Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 144 The Fierce Python
hiss~!

Zhao Qingluan attacked from the front with a gun, and the giant python seemed to be enraged. Its one or two meter long scarlet snake tongue moved in and out, making a hissing sound, and its bloody mouth opened wide, revealing a mouthful of fangs that were more than half a foot long. In particular, the two fangs that were nearly two feet long were displayed, like cold spear tips, which were particularly creepy.

"Beasts suffer death!"

Zhao Qingluan shouted delicately, and the spear in her hand hummed, emitting a faint blue light all over. The tip of the spear emitted an icy sharp edge about an foot in length, and the temperature around her dropped sharply.

She leaped up into the air, like a flying crane spreading its wings. The spear shook, leaving a dazzling afterimage that reached the giant python's eye.

Although she is a newbie in the martial arts world, she knows to attack the vital points first.

But compared to the giant python's terrifying size, Zhao Qingluan looked like a jumping sparrow.

The giant python roared again, and the stench spread. A strong wind blew in a small area in front of it, making Zhao Qingluan's clothes flutter and her hair fly.

"It stinks!" She snorted and immediately held her breath, but her movements continued unabated.

Seeing that the spear in her hand was less than ten feet away from the python's eyes, and it seemed that it would pierce through the eyes in the next moment, the python twisted its body to avoid it in advance, and then opened its bloody mouth to bite her from the side. The terrifying mouth almost covered Zhao Qingluan's entire body.

She was not afraid of danger. She swung her spear and bent the spear body to point it towards the giant python's head. After all, she was in the air and could not continue to accurately attack the giant python's eyes due to the sudden change of tactics. Attacking the head was already a quick reaction.

Taking advantage of the inertia of the spear, she bent her body forcefully and kicked towards the giant python's jaw with a leg that made the air whistle.

"Boring!"

Zhao Qingluan's spear, with its cold edge, hit the python's head with a dull thud and faint sparks. Her spear only cracked a scale on the python's head, but did not cause any substantial damage to it.

But after her attack, the giant python's head shifted and almost brushed past her body. She also kicked the giant python's jaw and took advantage of its head to pull away and fly back.

She nimbly flipped in the air, and she exclaimed, "This beast's scales are so hard, as hard as steel! My spear couldn't even hurt it!"

When these words were spoken, the others were shocked, but they did not find it too difficult to accept. After all, the giant python was big enough, and its scales were more than an inch thick. It was normal for its tough keratin scales to be comparable to steel.

In fact, this is enough to explain why the imperial court prohibited civilians from privately hiding armor. Wearing strong armor, as long as one is careful to protect vital parts and does not exceed one's own strength by too much, one can really withstand a fight, and it is not an exaggeration to say that one's combat power soars.

If the difference in strength is not too big, it is not an exaggeration for one person wearing armor to fight against four or five people alone!

"Be careful!" Just as Zhao Qingluan turned over flexibly to gain some distance and land on the ground, someone not far away shouted an anxious reminder.

The giant python failed to swallow Zhao Qingluan and suffered a slight loss, but it took advantage of her being in the air to sweep its tail across. The tail was like a terrifying long whip, causing the air to burst, and there was even a mist-like air wave at the tail end, which clearly created a terrifying sonic boom.

Although a normal person holding a whip and mastering the skills can achieve the same effect, the giant python is so big that if it whips Zhao Qingluan with its tail, it will be disastrous and she might even die.

She also heard the noise, and the strong gust of wind arrived before the giant python's tail. A trace of surprise flashed in her eyes, but Zhao Qingluan was not too panicked. It was difficult for people in the air to avoid, so her internal force was running wildly, and her spear glowed and swung out, using attack instead of defense, wanting to confront the giant python's tail head-on.

Bang~!

In an instant, the spear and the snake's tail collided, like a flat-bottomed thunder. A visible mist-like air wave exploded in a radius of several meters. She was pulled out and flew sideways. It was difficult for her to maintain her body shape in the air, and her body spun quickly to relieve the force. Even so, she was pulled out twenty or thirty meters.

