Chapter 12: Survivors in the Belly of the Snake

                                    

                                          
The giant sword on EeDeChi's back was blunt on both sides and could not cut through anything, so when EeDeChi swung it, it was more like wielding a giant flat club.
Barrett had once asked EeDeChi why she didn't sharpen the blade, to which EeDeChi replied with a cryptic phrase, "A heavy sword needs no edge; mastery comes without the fine workings." Another enigmatic saying that Barrett couldn't quite understand.
The Titan Python swayed its head, shaking its body like it was drunk. Clearly, the previous strike had left its head ringing. It twisted its body and turned its head, opening its massive jaws to lunge at EeDeChi again.
Holding the giant sword, which was awkwardly large for her, EeDeChi sidestepped with feline agility, avoiding the attack.
She then cast a 2nd Tier Fireball spell. The searing fireball exploded against the serpent's scales, leaving only a slight black mark. Clearly, the high-tier monster's scales were not only hard but also had substantial magical resistance.
Seeing her magic attack was ineffective, EeDeChi shook her head and swung her sword down on the serpent's head with even greater force. This blow was heavier than the last. The triangular snake head, about the size of a wild boar, was knocked away like a soccer ball, smashing through tree after tree, and the entire serpent's body rolled over several times.
EeDeChi closed the distance with the still writhing Titan Python and, as if swatting a fly, brought the heavy sword down on its head, ending the battle decisively. The entire serpent shuddered once more at the moment of impact and then lay still.
For adventurers, a motionless Titan Python was a treasure trove of gold. Especially for an adult high-tier monster that had grown for decades, its fangs, venom sacs, scales, and bones could all be sold for a good price.
Barrett hummed a little tune as he worked by the dim light of the lantern, methodically dismembering the giant python. Meanwhile, EeDeChi set up a campfire nearby, hanging a pot to boil water for making "health preservation" potions.
Barrett didn't stop her. After witnessing her combat skills firsthand, he was confident that even if the ruler of Mistwood, the Forbidden Grizzly, showed up, it would just be to deliver some gold to them.
Too bad the Forbidden Grizzly only roamed during the day and wouldn't be drawn in by the firelight, which Barrett found quite regrettable.
After an hour of work, having removed several large, intact snake scales, Barrett used an obsidian curved blade to slice open the Titan Python's belly. He reached inside and felt around, his hand brushing against something that felt like a human head in the slick, slimy stomach.
Barrett shuddered, stopped humming, and withdrew his hand, then made the incision in the python's belly even larger.
...
"Come check out our loot." Twenty minutes later, Barrett wiped the large beads of sweat from his forehead and called to EeDeChi, who was lounging with her legs crossed atop the treehouse, snoozing.
EeDeChi leaped down from the tree, her gaze sweeping over the neatly arranged snake fangs, spinal bones, and stacked skins on the forest floor. 
She nodded in approval and said, "The dissection skills are good, but a skinned snake looks too bloody and is not suitable for minors to view."
She then pointed to two slime-covered humanoid shapes on the ground and asked, "What organs are these? They look quite strange. How much can they sell for?"
Barrett shook his head. "These aren't snake organs; these are two living people. Remember the distant cries and sounds of battle you heard? It looks like a group of adventurers ran into this Titan Python before us and got swallowed. These are the only two survivors I managed to drag out of the snake's belly."
In the quiet of the Mistwood at night, the fog swirled under the yellow glow of the lantern, creating a hazy, indistinct scene. EeDeChi stood beside the neatly stacked black snake scales, her face reflecting disbelief as she exhaled slowly.
In the same Mistwood, just beside them, an adventurer team had been wiped out. The Titan Python, which EeDeChi had dispatched with just three strikes, had recently swallowed several adventurers whole.
"There's nothing to be done. In this dog-eat-dog world, weakness itself is a sin." Barrett said, shaking his head as he looked at the four slime-covered metal badges in his hand—two silver, one gold, and one platinum.
These adventurer badges, found among the snake's rotten flesh and severed limbs, gave him a rough idea of the team's strength. Overall, they were at the "gold" level of adventurers.
A weak adventurer team venturing deep into the Mistwood was almost certain to meet a grim fate. But there are always a few naive souls who, seeking higher rewards for difficult tasks, choose to take risks and end up in tragic situations.
(Note: Adventurer levels are ranked from lowest to highest as follows: Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril, Orichalcum, Adamantite.)
EeDeChi and Barrett cleaned the two survivors' slime-covered bodies with warm water, dried them by the campfire, dressed them in clean spare clothes, and gave them healing potions and vitality elixirs. By the time dawn approached, the two survivors finally woke up.