Looking closely, Marcus noticed that every arrow Liam fired carried a faint white radiance along its shaft. The glow was subtle, almost easy to miss amid the chaos of battle, but its nature was unmistakable.
’Light-elent energy.’
That explained why Liam’s attacks could actually harm the Black Crow Poison Fruit. The serpent clearly sensed the threat as well, which was why it had grown so tense the mont the arrows began falling.
Unfortunately, the results were disappointing. The serpent’s massive tail swept through the air with frightening precision, batting aside nearly every incoming arrow before they could strike true. Even the few that slipped through only dealt around a thousand damage each, barely enough to count as an injury. Against a creature of this level, it was little more than irritation.
Realizing that Liam intended to destroy the fruit it had guarded for so long, the serpent finally lost its composure. Its restraint shattered, fury igniting in its eyes. Lowering its horn, it unleashed chains of crackling poison thunder toward Liam, violent arcs of green lightning tearing across the air.
Yet the attack fell short. The serpent’s effective range extended only two hundred ters, and the thunder dissipated long before reaching its target. Five hundred ters away, Liam continued firing calmly, almost lazily, as though the raging Divine Beast posed no real danger at all.
The serpent’s anger deepened into frustration. Every instinct scread at it to charge forward and impale the human with its horn, yet abandoning the fruit even for a mont felt unbearable. Torn between rage and caution, it remained rooted in place, reduced to a furious but stationary target.
Marcus found the scene strangely painful to watch.
Soon, beneath the serpent’s vigilant protection, the swirling black radiance and poisonous green mist surrounding the fruit finally completed their fusion. The energies intertwined, spinning slowly before flashing with blinding brilliance and sinking entirely into the Black Crow Poison Fruit.
’Here it cos,’ Marcus thought, his chest tightening.
As expected, the surrounding poison mist vanished the instant the energy was absorbed. The fruit darkened until it beca a perfect, glossy black, its toxic power condensed completely inward. The ripening was complete.
Without hesitation, the serpent opened its enormous jaws and swallowed the fruit whole.
That insignificant human had actually dared to threaten its treasure. The re thought filled the creature with murderous resentnt. Now, alongside its lingering hatred toward the toad, Liam beca its primary target.
With a violent flick of its tail, the serpent charged.
After consuming the fruit, a faint green sheen spread across its scales, viscous venom dripping from its body like liquid jade. Yet Marcus quickly realized sothing important. The serpent had not evolved. Its wounds remained. There was no sudden surge of invincibility or transformation.
The poison required ti to assimilate. Marcus blinked, then froze.
’Wait...’
Was Liam baiting it?
Understanding dawned on him. Liam had ntioned earlier that the serpent was extrely cunning, a creature that preferred hiding within the mud and would retreat underground the mont it sensed real danger. If Liam unleashed his full strength too early, the serpent would simply escape.
So Liam had been holding back deliberately, dealing only superficial damage. He had allowed the serpent to eat the fruit safely, preventing it from panicking and diving back into the swamp.
Marcus rembered Liam’s earlier decision not to kill the toad. At the ti it had seed odd, but now it made perfect sense. Liam had been concealing his true strength from the very beginning.
Turning his attention back to the battlefield, Marcus watched as the plan unfolded.
As the serpent lunged forward, Liam retreated smoothly, firing arrows without pause while gradually drawing the beast farther away from the muddy pond. The strategy was subtle enough that the enraged serpent failed to notice it was being led away from its territory.
The serpent moved with terrifying speed, its body twisting through the sky like a living dragon. The distance between them shrank rapidly. Soon Liam found himself within two hundred ters, well inside the serpent’s attack range.
Poison thunder finally reached him.
Each strike slowed Liam’s movents, disrupting his rhythm and weakening his attacks. Seeing its prey falter, the serpent grew exhilarated, pressing forward more aggressively, completely unaware that it had already abandoned the safety of the swamp behind it.
Its jaws opened wide, forked tongue glowing faintly as rows of razor-like fangs glead with lethal intent. To carnivorous monsters, humans were the most delicious prey imaginable, rich with energy and vitality.
With a sharp hiss, the serpent closed to within fifty ters.
"Soul of the Mountains, Dance of a Hundred Beasts."
Liam’s voice was calm, and almost gentle. A soft brown light spread across his dark gray armor, illuminating the intricate animal carvings etched into its surface.
In the next instant, those carvings ca alive.
Tigers, lions, wolves, leopards, vultures and countless other beasts tore themselves free from the armor, more than thirty in total, roaring as they charged toward the serpent.
The Divine Beast hesitated briefly, surprised but not frightened. It would not be intimidated by re summons.
"Poison Thunder Chain Blades!"
