Chapter 204: Dungeon Run XII
Kaiser watched the Sky Devouring Serpent as it prepared to attack again.
"Everyone, make sure it doesn’t move an inch!" he shouted.
Alex, John, Henrick, and Pascot immediately understood what he intended to do.
"Leave it to us!" Alex replied.
He raised his jade-green greatsword, and countless jade vines burst from the ground. They wrapped around the serpent’s enormous body, tightening around its neck and torso.
"Blood Sap!"
Alex poured his Rule into the vines, strengthening them as much as possible.
John and Henrick acted at the same time.
"Shadow Bind!"
Thick chains made of shadows emerged from the ground and wrapped around the serpent’s body. Henrick reinforced them with additional shadow barriers, while John concentrated on binding its exposed neck.
The Sky Devouring Serpent roared and immediately opened its mouth.
The black-green aura around its jaws expanded, and the chains began to tremble as the monster tried to devour their energy.
"Don’t let go!" Kaiser shouted. "Hold it for a few more seconds!"
John and Henrick gritted their teeth and continued channeling their Rules.
The jade vines began snapping one after another, while cracks appeared across the shadow chains.
Pascot suddenly emerged behind the serpent and attacked the damaged scales on its neck, further weakening its defenses.
The monster thrashed violently, smashing its tail against the ground. The entire clearing shook, and several remaining stone pillars collapsed.
Alex was nearly dragged forward by the force, but he planted his feet firmly and pulled his greatsword backward.
"Damn it! How strong is this thing?!"
"Just a little longer!" Kaiser called out.
He raised the Radiant Sword of Light.
At the same time, his Rule of Shattered Soul began flowing through the blade. The power of Shatter gathered along its edge, causing the surrounding light to tremble.
Kaiser concentrated everything on a single strike.
He knew that even with the serpent’s defenses damaged, an ordinary attack would not be enough to finish it.
He needed to destroy its head before it could recover.
"Everyone, get away from its head!"
The four immediately released their abilities and retreated.
The Sky Devouring Serpent finally broke free from the remaining chains. Its head whipped toward Kaiser, and its enormous jaws opened wide.
However, Kaiser had already made his move.
He activated his Radiant Edge and released the stored power of Shattered Soul, pushing his sword’s strength to its limit.
Then, in the instant before the serpent could swallow him, Kaiser disappeared from his original position.
He reappeared directly above the monster’s head.
The serpent tried to turn toward him, but its damaged neck could no longer move as quickly as before.
Kaiser gripped his sword with both hands and drove it downward.
"Die!"
The Radiant Sword of Light pierced the serpent’s head.
BOOM!
A powerful shockwave erupted from the point of impact.
The force of Shattered Soul spread through the monster’s skull, shattering its defenses from within. The serpent’s glowing eyes flickered, and the black-green aura surrounding its body began to collapse.
Kaiser pushed the sword deeper.
At the same time, he released a small portion of his stored Rule energy directly into the wound, ensuring that the destructive force reached the monster’s core.
CRACK!
The serpent’s skull fractured.
Its enormous body suddenly froze.
The poisonous energy that had been gathering around its head dispersed into the air, and the light in its eyes gradually faded.
A moment later, its entire body crashed to the ground.
BOOOOOOM!
Dust and broken stones filled the clearing.
Kaiser pulled his sword free and jumped away from the falling head, landing several meters from the monster.
For a few seconds, nobody spoke.
Alex stared at the motionless serpent before looking at Kaiser.
"Did... did we actually kill it?"
Kaiser watched the monster carefully.
The black-green aura had disappeared completely, and the poisonous energy surrounding its body was rapidly fading.
Only after confirming that the serpent was no longer moving did he finally relax.
"Yeah. It’s dead."
Alex immediately dropped to one knee and let out a long breath.
"Finally! I thought that thing was going to eat us alive!"
John sat down on a broken stone, looking completely exhausted.
"Don’t remind me. I nearly lost my Rule trying to hold its neck."
Henrick shook his head as he examined the remains of his shadow chains.
"We barely managed to restrain it for a few seconds. If Kaiser hadn’t finished it then, we might have been in trouble."
Pascot emerged from the shadows and looked toward the serpent’s destroyed head.
"At least our attacks weren’t wasted."
Kaiser glanced at his sword before returning it to its sheath.
The battle had been difficult, especially after the serpent transformed. Its ability to consume energy had made their Rules far less effective, forcing them to rely on timing and coordination instead of brute force.
Still, they had managed to find a weakness and exploit it.
Just as Kaiser was about to say something, a notification appeared before all five students.
[Congratulations!]
[You have defeated the Rank 4 Boss: Sky Devouring Serpent!]
[The Dungeon Chest is now ready to be looted]
Kaiser looked at the notification and nodded.
They had finally completed their objective.
The five students gathered around the Sky Devouring Serpent’s corpse.
As they approached, a golden light emerged from the center of the clearing. The light gradually condensed into a large chest that landed on the ground with a heavy thud.
Kaiser immediately inspected it.
[Dungeon Chest]
[Rank: Legendary]
[Type: Reward Chest]
[Description: A reward chest containing valuable items obtained from the Sky Devouring Serpent.]
The moment they saw its rank, everyone’s eyes lit up.
"A Legendary-grade chest!" Alex exclaimed. "This trip was worth it after all!"
John nodded excitedly as he walked around the chest, examining its golden surface.
"Considering how difficult that battle was, the rewards should be pretty good."
Pascot stepped forward and placed his hand on the chest.
"Let’s stop guessing and see what we got."
The others nodded.
Together, they opened the chest.
A brilliant golden light immediately burst out, illuminating the ruined clearing. As the light faded, five different objects appeared inside the chest.