Chapter 323: The Second Baptism

Chapter 323: The Second Baptism



Although Rain had anticipated that Serpent Sect cultists might appear later, he hadn't expected them to arrive so quickly, and even more surprisingly, they were commanding Earth Serpents.

This made the situation more challenging.

The leader of the group had an aura that was clearly not inferior to Icsera, who Rain had killed earlier, revealing another powerful member of the Serpent Sect with legendary status.

Adding the Legendary Earth Serpent to the mix meant Rain was facing two legendary-level opponents.

Even with his recent skill point allocation, Rain's strength had only slightly increased, and he doubted he could handle two legendary foes at once.

However, Rain soon noticed something that might be to his advantage.

From the signal flare they had fired and their conversation, it seemed they were waiting for someone.

Rain immediately guessed they were waiting for Icsera and her companions.

In that instant, Rain understood their plan.

Their original plan was likely for one group to attack the Habsburg Castle openly while another did so secretly.

Since they were unaware of Icsera's death, Rain quickly devised a tactic—'Strike first!'

This was why he threw Icsera's body out.

At this moment, Rain strode towards the three-story-tall Legendary Earth Serpent, holding his transformed great mace without fear, and quietly counted:

"One."

"Two."

"What a pity, exactly ten! It would be better if there were eleven!"

Excluding the legendary leader, there were nine 'minions', which meant Rain couldn't use his 'Soul Fragment Impact' technique to mow them down and gain ten layers of soul energy.

On the other hand, Edmundo had already considered retreating when he saw Rain throw Icsera's body.

After all, the enemy's situation was unclear, and he didn't need to take this risk.

Moreover, his primary mission from the Pope was to retrieve the Legendary Earth Serpent, not to seek revenge for Cannon and Holdan.

But the next second, his pupils dilated! He saw the young man in silver armor, fearlessly walking towards them with a great mace, unconcerned about the Earth Serpent beneath his feet.

This made Edmundo tense. Anyone who treated an Earth Serpent so casually was either a fool or truly capable of handling it.

And since they had killed Icsera, it was the latter.

In an instant, Edmundo unleashed his innate wizardry, 'Ice Shield', and immediately began chanting a spell:

"Ice Armor!"

As the rapid incantation echoed, Edmundo's body was enveloped in a thick, oval-shaped ice shield.

Within the ice shield, his body was further protected by a transparent and sturdy ice armor, like a knight's plate armor, covering him from head to toe.

Only after these two powerful defensive spells surrounded his body did Edmundo feel slightly relieved.

Additionally, his keen hearing caught the low murmur Rain had made, and he curiously asked:

"What are you counting?"

Edmundo's spellcasting had made Rain a bit nervous, thinking he was about to attack. But to his surprise, it was a defensive spell, indicating that Rain was a rare ice wizard, and he seemed wary of Rain.

However, none of this mattered now, as Rain had already entered their fifteen-meter range.

Rain looked up at the giant serpent and the group on its head, smiled, and said, "It's something you wouldn't understand."

"Swish!"

As Edmundo pondered Rain's words, he suddenly felt a blur before his eyes, and Rain vanished from his sight.

In that instant, Edmundo felt something behind him and quickly turned around.

His eight elite companions stood frozen, their eyes wide with disbelief, as if struck by lightning.

In front of their bodies, eight identical shadows of the young knight wielding a warhammer appeared.

This scene lasted less than a second before the eight phantoms vanished.

It seemed as if all the phantoms had merged into the farthest real body.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

The sound of shattering bones filled the air!

The nine elite Serpent Sect members performed a gruesome display as their heads, from the top down, exploded, spraying white and red liquids. Then, a series of heavy thuds followed as their bodies hit the ground!

Rain had unleashed his ultimate technique, 'Soul Fragment Impact', with full force.

Nine translucent spirits emerged swiftly from the corpses, trailing long tails of flame. They circled Rain twice before being drawn into his warhammer.

The sight made Edmundo's eyes widen in shock.

"Such speed!"

"What just happened?"

"Necromancy?"

"Or is there something strange about that warhammer? A necromantic artifact?"

Edmundo finally understood how Icsera had met her demise.

Even he, caught off guard, might not have been able to withstand an ambush by such an assassin-type enemy wielding a 'strange artifact.'

