Chapter 564: A Challenge from the Iceflame Black Serpent Men
When the two ships finally came alongside one another, the Town Lord immediately crossed over to Marcus’s vessel, and the moment his eyes landed on the Golden Wolf badge pinned to Marcus’s chest, he clasped his hands respectfully and bowed.
’So even a town lord ranks below a Golden Wolf Guardian...’ Marcus returned the greeting with a polite nod. "There’s no need to stand on ceremony, Town Lord. My companions and I may have to trouble your town’s hospitality for a few days."
Seeing the Town Lord’s respectful attitude and the villagers’ curious, admiring gazes, Marcus couldn’t help feeling a little pleased. Holding an official title certainly had its advantages.
Unfortunately, he had no idea that the title also came with responsibilities. Just as he was quietly enjoying the attention, Town Lord Hayes suddenly dropped to both knees with a heavy thud. "Guardian!" His voice trembled with desperation. "Please save Dragon’s Roar Town! Save the soldiers captured by the Iceflame Black Serpent Men! Protect the great Twin Wing Temple!"
Marcus was speechless. Only moments ago, he’d been feeling rather smug about his prestigious rank, and now he understood exactly why it carried so much prestige: with status came obligations.
"Please, Town Lord, stand up." Marcus quickly stepped forward and helped the middle-aged man to his feet. "Tell me everything that’s happened."
His pulse quickened; this was almost certainly a quest. More importantly, from the Town Lord’s plea, it seemed unrelated to the Storm Seal, and that was a relief; Marcus wasn’t ready to reveal the route through the barrier to anyone just yet.
"Guardian..." Taking a deep breath, Town Lord Hayes began recounting the island’s history.
Roughly thirty miles west of Twin Wing Isle lay Black Serpent Islet, and at its center was an icy cavern perpetually cloaked in black mist, home to countless Black Ice Serpents.
More than a thousand years ago, the king of those serpents discovered and consumed a millennium-old Blackflame Ice Flower hidden deep within the cave.
The flower transformed it completely, evolving it into a Level 70 Golden-tier Iceflame Black Serpent Man and awakening human intelligence, along with the ability to speak and think like a person. Having spent its entire life inside the cave, however, the newly evolved creature knew nothing of the outside world, and drunk on its newfound strength, it believed itself invincible.
The Iceflame Black Serpent Man left the cave and began rampaging across the surrounding islands before eventually reaching Dragon’s Roar Town, where it slaughtered countless people.
The naval garrison stationed on the island immediately launched a campaign to eliminate it. Unfortunately, Black Serpent Cave was a sprawling labyrinth filled with countless twisting tunnels and thick black mist, and even after searching for an entire day, they failed to locate the monster.
In the end, five Arch-Sorcerers joined forces to cast a powerful sealing spell, imprisoning the Iceflame Black Serpent Man deep inside the cave once more.
For over a thousand years, the seal held, but two days ago, without warning, the Iceflame Black Serpent Man broke free. Leading a vast horde of Black Ice Serpents, it emerged from the sea and launched another assault on Dragon’s Roar Town. There was little doubt that its strength had increased dramatically over the centuries, enough to finally shatter the ancient seal, and the situation was made even worse by another cruel twist of fate.
During the great war a thousand years ago, every elite fighter and naval force stationed on Twin Wing Isle had perished in the East Sea Counteroffensive, swallowed by a catastrophic storm. After the Storm Seal descended, Dragon’s Roar Town was cut off from the outside world, and only ordinary civilians remained.
The town had lost not only its strongest warriors but also nearly all of its martial arts inheritances; with no masters left to pass on advanced techniques, only a handful of basic combat skills survived from the old military garrison. Generation after generation, despite training every able-bodied citizen they could, the strongest warrior the town produced rarely advanced beyond Level 60.
Even so, they had managed to survive, until two days ago, when against the Iceflame Black Serpent Man, the town’s defenders, whose average level was only around 40, were hopelessly outmatched. They fought with everything they had to protect their homes, and within ten minutes, more than twenty soldiers had been slaughtered. The remaining eighty-three weren’t killed; instead, Black Ice Serpents wrapped around them, bound them alive, and dragged them back to Black Serpent Islet.
Before leaving, the Iceflame Black Serpent Man laughed arrogantly and delivered an ultimatum. If Dragon’s Roar Town handed over the Glacial Ice Sword, the Divine Artifact sealing the Blazing Three-Headed Beast, it would overlook their past resistance, spare the captives, and leave the island in peace. If they refused, however, it would execute every prisoner, destroy Dragon’s Roar Town, and reduce the great Twin Wing Temple to ruins. The deadline was noon tomorrow.
Marcus frowned. ’Hand over the Glacial Ice Sword?’ That demand was absurd.
The sword had remained untouched for over a thousand years. After it sealed the Blazing Three-Headed Beast, experts from the Demon Clan, the Ghost Race, and the Arcane Beast Race had all attempted to claim it so they could control the Divine Beast for themselves. There were even legends that Glacia, the Frost-Veiled Maiden, one of the Four Demon Sovereigns, had coveted the weapon because its ice affinity perfectly matched her own. Yet every one of them had failed; not a single person had broken the seal or claimed the Divine Artifact.
If even those legendary figures couldn’t obtain it, how could Dragon’s Roar Town possibly hand it over? Before Marcus’s arrival, the townspeople had already resigned themselves to despair, and Town Lord Hayes’s eyes reddened as he lowered his head once more. "Guardian... I beg you. Please save us."
’Definitely a quest.’ Marcus silently assessed the situation before asking the most important question. "Town Lord, how strong is this Iceflame Black Serpent Man now?"
Town Lord Hayes hesitated briefly before answering honestly. "According to our records, it was originally only a low-tier Level 70 Golden boss. But after more than a thousand years..." He let out a slow breath. "Its strength has grown considerably. Based on what we witnessed two days ago, we estimate it has reached at least a Level 80 Silver boss."
’Level 80 Silver...’ Marcus’s expression became serious. Judging purely by stats, this wouldn’t be an easy fight. He had already proven he could defeat Level 70 Golden bosses, but a Level 80 Silver boss was an entirely different matter; the increase wasn’t just ten levels, but a major leap in overall strength. According to common knowledge, a Level 80 Silver boss was powerful enough to overwhelm two Level 70 Golden bosses. This battle would be dangerous, very dangerous.
After several seconds of thought, Marcus simply smiled. "All right. I’ll take care of it." As long as there was a chance to win, he wouldn’t back down. Life had never rewarded those who hesitated at every challenge.
Little by little, he could feel himself recovering from the grief that had once consumed him, and the confidence, determination, and fighting spirit he had nearly lost were steadily returning.
Besides, the girls had been looking forward to enjoying Dragon’s Roar Isle ever since they first spotted its beautiful beaches. He wanted them to laugh, relax, and enjoy themselves without worrying about danger lurking nearby. A man shouldn’t let himself be controlled by the women he cared about, but protecting the people precious to him—that was a responsibility he accepted willingly.
And if the enemy truly was a Level 80 Silver boss, then Marcus would simply kill it.