novelraw Chapter 78 78: Small Nudge
Chapter 78 78: Small Nudge
The next morning, just before the sun rose, Rayden and Grah set out.
Rayden had slept surprisingly well atop the massive serpentine corpse. Too well.
He could not explain it, but he felt more energized than usual. His body was lighter. His mind sharper.
For a brief moment, he even considered bringing the snake along. It would make a perfect bed every night.
But that was impossible.
He had nothing to store a corpse of that size. Dragging it was not an option either. Something that massive would attract every unwanted eye in the forest.
And even with the combined strength of his entire beast army, Rayden doubted they could move it.
It was simply too enormous.
Too heavy.
He cast one last look at the dead beast, almost mournful.
Then his expression returned to its usual calm.
His fingers brushed the yellow orb hanging around his neck.
"Well," he muttered softly. "I got something out of it."
That was enough.
With nothing more to gain in the area, Rayden and Grah moved on, continuing their hunt for treasures.
A few hours after they left, the figure sleeping atop a distant tree branch stirred.
The man yawned lazily, as if waking from a deep, satisfying nap.
He glanced around.
The forest looked the same.
The serpent still lay where it had fallen.
Unmoving.
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Did that small nudge actually kill it?"
…
Several hours earlier.
This region of the forest had always been quiet.
Silent.
The reason was simple.
Any beast that wandered near either fled or was slaughtered by the Serpent Lord.
It wielded absolute authority here. It was rumored to be even more powerful than the dreaded Armored Lion.
So every beast, regardless of race or temperament, avoided this territory.
But on this particular day, something strange happened.
A human with blonde black hair walked calmly into the Serpent Lord's domain.
His face was relaxed.
Cheerful even.
Like a tourist admiring scenery instead of someone stepping into certain death.
"Hey, little serpent," the man called out casually. "I saw you scare off those spineless fools."
He pulled out a fruit from his spatial ring and began eating while sitting comfortably on a large boulder.
The Serpent Lord did not open its eyes at first.
It found it hard to believe someone would be stupid enough to enter its abode.
Which clan? Which beast would be that foolish?
Then something hit its nostrils.
The scent of fruit.
The serpent's massive eyes slowly opened.
There, a few meters away, sat a human.
Eating.
The same fruit that now rested in front of the serpent's snout.
"It's pretty good," the man said with a grin. "Have some."
The Serpent Lord froze.
Confusion flickered.
Then understanding.
Then rage.
A mere human dared to act so casually in its territory?
"You dare?" the Serpent Lord roared, its voice echoing through the forest.
"Oh?" the man tilted his head. "You can speak human language?"
His tone was light.
Careless.
As if he had encountered hundreds of beasts at the Serpent Lord's level before.
The serpent trembled with fury.
Before it had claimed its position as overlord of this region, it had bathed in blood. It had clawed its way up through endless slaughter. It had earned its throne.
And now a human with no visible energy fluctuations stood before it, smiling.
Calm.
Mocking.
The Serpent Lord's aura exploded outward.
"How dare you step into my domain, human."
"Die."
The Serpent Lord's voice was cold. Not loud. Not wild.
Cold.
It did not lunge. It did not bare fangs.
It attacked the man's soul.
Why lower itself to claws and brute force? Why stain its scales with human blood when it could shatter his spirit first? Let his soul quake. Let him collapse screaming. Let him understand terror before death.
The invisible strike hit a second later.
And what the Serpent Lord expected did not happen.
No scream.
No convulsing collapse.
The blonde haired man did not roar and fall twitching to the ground.
He smiled.
Just slightly.
Then he took another bite of his fruit.
Chewed.
Swallowed.
As if nothing had touched him.
The Serpent Lord's pupils shrank.
A talisman?
An artifact?
Yes. That had to be it. Some protective treasure. The first strike blocked.
Unfortunate for him.
There was plenty more where that came from.
The Serpent Lord's aura surged. Soul attack after soul attack tore through the air, invisible blades aimed directly at the man's spirit. Precise. Brutal. Relentless.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The blonde man kept eating.
No change in expression.
No flicker in his eyes.
The faint, amused curve on his lips never moved.
Time passed.
The forest grew quiet.
The Serpent Lord's rage cooled.
Anger slipped into confusion.
Confusion twisted into wariness.
Wariness soured into fear.
And fear became something it had not felt since clawing its way up from blood and bone.
Dread.
Its massive eyes constricted.
The man finally turned to look at it.
Their gazes met.
"I see," the man said lightly. "Little snake, you must have grown bored these days and decided to play a game."
He tilted his head.
"Well. Let's play."
He pointed a finger.
Just a finger.
The Serpent Lord's head shot up. Its body coiled to flee.
Too late.
Something slammed into its soul.
Not a blade.
Not a wave.
A hammer.
A sledgehammer crashing into a banana.
Its spirit shattered.
Crushed.
Snuffed out in an instant.
The Serpent Lord did not even register what had happened. Its eyelids fluttered once before its massive body crashed into the ground with a thunderous bang that shook the forest.
Silence followed.
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Disappointed," he muttered. "You fell asleep from that small push?"
He shook his head.
"Maybe you aren't as good at this game as I thought."
He walked to the corpse. Picked up the fruit. Cleaned it with a lazy flick of his sleeve and took another bite.
