Chapter 614: Corroded

Weapons weren’t people, and it wouldn’t be Liam’s first time losing one. He wasn’t even the affectionate type. His material attachment was limited to what his great Master had left him.

However, the fan was different. It was not only an extremely valuable tool that could support Liam throughout the branching stage and beyond. It was also alive. It might act like a kid going through puberty, but it had still fought at Liam’s side for countless battles.

After the sudden departure from the Sect, Liam had vowed many things. Becoming strong enough not to lose anything again had been among them, and it definitely applied to his unruly companion.

Of course, the situation remained tragic, but that had never stopped Liam. It just meant that he had to defeat the taipan in a frontal clash.

Still, the taipan was of the same mind, and the tides of toxic Qi blowing from Liam’s figure did nothing to delay its strategy.

Liam barely had the time to perform the second step of the Seven Hellish Steps before the taipan threw itself at him, its whip-like assault as instantaneous as ever.

Nevertheless, Liam was already swinging this time. He couldn’t see the snake’s attacks. It was just too fast, but he had taken enough of them to learn how they worked. They always struck head-on, so he could intercept them if he acted before they could start.

The strategy culminated in an apocalyptic clash. Liam’s greatsword slammed into the head that seemingly materialized before him, unleashing the built-up Qi, causing an explosion of blackness.

Both Liam and the taipan were pushed back. Liam’s arms went numb once more, while a long, deep cut opened on the lower side of the snake’s head, releasing a torrent of blood.

As black Qi still blew over the area, two grey arrows flew through it, piercing the still-recovering taipan. The additional assault enraged it even further, making it charge through the tides of poisonous energy right as a drum-like noise resounded through the area.

Liam didn’t have the time to perform a second step before the snake clashed with his swinging greatsword, the impact once again culminating in a tide of wild black Qi. However, Liam was the only one pushed back this time.

That was the beginning of a worsening trend. The taipan never slowed down, and it was faster than Liam in the first place. Meanwhile, he had less and less time to react, each clash shortening his windows.

Liam didn’t dare to go into the sky without the fan. Doing so might grant him a brief advantage, only to remain completely defenseless afterward, and he wasn’t confident in killing the snake in one blow.

The taipan would simply catch up with Liam if he tried to retreat, and defending alone wouldn’t solve anything. So, he kept swinging his greatsword against each instantaneous charge, a drum-like sound always preceding it, until it didn’t anymore.

By the fourth clash, Liam’s window grew so brief that he couldn’t perform a single step of the Seven Hellish Steps. No massive expansion of black Qi happened at that point. He didn’t even fly back. His figure instead dug into the displaced ground.

That predicament wasn’t random. Since Liam couldn’t use his best martial art to fend off the instantaneous assault anymore, he had used his greatsword as a shield, tilting it so the clash would drive him down rather than flying away.

The successful execution didn’t seem to lead Liam anywhere. He was pinned down, his trembling, numb arms full of torn, bleeding skin due to the repeated violent impacts and the abuse from the Seven Hellish Steps.

Nevertheless, the taipan wasn’t too well, either. The cut under its head was the deepest injury by far, but other wounds littered it. The snake was disfigured, bleeding all over, but the magical beasts’ physical superiority was showing its power there.

Yet, Liam had put himself in that situation on purpose. It was why he hadn’t tried to fire arrows anymore. He had to make sure his hands remained on the greatsword, getting it ready for that moment.

The snake had been too enraged to gauge the danger. It was also in pain. Its huge frame didn’t show it, but its flesh was melting. The thing it had swallowed earlier was also raging in its throat.

Yet, being so close to Liam for longer than the usual instantaneous push-back warned the snake about an odd event. The world was now filled with the toxic darkness Liam spread, and it was converging on the greatsword, as if it had gained a gravitational pull.

And the snake felt it as clear as day, the sensation coming straight from its survival instincts. Death was staring at it.

The taipan tried to retreat, but pure blackness suddenly swallowed it. The world suffered a similar fate, a dome of impenetrable darkness having materialized in the area.

Two steps weren’t enough to kill the taipan, and it wasn’t giving Liam time to perform a third. He also couldn’t endure a fourth, so he charged the alchemical spell while facing the instantaneous assaults, condensing all the Qi the predicament allowed.

The result surpassed what Liam had unleashed against Andrew. Even with the Primal Urge, Liam wouldn’t have been able to move the greatsword, which was why he had opted for that spherical release of the condensed Qi, and the result confirmed its higher power.

A drum-like sound resounded before the blackness could begin to disperse. A second followed right as the blackness began to fade, revealing a lake of poison beneath dense, darkened air.

The taipan was thrashing in the lake. It was alive but crying in pain. Most of its scales had disappeared, devoured by the blackness. The flesh underneath was caving in, darkened, and sizzling, some spots bubbling since they had turned into poison themselves.

When the snake heard the third drum-like noise, it was already too late to do anything about it. The creature only saw the raging torrent of darkness blowing somewhere alongside its body before all of it converged into a descending slash.