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**
The continuous cries and screams filled the air, making Mo Cheng feel increasingly irritated.
Glancing at Mo Ran beside him, he recalled that this man was a one-star Da Dou Shi, strong enough to handle most of the trouble.
Thus, he ordered, "Mo Ran, go ahead and check what's happening up front."
"Yes!"
Mo Ran quickly accepted the order. With a loud explosion, his figure shot forward like a bolt of lightning.
As a Da Dou Shi, his speed was naturally swift. With the distance not being too far, he arrived at the scene in less than a minute.
What he saw was several Rank 2 serpent-type magic beasts wreaking havoc among the mercenaries, who were at the level of Dou Zhe.
Meanwhile, not far away, Luo Bu was entangled in a fierce battle with a Rank 3 serpent magic beast, completely occupied and unable to assist his subordinates.
"So many Desert Horned Vipers? Did we intrude into their habitat?"
Mo Ran muttered to himself in confusion as he observed the chaotic battle.
The next moment, a layer of earth-yellow Dou Qi Armor rapidly formed over his body—this was the defining trait of a Da Dou Shi!
With his body now protected, he launched himself forward again, targeting the Rank 3 Desert Horned Viper. Clearly, he intended to deal with the strongest one first before handling the others.
However, as soon as the Rank 3 Desert Horned Viper noticed Mo Ran's approach, it suddenly let out a sharp hiss. Immediately, it shoved Luo Bu away and turned to flee.
Surprisingly, the other Rank 2 magic beasts also reacted in the same way, quickly withdrawing as if they were following orders from an unseen commander.
Witnessing this, Mo Ran was momentarily stunned.
"Since when did Rank 3 magic beasts become this intelligent?"
Just as he was about to pursue, his sharp gaze locked onto a particular Desert Rock Serpent. His pupils contracted violently as he noticed a green flower-shaped mark on its forehead.
Rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, he confirmed that the mark was indeed real.
His expression changed drastically, and he turned around, shouting in a sharp voice, "Grand Elder! I've found the target!"
"Boom!"
Hearing Mo Ran's words, Mo Cheng froze for a moment before his face lit up with wild joy.
With a powerful stomp, he propelled himself forward at high speed, arriving beside Mo Ran in the blink of an eye. His voice was filled with excitement as he asked urgently, "Where?!"
"The serpent beasts that attacked us earlier—one of them had a green flower mark on its forehead! That must be one controlled by the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils! But it escaped too quickly, and I couldn't catch it!"
Mo Ran reported everything he had just seen in rapid succession, like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.
"Excellent!"
Mo Cheng's eyes burned with greed.
"It seems the owner of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils has somehow learned that we're searching for her. That's why she ordered the serpents to attack us!"
As the agonized cries of wounded mercenaries filled the surroundings, Mo Cheng's excitement only grew stronger.
The more powerful the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils, the greater the benefits he would reap once he transplanted them into himself!
With this thought, he swiftly turned to Mo Ran and asked, "Which direction did that serpent escape to?"
"That way!"
Mo Ran didn't dare delay and immediately pointed toward the direction where Xiao Yan had fled.
"Very good."
Mo Cheng then turned his gaze toward Luo Bu and commanded coldly, "You, take your men and pursue it immediately!"
Luo Bu hesitated, his expression dark. "Grand Elder, in that last attack, we lost nearly twenty men. Shouldn't we take a short rest first? I'll gather the rest of the team and then we can—"
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt the overwhelming killing intent in Mo Cheng's eyes. His entire body shivered, and he quickly changed his tune.
"Understood! I'll lead my men to chase right away!"
Without further delay, Luo Bu started reorganizing the remaining mercenaries, ignoring their complaints as he pushed them forward.
Strangely, despite the Desert Rock Serpent being in its own territory, it wasn't moving as fast as expected. It was only slightly faster than the pursuing group.
After fleeing for a long time, Xiao Yan still couldn't shake off his pursuers.
Before long, the remaining members of the Sand Mercenary Group chased him into a valley surrounded on three sides by sand dunes, leaving only one path open.
"Captain, that beast has disappeared!"
The mercenaries watched as Xiao Yan suddenly burrowed into the sand and vanished. One of them turned and shouted.
"Heh, it can't escape," Mo Cheng sneered dismissively.
Then, he turned and signaled to one of his trusted subordinates.
The middle-aged man nodded, stepped forward, and released the powerful aura of a nine-star Da Dou Shi.
He extended his palm into the sand, channeling his mutated sand-attribute Dou Qi, which surged rapidly as he began tracking Xiao Yan's movements.
Mo Cheng nodded in satisfaction. This man, Mo Xi, was the strongest expert in the Mo Clan besides himself and the patriach.
At the same time, he was also Mo Cheng's most capable subordinate. Over the years, Mo Xi had rendered great service, contributing significantly to the rapid growth of the Mo Clan.
However, just as all their attention was focused on Mo Xi, the ground suddenly erupted with countless serpent heads!
At the same time, a ceramic bottle, previously buried shallowly in the sand, was also pushed to the surface.
With a heavy impact, the bottle shattered!
In an instant, a massive cloud of black mist spread outward, swiftly engulfing Mo Cheng and his men.
"Scatter immediately! The mist is poisonous!"
Mo Cheng crushed a Desert Horned Viper in his palm and coldly barked out the warning.
Although the mercenaries weren't highly ranked, they were all battle-hardened veterans.
Even though they didn't know exactly what the black mist was, their instincts told them that they absolutely should not come into contact with it.
As a result, they frantically tried to retreat in all directions.
But with the surrounding area already consumed by the toxic fog, there was nowhere to run.
Even though most of them had stopped breathing to avoid inhaling the poison, their bodies still began to rot the moment they touched the mist.
Painful screams erupted as their outermost clothing was corroded first, followed by their skin, flesh, and finally even their bones!
"Boom!"
Seeing this, Mo Cheng and the other Da Dou Shi among them quickly activated Dou Qi external release, using it to disperse the poisonous mist in their immediate surroundings.
Although the toxin didn't harm them, it was utterly fatal to the Dou Zhe-level mercenaries.
By the time the poisonous mist finally dissipated, the thirty-plus mercenaries had all vanished.
All that remained on the ground were scattered, incomplete skeletons.
Among the survivors, only Mo Cheng, Mo Xi, Mo Ran, and the now-sole survivor of the Sand Mercenary Group—Luo Bu—were left standing.
"Hiss...!"
Looking at the gruesome scene before them, the survivors couldn't help but take in sharp, cold breaths.
"What a ruthless trick!"
Mo Cheng let out a cold snort and turned his gaze toward the sand dunes above.
There, Lin Feng and Qing Lin had already appeared, standing on the dune at some unknown time.
At their sides stood four Rank 3 Desert Horned Vipers, a Horned Viper King, and—a Rank 4 Two-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent!
"Five Rank 3 magic beasts... And this one... What kind of beast is this? A Rank 4?!"
At first, the Mo Clan members managed to remain composed upon seeing the Rank 3 magic beasts.
But the moment their eyes fell upon the enormous, ten-plus-meter-long, fiery-red Two-Headed Flame Spirit Serpent, their expressions changed drastically, and they sucked in sharp breaths.
What horrified them the most was that the magic beast had an elongated, forked neck, upon which two heads rested!
Each of those two massive heads bore four blood-red, diamond-shaped pupils, filled with violent, bloodthirsty killing intent as they locked onto them!
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