Chapter 97 — Into the Verdant Domain

Kael stood at the edge of the Shadow Domain.

Behind him—

the black forest had finally become quiet.

The Shadow Lion rested beneath the ancient tree.

Its prison chain had stabilized.

Its black-and-crimson egg rested safely inside Kael's Space Ring.

And the strange one-time sealing artifact—

along with the special vessel—

had been stored beside it.

Kael looked toward the south.

A completely different world waited there.

Green.

Dense.

Alive.

The Verdant Domain.

Kael opened his System.

[Legendary Beast Hunt]

[First Legendary Beast: Shadow Lion — Defeated]

[Second Legendary Beast: Verdant Serpent — Active]

[Third Legendary Beast: Bone Sovereign — Active]

[Current Legendary Immortality Remaining: 58:04:16]

[Beast Path Compatibility: 9%]

Kael looked at the timer.

More than fifty-eight hours remained.

He had expected to use a substantial portion of the ability during the Shadow Lion battle.

He had been correct.

But the next two battles could be even longer.

And unlike the Lion—

the Verdant Serpent specialized in defense.

That meant the battle could turn into a war of attrition.

Kael couldn't afford to waste his remaining time.

He needed to move.

But before leaving—

he looked back.

The Shadow Lion opened one crimson eye.

“Kael.”

Kael turned.

“What?”

The Beast looked toward the Verdant Domain.

“Do not fight the Serpent the way you fought me.”

Kael nodded.

“I know.”

The Lion's expression became serious.

“No.”

It slowly stood.

“You don't.”

Kael waited.

The Lion continued.

“You spent my battle learning how to survive.”

Its eyes narrowed.

“The Serpent will make you learn how to kill something that refuses to die.”

Kael's expression hardened.

“Then I'll learn.”

The Lion smiled.

“Good.”

Kael turned away.

This time—

he didn't look back.

The landscape changed gradually.

The black roots became gray.

Then dark green.

Then enormous trees appeared.

Within another kilometer, Kael encountered the first vines.

They covered the ground.

Some were as thick as his arm.

Others were nearly invisible beneath the grass.

Kael stopped.

Mana Detection.

The vines were saturated with magical energy.

He activated Spatial Detection.

The entire region appeared connected.

The roots.

The trees.

The rivers.

The vines.

Everything was part of a gigantic biological network.

Kael frowned.

“This isn't just a forest.”

He touched the ground.

The Verdant Domain was alive.

Not metaphorically.

Literally.

The terrain itself functioned as a massive sensory and mana distribution system.

Kael wrote:

Verdant Domain

Entire ecosystem may function as territory organ.

Expect attacks from environment itself.

Do not assume target is physically nearby simply because territory reacts.

He continued.

After another hour—

Kael noticed a strange mist.

A faint green haze floated between the trees.

The Vanguard Armor immediately reacted.

[Unknown airborne toxin detected.]

[Verdant Configuration recommended.]

Kael activated the armor.

The Blackwater-derived scales along the shoulders and torso brightened.

His internal filtration system activated.

The poison entering his breathing space was reduced.

Kael nodded.

The preparation had already paid off.

He moved deeper.

The mist became thicker.

Then—

something moved.

Kael stopped.

A large serpent emerged from the vegetation.

Not the Legendary Beast.

A lesser creature.

The System identified it.

[Verdant Venom Stalker]

Level: 46

Grade: Commander

Traits: Venomous Blood, Regeneration, Camouflage, Burrowing

Kael didn't immediately attack.

He watched.

The creature was covered in green scales.

Its body blended perfectly with the forest.

Its eyes never left him.

Kael activated V-01X.

Configuration I.

Penetration.

The serpent attacked.

Kael stepped aside.

Its jaws missed.

Kael fired.

BANG!

The bullet struck a scale.

The scale cracked.

Green liquid spread around the impact.

Regeneration began.

Kael fired again.

Same location.

BANG!

The crack widened.

The creature twisted.

Its tail struck.

Kael blocked with the Origin Blade.

CLANG!

The force pushed him backward.

The serpent lunged.

Kael jumped.

Its body passed underneath.

Kael activated Metal Control.

Small metal blades formed.

He targeted the same damaged scales.

SLASH!

SLASH!

The serpent recoiled.

Its regeneration accelerated.

Kael noticed something.

The more he damaged the scales—

the more surrounding vegetation responded.

Roots began moving toward the wounded creature.

Kael's expression changed.

“The territory is healing it.”

He stopped attacking.

The serpent charged.

Kael moved backward.

Then—

he activated Mana Disruption.

