Chapter 49: The Strongest
Snake blood splattered everywhere. The Abyss Serpent reared its body, its roar deafening, layers of air waves spreading outward.
After roaring for a moment, the Abyss Serpent realized Su Xiao hadn't charged. It lowered its head, looking down at him. Its single eye gradually turned fierce and vicious. The slash mark spanning its entire head healed rapidly.
Black smoke emerged around the Abyss Serpent but quickly dissipated. This was one of its abilities. Earlier, it had tried to trick Su Xiao into rushing up, but Su Xiao, relying on his Instinct's warning, dodged this unknown ability.
Su Xiao activated the Apostle's Eye. Traces of fluorescent light appeared on the Abyss Serpent's surface, quickly evaporating. The detection failed. The Abyss Serpent had nullified the Apostle's Eye's probing.
Su Xiao realized this was likely an item the Abyss Serpent had obtained from Death Paradise by guarding the 'Space-Time Hub Device.'
The Abyss Serpent no longer hid its combat power. It stretched its serpentine body, and its massive head suddenly appeared before Su Xiao.
Its bloody maw opened wide, revealing rows of fangs—six rows in total, upper and lower combined—looking exceptionally ferocious.
Bang!
The Abyss Serpent's mouth snapped shut, producing a sound like two planks slamming together. The terrifying bite force even generated a layer of air waves, blowing away the maple leaves near Su Xiao.
Su Xiao landed in a backward leap. The moment he touched down, he crouched. The ground beneath his feet rapidly caved in. He shot forward like a cannonball, directly pouncing in front of the Abyss Serpent.
Puchi!
Dragon-Slaying Flash sank into the Abyss Serpent's head. The serpent's mouth opened wide, letting out a pained roar. This time, it wasn't faking. Having Su Xiao's blade pierce its skull, coupled with the erosion of Azure Steel Shadow energy, the sensation was unimaginable.
A tremendous force transmitted from the sword hilt. Due to the size difference, when the Abyss Serpent raised its head, Su Xiao, gripping the hilt tightly, was lifted as well. But this was exactly what he wanted.
Midair, Su Xiao exerted force with his right arm. Using the longsword embedded in the serpent's head, he leaped directly upward. Against enemies of similar size, jumping high in combat was indeed suicidal, but against a giant creature, it was necessary.
Su Xiao's body flipped in midair, his back to the sky, facing the Abyss Serpent below.
Ting~
The longsword returned to its sheath. Su Xiao slowly inhaled.
Zheng, zheng, zheng!
Three intersecting slashes flew out, the next moment striking the Abyss Serpent's head and body.
The blade aura cut through the black scales on the serpent's back. Broken scales scattered everywhere. The Abyss Serpent twisted its massive body, turning back to bite at Su Xiao.
Sensing this, Su Xiao frowned. He had been constantly wary of the Abyss Serpent having some bizarre ability. But up to now, aside from ramming, it only used its bloody maw to bite. It seemed intent on swallowing Su Xiao.
Su Xiao descended rapidly. The Abyss Serpent raised its head high, its massive mouth opening nearly 90 degrees, swallowing Su Xiao in one gulp.
A sharp clang of the blade rang out. The moment it swallowed Su Xiao, the Abyss Serpent immediately opened its mouth, shaking its head wildly in agony.
Shua la—A blade aura burst out from within, sending large black scales flying, each the size of a washbasin.
Boom!
The entire lower jaw of the Abyss Serpent crashed to the ground. It writhed in pain, its scales trembling all over.
The crystal layer on Su Xiao's body, stained with snake blood, shattered. He frowned at the Abyss Serpent. This big boss he had been searching for across an entire world seemed... a bit weak.
Yes, that was the feeling the Abyss Serpent gave Su Xiao. It fought like a wild beast, with no other abilities, relying solely on its massive body. Even so, Su Xiao didn't underestimate it.
Blood Qi surged outward from Su Xiao as the center. The moment the Blood Qi spread, he vanished from his spot.
Trails of pale blue blade aura flashed. The Abyss Serpent could no longer keep up with Su Xiao's speed. Deep, bone-reaching slash marks appeared on its body. Snake blood stained the surrounding maple trees red.
The Abyss Serpent began crashing around wildly, but it couldn't touch Su Xiao at all.
Amidst the swirling maple leaves, the Abyss Serpent's eye suddenly fixed on Baha. Baha hadn't joined the battle; it was circling above.
Wuum~
A wave of energy spread. The Abyss Serpent's single eye turned azure blue, its vertical pupil locked onto Baha above.
Seeing this, Su Xiao stepped forward and delivered an upward slash.
The blade aura cut through the Abyss Serpent's body, severing its massive head. The enormous head crashed to the ground with a thunderous boom.
"Boss, something's wrong with me! It's trying to control me!"
Baha's shout came. Its eyes had turned azure blue, the same color as the Abyss Serpent's pupils earlier.
Baha flew into the distance. Every few seconds, it underwent a judgment check. The first check was lucky—it was Agility attribute.
