Chapter 613: Gulp

The taipan was already there. Its huge head was upon Liam, its dripping fangs about to close on him. He was basically inside its mouth, but he wasn’t powerless.

Getting faster with the greatsword was still possible. Liam had room for growth, but it couldn’t happen now. Even a sudden power boost wouldn’t save him from those incoming fangs.

However, Liam wasn’t bound to artificial limits anymore. The taipan’s speed remained incredible, but he had been ready.

A foot-shaped hole replaced Liam’s figure right before the fangs were about to touch him. The Defying Stomp sent him high into the sky, where the fan was already waiting for him.

The taipan actually kept up with the rank 3 martial art. Its body twisted, flinging its head at the sky, only to find that it wasn’t the only one capable of impossible speed.

Liam might not be as fast as the snake, even with the fan, but an aspect of his arsenal could match it.

As soon as the fan had caught up to Liam, he let go of the greatsword. The huge weapon spun in the air while he drew the Black Bow from his shoulder, firing with time-defying swiftness.

Three arrows struck the taipan in the head as it rose through the air. Explosions followed, shattering its yellowish scales, red blood mixing with wild black Qi, but that did little to stop its charge.

The head reached Liam, only for a greatsword to prevent it from hitting him directly. He had already stored the bow back on his shoulder and retrieved his hulking weapon, using it as a shield.

In theory, history should have repeated itself. At that speed, the taipan’s momentum was straight-up impossible to oppose, especially when Liam stood on something as unstable as the fan.

Liam should have been thrown off and sent flying again, but the very opposite happened. After all, there was a limit to how many times the same attack could work on him.

The recent training paid off once more. Instead of merely blocking, Liam deflected the simple blow, allowing him to slip by the head’s side.

Liam’s figure turned into a blur as he activated the fan’s ability, and a giant cut opened on the taipan, covering almost half its huge body. His greatsword had stabbed deeply, carving a meaningful wound.

Still, that was only the first part of Liam’s assault.

The taipan twisted despite being mid-air, its tail trying to catch Liam’s descending figure, but the lack of footholds prevented it from unleashing its full speed.

The tail moved like a deadly whip with unfathomable precision. It headed straight for Liam, ready to cleave his body in half, but the fan threw him off before any clash could ensue.

Liam jumped over the tail as he kept falling, his existence allowing a gravity-defying turn while he let go of the greatsword again to draw his bow, grey arrows materializing as he pulled the bowstring.

The ethereal arrows had inflicted damage, but the wounds were superficial at best. Scales on the snake’s head had broken, exposing the flesh underneath, but Liam would never kill it at that pace.

However, the venom might work. Liam just had to apply enough of it for that huge beast to feel it.

Three arrows pierced the snake before its body touched the ground, and a storm of debris followed. Liam’s timing had been perfect. The fan caught him right before the taipan regained its foothold, planning to put some distance from it and resume an aerial attack, but intelligence worked both ways.

Liam knew the taipan would have come for him. He just couldn’t have expected how. Right as he was about to rise, he saw something blocking the sunlight, something that didn’t match the math in his mind.

The taipan had indeed attacked, but its head was still a few meters away from Liam. He had adjusted his hunting strategy to the incredible speed the creature had shown until now, and he had been right. He had time to escape, but that only applied to the snake’s body.

The snake hadn’t merely charged. Its mouth was open, spitting out a torrent of a pale-yellow substance. That wasn’t like the previous rain. It was a proper river of venom that expanded above Liam, blocking his escape.

Liam swerved to his left, but it was already too late. The slight delay gave the taipan plenty of time to launch another attack, and he could only improvise at that point.

A torrent of black Qi exploded upward. The Deflecting Gale met the descending head, stopping it for a fraction of a second, allowing Liam to keep going left.

Branching experts could do much in a fraction of a second, but the taipan could do even more. Liam was flying at full speed, giving the fan free access to his Qi, but the snake was faster.

Liam followed his instincts, turning as his hair stood on end, finding dripping fangs upon him. He didn’t have time to cast another martial art, and blocking couldn’t happen, not completely, so he did the only thing that could work.

Since defense wasn’t possible, Liam attacked.

Instead of dodging, the fan rose, and Liam rose with it, his greatsword pointing at the upper half of the snake’s head.

Blood spurted. The greatsword pierced the mouth’s moist insides, and the taipan shrieked back. Still, the impact threw Liam off the fan, sending him crashing into the ground.

Naturally, a mere wound couldn’t stop that huge beast, or slow it down for that matter. Liam couldn’t even think of standing up before the taipan was once more upon him, almost about to swallow him for good.

However, the fan hadn’t suffered any debilitating blows. With Liam being powerless, it acted on its own, flying straight into the descending open mouth.

The clash never arrived. The snake cried in pain as it jerked its body sideways, its head hitting empty ground. It rolled onto itself, writhing, hissing nonstop.

Then, a loud gulp resounded, seemingly bringing peace to the snake. Liam had stood up in the meantime, and his eyes went down the taipan’s straightening body, following his mental connection to his fan.

The taipan had actually swallowed the fan.

Liam was left on foot, losing his greatest edge against that powerful magical beast, but he felt the very opposite of desperation. He stomped the ground, the gesture releasing a drum-like thud and torrents of wild black Qi as his furious gaze looked up at the serpentine figure ready to strike.

"Give it back," Liam hissed. "I’m never losing anything ever again."