The nine Giant Black Snakes were still curled up in the sand, sleeping like ancient tree roots in the ground. Along with them were the smaller Black Snakes, all sleeping peacefully with slow breathing. The Black Scale Monsters did not know that the small creatures they considered prey were getting closer. Not approaching from the ground, but from the sky!

  BANG

  ZAP

  The sound of gunshots rang out, mixed with the sound of electricity whistling from the sky, as if lightning were tearing apart the night. A series of light bullets fell, aimed straight at the giant bodies curled up in the sand. They burned, piercing through the scales of the Giant Black Snakes. The largest ones jerked awake, the burning pain from the newly opened holes spreading throughout their bodies. Some of the smaller ones exploded or were instantly severed.

  HISS

  The Giant Black Snakes woke up all at once, their mouths opened and their tongues stuck out threateningly. They turned their bloodthirsty eyes to the sky, aiming at the prey that dared to invade their territory and harm them!

  “Wow, only one was taken down.”

  Allan commented after the first round of shots. Only one Giant Black Snake fell because he accidentally shot it in the head. Even though he was still falling freely and getting closer to the Monsters, he didn’t feel the slightest bit worried.

  “I remember that snakes are hard to take down if they don’t aim for the head!”

  Yona immediately continued. The two cousins ??immediately used their guns to fire again.

  WOOSH

  The Giant Black Snakes opened their mouths in unison. From their mouths, fangs ranging from 3m to 1m in length shot up into the sky. Some of them broke at the same time when they collided with the bullets of Allan and Yona. The other fangs grazed the Gunbird riders. Almost immediately, Cide used his revolver to fire back a round.

  Bang bang bang

  The difference in size between the bullets and the fangs was too great, so Cide's shots were only enough to send the fangs flying off course, not hitting any of the Gunbirds.

  "Spread out!"

  Jei immediately gave the signal, and the gun-mounted birds immediately scattered in many directions. The Giant Black Snakes also looked at them, each looking in a different direction. Some were still gaping, looking like they wanted to tear apart the uninvited guests. There were also others with their tongues sticking out, their eyes looking as if they wanted to have a dinner of bird meat!

  "Open fire!"

  Bang bang bang bang bang

  Kuzunoha shouted loudly, and the Gunbirds fired in unison. Candy rained from the sky, and arrows and fangs from the ground. The loud gunshots were as loud as thunder, the wind was torn apart by the series of flying fangs. The flames from the gun barrels roared, accompanied by the rays of light from the bullets making contact with the Giant Black Snake's scales. The pungent smell of snake venom and the pungent smell of burning metal began to spread throughout the area. The scene at this moment was no different from a storm stirring up the normally quiet desert night!

  “You on the left, I on the right~.”

  Allan gave a signal. The two brothers simultaneously used the Boots of Winding Path’s ability to teleport their bodies a distance away. Each of them gradually distanced themselves and headed towards the sand instead of landing in the Monster’s mouth.

  Slap

  The sand splattered as soon as Allan landed, covering his vision for a few seconds. Without further ado, Allan used all his strength and ran. Each step he took caused the sand to be kicked up continuously, like a series of explosions. Right behind him, a group of smaller Giant Black Snakes rushed after him in unison like a black wave! With his newly upgraded boots, he easily left the black Monsters behind.

  Bang bang bang bang

  Allan pointed the assault rifle barrel back over his shoulder. Unlike his pistol, the gun fired a shower of bullets that flashed with electricity, all with the pull of the trigger.

  “Kuzunoha’s gun is incredibly powerful.”

  Allan’s legs didn’t slow down, and his mouth couldn’t help but admire the new weapon in his hand. The assault rifle was shiny white and gold, and attached to it was a blade that shone with a blue light of electricity. It had already shot down many Giant Black Snakes, something that the pistol he borrowed from the police couldn’t do. Looking far away, where those snake monsters were chasing, there were electric sparks flashing with a blue light. Allan could clearly see Yona’s petite figure also sprinting and shooting back at the enemy with her gun. A feeling of excitement and relief filled his chest, urging him to run even faster.

  BOOM

  “Eh?”

