Mountain Patrol Military Officer

"The Third Prince's aura vanished here; his Essence Pearl can no longer be sensed!"

The leader appeared, a man dressed in a green Python Pattern Robe, wearing a Snake Head Golden Crown atop his head, his hair like waves, bearing a pair of triangular snake eyes, holding a fist-sized water-blue pearl in his hand, chest heaving, and eyes bloodshot.

They were the followers of the Third Prince, who emerged from the Water Mansion established by the Third Prince alone, accompanying the Third Prince as he headed upstream bearing birthday gifts to celebrate the Old Dragon King's birthday.

The Old Dragon King's grand birthday was a moment of revelry for the Bailong River Clan, also a chance to display their might.

At that time, for thousands of miles around, various water clans from major water systems, and even the Great Demons entrenched in the Dragon Ridge, will attend the banquet, making it a grand event. There's even a rumor that people from the Grotto Heaven in Dragon Ridge will attend.

This section of the water system of Bailong River belongs to the Third Prince. The Third Prince, wanting to strengthen his influence by visiting to celebrate, needed the local Mountain God and Land God to respond to his commands to show off his might. As a result, there was a Mountain God who simply wouldn't accept invitations, angering the Third Prince, who dispatched his men to capture this Mountain God during his journey.

However, the Green Fish sent out encountered problems, which shortly enraged the Third Prince, leading him to pursue with some water demons.

Now, the Third Prince's aura disappeared at this place!

With blood-red eyes, this demon surveyed the muddy mountain path, sniffing the fishy scent therein, scanning the surroundings intently before moving to a hollowed spot.

There, the demon squatted down, using a sharp hand to extract something from the hollow.

A black Snake Scale, the size of an egg, flew out from the muddy water, landing in the demon's hand.

Upon seeing this black Snake Scale and sensing the Third Prince's aura on it, the demon's expression changed, and then it let out a piercing roar, sending palpable ripples through the air.

"Overturn the entire mountain if needed, find the Third Prince, or else we'll all become dishes on the Old Dragon King's birthday feast."

The water demons behind them erupted in chaos, immediately climbing upon water vapors, rushing around the valley, some along the mountain path, some into the dense forest.

After an hour, outside the seven or eight miles of mountain forest, these water demons found several people hiding in a cave.

"Bang"

"Bang"

"Bang"

Three people were thrown in front of the Snake Demon, looking at the surrounding water demons, each appearing fearsome, their faces showing terror.

The three collapsed on the ground, realizing what had happened, including the shopkeeper from the earlier inn, clad in silk robes, with one side of his headwear knocked askew,

"It's not related to us, it's not related to us!"

The Snake Demon, towering over a foot, immediately showed fierce light in its blood-red eyes, its green-scaled hand lifting the shopkeeper abruptly, its sharp claws deeply piercing into the shopkeeper's collarbone, speaking in a sinister voice,

"Tell me, where is our Third Prince?"

The shopkeeper, with his flesh and blood pierced, let out a wretched scream of agony, struggling with his hands on the Snake Demon's snaky arm,

"Ahh"

"He was... he was killed by a charioteer!"

"Those people, they're not ordinary... I... didn't do anything, spare me, spare me."

The shopkeeper wailed, and the next moment, his pupils suddenly widened, his throat blocked, followed by the horrifying sound of tearing flesh.

At the wound, the Snake Demon suddenly tore with its sharp claws, ripping the shopkeeper's head off, then crushed it with a squeeze, causing the head to split in its hand.

Then, with its blood-red gaze towards the remaining two people, its face wore an expression of wanting to devour people,

"Did he just say, a lowly charioteer killed our Third Prince?"

One was dressed as a merchant, the other as a guard, and seeing the shopkeeper's head torn off filled their hearts with panic, eliciting confessions as they recounted the earlier events like spilling beans.

"Yes, it was a charioteer, he drove a carriage, and there seemed to be a young master inside the carriage, with two guards beside it..."

