The humans that split off of the main group and headed towards the river had returned after some time, though seemingly still covered in filth and grime. What purpose they had for going there was lost on Charlie, but it didn't really matter - these soldiers were in no better shape than the first group that returned. Though instead of being met by a hopeful crowd, only the last of the widows and children remained.

There were some elated faces in the crowd, glad to have their loved ones returned back to their families, but the vast majority turned on their heel and returned back into the town more broken than ever before. It was a painful sight, but it was reality in a vicious world such as this.

After spending some time contemplating the horrors and experiences that Charlie had gone through in silence, Charlie eventually found the strength to move and returned to his original goal. There was no reason to enter the shanty town, but that wasn't what he was after in the first place.

Charlie wanted to see where the town led. It would be unlikely to see any formidable force outside of the towns, so there was no time like the present to set off and find out exactly where this ended.

Following the towns outer edges, and keeping a safe distance from the buildings, Charlie slowly made his way deeper and deeper into the cave. The creatures that called this place their home were becoming increasingly more powerful - but still weary of the humans. Though, with the titanic calamity assaulting the cave once again, the chaos was turned up a few notches.

The wild creatures didn't know what was going on, but they all felt the primal fear, deep inside, sending them into a vicious frenzy. To them, it probably felt like the world was ending. They may not have been entirely wrong, either.

Using [Worm of Envy] sparingly, Charlie was able to gauge the average strength the lower he went, and he was surprised that nothing quite exceeded the Level 24 Rocrak. Certainly the average Level had went up to 18/19, but it wasn't anything as dramatic as Charlie had imagined.

Yet, every creature here looked far more terrifying than those higher up in the cave. It looked like Levels were not the be-all end-all that decided the power behind the creatures. Their species, builds and even hidden abilities all played a role in determining their strengths - and Levels were simply an additional bonus that was added on top of what they already excelled at.

Whether that was a good thing, or a terrible thing for a meek creature like the serpent, Charlie didn't want to make up his mind just yet. His very own existence proved that species and size didn't wholly matter when it came to lethality, so maybe it was wrong of him to judge a book by its cover - to a degree, at least.

Charlie maneuvered between the many winding paths, hidden creatures and the very fringe edges of the human settlement with expert precision. [Mana Sense] allowed Charlie to have an almost omnipotent view of the battlefield, and avoid the most terrible scenarios. Yet, even though it was like he could see through thick stone, Charlie still had to undertake and survive unavoidable encounters.

The creatures Charlie chose to face off against were the weakest of the bunch, but this much deeper in the cave it was still a perilous situation. A small herd of Level 17 Oxen creatures meandered their way towards Charlie. They were battered and bruised, likely from the aftermath of the desert calamities collision with the cave, but still furious and full of vigour.

Once they spotted Charlie, he had no choice but to flee in the direction of the human homes, and for a while, Charlie believed the maddened Oxen to be truly without thought. They chased him deep into the territory of the humans, and it felt like they were never going to stop. Thankfully they were large and bulky, their feet were covered in hooves that didn't allow for easy scaling of the stone coves, yet they persisted but albeit at a pace that Charlie was just barely able to stay ahead of.

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At least until the human homes came in to view. It was like a wave of terror washed over the small herd, freezing them in place momentarily. It was just in time, too, as one of the Oxen was just about to stomp it's muscular leg onto Charlie - who would not let their frozen state pass without capitalising on the opening, and unleashed a lightning quick [Hollow Fang] onto the soft and fleshy part of the creatures leg.

Dodging out of the way of the retaliatory stomp, Charlie slithered off towards the human settlement and turned a corner around a large boulder. The Oxen did not follow, and instead slowly returned from whence they came, huffing and snorting loudly as they did so.

At least, that was until the Oxen Charlie bit collapsed loudly. There was a bit of commotion just outside of Charlies vision, but through his enhanced hearing and [Mana Sense] he could see that they were worried for the fallen member and gathered around trying to see what was going on. Though it didn't last long, as the fear of the humans outweighed the animalistic care they felt for their dying member, eventually leaving with little reluctance.

Once the coast was clear, Charlie approached the still-warm corpse of the Oxen, and examined it's body. There were deep lacerations, dried blood, poorly healed holes all over its body and chipped horns atop its head. It had lived a hard life, and the recent events must have pushed them deeper into the cave than they were ready for. If the Oxen were not as beat up and instead in their prime, Charlie doubted that he would have been able to even escape these creatures without sacrificing another part of his body.

They seemed to exude an aura of vitality, but even then it was not infinite. The chaos of the human cave seems to break all, and no species can stand against its might indefinitely.

Without wasting more time, Charlie used his mane made of bony spikes and his hooked fangs to dig through the warm flesh of the Oxen in search of its core. Not knowing when the next chance to have something to eat and drink would show up, Charlie had his fill here. Warm blood wasn't as refreshing as cold water, but it would have to do.

After a gruesome ten minutes, dark green flames lit up the inside lower stomach cavity and Charlie consumed the translucent gem held within the creatures intestines. If he ever came across another Oxen creature, at least he would save some time and go straight for the putrid colon.

Charlie crawled out of the dead Oxen not only covered in blood and shit, but as a much happier serpent. His stomach was full, his thirst was quenched and the rejuvenating power of the core had sank into his tired body, refilling both his stamina and mental acumen to some degree.

Returning back to his journey of venturing deeper and deeper into the cave, Charlie spent hours following the settlements outer edges.

The size of the settlement was astonishing, but not quite what piqued Charlies curiosity. It was the sudden appearance of soft earth, and eventually - grass. Charlie didn't have a deep knowledge of how vegetation worked or what environments it needed to thrive in, but he was certain that nothing should have grown down here.

Yet, the stone coves were becoming saturated with the appearance of the abundant grass. The further away from the human settlement Charlie looked, the thicker and more dense the grass became, often even growing on top of the coves and covering their exteriors in soft flora. The human side remained trimmed and taken care of and, surprisingly, there were fewer and fewer coves on their side to boot.

It looked like the humans knocked down the coves and created lots of land for them to expand into. Though Charlie initially thought it would be for the more affluent homes, it turned out to be something far more mundane, yet incredible at the same time. They were farming lands, full of crops and people tending the fields in the dim light.

Vast fields of crops were segmented by some sort of fencing that had large metal spokes sticking out from the ground in even intervals. Atop the spokes were very bright glass enclosures that resembled streetlights back in his world, but in full working order. The further Charlie went, the more common the streetlights became, and eventually, Charlie arrived at his destination.

What lay before him finally answered a question that Charlie had asked long, long ago. The purpose of the large gate, the purpose of the human warriors ushering in the creatures and the humans that lived within the caves walls.

They were all livestock, and the humans farmed them by the hundreds.