Chapter 1536 1536. Thief
The Snakes hissed in anger when they saw one of their leaders dying and disappearing. They had been sure that Noah"s group couldn"t pose any threat to their pack, but the recent events had changed their mind.
The battle wasn"t a simple hunt anymore. Intense hatred had built in those short exchanges. The snakes wanted to make Noah pay the price for his actions.
Night was keeping the blind leader in a deadlock. The Snake never managed to touch the Pterodactyl, and injuries continued to acc.u.mulate on its body.
Night was showing its innate superiority during the battle. Noah"s ambition made it able to inflict consistent damage, and the Snake couldn"t even keep up with its offensive.
Noah shot toward the Snake. He felt weak, but the other two packs were about to reach his position. He had to kill the second leader to have a chance to escape.
The Snake could keep track of Noah"s movements even in its blindness. Its instincts could sense the danger that neared its position.
Noah thrust his blades forward, and a wave of sharpness flowed out of his weapons. The attack landed on the Snake"s head and opened a large injury, but it didn"t manage to stun the creature.
The Snake charged ahead, using its huge body like a spring. That action made Noah"s attack more effective, but it also allowed it to slam on him in an instant.
Noah spat blood while flying backward. The weakness that was filling his centers of power intensified, but his mind forced him to stay awake.
Still, his awareness didn"t change his condition. The ambition continued to fuel his centers of power and companions, but Noah was running out of fuel. His dantian was almost empty, and even his insane resilience showed signs of giving in to his intense struggle.
"Just a little more!" Noah shouted in his mind, and his ambition intensified.
A new wave of power filled his centers of power. Noah dispersed his momentum and charged toward the ma.s.sive Snake that was chasing him.
Injuries continued to open on the creature"s body. Night never stopped attacking, but its effort didn"t manage to interrupt its opponent"s charge.
The Snake had only one target. It wanted to kill Noah even if the effort ended up leading to its death.
Sharp energy covered Noah"s draconic figure. He pointed his blades forward without interrupting his charge.
The Snake opened its mouth when it sensed the incoming clash. Ice acc.u.mulated in its throat and reinforced its tissues, but everything crumbled once the creature clashed with Noah.
Noah"s figure cut through the Snake"s head. The sharp aura surrounding him severed its tough scales before his blades even landed on the creature.
The Snake"s vision suddenly went black. Noah had divided its head into two pieces. However, the rest of its body still slammed on him and flung him away.
A river of blood poured on Noah while the corpse pushed him away. He quickly stored the body, but it took him a while to stop. His eyes quickly studied the battlefield, and what he saw turned his expression even grimmer.
The two packs had reached the battlefield. They were only a few seconds away from jumping on Noah and the rest of his group.
A dense aura had also spread in the environment. Noah felt an intense danger coming from those packs. They featured specimens at a level that even his ambition couldn"t make him match.
Ice started to acc.u.mulate in the area. Snore and Duanlong didn"t manage to suppress that innate ability anymore now that the other packs had arrived.
"Run!" Noah shouted as draconic roars mixed with his human words.
His companions flew back inside his separate s.p.a.ce, and the same went for his swords. His dark armor also vanished. Noah focused his whole existence on accelerating, but a ma.s.sive figure appeared on his path before he could even decide where to go.
A rank 8 Eternal Snake in the middle tier appeared above his head and threatened to slam its ma.s.sive body on his figure. Noah quickly teleported away, but a second giant figure appeared on his path again.
The weaker leaders couldn"t keep up with his teleports, but the same didn"t apply to those in the middle tier. Those creatures had sharp senses and could follow the movement of his energy through the sky.
Noah continued to teleport, but the leaders forced him to reunite with the rest of his group. The rank 8 Foolery and Fergie searched for answers in his expression, but they only saw hopelessness on his face.
"It has been a good run," Fergie said before closing his eyes.
The Snakes were lowering their bodies to prepare a joint a.s.sault from every direction. They had already surrounded Noah and the others. The group had no way out of that situation.
"I know where the thief is!" Noah suddenly shouted while roars resounded through his human voice.
The Snakes were about to launch themselves forward, but a series of hisses suddenly came out of the leaders and forced them to hold back their a.s.sault.
Countless reptilian gazed fell on Noah"s figure. His mind struggled to remain awake when the aura coming out of the middle tier specimens converged on him.
Fear filled his mind. Noah"s instincts knew how hopeless his situation was. Nothing in his a.r.s.enal could make him overcome that challenge.
One of the leaders left the group and stretched its ma.s.sive head toward Noah. Its tongue made the sky tremble whenever it cracked in the air. That creature seemed to be at the very limit of the middle tier.
"How could you know about the thief?" The Snake asked with human words.
"I killed all the Snakes that you sent in the lower plane," Noah said without showing any fear. "The thief is in the Immortal Lands now. I can lead you all to him."
The Snake gave voice to an angry hiss. Noah didn"t only kill two crucial members of its pack. He had also tainted the pride of its species!
However, the creature hated someone more than Noah. Shandal had managed to steal an important egg from its pack. The Snake couldn"t let that human live, even if it meant letting Noah go.
"Tell me where the thief is," The Snake said, and a cold smile appeared on Noah"s face.
"I won"t," Noah replied while his smile broadened.
The Snake cracked its tongue on one of the creatures in Noah"s pack. The beast directly exploded, but Noah didn"t flinch. He wouldn"t give up on his advantage even if the Snake decided to kill his entire group.
The leader sensed Noah"s determination and gave voice to an angry hiss. Its underlings echoed its cry, but they didn"t dare to move.
"I can lead your pack to him," Noah said while blood flowed out of his ears, "But only after we set terms for our agreement. I also want a piece of the thief."
"The thief belongs to us!" The leader shouted, creating a shockwave that made the weaker magical beasts in the area faint. "No one can touch him without my permission!"
"Then you might want to lower your voice," Noah replied without hiding his excitement. "You don"t want to kill the only existence in the entire higher plane willing to tell you where the thief is."
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Author"s notes: Lockdown ended, and I ended up celebrating too hard. My mind is also in a tough spot now, so I will take a few days to recover. I will resume publis.h.i.+ng on Sat.u.r.day, hopefully without needing to write at 6 am.