"Scan the data of the Horar Black Snake in front of me!"
Leilin issued the command once more.
"Ding! Target data: Strength: 18, Agility: 15, Constitution: 20, Spirit: 22. Abilities: 1. Scale Defense — the diamond-shaped scales on the Horar Black Snake's body are perpetually wreathed in a defensive field, rendering it immune to physical and magical attacks below fifth-degree potency, and significantly dampening attacks of fifth-degree power or above. 2. Shadow Sneak — inherited from the Komoyin Giant Snake's shadow powers, allowing the Horar Black Snake to enter stealth at will, suppressing all traces of its presence. 3. Lightning Fire — projects thunder-fire from its horn. Estimated attack potency: 12–15 degrees. Condition: Extremely weak!"
"These stats…"
Leilin's eyes went wide. "They've far exceeded the limits of a Third-rank Apprentice and are approaching a formal Wizard, haven't they?"
The Chip held no records on a formal Wizard's data, so Leilin could only make that guess.
"Ross, be careful! This is a Horar Black Snake! Its strength is tremendous—far beyond your imagination!"
"Hsss!!!!"
Before Leilin could finish his warning, the Horar Black Snake threw back its head and let out a piercing hiss.
The colossal serpent began to writhe, its tail sweeping through the cave so hard the entire chamber seemed to shake.
Snap! Snap! The milky-white tentacles kept snapping apart, and white pus oozed from the wounds.
A flash of distinctly human-like mockery gleamed in the snake's triangular eyes before reverting to a beast's pupils, and it lunged to bite Ross where he had fallen.
"Save him!!"
Xia Ya and Jiamen roared. Several green vine-whips and silver flying daggers shot straight at the Horar Black Snake.
Bang! The daggers and vine-whips struck the Horar Black Snake's scales, throwing off a few sparks.
The Horar Black Snake was utterly unfazed. It gaped its enormous jaws, scooped Ross off the ground, and swallowed him whole!!!
"Oh! No!!!"
A lump bulged out beneath the great serpent's throat, as though someone inside was fighting back.
But soon, once the lump slid down to the snake's belly, the struggling grew weaker and weaker until it finally ceased altogether.
The entire sequence had taken less than a few seconds—so fast that Leilin and the others had no time to intervene.
"A Horar Black Snake???"
Bosain, standing off to the side, was only just recovering from his shock. "That's the kind of terrifying creature that can fight a Third-rank Wizard once it reaches maturity! What's it doing here?"
"Fight a Third-rank Wizard?"
Jiamen and the others jumped. A Third-rank Wizard! That was the level of the Night Lighthouse's supreme leader—enough to suppress all three major academies like Black Bone Forest Academy on his own!
"If it were truly at the Third-rank Wizard level, we'd already be dead—nothing left but dust. Could this black snake still be immature?" Leilin's thoughts raced.
"No! That's not right. This is an adult Horar Black Snake, but because it's been sealed away for so long without food, it has degenerated from a Third-rank Wizard's level down to barely approaching a First-rank Wizard! On top of that, it was woken up by that mortal boy's noise…"
Based on the Chip's hints, Leilin pieced together the truth.
This Horar Black Snake had likely been the Crimson Grand Wizard's creation, left behind here without a second thought.
There was clearly no food in this secret realm, so the Horar Black Snake had been forced to hibernate continuously to minimize its energy consumption.
But after hundreds or even thousands of years, no matter how efficiently the great serpent conserved its energy, irreversible degeneration had occurred—transforming it from a creature capable of rivaling a Third-rank Wizard into something roughly comparable to a First-rank Wizard.
After swallowing Ross, a flicker of satisfaction passed through the Horar Black Snake's vertical pupils before it turned its gaze back to the four of them.
"It's still just a juvenile Horar Black Snake—not even up to a formal Wizard's level. We still have a chance!"
Leilin was worried that Bosain's earlier shout about a "Third-rank Wizard" might crush the others' morale, so he spoke up quickly to rally them.
Leilin had the Chip and could deduce the truth of the Horar Black Snake's degeneration, but that was something he had to keep to himself. There was no time to explain it to Jiamen and the rest, so he simply lied.
"A juvenile?" Bosain's eyes lit up. "You're right! This Horar Black Snake is far too weak—actually a bit below even an ordinary formal Wizard. It must be a juvenile!"
"But this is the kind of creature that can rival a Third-rank Wizard at full growth… If I could form a contract with it…"
Bosain muttered to himself, then a shimmer of light rippled across his armor. A stream of metallic liquid gathered in his right hand and solidified into a slender silver-white sword.
"Come, legendary terror of the dark night! Let me, Bosain, become your master!"
His eyes blazing with fervor, Bosain lunged forward.
Bang! The silver blade bit into the Horar Black Snake's scales, carving a deep gash. Several palm-sized scales flew off.
"If this were an adult Horar Black Snake, I wouldn't be able to break through its defensive field at all!" Bosain bellowed. "This one's mine! This Horar Black Snake is definitely mine!!!"
"Hsss!!!" The Horar Black Snake hissed in fury and lashed its tail.
Boom! Like a bolt of black lightning, the tail smashed into Bosain.
He was sent flying like a cannonball, slamming into the cave wall and leaving a deep crater.
Crash! Rocks and soil tumbled down, revealing Bosain in his gleaming white armor.