4 Explosion

Whoosh.

The soldiers continued to shoot arrows at the python. The arrows were getting closer to the python, and the archers were getting more accurate in their shots. Soon, the python's body was pierced with arrows, blood flowed, and it seemed to be seriously injured. Its slithering speed had slowed down as well.

The chief guard seized the opportunity and waved his hand at the other soldiers to pounce on the python with a big net, trapping it. The net had a very small mesh size, approximately as large as a nail. It was impossible for the python, which was more than three meters long, to get out. The more it struggled in the net, the more it was trapped in it.

The chief guard curled his lips. Just when he thought that they had succeeded, the soldiers who had surrounded the python with nets suddenly screamed, and they quickly dispersed.

"This—"

The chief guard looked closely and had a big shock.

Yellow and orange flames came spewing from the python. They were more than half a meter high. The flames burned the entire net and the arrows pierced into its body.

The next moment, the python increased its speed, slithering forward, and bit the soldier who was the slowest to retreat. The soldier screamed and was strangled by the python, dying the next instant. The python then went after the other soldiers, leaving a scorched corpse behind it.

Damn it.

The chief guard's eyes turned slightly red.

Richard's eyes flashed slightly as well.

The color of the flame was closely related to its temperature. Leaving the combustible materials' possible effects aside, generally speaking, the brighter the color, the higher the temperature. As such, the most common example was the stove fire, that had a pure blue color, and its greenish-blue (cyan) flames could basically reach 2500 °C. The temperature of a red flame was generally around 1000 °C. As for black flames, they might look special, however they were caused due to incomplete combustion and a large amount of smoke. Their temperature was only about 300 °C, which was far lower than charcoal fire (about 600 °C).

According to the current orange flame that came from the python, the temperature should be around 1500 °C. Although it was not as strong as a cyan flame, it must not be underestimated. After all, the melting point of iron was only at 1538 °C, and the flame right now could almost melt steel.

"It seems to be a magical creature," Richard said to himself. "I am finally not disappointed. It is just that it won't be that easy to capture it."

"Ah!"

There was another scream. The flame python had once again strangled a soldier that had lagged behind and taken his life.

The chief guard glared at the sight before him, the scene red, his menacing nature unleashed. The python was now chasing a third soldier, who had his back facing him. He gritted his teeth severely, clenched the long sword in his hand, and rushed towards the python.

30 meters, 25 meters, and 20 meters.

The billowing heat that emanated from the python's body was palpable from a distance. The chief guard could feel a slight tingling sensation on his exposed skin, but he disregarded it and continued to approach the python.

20 meters, 15 meters, 10 meters.

The iron armor on the chief guard's body became extremely hot. His skin was scorching like soldering iron, his expression slightly distorted. But he endured it as he raised the long sword up high and aimed at the python's head, about to rush forward to chop it off.

At that moment, a short arrow was shot from behind him and wheezed past his ears, slashing his face, and bringing about a stinging pain.

The chief guard was taken aback. He subconsciously looked back and saw Richard standing in the distance, staring at him expressionless. He held a crossbow in one hand as he made a gesture with the other, telling him to come back.

"If you don't want to die, just come back," Richard said matter-of-factly.

"Your Highness, I…" The chief guard hesitated for a moment, but he finally chose to obey his commands. He quickly returned to Richard's side, panting. "Your Highness, the flame python is really difficult to deal with. There is no way to catch it with a rope net. Should I go back and order the craftsman to make an iron net? Otherwise, if this continues, I'm afraid that none of my men will survive."

"I already told you during the ride here that ordinary nets wouldn't work," the wizard whispered beside him.

"I dare you to say that again!" The chief guard glared at him as if he was about to eat the wizard. "If you hadn't hidden the strength of this damn python, my men wouldn't have suffered so badly. I think you did it on purpose!"

"Alright," Richard said. "Let's not discuss whether he did deliberately or not. However, even if we went back to make an iron net, it would be useless. The python's flame temperature is sufficient to melt the iron net."

"Then what should we do?" The chief guard was anxious.

"There is a way," Richard said, turning his head to look at the strong man in black next to him.

The strong man in black had carried a box and followed him all the time, without saying a word. He was like a shadow, and now was the time to use this shadow.

"Use the latest product I told you to bring from the shop," Richard said in a low voice.

"Yes." The strong man in black nodded. Without another word, he quickly opened the box and took out a bomb from inside.

Well, a bomb.

At least it looked like a bomb—a most primitive bomb—, a metal ball with a long lead.

After taking out the bomb, the strong man in black started to move without waiting for Richard's command. He raised his arms and threw the bomb far away.

The strong man in black had great strength and was good at throwing. He flung the heavy metal ball like a grenade. It flew through the air and accurately reached the flame python.

The flame python emanated flames all over its body. There was no need to light the fuse of the bomb, it was set on fire automatically.

"Get down!" Richard yelled immediately. No one dared disobey him, so they lay flat on the ground.

The next moment, there was a huge explosion, everyone felt a sharp pain in their ears. The entire ground shook violently, and a strong wind blew by, stirring up a large cloud of dust.

When everything subsided, the chief guard and his soldiers stood up together, looking at the place the python had laid, and they gaped in shock.

The python had at first been insufferably arrogant. However it was now flayed completely, its flesh torn. Its body was almost split into two pieces, laying on the ground like a broken piece of dead wood, panting heavily.

But the chief guard erred on the side of caution. After getting permission from Richard, he immediately ordered the soldiers to shoot another round of arrows with the longbows from a distance. He was relieved only when the python was finally dead.

After this, the chief guard turned to look at Richard. He did not have much excitement on his face. He maintained a calm expression as he said, "Bring the python and hurry back to the city. I must quickly dissect and study the python. The longer we wait, the less reactive it will be, and its characteristics will change. Also, no one is to speak a word to anyone about what happened today, understand?"

"Uh, yes," the chief guard quickly responded. He then told the soldiers to tie the three-meter-long python to the horse, ignoring the hapless horse shivering in fear.

Richard turned to look at the strong man in black and whispered, "The power of the explosives is still quite weak. According to my estimations, it should have killed the python immediately. Continue to work on improving the explosives. I will provide you with some insight."

"Understood."

"That's good, you can go back now."

"Yes." The strong man in black carried the box and left.

Richard mounted his horse and returned to Blue Lion City with the squadron.