The snake spat its venom, again and again, without mercy. Jyu refused to surrender; swiftly he dodged, leaping or rolling across the sand.

  The serpent’s movements were truly fast. Its long body did not seem to hinder it at all. With a single leap, the bck-scaled snake was already near Jyu, trying to devour him at once by opening its mouth wide. But it swallowed only wind, emptiness!

  Jyu had already evaded, then sshed the side of the snake’s mouth. Thick, bluish blood spttered, soaking the sand. Yet his attack did not make the great serpent feel pain in the slightest. It even managed to whip its tail, striking Jyu and sending him flying out of the rocky area.

  “Damn it! Other monsters can see me now, to hell with you, ugly snake!”

  There was no time to feel the pain. Jyu quickly scanned his surroundings. Several mystical creatures were already staring at him, eager to prey upon him at once. They began to approach, some walking slowly, others charging forward at a run.

  Jyu immediately got up and ran back toward the rocky area. In his mind, there was only one thought—pit the snake that had attacked him against the other mystical creatures. Somehow, someway, this was the only path for him to escape their cruelty.

  “Yomi! Help me!” Jyu shouted in fear, hoping Yomi would come and save him.

  But it was only a hollow hope; no help would come. Instead, the attacks grew more frenzied. From the front, the snake was ready to strike again. It's hissing sent fear crawling through every stream of his blood.

  The serpent now seemed to swim over the sand. Its movements were swift yet graceful. In seconds, it was already before Jyu, who was running straight toward it.

  The snake opened its mouth wide once more, preparing to pounce. Without thinking, Jyu hurled a chunk of his provisions—meat—into the monster’s mouth. Instantly, it choked, its jaws snapping shut, its head shaking violently as if trying to rid its throat of the discomfort.

  That gave Jyu time to escape. He ran again toward the rocky area. Before that, he also threw another piece of meat toward the serpent. He had only one hope—to divert the monsters’ attention to the fresh flesh.

  In truth, Jyu had prepared several cuts of monster meat as provisions for his journey. But after witnessing what had happened earlier, he chose to discard it all. Only one piece remained. Jyu threw it westward, hoping it would attract the monsters’ attention and make them ignore him.

  Still, it was not enough. Jyu had to find shelter at once. Now he had reached the rocky area; quickly, he climbed it so the monsters could not reach him. Jyu hid among the branches of stone.

  His strategy worked. The serpent was now fighting other mystical creatures. Meanwhile, the meat he had thrown westward also drew the attention of others. Yet several creatures still chased him. Five neckless monsters entered the rocky area. Of course, they could not look upward; they could only stare straight ahead in line with their bodies. Jyu was safe!

  Remaining still was all he could do now. Better to hide than be devoured by the mystical creatures below.

  ---

  The sun climbed higher. Jyu had been hiding among the rocks for a long time, perhaps two hours. Unfortunately, the upper part of the rocks offered no foothold. Jyu could only rely on his back and both legs, bracing himself horizontally.

  Naturally, this caused every muscle in his body to tense. They were numb already, perhaps at their limit. His body began to weaken; soon, his strength would truly fade.

  Unluckily, the battle among the mystical creatures continued, though not as fiercely as before. Several times, the rocky area where Jyu hid was passed by creatures fleeing or chasing enemies.

  Jyu had lost his strength; he decided to descend. When his feet touched the ground, he stretched all his muscles at once, easing the tension so it no longer caused pain.

  “How long must I keep hiding?” Jyu looked irritated.

  At st, he peeked at the surrounding area. A few battles still raged, but they were far from the rocks where he stood. Perhaps this was his chance to continue his journey.

  Jyu walked slowly out of the rocky area. Several times, he even crawled, camoufging himself within the realm of Darkent. Coincidentally, he wore a bck robe, matching the color of the rocks here. He only needed to sit motionless to resemble stone. In his assumption, the mystical creatures had no brains; surely they could not distinguish Jyu from a rock. Hopefully!

  As the sun grew fiercer, the battles subsided, nearly gone. Yet the threat remained, for many chose to rest by sheltering in the crevices of the rocks. The rocky areas cast shadows where they hid from the bzing sun.

