the water, churning up massive currents.

His body began to expand at a visible rate. His original body length of nearly four meters rapidly elongated, his shoulder height shot up, his muscles bulged with knotty strength, and his bones popped and cracked.

The grayish-white scales trembled gently in the light, and dense, yellowish-brown patterns began to emerge along their edges. These yellowish-brown patterns were not static; instead, they flowed slowly across the surface of the scales like living creatures.

His thick forelimbs and hindlimbs, originally covered in smooth scales, now had much thicker scales around the joints and claws, faintly exuding a rock-like texture. Near his spine on his back, several rows of small, spike-like bony protrusions pierced through his Scale Armor, gleaming with a faint yellowish-brown light.