Chapter 98 — The Verdant Serpent's Domain

The green mist spread across the valley.

Kael immediately activated the Vanguard Armor's Verdant Configuration.

The armor reacted.

The Blackwater scales along his shoulders and chest shifted.

The internal filtration system accelerated.

The Void Crystal stabilizers brightened.

A faint barrier formed around his body.

The System appeared.

[Extreme biological energy detected.]

[Verdant toxin concentration: Extreme.]

[Vanguard Verdant Configuration: Active.]

[Current toxin resistance: 74%.]

[Warning: Resistance insufficient for prolonged exposure.]

Kael frowned.

Seventy-four percent.

Not enough.

The mist wasn't ordinary poison.

His body wasn't simply being poisoned.

His mana circulation was being disrupted.

Every breath made his muscles slightly heavier.

His perception slowed.

His Metal Control became less responsive.

The Verdant Serpent had designed the battlefield perfectly.

Kael raised the V-01X.

Configuration II.

Mana Disruption.

He fired into the mist.

BANG!

The round created a small clearing.

The green haze broke apart.

Kael moved through it immediately.

Another wave of mist came.

He fired again.

BANG!

A second clearing.

He moved.

Then—

the ground beneath him erupted.

Roots shot upward.

Kael jumped.

Another root attacked from the side.

He blocked with the Origin Blade.

CLANG!

A third came from behind.

He twisted.

A vine struck his armor.

The armor absorbed it.

Then the vine split into dozens of thinner tendrils.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“The environment is adapting.”

The forest had already begun changing its attack patterns.

Kael moved toward the first regeneration hub.

The Serpent had told him it existed.

That was dangerous.

A Legendary Beast wouldn't reveal a weakness without a reason.

Perhaps the hub itself was a trap.

Kael activated Network Sense.

The enormous biological network became visible.

Fourteen thousand channels.

Three major hubs.

The nearest one lay approximately six hundred meters ahead.

Kael started moving.

The forest became denser.

Massive roots crossed the ground.

Water flowed between the trees.

Every few meters, green crystals emerged from the soil.

Kael recognized them.

Verdant Mana Crystals.

They were feeding the territory.

He destroyed one.

BANG!

A crystal shattered.

Immediately—

three replacement crystals appeared from nearby roots.

Kael frowned.

“Regenerative environment.”

He didn't waste time destroying them.

He moved deeper.

Another attack.

A huge vine struck.

Kael sliced it.

SLASH!

The vine recoiled.

Then another.

Kael stepped aside.

A third.

He blocked.

Suddenly—

the entire ground rose.

Kael was thrown upward.

The forest beneath him transformed into a gigantic set of roots.

He looked down.

The roots were forming a cage.

Kael reacted immediately.

Metal Control activated.

Fragments of metal rose around him.

They cut through the first layer.

The roots regenerated.

Second.

Third.

More appeared.

Kael switched to V-01X.

Configuration IV.

Suppression.

WHUM!

A wide mana pulse pushed the roots away.

Kael landed.

Then—

a roar came from above.

The Verdant Serpent's head appeared between the trees.

It hadn't moved its entire body.

It simply extended its neck across the forest.

Its golden eyes looked down at Kael.

“You are approaching the first heart.”

Kael looked up.

“First heart?”

The Serpent's tongue moved slightly.

“The word you use is hub.”

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“So there are three hearts.”

“Three major hearts.”

“Destroying them weakens you?”

The Serpent smiled.

“Yes.”

Kael frowned.

“But you aren't stopping me.”

“Should I?”

The Serpent lowered its head.

“You wanted to fight a Legendary Beast.”

Its eyes narrowed.

“Then understand what it means to fight one.”

The Serpent withdrew.

Kael looked ahead.

The first hub was close.

The attack resumed.

Kael entered a region where the trees were enormous.

Their trunks formed natural walls.

The branches twisted together above him.

There was almost no open sky.

Network Sense became difficult.

The biological network was too dense.

Kael slowed.

He didn't want to waste mana.

He touched one of the trees.

The tree reacted.

A pulse of Verdant mana traveled outward.

Kael withdrew his hand.

“The entire forest knows where I am.”

He activated his Shadow Configuration briefly.

Nothing.

Not useful.

He switched to Administrator Authority.

A faint response appeared.

Not enough to control the territory.

But enough to identify differences between natural and artificial channels.

