That bard is such a charmer!

Chapter 46 Snake-Man Shaman? Instant Kill!

Richard, under the guise of having heard many stories about snake people, shared the intelligence he had just gathered, and finally, based on this, revealed his plan.

After hearing this, the three members of the Forest Arrow Squad changed their expressions again.

Hammer and Levin's attitudes were purely appreciative.

They had initially thought this poet was simply a bit more skilled at throwing punches than his generally mediocre peers, but they hadn't expected him to be so intellectually brilliant as well...

Mendel, while admiring Richard's plan, was also somewhat reluctant, as it somewhat violated his principles as a druid.

However, he was, after all, a maverick druid, and when Richard assured him that he could take measures to prevent things from getting out of control, he nodded.

Levin ultimately made his decision:

"This plan works! Let's get started without delay!"

Richard smiled and nodded: "Then let's move back a bit, that way it will be easier for me to play the inspirational piece..."

About half an hour later.

The last rays of the setting sun sank into the western mountains.

Night fell like a thick velvet blanket, slowly enveloping the entire mountain forest. Only a waning moon hung in the sky, casting a cold, dim light that made the ruins of Wanshibao appear even more desolate and dilapidated.

Inside the Stone Fortress, Serkis Erosion Fang, the tribal shaman and leader of the snake people, looked at the moon with a slightly depressed expression.

He hated the big ball of light and missed the glowing moss that filled the caves back home.

Unfortunately, he could never go back after being exiled.

Now all we can do is hope that the man will keep his promise after he's used them...

Rumble!

Splash!

Suddenly, the sound of thunder and rain rose outside the fortress.

Serkis snapped out of his daze, flicked his tongue, and realized it was raining outside.

To keep warm in this drafty place, he wagged his tail at his snake-man subordinates standing not far away and coldly commanded, "Go, light the campfire."

But before his men could finish their work, a cracking sound was heard, and the crown of an old, withered tree on the north side of Wanshibao caught fire. As it burned, the entire tree could no longer support itself and creaked and fell to the ground.

Serkiss stared at the raging fire, his pupils shrinking slightly.

Were you struck by lightning?

We need to deal with this; we must prevent the fire and smoke from spreading to this side of the fortress.

However, such strenuous work certainly couldn't be done entirely by the soldiers under his command, otherwise no one would have the energy to go hunting tomorrow...

He quickly issued new orders.

Then, the snake people released the slaves from the cages, drove them to draw water from the well inside the Stone Fortress, and then staggered outside to put out the fire.

"Hiss~"

"what……"

Watching the slaves toil away in his place, the snake-man overseer chuckled, flicking his tongue and occasionally lashing his tail at the backs of the slower-moving slaves.

"Take this!"

Just then, a loud roar shattered this cruel scene.

Suddenly, the dwarf Iron Hammer burst forth from the darkness, leaping over the burning tree trunks and charging like a chariot into the snake people's three-step range!

It turns out that the noise and flames earlier were not caused by lightning, but by Richard and his companions using magic!

The purpose was to lure the snake people into releasing their slaves, and then create a large heat source in a plausible way to cover their approach!

"hiss!"

As it turned out, the tactic was very successful. Because the flames were so hot and conspicuous, the snake people did not notice the dwarves in advance. They were all shocked. The one in the front row even froze for two seconds before hurriedly remembering to draw the scimitar at his waist.

However, Iron Hammer would not give him that chance. Laughing, he swung his giant axe, the blade gleaming deadly in the firelight. With a splatter, he cleaved the snake-man in two, and warm blood gushed out, instantly staining the mud beneath his feet red!

Without stopping, he rushed toward the next snake-man.

As he moved, Levin and Mendel in the woods also launched an attack.

A sharp rain of arrows, accompanied by seven or eight fist-sized peas, shot out from the night and slammed into the back row of the snake-men.

Especially the peas, which automatically become covered in flames when they pass over the burning tree trunks, literally turning into fire meteors, and then explode like popcorn when they land!

"Hiss!"

The snake people, caught off guard, could hardly withstand such an offensive.

In less than two seconds, another snake-man died on the spot, and the rest were all wounded. They turned around and scattered towards the direction of the Stone Fortress.

