"Retreat!"

Seizing the opportunity, the group began to retreat again, with An Zai and Da Pao covering the rear, their flamethrowers continuously emitting flames to suppress the giant snake.

"Hiss!"

Just when the group thought they could safely retreat, the giant snake let out another cry.

In the next second, the swarm of snakes behind them went berserk!

They no longer feared the scent on the group, surging towards them en masse, green bodies sweeping in like a tide, forked tongues flickering, creating a "hiss-swish" sound that made one’s scalp crawl.

"Not good! The snake swarm has been summoned!"

Everyone’s expressions changed drastically; in front lurked the giant snake menacingly, and behind, the frenzied snake swarm charged at them, instantly throwing them into a pincer attack.

"Sulfur powder!"

Qi Yun shouted to remind everyone, and they began scattering sulfur powder around them.

However, the result was minimal; the snake swarm slowed down slightly but continued to slither towards them.

Sulfur powder was useless!

Seeing this, Da Pao quickly pulled back, aimed the flamethrower at the snake swarm, and the fire spewed out, making the frenzied snake swarm stop advancing under the scorching heat.

The air was filled with the smell of burnt snake flesh and sulfur, pungent and revolting.

"The fuel won’t last long!" Da Pao roared, his finger gripping the trigger tightly, the intensity of the flames visibly weakening.

Once the fuel ran out, the snake swarm would immediately engulf them.

The consequences, just thinking about it, were enough to make one’s scalp crawl.

Qi Yun forced himself to stay calm, quickly pondering a strategy in his mind.

But despairingly, he realized they seemed to be at a dead end, even the dark river beside them was teeming with snakes.

"Old Yao! Are you still gonna slack off?"

Yao Yuzhong was already sweating profusely in anxiety, yelling in explanation, "I can’t do anything! The book didn’t mention this big guy!"

"Damn it!"

Qi Yun cursed angrily, turning his gaze to the giant snake.

"We have to kill it! Otherwise, we’ll all damn die here today!"

Just as the words fell, Xiao Wu suddenly stepped forward, picking up a fallen short knife from the ground.

"I’ll do it!"

Xiao Wu’s voice carried a resolute tone, without unnecessary words, and he charged at the giant snake wielding the knife.

His steps were swift, facing the sweeping tail of the giant snake, he was not flustered at all, suddenly ducking low, sliding half a meter along the ground like a gust of wind.

The massive snake tail crashed into where he had been standing seconds ago, sending debris flying. Xiao Wu used the momentum to flip over and stand, the short knife in hand glinting with a cold light as he stabbed towards the burnt spot on the giant snake’s tail.

With a crisp "ding", the broken blade wedged between the scales, and Xiao Wu exerted force with his wrist, the blade piercing into the snake’s body, instantly causing black-red blood to seep out along the blade.

The giant snake writhed in pain, its enormous body suddenly arched, blood-red mouth snapping towards Xiao Wu’s head, the foul stench almost making one faint.

Xiao Wu had already anticipated this, his left hand slapped the snake’s body, using the counterforce to leap backwards, narrowly evading the giant snake’s foul maw, landing while pulling out the short knife, spraying a trail of blood.

Seeing this, Qin Sizhi shouted, "Jin Bao!"

The latter understood, also picking up another broken knife from the ground to join the fight.

"You guys keep it occupied from the front!"

Qin Sizhi seemed to have a plan, taking advantage of the giant snake’s engagement with Xiao Wu to roll to its rear.

Eagle also drew a military knife, preparing to help, but was stopped by Brother Quan.

Unlike Xiao Wu and Jin Bao, they practiced Military Boxing—a simple and practical style focusing on honing physical strength and explosive power, emphasizing a quick and decisive strike.

In contrast, these two were trained in Inner Strength techniques, with extremely agile movements and style, more suitable for entanglements with the giant snake.

Rushing in to help would not only be futile but might even be a hindrance.

"Wait for the chance to shoot its eyes!"

Thus, with Xiao Wu and Jin Bao keeping the snake occupied from the front, Brother Quan and others occasionally fired shots, while Qin Sizhi stayed hidden behind the giant snake constantly observing.

The giant snake’s attention was entirely fixed on Xiao Wu and Jin Bao, its crimson eyes locked onto the two, thick tail constantly sweeping, blood-red mouth biting repeatedly but always narrowly evaded by the two.

