Chapter 323: The Second Baptism

Chapter 323: The Second Baptism



Ren had anticipated that there might be more Serpent Cultists ahead, but he never expected them to arrive so quickly, and even worse, they had brought an Earth Serpent under their control.

This made the situation much more challenging.

The leader of the group exuded an aura that was clearly stronger than Icela, whom Ren had killed earlier. It was another powerful Serpent Cultist who had reached the legendary tier.

Additionally, the Earth Serpent was a legendary breed, which meant Ren was facing two legendary-tier opponents.

Although Ren had gained some strength from his recent attribute points, he knew that taking on two legendary opponents at once might still be beyond his capabilities.

However, Ren soon discovered a situation that might work to his advantage.

This made Edmundo tense, as only a fool or someone truly capable would dare to treat an Earth Serpent with such disdain.

[Chapter Break]



"Clang!"

Nine translucent spirits emerged from the corpse, their long tails trailing flames, circling around Ren twice before being sucked into his warhammer.

Ren leaped onto the Earth Serpent's body, his greatsword transforming into a giant scythe. He plunged the blade downward, piercing the serpent's thick hide.

As Edmundo began chanting rapidly, an oval-shaped ice shield formed around his body, followed by a whirlwind of ice shards that surged toward the eight elite cultists, leaving them in shock with their eyes wide and their bodies frozen in place.

Edmundo waved his hand, and a dragon-like tornado of ice shards charged in all directions!

"Sizzle!"

A female knight, surrounded by a cyan aura, wielded a greatsword and charged from behind Edmundo, it was Klaj, who had awakened her bloodline talent! "Ice Hell!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Ren, holding his transformed warhammers, approached the two-story-tall Earth Serpent without fear, calmly counting, "One..."

"What the hell is this monster!"

"She's so dangerous!"

Seconds later, Ren emerged from the Earth Serpent's heart, his body covered in blood and gore.

Because of the Earth Serpent's massive size and incredible speed, it was challenging to fight it.

Edmundo, facing enemies on both sides, finally unleashed his ultimate technique!

"Ice Spike!"

But soon, Ren realized something.

Ren looked at the giant creature and the group of people on its head, and said with a smile, "You wouldn't understand even if I told you."

Ice spikes erupted from the ground around Edmundo, some as tall as three meters and others as small as sharp ice balls, instantly covering the area within dozens of meters of him in a white, icy landscape.

Additionally, the opponent turned out to be a rare Ice Wizard.

The entire process lasted less than half a second.

This was when Icela's body was thrown out.

"Sizzle!"

"Communicating with your own kind is one thing, but crossing races is another."

It seemed as if all the shadows had gathered onto the farthest real body.

"Armor Piercing Strike!"

The correct version is on Book 69 Bar! 6=9+Book_Bar First Release of this Novel.

Instantly, Ren felt a warm sensation on the parts of his body that were covered in the foul-smelling snake blood, as if warm spring water was seeping into his skin.

"Sharpening Technique!"

At first, Edmundo could barely withstand the attack, but soon he was overwhelmed, and after being hit by the hammer, he became as weak as a rag doll, unable to resist any further.

This disappointed Ren a little.

Edmundo's eyes widened at the sight.

The sound of shattering bones filled the air!

Ren's heart raced with excitement! Fighting on top of the Earth Serpent's head restricted his movement, unless he jumped off.

The Earth Serpent's body, as tough as rubber, was pierced deeply by the hammer, right between its two weak-sighted eyes, directly into its brain.

But the next second, his pupils contracted! Because he saw a young man in silver armor, holding a warhammer, walking straight towards them, unafraid of the legendary Earth Serpent beneath his feet.

"A young man blinded by a temporary advantage!" Edmundo's expression turned from surprise to joy at this sight.

But Edmundo had more tricks up his sleeve, he quickly began chanting! "Blizzard!"

"Ten!"

"Two"

However, within a short time, Ren no longer felt the warm sensation.

As Ren used his ultimate technique, Shadow Step, a figure flashed above the Earth Serpent, cutting it almost in half, exposing its spine and entrails for dozens of meters.

Ren, of course, couldn't let this stand!

"Dare to enter the Ice Hell?"

"What a pity, exactly ten! If there was one more, it would have been perfect!"

If it were him, he would have been caught off guard and severely injured by this assassin-type enemy wielding a 'Strange Object'.

In an instant, Edmundo released his innate wizardry, 'Ice Shield', and on top of that, he immediately began chanting and casting a spell: "Ice Armor!"