When he landed, he was still standing unsteadily. His soles rubbed against the ground for several feet, and his feet were worn through, revealing his lovely white toes, which were covered with dust.

It can be seen how important it is to have a pair of good shoes when traveling around.

She was not able to stand firmly on her own, and only with the spear inserted in front of her could she offset the terrifying power of the giant python's tail.

The whole process took only one or two breaths, which was not as fast as lightning but almost as fast. Zhao Qingluan was at a disadvantage at the first encounter. She stood firmly with her gun arm trembling, and she obviously underestimated the horror of the giant python.

"You beast, no wonder you dare to cause trouble here. If I don't get rid of you today, I don't know how many people will suffer in the future," she said, slowly standing up straight and gritting her teeth.

To be honest, Chen Xuan admired this girl a little. She was really brave enough to go ahead and not tell anyone when something happened. She didn't forget her original intention even though she knew it was dangerous.

Putting aside some special factors, perhaps this is the reason why people talk about the heroes in the martial arts world so much. They see injustice and stand up in times of danger, just to feel the righteousness in their hearts.

"Leave a few people to protect the weak, and the rest of you come with me. Don't panic, Miss Zhao, we are here to help you!" The leader of the escort team held a long copper stick and approached Zhao Qingluan as fast as a wild horse after giving a shout.

At this time, everyone is facing the crisis together. No one can stay out of it, and it is even more impossible to hide behind a woman. Besides, anyone with a discerning eye can see that Zhao Qingluan is no match for the python.

Before, Zhao Qingluan was eager to show off and rushed too fast, and the others hadn't reacted yet. But now she couldn't be left to fight alone.

Zhao Qingluan did not refuse such kindness. She was a bit of a novice, but not stupid. She warned: "Everyone, be careful, this beast is really powerful."

All of a sudden, seven or eight people moved towards her separately, including Zhao Erhe and Jiang Kai. They definitely couldn't squeeze together. Not only would it be inconvenient for them to move, but there would be no space for them to hide in times of crisis.

The giant python naturally would not stay there and wait for them to join forces and attack. It swam over when it whipped Zhao Qingluan with its tail. It was already enraged and moved as fast as the wind.

In the time it took them to say two quick words, the python had already come close to Zhao Qingluan, opened its bloody mouth and bit again, and a fishy wind blew in her face.

"Kill!" She had learned her lesson and no longer did those fancy moves in the air. She quickly dodged and when the giant python turned its head to attack again, she stabbed the python's abdomen with the gun in both hands.

The sharp spear seemed to have stabbed into ten layers of old cowhide, unable to penetrate an inch. It only made the python's belly concave and penetrated about an inch deep, which was considered to have injured it.

The giant python rolled over in pain to break free from her spear, and swept its huge head towards Zhao Qingluan. She protected the spear in front of her body, and when she was hit by the giant python, her feet left the ground and she used the force to sweep forward.

At this time, the escort leader Zhao Erhe and his men had already approached and dispersed around the giant python, launching their own attacks.

The copper stick with the dart head made a buzzing sound and smashed fiercely on the side of the python's body, causing a dent in its body but failing to cause any obvious injuries. He was immediately shocked. The moment before, he had thought that Zhao Qingluan was just a show-off but actually had no skills. Now he realized that he was wrong.

It’s not that Zhao Qingluan is too weak, but that the python is too terrifying and he is even weaker.

The others were not idle either, each using their own abilities to attack the giant python. However, no matter whether they chopped it with a knife or stabbed it with a sword, or even someone from the caravan shot arrows, they were unable to hurt it at all, except for the shot from Zhao Qingluan that scratched its skin a little.

Geng Hong, who was standing guard in front of Chen Xuan's carriage, said with a sullen face, "What a terrifying python! Although it doesn't possess special abilities like an exotic beast, its thick skin and flesh alone are comparable to an exotic beast. No, it is an exotic beast itself. What should we do?"

In fact, strange beasts are usually associated with innate masters. Only those at that level can kill them head-on. Otherwise, with the natural advantages of beasts, it is difficult to kill them unless human lives are piled up.

