Suddenly, it felt a chill in the air above its head. The Snake Demon hastily took a deep breath, but detected no scent of any creature. As it wondered what was happening, the chilling sensation penetrated deep into its bones.

A streak of cyan light pierced through the top of its head, and another severed its throat. Without uttering a sound, the Snake Demon slowly slumped onto the vines.

The cyan figure paused briefly before melting back into the dense fog. The fog served as its perfect cover, obscuring it even from another Snake Demon just a few dozen meters away.

In less than ten minutes, the Snake Demons serving as scouts on the periphery had been eliminated entirely. When the cyan figure returned to Long Haochen’s side, the cyan light around it had only dimmed slightly.

Long Haochen slowly closed his eyes, relieving the fatigue caused by intense concentration.

In his perception, the Demon God Pillar of Snake Demon God Andromalius was a massive source of energy. With his mind calm, his perception was exceptionally clear. The reason he hadn’t allowed Saint Guard No. 10 to attack the Snake Demons during the battle was to avoid alerting Andromalius.

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. This was undoubtedly the best choice.

After a moment, Long Haochen reopened his eyes. Now, the issue wasn’t about finding treasure, but about how to truly accomplish the goal of their trip.

“Ying’er, I’ll send you back. Tell everyone what’s happening here and have them prepare for battle. It’s easier for me to conceal my aura, so I’ll scout around. When the time is right, we’ll strike.”

Snake Demon God Andromalius was leading the Snake Demon army in a major battle against the swamp monsters. This was definitely a golden opportunity for the 64th grade Soldier Hunting Squad! While Long Haochen was cautious, he wouldn’t be a qualified hunting squad leader if he let such a good chance pass by.

Both Saint Guards were recalled to the Eternal Melody to recover. Chen Ying’er and Mai Dou were sent back to the Eternal Tower. Long Haochen wasn’t in a hurry. He rested quietly for a while, recovering his previously depleted mental energy, before silently rising, concealing the spiritual energy radiating from his body, and cautiously approaching the edge of the battlefield.

At this moment, he was like a leopard lying in wait, energy contained but full of explosive power.

His hatred for the demons made his eyes ice-cold. Although he was about to face one of the Seventy-Two Demon Gods, his mind was filled with images of himself and Cai’er being besieged by the other hunting squads.

His lips unconsciously tightened, and an indescribable emotion spread and swelled within him. Even though the Aria of the Goddess of Light wasn’t in his grasp, a thick sword intent still emanated from him. Even Long Haochen himself had difficulty controlling this sword intent.

Fortunately, although the sword intent was dense, it only pulsed and surged around him, solidifying without dissipating.

Long Haochen closed his eyes. The eyes are the window to the soul, and he feared that he wouldn’t be able to suppress his fighting spirit and killing intent when he saw the Snake Demon God.

Even he hadn’t expected that his state of mind would be so greatly affected by encountering a powerful demon again.

In reality, his condition was entirely caused by excessive emotional suppression. After Cai’er lost her memory, Long Haochen’s inner anxiety was immense. Only he knew the extent of his suffering. To take care of Cai’er, he had to hide the agonizing pain in his heart, swallowing his tears. Every day, he had to force a smile to comfort Cai’er and help her regain her memory.

As these days passed, Cai’er’s condition stabilized, but the pain in Long Haochen’s heart deepened every day. How much he longed to find the Cai’er who loved him deeply! He regretted it, and he was in incredible pain. If he had been more firm at the time and forced Tian Qing not to launch that battle, perhaps none of this would have happened. How could others see his inner self-blame?

At this moment, although he was about to face an enemy who wasn’t responsible for Cai’er’s amnesia, he was still facing a powerful demon foe. The suppressed emotions in his heart erupted almost like a geyser. Coupled with his deepening understanding of sword intent over these days, he instantly fused his emotions with the sword intent, resulting in his current state.

Undoubtedly, Long Haochen in this state was definitely terrifying, even frightening. However, equally, if he couldn’t find an effective outlet for this state, the impact on his own state of mind would be enormous. This had nothing to do with strength; it was entirely due to psychological factors.

Quietly approaching the battlefield, Long Haochen concealed his presence in the poisonous fog. His self-control was ultimately very strong. After briefly closing his eyes and focusing his mind, he had managed to barely control his emotional fluctuations.

Slowly opening his eyes, he looked into the battlefield from the edge. The first thing he saw was the massive Demon God Pillar. There was no doubt, it had to be a Demon God Pillar.

Long Haochen had seen the foundation of these seventy-two supreme rulers of the demons more than once. Especially the Demon God Pillar of the Demon God Emperor, which had brought him immense shock. Seeing it again, he naturally recognized it immediately.

