Bloodline Evolution: I Can Choose Opposing Paths-Chapter 106: Apex Predator: Emerald Constrictor

The group moved slowly through the mangrove forest.

The terrain here was different from the open swamp around the lake and the muddy waters they were at previously. It was mostly solid ground, but the only thing really around was...more mangrove trees.

This time, they were perched a bit higher up where the group could see the whole tree instead of being stuck in their roots. The canopy above grew denser with every step, so much so that it was hard to see where they were going.

Marcus pulled his phone out to use the flashlight, telling others not to in order to conserve battery life in case they got a signal.

Moving through the trees, Aren could still feel the Mangrove Tyrant’s presence behind them. But as they moved farther into the forest, another tension replaced it.

They were entering something else’s territory now.

Daniel was the first to whisper.

"So... how exactly do we wake this thing up?"

Marcus scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. ’Find another ruler-class beast’ sounds like a great plan until you actually have to do it."

Emily swallowed.

"Maybe we shouldn’t wake it up at all?"

Sterling slowed slightly, scanning the tangled mangrove roots around them.

"We don’t need to fight it," she said quietly. "We just need it distracted enough so we can get in and out."

Daniel frowned.

"And how do we do that?"

The professor gestured toward the thick mangrove trunks surrounding them.

"The Emerald Constrictor," she continued. "The only other Ruler-Class beast in the area."

"They spend most of the time camouflaged around the mangrove trees and roots, blending into the environment."

Luna blinked. "...So you’re telling me it could literally be right next to us?"

Sterling didn’t answer immediately. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Which was answer enough.

Aren felt a small knot tighten in his stomach.

She knows.

Relief washed over him almost instantly. For a moment earlier, he had been trying to figure out how to guide the group without revealing too much. But explaining that knowledge would have been suspicious.

Fortunately, Professor Sterling had already recognized the signs.

That made things easier. Now all he had to do...was try to spot the damn beast in the first place.

After several minutes of careful movement through the mangrove forest, Sterling finally raised a hand.

"Let’s take a break here."

They had moved far enough from the lake that any ether use probably wouldn’t be sensed by the Mangrove Tyrant.

Emily crouched nearby, watching the surrounding forest nervously Manifesting her dragonflies to scout the surrounding area.

Daniel was about to whisper something when a faint rustling came from the bushes ahead. Everyone froze, ether already condensing into their hands, preparing whatever attacks and Arts to combat whatever beast was about to break through the bushes.

That was when the bushes parted slowly. A small swamp rabbit hopped out into the open, its ears twitching as it sniffed the air before casually nibbling on a patch of moss.

Marcus blinked.

"...Seriously?"

Emily let out a quiet breath. "Well... at least something in this forest isn’t trying to eat us."

The rabbit hopped once more, completely uninterested in the group. For a moment, the tension eased.

Then Aren felt it...

A sudden chill crawled down his back like someone had poured cold water all over it.

He recognized the feeling right away: bloodlust.

Slowly...very slowly...he turned his head.

Behind them, wrapped almost perfectly around the thick trunk of a mangrove tree, something enormous blended seamlessly into the bark.

At first, it looked like another twisted mangrove trunk, but Aren could see it if he squinted. The creature’s body stretched upward through the canopy, disappearing above the treeline before he noticed something else.

Two massive vertical pupils were staring down on their group, its head just sticking out of the branches.

"Guys..." Aren whispered softly. "Not to alarm you but..."

"I found our beast."

The words had barely left Aren’s mouth when the forest exploded. The Emerald Constrictor crashed down from the canopy like a falling meteor, its enormous body slamming into the mangrove roots with such an impact that it shook the entire clearing.

Rows of curved fangs lined its mouth as it opened wide to devour the entire group whole.

"MOVE!" Sterling shouted.

The group scattered instinctively.

Aren barely had time to dive sideways as the creature’s massive head slammed into the ground where they had been standing, its jaws snapping shut just where they once were.

Before the serpent could strike again—

Sterling’s hand flicked forward. Threads of shimmering ether burst from her fingertips.

They shot through the air like living wires and wrapped around the serpent’s upper and lower jaws in an instant.

"Daniel!"

Daniel reacted immediately, summoning his lance and driving it into the mud. A massive wall of steel formed instantly.

"Now!"

Sterling yanked her hand back. The threads tightened violently as she swung her whole arm with all her strength. The beast tried to resist but its massive form crashed right into the wall of iron that Daniel had summoned, temporarily dazing it.

"Run!" Sterling shouted.

No one needed to be told twice.

Daniel spun immediately, carving a rough path through the tangled roots with his lance as the group bolted back the way they’d come.

Behind them, the Emerald Constrictor got up and moved. The enormous serpent surged forward with terrifying speed, way faster than a 100-meter-long snake had any right to be.

Aren glanced back once.

That was a mistake.

The serpent’s body stretched across half the clearing already. Its jaws flexed once, immediately snapping Sterling’s threads in half as it continued to chase.

Branches whipped past their faces as they ran. The mangrove forest blurred around them.

Behind them—

CRACK!

A mangrove trunk exploded apart as the serpent’s body smashed through it. "Don’t look back!" Sterling ordered.

Aren ran beside Marcus now, blades in hand as he swatted aside a Razorfly that had strayed too close during the chaos. His heart pounded against his ribs.

"The clearing’s close!" Emily shouted from the middle of the group.

They were almost there.

Almost—

A sharp cry rang out behind them.

"Ah—!"

Aren’s head snapped around. Luna had caught her boot on a protruding root, the thick branch twisting under her foot as she stumbled forward and crashed hard into the mud.

She barely had time to push herself up—

When the forest behind her exploded.

The Emerald Constrictor lunged forward, its enormous head crashing through the mangrove roots as its jaws stretched wide enough to swallow her whole.

Emily screamed as she reached a hand out.

"LUNA, NO!"