Invincible Snake Emperor-Chapter 200 - 196: Danger Descends

The creature that landed was the ten-centimeter, silver-white mosquito. It silently settled on the nape of the Snake Catcher's neck. A glint of cold light flashed in the air as it raised its long, sharp proboscis—as keen as a Silver Needle—and abruptly plunged it into the man's neck. As it pierced his skin, a spectral glow emanated from the mosquito's tiny eyes, a truly chilling sight.

Its long, pointed proboscis effortlessly pierced the skin of the man's neck in a single, smooth motion.

The Snake Catcher, who was in the middle of his spiel, frowned slightly. He felt a faint sting on his neck and was about to raise a hand to touch it, but a customer asked him a few questions. He couldn't be bothered with anything else; business came first.

With its proboscis buried in the Snake Catcher's skin, the ten-centimeter, silver-white mosquito's tiny eyes glowed spectrally. The light intensified as it began to feed—an expression of excitement, elation, and pleasure. Though surrounded by people, no one noticed the giant mosquito.

Only the Five-step Snake in the Snake Catcher's hands began to hiss, as if issuing a warning.

"Quiet now, don't scare away my customers."

The Snake Catcher lightly tapped the Five-step Snake's head and continued energetically pitching the serpent to the crowd before him.

"Look, everyone! The snake is getting aggressive. It looks like it wants to bite someone!"

The Snake Catcher quickly explained, "This snake has long been tamed. It won't bite. If it were going to bite anyone, it would have bitten me first."

As he spoke, a sudden shiver ran through him. His face rapidly paled, his legs grew weak, and his body swayed.

'What's happening? I feel a little dizzy.'

The Snake Catcher wondered, 'Am I just too tired today?'

He still hadn't discovered the ten-centimeter mosquito on the back of his neck, sucking his blood.

What was most frightening was that this silver-white mosquito wasn't drawing ordinary blood from the Snake Catcher's body, but his Essence Blood.

Essence Blood. Blood originates from Innate Essence. A person's blood volume accounts for about eight percent of their body weight—roughly four thousand milliliters, depending on the individual. Even if a normal mosquito were to draw a little blood, it wouldn't have a significant impact on a person.

But Essence Blood was different. The abundance or scarcity of Essence Blood determined one's health. While the body contained thousands of milliliters of blood, Essence Blood was the very quintessence of life. There were only a dozen or so drops in total. To lose a single drop was to lose several years of one's life.

This silver-white mosquito was uniquely monstrous, and its method of feeding was even more lethal. It was draining a person's Essence Blood—an unthinkable method, killing unseen.

"HISS... HISS..."

The Five-step Snake in the Snake Catcher's hands hissed frantically, beginning to writhe restlessly.

To the onlookers, the snake now looked downright vicious, as if it was about to strike.

"The more I look at that snake, the more vicious it seems. We'd better not buy it. The venom of a Five-step Snake is lethal. I don't fancy dropping dead after five steps."

Many people in the crowd shook their heads. Alarmed, the Snake Catcher said, "Gentlemen, it's just the crowd. The snake must be a little spooked, but it really won't bite. If you think the price is too high, we can negotiate."

As he spoke, the Snake Catcher's brow furrowed deeper. He felt that something was wrong with his body. His face grew even paler, and his breathing became rapid and labored. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

His Life Force was rapidly draining away.

In just a short time, the large, silver-white mosquito had drained five drops of the man's Essence Blood, drastically shortening his lifespan and putting him in mortal danger.

The mosquito, in contrast, had a slightly swollen abdomen. Its weight had clearly increased, and its body now faintly radiated a brilliant sheen.

"HISS... HISS..."

Suddenly, a vicious glint flashed in the eyes of the Five-step Snake. Unable to restrain itself any longer, its body coiled and then lunged, striking at the man's neck.

But in that instant, a flicker of light shot away from the Snake Catcher's neck.

"AH! The snake actually bit him!"

Screams erupted from the crowd. The Snake Catcher swayed on his feet, the light fading from his eyes. His tall frame suddenly crashed to the ground. His face was as pale as a sheet of paper, and he fell into a coma, barely breathing.

"Help! The snake killed someone! The snake killed him!"

Seeing this, the group of out-of-towners were scared out of their wits, unsure of what to do.

The area immediately descended into chaos.

"What's going on? Everyone, step back! Let us through so we can see!"

Two professional Snake Catchers happened to be passing by and rushed forward. Today was the Snake King Festival, and with the Lord Snake King himself presiding, how could someone be bitten to death by a snake?

They looked and were aghast. One of their own was indeed on the ground, his face frighteningly pale. And sure enough, a venomous snake was on his body.

"A Five-step Snake?"

Although the Five-step Snake was common, its venom was lethal. If someone died from a snakebite in Bai Town today, the negative repercussions would be unimaginable.

It could even directly affect the Lord Snake King's reputation.

With lightning speed, one of them quickly grabbed the Five-step Snake, while the other hurried to examine the unconscious man's wound.

He quickly discovered something unusual on the nape of the man's neck. A large patch of skin was red and swollen. The wound wasn't just festering with pus, it was ulcerating.

These were clear signs of poisoning, and from the looks of it, it was severe.

"That's strange. A Five-step Snake's venom shouldn't look like this."

The man was puzzled. A bite from a Five-step Snake should cause extensive bruising around the wound, unstoppable bleeding, and even blood blisters and regular blisters.

But this unconscious man's wound was just red, swollen, and ulcerating. There wasn't even a trace of blood. Furthermore, they couldn't find any fang marks.

"Forget it. Let's get him to the Snake King Temple first. If we delay, he'll really die!"

The two Snake Catchers exchanged a look and made an immediate decision.

Meanwhile, in the sea of people on the street, many felt a sudden sting somewhere on their bodies. Figuring it was a mosquito bite, they'd slap at the spot, only to find nothing. Soon after, a large, red welt would rise on the afflicted area.

They paid it no mind and continued to stroll. Getting a mosquito bite was perfectly normal. Besides, it was summer, and with Bai Town backed up against the mountains, mosquitos were a common nuisance.

But gradually, the welts on their bodies became unbearably itchy. They scratched incessantly, and as they did, the skin began to fester and ulcerate. The process was incredibly fast. Then, as they walked, their heads would suddenly feel heavy, and they would collapse to the ground, sparking waves of panic.

Gradually, more and more people began collapsing unconscious in the streets of Bai Town. If someone was bitten by one of the ten-centimeter mosquitos, they would lose consciousness in less than a minute, left on the brink of death. If bitten by one of the smaller, one-centimeter white mosquitos, they could hold on a little longer.

But after ten or so minutes, their faces would grow increasingly pale, the wound would ulcerate bizarrely, and then... they would never wake up again.