She Is Not a Witch

This is bad.

The girl felt slightly dizzy. Although she dispersed the poison mist with whirlwinds each time, some residue inevitably remained in the air. As the battle dragged on, she would inhale more and more until finally becoming paralyzed and losing consciousness.

If she couldn’t defeat the Silver-ringed King Snake quickly, her only option would be to flee before becoming completely poisoned. This would mean all her efforts were in vain, and the rabbits in the village would likely be slaughtered.

She shook her head and clenched her left hand, her nails digging deep into her flesh, drawing blood. The pain helped clear her mind a bit.

The Silver-ringed King Snake now stared at the distant girl with wide eyes, attempting to intimidate this fragile figure. But as Loranhil looked into those snake eyes, though slightly unnerving, she felt only mild psychological discomfort and nothing more.

In her past life, she had been quite afraid of snakes. Her most terrifying memory was of a red snake emerging from under a bed while playing at her grandmother’s house as a child.

Compared to that, this Silver-ringed Venomous Snake, though more dangerous, seemed less frightening due to its larger size.

After a brief rest, she wiped her dust-covered face with her sleeve and charged forward again.

This time, the Silver-ringed King Snake no longer attacked recklessly. It coiled its body into a massive cone shape, raising its head high, easily seven or eight stories tall.

Loranhil flew in a spiral pattern, constantly dodging attacks while approaching the head.

Just as she neared the head, the venomous snake opened its mouth wide, spewing venom. The girl could only dodge sideways. But instead of attacking her directly, the snake’s head rapidly encircled her, forming a barrel shape to trap her. Then the head descended from above, blocking the aerial exit, preparing to swallow the girl whole.

In this desperate situation with nowhere to dodge, the girl kicked off the snake’s side with all her might, turning to face the giant maw. Air currents swirled rapidly around her, blowing away the venom. She thrust her spear into the roof of the snake’s mouth. As the snake tried to close its jaws in pain, the girl stomped hard on its lower jaw, forcing the spear’s shaft into its mouth as well.

This kept the snake’s mouth propped open momentarily, allowing Loranhil to dart past its head and fly into the air, escaping the snake’s control.

The giant silver-ringed snake slammed its head on the ground, trying to dislodge the spear from its mouth. The spear shook violently, likely to slip out after a few more attempts.

At this moment, a fierce wind arose. Loranhil manipulated the mountain gales, sweeping up rocks, soil, wooden poles, farm tools, and pottery shards from the village ruins. She funneled all of this into the snake’s gaping maw, clogging its bloody mouth and continuously stuffing more inside.

Finally, the Silver-ringed King Snake could no longer close its massive jaws, filled with debris. Its head, now too heavy, hung to the ground, barely able to move.

“Well then, this ends now!”

The girl flew high into the air. Countless air blades began slicing at the snake’s neck. First black scales flew, then white snake flesh, bone, and finally bright red innards, until the entire snake head was severed.

With a dull thud, the ferocious snake head rolled on the ground.

The girl slowly descended from the sky, wiping sweat and dust from her forehead, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

At this moment, noisy sounds came from outside the village. A large group of rabbits were rushing down the mountain path.

“Chief! Brother Kanda! I’m back! I’ve brought reinforcements from White Mushroom Village and Red Camellia Village! The village is saved!”

A white-eared youth led the group, shouting loudly. He was stunned by the chaotic, collapsed scene in the village. As nearly a hundred rabbits arrived at the village clearing, an even more astonishing sight lay before them.

The giant snake’s corpse, stretching one to two hundred meters, lay on the ground. Even with its head severed, it still occasionally rolled and twisted, emanating a terrifying aura.

Standing before the snake’s head amidst the ruins was a silver-haired girl. Her white dress was tattered at the edges, with bright red bloodstains on her arms and sleeves, yet this did nothing to diminish her heroic bearing.

The slender figure stood beneath the huge, ferocious snake head, embodying a strange fusion of fragility and strength. Her clear blue eyes reflected an awe-inspiring presence, so resolute and powerful.

The surrounding rabbits slowly gathered, prostrating themselves before this hero. Excited voices of gratitude rose one after another.

Later, Loranhil went to fetch some detoxifying green tangerine fruits. She squeezed out the juice, mixed it in a water vat, and had the poisoned rabbits drink it, earning another round of gratitude from everyone.

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“Greetings, respected and mighty one. I am the chief of this small village.”

The rabbit-eared old village chief knelt before Loranhil, carefully introducing himself and the village’s situation, fearful of offending this powerful being.

In truth, he greatly admired this girl who had single-handedly slain the giant snake. It wasn’t merely worship of strength, but admiration for her actions.

Many rabbits had witnessed the girl’s battle with the giant snake. It had been incredibly dangerous, and her victory hard-won. With her abilities, she could have easily fled on the wind, but she had stayed.

Such behavior was not something ordinary people could achieve. In his youth, he had traveled extensively and met many humans. The vast majority of people, including beast-folk, were selfish. When seeing others in distress, maintaining neutrality without taking advantage was already rare. Those who would risk extending a helping hand could be counted on two fingers.

Moreover, she was so powerful and so young. She was likely among the most talented young prodigies even in the Western Wind Kingdom.

During his youthful travels with merchant caravans, he had heard of the kingdom’s most gifted youth at that time, a direct disciple of a certain master. Around the age of 20, that youth had slain an injured, weak Sequence 4 magical beast, earning widespread praise and fame. Yet the girl before him was far more powerful than that youth.

The village chief marveled inwardly as he answered the girl’s questions.

“How long has your tribe been here?”

“About two hundred years or more.”

“That long?”

“Yes, my lady.” The old rabbit’s face showed a bitter smile as he explained.

“A few hundred years ago, most of our rabbit-eared tribe still lived on the eastern side of the Sigh Mountain Range, in what is now the borderlands of the Verdant Empire.”

“But as the Verdant Empire continuously expanded, our living space was constantly squeezed. So the tribal chief at that time decided to lead the entire tribe across the Sigh Mountain Range to live on the western side of the continent.”

“Many must have died on that journey.”

The girl’s geographical knowledge told her that the Sigh Mountain Range was a formidable barrier on the continent, with endless snow-capped peaks.

The mountain peaks were steep and treacherous, and bitterly cold. Even in the era of the Mercury Dynasty, only airships could cross relatively easily. Generally, communication between the eastern and western parts of the continent was through the central Emenas River Valley or the southern Golden Plains.

“Indeed. Of the several million in our tribe at that time, only about 500,000 reached this side. Then we had to battle the magical beasts in the forest, endure food shortages, and survive plagues. Now only about 100,000 remain.”

The old man sighed as he spoke of this.