Chapter 389: The Second Grand Oak
"Shit!" William Merlin yelled, his face going ghostly white. He stumbled backward in blind panic, tripping over a jagged rock before the monstrous python's head could get anywhere near him...
I'm finished...
William Merlin's heart tightened. The giant python's maw gaped wide, razor fangs flashing cold under the sun. As the stench hit, despair crashed over him—it's over, it's over, this time there's no escape...
After making it past so many vicious magical beasts, who would've thought I'd meet my end in a quiet valley, devoured by a python because I let my guard down. What a joke...
If only I'd known, I never should've gone near that little stream...
Just as regret and despair swallowed William Merlin, a powerful force suddenly jerked him backward...
William Merlin didn't even have time to react before he was yanked into the air by that force. Then came two muffled booms—two Fireballs, trailing long plumes of flame, streaked past his body...
Boom!
Boom!
The two Fireballs struck the giant python almost simultaneously. The massive explosions made the beast let out a piercing, agonized screech!
The enormous serpent lunged forward, its body stretching dozens of meters as it revealed itself to everyone for the first time. Its monstrous head glared at the group with eyes the size of lanterns, burning with hatred...
"Just a water snake, but it won't stay in the water where it belongs—comes up on land looking for death!" Leon snorted coldly, pointing his Doombringer Staff, and fired another Fireball.
The python was just as ferocious. It took three Fireballs in a row, yet showed no sign of retreat—instead, it barreled toward Leon and the others at alarming speed, braving the barrage head-on.
Such reckless aggression is the most dangerous thing for any mage. A surreal scene played out in the valley: a human and a giant python, less than fifty meters apart. The human stood motionless, staff raised, spell after spell flying, while the python twisted and writhed, its armored back shielding it from the barrage. It looked almost like a circus beastmaster, cracking his whip and making wild creatures dance.
No matter how powerful a mage is, they have to consider what happens if a python gets close...
But unfortunately...
This python ran into Leon.
Leon acted as if he didn't even notice the python closing in. His Doombringer Staff never lowered—after the first Fireball, came the second, the third, the fourth...
In just moments, Leon had unleashed more than a dozen Fireballs...
Fireball is already a devastating spell, and now Leon was firing off more than a dozen in rapid succession, all targeting the same spot. No matter how crazed the python was, after taking so many hits, even its hate-filled eyes couldn't hide a flicker of fear.
When Leon unleashed his sixteenth Fireball, the python finally twisted its body, using its thick, scaly back to shield itself from the blast.
Once it did it the first time, it quickly did it again.
And then a third time...
So, a bizarre scene unfolded in the valley: a human and a giant python, separated by less than fifty meters. The human stood motionless, staff raised, casting spells nonstop, while the python had to twist and writhe again and again, using its armored back to block the attacks. It looked almost like a circus beastmaster, cracking a whip and making wild creatures dance.
And yet...
This whip was anything but harmless...
The Fireballs in Leon's hand just kept coming, one after another, as if they would never stop...
Exactly the same casting time, exactly the same rhythm—just mechanically repeating the same Fireball again and again. Any seasoned mage watching this would probably scoff on the spot. What kind of mage fights like this? Do you even know how a mage is supposed to battle?
But...
But Leon, through sheer mechanical repetition, finally shattered the python's armored back with his forty-seventh Fireball...
After that, the fight was over. There was no suspense left.
Leon finished the battle with just two Wind Blades.
The two Wind Blades sliced in at odd angles, slipping through the wound torn open by the Fireballs. With a violent twist and clash, they shredded the python's insides in an instant...
Even at its death, the python never closed the fifty-meter gap between itself and Leon!
From start to finish, it never crossed that line between life and death.
"This..." It was the third time Ryan Merlin had seen Leon in action.
The first time, Ryan Merlin was crushed by a Mana Lock.
The second time, he watched Leon wreak havoc at the Elder Council.
