Chapter 17: Too Many Serpents

Chris immediately stopped running and pulled his sword from its sheath as the giant horned serpent hanging from the tree above them opened its mouth and lunged toward the group, its long body twisting around the branches as it came down.

"Get behind me!"

Stepping forward, Chris swung his sword toward its head.

*CLANG!*

The blade struck the serpent’s thick scales and cut into them, but it wasn’t enough to sever its head.

The serpent recoiled with a loud hiss, its yellow eyes locking onto Chris as its long body twisted around the tree.

"Keep running!" Chris shouted.

Aldric immediately grabbed Serena by the arm and pulled her around the serpent while Chris remained behind them. Swinging his sword again, he aimed directly for the serpent’s eye, and this time the blade pierced through it.

The serpent violently twisted its body and released a deafening hiss before falling from the tree.

Chris didn’t wait to see whether it was dead, turning around and immediately chasing after the others.

"Keep moving! Don’t stop!"

While running through the forest, branches struck against their bodies and leaves whipped across their faces, but none of them dared to slow down with the sounds of dozens of serpents echoing behind them.

Serena was already breathing heavily, yet she continued running without complaining, while Aldric stayed beside her and constantly looked around to make sure nothing was approaching from either side.

Looking over his shoulder through Dragon Vision, Chris could see more serpents emerging from the trees. Some were Level 40, while others were even stronger, and there were simply too many of them for the group to fight.

"Azreon!"

*ROAR!*

The huge dragon immediately understood what Chris wanted and dove toward the approaching serpents.

A black blur passed over the trees before a massive wave of crimson flames erupted from Azreon’s mouth, engulfing several serpents that were climbing down from the branches.

Their bodies twisted violently as the flames burned through their thick scales, forcing the surrounding serpents to retreat for a moment.

"Keep running!" Chris shouted.

Azreon quickly flew back toward them, but another serpent suddenly launched itself from a tree and opened its jaws toward him.

Twisting his body in midair, Azreon narrowly avoided the attack, causing the serpent’s jaws to snap shut beneath him.

The beast followed him immediately, wrapping its long body around several branches before launching itself toward the dragon again.

Azreon growled and opened his mouth, releasing a stream of fire that struck the serpent directly in the face.

The beast released a painful shriek and fell toward the ground, but Azreon didn’t stop to finish it, continuing to fly above the group while watching for any other serpents that might attack them.

"Chris!"

Serena’s voice suddenly came from behind him.

Turning around, Chris saw a serpent between two trees on their right side. Its dark body was almost completely hidden beneath the leaves, making it difficult to notice even with normal vision, but Serena had spotted it as well.

"Don’t look at it! Keep running!"

Changing direction, Chris moved between Serena and the serpent just as the beast suddenly lunged toward them.

Raising his sword, he met the attack head-on.

*BOOM!*

The serpent’s head slammed into the blade, forcing Chris backward several steps as his boots dug into the soft ground.

Before the beast could attack again, black scales spread across his right arm, covering it completely as he reached forward and grabbed the serpent by its lower jaw.

The beast struggled violently, twisting its body around the trees while trying to pull itself free.

Chris gritted his teeth and pulled with all his strength, forcing the serpent’s head downward as its body thrashed around him.

Once he had created enough space, he released his grip and swung his sword with both hands.

*SLASH!*

The blade cut through the serpent’s neck, finally separating its head from its body.

Blood splashed onto the ground as the massive body collapsed between the trees, and Chris immediately turned around.

"Run!"

They continued deeper into the forest, but the situation was becoming more chaotic with every passing moment.

Serpents were everywhere now, with some moving across the ground while others traveled through the trees above them. Their bodies blended into the branches so perfectly that even experienced hunters would have trouble noticing them without some kind of enhanced vision.

Chris had to constantly look in every direction while moving, searching for the slightest movement that could warn him of another attack.

"This way!"

Suddenly changing direction, Chris led them toward a denser part of the forest.

Serena and Aldric followed without questioning him, trusting his knowledge of the area.

A few seconds later, however, a giant serpent dropped from the tree directly in front of them.

*BOOM!*

Its massive body crashed onto the ground, blocking their path as it lifted its head and opened its jaws.

Before it could attack, Serena raised her hand and released a powerful burst of flames that struck the serpent directly in the face.

The beast recoiled from the flames, giving them enough time to run past it.

Chris glanced toward her.

"Good."

Serena looked at him with slight surprise.

"Good?"

"You reacted quickly."

Despite their situation, a small smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you."

Aldric looked at the two of them while running and shook his head.

"You two can compliment each other later! We need to survive first!"

Chris almost laughed, but suddenly another serpent suddenly appeared from their left side.

Aldric immediately stepped forward, raising his sword to block its attack.

*BOOM!*

The impact forced him backward, his feet dragging across the ground as he struggled to stop the serpent’s head from reaching Serena.

Gritting his teeth, Aldric twisted his body and redirected the serpent’s head to the side.

"Now!"

Chris immediately understood what he wanted.

While rushing forward, he stabbed his sword into the serpent’s exposed neck, piercing deeply into its flesh before pulling the blade free and swinging again.

*SLASH!*

The serpent’s head fell to the ground.

Aldric breathed heavily as he looked at the corpse.

"Young man... remind me never to fight against you."

Chris glanced at him while wiping some blood from his sword.

"You’re still strong enough to hold one back."

"Hah... you call this strong?"

