"You jinxed it..." Zerra complained in a breathless voice at Isryn, whose expression had frozen because of shock.
The massive entity had blocked the way. Its long body covered the entire road. When the group stopped their cars in horror, the snake raised its head, staring at the rows of cars sinisterly.
The diameter of the phyton’s body was around thirty centimeters, while the length stretched as far as seven meters.
"Get inside." Cassias instructed in a low, grave tone. Zerra was confused, but she was quick to drag Isryn toward the car, stuffing her in and crawling to the passenger seat herself.
The gigantic snake, sensing movement from their side, continued to watch them with predatory intent. Its tongue slithered in and out, and pupils narrowed coldly.
They had four cars in total, and the people who had just come out of the second car from the front also hurriedly went back inside. None came out of the first car, which had Nyra and Darren inside.
Cassias jumped back into the car, and he instantly started it, driving his car back a few meters.
The snake imitated their movement, slithering forward, following in deliberate slow motion. It was as if they had simultaneously agreed to avoid this snake. Just their bad luck that they encountered it right when it was crossing the road.
Everyone held their breath; their hearts thumped loudly in their chests, so loud that they hallucinated they could hear it.
"The air has been so still since earlier, no wonder other critters don’t dare to get close..." Isryn whispered, holding her breath. "Can this area be its territory?"
Zerra used her senses to examine the snake. Its gigantic form had bumps in some areas, as if it had just swallowed some prey.
"The snake just ate something." She concluded with certainty.
The gap between their cars and the snake was getting wider now, but they didn’t feel safe at all. The snake had marked them as its prey, and it might just wait for the right moment to devour them.
But... there was something that didn’t sit right with its behavior. As the knowledgeable person, Isryn asked in doubt, "If it had just swallowed something, why would it target us? Snakes usually go to find a safe place after devouring a prey to digest it."
Cassias narrowed his eyes, his gaze locked on the snake ahead with wariness. "It’s a mutated snake."
Meaning that its behavior may not go according to the usual route. If it’s a common snake, they wouldn’t have avoided it so quickly; they would have confronted it head-on.
It was also magical how the snake could raise its upper part so high, around two meters, just to stalk them.
The more Zerra watched, the more unsettled she became. Its patterned scales, largely tan in color, gleamed under the faint sunlight. Her pupils constricted all of a sudden, and she gasped, "The bumps on its body are gone!"
Meira, huddled beside Isryn, had been quiet all this while. When she heard Zerra’s words, she warned her tremblingly, "Don’t talk too much. You will attract the snake’s attention."
There was a flash of regret in her eyes, as if mourning over her decision to follow them to this dangerous forest. If only she had stayed obediently at that supermarket...
However, they didn’t listen to her words.
Cassias’ eyes flashed; he voiced his conjecture. "It might have a space-related ability... thus, preparing to store us as its reverse food."
That was why after it had swallowed its prey, the snake was going after them next. It knew it possessed a space ability and planned to make good use of it.
Meira trembled even more when she heard that, hugging the blanket deeper.
At this moment, trouble suddenly came. The car behind them stopped moving, forcing Cassias to stop his car as well.
They witnessed the driver struggling to force the engine to come to life. He twisted the key, biting his lip hard enough to draw blood. The engine roared, and the car pulled up a few meters back before it died again.
Then, no matter how hard the driver tried to force the engine to live again, he never succeeded.
Everyone’s hearts were in their throats. They might only have a few choices: drive forward with unstoppable force or fight the snake head-on.
However, in panic, the man unexpectedly shouted to the people in front. "Mr. Valez... I can’t start the engine. The car broke down!"
In an instant, the snake abruptly stopped. Its pair of gleaming eyes found the panicking man’s figure, who had now come out of his car.
"Mr. Virethorn, open up, let us in!" The man ran toward Cassias’ car, knocking on their car door desperately.
The snake’s movement was incredibly swift, slithering toward the desperate man. Seeing the snake, the man turned around before Cassias could open the door. He went back to his car.
Zerra glanced at Cassias, whose figure now radiated coldness all over. He occasionally took a deep breath, his jaw clenched with his forehead full of frowns. His sharp eyes locked onto the gigantic snake, which had moved beside the last car.
The men inside that car huddled together, shaking.
Cassias got out of the car. Zerra’s eyes followed his figure anxiously, debating whether she should follow. She was worried that she would drag him down instead.
The massive snake was now staring at the men inside the car, its mouth opened and closed again, as if pondering whether it would swallow the car whole or just the people inside.
Everyone held their breath. They watched as the snake turned its attention to Cassias, its mouth still gaping wide.
He didn’t hesitate to throw something into its mouth — an explosive.
Stunned, the snake hissed and subconsciously closed its mouth. Something incredible happened. The head swelled like a balloon, every tissue on the verge of rupturing, stretching its head before...
The snake’s head dramatically shrunk into its small, normal size again.
It had swallowed the explosion force! Or rather, using the space power to take the brunt of it.
In an instant, the snake hissed at Cassias angrily, slithering fast and arriving in front of him in seconds. It gazed down condescendingly at the impertinent human.
Just as the snake was about to dive toward Cassias, another figure appeared and slammed it down.