Chapter 145: Snake Man

Amon rushed toward the approaching snake men without giving them a chance to fully surround him.

The creatures roared as they charged forward as well.

Amon waited until he was close enough before activating Spatial Steps.

His body disappeared from their sight in an instant.

The snake men swung their massive fists toward the place where he had been standing, but their attacks struck nothing but empty air.

Amon reappeared behind them.

Before any of them could turn around, he raised his hand and released a sharp Frost Spear directly toward the nearest snake man.

The spear of ice pierced through the back of its chest and emerged from the other side.

The creature froze for a moment before its enormous body collapsed onto the stone floor.

Amon didn’t waste the opportunity created by their momentary confusion.

He immediately activated Spatial Steps again and appeared several meters to the side, positioning himself between the remaining creatures.

His hands tightened around the battleaxe as he twisted his entire body.

The weapon followed his momentum as he rotated a full three hundred and sixty degrees, creating a powerful horizontal arc that caught one of the snake men before it could react.

The battleaxe tore through its waist with enough force to split its body in two.

The upper half fell heavily to the ground while the lower half remained motionless for a moment before collapsing as well.

Amon landed firmly on his feet and immediately shifted his gaze toward the remaining three monsters.

The snake men had stopped charging.

They stared at him with much more caution than before, apparently recognizing that blindly attacking him wasn’t going to work.

Amon smiled slightly as the three creatures suddenly moved together.

One rushed directly toward him while the other two approached from opposite sides, attempting to trap him between them.

Amon’s eyes moved between them.

Before they could complete the formation, Seraphina raised her staff.

"Frost Chain!"

Several thick chains made entirely of ice erupted from the ground and wrapped around one of the snake men.

The creature roared and desperately tried to tear the chains apart, but the sudden restraint created the opening Amon needed.

One of the other snake men reached him first and threw a massive punch toward his face.

Amon stepped into the attack instead of retreating and caught its wrist with his free hand.

The enormous fist stopped inches from his face.

The snake man’s expression changed as Amon’s fingers tightened around its wrist.

"Got you."

The third snake man suddenly attacked from behind.

Amon noticed the movement through his heightened spiritual perception and immediately jumped upward.

The creature’s fist passed beneath him as Amon twisted his body in midair.

He brought his battleaxe down with his other hand.

The weapon buried itself deep into the snake man’s shoulder, forcing the creature onto coil in from the tremendous impact.

Amon landed beside it while still holding the wrist of the first snake man.

The creature tried to pull itself away, but Amon refused to let go.

He reached to his waist with his free hand and pulled out his short sword.

Without wasting another second, he drove the blade across the snake man’s abdomen and created a large opening.

The creature staggered backward as it released a furious roar, its hands instinctively moving toward the wound as it tried to hold itself together.

Amon stepped closer.

The snake man attempted to raise its fist again, but Amon thrust the short sword into his neck and ended the fight before it could attack again.

He then turned his attention toward the snake man whose shoulder was still pinned by his battleaxe.

The creature tried to pull itself away from the weapon, but the axe remained firmly embedded.

Amon approached without any hesitation.

He drew his short sword once again and struck at the creature’s lower body, severing its ability to move properly before stepping back.

The snake man roared and tried to crawl toward him.

Amon placed one foot firmly against its body and pulled the battleaxe free from its shoulder.

The creature looked up at him.

Amon raised the weapon and the next swing cut open its face in half.

Amon turned his head toward Seraphina.

She was already standing over the final snake man, with several layers of ice wrapped around its body.

A final burst of frost erupted from her staff and the creature stopped moving.

The ice slowly cracked apart and scattered across the floor.

Amon walked toward her with a smile. "You did a good job."

Seraphina looked at him suspiciously. "You’ve gotten stronger."

Amon raised an eyebrow. "Have I?"

She glanced toward the disappearing bodies scattered throughout the chamber. "Did you take some kind of drug while I wasn’t looking?"

Amon chuckled. "Maybe."

Seraphina narrowed her eyes. "What did you do?"

Amon simply smiled and continued walking.

Seraphina sighed before looking toward the fallen snake men. Their bodies had already begun disappearing.

The corpses slowly dissolved into particles of light, and the mana contained within them began returning to the dungeon.

However, not all of it disappeared. A portion of the energy drifted toward Amon and Seraphina before gradually entering their bodies.

Amon could feel the warm flow of mana spreading through his body.

Seraphina looked at the remains of the creatures for another moment. "Do you think these were lovers of the snake women we fought earlier?"

Amon glanced at the disappearing bodies. "Perhaps."

He paused for a moment before looking at the number of snake men compared to the snake women they had encountered earlier.

"But if they were, these bastards were practicing polygamy." He said softly. "There were three or four snake women for every male counterpart."

She stared at him for a few seconds before an amused expression appeared on her face. "Don’t you want to do the same?"

Amon looked at her with a completely serious expression.

"Unfortunately, I’m a bastard as well." He paused before adding, "And I’m also a hypocrite."

Seraphina laughed softly. "Aw, my baby has self-awareness."

Amon shook his head. "Don’t call me that."

"Why?"

"Because it sounds embarrassing."

Seraphina’s smile only became wider.

The two continued walking deeper into the dungeon, leaving the chamber behind them as the faint blue light from the walls gradually became dimmer.

They followed the winding passage for quite some time before eventually finding a staircase descending deeper into the dungeon.

Amon stopped at the top of the stairs and looked downward.

The staircase disappeared into darkness, with only a faint trace of mana drifting upward from below.

Seraphina stepped beside him. "Looks like this is the way to the next floor."

Amon nodded. "Let’s go."

They carefully descended the stone staircase together.

The further they went, the colder and quieter the dungeon became.

Even the faint sounds from the previous floor eventually disappeared behind them.

After several minutes, their feet finally reached the bottom.

Amon took one step forward.

The moment they entered the next floor, the faint blue crystals that had illuminated the previous floor disappeared completely.

Everything around them became dark.

Amon stopped and Seraphina stood beside him, her staff held tightly in her hand.

Neither of them could see more than a few inches ahead.

Amon’s eyes narrowed as he stared into the darkness.

"... Something is moving in the darkness."