"Ice Roar!"

Up above, goose-feather snow began to fall, mixed with ice particles. The guards surrounding them, several dozen meters away, who were responsible for the encirclement and vigilance, suddenly felt a chilling pressure approaching! And Ren, who was only seven or eight meters away from Edmundo, atop the ancient earth serpent, felt the cold even more intensely. However, Edmundo seemed to have forgotten one thing.

The group of Serpent Cult disciples before him didn't seem to know about the situation where he had just killed Icela.

The ancient earth serpent was most likely a descendant of some dragon's indiscretion during ancient times.

"What just happened? What's going on?"

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

Inside the ice shield, his body was covered with an additional layer of transparent and sturdy ice armor, like a knight's armor, protecting him tightly.

Edmundo reacted swiftly, and he made a decision immediately.

"Ah!"

The massive earth serpent beneath his feet also had low resistance to the cold.

For a moment, Ren and Klaj were forced to retreat together. At the same time, Edmundo controlled several guards who were now under the control of the serpent's hair, and these 'frozen zombies' charged towards Ren.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed Ren's mind. "Wait, if I get some more of that, won't it accumulate and become significant?"

"Where did this young powerhouse come from?"

On the other side, Edmundo...

Ren's actions just now left the onlooking crowd puzzled.

They saw Ren's twin warhammers instantly transform into a lance, and he consecutively unleashed the ultimate technique 'Shadow Step' followed by 'Armor Piercing Strike'! His entire body was like a silver flash, striking at Edmundo, who was backing away.

"Swish!"

"Necromancy?"

So, Ren quickly thought of a tactic - 'Strike first and seize the initiative!'

But that wouldn't work!

"Is there something strange about that warhammer? A necromancy-type Strange Object?"

Ren quickly checked his attribute panel. The effect of Dragon Bloodline showed no changes.

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

[Dragon Bloodline (Weak): Fire Element Affinity moderately increased, Giant Strength Talent moderately increased, Steel Body Talent moderately increased, and Battle Roar-type Ultimate Techniques moderately increased.]



However, Ren seemed to have reached some kind of limit, and he no longer felt the warm sensation.

From the sound, he knew this hammer strike was light, almost feeble!

At that moment, he felt something strange behind him, and Edmundo suddenly turned his head.

As the chanting ended, a large, dense black cloud appeared above Edmundo's head, and the temperature dropped sharply!

After all, with an unknown enemy, he couldn't afford to take this risk.

And his entire body quickly sprang into action.

Edmundo's heart nearly leaped out of his chest from Ren's strike.

Just as Edmundo was still pondering the meaning behind Ren's words, suddenly, he felt a blur before his eyes, and Ren disappeared from his sight.

This made Edmundo breathe a sigh of relief.

Facing this area-of-effect ice wizardry, Ren could only slightly retreat, and then he used the falcon shield, transformed from the magified silver, to block the front, weakening the ice damage.

At this moment, Ren's eyes lit up, and the next second, he cast 'Shadow Step', leaving behind afterimages as he charged into the 'Ice Hell' at an astonishing speed!

However, he didn't want to retreat; he just couldn't. The speed his opponent had displayed left him with no choice.

The earth serpent's body continued to writhe violently, causing the ground to shake.

One after another, ice wizardries were unleashed, and with the support of Ice Hell, they bombarded Ren. Although Ren blocked them all, his hair had already turned snow-white, and his movement speed significantly decreased.

"But no matter how small, as long as it enhances my strength, even a mosquito is still meat!"

In front of their bodies, eight identical young knights appeared, each swinging their weapons.

In his view, once Ren entered the Ice Hell, he would quickly lose his greatest advantage - speed.

"Puff!"

As Ren realized this, Edmundo instantly noticed the problem as well.

The one who could kill Icela must be the latter.

Blood, like a small waterfall, spurted out from the smooth, round cut on the earth serpent's body.

Edmundo leaped off the earth serpent and quickly retreated towards the area with the most guards. As he moved, the large black cloud above his head slowly followed, and the center of the blizzard also began to shift.

As Lord Edmundo's lance swiftly transformed into a three-meter-long, nearly four-meter-long double-handed greatsword in his hand, he spun around and approached the side of the Legendary Soil Snake. With a swift motion, he delivered a powerful strike to the massive snake's head, accompanied by a bright silver arc of light and a 'shh' sound. The Legendary Soil Snake's huge and hideous flower-like mouth seemed to have its head severed due to a significant decrease in defense, likely caused by its death.

