The battlefield around the high platform had been devastated beyond recognition. Buildings had collapsed into ruins, and the ruins had in turn been devoured by the giant serpent.
With the help of Bryant and his team, Nasha slew the smaller giant snakes surrounding Grace, rescuing her from the encirclement. Grace's left arm was covered in blood, and her face was terrifyingly pale.
Supporting each other, the two went to find Marcus. Marcus was half-buried in the dirt, a section of his breastplate caved in. Fortunately, he was still conscious and was pushing himself out of the crater with his shield. Nasha grabbed one in each hand and dragged them behind Bryant and his two companions.
Bryant and another warrior from his team held the front line, while a mage cowered in the middle casting earth walls to barely keep the encroaching snakefolk at bay. Seeing Marcus and the others return, Bryant shouted as he hacked at the snakefolk, “Can you still move?”
Marcus coughed up a mouthful of dirt and said, “I'm not dead yet.”
Grace cast a recovery spell on Marcus first, then stopped her own bleeding. The group turned their attention back to the giant serpent in the center of the city.
Coiled upon the high platform, the creature could devour an entire fleeing crowd of snakefolk and humans in a single bite. With every gulp, the faint green light shrouding its body grew a fraction brighter, and its aura surged accordingly.
“We have to stop it. We can't let it keep eating like this.” Marcus stood up and slammed his shield into the ground. A transparent shockwave rippled outward, sending several nearby snakefolk flying.
The group gathered into a tight circle. The warriors focused on blocking the snakefolk trying to draw near, while the mages provided long-range suppression against the giant serpent. Annoyed by the disturbance, the serpent finally lifted its head from its feeding.
However, this suppression did not last long. A warrior on Bryant's team slipped up, leaving a gap in the defensive line. The snakefolk surged in like a tide. As Marcus distracted himself to plug the gap, the giant serpent seized the opening. Its body coiled tightly, and its head slammed down toward them like a battering ram.
Nasha tackled Grace to the ground, and Bryant rolled aside with his own teammate. The snake head smashed into the spot where they had been standing just moments before, causing a large section of the ground to cave in.
Before the giant serpent could retract its head, a massive flaming arrow shot from the distance, striking it squarely in its left eye.
The serpent let out a screech that nearly tore their eardrums apart. Its entire upper body recoiled, and with a whip of its head, it spewed a foul breath toward the source of the arrow. The blackish-green liquid rained down on a row of houses, instantly dissolving gaping holes into them.
Lilith rolled out from behind the crumbling ruins of those houses. After tumbling several times on the ground, she scrambled to her feet and ran toward Marcus.
The moment she reached them, Grace smacked her on the back of her head.
“Why did you come back?! It's dangerous here!”
Lilith clutched her head, keeping her face lowered, not daring to look Grace in the eye. “I was just worried about you guys... Ah, watch out!”
A spear tore through the air, hurtling straight for the back of Grace's head. Marcus took a large stride forward, covering Grace and Lilith with his shield. The spear slammed into the shield's face, its shaft vibrating violently.
Holding up his shield, he looked back. “Since she's already here, stop lecturing her. These snakes aren't easy to deal with.”
Grace wanted to scold her further, but Nasha gave her a tug, prompting her to drop it. Lilith shrank her neck and stood obediently behind Grace.
The group quickly adjusted their formation. With Lilith adding her firepower, the outer ring of snakefolk began to fall in droves. Although they still couldn't inflict any real damage on the giant serpent, it was temporarily prevented from devouring more creatures. The light on its body gradually dimmed, and its aura weakened significantly. The two sides were locked in a stalemate, neither able to gain the upper hand.
Lilith seized a brief window to shout, “Erich said to give him ten minutes! He'll handle this serpent!”
Bryant cleaved a snakefolk in two with his sword, roaring without turning his head, “That Morningstar student? He's just a brat! What could he possibly do? It'd be much more practical for him to return to the surface and call for help!”
Perhaps angered by their relatively relaxed demeanor, the giant serpent's remaining eye swept coldly over them, its pupil glinting with a golden light.
Then, completely disregarding friend or foe, it began devouring the snakefolk who had rushed to support it. The snakefolk had no time to react before being swallowed into its belly. The light on the giant serpent flared violently, its aura becoming even more terrifying than its peak moments earlier.
“Oh no, it's going all out!” Grace shrieked in warning.
The giant serpent opened its mouth wide, and a blinding green light flared deep within its throat. The surrounding air grew hot and rancid, and a green beam of light suddenly erupted.
“Get behind me!”
Marcus roared. Everyone instantly shrank behind him as he slammed his massive shield into the ground, pouring his mana into it with everything he had. A giant illusory projection of the shield rose from its surface, completely sheltering the group.
The beam of light clashed with the illusory shield. Under the immense pressure, Marcus could barely keep himself upright.
The beam of light was green and carried a putrid, decaying stench. The stray light spilling past the sides of the shield projection corroded the stone pavement, leaving smoking black craters in the ground. Both of Marcus's arms shook violently, and the edges of the illusory shield began to peel away.
“Dad!” Lilith wanted to rush forward to support him.
“Stay back!”
Time seemed to stretch. The foul stench filled her nose, making Lilith feel as if she were about to throw up.
Just as Marcus was about to give out, the beam of light finally ceased. The giant serpent closed its mouth, black smoke still billowing from the seams of its jaws.
His strength spent, Marcus collapsed to his knees. His shield slumped to the side, its surface glowing red-hot. He panted heavily, his arms hanging limply at his sides.
But deep within the giant serpent's throat, a second green light was already flaring, even brighter than before.
“It's going to do it again...” Lilith's voice trembled.
The light from the moss on the cave ceiling suddenly dimmed. Lilith looked up instinctively. A thick layer of dark clouds had gathered at the dome, completely shrouding the glowing moss. The entirety of Corrosive Fang City plunged into a gloomy darkness, with only the green light from the giant serpent's throat casting a sickly green glow over everyone's faces.
A wind swept in from outside the city, carrying a damp scent.
It was about to rain.
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