The Snake Demon finally confirmed the Third Prince was dead, feeling just as much fear as the two, understanding that if the Old Dragon King discovered, they'd all be doomed.

It needed to remedy the situation, capture the culprits behind the Third Prince's death. Yet, learning that the Third Prince had been killed by a charioteer, it asked in a sharp voice,

"How did the Third Prince die? What skills did those people have?"

"Speak, and there's still a chance to live."

The two, hearing this, braced against their fear, speaking one by one with trembling voices,

"The Third Prince couldn't withstand a few rounds against that charioteer..."

"The Third Prince reported the opponent as Heavenly Pass and declared his identity, yet he was still, still killed by the charioteer and was..." the mustached merchant hesitated.

"By what?"

"He was skinned and dismembered by the charioteer!"

"What?" The Snake Demon's eyes twisted in rage, voice changing, and it grabbed the mustached merchant directly.

The mustached merchant, fearing he'd follow the shopkeeper's fate, quickly spilled, "It seemed a command from a young master in the carriage; we couldn't hear clearly from afar."

The Snake Demon's eyes narrowed at this, wondering where these people, daring to kill the Third Prince, came from.

However, filled with murderous intent, it hissed and asked,

"Where did those people go?"

Then, the small-eyed merchant hurriedly answered, pointing a hand to one side of the mountain path,

"Over there, over there!"

As his words fell, the Snake Demon looked in the indicated direction, a sinister gleam in its eyes,

"Very well!"

Saying this, it threw the mustached merchant down, then grabbed another person, its head shook, stretching long to reveal a house-sized blue-green ferocious snake head, its fangs two meters long, directly piercing the person.

After a heart-rending scream, the person was swallowed whole by the Snake Demon, its throat rolling as it returned to normal.

The remaining merchant was so scared he wet himself, emitting a foul smell.

The Snake Demon, having polished off one person, turned its fierce gaze upon the silver catfish in the retinue,

This Silver Catfish Spirit, with a slippery silver head, eyes spinning with cleverness, holding a Silver Fork.

The Snake Demon extended a hand, pulling the Silver Catfish Spirit aside, pressing with a fierce look,

"Silver Catfish, quickly take this man and pursue those people; you must stop them!"

"I need to report the calamity at Dragon Pond and have someone avenge the Third Prince!"

Upon hearing this, the Silver Catfish Spirit's eyes spun in disbelief, seemingly asking the Snake Demon,

Big Bro, Look at my eyes, are you sure you didn't misspeak?

It's just a Third-stage Body Profound catfish; how could it stop those people?

It had heard clearly that the Third Prince was killed by the people's charioteer.

As merely a catfish, being sent meant no chance at all?

The Silver Catfish Spirit wore a sullen look, speaking in a hoarse voice, "General Qing, I just transformed, can't stop them."

"You must go, find them, watch them," the Snake Demon pushed the catfish's arm,

"Or we'll all die."

"If you don't go, you'll die now!" The Snake Demon's voice was ominous, allowing no argument.

The Catfish Spirit's long whiskers twitched, eyes spinning, reluctantly headed towards the distant brook with the remaining merchant, as they arrived at the stream bank, he leapt, transforming into a massive three-meter-long catfish, glistening silver in the sunlight.

"Splash," a wave arose, submerging into the brook, vanishing without a trace.

The Snake Demon witnessing this, waved a massive hand enveloped in mist, encompassing all the accompanying water demons.

It urgently needed to report the Third Prince's death to Dragon Pond, hundreds of miles away, without delay.

The Third Prince stripped and dismembered; the Bailong River seemed destined to flood!

A dozen breaths later, the mist disappeared, along with the water demons' figures.

....

The sun moved westward, nearing the mountains.

Seven hundred miles away, under the glow of the setting sun, amidst the surrounding mountains, lay a vast floodplain, with smoke curling into the sky.

A breeze passed over the mountaintop, viewing a great city leaning against the mountain under the evening glow!