With Leon keeping the second mutated cobra in check, it couldn’t flee even as Cassie approached. After seeing its mate die to her blades, unable to resist, the creature was filled with fear of her.
Leon quietly stepped back, letting her handle it. He didn’t want to interfere too much. Otherwise, the Star Stream might consider it cheating.
The moment it saw an opening, the mutated cobra dashed away. However, Cassie was already prepared. The moment it moved, she lunged after it.
The creature was exceptionally fast, especially when moving through grass. However, Cassie was still able to bury both daggers into its tail and pin it to the ground.
The mutated cobra jerked to a stop, then turned back and retaliated viciously. Cassie barely had time to dodge when it spat a mouthful of venomous liquid at her.
Although she managed to avoid being directly hit, a few droplets splashed onto the back of her hand.
The skin sizzled and burned, but Cassie didn’t wince. She held her daggers tightly, her gaze turning sharper.
Before it could flee again, she stabbed into its back, pulling the dagger and carving a long, deep wound on its flesh.
A pained hiss escaped the mutated cobra’s throat as it turned around, furious. Why wouldn’t this human let it leave?!
Cassie remained unfazed by its furious gaze. Her eyes flashed coldly, and she flicked her wrist.
Before the mutated cobra could react, its two eyes were pierced cleanly, rendering it blind. The creature hissed loudly, immediately activating an ability it hadn’t used in a while. Cassie’s ears buzzed from the strange wavelength of the hissing sound, and she dropped to her knees, grunting.
Leon frowned at the sight, then turned to the snake.
It no longer had thoughts of retreating and genuinely wanted to kill her. Although it was now blind, it could still sense her position around it.
With its maw dripping with venom, it lunged at the kneeling girl. Leon stepped forward and prepared to intervene, then paused.
’Oh, I see...’
Although Cassie felt dizzy from the sound attack, her eyes were still sharp. Even though her ears bled, she was still conscious.
The moment the snake lunged at her, she knew. She remained perfectly still. Only when it got dangerously close to her did her hand suddenly snap up.
She buried a dagger in its hood, using her strength and body weight to push it to her left while her body shifted to the right.
The mutated cobra’s bite missed her by a few inches, and it landed on the ground, injured.
Cassie didn’t miss the opportunity and pinned it to the ground, driving another dagger into the other side of its hood. To prevent it from spitting venom at her, she pressed her foot against its throat, almost crushing its windpipe.
A few minutes passed, and the mutated cobra finally stopped struggling. It just lay there, seemingly accepting its defeat.
Once Cassie received the Star Stream notification she had been waiting for, she didn’t hesitate to kill it.
She quickly dug out the soul crystal, then walked over to Leon.
"Here, thank you," She said, handing him the two crystals and the two treasure cubes she had gotten.
Leon nodded, sending them to his storage ring. Then, he glanced at Fel. The brown-haired lady got his signal and immediately stepped forward to heal Cassie’s wounds. In just a few seconds, her rotting wounds had peeled off and new flesh had grown.
"Thank you," Cassie muttered, earning a small smile from Fel.
"Wow! Aunt Cassie! You were so cool!" Nora said excitedly, staring up at Cassie with bright eyes.
A flash of surprise crossed Cassie’s expression, and she smiled faintly.
"This... well, thank you."
Leon rolled his eyes. "You’ve said enough ’thank you’ for today. Let’s check around for more beasts."
He casually walked over to the corpses and stored them one after the other. After clearing the area, they began to move deeper into the neighborhood.
’That sound attack was quite a strange one. I wonder if a human could learn the ability?’
He wasn’t sure yet, as it was difficult for humans to learn abilities awakened by beasts. However, it was worth the try.
The group of four slowly toured Marine Park, quietly observing as nature moved to devour the entire neighborhood.
Several cars had been buried under vines, and some buildings had already collapsed after thick roots broke through their foundations.
’Uninhabitable,’ Leon concluded, glancing around. ’Are there even survivors?’
Just then, his ears twitched at the sound of someone coughing. Knowing it wasn’t someone from his group, he turned towards the source of the sound. It was coming from an old barn that stood out oddly. The building was large, but had no vines crawling on it. Instead, the vines crawled around it, seemingly avoiding it like a plague.
Curious, Leon led his team over to the barn. As expected, the door was tightly locked.
"People are inside," Cassie muttered, her brows locked. Beside her, Fel fidgeted nervously. Although she was now used to Leon and the others, meeting strangers still made her nervous.
Leon said nothing and stepped forward, knocking on the door. Instantly, every sign of movement in the building went still. It felt as if the world held its breath.
"If you don’t open up, I’ll break the door," Leon threatened coldly.
Immediately, the door was opened by a tough-looking man who had a gun attached to his waist.
He looked at Leon’s group warily, then said, "Come in, the boss said to bring you in."
Leon quietly raised an eyebrow. Bring him in? Wasn’t it because of his threat that they opened the door? Amused, he held Nora’s hand and walked inside, taking in the view.
Fel and Cassie followed behind him, both on guard. The man’s gaze swept over Leon’s group, and was surprised when he saw only Cassie and Nora having weapons. Still, he didn’t say anything.
He led them to the far end of the barn where they could finally see something other than stacks of yam tubers and corn.
Leon’s eyes narrowed slightly. Before him were nine people dressed in thick clothing. Their condition didn’t look too good, but wasn’t too bad either.
Only one of them stood out. A young man with a sharp nose and dull grey eyes. He locked eyes with Leon, quietly assessing him.