Chapter 233: A Mistake!
Although they were all competitors and wouldn’t hesitate to slit each other’s throats if the situation demanded it, right now, they all knew they had to cooperate if they wanted to make this work.
Kane swept his gaze across the surrounding teams and then said in a firm voice.
"How about we cooperate first?"
The parties present exchanged glances and shrugged.
Against a Level 50 monster, if they started scheming against one another now, the most likely outcome was that every last one of them would die here.
Kane raised his hand and summoned the Golden Armored Lion.
"My Golden Armored Lion will restrain it from the front."
After saying that, he looked toward Zich.
"Keep your summons from interfering with our formation."
"Sure." Zich nodded.
Such a straightforward response caused Kane to pause slightly, but before he could say anything else, a scalp numbing scraping sound suddenly came from the depths of the valley.
Rustle... rustle... rustle...
Countless pieces of gravel rolled down the cliffs on both sides.
Then, an enormous blood red python dozens of meters long slowly crawled out from behind the altar.
It possessed three heads.
Dark red liquid continuously dripped from the fangs of the left head. The instant it touched the ground, even the solid rock immediately began releasing thick clouds of white smoke.
The eyes of the right head were a strange shade of gray. Merely opening its jaws caused a shrill hiss that directly assaulted the mind to sweep throughout the entire valley.
As for the central head, it was considerably larger than the other two. Two small protrusions were hidden beneath the scales atop its skull, while crimson blood seemed to possess a life of its own as it slowly flowed across the surface of its body.
"ROAR!"
The Golden Armored Lion had only just charged forward when the right snake head suddenly unleashed a piercing roar.
A terrifying mental shockwave instantly spread outward.
Several beasts summoned by the Beast Tamers froze simultaneously. Two of them even lost control entirely and turned around, attempting to flee.
"Mental Intimidation!"
Kane’s expression changed slightly, but he did not panic.
"Golden Armored Lion! Don’t look into its eyes! Attack its body!"
BOOM!
The Golden Armored Lion crashed directly into the Three Headed Blood Python, and the two enormous creatures immediately began tearing into each other.
The other teams did not remain idle.
Arrows, magic, poison, and curses rained down one after another.
Adrian’s figure constantly flickered through the shadows. Every time he appeared, the dagger in his hand accurately pierced the gaps between the python’s scales.
In less than a minute, more than a dozen wounds had already appeared across the Three Headed Blood Python’s body.
However, in the next moment, large amounts of blood suddenly surged from those wounds.
The blood did not fall to the ground.
Instead, it flowed backward and covered the injuries.
Within only a few seconds, the torn flesh had completely regenerated.
"Regeneration?"
Someone’s expression immediately turned ugly.
Kane’s expression also became considerably more serious.
Since the battle began, the Golden Armored Lion had remained at the very front, enduring nearly half of the Three Headed Blood Python’s frontal attacks. Even with its formidable defenses, several wounds torn open by fangs and scales had already appeared beneath its golden fur. The injury on its left shoulder was particularly severe, with a large patch of flesh corroded black.
The problem was that despite paying such a price, they had yet to inflict any truly meaningful damage on the Three Headed Blood Python.
As long as they couldn’t suppress its terrifying regeneration, continuing this battle of attrition would only ensure that they collapsed long before the Level 50 monster did.
"How about we retreat for now?"
Finally, someone from one of the weaker teams could no longer hold back. There was already an obvious hint of hesitation in his voice.
"This thing just keeps recovering from its injuries. If we keep fighting like this, we’re only wasting our strength."
"Retreat?"
Someone nearby sneered.
"You think you’ll still have a chance to come back after leaving now?"
He raised his head and glanced toward the ancient altar at the end of the valley, surrounded by countless enormous beast bones.
"The Ancient Beast Altar has already opened. More people could arrive at any moment. If we leave now and wait for the other teams to deal with the guardian beast, do you really think there’ll still be anything left for us?"
Hearing this, those who had begun considering retreat immediately fell silent.
While everyone was arguing, Zich, however, had yet to make a move.
He watched the three constantly attacking snake heads and quickly noticed something unusual.