Aldric laughed bitterly while shaking his head.

"When I was at my peak, I could kill several of these without breaking a sweat."

"I believe you."

Chris turned forward again.

"But right now, we need to keep moving."

Aldric nodded, and the three of them continued running.

The sounds behind them were becoming louder with every passing moment. Looking backward through Dragon Vision, Chris could see that the flames Azreon had used had killed several serpents, but even more had arrived afterward.

There were at least fifty of them now, and the deeper they went, the more seemed to appear.

"We can’t keep running like this."

Serena looked toward him while trying to catch her breath.

"What should we do?"

Chris didn’t immediately answer. While continuing to run, he scanned the surroundings, looking for anything that could give them an advantage, until his Dragon Vision suddenly caught something in the distance.

A narrow rocky passage.

"There!"

Chris pointed toward it.

Aldric followed his finger and narrowed his eyes.

"What is there?"

"A gap between the rocks. It’s too narrow for the larger serpents to pass through quickly."

They immediately changed direction.

While moving toward the passage, Chris took the lead and cut through thick branches and vegetation with his sword whenever they blocked their path, while Azreon flew overhead and searched for the entrance from above.

"Azreon! Find the passage and stay there!"

*ROAR!*

The dragon immediately flew ahead.

Chris continued running, his lungs beginning to burn slightly from the long chase, but his body was far stronger than it had been before reaching Level 30, allowing him to maintain his pace.

Serena was struggling more.

Chris noticed her breathing becoming heavier while they ran, but she continued pushing herself without saying anything.

"Can you keep going?"

Serena nodded.

"Yes. I’m fine."

"You don’t look fine."

"I said I’m fine."

Chris didn’t argue with her. Instead, he slowed down slightly so she could keep up with them without falling behind.

Aldric noticed what he had done but remained silent.

After several more minutes, they finally reached the rocky passage.

It was narrower than Chris had expected, with only enough space for two people to comfortably walk through at the same time. The rocky walls rose several meters on both sides, making it difficult for the serpents to approach from anywhere except the passage itself.

Chris looked behind them.

The first serpents were already approaching.

"Go!"

Aldric immediately pushed Serena forward, and the two of them entered the passage.

Chris stayed behind.

The moment the first serpent entered the narrow path, it lunged toward him.

Raising his sword, Chris blocked the attack.

*CLANG!*

The serpent’s teeth struck the blade, and Chris pushed its head away while taking several steps backward.

Another serpent suddenly entered from the side.

Black scales immediately covered both of Chris’s arms as he raised them, using Dragon Scales to protect himself from the attack.

*BOOM!*

The serpent slammed into his scaled arms, but the impact only forced him backward slightly.

Chris gritted his teeth and swung his sword, cutting into its neck before kicking its head away.

"Azreon!"

*ROAR!*

A massive fireball flew over Chris’s head and struck the serpents entering the passage.

*BOOM!*

Crimson flames filled the narrow path, forcing several serpents to recoil.

Chris used the opening to step forward and slash at another serpent, cutting deeply into its body before turning toward the next one.

He wasn’t trying to fight them all. He only needed to stop them from getting past him.

While moving backward through the narrow passage, Chris blocked one attack with his left arm, ducked beneath another serpent’s jaws, and swung his sword upward into its exposed neck.

*SLASH!*

The beast fell to the ground, and another immediately took its place. Then another.

Chris continued fighting, using his Dragon Scales to block attacks that would have otherwise been impossible to defend against while Azreon constantly released bursts of flames from above, preventing the serpents from surrounding him.

For several minutes, they fought like this.

Chris could feel the strain beginning to build in his arms, but he didn’t retreat.

Aldric and Serena needed time to escape.

He glanced deeper into the passage, and he could no longer see them.

"Good."

If they had already disappeared around the bend, they should have enough of a lead.

Chris turned back toward the serpents and raised his sword again.

Then he felt something.

A heavy pressure.

The serpents in front of him suddenly became restless, moving aside as something much larger approached from behind them.

Chris’s expression changed.

Through Dragon Vision, he could see a massive body moving rapidly through the forest, and the other serpents were making way for it.

Two enormous yellow eyes appeared between the trees.

Chris’s grip tightened around his sword. He knew that the leader of the Horned Serpents had arrived.

He immediately understood that he couldn’t stay here.

Even if he managed to survive a direct attack, there was no way he could fight that monster while surrounded by dozens of Level 40+ serpents.

"Azreon!"

The dragon immediately looked toward him.

"Get down here!"

Azreon dove toward the passage, but the leader suddenly opened its enormous mouth.

*ROOOOOAR!*

The serpents in the passage surged forward at the same time.

Chris activated Dragon Scales again over both arms and raised his sword.

"Come on!"

He stepped forward and began slashing.

One serpent lunged toward him, and he deflected its head before cutting across its neck. Another attacked from the side, forcing him to raise his scaled arm and absorb the impact before counterattacking with a powerful slash.

Azreon flew above his head, releasing wave after wave of crimson flames into the passage, burning the serpents and forcing them backward.

Chris continued fighting, but he could feel the pressure approaching rapidly.

The leader was getting closer.

Another serpent lunged toward him, and Chris stepped aside and cut into its body, but before he could attack again, the leader’s massive head appeared at the entrance of the passage.

Its jaws opened.

Chris froze for a fraction of a second.

The difference in size was enormous. The leader could swallow him whole.