In Kent's view, the largest tree on the cliff had a branch that, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a camouflaged Knife Scales Blood Serpent.
The serpent's skin blended perfectly with the branch's color, making it nearly impossible to distinguish from a real tree branch. Even with keen eyesight, it was hard to detect the snake's presence.
The members of the Snow Bull Mercenary Corps were no strangers to the Knife Scales Blood Serpent. However, this particular one was a beast of leader-tier strength, and its camouflage ability had been enhanced to such a degree that it could only be detected upon close inspection.
But Kent could easily see through its disguise. The blood serpent was currently feeding on the wind, motionless as it absorbed the air. Unfortunately for it, it had encountered Kent, who not only saw through its disguise but also introduced a tranquilizing agent into the air, enough to take effect.
Because of the serpent's large size, the tranquilizing agent's full effect was delayed. Kent waited for about ten minutes until the branch, which had been sticking to the cliff, suddenly lost its grip and fell with a heavy crash.
Kent smiled upon seeing this. The tranquilizer had worked, causing the serpent to lose control. It seemed that its fate was sealed.
"Alright, my task is complete. Captain Gao, aren't you going to lead the team up to capture it? Do you want to wait for it to regain its mobility?" Kent called down to the team below.
The mercenaries below were momentarily stunned by the sudden change, unsure of what had just happened. The "branch" had fallen from the cliff, but upon closer inspection, they saw it was no tree branch but a massive serpent—about ten meters long, with three heads and six legs.
"Shit, that's a Knife Scales Blood Serpent!" one of them exclaimed.
There was no time to think further. If they didn't act fast, the creature might escape. Captain Gao led his team up immediately, with their beasts following closely behind.
However, before they could close in, the serpent began to regain its strength.
As a leader-tier beast, the serpent's body was incredibly resilient, and its resistance high. It had been momentarily caught off guard by the tranquilizer and had failed to react in time. But now, its blood surged, and the affected nerves quickly healed, allowing it to recover.
With a loud hiss, the serpent coiled its body and prepared to flee.
The Snow Bull Mercenary Corps could not let the serpent escape right under their noses. They quickly surrounded it at the base of the cliff, launching various long-range attacks to gradually deplete its stamina.
Although the serpent had not fully recovered, it still couldn't break free and had no choice but to defend itself.
Three minutes later, Captain Gao shouted, and his team, along with their beasts, launched a full assault. With the chaotic and relentless attacks, they overwhelmed the serpent.
Realizing it was going to die, the Knife Scales Blood Serpent let out one last roar. It attempted a desperate counterattack, with two of its heads spewing out powerful wind vortices—one cold and one hot. The attacks were devastating, freezing one of the bear-like beasts into an ice sculpture and causing a wolf beast to sizzle with heat.
The two beasts screamed in agony, struggling to flee, their lives spared but heavily wounded.
Despite the coordinated efforts of the mercenaries, the serpent, as a leader-tier monster, was still formidable, and its last-ditch resistance was far from easy to overcome. They had to rely on their numbers and advantage to gradually wear it down.
Now, with the serpent's final counterattack underway, everyone remained on high alert, ready to dodge its last two deadly strikes.
The first attack came when the serpent trembled violently, shaking the ground. A barrage of thousands of sharp scales shot out from its back, resembling a storm of needles. The sound of their rapid flight filled the air, and the mercenaries quickly sought cover, while their beasts did their best to defend.
One of the mercenaries narrowly avoided having his eye gouged out, as a scale barely grazed his cheek. Seven or eight beasts were injured, with one purple-haired goat suffering the worst, its face marked with deep gashes that exposed bone, blood pouring from the wounds.
"Everyone retreat! The serpent has launched its scales; it won't last much longer. Avoid its venom!" Captain Gao shouted.
At his command, the group retreated, keeping their distance as they watched the bloodied serpent, still breathing heavily, struggle to survive.
With its scales exhausted, the serpent let out a pained hiss. Its six cold, lifeless eyes stared at the encircling mercenaries, while its blood-red tongue flicked uncontrollably.
Suddenly, it raised its head and lunged toward Captain Gao, closing the distance by about ten meters in the blink of an eye. It then opened its mouth and shot out a thick stream of venom.
The venom was so fast that Captain Gao barely had time to raise his shield. The toxic liquid splashed onto his face, causing thick smoke to rise as it reacted with his protective C-grade battle suit. The suit couldn't withstand the venom's corrosive power, and it began to disintegrate.
After the venom was expelled, the serpent's body crumpled, and it breathed its last.
"Captain, get out of your suit!" one of the mercenaries yelled.
Captain Gao discarded his shield and looked down, only to see his suit rapidly corroding. His face turned pale, and in a desperate attempt, he pulled out his military knife and cut away a chunk of the affected flesh from his arm, screaming in pain as he did so.
The mercenaries rushed to help him, applying various medications to stabilize his condition.
A few minutes later, his condition was under control. Kent and a few of the instructors arrived on the scene.
Kent looked at him with a neutral expression, opening his mouth but ultimately saying nothing.
Instructor He, seeing the situation, spoke up. "Well done, the threat has been neutralized. You can rest easy now. We can continue with the trial. Thank you."
Captain Gao grimaced in pain, barely able to respond.
"Captain, look here!" one of the mercenaries suddenly called out.
Looking over, they saw that the serpent's body had been cut open, revealing two large, fist-sized orbs—one a Power Orb, the other a Life Orb.
Captain Gao's expression softened. Leader-tier power and life orbs could fetch a high price, and the serpent's body was still valuable, so the group had not suffered too great a loss.