Invincible Snake Emperor-Chapter 113 - 112: Seeking Death

At this critical moment, Tu Xiao'an had to intervene. Otherwise, this hopelessly naive girl would have likely died at the hands of the Crowned King.

He reared his head, shielding Li Qingzhao behind him as he faced off against the Crowned King. The air seemed to roil as if boiling.

Tu Xiao'an felt even more pressure from the Crowned King than he had from the Vampire Snake. He had no idea what powerful abilities this Rank Two Middle Level Creature possessed.

He had thought that with his explosive increase in Level, any member of the Snake Race would have to submit before him. But it seemed there was no limit to the strange things in this world.

There was always a higher mountain to climb. His worldview was still far too limited.

"Hurry and get out of here! Do you really want to die here?"

An eerie voice echoed in Li Qingzhao's mind. Immediately after, she saw the gold-and-silver snake turn its head to glance at her.

From that one glance, Li Qingzhao was certain the voice had come from the snake.

It was uncanny, utterly world-shattering, but she knew it was real.

She sat there, stunned, like a wooden statue. Forgetting her body's most basic instincts, she just stared blankly from the ground.

'You're just getting in the way.'

Tu Xiao'an's Snake Gaze seemed to burn into Li Qingzhao. He then narrowed his eyes, and a Formless surge of Consciousness Power was suddenly unleashed upon her.

Suddenly, Li Qingzhao rose into the air, floating effortlessly outside the Zhao Family compound.

After Tu Xiao'an had done this, the Crowned King let out a spiritually fierce roar. "If you obstruct me, I'll kill you too!"

Its icy voice radiated a bloodthirsty Killing Intent.

It was speaking in genuine, articulate human language. As expected, this kind of Rank Two Creature was capable of speech.

Tu Xiao'an was already unfazed by such things. Now that the liability was gone, he could fight his opponent without any reservations.

In the world of snakes, the loser becomes the victor's meal.

Besides, both snakes in this standoff had already surpassed the limits of ordinary serpents. While not yet transcendent, they had certainly become Essence or Demon.

"We'll see who's the one dying today."

Unwilling to show weakness, the Qi emanating from Tu Xiao'an grew increasingly intense. An ordinary person wouldn't even be able to breathe near him.

'What did I come here for today? To catch a snake. To catch this murderous snake, Devour it, and evolve.'

Just as the two snakes were about to begin their life-and-death struggle, members of the Zhao Family finally reacted. About seven or eight of them—men and women, young and old—gathered in front of the mourning hall.

Among them was an elderly man being pushed in a wheelchair. This man was the village chief of Zhao Village, the highly respected Elder Zhao.

Elder Zhao was pushed to the front of the mourning hall. He saw Zhao Da kneeling on the ground, mouth agape, a clear snake-like pattern on his neck. Tears immediately streamed down the old man's face.

His last son was dead. He'd had four sons, and now every single one was gone.

"Master, look! In the courtyard!"

The butler pushing his wheelchair cried out, his face filled with terror.

Elder Zhao immediately saw the two unusual venomous snakes facing off in the courtyard. His whole body trembled; he instantly recognized one of them.

It was the Zhao Family's House Snake. He could never forget the sight of it.

Two years ago, the House Snake had appeared before the Zhao Family, only to leave. Now, it had returned to kill.

One person a day. Five people in five days. Now, on the sixth day, the sixth victim had appeared.

It seemed the snake had a plan all along. Its appearance two years ago had been less of a visit and more of a declaration of war on the Zhao Family.

Gazing at the House Snake in the courtyard, then at Zhao Da kneeling on the ground, Elder Zhao's face turned as pale as his salt-and-pepper hair. "If you must kill," he cried out in anguish, "then kill this old man! Why did you kill my sons? They were innocent!"

"I'm the one who deserves to die!"

Overcome with anguish in his wheelchair, Elder Zhao stared at the Crowned Snake in the courtyard, his expression a storm of complex emotions.

When the Crowned Snake saw Elder Zhao, the Killing Intent surging from its body became overwhelming. It spoke in a chilling voice, dripping with mournful resentment, "Of course you deserve to die. But I want you to watch your loved ones die first, one by one. Only at the very end will I be the one to kill you."

The snake had spoken. In that instant, an absolute silence fell over the area. The sky itself seemed ready to collapse. Every member of the Zhao Family, man or woman, young or old, froze as if struck by lightning.

But a talking snake was no longer the main issue. The crucial point, the most terrifying thing, was that this snake wanted to kill every last one of them.

At the same time, a question bloomed in everyone's mind: what on earth happened all those years ago? Why would the House Snake that once protected the Zhao Family now want to slaughter every last one of them?

And why did Elder Zhao say he was the one who deserved to die?

The Crowned Snake's gaze swept over everyone present: Elder Zhao's only daughter, the family's old butler, his grandson, his granddaughter. Every single person who met those eyes began to tremble with fear and terror.

The snake's stare was terrifying, making them feel as if they were peering into the Hell Abyss.

The fear of death washed over every one of them, yet no one dared to move a single inch.

"I was the one who failed her! Kill me, and put an end to this!" 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Elder Zhao struggled out of his wheelchair, collapsing onto the ground.

"Master! Master!"

"Grandpa! Grandpa!"

A crowd of people rushed to his side.

"Leave me be! Get back!"

Elder Zhao barked out an order and began to crawl in the direction of the Crowned Snake.

In fact, Elder Zhao had been quite healthy back then. But two years ago, after the House Snake made its move, he had cried out in agony, 'The House Snake is gone! The Zhao Family will fall!'

He had suffered a stroke right after, and his legs had been paralyzed ever since.

Elder Zhao was begging for death. He wanted the Crowned King to kill him and put an end to the slaughter.

The Crowned King watched with its cold, reptilian eyes as Elder Zhao painstakingly crawled toward it. A sizzling sound came from its mouth, as if it were grinding its fangs together.

Hatred. Everyone could see that the snake was filled with an immense hatred for Elder Zhao.

The situation was now plain to see. Tu Xiao'an had been about to fight the Crowned Snake to the death, but the arrival of all these people had made things incredibly awkward.

He was being completely ignored.

'Excuse me? I'm the protagonist here, you know.'

In truth, Tu Xiao'an didn't want to reveal himself before humans. His actions and abilities were simply too world-shattering. But the situation had already spiraled out of control.

At the same time, he was just as curious as the Zhao Family members. What on earth did Elder Zhao do all those years ago to make the family's guardian House Snake hate him this much?

This mutated Crowned Snake was going to wipe out the entire Zhao Family.

For a single snake to wipe out a large, prosperous, and sprawling family was utterly farcical and absurd.

And yet... this snake could do it. It had that power.

The five coffins and the kneeling corpse of Zhao Da were stark proof of that.

Everyone held their breath. They could only watch, wide-eyed, as Elder Zhao crawled slowly, inch by inch, closer to the Crowned Snake.

As the distance to the Crowned Snake closed, a look of relief actually appeared on Elder Zhao's pale face. It was the look of atonement, of liberation.