Our Dharma Masters are like this.

Chapter 100 Breeding Ball

Where did Zellier get such strength?
This one-sided situation not only stunned Gray, but also piqued the interest of Marcus Vales and Gack, who were watching the show from the sidelines.

"I didn't realize you were so strong, Zelier?" Gak said in a deep voice.

"No, no... that doesn't count! Let's try again!"

Gray cracked his knuckles and, with a serious expression, challenged Zellier once more.

It's too embarrassing to be defeated by a mage.

I will protect the glory of warriors!
“Alright, let me see you give it your all.” Zellier readily agreed.

This time, Gray didn't hold back.

The moment the arm wrestling began, he mobilized all the power in his body, even the muscles in his forearms bulged, trying to overpower Zell.

But Zellir was not to be outdone.

With a low growl, the two men exerted their strength simultaneously, and the table creaked and groaned under the strain.

This time, Zellir couldn't defeat Gray as easily as before, and the two became locked in a fierce tug-of-war.

Gray's face turned bright red, and the veins on his forehead bulged out.

Zellir wasn't having an easy time either; he gritted his teeth and fought against Gray's power.

"What are they doing...?"

Ella, standing behind the counter, curiously tiptoed and peered inside.

After seeing it clearly, Ella's expression became somewhat strange.

"You're all adults... why are you still acting like a child?"

"Alright, alright, stop it, don't continue."

Marcus stepped forward to stop him, saying, "Save your energy, or you'll break your arm."

His strength was clearly greater than that of Zell and Gray; he grabbed one of their wrists with each hand and easily separated them.

"Huh...huh..."

Gray rubbed his sore and numb wrist, grimacing, "Zelier, where did you get that much strength?"

“You forgot? I used to be a farmer.” Zellier was also panting.

Well, it seems my physical abilities are barely up to par with those of a lower-ranking soldier.

It's good enough for now.

Marcus brought the little farce to a close, drawing everyone's attention back to the commission board.

Their gazes lingered on the lower floors, and they began searching for tasks directly from the top floor, which was the most difficult.

Soon, a power of attorney caught their attention.

[A request to eliminate the giant black-scaled python deep in the swamp]

Recently, the black-scaled pythons deep in the swamp have entered their breeding season, attracting a large number of ordinary water pythons that are drawn by pheromones, resulting in an overpopulation of snakes.

Several hunters have gone missing in the area, posing a significant threat to the safety of nearby villages.

Level of delegation: Lower level (three stars)
Objective of the commission:

Kill the Black Scaled Python, and then eliminate as many of the remaining ordinary water pythons as possible.

Reward Amount:

Killing the Black Scale Python will earn you a bounty of ten gold coins.

In addition, a reward of ten silver coins will be given for each ordinary water python killed.

Association Notes:

Black-scaled pythons in their breeding season can attract dozens of ordinary pythons, which is a very large number, so please be careful.

"Is there a mistake in the mission rating?"

Gray was a little confused.

"A black-scaled giant python with a difficulty rating, plus a bunch of water pythons that aren't even monsters, can actually reach the lower-level three-star level?"

"That's right, among all the monsters rated as difficult, the Black Scale Python is arguably the most difficult to deal with."

Marcus said, "So, are you going to take this mission?"

"Okay." No one had any objections.

After confirming the commission, everyone dispersed to go back and prepare.

West of Greywood Forest.

After venturing further along the mountain path, Marcus's team came across a large swampy wetland, the location of their mission.

The air here is hot and humid, with a strong smell of mud, and the ground underfoot is soft and wet, making it easy to sink in.

Fortunately, before setting off, everyone listened to Marcus's advice and put on knee-high waterproof rain boots, so they wouldn't have to walk through a puddle of mud in their shoes.

"I really don't understand... why would those snakes breed in this godforsaken place?"

Vales stepped into a bubbling, murky puddle and complained with some disgust.

"Because the environment here is most suitable for them."

Gray carefully chose to step on the relatively firm patch of earth. "It's damp, secluded, and has plenty of food."

"food?"

Zellier looked around and saw nothing but rotting dead wood and black silt.

"What else is here besides a puddle of mud?"

“Look there, it’s all soft, quicksand-silt down there.”

Gray moved closer to Zellier and pointed to a muddy puddle in the distance.

"Whether you're a human, a deer, a bear, or anything else, once you step in, you can forget about getting out. The faster you struggle, the faster you sink. There's no shortage of unlucky creatures like that in the forest."

"However, the giant python can move freely in this kind of terrain, so this place is like their buffet."

After hearing Gray's words, Zellier instinctively pulled his feet back and kept a safe distance from the suspicious-looking pools of water.

The group trudged on, one step at a time, sometimes sinking into the shallows and sometimes sinking into the deep.

As we ventured deeper into the swamp, a mist began to appear around us, and the pungent smell grew stronger.

"Look at this..."

Vales suddenly spoke up, pointing to the dense, crisscrossing crawling marks on the ground.

The soil was still damp, clearly left recently.

"It's nearby..."

Marcus glanced around. "Everyone, be on your guard!"

After carefully parting a patch of drooping vines, the sight before them was unforgettable.

Before them lay a vast expanse of swamp, and in the center of the pool, a giant sphere was writhing and intertwining.

Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that it is a breeding ball formed by at least thirty or forty male pythons intertwined together, with a diameter of at least five meters.

The male anacondas were intertwined like twisted cables, pressing against each other.

The oily scales rolled around in the pool, making a "rustling" sound as they rubbed against each other, interspersed with the excited, heavy breathing of the pythons.

These sounds, when combined, create a strong sense of physical discomfort.

Various viscous liquids seeped out from the gaps in the snake ball, emitting a strong, fishy, ​​and unique odor.

“My God…” Even the wild-natured Gak was shocked by this scene.

The Black Scale Python has a very interesting characteristic: it is entirely female.

Their reproductive behavior is extremely fierce and cruel.

On specific days, the black-scaled python will release pheromones through water sources to express its mating needs.

This pheromone has an extremely strong diffusion in water, attracting male pythons within a radius of several kilometers, who then spontaneously come to mate.

However, the black-scaled python does not mate with only one or a few male pythons; it makes all the pythons participate in the competition.

During their breeding season, which lasts for more than ten days, the black-scaled python can usually attract dozens of other pythons, and sometimes even hundreds.

They would all coil around the black-scaled python's body, constantly squeezing and trying to drive away the competitors, and then piling up more and more to form a huge breeding ball.

The purpose of this is to select the strongest anaconda, as only it is qualified to mate with the black-scaled python. During this process, many weaker anacondas are strangled to death.

After this twisted reproductive behavior is completed, the offspring born to the Blackscale Python will not necessarily inherit its demonic bloodline.

Only a portion of them can become cubs of the Black Scaled Giant Python; the rest are ordinary water pythons.

(End of this chapter)