Chapter 567: Into the Black Serpent Cave
Blackie’s incredible speed carried Marcus across several large islands. More than two hours later, an unusually shaped island finally appeared beneath them.
Black Serpent Islet.
From the air, the island looked surprisingly small, covering barely a thousand square meters. Jagged black rocks protruded from every direction, giving it a bleak, lifeless appearance. There wasn’t a single tree, blade of grass, or wandering monster anywhere in sight. Aside from the endless black stone, the island seemed completely barren.
"Take us down."
Blackie descended toward the island’s eastern side. As they approached the ground, a massive boulder came into view. Hidden behind it was the entrance to a cave, its mouth constantly releasing thick streams of swirling black mist.
This was the Black Serpent Cave. The lair of the Iceflame Black Serpent Man.
According to both Silas’s map and the Town Lord’s account, the cave contained a unique mineral vein that constantly absorbed frigid and dark energy from the surrounding sea. Over more than twenty thousand years, the entire cavern had gradually transformed into an icy blue world of crystal-like glaciers. At some point, a powerful Demon Clan expert had claimed the cave as a cultivation ground, further altering its environment.
Under that demon’s influence, the cave eventually became a sprawling maze filled with countless twisting tunnels, all concealed beneath dense black mist. During the Divine War ten thousand years ago, the Demon Clan expert mysteriously disappeared.
Roughly two thousand years later, a colony of Level 60 Black Ice Serpents appeared within the mist-filled labyrinth. From then on, the cavern became known as the Black Serpent Cave, and the island itself earned the name Black Serpent Islet.
The sealing array at the entrance now lay in ruins.
Fragments of shattered magic crystals were scattered across the ground, making it obvious that the Iceflame Black Serpent Man had broken through the thousand-year-old seal from the inside.
Back then, five Arch-Sorcerers had pursued the creature deep into the cave, determined to eliminate it once and for all. Unfortunately, the dense black mist and endless maze of tunnels had kept them wandering for an entire day without ever locating their target. In the end, they had no choice but to seal the cave instead, hoping to trap it forever.
Instead, they had merely given it time to escape.
Marcus couldn’t help shaking his head. When dealing with an enemy like this, you either finished the job completely... or accepted that it might come back to haunt you one day.
Of course, he wasn’t really blaming the Arch-Sorcerers. Under those conditions, finding a single monster inside this maze would have been nearly impossible.
But today, Marcus intended to finish what they had started. A faint smile spread across his face, for his confidence wasn’t baseless.
During his exploration of the Illusion Mist Palace on Crescent Island, he had obtained three Illusion Mist Stones, and collecting all three had activated a hidden effect that allowed him to see through any ordinary mist or fog. The black mist blanketing the cave posed no obstacle whatsoever.
With a single glance, everything hidden within became perfectly clear. Behind the veil of darkness, the cave walls shimmered like translucent blue ice, every passage visible as though the mist didn’t exist.
"Let’s go."
Blackie carried him straight into the Black Serpent Cave.
Not only could Marcus ignore the black mist entirely, but the Seven-Colored Divine Eagle’s Eagle Vision allowed him to see through the translucent ice walls themselves, revealing tunnels and intersections as far as a hundred meters ahead.
The maze that had trapped five Arch-Sorcerers was nothing more than a straight road to him. No wonder he was so confident. Now all he had to do was kill everything standing in his way.
Not long after entering the cave, several strange snake-like monsters came into view.
Their bodies were pitch black yet strangely transparent, resembling polished crystal, each segment separated by bamboo-like joints, and they remained perfectly still as they clung to the icy blue cave walls. These were the Black Ice Serpents described in both Silas’s map and the Town Lord’s briefing.
Their natural camouflage was remarkably effective; against the icy blue walls, their transparent bodies blended almost perfectly with the surrounding black mist, and unless they moved, most adventurers would walk right past them without noticing a thing. Even the five Arch-Sorcerers had been repeatedly ambushed by these creatures, as the black mist had limited their vision so severely that they couldn’t spot the serpents until they were less than ten meters away.
Marcus, however, saw them from over fifty meters away. The difference wasn’t luck; it was the difference between abilities.
After moving a little closer, he activated Insight.
—
Black Ice Serpent
Level: 70
HP: 65,000
A peculiar serpent that first appeared within Black Serpent Cave eight thousand years ago. It continuously absorbs the cave’s dark and ice energy to strengthen itself.
Passive Trait - Absorb Black Mist: While inside Black Serpent Cave, continuously absorbs dark and ice energy from the surrounding mist, restoring 500 HP per second.
Passive Trait - Mist Camouflage: Uses the cave’s black mist to conceal its body. If it remains undetected, it will launch a surprise attack.
Skill - Venom Ice Cone: Fires a poisonous ice cone infused with dark and ice energy at targets within 30 meters, dealing heavy damage. Has a 50% chance to inflict Bleeding, causing at least 200 damage per second for 10 seconds.
Skill - Blue Ice Whip: When enemies approach, lashes its bamboo-like tail repeatedly to deal continuous damage.
Weakness: Fire and Light attacks are highly effective. Performs noticeably worse in close combat than at range.
—
Just as the Town Lord had described, the only difference was their level; since the Iceflame Black Serpent Man had broken the seal, these serpents had advanced from Level 60 to Level 70. They were stronger than before, but still nowhere near enough to threaten Marcus.
"Attack."
The two Sea Demon Souls charged forward first, drawing the serpents’ attention. Marcus followed close behind with Pebble, the five Royal Sorcerers, Goldie, Lyanna, Camillo, and the Darkfire Phoenix.
After reaching Level 50, Sanctuary Summon allowed Marcus to deploy one additional pet. Knowing the Black Ice Serpents were especially vulnerable to fire, Lily had lent him the Darkfire Phoenix specifically for this battle.
The moment the Sea Demon Souls drew the cluster of hidden Black Ice Serpents into range, the monsters finally abandoned their camouflage and surged forward together, hoping to overwhelm their prey in a coordinated ambush.
"Blazing Dance!"
Marcus and Pebble moved at the same instant, both raising their Twin-Winged Ice Owl Bows and unleashing a volley of Blazing Explosive Arrows, which, as Mythic-grade fire arrows, were the Black Ice Serpents’ worst possible enemy.
Although the serpents were weaker in close combat, they hunted in groups, and a dozen attacking together could overwhelm even powerful melee fighters through sheer numbers.
Marcus had no intention of giving them that opportunity, so rather than rushing forward with his Knight class, he calmly kept his distance and let the flames do the killing.