Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 271 Endless Forest 2

Caesars stood at the bottom of the canyon, the surrounding forest shrouded in an eerie silence. Towering ancient trees intertwined their branches high above, slicing the sunlight into tiny specks of gold, which dappled the thick moss. This moss wasn't just a plain green, but rather glowed faintly, like fabric imbued with some ancient magic, incredibly soft. Every step felt like stepping on the finest cashmere carpet, silent yet gently springy, as if the entire forest were breathing.

However, the tranquility was soon shattered by a faint, almost fishy smell. It wasn't the rusty scent of fresh blood, nor the stench of decay, but something far stranger—a blend of damp scales, aged venom, and a certain sweet, decayed odor that instinctively made one frown. Caesars knew it was the unique scent of mutant vipers, whose toxins could even penetrate their prey's nerves through their sense of smell, rendering them unconsciously sluggish.

Caesars stood still, pulling out an alchemical protective mask from his spatial ring and expertly fitting it onto his face. The magic patterns within the mask dimly illuminated, filtering out the nauseating stench and leaving only the cool, forest-like scent. If Old Ethan hadn't sworn that the flesh of these mutant vipers was incredibly delicious, he would never have set foot in such a place—after all, who would want to provoke a bunch of venomous reptiles just for a few bites of food?

However, the plump puppy beside him seemed to have a particular fondness for the scent. As soon as it landed, its wet nose twitched excitedly, its short tail swaying like a propeller, and its four paws dug deep into the moss, sniffing the ground greedily. A low whimper emanated from its throat, as if some ancient hunting instinct had been awakened.

Caesars glanced at it and couldn't help but remind it, "Be careful, you idiot. These mutant vipers may not be poisonous enough to kill you, but a bite from them will be enough to make you scream in pain." He paused and added, "Also, don't forget the main business - we still have to find rare herbs, don't just focus on smelling the snakes!"

The puppy whimpered perfunctorily, paying no heed to his warning. Its nose pressed to the ground, its short legs scratching through the moss, as if searching for a clue only it could perceive. The fishy smell struck it as strangely familiar, and long-forgotten memories flashed through its mind—it seemed as if it had seen these snakes before, perhaps even... hunted them, in some distant dream.

Suddenly, the moss bulged slightly, and a dark red shadow shot out like lightning.

A thick viper with dark red markings all over its body crawled out from under the emerald green moss, its snout open and fangs exposed, and it attacked the puppy at lightning speed.

The mutant viper was so fast that the puppy didn't have time to react before it bit its buttocks. Its sharp fangs pierced its skin and injected deadly venom into it.

The viper's body is a bit short and thick, thicker than Caesar's arm, and only about one meter long. The appearance of the mutant viper looks a bit funny, like a big insect.

Caesars frowned at the sight of the puppy being bitten, but he didn't panic. He knew the fat dog had a special physique, and a mere snake venom wouldn't do it any harm. Sure enough, the puppy simply let out a cry, then swung its hips in anger, slamming the mutant viper hanging from its body into a nearby tree trunk.

"Bang!" The viper, stunned by the blow, released its fangs. The puppy seized the opportunity to bite the snake's vitals, its sharp canines instantly piercing its scales. The viper thrashed wildly, its stubby body wrapped around the puppy's front legs, unable to break free. A low grunt emanated from the puppy's throat, as if showing off its trophy.

"You dead dog, you can eat the snake head first. Keep the fresh snake meat. Remove the snake skin and marinate it first, then grill it for dinner."

The puppy bit off the snake's head and spat out the still-twisting viper. Its nose suddenly twitched rapidly and its short tail began to shake like a propeller.

Caesars stepped forward, drew a sharp dagger, and precisely slashed open the snake's belly, removing the gallbladder and placing it in a specially crafted alchemical container. The viper's blood dripped onto the moss, producing a sizzling corrosion sound and emitting wisps of green smoke.

The puppy frantically scraped at the moss with its claws. Three mutant vipers darted out, hissing at the puppy. As Caesars watched intently, two of the mutant vipers had somehow entangled themselves around his boots, one of them already biting into the ankle boot. He snorted coldly, raised his knife, and chopped off the two triangular snake heads.