The fierce battle over there naturally did not stop at all. The giant python failed to bite Zhao Qingluan and was attacked repeatedly without any pain. It was obviously furious. Its huge body shrank into a snake formation and twisted its head to bite Zhao Erhe who was holding a knife.

Zhao Erhe immediately pulled away and retreated quickly. The giant python's bite missed, but what followed was a terrifying sweep of its tail. Looking at the trajectory, it was clear that everyone was included in it.

Seeing this, they naturally used their own methods. Some jumped up, some rolled over, and some who were not very agile resisted with weapons.

bang bang bang...

Amidst a series of muffled sounds, several people were swept away by the python's tail, including the escort leader Jiang Kai. He was not seriously injured, but rolled on the ground covered in dust.

The violent attack forced everyone to retreat, but the python did not pursue the victory. Instead, it jumped forward, opened its bloody mouth in full view of everyone, and swallowed Zhao Qingluan's lonely horse in the middle of the road in one gulp. It raised its head and bulged its neck to swallow the horse.

Then it ignored Zhao Qingluan and others and rushed straight towards the convoy.

This beast actually knows how to pick on the weak. Or maybe it just wants to fill its stomach and doesn't want to waste time with Zhao Qingluan and others.

"How dare you, you beast!" Zhao Qingluan shouted anxiously, thrusting the spear into the ground, then stepped on the spear, leveraging the force to spring forward, and then he pulled out the spear and attacked the python that was rapidly rushing towards the convoy.

This is her first appearance in the martial arts world, and a weakling dies in front of her. How will she survive in the future?
"My lords, be careful and be ready to abandon your chariot and take shelter at any time," Geng Hong reminded in a deep voice, his internal force already running to its maximum with the long sword in his hand.

Gao Jingming nodded and said, "Although this beast is ferocious and agile, it is too big. With our Qinggong skills, as long as we don't face it head-on, we can still dodge it."

They had witnessed the fierce battle before, and knew that they could not defeat the giant python head-on, but they could still dodge for a short time.

In fact, the whole process took place in less than half a minute, and Chen Xuan, who was on high alert, was ready to take action at any time.

However, he always felt that these people were not very smart. Zhao Qingluan was fine, as she was just a newbie. Zhao Erhe and the others could understand her, as she was just a guard of the Gao family and did not have many opportunities to fight.

But what about the bodyguards? You are away from home all year round. Can you only rely on your skills to fight head-on?

Seeing that the giant python was about to charge towards the convoy, Chen Xuan warned, "This beast is ferocious. Do you have any lime or something? Throw it at its head to irritate its eyes and blind it. Put it into its nasal cavity and it will also block its sense of smell!"

Hearing this, Geng Hong, who was extremely nervous, couldn't help but look at Chen Xuan, thinking to himself, how could the usually gentle and polite Xuan Ge'er know such despicable tactics?
But you know what, if you think about it a little bit, this method is very feasible!
In just a moment, the python had rushed to the front of the formation, forced back two protectors, swallowed a horse, and overturned the carriage to the ground.

The loss of horses is a minor matter; the most important thing is that there are no casualties.

However, after Chen Xuan's reminder, the others finally reacted.

"Yes, we shouldn't engage this beast in close combat. We should use ranged attacks."

"Where's the bow and arrow? Shoot its eyes, nose, and mouth."

"Lime, we have lime here. We prepared a lot for the medicinal herbs to prevent them from getting damp. Take it quickly."

"There are also hidden weapons, flying knives and steel needles to deal with it!"

"By the way, do you have a net? The kind with hooks..."

Zhao Qingluan, who came quickly, couldn't help but look in the direction of Chen Xuanfang and the others. She was originally worried about her horses, but after hearing what she said, she had to admit that this scholar's brain is very flexible. Well, the child's new brain is also very useful.

It’s not that they couldn’t think of such a despicable method, but the time was too short and they were under the pressure of the giant python and couldn’t react for a while.

……

(End of this chapter)