Rebirth as a Demonic Cultivator: Starting with a Zombie Planet

Chapter 59: Encirclement of the Two-Headed Python, Death of a Commander!

A massive wake tore southward down the Dragon River.

Beneath the churning surface, a colossal creature fled for its life. The apocalypse had comprehensively mutated the physical attributes of Esper creatures, but intelligence was a different story. Most possessed the cognitive capacity of a five-year-old human child. When threatened, their primal instinct was simply to run.

In that regard, this Two-Headed Python was nothing special.

Perched high above the fray, Chu Xuan watched with cold, calculating patience.

The beast moved with terrifying speed. In the blink of an eye, it surged forward over a hundred meters, outpacing any speedboat. The soldiers of the Linjiang Army scrambled along the banks, unable to even touch the beast’s wake. They could only watch helplessly as their prey slipped away.

Further downriver, at the provincial pass, Xiong Xing stood alongside two other commanders and four Awakened Ones from the Heifeng faction. The Dragon River stretched out behind them, crossing into Hanhai Province territory. Their mission was absolute: intercept the Two-Headed Python before it left Linjiang Province.

A clean kill was ideal, but crippling it would suffice. Bleed it enough times, and the beast would eventually die.

“It’s coming!” Wang Yong yelled, his Awakened talent of farsightedness locking onto the distant disturbance.

Massive swells disrupted the river’s surface. Something terrifying was barreling toward them beneath the dark water.

“Prepare!” Xiong Xing roared.

Weapons were drawn. The Awakened Ones braced themselves. The churning water closed the distance, the oppressive threat of the apex predator suffocating the air. Knuckles turned white around rifle grips. Cold sweat dripped down their faces.

*Hiss!*

A deafening shriek echoed over the water. Moving too fast to brake, the Two-Headed Python slammed headlong into a submerged steel-wire barricade. Thick, industrial barbs tore through its iron-hard scales, ripping out chunks of flesh.

Crimson bloomed across the river, dying the water beneath their feet a sickly red.

“Fire!” Xiong Xing commanded, slashing his hand downward.

A dozen automatic rifles spat blinding muzzle flashes. A storm of lead shredded the water, hammering into the thrashing python.

*Hiss! Hiss!*

The beast shrieked in agony. Its massive body thrashed, whipping up violent, towering waves. The sheer force of the surging water swept several Linjiang Army soldiers off their feet, dragging them screaming into the river.

The python’s jaws snapped shut. Bone crunched. It bit the flailing soldiers entirely in half, showering the remaining troops in a spray of hot blood.

“Keep firing! Empty your mags!” Xiong Xing didn’t flinch, his eyes locked on the slaughter with icy detachment.

*Rat-tat-tat!*

Gunfire continued to tear through the air, churning the river into white froth. But this time, no agonized shrieks answered them. No fresh blood bubbled to the surface.

*Click. Click. Click.*

Magazines ran dry. Moving with drilled precision, the soldiers slammed fresh magazines into their rifles. Muzzles remained trained on the water. They had fought this monster before; they knew better than to relax.

Xiong Xing, Lin Qiao, and Li Tiemu exchanged uneasy glances. The silence felt wrong. Had the concentrated volley actually killed it? Or had it slipped away?

Lin Qiao leaned over the barricade, peering into the murky depths. The water below looked completely empty.

She opened her mouth to speak—

The river exploded.

A massive, scale-armored head erupted from the water. Jaws unhinged to an impossible width. Before she could even scream, the beast snapped forward and swallowed Lin Qiao whole.

*CRASH!*

The python’s upper half slammed back into the river, sending a tidal wave of bloody water crashing over the barricade, drenching the survivors.

Li Tiemu stared at the churning water, his eyes bulging in absolute disbelief.

“Lin Qiao… Lin Qiao!” he roared, his voice tearing at the seams.

Xiong Xing gripped the iron railing so hard the metal groaned and warped under his fingers. He was shaking.

Lin Qiao was one of the five commanders of the Linjiang Army. She had been a Tier 2 Awakened One for two full years. In another year, she could have broken through to Tier 3. And now, she was just gone. Snuffed out in an instant.

High above, Chu Xuan raised an eyebrow.

*Clever beast,* he thought. It had deliberately sunk to the riverbed, feigning a mortal wound just to bait the commanders into dropping their guard.

A cold smirk touched Chu Xuan’s lips. His interest was thoroughly piqued. If the beast was this cunning in life, its extracted soul would retain that same vicious intellect. Cunning was a loathsome trait in an enemy. But in a soul-slave? It was the ultimate comfort.

Down below, the river boiled once more.

The Two-Headed Python reared its massive upper body out of the water. Four serpentine eyes locked onto Xiong Xing and Li Tiemu with chilling malice. It remembered them from the ambush back at Longjiang City.

One of the python’s heads convulsed. Its throat rippled.

With a wet, sickening retch, it spat out a wad of tattered, acid-soaked fabric. Lin Qiao’s clothes slapped wetly against the concrete right in front of the two commanders.

The beast’s eyes gleamed with unmistakable, sadistic mockery.

A cold dread washed over Wang Gangjian and the others. The monster wasn’t afraid of them. It was mocking them. This was pure, unadulterated provocation.

“I’LL KILL YOU!” Li Tiemu shrieked.

He had bought those exact clothes from the Boat Gang as a gift for Lin Qiao. Seeing them regurgitated, half-melted by stomach acid, shattered his sanity.

Xiong Xing grabbed his shoulder, his grip like a vice. “It’s baiting you! Stick to the plan. Do not break formation!”

Li Tiemu sucked in a ragged breath, his eyes bloodshot and wild. “Fine!”

Xiong Xing turned to Wang Gangjian’s squad. “Plans changed! We need your support, now!”

“Say no more,” Wang Gangjian nodded grimly.

Xiong Xing grabbed the deformed iron railing and violently wrenched it free from the concrete. Muscles bulging with terrifying kinetic force, he hurled the heavy metal pipe like a javelin.

*SWISH!*

The iron tore through the air with a sonic crack. Before the Two-Headed Python could react, the jagged iron punched straight through the scales just below its neck, burying itself deep in the flesh.

The beast shrieked, thrashing wildly.

“ATTACK!” Xiong Xing roared.

He snatched up a bundle of pre-staged iron spears, hurling them one after another with devastating force. Every throw was fueled by the raw, burning hatred of his comrade’s death. Like Wang Gangjian, Xiong Xing possessed an Enhancement-type talent, granting him superhuman physical strength. Since fighting an aquatic Esper creature in the water was suicide, heavy projectiles were their only viable option.

Beside him, Li Tiemu let out a guttural growl. Searing flames ignited in his palms. He compressed the fire until it burned a blinding white-hot, then thrust his hands forward.

*BOOM! BOOM!*

Twin fireballs streaked across the water, exploding violently against the python’s heads. By converting his internal spiritual energy into raw fire, Li Tiemu operated as a rare Elemental-type Awakened One.

Inspired by their commanders, the remaining Awakened Ones and soldiers unleashed hell. A torrent of bullets and explosive spiritual energy rained down upon the river.

From his vantage point, Chu Xuan watched the fireworks with clinical fascination.

He noted that the vast majority of these Awakened Ones possessed Enhancement-type talents—mutations that simply upgraded a specific body part, like arms, legs, or eyes. Elemental-types like Li Tiemu, who could actively channel internal spiritual energy into destructive magic, were exceedingly rare.

He observed the battle with detached interest, noting the beast’s cunning and the varied talents of the Awakened Ones.