"Well, I don't think you'll want this anymore."
He hopped onto the snake's massive body and sat comfortably atop it.
By the time he finished eating, the moon was already high.
"Food was decent," he murmured. "Time to sleep."
He lay down across the serpent's broad back.
His eyes snapped open instantly.
He sat up, alert.
One would think some pressing danger had jolted him awake.
It was something else entirely.
He stared at the ridged scales beneath him with a betrayed expression.
"This is hard."
He clicked his tongue.
"I prefer a soft bed."
The next second, he vanished.
He reappeared a few meters away beneath a towering tree. With a flick of his fingers, leaves rustled violently. They gathered, obeying his will, layering themselves into a small mattress on a thick branch.
He did not question whether leaves that light could bear his weight.
He did not test them.
He simply lay down.
And they held him.
Perfectly.
He slept.
…
Back to the present.
The man looked at the Serpent Lord's corpse.
He truly had not expected such a small nudge to kill it.
Maybe he had overestimated the snake from the start.
Maybe he had used too much power.
Overwhelmed the little serpent by accident.
He sighed.
"Well. Can't feel bad now."
His expression shifted from faintly mournful to openly irritated.
"I'm starving."
His hands moved in sharp zigzag patterns.
With each motion, invisible blades sliced down.
The Serpent Lord's colossal body split apart into neat, clean pieces. Its scales, harder than steel, were cut like hot knives sliding through butter.
From his storage ring, he pulled out a massive pot. It was enormous, engraved with intricate, ancient designs that pulsed faintly under the moonlight.
He set it down beside the butchered serpent.
As if the size was not enough, the pot kept growing.
Bigger.
Wider.
Deeper.
Metal stretched and expanded until it could swallow the mountain of serpent meat piled beside it. The intricate engravings along its surface glowed faintly, ancient lines breathing like they were alive.
Soon it was ready.
The fire ignited with a single thought.
No flint. No spark.
Just will.
Flames roared beneath the massive pot as chunks of serpent flesh were thrown in. The scent spread instantly, thick and rich, coiling through the forest like temptation itself.
Anyone watching would have been stunned.
The sheer amount of food was absurd.
Impossible.
There was no way one man could eat all that meat.
It defied logic.
What happened next shattered it.
The man began to eat.
Not calmly.
Not politely.
He devoured.
At a frightening speed.
As if he had been starving for centuries.
Chunk after chunk vanished. Massive slabs of cooked serpent disappeared into him one after another. The pile shrank. Then halved. Then nearly vanished.
He chewed with that same casual smile on his lips.
"The meat is decent," he concluded between bites. "Not as good as that three headed wind anaconda I killed a few years ago."
He paused, thinking seriously.
"I think the saying is the bigger the snake, the sweeter the meat."
Another bite.
"Or was it the stronger and more poisonous the snake, the sweeter the meat?"
He shrugged.
"If it isn't a saying, it should be."
If anyone had heard him, they would have choked on blood. Such a saying did not exist.
But he did not care.
He kept eating.
Soon only a few pieces remained.
That was when he felt it.
Something was wrong.
He froze mid bite.
His body felt different.
Stronger.
Denser.
The energy within him had thickened. Expanded.
That should not be possible.
The seals were still intact.
They had to be.
His hand slowly rose to his neck.
The massive necklace rested against his chest, heavy and ancient. The embedded gems were exactly where they should be.
Except for one spot.
Empty.
The Emperor Orb was gone.
Silence fell.
His eyes narrowed.
"Damn."
For a brief second, the thought itself sounded ridiculous.
Someone stole from me?
Who in this entire world would dare?
More importantly.
Who could?
The absurdity of it almost made him laugh.
Then he did laugh.
Softly.
Lightly.
He took another bite of serpent meat as if discussing the weather.
"Whoever you are," he murmured, chewing thoughtfully, "you're interesting."
Another piece vanished.
"I'll finish my food first."
He licked his fingers clean.
"Then I'll catch you."
A faint smile curved his lips.
"Maybe I'll ask how you did it."
His gaze flicked once more to the empty slot on his necklace.
"But I should retrieve that yellow orb quickly."
His voice dropped.
"Before something truly bad happens."
The air changed.
The energy inside his body thickened violently.
Then it exploded outward.
His aura surged, wild and suffocating, more dreadful than anything this forest had ever witnessed. The boulder he was sitting on shattered instantly. The ground beneath him caved in as if a massive earthquake had erupted from his very presence.
Trees trembled.
Beasts miles away collapsed in terror.
"Really troublesome," he muttered.
And just like that, he pulled his aura back in.
The forest went still again.
He sat amidst the cracked earth, completely calm, and picked up the last piece of meat.
Snake meat was far too good to waste.
He took another bite.
To be continued.
There will only be one chapter today. Something came up. If I finish early, I might drop another one later.
Author's Note:
Alright, warriors of the story, this is where you step in.
Every vote, every review, every bit of support is not just a number. It fuels the chaos. The battles. The madness you love.
Here's the deal.
200 power stones unlock an extra chapter.
100 collections unlock another one.
Every 10 reviews unlock one more chapter.
You want faster updates? More carnage? More insane twists?
Then move.
Vote. Review. Collect. Comment.
Your energy becomes mine.
And together, we make this world burn.