At this moment, Edmundo didn't intend to retreat, but the speed displayed by his opponent made it impossible.

Controlling the Earth Serpent to attack?

That was not an option either!

The Legendary Earth Serpent's massive size and the opponent's incredible speed made it unfeasible.

So, the first priority was to restrict the opponent's speed.

"Ice Roar!"

As Edmundo waved his hand, a swirling ice tornado filled with shattered ice fragments violently swept in all directions.

Edmundo's intention was clear: to use the cold to numb the opponent's limbs and slow down their attack speed.

Facing this area-of-effect ice spell, Rain retreated slightly and used his morphed mithril shield, shaped like a kite, to block the frontal assault, reducing the ice damage.

But Edmundo's strategy didn't end there. He quickly began chanting under his breath!

"Blizzard!"

As the incantation ended, a dense black cloud suddenly appeared above Edmundo's head, causing the temperature to plummet.

Large snowflakes, mixed with ice particles, began to fall from the sky. The guards responsible for surrounding and guarding the area, located dozens of meters away, felt an oppressive chill approaching.

Rain, positioned just seven or eight meters away from Edmundo atop the Earth Serpent, naturally felt the cold even more intensely.

However, Edmundo seemed to have forgotten one thing.

The massive Earth Serpent beneath his feet also had low resistance to cold.

Sensing the overwhelming chill from above, the Earth Serpent felt drowsy and gradually lowered its neck, eventually lying down on the ground.

This delighted Rain, as fighting atop the Earth Serpent restricted his movement, unless he jumped off.

But with the Earth Serpent lying on the ground, he could now move swiftly in all directions, searching for an opportunity to strike.

As Rain realized this, Edmundo instantly became aware of the problem.

Although he could command the Earth Serpent, he couldn't go against its nature and instincts.

Just as a dog trainer couldn't train a dog to eat bamboo like a panda, the Earth Serpent naturally reduced its activity when the surrounding temperature dropped below a certain threshold, entering a state of slumber.

Edmundo reacted swiftly, making a quick decision.

He leaped off the Earth Serpent and retreated rapidly, moving away from the mansion and the guards.

Rain quickly understood the opponent's plan.

The opponent intended to create distance, freeing the Earth Serpent from the ice spell's influence.

Rain couldn't let this happen.

"Annihilation Strike!"

Rain's great mace instantly transformed into a lance, and he consecutively executed the Ultimate Technique 'Shadow Step' followed by 'Annihilation Strike!' His entire body became a silver lightning bolt, striking the retreating Edmundo.

The speed was so fast that Edmundo saw Rain in his original position, but in the next moment, Rain appeared before him with the lance!

"Ssss!"

The lance's tip collided fiercely with the ice shield. In the next instant, the ice shield shattered, and the ice armor on his body was almost pierced, leaving only a thin layer intact.

Rain's attack startled Edmundo, and he nearly broke out in a cold sweat.

"Damn! Such power!"

"Where did this young powerhouse come from?"

Edmundo didn't know that Rain's seemingly ordinary strike had, in fact, been enhanced by the Ultimate Technique 'Shadow Step' for a speed boost, a 20-point strength boost from nine portions of soul energy, the Intermediate Talent of Great Strength, the Dragon Bloodline boost, and more.

This combination allowed him to seemingly casually break through Edmundo's innate magic and Tier 2 defensive magic.

"Serpent Fang!"

In a panic, Edmundo immediately used this signature ability of the Serpent Sect.

Four or five guards who couldn't dodge in time were bitten on the neck or back of the head by the long serpent heads and instantly lost consciousness, falling under control.

Rain's heart was filled with mixed emotions, remembering what Claireya had told him.

If someone was controlled by the Serpent Fang for more than a minute, there was no cure, and they would forever become mindless puppets.

This provided Rain with an opportunity to gather the soul energy he needed.

In the blink of an eye, a female knight with a pale cyan aura wielding a Great Sword appeared behind Edmundo, unleashing a fierce attack. It was none other than Claireya, who had activated her Bloodline Talent.

"Ice Hell!" Edmundo finally unleashed his trump card.

The ground around Edmundo suddenly erupted with ice spikes, some as tall as three meters, and others forming low, sharp ice balls. In an instant, a radius of several dozen meters around Edmundo was covered in a white, icy landscape.

For a moment, Rain and Claireya were both forced back by the sudden onslaught.

