Chapter 820: Does It Like to Eat Skinny or Fat People?
The crown prince was munching on a melon. When he saw what was happening, his eyes widened, and he didn’t even notice when his melon dropped to the ground. He exclaimed in bewilderment, “We can’t even see anything from here! Should we get closer?”
Gao Ying and Pei You quickly tried to stop him. “Your highness, you absolutely mustn’t! That place is extremely dangerous, you can’t go closer!”
Both of them had witnessed the Jade Moon Serpent’s size and power just now. They were both quite experienced and knowledgeable, reacting to the situation even faster than Zhao Xi and the others. What were they still doing here when their target had changed from the seventh to ninth rank?
Pei You quickly said, “Hurry and bring the crown prince out of here, or else he might be in danger.” He knew fully well that with the appearance of this ninth ranked beast, the mission was destined to fail. Everything pointed at disaster for the people inside. Staying here would only result in death.
Piao Duandiao and the others panicked. He said, “The crown princess, Sir Zu, and the others are still inside. How can we just abandon them?”
Gao Ying sighed. “Everyone, please don’t let your emotions affect your decisions. This serpent is now a ninth ranked beast. Even if we joined in, we would only be throwing our lives away. The top priority right now is to ensure the crown prince’s safety. Once we leave the dungeon and report on the situation inside, it might not count as the crown prince’s failure. If they can last long enough, we can ask the people outside to send us some reinforcements.”
Jiao Sigun said unhappily, “Sir Zu even saved your lives, and the crown princess has treated your two clans extremely well. Aren’t your actions here a bit too cold?”
Gao Ying’s face turned red. “Do you think we want to be so weak and useless? My uncle’s beloved son Liu Xian is still inside. I haven’t even managed to protect him, so there won’t be a good ending waiting for me back at the Liu clan. However, I know fully well that heading over will just be throwing my life away. If we ask for reinforcements, there might instead be a chance at survival.”
Despite those words, he knew just how formidable a ninth rank beast was. No matter how formidable Zu An was, he would only be able to barely hold on with everyone else for a day or two at best. But they had taken more than a week to get here from the dungeon entrance. There was no way they would last until reinforcements arrived.
Even so, he was a rational person. He knew what the most sensible choice he could make in this type of situation was.
Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun could only look pleadingly at the crown prince. “Should we save the crown princess? Your majesty the crown prince, please give us instructions.”
They played a trick and didn’t say they were going to save Zu An, but rather used Bi Linglong’s title. After all, the crown prince had been under the crown princess’ care all these years, and he liked her a lot normally too.
The fat crown prince remained quiet for a moment, and then asked, “Does that serpent eat people?”
Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun had never expected him to ask them this question, but they didn’t dare to hide it from him. “It does.”
“Then does it like to eat skinny people or fat people?” the crown prince asked.
Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun were bewildered. How the hell would we know what it likes?
Gao Ying immediately understood his intentions. He quickly answered, “Beasts all love to eat things with more fat, as that has more energy content. That’s why the Jade Moon Serpent will most likely like eating fatter people more.”
The crown prince’s face trembled. He backed up in a panic. “I’m not watching anymore! Hurry and bring me back to the palace, hurry up!” Then, he began to run in the opposite direction. The other Eastern Palace guards quickly followed him.
Piao Duandiao and Jiao Sigun’s expressions changed several times. In the end, they didn’t dare to go against orders and could only follow him.
Pei You said to the two of them, “Sir Zu is formidable, so who knows? There might be a miracle. The two of you don’t need to feel complete despair.”
“You’re only offering insincere consolation!” Piao Duandiao sneered and didn’t accept his comfort.
Jiao Sigun also exclaimed, “Fake!”
Pei You’s expression was gloomy. He gripped his sword, and then turned around to walk towards the pond’s direction.
Gao Ying was shocked. “What are you going to do?”
“I owe Sir Zu a life. Of course I need to return it,” Pei You said calmly.
Gao Ying’s expression changed several times. However, he still grabbed Pei You. “I also owe Sir Zu a life, but now isn’t the time to be brave. There are too many dangers along the way. They alone won’t necessarily be able to ensure the crown prince’s safety. That’s why we have the responsibility to safely escort the crown prince back.” When he saw that Pei You was still completely unconvinced, he could only add, “If something happens to the crown prince, our clans will be destroyed.”