Xiao Wu’s short knife flashed with cold light, targeting the giant snake’s eyes and nostrils, each strike swift as lightning, though not causing lethal damage, still frustrating the snake, its hissing becoming increasingly urgent.

Jin Bao was slightly slower, but still helped in occupying the snake.

Whenever the giant snake raised its head to hiss or turned to attack, Brother Quan would decisively pull the trigger, creating opportunities for Xiao Wu and Jin Bao to breathe.

Gradually, with the team’s coordination, the giant snake’s speed seemed to slow down. Such a massive body, every twist exhausted a lot of energy.

Signs of fatigue were already showing.

At this moment, Qin Sizhi moved!

He leapt up with agility, like a wisp of willow, and jumped onto the giant snake’s back in the blink of an eye.

These two moves were hardly like those of a sixty-year-old man, more agile than basketball players.

In the blink of an eye!

Before the giant snake could react, Qin Sizhi’s right hand shot out like lightning, piercing straight at the snake’s neck!

That was the snake’s vulnerable spot, the second weakest part after the eyes.

Qin Sizhi had been observing, waiting for the snake to slow down, waiting for this moment of opportunity.

"Hey!"

He shouted, his four-fingered right hand stabbing into the snake’s scales like a sharp steel awl. Though not as hard as the back, the scales held their toughness.

Without hesitation, Qin Sizhi unleashed his inner strength, thrusting all four fingers deep into the snake’s flesh, and then forcefully pulled out!

"Squelch!"

Black-red blood sprayed out as he wrenched a tendon from the snake’s body!

This scene stunned everyone.

Bullets couldn’t even pierce those scales, yet Qin Sizhi’s right hand had.

Was this what Old Yao called his masterstroke?

Golden Right Hand? Or Iron Sand Palm?

"Hiss!"

The snake let out an ear-splitting scream, sharp enough to pierce eardrums.

Its massive body froze for an instant, then began to thrash violently.

Protruding rocks shattered on impact, debris raining down like a storm.

Seizing the opportunity, Qin Sizhi kicked off, leaping away three meters to solid ground, clutching a piece of flesh that resembled a large intestine.

The snake thrashed frantically like a headless fly, its thick tail thrashing about, stalactites crashing down chaotically.

Its movements slowed, its cries weakened, clearly losing vitality rapidly.

Taking advantage of this, Xiao Wu suddenly struck. With a short knife, he stabbed the snake’s eye socket and twisted hard, leaving the snake motionless.

Almost simultaneously, the flamethrowers in An Zai and Da Pao’s hands extinguished, fuel depleted.

But the snake cluster seemed to sense the giant snake’s death, no longer frenzied as before, retreating into darkness, leaving behind wet traces and a pungent stench.

"Damn!"

"Damn it... Finally done..."

An Zai tossed his flamethrower aside, collapsing to the ground, gasping heavily.

Having just escaped from the brink of death, everyone’s nerves finally relaxed.

Qi Yun stepped forward, helping Qin Sizhi up from the ground, his face showing genuine admiration: "Master Qin, impressive!"

Qin Sizhi shook his head with a wry smile, swaying as he stood, clearly having expended much of his inner strength.

"Just lucky, getting old... twenty years ago... cough..."

Before finishing, he began to cough violently.

"Master!" Jin Bao hurried over to tend to him.

"I’m fine, just need to recover slowly." Qin Sizhi waved his hand, then looked at Qi Yun, "Mr. Qi, I have an unreasonable request."

Qi Yun smiled, "Master Qin, speak freely."

Qin Sizhi glanced at the giant snake, hesitating slightly: "This creature has lived who knows how long, its snake gall likely has extraordinary effects. I wish to use it to brew a pot of medicinal wine..."

Qi Yun understood and did not refuse, turning to the others: "Brother Quan, help Master Qin retrieve the snake gall!"

Qin Sizhi was grateful for Qi Yun’s readiness, bowing in thanks: "Thank you, Mr. Qi!"

Qi Yun helped him up with a smile: "Master Qin, no need for that, earlier it was your bravery that subdued it, if anything, you saved us."

He spoke from the heart, knowing that without Qin Sizhi’s show of prowess, they might not have survived.

While they spoke, Eagle suddenly walked swiftly over, anxiously saying: "Boss, that thing is gone!"