However, he didn’t look at Andromalius, fearing that he would be sensed by Andromalius if their auras became intertwined.

Silently calming his heart, Long Haochen quietly watched the changes on the battlefield.

At this moment, the Snake Demon’s offensive was becoming increasingly fierce, and the Boa Constrictors were retreating steadily. Although these huge Boa Constrictors had extremely strong defense and astonishing power, they couldn’t withstand the sheer number of opponents. The less than twenty Boa Constrictors were now all covered in wounds, constantly shrinking their defensive lines. The wounded bodies were gradually shrinking into the swamp, revealing only half their bodies to fight the Snake Demons.

The Snake Demons’ bodies were unaffected by the swampy terrain. They advanced and retreated in an orderly manner, and waves of attacks continuously unleashed dark spiritual energy to its maximum extent. Often, a single attack from three or five Snake Demons could leave a deep wound on a Boa Constrictor.

The Boa Constrictor King began to roar lowly, seemingly urging its tribesmen. At the same time, its massive body began to writhe restlessly, clearly ready to explode in attack at any moment.

It seemed that the Boa Constrictors were in a bad situation. If this continued, the Boa Constrictor King would probably take action. And the watchful Snake Demon God would obviously not allow it to interfere with the battle on the main battlefield. With the Demon God Pillar’s suppression, the outcome of this war seemed to have lost its suspense.

Long Haochen couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. It was true that arriving early wasn’t as good as arriving at the right time! This timing was extremely beneficial to him.

However, how could he help the Boa Constrictors? The best outcome would naturally be for both sides to suffer heavy losses. And he couldn’t let the Snake Demon God escape.

Long Haochen still didn’t act rashly. At this moment, watching the situation unfold was the best choice. Moreover, he didn’t have a complete plan in mind. At the same time, he was observing the location of the Boa Constrictor King. He could vaguely see that behind the Boa Constrictor King, there seemed to be a deep cave. This cave was very peculiar, surrounded by thick vines, as if the entire cave was extending underground under the protection of the vines. Long Haochen only saw a little of it when the Boa Constrictor King writhed its body.

“Roar—” A piercing roar erupted from the Boa Constrictor King’s mouth. The king of the dark swamp was obviously unable to endure it any longer. Having enemies break into its lair and slaughter its people, its anger was imaginable. No matter how fearful it was of the Demon God Pillar, it had no choice but to fight when the other party threatened its survival.

The Boa Constrictor King’s roar had an immediate effect. All the Boa Constrictors suddenly paused for a moment. Then, familiar clumps of cyan-black light instantly spewed out, heading straight for the Snake Demon horde.

This time, the Boa Constrictors’ actions were unified, to the point that Snake Demon God Andromalius didn’t have time to dispatch his subordinates.

Amid the violent roars, more than fifty Snake Demons in the front were instantly blown away. Their bodies turned into fragments while still in the air, scattering blood everywhere in the swamp. The ten or so Boa Constrictors also leaped up at the instant they spat out their inner cores, crashing into the enemy ranks with their powerful strength, forcing the Snake Demons back. After swallowing back their inner cores, they all burrowed into the swamp and disappeared.

Suddenly suffering such a violent attack, Snake Demon God Andromalius couldn’t help but feel restless. These were all elites under his command. Each death was a loss. These fifth- and sixth-rank Snake Demons weren’t easy to nurture, how could he not feel the pain?

A sharp scream rang out from Andromalius’ mouth. The four Snake Woman Medusas standing beside him made the same action, opening their eyes!

The four Snake Women opened their eyes at the same time. Long Haochen almost instinctively closed his own eyes. When he felt the threat disappear and opened his eyes again, he immediately gasped.

Among the Boa Constrictors who had just launched a strong attack and were in the process of retreating into the swamp, there were three who hadn’t had time to completely submerge themselves in the swamp. At this time, their upper bodies were frozen on the swamp, and even the swamp around their bodies was frozen.

Petrification. A talent of the Medusa, and one of the most terrifying abilities of the Snake Demon race. Even Snake Demon God Andromalius couldn’t control this skill. It belonged exclusively to the Medusa.

The Snake Demons naturally wouldn’t miss this good opportunity. The three petrified Boa Constrictors were instantly turned into fragments under their attacks. It was clear that they were dead.

The Boa Constrictor King was also attacked. Four Medusas, three attacked the Boa Constrictors, and the tallest one targeted the Boa Constrictor King, the purpose was simple, to prevent the Boa Constrictor King from interfering.

(To be continued)