"The eyes are where the Manxter Giant Serpent's life force resides — it looks like this one's really dying!"
Meierfeile watched the giant serpent's life force gradually fade and said with a hint of sadness.
"Cheer up, old friend!" Leilin found himself unable to offer any words of comfort in response to Meierfeile's somber mood.
After all, the casualties this time had been devastating. Nearly thirty people had set out; the Black Iron Guard had been completely wiped out, and among the Wizard Apprentices familiar with Meierfeile, only he himself had survived.
Moreover, the City Lord — Great Knight Viscount Jackson — was now gravely injured, his condition unknown.
The root of everything was this Manxter Giant Serpent!!!
"City Lord? Right! Leilin, go check on Jackson quickly!" Meierfeile slapped his forehead.
"You're only thinking of that now?" Leilin said with some exasperation. He gave the serpent's massive body a wide berth and made his way to the other side.
Viscount Jackson was lying on his back on the ground, his chest caved in, traces of blood at the corner of his mouth, his entire body unconscious.
Leilin quickly examined him. "Three broken ribs, fractured arms and legs, but otherwise it's not too bad. With a Great Knight's constitution, he should wake up in a few hours!"
"Good! That's the only piece of good news I've heard today!"
Meierfeile walked over to the lifeless serpent. "This seems to be a juvenile Manxter. If it had been a fully grown Withered Serpent, the moment we entered this cavern, our bodies would have been drained of all moisture and we'd be dead!"
The Manxter Giant Serpent's head lay slumped on the ground, one of its eyeballs pierced through by the triangular spike, oozing clear vitreous fluid.
"Even so, the materials from this serpent are worth at least several thousand Magic Stones!"
Meierfeile stroked the serpent's enormous, earth-yellow scales, murmuring to himself.
Suddenly! The Manxter's other eye snapped open! A gaze full of hatred shot directly at Meierfeile. The serpent's maw gaped wide, its sharp fangs poised to tear Meierfeile in two.
This giant serpent was not yet fully dead!!!
It had been playing dead the entire time, and now it finally bared its fangs, ready to kill these detestable humans once and for all.
Facing this sudden attack, Meierfeile stood as if frozen, utterly motionless.
"Watch out!"
Just as the snow-white fangs were about to sink into Meierfeile, a silver chain suddenly flew in, coiling around Meierfeile's waist and yanking him clear of the attack.
A black arrow plunged straight into the serpent's other eye. The Manxter writhed its massive body violently before finally going still.
Hah… Hah… Hah…
Meierfeile panted heavily. "Lei… Leilin, thank you! I owe you my life!"
"No need. You've helped me plenty before, haven't you?" Leilin smiled and kept his eyes fixed on the giant serpent, only letting out a long, deep breath of relief after the Chip chimed with the notification: "Target has completely lost all life signs!"
Under the Chip's scan, the serpent had indeed lost its energy fluctuations, but it still showed a thermal reaction.
Of course, for many creatures, it takes some time after death for heat to fully dissipate.
But this had put Leilin on his guard. He had deliberately — or perhaps instinctively — guided Meierfeile forward, and in doing so uncovered the truth behind the serpent's feigned death!
"What a shame. If this Manxter had actually been dead before, a single eye alone would be worth over a thousand Magic Stones. Now the value of the entire carcass has dropped considerably…"
Leilin sighed helplessly and turned his gaze to Meierfeile.
"I'm honestly surprised you couldn't dodge that attack just now!"
A flush of unhealthy red crept across Meierfeile's cheeks. "After using the Rune Chains, my Spiritual Power and mana enter a period of dormancy. During that window, I'm nothing more than an ordinary old mortal…"
Having just had his life saved by Leilin, Meierfeile now trusted him completely, sharing even this kind of secret without reservation.
"All right! Let's hurry and collect the materials from this Manxter, then head back to Polar Night City!"
Leilin surveyed the chaotic surroundings. As for the corpses scattered on the ground, the three of them had no way to carry them now — they would have to send people back from Polar Night City to collect the bodies.
The Manxter Giant Serpent was thoroughly dead, and this area should pose no further danger.
"Hehe… Leilin, you did the most this time. You should take the best materials!" Meierfeile said with a faint smile.
As for the Manxter Giant Serpent, Leilin had no intention of killing Meierfeile to claim everything for himself.
Meierfeile's previous help was one reason; on the other hand, with only the two of them — the only Wizards present — Leilin was certain to secure the lion's share of the resources without needing to risk murder.
The most valuable materials from the entire serpent were its eyes. The rest of the materials were only worth around one to two thousand Magic Stones combined — nowhere near enough to tempt Leilin.
If this had been some rare treasure worth tens of thousands of Magic Stones, then perhaps Leilin might have entertained darker thoughts.
"Nice scales. Combined with the serpent skin, they should be enough to craft quite a few soft armors!" Leilin stepped forward, drew his Cross Sword, and began dismantling the Manxter Giant Serpent while Meierfeile helped at his side.