The Martial Lord of the Troubled World

Chapter 19 Mutation
After Fu Guoping gave the order, the rest of the people all sprang into action on their own.

Three men ran out of the group, their guns replaced with long bamboo poles with daggers tied to the tops, which they had somehow found. They then fearlessly stepped forward to provoke the giant snake.

The snake successfully attracted the "hatred" and suddenly pounced and twisted. A man holding a pole didn't even have time to utter a sound before he and the bamboo pole were mercilessly crushed under the snake's body.

One of the two men running ahead suddenly stopped and let out a heart-wrenching shout: "Erlinzi!"

At this moment, the others who had been preparing for a long time began to vigorously throw large, dark nets at the giant snake.

Two nets missed, and the remaining three successfully covered the snake's head.

The snake twisted its body, and the net tightened its grip.

"boom!"

The giant snake tilted its head to the side, and a spurt of blood appeared near its eye.

Not far away, Fu Guoping put down his gun and gave a stern order: "Oil! Realgar!"

"Second Master, we're out of realgar!"

someone shouted.

"Then let's just light it!"

Dozens of torches were thrown at the giant snake from all directions. Most of them were dodged, but as soon as one or two torches hit the snake, the large net soaked in tung oil wrapped around its body was immediately ignited.

More oil was poured on it, and the black-scaled serpent quickly transformed into a blazing "fire serpent".

The giant snake rampaged wildly across the field, forcing the encirclement to expand outwards, while the gunfire grew increasingly intense.

The most valiant bald, burly man in the group even single-handedly carried a heavy machine gun, got close, and started spraying bullets at the giant snake.

After being riddled with bullets, the giant snake suddenly "crackled" and, accompanied by a strange bone-crackling sound, its entire body seemed to shrink rapidly and become as soft as noodles.

The fire net that had been binding its body loosened, and the shrunken snake turned and began to crawl toward a dark place to the side.

The intense gunfire suddenly stopped, and everyone was stunned by the extraordinary scene before them.

Until Fu Guoping shouted, "Don't let it get away!"

Before anyone could fire again, a figure seemed to have anticipated this and swiftly pounced from the side, blocking the snake's escape path.

The giant snake lowered its head, seemingly intending to swallow the person whole, but just as it got close, a loud "boom" was heard!
God knows how many explosives and grenades that man had strapped to himself; the scorching flames from the explosions sent the entire snake flying.

"Dalinzi!"

A mournful murmur arose from the crowd.

Fu Guoping remained expressionless, carrying his gun and quickly heading towards the location of the giant snake that had been blown away.

Suddenly, someone rushed out from the side and blocked his way.

"Grandpa! Grandpa!"

With his hands bound behind his back, Huang Youde bit Fu Guoping's thigh hard, pleading, "This is the guardian spirit of my Huang family, please, don't hit it."

"Crack!"

Fu Guoping smashed half of Huang Youde's teeth with the butt of his rifle, then stomped heavily on his face, unleashing all the emotions he had suppressed.

"Go to hell! You think you can protect your family and bring disaster to thousands of households?!"
Do you know how many of my brothers died?!

After saying that, Fu Guoping spat fiercely, his eyes bloodshot, and walked away with his gun.

The gunfire lasted for a full fifteen minutes, interspersed with the occasional boom of explosives.

Fu Juemin stood at a distance, not firing a single shot from beginning to end, yet he was drenched in sweat watching the whole thing, his heart utterly shaken.

The bullets and gunpowder brought by the Civil Affairs Department were almost completely used up. The black-scaled snake, which had been hit by countless bullets all over its body, finally crashed heavily to the ground at some point and never moved again.

Only after some brave souls cautiously ran up and thoroughly confirmed the snake's death did this "battle between man and snake" finally come to an end.

The firelight illuminated the sky, and the entire desolate village was filled with thick smoke and the smell of burning. Fu Guoping had already begun directing people to rescue the wounded and clean up the battlefield. Fu Juemin noticed that the corpse of the black-scaled snake lying on the ground was being ignored, so he slowly walked over.

Only when you get closer can you truly feel the ferocity and terror of this giant snake.

The charred, blackened snake body, over twenty meters long, lay motionless on the ground. Even though it was completely dead, it still sent a chill down Fu Juemin's spine.

He now understood why Qian Fei had solemnly reminded him not to have the idea that "practicing martial arts can help him fight against evil spirits." Such monstrous beings were indeed beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.

"unless."

"Unless you reach the state of mind Uncle Tong spoke of, or even the Grandmaster level."

As Fu Juemin pondered, he noticed the black scales on the snake's body gleaming with a mysterious, cold light under the firelight, and suddenly felt an urge to reach out and touch them.

But just as he reached out, before his palm even touched the snake scales, the next second...
Suddenly, a huge, black snake with its mouth wide open sprang out in front of Fu Juemin and lunged straight at his face.

"call--"

Fu Juemin was so shocked that he stumbled back several steps. His first thought was that the snake was not quite dead yet, and that he was doomed.

But in the blink of an eye, the scene before them vanished without a trace, and the black-scaled serpent was still lying perfectly fine on the ground.

Am I seeing things? Or is the psychological pressure too great, causing me to hallucinate?

Fu Juemin blinked, wondering what was going on, when a pale red virtual panel automatically appeared in his field of vision.

When he saw the changes on the panel, he was stunned and didn't come to his senses for a long time.

As dusk settled, a group of dozens of people from the Civil Affairs Department walked along a country road, carrying torches.

Following behind the procession was a makeshift horse-drawn carriage, half-dragging and half-pulling a snake carcass that was over twenty meters long, leaving deep furrows along its path.

Fu Juemin walked in the middle of the group, side by side with Fu Guoping, and the two were talking.

"The Huang Youde family needs to be handed over to the county government to report."

As for the snake demon's corpse, it will be handled by our Civil Affairs Department.

"Second Uncle, what's the use of keeping this snake corpse?"

Fu Juemin asked.

"Of course, it's for making money."

Fu Guoping laughed and said, "What do you think your second uncle is doing with all those people under him? Is it all thanks to your father's support?"

Fu Guoping glanced at the snake corpse behind him and said, "These kinds of strange and monstrous things are the most valuable."

Skin, meat, bones, offal—everything can be sold for money.

Some people like to eat these things, saying they can prolong life and are also very beneficial for martial arts practitioners.

Upon hearing this, Fu Juemin's expression shifted slightly. "Is it really that effective?"

"maybe."

Fu Guoping shook his head, "I haven't tried it either."

These beasts have most likely eaten people.

Upon hearing this, Fu Juemin's initial excitement vanished.

The thought of peeling open a snake carcass and finding undigested human remains inside makes even the most nutritious food unappetizing.

"And foreigners are also very interested in this thing."

Fu Guoping continued, "Take a boat and transport it to Shenghai, and a bunch of people will be scrambling to buy it."

"What do foreigners want with this?"

(End of this chapter)