BANG!

The round struck the ground beneath it.

The vegetation stopped moving.

The serpent's regeneration slowed.

Kael's eyes sharpened.

“So this territory transfers mana through the root system.”

That was critical.

He switched to Configuration II.

BANG!

Mana Disruption.

The serpent staggered.

Kael attacked.

SLASH!

The damaged scale cluster was destroyed.

The serpent collapsed.

The System appeared.

[Verdant Venom Stalker defeated.]

[Territorial combat data recorded.]

Kael stared at the ground.

The roots slowly moved back into place.

He wrote:

Verdant Domain combat principle:

Enemies may receive regeneration from surrounding territory.

Disrupting the mana network significantly reduces regeneration.

He looked toward the deeper forest.

“This is going to be difficult.”

The further Kael went—

the larger the trees became.

The air became wetter.

The ground became softer.

Streams began appearing between the trees.

Then rivers.

Then enormous lakes.

Some were crystal clear.

Others were completely black.

Kael climbed onto a large ridge.

From there—

he finally saw the inner Verdant Domain.

A gigantic valley stretched beyond the forest.

Massive trees grew around a central lake.

The lake itself was enormous.

Several kilometers across.

Around it—

enormous green crystal formations pierced through the ground.

Kael's System activated automatically.

[Legendary Beast detected.]

[Verdant Serpent]

[Location: Central Lake]

[Current state: Awake]

[Host has been detected.]

Kael remained still.

The water moved.

Slowly.

Then—

a massive head emerged.

Black-green scales.

Golden eyes.

Two enormous fangs.

The head alone was larger than several houses.

The Serpent raised itself from the lake.

And Kael finally saw the rest of its body.

It was enormous.

Much larger than the Shadow Lion.

Its body extended around the entire lake.

Its scales overlapped like enormous shields.

But Kael's attention immediately moved to the damage.

Exactly as his records had shown.

Several areas of the Serpent's body contained pale sealing energy.

Those scale clusters were different.

Less vibrant.

More rigid.

The Serpent looked directly at him.

Its voice entered his mind.

“You defeated the Lion.”

Kael nodded.

“Yes.”

The Serpent's golden eyes narrowed.

“Then you are stronger than I expected.”

Kael shook his head.

“I didn't overpower it.”

The Serpent stared.

“What?”

“I learned.”

The Serpent became silent.

Then—

a faint smile appeared.

“Good answer.”

Kael looked at the lake.

“I came to prepare.”

The Serpent lowered its head slightly.

“You should.”

The Beast's voice became serious.

“Because unlike the Lion—”

Its massive body moved beneath the lake.

The water level rose.

“I will not let you learn safely.”

The entire lake trembled.

Kael immediately stepped backward.

The System flashed.

[Verdant Territory Authority increasing.]

[Environmental mana concentration rising.]

[Regeneration network activating.]

Kael activated his armor.

The Serpent didn't attack.

Instead—

it raised one enormous claw-like section of its body.

The scales shifted.

A faint green glow appeared.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

The Serpent fired.

Not a projectile.

A wave.

A gigantic wave of condensed life mana surged toward the shore.

Kael jumped.

The wave passed beneath him.

The ground behind him transformed.

Plants erupted instantly.

Roots twisted upward.

The battlefield changed in seconds.

Kael landed.

He looked around.

The entire shoreline had become a living jungle.

The Serpent's voice echoed.

“That was not an attack.”

Kael narrowed his eyes.

“What was it?”

“Preparation.”

The new vegetation moved.

Kael's expression became serious.

The Serpent had just transformed his battlefield.

Not to attack him—

but to make sure every future battle took place inside a territory it controlled.

Kael smiled faintly.

“That fits you.”

The Serpent's eyes narrowed.

“You understand already?”

Kael looked around.

“Your weakness isn't just the scales.”

He raised V-01X.

“It's the network beneath them.”

The Serpent became completely still.

Kael continued.

“The territory keeps you alive.”

No answer.

“The damaged scales are connected to the prison.”

Silence.

“And your regeneration depends on mana flowing through both.”

The Serpent's golden eyes narrowed further.

Kael smiled.

“So my real opponent isn't just you.”

The Serpent's mouth opened slightly.

“Then you have learned the first lesson.”

Kael waited.

“The Verdant Domain itself is my body.”

The forest moved.

Every tree bent.

Every vine tightened.

Every river shifted.

Kael's System displayed:

[Verdant Territory Authority: 100%]

[Environmental synchronization: Complete]

Kael's eyes sharpened.

The Shadow Lion had controlled darkness.