If something happened to the crown prince, King Qi would rise to the throne. It was easy to imagine what consequences that would have for the clans that supported the crown prince.
Pei You’s expression finally changed. He could give up his life for Zu An, but he couldn’t gamble with his entire clan’s life. He gave the pond a look, and then he turned around to protect the crown prince.
…
Meanwhile, by the pond, those present were fleeing in panic. However, even though the water barrier looked fragile, when Zhao Xi, who ran the fastest, smashed into it, he bounced right off.
“Ow!” Zhao Xi cried out in alarm. His ki and blood were all over the place from the impact, and he almost threw up a mouthful of blood. He wasn’t convinced and concentrated all of the ki in his body into his weapon, bringing it hacking down on the barrier. Unfortunately, his strength seemed to sink into a layer of cotton. A strange force neutralized his attack.
The others also began to attack the barrier as well. Unfortunately, light flickered across its surface, and their attacks were completely disregarded.
“We’re done for!” Meng Pan’s face was even paler than normal as he cried out in despair.
Being trapped here by a beast of the ninth rank meant that there was no hope of a single one of them surviving this place.
He wasn’t the only one left in despair. The others’ faces were pale from fright. They had still been in high spirits a second before, yet now, they had all changed from the hunters to the prey.
“Hahaha! Puny and cowardly humans, you all just love to bully the weak and fear the strong. I really enjoyed watching your shameful performance.” The Jade Moon Serpent in the sky wasn’t in a rush to attack and instead looked at all of them with an expression of ridicule. The more terrified they were, the more it enjoyed itself.
Zu An laughed in ridicule. Had this Jade Moon Serpent been bullied by humans before or something? Otherwise, why would it carry such strong resentment against them?
That seemed more and more likely. After all, this dungeon was the academy’s property, and students were often sent in for training. If the Jade Moon Serpent had been at the seventh rank, that was a level that wasn’t too high or too low. It was perfect for many people to train with.
It was the first creature that had been suggested when the contents of the crown prince exam’s were discussed. This was clearly because they were most familiar with it. They knew it wasn’t a target that was too dangerous for this mission.
Tsk tsk tsk, seems like it really was tormented badly over the years in this dungeon.
If the royal family had claimed that this beast was at the seventh rank, there shouldn’t have been a mistake. Why had its cultivation realm increased so much in such a short amount of time?
Bi Linglong exclaimed loudly, “Everyone, don’t panic! We’ve made ample preparations for this mission. Since things have already turned out this way, then prepare for battle! There might still be a chance at victory!”
Zu An felt admiration inwardly. There were so many men here, yet the one who remained the most calm was instead this woman.
Zhao Xi and the others grumbled. They had prepared a lot for this mission, but they had prepared for a seventh ranked Jade Moon Serpent, not this ninth ranked one in front of them! However, they were elites selected from various distinguished clans. They knew that in such a situation, they could only stake it all.
They quickly gathered at Bi Linglong’s side and entered a battle formation. Then they fired many crossbow bolts at the serpent in the sky. These weren’t ordinary crossbow bolts, but rather armor penetrating bolts reinforced through formations. They were enough to blast through the defenses of a seventh ranked beast.
Unfortunately, this was now a ninth ranked beast they were facing. When they made contact with its body, the crossbow bolts only released clanking noises, merely leaving behind faint white marks at most. They couldn’t wound it at all.
However, the Jade Moon Serpent was angered. “You ants dare to offend this king?!” it roared furiously, launching four orbs of water from its mouth.
The flickering water spheres smashed into the ground. Then, the group saw that every single sphere seemed to have beasts wrapped inside it. However, these beasts’ expressions were filled with pain and resentment.
“Golden War Ox, Giant Frost Bear, Hard Bristle Black Boar, Lightning Devouring Tiger!” Bi Linglong’s expression changed. “They’re all seventh ranked beasts that it’s devoured in the past, and now, their souls have been refined into its own water puppets! These puppets retain a large portion of their strength from when they were still alive. Everyone, be careful!”
She had studied a lot about the Jade Moon Serpent’s characteristics precisely for this mission. She had originally expected it to use some sixth rank puppets, but now, they were actually all at the seventh rank! The difficulty was exponentially harder.