Deceived

Traa!

The tree behind Ji Min suddenly rustled as the serpent darted out of its foliage with the speed of a locked-on missile; then the moment it got within range; it gathered all its strength towards the tip of its tail and before using the momentum of its advance to viciously lash out at Ji Min.

The serpent's upper body slowed as its tail doubled in speed and power, but just as its attack was about to hit, Ji Min's lips curled up into a cunning smile as he whispered;

"You fell for it!" He said before placing the bound lizard in the path of the strike;

Bang! Spurt!

The strike landed directly on the lizard's tough scales, tearing them apart instantly and creating a gory gash, whilst the force of the blow slammed it into the rocky terrain causing its blood to splatter all over the place.

The lizard felt a level of pain that blurred its vision completely while the serpent was momentarily stunned by its attack's unexpected outcome.

Ji Min instantly took advantage of the serpent's loss in concentration; channeling his entire Lord Stage strength into his fist, he delivered a vicious counter punch to the serpent's head;

Boom!

The serpent was sent flying just as fast as it came out; crashing into the same tree it came from, blasting its trunk into smithereens, before landing about five meters away from Ji Min.

Without wasting another second, Ji Min raised one leg high into the air before delivering a deadly stomp to the lizard's skull with his heel;

Crack!

A slight cracking sound floated out of the crater the lizard was now lying within, as its toes twitched intensely; Ji Min then followed up the stomp with another palm strike that was laced with a significant amount of tranquil poison, sending it right into the gash on its body;

Bang!

This time, the crater got deeper and the lizard's twitching toes slowed to a stop, but still Ji Min wasn't satisfied, and thus, he went further to pump the lizard full of tranquil poison.

A few seconds later, the open gash on the lizard petrified, sealing the tranquil poison within it and allowing the venoms to wreak havoc with reckless abandon.

Ji Min felt the lizard twitch once every other second, showing that the venoms were diligent in their duties, and only then did he feel satisfied.

"Rest in pieces."

He added before gazing toward the direction where the serpent had been sent flying.

The serpent came out of the rubble with a bleeding head and a blurry vision, but it managed to witness the lizard's brutal fate, and it was a sight so horrifying that it triggered its mind to replay everything that happened in finer detail.

Then after the snippet ended the serpent finally realized it had been deceived from the start.

Unlike what its instincts had claimed, Ji Min never intended to give the lizard a quick death; he had only used his act to fool the serpent and lure it out so he could deal a fatal strike to its weakest spot; its head.

The moment that thought sunk into the serpent's mind, the statement Ji Min made just before its strike landed suddenly began to echo in its mind like the whisper of a witch toying with her victim;

"Y-you f-fell f-for i-it…"

The concussion the serpent was still suffering coupled with its thoughts and Ji Min's echoing voice placed a greater burden on the serpent's little brain and that caused its vision to grow blurrier as it shook its head vigorously in a bid to at least clear its vision.

[Young Lord, you should use the opportunity while it's still befuddled to finish it off.] Sensei advised as Ji Min simply shook his head.

[There's no need for that; it's already a dead beast.]

[Oh? Do you mean…?]

Sensei mumbled to himself before turning towards the serpent and realized that it had now begun to twitch and lay on the ground; then he saw the wound on its head and noticed that the blood coming out of had a tinge of green in it;

[Oh, now I get it.] Sensei said as he snapped his fingers in apprehension.

[It was in the moment the serpent decided to move in and save the lizard, that it revealed its weakness.]

[Oh?]

[Yeah; apparently, it was also unwilling to duke it out with me for too long, because if it ended up defeating me; it would have also become too exhausted to defend itself against the ones lurking in the shadows.]

The master and butler duo kept staring at the twitching serpent as Ji Min continued his analysis.

[Due to these factors, the serpent must have realized just how important the lizard's role is in its plan to defeat me.]

[-It would probably try to use the Lizard as a form of distraction so it could land a single finishing blow.] Sensei caught up on Ji Min's train of thought.

Ji Min nodded as he arrived in front of the serpent;

[That was the reason why I had to capture the lizard, use it to lure it out, and then deal a finishing blow to the weakest spot on its body.]

[Knowing that the weight of the chain coupled with the Lord Stage strength in your fist would get past its defense, you decided to lace your fist with Tranquil Poison beforehand.] Ji Min nodded whilst Sensei gave an approving nod of his own.

[It's obviously showing the 'Delusion' symptoms of the Tranquil Poison.] Sensei deduced as the Abyss Medusa kept shaking its head to gain mental clarity.

[Un; Its twitching body also means it's experiencing muscle failure.]

Ji Min added as he knelt and lifted the head of the serpent to his eye level which had begun to cloud over.

Then right in that moment when Ji Min was making his observation, the ground of the forest area suddenly began to tremble like a beast tide was happening.

[Sensei, can you feel that?]

[Yes Young Lord; I can sense it if that's what you mean.]

Shara! Chara! Praa!

The sound of several rustling bushes spread across the area as Ji Min saw the several lurking shadows surrounding him begin to flee in a panic one after the other.

[Sensei?]

[I don't know Young Lord, but I'm sure leaving this place would be for the best.] Sensei advised as Ji Min dropped the serpent's head and prepared to flee as well.