The puppy had already killed three vipers, but it had been bitten two more times. Perhaps because of the pain or the itchiness, the puppy rubbed the wounds vigorously against the bark. Suddenly, its ears pricked up and it growled a warning deep into the forest. The mossy ground began to undulate unnaturally, as if something large was wriggling beneath.

Kaisas was startled by the strange movement, grabbed the puppy by the scruff of the neck, and quickly backed away.

"Damn it, you bastard, we seem to have entered a snake's nest!"

"boom--"

The emerald green moss suddenly exploded, sending gravel and dirt flying everywhere. A striped viper, as thick as a bucket, reared up, its dark red scales gleaming metallically in the dim light. Its crimson pupils narrowed to a thin line, fixed fixedly on the intruder. Its forked tongue flickered rapidly, emitting a chilling hiss.

The puppy's fur instantly stood up. It crouched low, growling menacingly from deep within its throat. Its sharp canines were fully exposed, and its front paws pawing at the ground nervously. Caesars could sense the magic power surging wildly within the little creature—the high-level magic patterns normally hidden beneath its fur were gradually illuminating a dangerous red light.

"Wait, don't be impulsive—"

Before Caesars could finish his warning, the viper suddenly opened its maw and a stream of gray-green venom spurted out like an arrow from a bowstring! It was so fast that it enveloped the area they were in in the blink of an eye. Caesars only had time to raise his arms to block it before the venom poured down on his head.

"Damn it!"

The moment the venom touched his clothing, Caesars heard the hissing sound of corrosion from his spider silk robe. This priceless magical equipment was instantly eroded by countless holes, leaving it riddled with holes. But strangely, the venom dripping directly onto his skin only brought a chilling sensation, causing no harm at all.

"Ouch——!"

The puppy beside him let out an angry howl. It, too, was drenched in the venom, its once fluffy fur now clinging to its body, making it look particularly disheveled. Far from flinching, the puppy was completely enraged. It violently broke free from Caesars's restraining hand, and the magic patterns on its body illuminated one by one. The intricate patterns shifted from dark to bright like lava, eventually transforming into a crimson stream of light that surged across its surface.

Under Caesar's astonished gaze, the puppy began to expand rapidly. The crackling sound of its growing bones was teeth-grinding, and its muscles bulged at a visible speed. In the blink of an eye, the once chubby little creature had transformed into a calf-sized monster. Its sturdy limbs stamped on the ground, its sharp claws digging deep into the mud. Most terrifying of all was its bloody mouth—its canine teeth were now as long as daggers, and its dripping saliva pummeled the ground into tiny pits.

The viper seemed startled by this sudden change, cautiously retreating half a meter and coiling its sturdy body in a defensive stance. Taking advantage of this gap, Caesars finally had a chance to closely observe this dangerous opponent.

The viper's size far exceeded his expectations. Caesars had seen the largest golden-eyed black demon snake in the crater, but this one was clearly even thicker. If he had to compare it, perhaps only the legendary golden viper from beneath the Icecrown Mountains could rival it. Even more striking were the two short, spiraling horns atop the snake's head and its scarlet eyes, which seemed to drip blood.

"Horned viper... and it carries demonic blood..."

Kaisas muttered softly, unconsciously tightening his grip on the dragon-bloodwood staff. These mutant monsters usually possessed some strange abilities, and the venom attack just now was probably just the appetizer.

The puppy—perhaps it should be called a demon beast now—didn't care. It stomped its front paws hard, causing the surrounding gravel to jump, and then let out a deafening roar. The magical energy contained in that sound even caused rubble to fall from the rock walls on both sides of the canyon.

The viper was completely enraged. Its thick tail slammed the ground, and its entire body shot towards the puppy like a spring. In its gaping maw, a second stream of venom began to gather...

Knowing that he could not wait any longer, Caesars quickly formed a complex hand seal, and the arcane energy in his body began to surge.

"Since you want to fight..." A sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, "I'll let you see my arcane magic!"