At the same time, Edmundo controlled several Serpent Sect members, now transformed into 'Frozen Zombies', and they charged towards Rain with heavy blows.

Rain watched as the servants, controlled by the Serpent Sect, rushed towards him. In his heart, he muttered, "Sorry, but this is necessary!"

"Annihilation Hammer!"

"Boom!"

With a powerful strike, Rain shattered one of the frozen servants into powder, and in that instant, a soul fragment was absorbed by his Warhammer.

"Ten!"

At that moment, Rain's eyes narrowed as he stared at Edmundo. The next second, he took a Shadow Step, leaving behind a trail of afterimages as he dashed into the Ice Hell.

"Daring to charge into the Ice Hell?"

"This young man is truly blinded by his temporary advantage!" Edmundo's expression was a mix of surprise and delight as he witnessed Rain's bold move.

In the Ice Hell, Edmundo's Ice Element Magic would be enhanced by fifty percent, while his opponent would be affected by the extreme cold, causing their limbs to stiffen and their movement speed to decrease significantly.

In Edmundo's opinion, once Rain entered the Ice Hell, he would quickly lose his greatest advantage—speed.

"Roar!"

Rain swiftly swung his Great Mace, shattering all the ice spikes and columns in his path, charging into the Ice Hell like a raging beast.

"What the hell is this monster?"

Witnessing Rain's formidable display, Edmundo couldn't help but start casting spells.

"Ice Blade Storm!"

"Ice Cone Spell!"

One after another, Ice Element spells were unleashed, adding to the chilling effects of the Ice Hell.

Rain's hair and eyebrows had already turned white, and his movement speed had significantly decreased.

"Phew~"

Edmundo couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"What a dangerous guy!"

"But finally, he's almost frozen stiff!"

As Edmundo watched Rain slowly approach him, his face broke into a slight smile.

"This pose isn't bad. Perhaps, it will make a good trophy ice sculpture!"

"Clang!"

At that moment, Rain's Warhammer struck Edmundo's full-body Ice Shield.

The sound of the impact indicated that Rain's strike was light, almost feeble.

But in an instant, Edmundo's expression turned to one of terror. The next second, he let out a heart-wrenching scream, clutching his head.

The Soul Fragment Impact's true damage caused Edmundo to lose the ability to maintain the Ice Hell.

Rain, on the other hand, silently channeled his strength. With each pump of his heart, he swung his Warhammer with increasing intensity.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The first strike shattered the Ice Shield, and every subsequent blow was aimed at Edmundo's body.

Initially, Edmundo could barely manage to block the attacks, but soon, he was overwhelmed, and his body became as limp as a rag doll, offering no further resistance.

Before long, Edmundo was reduced to a pulp by Rain's Warhammer.

"Huff~ Huff~"

Rain maintained his stance, holding the Warhammer, as he panted heavily.

But then, he remembered that while he had defeated Edmundo, there was still a Legendary Earth Serpent behind him.

Rain quickly turned around and looked at the Earth Serpent, which was about to awaken. In his hands, the Warhammer transformed into a long Spear.

"Sharpness Technique!"

"Whoosh!"

A silver line shot towards the Legendary Earth Serpent.

Rain's Spear, empowered by two Ultimate Techniques, the Dragon Bloodline, and more, reached an extreme level of potency.

The spear pierced the Earth Serpent's thick, rubbery body, penetrating deep into its brain, located between its two poorly-sighted eyes.

Thus, when the spear struck, it affected the Earth Serpent's vision, and it opened its eyes, but it was already too late.

The Earth Serpent's body continued to convulse violently, causing the ground to shake, but it was undoubtedly dead.

"Hiss!"

Rain withdrew his spear, gazing at the Legendary Earth Serpent, possibly the fastest one he had ever encountered.

Rain couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. If it hadn't been for his recent encounter, defeating this Earth Serpent would have been a formidable challenge.

"Sssss!"

The stench of the Earth Serpent's body, mixed with the smell of blood, was like a high-pressure water gun, spraying out from the circular wound caused by the spear.

For a moment, Rain was unaware, and he was drenched by the foul liquid. As he felt slightly annoyed, suddenly, a system prompt sounded:

[Ding! Detected host absorbing Legendary Earth Serpent's blood, discovered traceable Dragon Gene fragments. Absorb?]