Kael smiled.

“Interesting.”

The regeneration network wasn't completely natural.

Several channels were reinforced with ancient structures.

The three regeneration hubs were likely artificial stabilizers.

That meant they could be manipulated.

Kael moved carefully.

He soon found the first.

A massive green crystal formation stood beneath the roots.

It was almost twenty meters tall.

Three enormous roots wrapped around it.

The System identified it.

[Verdant Regeneration Hub — Primary]

[Grade: Legendary Structure]

[Function: Territory-wide regeneration distribution]

[Defensive state: Active]

[External support: Verdant Serpent]

[Warning: Direct destruction may trigger territorial backlash.]

Kael smiled.

“Of course.”

The hub was not simply a target.

It was connected to the entire territory.

Destroying it carelessly could cause the whole forest to collapse.

Or—

worse.

It could transfer the stored energy directly into the Serpent.

Kael stepped closer.

The roots moved.

He jumped back.

The first attack came.

BOOM!

A massive root struck the ground.

Kael dodged.

Another.

Another.

The hub was defending itself.

Not through the Serpent.

Through the territory.

Kael raised V-01X.

Configuration II.

Mana Disruption.

BANG!

The round struck one of the roots.

Its regeneration slowed.

Kael immediately noticed.

He fired again.

BANG!

Another root.

The third moved.

Kael changed target.

BANG!

The hub flickered.

The System responded.

[Regeneration Hub stability: 100% → 94%.]

Kael smiled.

“It can be disrupted.”

The roots attacked simultaneously.

Kael retreated.

He moved around the hub.

Every time he found an exposed channel—

he disrupted it.

The structure's stability gradually dropped.

94%.

90%.

87%.

The forest became more aggressive.

The Serpent was reacting.

Roots became thicker.

Poison mist intensified.

Water began flowing through the area.

Kael's mana started dropping faster.

He activated a Darven Reclaim Round.

The projectile struck a root.

He retrieved the energy after impact.

His reserves stabilized slightly.

Good.

But the regeneration hub remained extremely durable.

Kael needed another way.

He studied the roots.

Three primary roots.

All connected to the hub.

Perhaps—

he didn't need to destroy the crystal.

He needed to sever the distribution.

Kael activated Metal Control.

Thin metal wires spread through the ground.

He connected them to the three primary roots.

Then—

he used the V-01X.

Configuration II.

BANG!

The disruption propagated through the metal network.

The first root stopped.

Second.

The third resisted.

Kael increased the output.

WHUM!

The third root cracked.

The hub flickered.

[Regeneration Hub stability: 87% → 61%.]

Kael's eyes widened.

“That worked.”

Then—

the entire forest went still.

Kael froze.

No roots.

No wind.

No water.

Nothing.

A massive shadow passed overhead.

The Verdant Serpent had arrived.

Its head emerged from behind the trees.

Its golden eyes stared at the hub.

Then at Kael.

“You learn.”

Kael didn't answer.

The Serpent's body moved.

The ground trembled.

“But you are still too slow.”

The Verdant Serpent's head lunged.

Kael reacted immediately.

He activated Metal Control.

A wall formed.

BOOM!

The Serpent's head smashed through it.

Kael jumped.

Its jaws snapped shut beneath him.

Kael fired.

BANG!

A Penetration Round struck one of the damaged scale clusters.

The scale cracked.

The Serpent recoiled.

Kael smiled.

“That works.”

He fired again.

BANG!

Same region.

The damage deepened.

Then—

green light flooded the area.

The wound began closing.

Kael's eyes narrowed.

“Fast regeneration.”

The Serpent's body coiled.

Its tail struck.

Kael created a metal platform.

The tail destroyed it.

Kael fell.

The Serpent opened its jaws.

Green energy gathered.

Kael immediately switched armor settings.

Verdant Configuration.

Then—

he jumped sideways.

A concentrated stream of toxic energy passed beneath him.

The forest behind him transformed.

Plants erupted.

Trees grew instantly.

Kael stared.

“It can weaponize life energy itself.”

The Serpent attacked again.

Kael blocked.

The force drove him backward.

The Serpent was far stronger than he was.

Much stronger.

Kael fired.

Mana Disruption.

BANG!

The Serpent's movement slowed.

Kael rushed.

Origin Blade.

SLASH!

He targeted the damaged scale.

The blade struck.

The Serpent recoiled.