"Damn! That's a powerful strike!" Ren thought to himself as he witnessed the swiftness and strength of Edmundo's attack, possibly the fastest death of a Legendary Soil Snake he had ever seen.

Lord Edmundo, with a smirk on his face, slowly raised his warhammer, aiming it at Ren, who was standing a few meters away. "This pose is quite something. Perhaps it will make a fine ice sculpture!"

Meanwhile, Ren's keen hearing caught Lord Edmundo's whispered words, piquing his curiosity. "What are you counting?" he asked.

The first priority was to restrict the opponent's speed.

Ren realized that Lord Edmundo was likely waiting for Icela's arrival, as he had just sent a signal flare.

"Boom!"

If it weren't for Lord Edmundo's Ice Hell, he might have had a harder time slaying this Legendary Soil Snake.

Ren took a swift step forward and stood beneath the blood waterfall, accepting its cleansing.

Just as a dog trainer cannot train a dog to eat bamboo like a panda, when the surrounding temperature drops below a certain threshold, Legendary Soil Snakes naturally reduce their activity and become less mobile.

Ren maintained his hammer-wielding stance, panting heavily. But suddenly, he remembered that there was another Legendary Soil Snake behind him. He swiftly turned around, facing the awakening snake, and his hammer transformed into a long lance.

Ren's eyes lit up as he realized this.

(Note: Absorbing a small amount of ancient dragon-like gene fragments can slightly enhance the host's dragon bloodline concentration limit.) "Huh?"

The Legendary Soil Snake's foul-smelling blood, mixed with unknown fluids, gushed out like a high-pressure water gun from the circular wound created by the lance.

The opponent was trying to create distance, hoping to free the Legendary Soil Snake from the influence of Ice-type spells.

"This ancient Legendary Soil Snake actually has gene fragments?" Ren wondered.

To them, Lord Edmundo, covered in the foul-smelling blood of the Legendary Soil Snake, seemed to have received some kind of stimulation. He directly beheaded the snake and bathed in its blood again. But what was even stranger was that this wasn't the end of it.

Ren was a bit nervous when Lord Edmundo began chanting and casting spells, thinking he was about to launch an attack. But to his surprise, it was a defensive spell, which made Ren secretly pleased. From this, he understood that Lord Edmundo was wary of him.

Ren quickly understood Lord Edmundo's plan.

"Such incredible speed!"

Excluding the leader, there were nine 'mobs.' This made it impossible for Ren to implement his tactic of triggering 'Soul Shattering Impact' by stacking ten layers of soul energy.

Ren also roughly understood Lord Edmundo's overall plan.

If a person is controlled by the snake hair for more than a minute, they will forever become a puppet without their own consciousness.

Lord Edmundo, unaware of this, had just executed a seemingly unremarkable strike. In reality, it was a combination of the top-tier technique 'Shadow Step,' nine portions of soul energy providing a 27-point strength boost, the enhancement from his talent, the dragon bloodline boost, and more.

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

In fact, when Lord Edmundo saw Ren throw Icela's body out, he had already decided to retreat first.

From the signal flare Lord Edmundo had just launched and their conversation, it seemed like they were waiting for something.

"It should be the signal flare," Ren thought.

So, after being stabbed, the Legendary Soil Snake's poor vision walnut eyes suddenly opened wide, but it was already too late.

Because in the Ice Hell, Lord Edmundo's Ice-type spells would be enhanced by fifty percent, while the opponent's hands and feet would become stiff and their movement speed would greatly decrease due to the influence of the cold wind.

Four guards who failed to dodge were bitten on the neck or back of the head by the long snake head, their eyes rolling back as they were controlled.

So, it seemed like a casual strike, but it actually broke through Lord Edmundo's talent spell and second-tier defensive spell.

But in an instant, Lord Edmundo's expression changed to one of shock, and the next second, he was screaming and clutching his head in agony! The true damage of "Soul Shattering Impact" had heavily injured Lord Edmundo's soul, making it impossible for him to maintain the Ice Hell.

"It seems this blood waterfall cleansing has its intricacies. It's not like the gene technology from the previous world, where only a tiny bit or even just a single-digit number of stem cells were needed to extract a large amount of genes."

Ren, after seeing the huge heart still slightly beating, had his eyes light up. He quickly cut off the top of the heart and dove into it.

Lord Edmundo finally understood how Icela had died.

As the lance's tip clashed with the ice shield, a fierce collision ensued! The next second, the ice shield shattered! Even the ice armor on the body, just a hair's breadth away from being pierced.