Regardless of whether the left or right head was attacked, the Three Headed Blood Python’s health would be replenished by the central head.
Three heads. But in reality, they shared the same source of vitality.
At that precise moment, Tiamant suddenly transmitted an unusual emotion from within the Graveyard Space, and a sense of its disgust washed over Zich.
His gaze immediately locked onto the central head.
As Tiamant’s perception gradually became clearer, he finally noticed that deep within the thick skull was a broken black nail that had almost completely sunk into its flesh.
’That thing... could it be the source of its strength?’ Zich narrowed his eyes.
Unfortunately for him, there was no reply from Tiamant, as it wasn’t capable of speech. In fact, none of his summons were.
’Let’s get rid of it first,’ he thought.
At the same time, one skeleton after another quietly began spreading across different positions on the battlefield.
Kane glanced at them but paid them no attention.
In his eyes, those Level 1 skeletons were nothing more than cannon fodder. There was simply no possibility of them influencing a battle of this level.
What he didn’t know was that Zich had never intended for them to attack in the first place.
They were merely coordinates for Spirit Exchange.
Several minutes into the battle, a new screen suddenly appeared before everyone.
[Current Trial Contribution Ranking]
[1st: Zich Grave 31%]
[2nd: Kane Locke 28%]
[3rd: Adrian Veil 17%]
"What?"
Kane abruptly turned his head.
And he wasn’t the only one.
The expressions of the other teams changed as well.
Zich had clearly never taken responsibility for the main frontal assault from beginning to end, yet his contribution had somehow surpassed Kane, who had been using his Golden Armored Lion to restrain the Three Headed Blood Python from the front.
Adrian’s gaze instantly turned cold.
His original plan had been simple.
Let the Locke Family exhaust the Three Headed Blood Python, then seize contribution during the final stage.
But Zich’s contribution was increasing far faster than he had expected.
"Trap him," Adrian spoke quietly.
The two teammates behind him immediately understood.
The next second...
Buzz!
Six silver runes suddenly lit up beneath Zich’s feet.
Dozens of chains formed from condensed energy burst from the ground, completely sealing off the space around him in an instant.
Adrian didn’t even spare Zich another glance.
His figure transformed into a black streak as he charged directly toward the Three Headed Blood Python’s central head.
As long as Zich remained trapped for a few dozen seconds, that would be enough.
However, surrounded by the chains, Zich merely lowered his eyes and glanced at them.
"Spirit Exchange."
Buzz!
His figure instantly disappeared.
In his place stood an ordinary skeleton that had already been positioned in the distance.
BOOM!
The silver chains violently contracted and the unfounate lskeleton shattered on the spot.
Meanwhile, Zich himself had already appeared where another skeleton stood behind Adrian’s team.
Space distorted slightly once again. When Zich reappeared again, he was already standing atop the Three Headed Blood Python’s central head.
Adrian’s pupils abruptly contracted upon seeing this scene.
"When did he...?!"
Even before he could finish, pale flames instantly engulfed Zich’s palm.
[Spirit Flame!]
BOOM!
His flaming palm slammed directly into the strangely protruding scales on the central head.
Crack!
An extremely faint but unmistakably clear cracking sound rang out.
The broken black nail buried deep within its skull shattered completely.
The next second, the Three Headed Blood Python’s enormous body suddenly froze.
All of its regenerating wounds simultaneously stopped healing.
But before anyone could show any joy, a bloody aura several times more terrifying than before suddenly erupted from the deepest part of its body.
BOOM!
Blood mist surged into the sky.
The Three Headed Blood Python’s originally crimson scales rapidly darkened into a deep blood red color, while the two protrusions atop its central head, originally no larger than thumbs, slowly tore through the scales beneath countless disbelieving gazes.
Two incomplete blood colored serpent horns grew from its head.
Everyone froze when they saw this!
Instantly, their eyes turned bloodshot, and they glared at Zich. After all, it was only after he attacked the monster that something like this had happened!
"What did you do, you rascal?" Adrian shouted angrily..
Zich stood there just as stunned. He had only targeted the black nail, thinking that Tiamant hated it or that it was what was making the Three Headed Blood Python powerful, but it seemed he had been wrong.