To be honest, those two times didn't leave much of an impression on Ryan Merlin. The first was over too quickly, the battle starting and ending in an instant. The second lasted much longer, but Leon relied heavily on the Wheel of Arcana, and his duel with Thorne Merlin was on such a high level that Ryan Merlin couldn't quite follow.
So up until just now, Ryan Merlin only knew his cousin was incredibly powerful, but how powerful exactly? Ryan Merlin couldn't have said...
But now Ryan Merlin understood...
That python just now was at least level twenty-nine, maybe even thirty. But in front of his mage cousin, it didn't have the slightest chance. From start to finish, Leon controlled the battle completely—just a barrage of Fireballs and two Wind Blades, and what should've been an earth-shattering fight was ended with ease.
Just thinking about that kind of power was enough to scare Ryan Merlin...
I really was wise...
Thinking of this, Ryan Merlin couldn't help but feel secretly relieved.
Back in Seaview City, I nearly made a huge mistake. But after returning to Auckland, I realized my error right away and stood firm at the Elder Council. That was true wisdom.
Just think...
If I'd kept clinging to those petty grudges from Seaview City, or tried to steal my mage cousin's inheritance like that idiot Owen Merlin, I'd be just like him now—my mana vortex shattered, a total cripple...
No, no, maybe even worse than Owen Merlin...
I don't have a father like Thorne Merlin...
The more Ryan Merlin thought about it, the more he broke out in a cold sweat. Thank goodness he was clever enough not to go head-to-head with his mage cousin...
As he mulled things over, Ryan Merlin glanced at Ross Merlin, secretly impressed. Ross was famous for being a lone wolf in the family, but this time he reacted fast—he latched onto their mage cousin's leg the moment he returned. Whether it was luck or foresight, he was ten times smarter than Owen Merlin.
Looks like, in the future, my real rival for the family head position will be Ross Merlin...
While Ryan Merlin was lost in thought, William Merlin had already finished harvesting from the python. There were only five of them on this trip—not like before, when he led dozens of high mages from the merchant guild. So William's harvesting was rough, taking only the toughest scales and the most valuable Mana Crystals, leaving the rest untouched.
"Strange..." William Merlin held the python's Mana Crystal, a puzzled look on his face. "This seems like a regular Jungle Python Mana Crystal..."
"What else did you expect?" Leon scoffed, not at all surprised by William Merlin's assessment.
"But how could a Jungle Python be this strong?" William Merlin just couldn't wrap his head around it.
Honestly, you couldn't blame William Merlin for that.
Jungle Pythons are probably the most common and weakest magical serpents out there. Anywhere damp and dark, you'll find them. They're usually only around level ten, rarely above twenty...
But that python just now...
William Merlin had felt its power firsthand. It really could've been level thirty—otherwise, even with his own strength, he wouldn't have struggled so badly.
How could a Jungle Python reach level thirty?
"It's because this environment is unusual..." Leon smiled, dodging William Merlin's question and quietly released several Wizard's Eyes, beginning a thorough scan of the silent valley.
After releasing the sixth Wizard's Eye, Leon noticed William Merlin was still puzzled, so he casually dropped another hint.
"Did you forget about Four Seasons Gorge?"
"Ah, Four Seasons Gorge!" With Leon's reminder, William Merlin remembered. Back then, when he joined Seaview City's expedition team to Four Seasons Gorge, didn't they run into the same bizarre things?
At the time, the magical beasts in Four Seasons Gorge, just like this Jungle Python, had somehow reached levels they shouldn't have, completely defying logic.
Could this place be another Four Seasons Gorge?
"Cousin, then this place..." William Merlin grew anxious. He still remembered the grueling battles back in Four Seasons Gorge.
"Don't ask me, I have no idea either..." Leon sent out all his Wizard's Eyes and began to control them, determined to explore every corner of the valley...
This sweeping reconnaissance quickly brought Leon results...
"Found it!" Through the third Wizard's Eye, Leon soon spotted a towering Grand Oak deep in the valley...
A suffocating aura of life, dense alchemical arrays—everything was exactly like the Grand Oak in Four Seasons Gorge!