The air in the canyon suddenly grew thick, a force more ancient and more dangerous awakening. The puppy, sensing the surge of arcane energy, scurried to Caesar's side. The spotted viper, for the first time, hesitated, as if in fear of the purple magical energy.

"hiss--"

The giant snake suddenly raised its ferocious head, its gray-black tongue trembling violently. Caesar's pupils suddenly contracted, and the staff in his hand instantly lit up with a dazzling purple light - "Arcane Shock!"

The spell hits accurately!

The moment the viper opened its bloody maw, its gray-green venom coagulating in its venom glands, a violent burst of arcane energy blasted into its throat. With a teeth-grinding crack of bone, the massive snake, weighing over a thousand pounds, was flung completely into the air, slamming heavily onto the ground ten meters away.

"Boom!"

The long, plush moss on the ground was crushed to pieces, and the stinking snake blood poured down like a rainstorm. The moss withered and blackened at a visible speed, and bursts of acrid white smoke rose.

"Ouch!"

The puppy transformed into a flash of crimson lightning and pounced forward. Its body, swelling to the size of a calf, crushed the newly landed giant snake, its sharp canines biting fiercely into the wound inflicted by the snake's mouth. The giant snake writhed frantically in pain, its massive body slicing through the surrounding trees, each as thick as a bowl, sending wood chips flying like arrows.

Caesars' knuckles turned white as he gripped his staff. The two beasts were now entangled and tumbling wildly, making it impossible for him to cast the spells he had prepared. Worse still, he keenly noticed that although the puppies' sharp teeth could pierce the snake's skin, they could never cause a fatal wound—those dark red scales must have been very tough.

Suddenly, a sudden change occurred!

From the giant snake's broken snout, blazing flames erupted! The golden-red pillar of fire engulfed the puppy whole, its dark red fur instantly charred and curled. But shockingly, the magic patterns on the puppy's body suddenly erupted with a dazzling red light, and those lava-like patterns began to absorb the flames' energy!

"Fire monster!"

Kaisas exclaimed, and the record in the Continental Magical Beast Atlas flashed through his mind: the largest existing fire snakes were no thicker than an arm, and all lived in the volcanic belt of the southern continent... Unless...

"The atavism of demonic blood!"

As if confirming his suspicions, the short spiral horns atop the giant snake suddenly glowed red. It began to spew flames frantically, at a frequency so high it felt as if it were consuming its very life. A thirty- to forty-meter radius instantly became a sea of ​​fire, the heat wave distorting the air. The puppy, however, seemed to be going mad, refusing to let go despite the flames. Instead, it channeled the energy absorbed by the magic pattern back into its bite—the wound from the snake's bite slowly widened!

The ferocious struggle lasted a full quarter of an hour. When the last trace of flame died, the giant snake collapsed to the ground like a torn sack, only its tail still wriggling. The puppy was unharmed, though its short fur had been singed off. Still, it held its prey tightly, a low growl of victory emanating from its throat.

Kaesus drew the exquisite golden dagger from his waist—the Magic Blade. The moment this elven-inherited weapon came into contact with the snake's blood, the runes on the blade lit up with a faint blue light. He precisely located the gap in the scales at the seventh vertebra—there lay a dark red scale growing backwards, a common weakness for this type of magical beast.

"laugh!"

The moment the blade completely sank into the snake's body, the giant serpent suddenly convulsed violently, as if in its last moments of life. Caesars was flung five meters away, his back slamming hard against a tree trunk. But a sneer curled up at the corner of his mouth—for the dagger, lodged in the snake's flesh, had already severed its spine.

When the last twitching subsided, Caesars stumbled to his feet. The magical blade, stained with snake blood, was frighteningly hot. Even more astonishing, the puppy was feasting on the snake's carcass—its fangs so sharp they could tear through several scales!

Caesars walked forward and pulled out the short knife which was a little hot. He had to take out the poison sac first, and he also needed to collect valuable magic materials.

The giant snake's scales were very hard and its leather was very tough. Caesars wanted to preserve the snake skin, so he could only start cutting from the soft scales on the abdomen.

After the puppy had eaten half its fill, it began searching for the giant snake's lair. It sniffed the ground and headed deeper into the dense forest.