Overlord: Welcoming the Birth of the King
Chapter 32: Self-Assessment of Strength, Black-Green Giant Snake

In the jungle. 

Tang Zheng carefully stepped forward toward the east, sometimes stepping deep, sometimes shallow. Perhaps because he had been on the very outskirts for a while, he hadn’t encountered any wild beasts or even magical beasts during his passage. 

Buzz— 

A faint, almost imperceptible flutter of wings sounded as something took off from a tree branch in the forest. 

It was a strange insect about the length of a thumb, bright green in color resembling a caterpillar, but with a pair of thin wings. 

This winged caterpillar slid off a bright green leaf and slowly descended toward Tang Zheng below. 

But just as it reached the air directly above Tang Zheng’s head! 

An iron sword sliced through the air in an arc, cutting the winged caterpillar in half, and the pieces fell to the ground. 

[Experience gained: 1 point.] 

Was it poisonous? 

Tang Zheng casually glanced at it without pausing his steps and continued forward without any hesitation. 

Too bad! 

He didn’t have any detection magic mastered; otherwise, he wouldn’t need to rely on himself to make judgments. 

Currently, Tang Zheng’s HP, physical attack, and agility attributes all stood at 73 points. 

Putting HP aside for the moment. 

He had tested recently that with 73 points of physical attack, when he swung his iron sword with full strength, it only took three strikes to chop down a tree trunk as thick as his arms. 

If using his fists, 

a full-strength punch on a tree stump would leave a fist-sized indentation on the tree. 

As for “agility,” the data wasn’t that precise; Tang Zheng only knew his sensory perception had improved noticeably. 

Previously, with 63 points of agility, when facing that thief who should have been above level 8, what appeared as lightning-fast speed to ordinary people felt rather normal to Tang Zheng—actually, a little slower. 

The “Rock” team was the adventurer group Tang Zheng had interacted with the most, and their strongest member was their leader, Dosali. 

Now, Tang Zheng felt he should be stronger than him. 

Besides, 

he not only possessed martial skills but also knew spells and magic. 

In a direct confrontation, Tang Zheng wasn’t too confident, but if he ambushed, he had some confidence he could annihilate the “Rock” team, although he would likely get injured in the process. 

From being a weakling to now having strength comparable to a “Silver-rank” adventurer team, Tang Zheng couldn’t help but marvel at the terrifying nature of the innate ability “Player.” 

That “Player” captain, the leader of the thirteen heroes two hundred years ago, had attracted the Platinum Dragon King’s apprehension precisely because of his rapid power growth in a short time. 

Keep moving forward! 

The real trouble in the forest wasn’t the conspicuous magical or wild beasts, but the colorful insects, most of which were highly poisonous. 

With Tang Zheng’s agility, sudden insect attacks weren’t a big threat, but dealing with them was troublesome, and the experience gained was always in the single digits. 

It seriously slowed down his progress. 

Crack! 

A fallen branch on the ground snapped under Tang Zheng’s foot, producing a crisp cracking sound. 

In the forest’s outskirts, filled with various insect chirps and the rustling of leaves in the wind, this noise was not very conspicuous, but Tang Zheng stopped in his tracks. 

“Finally found a decent prey. Is this your territory?” Tang Zheng turned his head and looked to his left. 

There! 

Among the thick branches where several sturdy trees’ leaves interlaced, a pure black creature dotted with faint green spots lay crouched motionless in the foliage. 

Fortunately, it was daytime now. 

Though hidden in the leaves, its slender silhouette was still visible; in the dark of night, Tang Zheng probably wouldn’t have noticed it. 

Earlier, 

Tang Zheng had vaguely sensed something unusual. Although this place belonged to the outskirts of the Great Tob Forest, the number of wild beasts he encountered was surprisingly low during his journey. 

The most likely explanation for this was only one: 

This place must be the territory of some relatively powerful wild beast or magical beast. 

Now, it seemed his guess was correct. 

Tang Zheng’s gaze swept over the black figure hidden in the leaves, whose body length was at least over one meter. 

By the way, what exactly was this? 

Tang Zheng squinted, holding his iron sword horizontally in front of his chest. 

Rustle! Rustle! 

The sound of leaves rubbing together sounded like the wind blowing through. 

The hidden creature obviously realized it had been discovered and, facing this human who had trespassed into its territory, flicked out a red, forked tongue from its mouth. 

The next moment! 

The black-green figure sprang like a spring from the dense branches, opening a gaping bloody mouth and lunging downward toward Tang Zheng. 

The black-green scales shimmered with a chilling metallic luster in the mottled sunlight! 

At this moment, Tang Zheng finally confirmed what the creature was. 

It was a snake! 

And not just any snake, but a giant snake over six meters long, as thick as two normal human thighs. 

The black-green giant snake’s body shot forward like a projectile, its bloodied mouth aimed straight at Tang Zheng’s head, ready to bite down viciously. 

Tang Zheng swiftly swung his iron sword, forcefully chopping at the snake’s head. 

Bang! 

The sword blade heavily struck the open mouth of the black-green giant snake, producing a dull sound. Sparks even flew where the black scales met the iron sword. 

So tough! 

Tang Zheng’s eyes narrowed. 

“Hiss roar!” 

The black-green giant snake let out a painful hiss, its six-meter-long body twisting as its thick tail swung around from behind. 

The tail whipped through the air, producing a sharp buzzing sound. 

Seeing this, 

Tang Zheng pressed the black-green giant snake’s head with his right hand sword while reaching into thin air with his left hand and drawing another iron sword from his item box, slashing toward the direction of the swinging tail. 

Bang! 

A dull collision sound rang out again. 

The surprising force pushed Tang Zheng back a step, his left shoulder moving backward, but he successfully blocked the snake’s tail strike. 

“Hiss roar!” 

Except for the middle section of its body standing on the ground, the entire front half and the tail end of the black-green giant snake’s body were pressed on Tang Zheng, constantly writhing. 

It seemed to want to coil Tang Zheng inside its body, using the snake’s characteristic strangling motion to kill the prey before it! 

But Tang Zheng used his agility advantage, holding swords in both hands, blocking the snake’s head and tail attacks while steadily retreating. 

“The scales are very tough, plus the body’s slippery nature, relying on brute force to damage it is difficult.” 

Tang Zheng kept swinging his iron sword, occasionally striking the snake’s body, but the effect was minimal. 

If it were just tough, it would be fine, but the slippery body caused much of his attack power to dissipate upon contact. 

At first, he thought this was just a large snake-type wild beast; now it was clear it was a magical beast! 

In this other world, wild beasts and magical beasts were easy to distinguish—any creature with special abilities qualified as a magical beast. 

Seeing that the human in front couldn’t break through its scales, the dark yellow snake eyes lost some of their caution. 

It gradually abandoned some defensive moves and its attacks became more ferocious. 

Bang! 

The thick tail whipped again but was once more blocked by Tang Zheng’s iron sword, with a force greater than before. 

“That’s about enough.” 

Tang Zheng’s expression remained calm; he had basically figured out the black-green giant snake’s attack patterns. 

Given his speed, escaping from this giant snake was not difficult. 

But this was a prime experience target! 

Bang! 

Tang Zheng stomped heavily on the ground, leaping quickly backward, feigning an attempt to flee.