The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 94: Startled Snake
Before leaving the tavern, the dwarf owner filled Eric's water bag with water and gave him some dry biscuits in case of emergency on the road.

After thanking the dwarf, Eric mounted his equally well-fed horse and looked around. The Giles brothers he had let go had already disappeared.

"drive!"

Back on Heroes Avenue, Eric continued to gallop forward.

The road was wide, and no matter day or night, one could always see fellow travelers. The wealthy rode horses or took carriages, while the poor relied on their own two legs, or even their limbs.

The road extended forward, with tiny branches spreading out to the left and right, just like the blood vessels in the human body, densely extending to every corner of the empire.

Eric estimated that at his own pace, he could reach Lutia in two or three days, provided he didn't get lost along the way - the signposts at the main road intersections were already broken or missing, and sometimes when he encountered intersections with similar directions and no way to tell where they led, he would have to stop and ask for directions.

"Why didn't you think of bringing a map..."

If he could even buy a top-level mount like the Lille Warhorse, he would definitely be able to buy a detailed map from Lesire. But before setting off, Eric did not expect that he would get lost on the Hero's Road.

"Empiricism is harmful." He muttered to himself.

As evening approached, Eric began looking for a place to stay for the night, and there were many such places on the avenue.

After filling his stomach at the tavern and finding a hotel to rest for the night, Eric went to buy a map before setting off the next morning. However, when he got it, he found that the quality was quite worrying.

"Why is it so... vague?" Eric frowned as he looked at the parchment map in his hand. "You didn't just draw this yourself, did you?"

"How is that possible? Draw on a map randomly, that's just harming people. Just follow the path above, and I guarantee you'll reach Lutia."

The shop owner came over and pointed at the road on the map. "Go straight here, go straight. Turn here, turn here. You won't go wrong."

"It's so vague, I can't even tell where I am... How do I calculate this place?" Eric pointed to a tiny arc on the map.

The shop owner looked at him for a moment, then raised his eyes and said, "Let's call it... a turn."

Eric simply put the map down and left.

Rather than relying on a map that was completely misleading, he decided to ask for directions. The Avenue of Heroes was bustling with people, and there were many mainland caravans that traveled specifically to Lutia, so asking for directions wasn't a difficult task.

After riding on the road for a long time, Eric estimated that he had reached Guradia.

Gradia is the largest province in the empire. Most of it is fertile plains, with many rivers running through it, making it the empire's primary grain producer. Over two hundred years ago, the Kimino family's fiefdom was located here.

The largest city in Gradia is Kiran, known as the City of Plenty. It has the empire's largest granary, which is connected to Lutia through a large canal, and grain is transported there continuously.

In "Crown of Thorns", it was with the support of Gradia that the front line against the demons was able to be maintained.

It was almost noon and there was no place to rest. When passing a stone bridge on the avenue, Eric stopped, scooped up some water from the stream below and washed his face.

“It’s so cool…”

The weather was getting hotter, especially since he was wearing leather armor underneath. The cold stream water soaked him, and Eric even wanted to soak here for a while before continuing on his way.

He led the horse down to drink water, rolled up his sleeves, washed his arms, then sat down on a rock by the stream and looked around.

The mountains and forests were lush green, the stream was clear, and the stone bridge next to it and the road sign on it looked like someone had maintained it. He estimated that this place was not far from a town or village.

The horse drank the water and after a while began to nibble on the weeds around it.

"I'm still hungry. Let's go to the tavern and feed you something good."

Eric stood up and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his forearm.

He raised his arm and found a small black snake about ten centimeters long hanging from his forearm.

"..."

Eric opened his mouth.

With a snap, the little snake could no longer hold on and quickly fell down, twisting its body and crawling away quickly.

There were two obvious small holes on his arm, and blood was flowing out.

To suffer.

With this thought in mind, Eric quickly walked towards his horse. He remembered that he had prepared the antidote potion in his bag...

But after taking two steps, he found that he could not move.

He was still conscious, but unable to move. This was a typical paralysis toxin. It wasn't lethal, which was a blessing in disguise. Eric froze in place, unable to move, and thought about how long the paralysis toxin would last.

It could take anywhere from ten minutes to several hours.

Although it's not life-threatening, it's still very dangerous.

Eric could only hope that someone passing by the bridge would notice him, and this wait lasted for more than ten minutes.

The good news is that the snake venom was very simple and only had a paralyzing effect. He did not die, nor did he feel any discomfort such as confusion, and his breathing and heartbeat were not affected.

The bad news is that the paralyzing effect of the poison is quite good. After such a long time, he still can't move. He can only stand here straight, and no one passes by.

Eric recalled that in his previous life, the BOSS of a certain level 80 forest dungeon had a move called "Snake Bite", which threw out a group of small black snakes. If you were bitten, you would be paralyzed for a long time, just like him now.

Is it possible to encounter venomous snakes of this level in the wild?
I don’t know if purification can eliminate the negative effects of this biological toxin... Eric thought about it, but he couldn’t even move his mouth and couldn’t cast any magic at all.

His horse had finished eating the grass around it and, seeing that he was still standing there, came over and rubbed against him.

Eric strongly suspected that it was this guy who alarmed the snake and drove it to his side. After all, he knew that there were all kinds of things in the grass in spring, so he just found a relatively clean stone to sit on.

After rubbing against him a few times and seeing that he still didn't move, the horse squeezed forward with its body again.

You...his...fuck...stop...pushing...

Eric wanted to speak but couldn't. He could only watch himself lose his balance and fall into the stream.

wow-

He sank into the water and quickly floated up, the sound of flowing water filling his ears. Before being carried away by the current, Eric saw the horse wading into the water and followed him.

His body finally cooled down as he wished, but Eric's heart sank. He wondered if he would die before saving the world...

After drifting for a while, the water flow became faster.

It was hard for Eric not to panic, and his body moved voluntarily. He thrashed twice unconsciously, then suddenly reacted.

The paralysis is lifted?
Eric was overjoyed. He turned over and was about to swim to the shore when he suddenly noticed a black area in his peripheral vision that was rapidly expanding.

It's a huge rock in the water...

thump!
Eric was hit without any resistance, and his eyes went dark and he lost consciousness.

The sky is spinning and the earth is flowing.

After an unknown amount of time, when he opened his eyes again, it was still pitch black - it was already night.

"hiss……"

With a severe headache, Eric lay by the river for a long time before he remembered what had happened.

Fortunately, he was strong enough and was not easily killed.

His body felt heavy and he struggled to get up, Eric vomiting a few mouthfuls of water.

He didn't know where the current had carried him. He could only see a forest in front of him with the help of a little moonlight.

When he fell into the river, he saw that his horse seemed to have followed him, but now he didn't know where it had run to. He could only wait until dawn to find a way to leave.

Eric didn't dare go too deep, so he found a relatively dry place by the river, picked up some leaves and dead branches nearby, and started a fire with a snap of his fingers.

Holy Flame is really useful... but without the support of a sub-profession, he can only use it to the extent of making a fire.

Dry the body first, then find something to eat, Eric thought as he threw branches into the fire. Suddenly he looked up at the darkness ahead.

Crack, there was the sound of dead branches being stepped on.

A light approached, which seemed to be a lantern.

It looks like a human...

Eric just breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly tensed up again. He stood up and drew the steel sword from his waist.

A black panther walked out of the darkness and gradually approached. In the light of the fire, its fur was as shiny as silk, and in its mouth, it was holding a lantern.

(End of this chapter)