Chapter 612: Snake arrows

Since the rain expanded conically, the closer Liam got to its source, the higher the density of drops became, undoing the work his Qi had done.

However, Liam was fully committed to the strategy. He didn’t care for dealing with the spell. He wanted to beat it, so the entirety of his existence focused on the task, delivering unexpected results.

Liam hadn’t spent time training in archery after graduating from Krosstoen’s mountain. He just didn’t need to. He was one with a bow in ways that would make swordsmen and their weapons jealous.

Liam had also devoted his life to alchemy, so there was no need to invest time in something technically complete. Yet, there was one aspect of that mastery he hadn’t fully explored yet.

The breakthrough had brought plenty of improvements, and there was Liam’s mindset to account for. He was a different existence in body, mind, and might, and he didn’t know to what extremes that translated into his archery skills.

In short, Liam didn’t know his limits with a bow, and he wasn’t finding them there.

Arrow after arrow, Liam just kept getting faster. He fired with newfound perfect accuracy and swiftness every time he pulled the bowstring, somehow matching the higher density of drops despite the lack of toxic membranes.

Nevertheless, the toxic membrane arrived, too. As Liam kept releasing his power and his arrows continued to explode, more of the sky fell prey to his poisonous influence, giving him room to advance once more.

Also, more poison accumulated in the air in general, and it was an extension of Liam’s power. He poured all of himself into archery, and the black patches hovering in the sky eventually responded.

The darkness that had been expanding in the sky started to recede, following the flow of Liam’s Qi, joining it as it accumulated on the bowstring.

The Black Bow had a specific ability. It was flexible, but it worked within limits. However, the same went for Liam’s Qi, and he was a being superior to that weapon.

As poison kept converging, the ethereal arrows changed shape. They became thicker, denser, and darker. Their surfaces grew near-solid, and their tips lost their sharpness, turning instead into familiar triangular heads.

The arrows gained actual snake heads, and a new trend started once they reached their detailed, seemingly final shape.

Hisses resounded as the snake arrows cut through the sky. Those cries weren’t as deafening and ancient as what Liam had fired at Andrew, but they still created a loud cacophony.

Of course, Liam didn’t care for sounds, but the snake arrows had more than a simple unique design. They actually ate the drops they targeted, wasting power to consume them before continuing to fly forward, using their remaining energy to keep fighting the rain, even changing direction on their own.

When the snake arrows were about to disperse, they exploded to release what was left of their energy, maximizing the damage they could inflict.

With Liam continuously poisoning the world, he never ran out of poison to harness, no matter how quickly he fired arrows.

Yet, while cultivators would have to do thorough investigations before connecting hisses to the unbelievable news few were ready to believe, the taipan only needed to listen to the instincts deep in its bloodline to confirm it.

When Liam was about to advance even deeper into the spell, the rain suddenly came to an end. Explosions from the still-flying arrows resounded, but everything went silent afterward. Even Liam stopped firing.

There was no debris to speak of, so nothing had to settle for the area to clear. As soon as both sides stopped attacking, the new state of the battlefield became perfectly visible.

Liam was hovering mere meters from the snake, having almost reached it during his attempt to defeat the spell. He was immersed in a sea of darkened air and currents of black Qi, sizzling noises and grey fumes coming from his bow.

Instead, the taipan was on the ground, its surroundings clear of poison, but with a grey arrow stuck in the side of its head. That was the first attack Liam had fired. It had struck its mark but hadn’t dug too deep.

Of course, the grey arrow followed the poison master’s rule. It was originally made from a rank 2 material, but it had undergone the Alchemical Refinement ever since Liam started the project. It was a true peak-rank 2 item carrying his venom’s properties now.

Still, the venom didn’t seem to have done much to the snake, be it due to innate tolerance, incredible resilience, or huge size. The taipan looked more interested in studying the figure in the sky, finally seeing it as more than an annoying disturbance.

And Liam could read the taipan’s expression. He saw recognition in its brown-red eyes. The hisses in the underground chamber had failed to convey what Liam was, but the cries from the snake arrows had done the trick.

‘Will it run?’ Liam wondered, ready to resume his barrage. Back in the Demonic Cult’s ruins, the snake had escaped after understanding his lineage, and he couldn’t let it happen now.

It soon turned out that Liam had nothing to worry about because his survival instincts kicked in. He barely had time to send Qi into the fan before his figure flew away.

Another instantaneous assault had arrived. The taipan had actually jumped, flinging itself at Liam at full speed. The fan had gotten in the way, shielding him from the blow, but he had been thrown off, and he was now hurtling toward the ground with no control over his fall.

‘How fast is it?!’ Liam cursed internally but still prepared for the worst.

By the time Liam crashed into the ground, the bow was already on his shoulder. His legs ached since the fan wasn’t great as a shield, but he still forced himself to his feet with the greatsword raised ahead.

Preparing for the worst had been the right call because the taipan was already there, its rabid hiss still echoing in the air while its open maws were about to close on Liam.