Chapter 18

“D*mn it, I’m barely there! If only I could materialize a single scale, I could have easily killed that monster!” Zephyr lamented at the reality of it. The Emerald Serpent rose from its stupor and let out a tremendous howl, once again it locked its gaze upon the young man. “I have an attack on it’s weak spot, I have to try again!” Zephyr gritted his teeth and hastily evoked the Way, healing his battered body. Zephyr ignited Lightfoot, he was prepared to attack again.

The Serpent launched its tail at Zephyr, this was it! “Earthquake Fist!” Zephyr anchored himself into the ground, rolled back a punch, and locked the connection at the Serpent’s weakest point. The beast was dealt with a mighty blow, it careened and howled in agony, venom leaked from its mouth uncontrollably. Zephyr had blasted a hole right where the Beast’s weak point would be. With one last howl, the beast turned to Zephyr, fear now overtook its composure, and retreated swiftly.

“That was close!” Zephyr sighed as he struggled to catch his breath, body drenched with sweat. He thanked his lucky stars that the Emerald Serpent had a fatal weak point, otherwise he would not have been so fortunate. After all, he was just a Strength of level six, he was nothing compared to the beasts of Agility in this Forest.

Suddenly, before Zephyr could recuperate himself, a booming voice rang throughout the Forest.

”Die!”

A great flash of light shined through the trees, and without a moment’s notice, the Emerald beast was sliced into many different pieces. A group of five appeared after that, their leader, a young man around his 20s. He carried an elegant blade of jade with snake ornaments, bearing looks that carried few emotions. On his brow was a tattoo in the form of a snake. Zephyr felt a sense of danger from this man. The rest of the group were men in their 40s, though they looked to be his underlings, their power could not be underestimated. “There’s an outsider here… Find him and kill him, we mustn’t let anyone know I’m here!”

The young man took notice of Zephyr, a surprised look waved over his face, before it quickly turned into a daggered stare. “Sir, yes sir!” answered the two men behind him, and immediately went for an attack. “These guys must be from the Winged Serpents School!” Zephyr made the realization as soon as he spotted the tattoo on the man’s brow, knowing this, he did not hesitate to flee.

The Winged Serpents was a thousand-year-old school with great powers. In his previous life, Zephyr’s master even came to blows with them. The Winged Serpents were a terrible, sadistic school, an evil commune of wicked fighters, many would see them bereft of this land. “The sword… the sword he held was full of mystical power… can it be? Can it be the Winged Serpent heirloom – the Ouroboros Blade? In that case… that man must be…” Zephyr suddenly realized who he was.

In his previous life, there was a prodigy in the Winged Serpents, Kerr. Kerr was an astounding martial artist; it was said that he was already an Agility fighter when he was young. His powers did not stop growing, and had only exacerbated with time, making him one of the best fighters around. It was said that Kerr’s power was so because when he was 20, he achieved some draconic energy. From there, he evolved beyond his snake-ish ways, and took on the Might of a dragon. ‘This b*stard must be Kerr, the heir to the Winged Serpents!’ Zephyr thought.

“If that’s the case, he must know where that draconic energy would be! I must follow him!”

“Where do you think you’re going?!” Zephyr’s train of thought was interrupted by a loud bellow from behind. He wondered what was about to happen next.