Chapter 117: The Second Great Terror

The Serpent opened its maw wide before letting out a roar that echoed like thunder, reaching far and wide.

A few moments later, two figures darted into its cavernous chamber, bowing to it respectfully.

“Master, why have you called for us?”

“Is there trouble?”

The two figures were identical to one another, and they were both the Serpent’s subordinates.

“Trouble? Indeed, there’s trouble.”

A mixture of emotions flashed in the Serpent’s expressive eyes as it continued speaking in a voice tinged with disgust and hatred.

“There’s a fool looking to kill us. He should be on his way to our realm as we speak. Go out and test him. Use your ability to fly to your advantage and gauge how strong he is. If he’s too strong, retreat and report to me. I will decide what to do then.”

“What if he isn’t strong? What if we can handle him?”

“In that case, knock him out and bring him to me. I have some questions for him. Do not kill him. No matter what. Got it?”

At its words, the two subordinates nodded.

Getting out of the labyrinth, they took to the sky with a powerful flap of their wings.

Whoosh!

Their figures cut through great distances every second as they surveyed the terrain below from high in the sky.

Soon, a suspicious sight crossed their eyes.

“A human so deep in the Misty Swamp Region? What a rare sight.”

“He’s heading to where we came from. He should be the one our master wants to test.”

“He doesn’t look tough, and he doesn’t seem to be wearing a full-body armour like the annoying knights of the Three Kingdoms.”

“You want to say he’s easy prey, right?”

“You know me best. Let’s get this over with quickly. What do you say?”

“Fine by me.”

They charged toward the seemingly defenseless human crossing the outer region of the Misty Swamp Region at a pace that was neither startling nor conspicuous. This person was none other than Ray.

After looting the Mad Chieftain’s corpse to study it later by using the Devour skill, he had returned to the swamp’s outer region.

His next target was located in a labyrinth at the heart of it.

According to the intel he was provided by the spokesperson of the Tower, the labyrinth stretched a few thousand feets deep underground, and the Flying Serpent resided at its deepest depths. The Flying Serpent was one of the remaining two Great Terrors of the Misty Swamp Region and a target of Ray’s.

As he moved toward the destination he had in mind, Ray’s eyes narrowed in thought. “If the normal route is to be taken I would encounter a lot of trouble before reaching it, as the labyrinth is said to be full of monsters. But if I can determine its exact position, I can just tunnel my way straight to its chamber, skip fighting its underlings, and attack it directly.”

His ignorance of the labyrinth’s structure was troublesome, but if he could somehow familiarize himself with the layout and formation of the labyrinth’s structure, he would be able to greatly shorten the time needed to deal with the Flying Serpent, which would, in turn, directly affect his final result in this trial, and if he could end this trial while remaining first on the scoreboard, his prowess would undergo a tremendous improvement, and he might end up becoming the strongest under the Silver Rank.

“I am being targeted? By who?”

Just then, Ray sensed movement coming from above him.

When he looked up, his face stiffened.

Through the thick, rolling mist that blanketed the swamp, he could vaguely make out the silhouettes of two enormous dragon-like figure. His heart thummed in his chest at the sight.

“No, they can’t be dragon. Veloria rejects the existence of beings above the silver rank, and even the weakest dragon is said to be stronger than that. They have to be some other creatures.”

Believing that only their silhouette resembled that of the dragon and not their actual forms or powers, Ray calmed himself down, staring more intently at the dragon-like silhouette visible through the mist.

At first, they looked like distant stars drifting aimlessly, but within seconds, their outlines grew larger, sharper, and more defined.

His senses screamed danger. The two figures weren’t drifting aimlessly. They were diving down the air with intent.

“They are coming for me.”

His brows drew together in a deep frown as he realized both were plummeting from the sky, flying directly toward him at breakneck speed!

The creatures flapped their vast wings, creating a powerful gust that dispersed the surrounding mist in an instant, revealing their true forms.

