The Cornflower Witch

Book 2: Chapter 33: Post-War Review

Vol 2 Chapter 33: Post-War Review

The towering serpent head rose high, its massive python body forming an 'S' shape. Its snake eyes were murky, a dark yellow with vertical pupils, and as it stared at the group, each of them felt varying degrees of stiffness.

Even though they were all at the 'Second Tier', this giant python still imposed significant pressure on them.

The snake tail, covered in dark red scales, slithered through the grass, flattening the vegetation in its path. It lifted again, then lashed down like a blur. This time, its target wasn't the frontline Yan, but the weakest member of the team, Pona.

Those few seconds of staring had allowed the python to quickly assess the strength of each person. It ignored Yan, who was clad in heavy armor at the front, and swept its tail horizontally. The tail's tip whistled through the air as it lunged towards the girl with chestnut-red short hair.

At that moment, Pona simply couldn't react in time. Fortunately, the team captain, 'Bad Apple', had a quick wit. He kicked Pona away, taking her place and bearing the brunt of the tail whip himself.

When the tail struck 'Bad Apple', he leaned his body, trying to take the hit at an angle. This allowed him to dissipate a large portion of the tail's force. He was still sent tumbling head over heels, but if he hadn't adjusted his posture and taken the tail's full force squarely on his torso, he likely would have suffered multiple fractures and fallen unconscious.

Seeing a teammate in the rear under attack, Yan no longer hesitated. Raising his sword and shield, he charged directly at the python to divert its attention.

His sturdy broadsword struck the python's body, sending out a shower of sparks and chipping off a few scale fragments. While it had some effect, compared to the python's massive bulk, these scratches were utterly insignificant.

The python began moving again. Despite its enormous size, it was far from sluggish. Its body, thicker than five Sylutias combined, slithered swiftly, bypassing Yan's position. Then, its head lunged once more towards Pona.Its bloody maw gaped open, revealing two pairs of curved, dagger-like fangs, a truly terrifying sight. At this moment, Sylutia released the arrow she had been drawing for some time. It struck the roof of the python's mouth.

The arrow embedded shallowly in the flesh, and the seed contained within it rapidly sprouted. Saw-toothed vines grew wildly inside the serpent's mouth.

Feeling the foreign object and the stinging pain in its mouth, the python stopped its assault. It raised its head, shaking it violently to dislodge the spreading, thorny vines from its jaws.

Distracted, it gave the others a chance to strike.

Yan threw down his shield, gripping his sword with both hands, and delivered a full-force downward slash. The sturdy broadsword gleamed with a silver edge, finally biting deep into the serpent's body and opening a large gash.

Meanwhile, Captain 'Bad Apple', gripping a dagger in each hand, sprinted forward. He used the snake's body as a stepping stone, leaping up and plunging a dagger into the area where the python's heart should be.

Injured, the giant python went into a frenzy. Its head and tail thrashed and swept wildly, throwing 'Bad Apple' off. Then, it snapped at Karl, the wizard who had been isolated nearby. Karl only had time to summon a wraith for defense, but it couldn't withstand the python's ferocious attack. The opened jaws, with their sharp fangs, hooked onto half of his arm. His complexion visibly paled in an instant. Fortunately, Sylutia arrived just then, using her sword to desperately hack at the fangs, sending blood spraying. With the seal of the hollow fangs broken, the snake could no longer continue sucking blood and finally released its grip.

Enraged and irrational, the python slithered, its gaze fixed dead on Sylutia. Then, the python's head dove down once more, opening its blood-stained maw wide, attempting to devour the girl in one gulp.

Faced with such an attack, Sylutia couldn't block it. She could only dodge swiftly, getting knocked aside by the python's flank, but at least she avoided the direct fang strike.

Yan and 'Bad Apple' rushed over from the other side. One helped up the pale and weakened Karl, quickly retreating, while the other launched another attack to draw the python's attention.

Under this interference, several more wounds appeared on the python's body. Instinctively sensing the danger of defeat and death, it began to consider retreat. It burrowed back into the tall grass nearby, lowering its body and swiftly slithering away.