  Most mystical creatures preferred to gather in groups, like the neckless monsters. It seemed they possessed a survival instinct to cluster together. Very different from the tiger-like beasts or the cobra-like serpent Jyu had faced earlier. They chose solitude!

  And that was the problem. Safe pces had become their resting grounds. Jyu had to change his strategy to continue. But walking across the open stretch of sand would endanger him. The monsters would surely notice his presence.

  In his confusion, sowing discord seemed the most fitting strategy. The idea arose as Jyu observed two rocky areas standing fairly close. The rocks on the left were occupied by neckless monsters, while those on the right—perhaps ten meters away—were inhabited by crab monsters.

  Jyu stood in the rocky area south of those two. The distance between them was about twenty meters, so he could easily observe the monsters’ presence.

  But what strategy would make these two groups fight?

  “What should I do?” Jyu kept turning his mind. He arranged many pns, yet all carried great risk. There was one that seemed most reasonable and had a high chance of success.

  He would lure the neckless monsters out of their nest, then run toward the rocks where the crab monsters dwelled. When the two groups faced each other, he was certain a battle would erupt. The decision was made. Jyu would do it.

  Slowly, he approached the rocky area on the left. As he drew closer, his heart pounded faster. His adrenaline surged, his breathing quickened.

  Peering through a crevice, he saw the neckless monsters sitting with eyes closed, asleep. Five of them slumbered deeply. He had to wake them. But how?

  Jyu picked up fragments of rock scattered beneath him. At once, he revealed himself and hurled the stones at them. The five monsters stirred, their eyes opening slowly in anger.

  All of them stood and gred at Jyu with fury. A piercing roar of rage echoed as they chased him swiftly, while he ran toward the rocks inhabited by the crab monsters.

  “Come on, follow me, you stupid monsters!” he shouted.

  Jyu kept a distance of about five meters. In moments, he reached the rocky area on the right, the resting pce of the crab monsters. He immediately ran to the side not occupied by them, then leaped and climbed upward.

  Clearly, the neckless monsters were still pursuing. But Jyu was already hidden at height—their weakness—so they could not find him. Confusion and anger were evident on their faces, and they began pacing around the rocky area.

  The noise disturbed the crab monsters. In truth, they had been sheltering from the sun, not sleeping. Thus, they quickly noticed the neckless monsters. The two factions stared at each other; slowly, their gazes turned to wrath.

  “Success! Attack, what are you waiting for?” Jyu muttered with satisfaction.

  A second ter, they cshed. The crab monsters moved swiftly, running in zigzags, and in an instant, their cws severed the leg of one neckless monster. The battle grew savage, merciless.

  Jyu could not waste time. Their fight was his opportunity to continue. He jumped down and ran fast toward the next rocky area, his eyes alert for every approaching threat.

  In the distance, he saw another rocky area, but it was enormous.

  “Damn, this is harder than before!” Jyu looked frustrated, for the area was inhabited by many crab monsters. No strategy had yet formed in his mind. Simply crossing it was risky; on nearly every side, monsters were resting.

  Jyu chose to stop in the middle of the sand. He sat, contempting, devising a way to proceed. But it was difficult; the sun bzed hotter, draining him further. His throat grew dry.

  Suddenly, a soft hissing sound was heard. All the crab monsters that had been asleep awoke at once. They fled, running in every direction.

  “Why are they running?” Jyu was confused.

  There must be something terrifying to them, for they fled instantly. Surely it would be a threat to Jyu as well. He had to hide at once and observe.

  Jyu ran toward the rocky area, hid within the shadows, and submerged his body into the sand. In his mind, this was all he could do. The best hiding pce was camoufge.

  Moments ter, something happened that deepened Jyu’s fear. The sky suddenly split apart, and a gate between dimensions opened. It was like what had happened st night, when several monsters emerged grievously wounded.

  This dimensional gate appeared directly above Jyu. Slowly, a monster emerged from within—but this time it was different, stronger, and more terrifying.

  The creature had a human-like body. But its face was like an owl’s, and both its hands bore cws like a crab’s.

  Jyu could only stare at it, trembling in fear.