They were massive, winged lizards.

Each one was nearly two meters long.

Their membranous, bat-like wings when fully stretched had a wingspan of over 13 feet. Their entire bodies were encased in pitch-black scales. And their heads, each about the size of a pumpkin, were unnervingly bulky, wrapped in a thick layer of fat that rippled slightly with every movement.

Six long horns jutted forward from their skulls, giving them a vicious and predatory look. Beneath those horns, two rows of translucent crimson eyes gleamed menacingly, casting a ghostly light across their grotesque faces. Their claws were long and hooked, curved like reaper’s scythes, sharp enough to tear through steel.

“Demonized Flying Lizards?” Ray’s voice carried a note of surprise as his eyes narrowed. “How could they be here? They are Bronze Rank demonic beasts… but Veloria is supposed to be infested only by Bloodsuckers.”

Thoughts raced through his mind like lightning.

A moment later, realization struck him.

’”They might be pets raised by the Bloodsuckers.”

Bloodsuckers were fiends. And fiends, much like humans, could tame demonic beasts, monsters, and even spirits. It wasn’t uncommon to see them in command of demonic creatures like tamers.

“Yes, that must be it.”

A few more questions arose.

Why were they sent here? And why were they coming for him?

“Maybe the BloodSuckers have already learned of my arrival and sent their pets to take me out.”

The two Demonized Flying Lizards were of the same rank as the Three Great Terrors, though not nearly as strong or independent. Still, they were bona fide Peak Bronze Rank demonic beasts.

The pair combined was far more dangerous than the entire group of Targodyle brutes Ray had slaughtered before facing the Mad Chieftain.

Why were they that strong?

Their bodies were protected by overlapping layers of hardened scales, and it was like a natural armor that could nullify or weaken most forms of attack, resistant even to several elemental attacks to a certain degree.

Their incredible defensive capability was precisely why the Flying Serpent had chosen to send them out to scout Ray and test his strength so that it gather more information about him before acting.

What it didn’t know, however, was that its decision was about to come back to bite it in the rear hard.

Grahhhhhh!!!

The two Demonized Flying Lizards let out ear-splitting hissing screams as they dove toward Ray, their sharp claws fully extended, inching closer and closer to hooking into his flesh.

“Attacks of such calibre are too slow to land.”

Ray’s figure blurred. In an instant, he slipped away from their line of attack. Their claws sliced only through the afterimage he left behind as he moved away to safety.

“Fast bastard!” one of them screeched.

“He dodged again!” the other snarled as its claws missed him again.

Ray smirked. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

They lost their minds at that, screeching and opening their maws wide, revealing pulsing crimson sacs glowing deep within their throats.

In the moments that followed, a low hum built into a deafening roar before torrents of flames burst out of each of their mouths, seeking to melt Ray where he stood.

If the Flying Serpent were here, it would have knocked some sense into them.

After all, it had explicitly ordered them not to kill Ray no matter what, as there were questions it wanted the answers to that only he could answer, but in their easily provoked rage, they had overlooked the orders of the very being they now served after their former master gifted them to it.

Ray’s expression didn’t change as he watched the torrents draw near.

There was no fear, no hesitation, just the confidence of a man who knew he was in no sort of danger despite staring straight into the maw of death.

“You aren’t the only ones who can do this!” Ray exclaimed in his heart, “Max Power: Fire Dragon Breath!”

Fwooom!

Fire erupted from his mouth, clashing head-on with the flames of the Demonized Flying Lizards.

The two attacks cancelled each other out.

When the flames finally dissipated, both Demonized Flying Lizards stared at Ray in disbelief.

“His fire… it’s as strong as ours!”

“Impossible! No human should have flames like that!”

“We are dealing with an anomaly!”

They were quick to recover from their shock as they plotted their next moves.

“Since fire can’t work against him, let’s use our signature move to deal with him!”

“You spoke my mind!”

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