Officer was the only one who knew even a little about demons. The courage he had just mustered was already starting to fade. “It doesn’t want to take us away—it wants to absorb the essence of humans to cultivate its demon body. That’s why it wants us all alive, because only the living…”

He couldn’t finish, wishing he could faint again so the snake demon would lose interest in him.

Jack was actually very scared inside, but the fear didn’t make him lose his nerve. Instead, it sparked a fighting spirit in this desperate situation. He suddenly drew his dagger, shouted loudly at the black hole above his head, and took a stance, ready to face the enemy.

The snake demon was unmoved; the more lively its prey, the better the effect for cultivating its demon body.

Jack’s brave action inspired the trapped boys. Eric raised the longsword behind him with both hands, strode toward the nearest part of the snake’s body, and shouted even louder than Jack.

Eric slashed at the snake’s body, hoping to carve out a path. With a bang, the sharp talisman sword didn’t even cut through a single scale. Instead, it bounced into the air and landed heavily on the ground. But Eric was fierce by nature—without a weapon, he lunged at the snake and bit down with his mouth.

The snake demon paid no attention to such attacks, opening its huge mouth and lunging at the nearest human.

The black hole drew closer and closer. Jack was still shouting loudly. Behind him, Officer finally gathered enough courage, raised his right hand high, and shouted, “Whirling Slash!”

A wheel-like white light shot from Officer’s hand at lightning speed, heading straight for the snake demon’s yellow eye.

This was no desperate strike from a small-town boy, but the powerful force of the top talisman from the Western Realm. The snake demon clearly hadn’t expected this move. It jerked its head aside, dodging the light.

The snake demon actually dodged—this boosted Officer’s confidence. He kept his right hand moving, sending out talisman after talisman, shouting names like “Hundred Pace Strike” and “Exploding Ice Divine Thorn,” but none of the invisibility or guidance talismans he’d mentioned earlier.

Jack didn’t notice this; he just thought Officer was attacking too quickly and without aim. More than ten talismans were sent out, only causing the snake’s head to lift a little, not hitting it at all.

“Hit the body! Hit the body!” Jack shouted, but Officer seemed to have gone mad, unable to stop until both hands were empty. He stared at Jack, tongue-tied. “No… no more.”

The snake demon was enraged. Its head swayed in the air, then suddenly dove down, intending to end things quickly.

At the same moment, Jack sprang into action, leaping onto the snake’s body and stabbing down hard with his dagger. He knew it was useless, but he refused to back down.

Thud!

This stab surprised everyone—it actually pierced the scales and sank into the snake’s body.

The snake demon was even more shocked. Though the dagger wasn’t long, it was wary of it. The snake’s head rose again, its body thrashing violently, flinging Jack and the dagger away.

“Yes, use the dagger! Use the dagger! That’s a treasure that’s killed demons before,” shouted Officer, suddenly remembering that the dagger was his own, a magical item with quite a history. As he spoke, he scrambled backward, trying to get farther from the snake’s head.

Jack climbed up from the ground. Seeing his attack work, his courage grew. With a loud shout, he charged again.

Behind him, Eric hesitated for a moment, then ran a few steps, picked up the longsword from the ground, and with a loud shout, followed Jack to attack the snake’s head.

The desire to become the leader of the Wild Forest Town boys outweighed all fear. Even if there were a bottomless abyss ahead, Eric would jump in without hesitation.

The other boys started shouting too. They still didn’t dare move, but their cheers were full-throated and relentless, some faces turning red from the effort.

The sharp cries merged into a single wave, creating a soaring momentum. The snake demon across from them seemed intimidated, its yellow eyes retreating several feet before it quickly changed direction, as if it wanted to escape.

Jack and Eric grew even more confident. They didn’t stop to think how a snake demon that even ten Xuanfu soldiers couldn’t defeat could possibly fear two children—instead, they sped up and gave chase.

The snake demon really was trying to escape, fleeing in a panic. It circled a large tree, its body as thick as the trunk, like a moving hill, sliding past the two brave boys. Finally, its tail swept out, knocking them both a dozen steps away.

Jack felt something fall into his arms. He instinctively grabbed it, and when he looked down after landing, he saw it was Baldy’s head, still frozen in a comical grin. Jack’s hair stood on end, and he instinctively hurled it backward with all his strength. The last part of Baldy was thus discarded.

Jack and Eric were knocked away so easily that the boys’ shouts weakened. Only then did they realize that it was someone else who had scared off the snake demon.

“Ding…”

A sudden ringing of a bronze bell, and a beam of light slanted down from the sky, landing right between the snake demon and the boys. As the light faded, a person appeared—someone all the boys except Grace and Officer recognized.

Chapter Ten: The Mage and the Demon Seed

As the light faded, a blue-robed Daoist stood between the snake demon and the boys. It was the same strange man who had once appeared by the river, and Jack and the others remembered him well.