Swinging its horn, the serpent unleashed a storm of slicing thunder blades. After more than a century spent hiding in mud and darkness, it relished the chance to fight freely again. Its earlier battle with the toad had already restored much of its confidence.
The power of its attack was overwhelming. The first wave of summoned beasts was annihilated instantly, struck twice by the chained lightning blades and erased before they could even react.
Damage numbers flashed rapidly.
-1800.
-1500.
-1200.
The few ranged beasts that managed to counterattack inflicted damage no greater than Liam’s arrows had.
The serpent rampaged through the remaining summons in two swift passes, tearing them apart with savage delight.
Hiss... ROAR!
Its cry rang with exhilaration. For over a hundred years it had lived in fear and concealnt, denied the thrill of dominance. Now, strength surged through its body once more.
Long ago it had been a Two-Headed Black-Armored Serpent, poised to wreak havoc upon reaching Mythic rank, only to have one head severed casually by an unknown warrior. Humiliated and terrified, it had fled into the marsh, transforming into the Black-Headed Venomous Serpent and hiding for a century.
Now it had recovered, and nearly ascended to Divine Beast status, and effortlessly slaughtered an entire pack of summoned beasts. Combined with its victory over the toad, the serpent’s lost pride and cruelty returned in full force.
Yet those sacrificed beasts had served their purpose.
Liam was already five hundred ters away again, calmly firing his weak, seemingly harmless arrows.
’Pathetic arrows.’
Looking down upon the archer with renewed arrogance, convinced of its overwhelming superiority, the serpent charged once more, eager to celebrate its rebirth with human blood.
So consud by excitent, it failed to notice that the thick mud beneath it had vanished. It was now moving through shallow water, far from the safety of its swamp.
Watching the creature approach, Liam smiled inwardly. Everything was proceeding exactly as planned. He continued retreating, maintaining the sa restrained attacks, never revealing his true strength.
"Soul of the Mountains, Dance of a Hundred Beasts."
Another wave of beasts appeared, once again intercepting the serpent and forcing it to slow down.
The skill could only be used once per day, capable of summoning up to a hundred beasts either at once or in batches. Each summon was at least level eighty, with a chance of producing even stronger creatures.
Though Liam successfully regained distance, fighting a Divine Beast remained perilous. Even with the Super Health Regen Pill restoring a thousand health per second, nearly half his vitality had already been drained.
’Hope I can hold out,’ he thought, resisting the urge to unleash his full power.
Most monsters fought to the death once engaged, but this serpent possessed a unique escape skill called Twist and Dive, allowing it to disengage instantly and burrow back into the Black Crow Marsh. One mistake would end the hunt.
Patience was everything.
From five hundred ters away, Liam continued firing controlled shots, dealing just enough damage to keep the serpent enraged without triggering its survival instincts.
The serpent destroyed another group of beasts and charged again. The cycle repeated.
"Soul of the Mountains, Dance of a Hundred Beasts."
For the final ti, Liam summoned the remaining thirty-three animals, buying himself one last stretch of distance.
They had arrived.
A faint smile appeared on Liam’s face. No matter how cunning the fox, the hunter ultimately claid victory. Every aspect of the serpent’s nature had been manipulated perfectly: its caution, its anger, its restored pride, and its growing arrogance.
The unsuspecting creature slaughtered the final summons and rushed forward once more, completely convinced of its dominance.
Liam retreated slowly, eyes fixed on the approaching beast. The distance closed to less than two hundred ters.
The serpent had stepped exactly where he wanted it.
Suddenly, Liam roared.
His eyes burned with fierce light as his aura exploded outward, wild like a lion, sharp like an eagle, swift like a hunting leopard. The power he had concealed throughout the entire battle erupted without restraint. Birds scattered into the sky. Nearby beasts fled in terror. Even the Divine Beast trembled instinctively.
Sothing was wrong.
’Not good.’
The serpent finally sensed danger. It twisted violently, attempting to retreat.
But it was too late.
"Heart of the Mountains, Five-Elent Demon Trap!"
As Liam’s chant echoed across the battlefield, the serpent barely managed to turn before invisible forces activated beneath it. The ground flared with hidden formations, and the creature fell directly into the trap prepared long in advance.
The King of the Mountains, Liam Windrunner, was known for his archery. Yet his true mastery lay elsewhere.
Traps.
And this was no ordinary trap, but the Five-Elent Demon Trap reinforced by layered formations, a killing ground designed specifically for prey that believed itself invincible.
A Divine Beast against one of Dreamland’s greatest experts.
Would the serpent shatter the trap and escape, or had it already stepped into its grave?
Hidden behind a tree, Marcus could only stare, eyes wide with disbelief.
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