The Verdant Serpent controlled life.

This fight would be completely different.

The Serpent raised its head.

“Before you challenge me…”

Kael waited.

“…you must survive the forest.”

The entire valley moved.

Roots burst from the ground.

Vines whipped through the air.

Trees bent.

Poisonous mist spread.

Kael immediately drew the Origin Blade.

SLASH!

A vine was cut.

Another attacked.

He jumped.

A root erupted beneath him.

He used Metal Control to form a platform.

A massive branch crashed into it.

The platform shattered.

Kael landed.

The forest kept attacking.

He fired V-01X.

BANG!

A mana-disruption round struck a root.

The root froze.

Kael moved.

Another vine.

SLASH!

Another.

SLASH!

The attacks weren't individually powerful.

The problem was the number.

And the terrain.

Every time Kael destroyed one—

another grew.

He activated Network Sense.

The Verdant Domain wasn't as hidden as the Shadow Domain.

It was enormous.

Thousands of mana channels spread through the ground.

Kael found the nearest main channel.

He fired.

BANG!

The channel flickered.

Several vines stopped.

Kael smiled.

He had found the same weakness.

But then—

the Serpent changed it.

A different network opened.

Mana began flowing around the damaged section.

Kael's expression changed.

“It reroutes.”

Exactly.

The Serpent's defensive strength came from redundancy.

Destroy one pathway—

another replaced it.

Kael would need to understand the entire network.

The forest attacked again.

Kael blocked.

The poison increased.

The armor reacted.

He moved.

The roots adapted.

He changed direction.

The trees adapted.

The entire ecosystem was learning.

Kael realized something.

This wasn't a single opponent.

He was fighting an intelligent biological territory.

And the Serpent controlled all of it.

The System appeared.

[Verdant Territory combat analysis initiated.]

[Network complexity: Extremely High.]

[Estimated active mana channels: 14,821.]

[Primary network nodes: Unknown.]

[Regeneration source: Unknown.]

Kael stared.

Fourteen thousand.

He laughed quietly.

“That's ridiculous.”

The Serpent's voice echoed.

“And you thought defeating me would be simple?”

Kael raised the Origin Blade.

“No.”

He looked across the enormous forest.

“But I don't need to destroy fourteen thousand channels.”

His eyes sharpened.

“I only need to find the ones that matter.”

The Serpent smiled.

“Then find them.”

The forest attacked again.

Kael stepped forward.

The second Legendary Beast hunt had begun in earnest.

Kael spent hours fighting through the Verdant Domain.

Not against the Serpent itself.

Against the territory.

He identified channels.

Mapped them.

Tested them.

Some controlled poison distribution.

Some supplied water.

Some fed regeneration.

Some carried sensory information.

Some supported the prison.

Others were decoys.

Kael began recording everything.

Channel 14 — false.

Channel 21 — poison distribution.

Channel 37 — environmental growth.

Channel 63 — sensory.

Channel 81 — regeneration support.

He didn't destroy channels randomly.

He tested them.

A single disruption.

Observe.

Another disruption.

Observe.

He slowly built a model.

The Serpent's regeneration wasn't centralized.

It was distributed.

But there were clusters.

Three major hubs.

Kael marked them.

Then—

the Serpent moved.

The ground shook.

A massive section of the lake rose.

The Legendary Beast's head appeared above the forest.

Its golden eyes focused on Kael.

“Enough.”

The forest stopped.

Kael lowered his weapon.

The Serpent looked at his map.

“You have found them.”

Kael stared.

“Three regeneration hubs.”

The Serpent nodded.

“Correct.”

Kael frowned.

“You knew I would find them.”

“Yes.”

“Then why let me?”

The Serpent smiled.

“Because finding them is not the same as surviving long enough to destroy them.”

Kael's expression sharpened.

The Serpent's body began moving.

The lake rose behind it.

“Now you may try.”

Kael raised his V-01X.

This time—

he wasn't fighting a territory.

He was attacking the foundation of a Legendary Beast.

The Serpent opened its enormous jaws.

A green mist began gathering.

Kael immediately recognized the pressure.

Poison.

But this wasn't ordinary poison.

It was a condensed form of life mana.

The Vanguard Armor warned him.

[Extreme biological energy detected.]

[Verdant toxin concentration: Extreme.]

[Recommended: Maximum Verdant Configuration.]

Kael activated it.

The Blackwater scales on the armor expanded.

His filtration system increased output.

The Serpent inhaled.

Then—

released the mist.

Kael raised the Origin Blade.

The green fog swallowed the battlefield.

And the real battle was about to begin.