But the sight of his own men being killed right before his eyes filled him with rage! "Blade Storm!"

"Serpent Hair!"

"Huff... Huff..."

This made Ren's heart fill with mixed emotions. He still remembered what Klaj had told him.

"The system's recognized absorption seems to require a certain amount to achieve the best effect." Ren's eyes flashed, and he instantly understood.

"Where is the most blood essence?"

The blood of this Legendary Soil Snake, just like the blood of a dragon, could grant people magical power? Many brave guards couldn't help but step forward, enduring the stench, and touched the soil snake's blood with their hands.

In a panic, Edmundo immediately displayed the Serpent Sect's signature ability.

The enemy's original plan should have been to attack the Habsburg Castle simultaneously with darkness.

Ren swiftly wielded his double warhammers, shattering all the ice spikes and pillars in his path, like a giant beast charging into the Ice Hell.

Two powerful defensive magics enveloped his body, finally allowing Edmundo to feel at ease.

"Annihilation Hammer!"

But now, the soil snake lay on the ground, which meant it could move at high speed around the area, searching for an opportunity to strike.

However, none of this mattered now, as he had already entered the enemy's 15-meter range.

"Boom!"

"Sss!"

The speed was so fast that Edmundo clearly saw Ren still in his original position, but the next moment, Ren suddenly appeared in front of him with his lance! "Ssss!"

Ren killed the guard in this situation, both saving him and gathering the last needed soul energy.

Ren keenly noticed the difference in description compared to the previous egg liquid baptism.

And Ren silently added strength again, as his heart pumped out a stream of heat, and he continuously wielded his heavy hammer!

"Whoosh!"

Ren's heavy blow shattered a frozen guard into powder, and instantly, a soul shadow was absorbed by the warhammer!

Ren's nine Serpent Sect elites simultaneously performed the Half-Head Disappearance Technique! Almost simultaneously, the upper part of their foreheads exploded, white, red, liquid, and jelly splattered on the ground, followed by the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground! It was Ren's full-power display of the ultimate technique, 'Shadow Step'! At the same time.

Ren actually split the giant soil snake almost in half, and his whole person jumped into the soil snake's body? Could it be that Ren was treating the Legendary Soil Snake like a dragon, performing a Serpent Blood Baptism?

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

"However, the description is 'trace' amount? I remember the previous Three-Headed Sea Dragon's egg liquid baptism used the description 'small' amount. Indeed, the dragon bloodline within the soil snake's body is much thinner?"

Moreover, for him, the idea of avenging Cannon and Holdan wasn't as strong as the Pope's primary mission to bring back the Legendary Soil Snake.

A silver line shot straight at the Legendary Soil Snake! Ren's lance, with the addition of two ultimate techniques and dragon bloodline, unleashed its power to the extreme.

The first blow shattered the ice shield, and every subsequent hammer strike landed on Edmundo's body.

A warm sensation returned.

This scene lasted less than a second, and eight shadows disappeared again.

"However, I'm finally about to freeze!"

Edmundo's intention was clear: to use the cold to numb the enemy's limbs, slowing their attack speed.

Feeling the overwhelming coldness from above, the soil snake momentarily felt drowsy, and it gradually lowered its neck, lying on the ground.

"Ice Blade Storm!"

Indeed, after the skin's surface was stained with a large amount of soil snake blood, the warm sensation reappeared.

At this moment, Ren's warhammer also smashed into Edmundo's protective ice shield!

Thinking for a moment, Ren still wasn't ready to give up!

Control the soil snake to attack?

Soon, Edmundo was turned into meat paste by Ren's hammer!

"..."

Seeing Ren's formidable might, Edmundo couldn't help but hurriedly cast his spells!

Ren didn't hesitate and chose "Yes!"

Ren was momentarily unaware, and he was suddenly drenched! Just as Ren was slightly annoyed, suddenly, his whole person stiffened! At this time, the system prompt sounded: "Ding! Detecting host receiving Legendary Soil Snake's Serpent Blood Baptism, discovering trace absorbable dragon gene fragments, absorb/not absorb?"

Ren looked at the guard he was about to smash, silently saying, "Sorry!"

Many guards were quick-eyed, and their corroded fingers' skin was cleanly peeled off.

Seeing Ren unharmed, the guards were even more shocked.

At this time, Ren had just jumped out of the soil snake, intending to wash off the blood.

Suddenly, the system prompt sounded again. This time, Ren's eyes suddenly widened, and he sucked in a breath of cold air!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end