The Martial Lord of the Troubled World

Chapter 18 Black Scales
"Or, let's get out of the woods before it gets dark."

"Wait until dawn tomorrow, then come back and kill his mother!"

The bald, burly man yanked the bolt of his rifle hard, his face slightly menacing as he said:
"Either we head into the village now and fight that snake demon!"

Everyone looked at Fu Guoping, waiting for him to make a decision.

The woods were eerily quiet at this moment, with only the terrified sobbing of an old man and a young girl lying on the ground, disturbing everyone's peace of mind.

"Let's cancel first."

After considering it for a while, Fu Guoping made his final decision.

The people in the Civil Affairs Department had no objections and followed Fu Guoping's arrangements. Only the bald, burly man with the most temper seemed reluctant to leave, holding his long gun and cursing incessantly.

Just as everyone was preparing to pack up and leave, Fu Juemin, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly looked at the still-burning fire at his feet, the orange flames flickering within, and slowly spoke: "Second Uncle, you said..."
How about we just burn the village down?

In an instant, everyone in the forest stopped what they were doing and all eyes turned to Fu Juemin.

A moment later, Fu Guoping's loud laughter echoed through the woods.

“Good Lingjun, my good nephew, you are as smart as your father.”

Why didn't Second Uncle think of that?

In the darkness, a crescent moon hangs high in the sky.

Fu Juemin stood on a slightly elevated earthen slope, watching the small mountain village not far away being gradually surrounded and swallowed up by raging flames rising from all sides.

The Civil Affairs Department brought a large amount of kerosene and saltpeter, which were packed in two bulging large packages.

The dozens of strong men from the Civil Affairs Office were all skilled arsonists. They quickly set up a fire around Taoxiang Village and, aided by the night wind, the fire spread rapidly into the village.

"When that thing comes out later, Young Master Fu, remember to stay as far away as possible."

Qian Fei, who was holding a gun beside him, spoke softly, "Second Master told the two of us to protect you, but if things get chaotic, we might not be able to cover everything."

"Ah."

Fu Juemin nodded, and then he saw a group of men from the Civil Affairs Office who had set fire to the village start throwing large amounts of yellow powder towards the village. The wind and fire swirled around them, raising billowing yellow smoke.

"what is that?"

Fu Juemin asked.

Qian Fei replied, "Realgar."

The Civil Affairs Department was quite well-prepared to deal with the snake demon using realgar powder.

Fu Juemin watched for a while, when suddenly a commotion arose not far away.

Several burly men from the Civil Affairs Bureau ran quickly to one side with guns in their hands. Fu Juemin instinctively raised his revolver, and Qian Fei and Ma Daikui flanked him from both sides, protecting him firmly behind them.

But not long after, the burly men returned, leading several people out from the side of the burning village.

"Go and see."

Without waiting for Qian Fei and the other to react, Fu Juemin took the lead and ran towards the location from which the commotion came.

When Fu Juemin arrived, he saw that several people who had been dragged out by the men from the Civil Affairs Bureau had been tightly bound with ropes.

"Are you Huang Youde?"

Fu Guoping stood in front of a man and spoke coldly.

"Yes Yes."

The man wore a patched short-sleeved shirt, had dark skin, and looked like a timid and honest farmer.

He was tied up along with a woman and a child who looked to be about seven or eight years old. The child seemed to have some intellectual disabilities and kept drooling and giggling at people.

That must be the man's wife and children. "Where is the snake demon?"

Fu Guoping asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir."

The man kept his head down, his gaze darting away.

Fu Juemin noticed several cotton bundles scattered on the ground nearby. One of the bundles was drooping open, revealing that it was full of old jewelry and copper coins.

"never mind."

Fu Guoping was too lazy to continue the interrogation. He ordered people to watch over Huang Youde's family while he continued to direct the people from the Civil Affairs Department to set fires and sprinkle realgar.

Even though Huang Youde and his wife were tied up, they still wouldn't behave. Fu Guoping turned around and glared at the grandfather and grandson who were "informing" the Civil Affairs Department not far away. His eyes were fierce, completely different from before.

The fire burned for more than twenty minutes, growing stronger and stronger. The flames illuminated half of the sky above the valley, and the village was filled with thick smoke from burning wood mixed with realgar. Even from a distance, it was so choking that it brought tears to people's eyes.

"Young Master Fu, have something to eat to fill your stomach."

Because of the urgency of the situation, most of the team members had not eaten dinner, so Qian Fei specially brought Fu Juemin some dry food and water.

Fu Juemin was indeed a little hungry, so he nodded and was about to reach out to take it.

Just then, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

This feeling is subtle and hard to describe.

It's like the chest tightness and palpitations that naturally occur before a rainstorm, or the inexplicable throbbing before a major event.
Fu Juemin was clearly not the only one who felt this way; many people unconsciously stopped what they were doing.

In the distance, under the dark sky, flocks of night birds took flight in alarm. Fu Juemin heard a strange rustling sound approaching from afar, along with a strong, pungent stench that seemed to emanate from a burning fire.

It didn't take long.

"Boom!"

A nearby burning earthen wall suddenly collapsed with a roar, followed by a colossal creature that lunged out amidst a foul stench.

"Boom-"

Fu Juemin's heart skipped a beat. Without thinking, his body instinctively began to back away.

"beat!"

Fu Guoping's roar shattered the silence on the field, and gunshots rang out immediately.

Fu Juemin was pulled along by Qian Fei and the other man until they were almost at the edge of the peach grove before they were able to stop and see what the object looked like.

It was a massive, black-scaled snake, over twenty meters long and as thick as a water vat, with eyes the color of dirty blood, exuding an indescribable and terrifying aura.

Even though Fu Juemin had made full mental preparations beforehand, he was still shocked and horrified when he finally saw the true face of this so-called "snake demon".

At this moment, all the men from the Civil Affairs Bureau began firing their guns at the suddenly appearing black-scaled snake, the gunshots ringing out like firecrackers.

The giant snake made a constant rustling sound as it darted around the area. Most of the bullets missed their targets, and those that did hit only produced small sparks on the snake's body.

The large snake raised half of its body high, with the scales on both sides of its head opening outwards, vaguely revealing the dark red membrane underneath.

Fu Juemin had watched Animal World and knew that this was a sign that snakes were angry; clearly, the giant snake in front of him was currently in a rage.

The black-scaled serpent was incredibly fast and possessed astonishing strength.

Two men who were nearby were accidentally hit by its tail while reloading and were sent flying.

Even from a distance, Fu Juemin could hear the crisp sound of bones cracking, and he saw with his own eyes one of the men break in two from the waist up, like dry firewood being split in two.

At this moment, Fu Guoping shouted: "Net!"

(End of this chapter)