  Allan was stunned by a collision with the sand not far away from him, something that didn’t belong to the Giant Black Snakes. A distance away from that pile of sand, he saw Cide suddenly appear, as if he had teleported there naturally.

  “Why are you here?”

  Allan blinked a few times because Hunter was riding on a skateboard. The skateboard that had been remade into a Magic Tool didn’t sink into the sand, it rolled smoothly like sand was a solid asphalt road.

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  “Hah.” Cide gasped as if he was out of breath. “They shot so hard, they all fell!”

  “EH!” Allan opened his mouth wide behind his helmet. “Are you and them okay?”

  “If I were okay, I wouldn’t be able to run with you now.” Cide said sarcastically. “The others are mostly Gunbirds whose wings were shot off, as for how they respond, I don’t know.”

  “I have to go back and help them!”

  Allan immediately leaned back, his two legs stomping forward, he was like a humanoid storm that sent sand flying everywhere. The next second, he was running away at twice the speed of a cheetah, even faster than when he was being chased by the Giant Black Snake! The long-bodied Monsters were also forced to change direction to chase their prey, who had started running in the opposite direction.

  “Is this kid planning to race motorcycles on his feet?”

  Cide stopped his skateboard when he saw that the Monsters had stopped chasing him. He started aiming his assault rifle at the Giant Black Snakes, his eyes on the scope. In his vision, Cide could clearly see Allan’s madness. The rookie Hunter rushed into the snakes and dragged Jei and Elina away. Despite carrying two people on his shoulders, Allan did not forget to hold his gun and shoot back. On the other side, Cide could clearly see Yona carrying Albina, and Kuzunoha carrying Yoru. Unlike Allan who recklessly tried to do many things at once, the two girls were only focused on running as far away as possible from the Giant Black Snakes.

  “It seems like they can’t be turned into girls.” Jei muttered as he looked at the snakes.

  “Maybe it’s because their size is too big compared to the amount of Dreams you have.”

  Elina made an assumption based on her observations. The two Gunbeast girls ran after Allan, they also imitated the young Hunter - shooting back at the enemy. In contrast to Allan's flashy barrage, the two Gunbeast girls' bullets needed more shots to take down a small Giant Black Snake. On the other side, Yona and Kuzunoha did not seem to be as smooth as Allan's.

  "These snakes, the small ones are hard to kill, and the big ones are useless!" Kuzunoha complained about the difference in firepower between her own and the enemy's defense.

  "I don't know!" Yona reluctantly replied because she had no satisfactory answer.

  Albina suddenly started humming, the clear and resonant sound vibrating the air. The small Giant Black Snakes heard it and gradually slowed down. Little by little, they dozed off and then lay down on the sand, returning to their pre-raid sleep. Yoru held up a piece of metal with the Deity mark of the Domain of Nature. As he muttered a prayer to Deity, the metal plate flashed. The snakes that saw the light immediately stopped. He pointed at the larger snakes, the hypnotized snakes immediately turned their heads and started biting their larger brethren.

  As if choosing the most optimal option, Cide opened fire on the Monsters on Yona's side, to support their retreat. The bullets from the sniper rifle easily pierced the heads of the small Giant Black Snakes, more precisely those that were not controlled by Albina and Yoru. However, the result was similar to Kuzunoha's for the larger ones, his bullets only managed to dent the scales thicker than a tank. As for Allan, after running a considerable distance, behind him were the small Giant Black Snakes that had been shot down almost all, one of the large ones had also collapsed among them. His group stopped and gasped for breath.

  “There are seven large ones left…” Allan said with each breath, steam billowing from the inside of his helmet.

  “Sorry for getting in your way.” Elina said, her face slightly lowered, her lips pursed.

  “What’s wrong with that?” Allan grinned. “You and Jei are the rearguard. If you two are in danger, it’s because I haven’t done a good job as a frontline.”

  “We’re here to help them as much as we can. If they fall, then our fate is to die in this desert.” Jei reassured Elina. He looked at the two lion-eared girls, smiling confidently. “You guys want to go back to Earth too, right?”

  The two Gunbeast girls nodded in agreement. Although the situation was still not completely safe, their eyes were sparkling with excitement.