As for those slaves and such...

At this point, how could they possibly have time to care?

Inside the Stone Fortress.

Through the broken wall, Serkis saw the defeat of his own people.

He was somewhat surprised, but not flustered, angry, or fearful. Influenced by the ruthless nature of the snake people, he immediately made the decision to defend the fortress.

Although this place is already dilapidated, a broken wall is still a wall.

With the remaining warriors and his magic, we can definitely hold out.

As for what happens next...

There's nothing to worry about. Just hold on, and there'll be a way!

That guy definitely won't just watch him die!

With that thought in mind, Serkis twisted his body to the stairwell on the second floor of the fortress, intending to spew out some poisonous mist there as a trap.

then……

...and their eyes met those of Richard and Grace, who were sneaking up.

However, the poet and the copper dragon did not travel with the Forest Arrow Squad. Instead, while they were distracting the snake people in front, they circled around and beheaded them!

Now that he had been discovered, Richard didn't hold back and fired a shattering sonic wave at the top of Serkis's head!

Serkiss on the stairs reacted quickly, immediately chanting a spell and using the second-tier magic Tree Skin Technique to make his skin as hard as tree bark!

The next second, the roar of sound waves resounded throughout the entire castle, and surging energy attacked Serkis's body!

As the stone chips fell, Serkis was so shocked that he coughed up blood.

Fortunately, the Tree Skin Technique worked, preventing him from being severely injured and unable to move. Instead, he quickly retreated, creating distance, and prepared to spit venom.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, he was surprised to find that Richard had already climbed the stairs and appeared right under his nose as if by teleportation, raising the longsword in his hand!

What... what's going on?

How could he be so fast!

Unbeknownst to Serkis, Richard had just used two of his specialties.

First, relying on his battlefield spellcasting expertise, he kept moving his feet while releasing sonic waves. Then, he used the "Tidal Wave" technique, closing the distance with twice the speed of his steps, and completed the charging of the "Wild Dance Slash".

When the two are combined, it's like teleportation.

"Die!"

At that moment, Richard brandished his longsword, aimed at Serkis's unarmored neck, and slashed down hard!

Serkiss had no time to defend himself and could only instinctively use the Mind Wedge Trick to try to attack Richard's mind and disrupt his movements—but under the effect of the title of the Fearless Man, the trick had no effect whatsoever.

In the end, Richard's blade still managed to slice through the bark of the snake's body, which had been ravaged by the shattered sound waves and riddled with holes, penetrating deep into the flesh and finally embedding itself deep into the bone of the cervical vertebrae.

"hiss……"

Serki hissed one last time, and then the light in his vertical pupils dimmed.

Thus, a level 4 serpent shaman, unable to even last ten counts against Richard, met his end.

[Experience points +10]

Seeing the system notification appear before him, Richard wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled with satisfaction.

Behind her, Grace, who hadn't made a move yet, also gave a thumbs up and said earnestly, "Well done, little poet, your progress is truly amazing."

"Thank you for the compliment!"

Richard waved his hand, squatted down, took the Book of Gray Scales from the snake-man's arms, and then went downstairs with Grace to meet up with the Forest Arrow Squad.

Soon, the remaining snake-men were wiped out by them.

The group then began cleaning up the battlefield.

During this time, Levin looked at the snake-men corpses scattered all over the ground, and then at the unharmed slaves and his teammates, and couldn't help but exclaim to Richard, "David, you're a genius. When I took on this mission, I never thought it would be so easy..."

Iron Hammer, standing to the side, burst into laughter, exclaiming, "You're the best bard I've ever met!"

You guys...

If you keep praising me like this, I might just put my hands on my hips!

Richard scratched his head modestly, but his other hand had already unconsciously begun to move towards his waist.

Suddenly, Mendel, who was in charge of calming the slaves, shouted:

"Gentlemen, these friends of yours are acting strangely. One of them keeps saying something about snake people having accomplices..."

Accomplices?

These words immediately made Richard and the others frown.

"Meow!"

Almost simultaneously, the hounds began to bark, and the stone wall behind them suddenly cracked open, revealing a hidden door!