At this moment, Sylutia raised her composite bow, aiming at the fleeing python, her gaze intense.

She only had one shot left. Any farther, and not only would it be difficult to hit, but the arrow's force wouldn't penetrate either.

Quickly loading a seed into the arrowhead, she aimed at the escaping python, her eyes drifting towards the wounds on its body.

Continuously calculating the trajectory of its slithering, Sylutia forced herself to concentrate, constantly making micro-adjustments to her aim. Finally, just before the python was about to disappear, she released the arrow.

The black arrowhead shot through the air with a faint whistling sound, crossing nearly a hundred meters of flattened grass, and embedded itself into a wound on the fleeing serpent's body. Then, eerie blood vines began to grow.

Slender tendrils wormed their way through the snake's body, spreading along its blood vessels, while vines on the outside coiled around its form.

The python thrashed, writhing and struggling. After several minutes, eerie, blood-red vines sprouted from its various wounds, piercing through the scales.

Finally, its body gradually ceased movement. Under the blood-sucking vines, it grew increasingly emaciated, as if only a layer of scales remained wrapped around its skeleton, left motionless on the spot.

Was it over?

The group watched the dead python from a distance, still somewhat shaken.

After a good while, Captain Bad Apple quietly approached. After inspecting it, he nodded to the others, and only then did they come over.

Everyone examined the python's corpse. Following her senses, Sylutia walked to one side of the python's body. Here, the eerie blood vines extended from the carcass, blooming with delicate little flowers on the outside, then bearing clusters of bright crimson fruits.

【Crimson Blood Fruit (First Tier · Bloodline)】: An eerie fruit containing the essence of the 'Bloodline' aspect. Consumption can enhance physique and is highly effective for First and Second Tier beings. (Quality: Excellent)

The young woman plucked one of the fruits with her fingers. It was about the size of an egg, with a bright red skin.

"Is this the fruit condensed after the Demonic Blood Vine kills a monster?" Bad Apple walked over and asked.

"I've heard about it before, but this is actually the first time I've seen it. Gardeners really aren't a group to be trifled with, huh."

"But I'm afraid we'll have to advance part of the harvest now, Tia." He looked back, where Yan was supporting the weak and pale Karl as they walked over.

"I understand." Sylutia plucked ten fruits, gathered them in her arms, walked over, and handed them to Karl.

"Thank you." He didn't have the strength to refuse now. If Sylutia hadn't interrupted the process when the python was sucking his blood earlier, he probably would have died on the spot.

Biting into the bright red fruit and swallowing, Karl regained a bit of color and strength.

After finishing the ten fruits, his face flushed red. He then released himself from Yan's support and sat down to rest on his own.

On the other side, Pona had also returned, curiously assessing the snake's body, looking for other usable parts.

"The flesh and blood are mostly gone. Seems like only some of the scales and the fangs are still usable."

"Trading the flesh for these fruits is a much more worthwhile and useful deal." Bad Apple walked over and counted the remaining fruits.

"Twenty-three left." He nodded.

"We really have to thank Tia properly this time. If it weren't for you, Karl would have been in serious trouble just now."

The others also felt a sense of having survived a disaster, feeling somewhat fortunate.

In a one-on-one fight, Yan estimated he could kill this python while sustaining minor injuries. Captain Bad Apple might not necessarily defeat it, but escaping unscathed would be absolutely no problem. However, for Pona and Karl, it was different.

Pona's combat power was very low, and she couldn't outrun it either. Karl, while having many methods to deal with strange creatures, was particularly weak against this kind of pure 'stat monster', lacking extremely high burst damage output.

As for Sylutia facing the python alone, as long as she could find an opportunity to wound the python and plant a seed, victory was assured. Even if she chose to flee, this python couldn't catch up to her.

After the battle ended, everyone began cleaning up the aftermath, clearing the surrounding grass, and then paused to rest and recuperate.

Harvest:

'Crimson Blood Fruit (First Tier · Bloodline)' - 23 pieces

'Blood-Sucking Snake Fang (Second Tier · Bloodline)' - 1 piece

'Snakeskin with Scales (Excellent)' - Intact section approximately sixteen meters long.