  “If anything happens, I’ll support you, so you and the girls can go ahead and have fun.”

  Jei cheered for Allan. He even gave Elina a burger.

  “Then Elina-san, please do it for me.” Allan turned his back, looking at the Giant Black Snakes. “I’ll continue working as a Hunter!”

  “GAO!”

  The two Gunbeast girls shouted and waved their hands in the air. They immediately followed after Allan as he sprinted towards the Monsters. Due to the difference in speed, they were far behind.

  “Now, let’s wait and hope.”

  Jei gnawed on another burger, one of his eyes wearing a pair of glasses that allowed him to see far enough. Especially in a place where the only light sources were the sparks of bullets, the flickering electric currents, and the faint moonlight. Behind the Artisan was an RPG. This weapon was perfect for dealing with those huge Monsters. However, if he fired it, those snakes would flock to him like moths craving for light.

  “If Allan had taken a big gun like this, it would have been quicker.” Jei commented as he looked at the RPG, which would be a last resort.

  “It’s not hard to blame him. His fighting ability is not bad, but using a weapon that is too powerful without training is not safe for actual combat. Stray bullets are dangerous.”

  Elina commented. The drone hovering beside her helped her put on her gloves and together they started walking closer to the corpses of the small Giant Black Snakes. Although they were called small, each one was probably big enough to put even elephants to shame about their size.

  “Dr. Jei, look at these corpses!” Elina said louder.

  “What’s going on?” Jei glanced at his student.

  “Look at the tails of these snakes… they look like they’re connected, under this layer of sand…”

  Elina spoke slowly, sweat starting to form beads on her forehead, despite the cold night air. Under the sand of the desert and the Drone's analysis light, she could clearly see them talking like a long string. It was directed towards the largest snakes, where they were fighting with the Allan group.

  “... Don't tell me.” Jei's eyes widened as if she had discovered something.

  ---In front of Jaci Village, at dawn---

  “Not planning on leaving?”

  Joker asked Yong. He was standing on the tallest tree in front of the village, looking up. Half of the sky was now covered by the tsunami, hovering close to the clouds were giant golden whales- Gold Leviathan.

  “...What about you, Jozo?” Yong gulped as he witnessed the scene that could only be seen in apocalyptic movies.

  “I'm not afraid of this tsunami, but you're not going to be comfortable.” Joker replied, his tone unchanged behind his mask.

  “No need to worry, brother!” Yong gave a thumbs up, smiling reluctantly.

  “Whatever you want.” Joker placed his hand on his ear and spoke through the communicator. “How are things going, Jarek?”

  [Most of the people have successfully evacuated.] Jarek reported the situation from the other end of the line.

  “Once you’re done there, please take care of those oversized fish in the sky.” Joker gave instructions. “I’ll try to figure out what the hell those fish are doing to the sea.”

  [Then I’m counting on you, Joker~.]

  Jarek replied calmly, but Yong wasn’t so inclined.

  “Isn’t it a bit too much to ask her to take care of them all by herself?”

  “Wrong question.”

  “Huh?”

  “That’s how many fish she needs, not the other way around.”

  “Are you kidding me!”

  “I haven’t gone around clowning around with the enemy.”

  Yong gaped at Joker’s corrections. The wolf’s unchanging tone further convinced Yong that it was the truth.

  “Then…” Yong created a pair of flaming knives, his hands gripping the handles. “I’ll give you a hand, Jozo!”

  “Don’t drown.” Joker stretched out his arms, his lungs filling with air after a breath. “IT’S TIME TO MAKE SUSHI!”

  He shouted loudly to replace the horn and charged into battle. Both of them spat out a large amount of water, becoming jet engines that propelled him closer to the sky. As for Yong, he didn’t fly in any direction that a normal person would do when encountering a tsunami. Yong pointed his pair of flaming knives forward, his crimson Demon bat wings propelling him forward like an arrow! Perhaps because he wasn’t Captain Ahab, he wouldn’t prioritize the Golden Leviathan whales.

  Note:

  RPG: Rocket-propelled grenade - anti-tank gun