Listen Carefully
[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.
Normally, the reason why Ji Min had decided to not finish off the serpent was that he could tell that the lurking beasts were waiting for one of them to defeat the other so they can move in and take advantage of the victor due to their exhaustion.
So, in delaying the inevitable for a bit, Ji Min was trying his best to recover his strength, so that, even if he could fight all the lurking beasts, then fleeing might not be too daunting a task for him.
Squeak! Squeak!
Ji Min and Sensei instantly turned their attention eastward, when they heard hundreds of squeaks and footsteps heading toward them.
Furthermore, the way the squeaks and the vibrations increased in pitch and intensity, Ji Min was able to tell instantly what was going on and what was about to happen.
[It's the rodent from earlier; I guess the rest of its group is here for vengeance.] He deduced.
[A mischief of rodents with each being in the middle level of Commander Stage; Young Lord, we should leave; now!] Sensei sounded very anxious.
[Sure Sensei; If they numbered between a dozen or two, then I might be able to deal with them, but it sounds like they are at least fifty, if not more.] Ji Min said with a shudder as he turned around to dash it.
But just as he took his first step;
Puchi!
Ahk!
[Damn it!] Ji Min cursed aloud not caring if it would give away his position.
He had just experienced a bite force that was equivalent to a teenager getting caught by a leg-hold trap.
He looked down and saw the serpent latching onto his thigh with every ounce of strength it could muster; not only that, but it was also pumping Ji Min full of its petrification venom.
Ugh!
Ji Min grunted in pain as his right leg began to petrify.
[A last-ditch desperation attack unh?] Sensei commented from within.
[But not now of all time; moreover, I don't know why I'm not healing as fast as before.] Ji Min added as the trembling got within proximity.
[Firstly, I think it's because you are physically exhausted.
Secondly, it might also be because you have exhausted an ample amount of the tranquil poison earlier, so it might take a bit of time for it to recover.
Finally, you should not forget that its venom is a level higher than your tranquil poison which is in the 1 Star Lord Stage.]
Sensei deduced while Ji Min tried to pry open the serpent's jaw from his calf, but unluckily for him, the serpent was now dead and its jaw muscles were now stiff and locked onto his thigh.
Furthermore, a part of his leg was still petrified and it could crumble and fall off if he decided to brute force the serpent's jaws off his thigh.
[Since I have to wait for the tranquil poison to finish converting all the venom into energy for me; Sensei, do you have any idea on how to deal with the problem ahead of us?]
[Sure, Young Lord; listen carefully.]
After a minute's worth of conversation, Sensei and Ji Min managed to cover the crux of their plans just in time for the rodents to burst into the scorched area of the forest.
But luckily for them, the tranquil poison was also able to convert the petrification venom into pure Qi and use it to restore Ji Min to 75 percent peak condition.
Ji Min looked around and did a quick headcount; [53 rodents varying between the 5-Star and 8-Star Commander Stage.] Sensei evaluated via Ji Min's vision.
[What about those two; are they a thing or simply twin siblings?] Ji Min jokingly nudged his face toward the two white rodents with golden whiskers in the distance.
[Young Lord, things just got seriously complicated.] Sensei commented in a grave tone as the smile on Ji Min's face faded within a few seconds.
[What do you mean Sensei?]
This time, Ji Min's tone showed an evident sense of seriousness.
[Those two are both within the 3 Star Lord Stages.] Sensei replied as Ji Min's face turned apprehensively awful.
[Can I still flee?] Ji Min tried his luck.
[Firstly, these beasts are natives of these parts of the forest and would understand the terrain much better than you.
Secondly; as rodents, if the rest are not on par with you in terms of speed, those two are much faster than you.
Finally; unlike that Abyss Medusa who only recently broke into the Lord Stage, these rodentshave been there for a long time and must have figured out how to wield their bloodline aura and the abilities that come with it; you don't want to show your back to beasts like these, you might not even know how you died.]
Sensei analyzed as two beads of sweat ran down both sides of Ji Min's face.
[Talking about bloodline auras, mine could come in handy at this point.]
[Sure, but just like the serpent, you can barely know how to control your own and have yet to figure out what abilities it has. Perhaps…] Sensei drifted off.
[Perhaps what…?] Ji Min insisted.
[Nevermind Young Lord; but you should know that fighting in an open area puts you at a big disadvantage.] Sensei cautioned.
[Yeah, I get it. I can't afford to show my back to those two, and I face the risk of getting swarmed upon if I stay on the spot.] Ji Min sighed as he kept on wracking his brain for a solution to his current predicament.
[One more thing, Young Lord...]
[Yes Sensei?]
[These rodents are carrying pathogens and not venoms; try not to get bitten or scratched.]
[Sure Sensei; after all, pathogens are much stronger than venoms, and no one knows if the tranquil poison would be able to nullify it.]
Ji Min replied as he rubbed his temples in a bid to stop the headache that had begun to build up in his head.
'This is just great; so I'm supposed to fight 53 Commander Stage Rodents, and 2 Lord Stage species, and it has to be done flawlessly at that.'
Ji Min thought to himself as he readied himself for a life-death battle.