T/N: TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENCE
The snake grinned, its tongue sliding in and out of its mouth. There was an evil glint in its eyes, as she began to slither forward.
"I'll spare those unable to cultivate," were her words before terror sunk into each of their hearts. Mothers covered their childrens' eyes, as screams of terror rang throughout the town square. The snake was too powerful. No matter how all the human cultivators tried to defend themselves, it was of no use. The snake did not even need to dodge some of their attacks; its hard, durable scales on its skin could easily defend its body. It had long reverted to its full beast form, towering over three meters tall. Clearly, nothing was up for negotiation anymore.
The snake moved its agile body with great skill, impaling one of the cultivators through the stomach. Thinking they could defend successfully this way, the cultivators began to form a shield out of their own spiritual energy. It radiated a pure and good aura, unlike the snake which was blinded with rage in the moment. The snake hissed once in amusement before it conjured a dark ball at its mouth before hurling it at the shield. A loud explosion was heard before the smoke cleared up at the explosion site. Some of the weaker cultivators laid limp on the floor, as warm, crimson liquid oozed out from their bodies. Seeing their failure, the remaining cultivators knew they could not remain passive. They must fight back with their all before they lose even their lives.
The strongest one of them immediately took out a small, yellow slip of paper. On it were strange symbols, written in spiritual beast blood.
"Support!" He yelled, and the other cultivators understood immediately. He took the talisman between his middle and fore finger, positioning it right in front of his forhead. He muttered some chants and transferred his spiritual energy to the talisman. The others began to transfer their power to him, before the talisman began to glow a bright white, illuminating the gloomy battlefield. The bright light glowed brighter, until it was as large as the snake itself before condensing into a human form, clad in armour. It was translucent, slightly clear, with three flags on its back. The talisman took one out, before readying itself in a battle stance. With all of their combined powers, this talisman was powerful enough to combat a person at the peak of fifth stage.
The snake hissed and rattled its tail, giving a warning of its kind as well. Miko turned her head back to witness the impending battle. She had turned away earlier due to how grusome and bloody the slaughter was. Aimi was long gone, having ran away at the first sign of danger. The snake would have killed her if she had not escaped. She would have ended up like the other weaker cultivators; since when would a beast care about status? She was the daughter of this area's marquis, so how could she not treasure her life? It was more important then theirs.
The climax of the battle began as both parties charged towards each other. Although merely condensed energy, the talisman could be destroyed. That would be if its user fell in battle, or there was no longer a source of spiritual energy to maintain its form, such as when the user's mana reserves has run out. This was exactly the snake's idea. It did not want to risk too much injury, so wearing them down would be a great idea.
The snake dodged effortlessly, its agile body swaying left and right, its head ducking under and its tail launching upwards to dodge the attacks. Then, it swung its powerful tail at the center of the talisman, landing a powerful, direct hit on a few cultivators supposting from the side. They coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood, dying their clothes dark red. The commander grit his teeth in anxiety, believing he had figured out that snake's plan. It was for him to exhaust his power, along with the others. He commanded the others to fight with him, so as to boost his strength more and give him stamina to last, but it was usless against a beast of the peak of fifth stage. The talisman was only in the middle of fifth stage, incomparrable to one of the peak.
The snake circulated more spiritual energy around its body, especially its fangs, but it was not about to utilise its venom. Venom could only be used in direct contact with its target, not spiritual condensations, so it was useless against such entities. As its finale, it activated an illusion, blending into the backgrounds as a completely transparent figure. Only its hiss could be heard, as the cultivators raised their guard. Illusion users were always difficult to fight if they resorted to such tricks. However, if you could find the key to breaking it, such illusions would be simple to escape. However, when an illusion is applied on the user by himself, one can only attack randomly, hoping the attack lands and unveils the illusion. The cultivator in control of the talisman began to swing his flag around, hoping to land an attack on the beast. Unfortunately, it just looked comical doing so. Finally, the snake revealed itself, moving swiftly and piercing its fangs through two of the remaining five cultivators. The rest have unfortunatly been defeated, or having run away in cowardice.
They had to fight with their all, no matter the cost if they wanted their lives.
"Stop using illusions and fight fairly! It will be embarrassing even if you win if you fight this way!" One of them yelled. As if this would change anything. Beasts do not care about such face in the presence of humans. They were shameless to begin with, so why spare them face, or preserve your own if all witnesses were bound to die? Of course the snake was not going to kill the townsfolk, since beasts do like to keep their words usually. In reponse, all they heard was another hiss, as if mocking them.
Using the same method, the remaining two supporting cultivators fell, lying in a pool ofbtheir own blood. The snake, satisfied, reverted back into a semi-human form, with a grin on her face.
"You said about fighting fair?" She said, slithering closer. The cultivator directed the talisman to attack her, only to be blocked by black shields condensed by the snake herself. Suddenly, she launched forward, and she was holding the last human challenging her by his neck faster than the normal human eye could see. She poured some of her spiritual energy into the paper talisman immediately, causing the summoned talisman to turn more transparent before dissapearing in a puff of light. She snatched the paper out of his hands, before ripping it to shreds with the aid of her fangs. He was now completely defenceless. She gently bit the nape of his neck, injecting her venom directly into his bloodstream. He hissed in agony as the black venom spreaded quickly, paralysing and slowly digesting his muscles. The snake coldly looked at the shopkeeper, before saying, "If you dare take anything from my territory again, you would see a fate worse than this. If you take something from another's territory, you will see this from someone else."
She released her grip on his neck, which was red and bruised. He fell to the ground, his body limp but breathing. Even without the snake saying anything, everyone knew he would not live long. There wasn't a cure, at least not anywhere near. By the time they could even find someone to treat him, he would be dead. The snake scooped up the animals with her tail, including Miko, and carried them on her back as she slithered away from the scene. She placed the goods in her own subspace as she went along. What was left of the once prosperous and thriving town square was nothing but rubble and litters of corpses. At least a ten meter radius from the battle was destroyed, with many casualties, whether accidental or intentional. Where the shop once stood was now a pile of stones and sand, mixed with the red, gooey blood of the fallen. Their eyes were wide open, showing what a grusome death they had, while some had holes pierced through them. Out of all the bodies, the only one that stood out was because it was completely black in colour from poisoning. The victim ceased to breathe, with its eyes rolling to the back of his head. Everything was a grusome, disgusting and depressing sight.
Mothers covered their children's eyes as their cries rang out throughout the town square. Some lost their children, and some children their mothers, beneath the collapsed rubble. Their future was uncertain, since none of them knew if that vile creature would be back. Even if it did, who knew if they could defend themselves? All of their stronger cultivators have perished, but really, whos fault was it that such a conflict began first?