After flying some distance, Baha dove from above, slamming hard into a distant mountain peak. Its judgment had failed, and it was about to be controlled by the Abyss Serpent, so it temporarily incapacitated itself.
In the rocky crater on the mountain, Baha's body twitched twice.
"Go ahead, try to control me again."
Baha was badly battered. The Abyss Serpent, now headless, reacted even more violently. Its decapitated body thrashed endlessly, while the severed head's mouth gaped wide.
"You are one of the two strongest humans I have ever seen."
The Abyss Serpent's headless body stopped struggling. The blood at the severed neck stopped flowing. Flesh buds rapidly surged, and a new head grew out. However, it still had only one eye. The eye blinded by the long weapon clearly couldn't regenerate.
The Abyss Serpent raised its head, its body coiling up quickly like a small mountain. In terms of vitality alone, the Abyss Serpent was incredibly formidable, definitely top-tier among Sixth Rank.
Boom, boom...
Muffled sounds came from within the Abyss Serpent's body. Seeing this, Su Xiao leaped back repeatedly, sensing the serpent could explode at any moment.
A tumor grew behind and below the Abyss Serpent's head. Blood splattered. The tumor burst open, revealing the upper body of a human. He had a handsome face, a pair of fleshy wings on his back, and a single horn on his head, but his eyes were snake pupils.
"Even after I sealed the Abyss Cave, you still found this place. Worthy of praise."
The horned man spoke. Undoubtedly, this was the Abyss Serpent controlling him.
"I originally didn't want to disturb his eternal slumber, but if I keep fighting like this, I'll die."
Zheng!
A blade aura shot out, striking the horned man, cleaving him in two. Su Xiao wasn't about to listen to the Abyss Serpent's nonsense.
"If you can defeat him, who slumbers eternally, then you win."
The horned man slowly descended. Sparks emerged from the severed ends of his body. Starting from these sparks, he turned to ashes.
The coiled Abyss Serpent stopped moving. Its black scales began to turn white. Its body rapidly shrank, eventually forming a human shape.
Spatial fluctuations emerged. A magic circle appeared above, and dozens of various weapons dropped from it.
Ding—
A long spear stuck into the ground. The spear was nearly three meters long overall, with a blade half a meter long at the tip. Below the blade was a horizontal hooked edge. Overall, this hooked-blade spear looked ordinary, the most common weapon on a battlefield.
"White Night."
A somewhat aged voice came. A figure stood among the maple trees, his body covered in black scales, holding clothes in his hand.
The Abyss Serpent—no, Su Xiao's opponent now was no longer entirely the Abyss Serpent.
Everyone who had fought the Abyss Serpent left strange accounts, because their opponent wasn't truly the Abyss Serpent. The serpent's strongest ability wasn't its vitality or massive body, but its power to 'summon' deceased strongmen using itself as a medium.
When Yiweier fought the Abyss Serpent, her opponent was the Ancient Dragon Son·Ross, summoned by the serpent. That's why she was willing to die in that battle. Unfortunately, she didn't get her wish.
When Iron Feather King fought the Abyss Serpent, his opponent was the First Saint King. In the end, Iron Feather King won, but due to the situation in the Divine Kingdom, he didn't kill the serpent. Instead, they agreed that Tianba and Sera would not invade each other.
Because of this ability, the Abyss Serpent had performed so poorly in the earlier fight.
And now, the Abyss Serpent had 'summoned' the strongest deceased—Iron Feather King.
Iron Feather King walked forward slowly. He had already put on the loose clothes the Abyss Serpent prepared for him. Not having his battle armor was a slight regret.
"Reptile, if you want to win, put away this despicable ability of yours."
Iron Feather King grasped the handle of the hooked-blade spear. The moment he spoke, the black snake scales on his body quickly faded, and the vertical pupils in his eyes turned back to human pupils.
Iron Feather King fully reverted to his appearance in life. At that moment, his aura surged dramatically. Though his hair was white, he wasn't decrepit. Iron Feather King in his prime looked exactly like this.
"Is the spear blade stronger, or the sword blade superior?"
Iron Feather King muttered. He swung his hooked-blade spear, sending a large patch of maple leaves flying. Just standing there, he exuded an overwhelming pressure. Wherever the spear blade reached was a forbidden zone for all life.
Su Xiao walked forward slowly. When he was about ten meters from Iron Feather King, he stopped. His longsword pointed diagonally at the ground. The warm-up earlier had put him in excellent condition. Whether the upcoming battle would be victory or defeat, he couldn't judge, but that didn't matter. If he felt fear before the fight even started, that would be true defeat.
Ten meters apart, Su Xiao and Iron Feather King locked eyes. A gust of wind swept through the maple forest, blowing up a flurry of leaves.
"Come, let's fight, White Night."
Amidst the drifting maple leaves, Iron Feather King stood with his spear.
"Alright."
Su Xiao rarely spoke before a battle, but his exchange with Iron Feather King was very brief—less than ten words in total. Back in the wooden house in Yalans City, the two could remain silent for an entire day.
The battle between Su Xiao and Iron Feather King was a contest of technique. A moment's distraction would mean defeat.