】

(Note: This trace amount of dragon gene fragment, when absorbed, can slightly enhance the host's dragon bloodline concentration limit.)



"Huh?"

"This ancient legendary Earth Serpent actually has dragon gene fragments?"

But soon, Rain became enlightened.

The ancient Earth Serpent was most likely a descendant of some unchaste dragon from ancient times.

"Is communication within the same species not good enough? Why cross species?"

"However, this is a good thing for me!"

"But the description says 'trace amount'? I remember the last time the Three-Tailed Sea Dragon's egg liquid ritual was described as 'small amount'. Does that mean the dragon blood in the Earth Serpent's body is much thinner?"

Rain keenly noticed the difference in description compared to the last egg liquid ritual.

"But no matter how little, as long as it can enhance my strength, even a mosquito's leg is meat!"

Without hesitation, Rain chose "Yes!"

Instantly, Rain felt a warm sensation on the part of his body tainted with the stench of snake blood, as if warm spring water was seeping into his body from the surface of his skin.

The entire process lasted less than half a second before it ended.

Rain quickly glanced at his attribute panel, but the effect of the dragon bloodline hadn't changed at all.

【Dragon Bloodline (Weak) Effect: Slightly increases affinity to fire, slightly enhances the effect of the Great Strength talent, slightly enhances the effect of the Steel Body talent, and slightly strengthens the Battle Cry type technique.】

This left him a little disappointed.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed Rain's mind!

"Wait, what if I get more of the ritual? Wouldn't that accumulate?"

Rain's eyes lit up as he thought of this.

And he quickly took action.

His long spear transformed into a three-meter-long, almost four-meter-long giant great sword. Then, he turned and stood beside the legendary Earth Serpent, delivering a slashing strike towards the enormous snake's head! A huge silver arc flashed, and a 'shh' sound was heard! Perhaps due to the Earth Serpent's death, its defense significantly decreased, and the giant, hideous flower-petal-like mouth of the snake was cut off.

A waterfall-like stench of snake blood sprayed out from the smooth, round cut.

Rain took a quick step and stood under the blood waterfall, accepting the ritual!

Indeed, after his skin was soaked in a large amount of Earth Serpent blood, that warm sensation returned.

But soon, it seemed to reach a certain limit, and Rain no longer felt the warmth.

Thinking about it, Rain still wasn't giving up!

"Where is the blood most concentrated?"

"It should be the heart!"

Rain lightly leaped onto the Earth Serpent's body, and his great sword transformed into a giant scythe, blade facing down, piercing the giant serpent's skin.

"Sss!"

As Rain performed the ultimate technique, Shadow Step, a figure flashed above the Earth Serpent, and the legendary Earth Serpent was cut almost in half, exposing its spine and internal organs for dozens of meters.

Rain, upon seeing the giant, still-beating heart, his eyes lit up, and he quickly removed its top, diving into the serpent's heart.

"Indeed, the heart has the most concentrated blood!"

"It seems this ritual has its intricacies, unlike the genetic technology of my past life, which only required a small amount, or even a single-digit number of stem cells, to complete." Rain's eyes flashed, and he quickly understood something.

But soon, within a short time, Rain no longer felt the warmth.

After a few seconds, he dragged his blood-soaked body out of the Earth Serpent's heart.

Rain's actions from just now left the surrounding crowd puzzled.

To them, it seemed that after being drenched in the stench of the Earth Serpent's blood, Rain had received some kind of stimulation, and he directly beheaded the serpent, then bathed in its blood again! But what was even stranger was that this wasn't the end.

Rain had almost split the giant Earth Serpent in half and even jumped into its body? Did Rain treat the legendary Earth Serpent like a giant dragon, performing a serpent blood ritual?

Could the blood of this legendary Earth Serpent, like that of a dragon, grant people magical powers? Many brave guards couldn't help but step forward, enduring the stench, and touched the serpent's blood with their hands.

"Sizzle!"

"Ah!"

Many guards, quick as lightning, cleanly sliced off the layer of skin on their fingers that had been corroded.

"Such strong corrosiveness!"

The guards looked at Rain, who was unharmed, with even more astonishment.

At this moment, Rain had just jumped off the Earth Serpent and was about to wash himself.

Suddenly, the system prompt sounded again. This time, Rain's eyes widened, and he gasped in shock!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end