Chapter 44: The Viper’s Venom and a Desperate Stand

Anthony’s brow furrowed. He had only sustained minor scrapes; such a severe reaction shouldn’t have occurred.

He gently examined the injured arm. The initial points of contact appeared normal. Yet, the moment his fingers brushed the area around Exxon’s wound, the skin seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon, collapsing inward.

Just then, a feminine voice echoed beside him.

“That’s Corrosive Viper venom. Be careful; if it touches you, you’ll suffer the same fate.”

Unbeknownst to Anthony, Hera had already materialized beside him. She moved deliberately to the injured man’s front, then used a small branch to pierce the wounded area of his arm.

As she withdrew the branch, a stream of putrid, dark blood oozed forth.

Anthony’s pupils constricted. His hands instinctively recoiled, a sudden dread seizing him at the thought of the venom on Exxon’s body, and suffering a similar, gruesome end.

“Can he still be saved?”

Hera gazed at the young man, whose vitality was rapidly fading, and let out a slow, heavy sigh.

“No, he’s beyond saving. Had a healing scroll been used the moment the venom first took hold, there might have been a chance.”

“But now, the toxin has permeated his entire body. Before long, he will simply melt into a pool of blood.”

Hearing Hera’s grim explanation, Anthony understood instantly. Without a word of thanks for the young woman’s warning, he simply turned and strode towards the other three members of their group.

Hera watched Anthony depart with a cold, disdainful snort.

Her well-intentioned warning wasn’t meant to curry favor with such a man; she merely believed that in their current perilous situation, a greater number of survivors would inherently increase their collective chances of escape.

****

Meanwhile, Lilia and Sina moved ceaselessly, evading the colossal viper’s venomous assaults.

Their aim was to locate a vulnerable point on the massive serpent, perhaps its legendary ‘seven-inch’ vital spot.

Yet, the serpent seemed to anticipate their every move, guarding its weaknesses with uncanny precision, no matter how Lilia and Sina maneuvered.

“Wind Blade!”

Finally, Sina identified an opportune angle of attack. As her magic coalesced, countless invisible wind blades shot forth, hurtling towards the colossal viper.

*Clang!*

The wind blades struck the viper’s incredibly tough scales, leaving behind only faint scorch marks.

Realizing her attack was ineffective, Sina swiftly retreated. The very next instant, the spot she had just occupied was deluged by corrosive venom.

At that moment, Lilia, too, seized her chance. A massive fireball erupted from her hands, hurtling towards the colossal viper.

With a resounding *boom*, the fiery orb slammed against the viper’s unyielding scales. While it caused no superficial damage, the intense heat of the fireball seemed to penetrate deep into the serpent’s body.

The colossal viper shuddered, then lashed its tail, striking Lilia with immense force. She was sent flying, crashing violently into a nearby tree.

Pain reverberated through her body, a stark reminder that a tier two fighting a tier four creature was far too ambitious.

Even with her extraordinary talent, there was no way to bridge such an immense power disparity.

*Whoosh!*

An arrow sliced through the air, burying itself deep within the colossal viper’s flesh.

Having successfully landed a hit, Hera swiftly drew several more venom-coated arrows from her quiver, firing them in rapid succession.

Each arrow found its mark, yet the colossal viper’s movements remained seemingly unhindered.

This was precisely as Hera had anticipated, for it was, after all, the viper’s own venom. Her true objective, however, had been achieved. With one hand gently raised, countless root-like tendrils sprouted from the embedded arrows, burrowing deeper into the serpent’s body.

While these arrows wouldn’t inflict fatal wounds on the colossal viper, they could, at the very least, impede its attack speed, thereby creating an opening for them to strike its vulnerable points.

Hera’s strategy was sound in theory, yet in practice, the colossal viper remained largely unfazed—at least, for the immediate future.

*Boom!*

Another deafening crash echoed as Hera was sent flying several meters by the viper’s powerful strike, several arrows on her person snapping under the impact.

Now, only Sina remained active, burdened by immense pressure.

After continuous, grueling combat, her magic reserves were nearly depleted, and her body ached with profound exhaustion. If this continued, their entire party would surely perish here.

Gritting her teeth, Sina gathered the last vestiges of magic within her, unleashing a desperate blast towards the colossal viper.

The furious gale stirred up a vast cloud of dust, obscuring the viper’s vision and disrupting its keen senses.

Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Sina quickly helped the weakened Lilia to her feet, intent on creating distance between themselves and the colossal viper.

However, the colossal viper was not as disoriented as they had hoped. After Lilia and Sina stumbled a mere two or three steps, a terrifying whoosh of displaced air erupted from directly behind them.

“Danger!”

Sina reacted instantly, pulling Lilia down to the ground with her. A torrent of corrosive venom arced over their heads, splattering onto the earth just a short distance in front of them.

The acrid, putrid stench choked their breaths. Sina desperately wanted to scramble up and lead Lilia in another direction.

Yet, no sooner had she begun to rise than a fierce, sweeping gale descended upon them.

The colossal viper’s tail, moving with the speed of lightning, lashed down from above, aimed directly at them, utterly impossible to evade.

In that critical, split-second, the viper’s tail suddenly spasmed. From the spots where Hera’s arrows had pierced it, new, burgeoning tendrils of wood erupted.

The massive tail hung suspended in the air for a crucial half-second, as if ensnared by an unseen force.

This momentary reprieve granted them a vital chance to breathe. They swiftly dove to either side, just as the viper’s tail slammed down with devastating force.

“Excellent! My arrows are still having some effect. Go, quickly! I’ll hold it off.”

Hera shakily pushed herself to her feet, one hand gently rising, a faint green luminescence flickering in her palm.

“You’ll face it alone?”

“What other choice do we have? Does anyone else possess a method to restrain it?”

“Go, now. Don’t waste precious time.”

Lilia and Sina exchanged glances, then nodded, ultimately accepting Hera’s grim proposal.

However, the colossal viper seemed to have fixated on them, as streams of venom shot forth, barraging the path ahead of Lilia and Sina.

It was as if the viper sought to seal off every possible escape route, making their retreat incredibly difficult, if not impossible.

The situation grew increasingly dire. With all escape routes blocked and their distant companions yet to clear a path, they had arrived at a truly life-or-death juncture.

“Sina, buy me a little time. I’m going to try and use earth magic to cover this venom.”

Lilia straightened her body, though her current condition was far from good, despite having only endured a single strike from the colossal viper.

Had her inherent strength not already been close to Tier Three, coupled with her exceptional talent, that singular blow would have been enough to cripple her permanently.

Although her magical reserves were still relatively full, she harbored no certainty that her earth magic would be capable of truly neutralizing or concealing the terrifying viper venom.

But there were no other options left.

Sina stepped forward, her longsword already poised and ready.

The colossal viper lunged forward once more, but this time, it neither spat venom nor swung its tail.

Instead, countless blades of water coalesced around it, hovering in the air like a swirling deluge. The next moment, these aqueous projectiles surged forth, sweeping relentlessly towards the three women.

Hera’s reaction was lightning-fast; almost the instant the viper began its magical assault, she conjured a protective shield of magic.

Lilia, too, instinctively raised a layer of flame shield. Only Sina, whose magical reserves were utterly depleted, remained without any defensive measures.

“Sina! Quick, get over here!”

Lilia moved to rush to her aid, but it was clear, tragically, that she was already too late.

****