Kael attacked again.

SLASH!

Another.

Then—

the Serpent's tail swept around.

Kael jumped.

The tail passed beneath him.

The Serpent opened its mouth.

A second attack gathered.

Kael fired.

BANG!

Mana Disruption.

The attack destabilized.

It exploded early.

The shockwave threw both of them backward.

Kael landed.

The Serpent recovered almost immediately.

Kael realized something.

The creature was not relying entirely on regeneration.

Its defensive instincts were extraordinary.

It was protecting the weak scale clusters before he could exploit them.

He needed to force it to defend multiple areas simultaneously.

Kael smiled.

“I need more targets.”

Kael ran.

The Serpent followed.

He deliberately attacked several ordinary scales.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

The Serpent regenerated them.

Kael continued.

The Beast began predicting him.

Then—

Kael suddenly switched.

He attacked one of the sealing-damaged clusters.

SLASH!

The Serpent recoiled.

Kael immediately retreated.

Then attacked another damaged cluster.

BANG!

Penetration Round.

The Serpent's regeneration focused on that location.

Kael attacked a third.

SLASH!

The Serpent's defensive pattern changed.

Kael smiled.

He had created too many threats.

The Serpent could regenerate everywhere—

but not all points equally.

Its attention was being divided.

Kael used the opening.

He ran toward the regeneration hub.

The Serpent followed.

Kael fired.

BANG!

The hub flickered.

The Serpent roared.

The ground beneath Kael opened.

A gigantic root struck upward.

Kael jumped.

Another.

He dodged.

The third—

hit his side.

BOOM!

Kael was thrown across the battlefield.

The System flashed.

[Vanguard Armor Integrity: 67%.]

[Verdant toxin resistance: 61%.]

Kael stood.

His breathing was heavy.

The Serpent approached.

Kael looked at the ring.

Legendary Immortality.

He had already used it.

The timer remained.

[Legendary Immortality Remaining: 57:21:44]

Kael smiled.

He could afford to learn.

He let the Serpent attack.

The Beast charged.

Kael attempted to defend.

The force overwhelmed him.

The tail struck.

The body slammed into him.

The ground disappeared beneath him.

Kael tried to move.

He couldn't.

The Serpent's jaws closed around his position.

Darkness.

Five seconds.

Kael reformed.

[Reformation successful.]

[Reformation Location: Verdant Regeneration Hub.]

[Warning: Host returned inside active enemy territory.]

Kael immediately rolled.

A root struck where he had reformed.

He barely escaped.

The Serpent's eyes widened.

It had not expected the return.

Kael smiled.

Now he understood another advantage.

His death location had been inside the hub's territory.

That meant every reformation brought him back to the same strategic zone.

Dangerous—

but useful.

He activated V-01X.

Mana Disruption.

BANG!

The hub flickered.

He died again.

Five seconds.

Returned.

Attacked immediately.

Disrupted.

Returned.

This time—

he deliberately died beside one of the main roots.

Reformation.

Five seconds.

He appeared beside it.

Metal Control.

He severed it.

The network collapsed slightly.

[Regeneration Hub stability: 61% → 48%.]

Kael smiled.

“That's the trick.”

Legendary Immortality wasn't simply giving him extra lives.

It was allowing him to preserve battlefield progress through repeated attempts.

He could use death as a repositioning tool.

The Serpent attacked.

Kael died.

Returned.

Severed another root.

Died.

Returned.

Disrupted another channel.

Died.

Returned.

Each life accomplished one objective.

The Verdant Serpent began realizing what was happening.

Its golden eyes narrowed.

“You are using your deaths.”

Kael smiled.

“Yes.”

The Serpent's expression became serious.

“Then I will stop allowing you to choose where you die.”

The entire forest changed.

Every root began moving.

The terrain shifted.

The hub moved deeper underground.

Kael's eyes widened.

The Serpent had adapted.

It had understood the mechanic.

And now—

it was changing the battlefield after every death.

Kael looked at the timer.

[Legendary Immortality Remaining: 55:48:12]

The Verdant Serpent raised its head.

The forest became a living maze.

“Come, Kael Darven.”

Its voice echoed through the valley.

“Let's see how many times you can die before I learn every place you can return.”

Kael tightened his grip on the Origin Blade.

A smile appeared.

“Then I'll just have to learn faster.”

The forest closed around him.

The battle had entered its true phase.