Translator: XephiZ

Editor: Aelryinth

The Black Totem Snake was very powerful, without a doubt the strongest creature Mo Fan had ever seen. The Darkwing Wolf, Razortail Drake, Xuanwu Giant Lizard, and Giant Poisonous Centipede were like little bugs compared to the Black Totem Snake. They would impress him if they could survive a mouthful of poison from the snake!

Fortunately, the Black Totem Snake did not possess any evil tendencies. He did not hold a grudge against the humans despite being tortured by the Councilmen and rejected by the people. Otherwise, if the Black Totem Snake were to attack Hangzhou City together with the Silver Skyruler, the city would most likely end up in ruins. Their experts could not even handle a Silver Skyruler, and yet it was badly beaten up by the Black Totem Snake. If the Black Totem Snake turned against them, he did not even need an army. He could easily destroy the place on his own!

The victorious Black Totem Snake did not chase after the Silver Skyruler. The Silver Skyruler had various ways to keep itself alive, thus it was rather meaningless to pursue the demon bird. The totem beast raised his head proudly and uttered a blasting roar!

His voice spread a great distance. Not only did it echo through the forest in the west, but in the valleys, rivers, and woods in other directions, too!

It served as a declaration that he had defeated the dominator of West Ridge, the Silver Skyruler, while warning the rest of the demon beasts that he was residing in the city. Any trespasser would suffer his wrath!

In simpler words, he had declared ownership of Hangzhou!

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The majestic demeanor of the Black Totem Snake prompted Mo Fan to recall the drawings in the shrine at the center of the lake.

Only those who had witnessed the Black Totem Snake's strength could tell how strong he actually was. He was just like a god, protecting the beautiful city for so many centuries!

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As the White Magic Falcons and the Silver Skyruler flew off into the distance, the alert that had everyone in a panic was finally withdrawn.

The people in the emergency safe zone returned to their areas. The defense of West Fortress returned to normal. Many places had recalled the Heavenly Eagles Battlemages to set up defensive perimeters, to ensure that Hangzhou City was no longer in danger.

The biggest problem the humans had in the battle was the Heavenly Eagles...

The ruler of West Ridge had never left its territory before, thus the military never realized that the Heavenly Eagles, which originated from the same species as the White Magic Falcons, would betray them.

The Heavenly Eagles were the most important firepower in the air for the military. When they turned against them, the sky suddenly became free to fly for the demon birds. They could easily bypass the roadblocks that were set up on the ground.

Luckily, the Black Totem Snake had eliminated the threat before it invaded the city. Otherwise, it was horrible to consider the casualties that might have resulted from the mistake they had almost made!

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The crowd returned to West Fortress. No one had let their guard down after the retreat of the White Magic Falcons.

North of West Ridge was a huge forest. The demon beasts residing there had always been restless. It was highly possible that they would take advantage of the precarious situation to invade, thus they could not afford to relax after the battle. They had to improve their defensive measures, to prevent the demon beasts from finding an opening!

"Strange, normally, the demon beasts would try and invade us, just to give us some pressure. Why are they fairly quiet this time? I thought the army of White Magic Falcons fought the opening battle for them?" asked General Yun Feng, a confused tone to his voice, from where he stood on the highest observation tower on the fortress.

"I guess the Black Totem Snake has scared them away?" said Tang Zhong.

The Black Totem Snake did not just let out a few roars randomly. Not only did they realize the demon beasts in the west became fairly quiet, the fortresses in the east, south, and north were surprised when they found out that the demon beasts had withdrawn over ten kilometers from their territory!

Councilman Zhu Meng, who had not fully recovered yet, let out a relieved sigh with a complicated expression.

"Zhu Meng..." Elder Li Tian was about to say.

Councilman Zhu Meng waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, my Threat Elimination Strategy no longer includes the Black Totem Snake. Either way, he has saved us all, and made up for the grave mistake that we made. I should thank him instead!"

Councilman Zhu Meng subconsciously glanced at the Skyscraping Snake staying close to the perimeter of West Fortress.

The Black Totem Snake woke up from his nap as if he were aware of his name being mentioned. He tilted his head toward the observation tower.

His giant head stared at the crowd on the tower, before opening his mouth all of a sudden...

Councilman Zhu Meng instantly tensed. The brilliance of Magic appeared around his figure.

Meanwhile, the Black Totem Snake spat something out from his mouth.

The lump covered in stomach acid rolled to their feet. Mo Fan pinched his nose. It did look somehow familiar to him...

"It looks like a person..." said Tang Zhong with a confused look.

Councilman Zhu Meng's face was instantly filled with anger. He pointed his finger at the Black Totem Snake and snapped, "You dare to eat a human! I shall serve justice today even if it means putting my life at stake!"

Councilman Zhu Meng demanded, but he did not move. He was no match for the Black Totem Snake at his full strength, let alone when he was still injured!

Mo Fan chuckled when he saw Councilman Zhu Meng's reaction. "Don't worry, it's only Councilman Luo Mian!"

Everyone immediately took a closer look at the figure that was covered in stomach acid, which suddenly began to move. Most of his skin and flesh had corroded. He was crawling on the ground painfully. He grabbed Councilman Zhu Meng's leg with his hands.

The previously well-respected Councilman had now turned into a half-digested ugly monster. Some among the crowd felt sorry for him, yet Mo Fan, Lingling, and Leng Qing all agreed that he deserved it well.

"Ah, Brother Luo Mian, may I ask why the bracelet we gave to Wang Xiaojun is currently in your hand?" Councilman Zhu Meng asked with a cold smirk.

Councilman Luo Mian pleaded with the crowd to spare his life. He begged at Councilman Zhu Meng's feet for a long time. When he realized that it was not working, he used all his effort to crawl toward Tangyue. He knew that the Black Totem Snake hugely favored Tangyue. A single sentence from her could easily convince the scary snake to spare his life.

Tangyue slowly knelt down and glanced at Councilman Luo Mian's corroded face. When everyone thought she had decided to show mercy and spare his life, she simply grabbed the bracelet from his hand and snapped, "This glory that was traded with a brave person's life does not belong to you!"