Chapter 84: Entering the Serpent’s Den, Countless Vipers Slither

With a flash of white light, Yang Feng found himself inside a mountain cave. Chilling winds swept through, carrying with them intermittent, ear-piercing screams that echoed in the gloom. The cave was shrouded in such darkness that even Yang Feng could barely make out his surroundings.

Wasting no time, Yang Feng conjured a fireball. The sphere of flame hovered above his palm, serving as a makeshift torch. Though the fireball wasn’t large, it was enough for Yang Feng to see where he was. He surveyed his environment: smooth stone walls encircled him, with only a single passageway just wide enough for a person to proceed. Where this tunnel led, he could not tell.

The rock walls were riddled with pits and hollows of various sizes, the largest easily big enough to accommodate a human. Occasionally, the faint sound of snakes slithering through the dark sent a shiver down his spine. This dungeon was known as the Viper’s Lair, and the monsters lurking within were all venomous serpents.

Yang Feng summoned all his Raven Warriors, sending them darting down the corridor ahead. The layout of the cavern was treacherous—caves branching everywhere, forming a tangled network. The Raven Warriors could only split up, each scouting a different tunnel.

A map of the Viper’s Lair surfaced in Yang Feng’s mind: a vast central cavern riddled with countless smaller tunnels, all interconnected. Some even had multiple exits. Together, these winding passages formed a labyrinthine den.

The Raven Warriors dispersed, flying through the darkness. Before long, they encountered monsters, and fierce battles broke out instantly.

[Defeated Level 20 Venomous Viper. Experience +6000.]
[Acquired: Bottle of Venom!]
[Defeated Level 20 Venomous Viper. Experience +6000.]
[Acquired: Snake Skin!]

System notifications flickered across Yang Feng’s mind. All his Raven Warriors entered combat mode, which slowed their advance. The monsters were numerous and densely packed. According to the scouting water orbs, these were all elite-class monsters. Each time a Raven Warrior ventured ahead, it was ambushed by vipers, who typically relied on stealth—lying in wait inside their burrows and launching surprise attacks as soon as an intruder passed by.

Yang Feng advanced along passages already cleared by the Raven Warriors, proceeding cautiously since this was his first time in such a dungeon.

Suddenly, a faint rustling reached Yang Feng’s ears. Focusing, he saw snakes emerging from the surrounding rock walls—each as thick as a fist, so many that in a blink they covered the entire cave floor. There were at least several hundred, completely encircling him.

[Common Viper]
[Level: 19]
[Combat Power: 500]
[Speed: 600]
[Mental Power: 200]
[Defense: 300]
[Skills: None]

These were ordinary monsters, their attributes even weaker than typical creatures of their kind. Yet their numbers were overwhelming; such a mass of vipers could easily kill.

Yang Feng recalled that the top three teams on the Viper’s Lair leaderboard all included at least two mages. Mages possessed area attacks—essential for dealing with situations like this.

"The teams holding first place in both Dark Marsh and Viper’s Lair are the same," he mused. "The record for clearing Viper’s Lair is eighty minutes, a record that’s stood for several years."

He hurled the fireball in his palm at one of the vipers. The blaze was enough to instantly kill any ordinary monster, and these vipers, with only 300 defense, were even weaker than others of their level. The serpent let out a shrill scream and perished on the spot.

After the fireball struck, the cave plunged into darkness.

Boom!

A violent explosion reverberated through the entire cave, rousing countless slumbering vipers. Before the Raven Warriors could rush over, the snakes were already pouring out from the tunnels.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Several more blasts shook the cavern, as though the very mountain might collapse. When a new fireball ignited in Yang Feng’s palm, all the vipers in the cave had been obliterated by the explosions.

Hundreds of system prompts instantly sounded in Yang Feng’s mind.

[Defeated Level 19 Common Viper. Experience +1000.]
[Defeated Level 19 Common Viper. Experience +1000.]
[Defeated Level 19 Common Viper. Experience +1000.]
[…]

Though each viper yielded only a thousand experience points, the combined total from so many far surpassed that of the elite-class vipers. In just one sweep, Yang Feng had slain several hundred.

A smile crept across his face; he realized the caves where the Raven Warriors were fighting were also crawling with these common vipers, all awakened by the earlier explosions.

"This is a perfect place for monster farming!"

But his expression quickly changed. His Raven Warriors were taking damage, covered in vipers biting madly with venomous fangs. While individually the vipers’ attacks were weak, their sheer quantity was deadly. The Raven Warriors’ health was dropping steadily.

Yang Feng’s first instinct was to try recalling his warriors, but the vipers clinging to them made it impossible. Lacking area attacks, the Raven Warriors could only kill vipers one at a time with their claws and beaks—sometimes two or three if lucky.

"Retreat!" Yang Feng ordered.

Since he couldn’t recall them, he could only command them to flee. If they didn’t escape soon, the vipers would surely kill them.

The Raven Warriors returned, still swarmed with vipers, with countless more slithering in pursuit—some common, some venomous. Never before had the Raven Warriors been forced into such a desperate retreat; usually, they swept through dungeons, annihilating everything in their path.

Yang Feng now saw clearly how limited the Raven Warriors’ attack methods were. Their attributes were impressive, but their lack of versatility was a serious flaw. Now, all he could hope was that, as they leveled up, new skills would unlock.

One Raven Warrior appeared in his line of sight. Yang Feng hurled another fireball.

Skill: Fireball!