He is the leader of the Tantric sect in Chagdu.

Chapter 90 Nobles

Remote support for the position.

"Click."

A bullet casing about the length of a finger ejected from the sniper rifle, and beneath the cold goggles was a gaze that seemed to cleanse the inorganic matter of a person.

"With more than half of the signal lost, the entire defense team has lost contact and is awaiting response."

The overhead view of the alleyway was incredibly complex. The initial suppression order had lost its tactical significance and had been replaced by cover—the current operational objective was to restrict the snake's movements as much as possible, thereby protecting the commander's withdrawal.

The combat chip that cleaned up the person had already used all its computing power, and the constantly moving gun barrel blocked every path she took.

Until a new command rises to the highest priority sequence.

"Evacuation process suspended. New mission assigned: Protect special units and cooperate to destroy the target's mystery defenses."

The other main battlefield.

Ronan has just made a difficult decision—to trust a colleague he's only met a few minutes ago and cooperate with him to defeat a Phase Two Mystic Lifeform that is still in its prime.

"It's obvious that trying to kill that thing with physical attacks is unrealistic."

Aiyi tilted her head, standing on a collapsed wall, looking down at the battlefield, her gaze fixed on the area where the serpent god was active.

"We need to figure out a way to kill her using a mechanical method—or execute her—to have any chance of taking her down."

In the few minutes that he appeared, the situation that was on the verge of collapse was stabilized. The screams that had almost torn the lines apart were swallowed up by the rule of silence, and the sounds became a question. Ronan, who was leaning against the cover, had an extremely complicated expression at this moment.

"The second phase—?" he asked, puzzled.

As a member of the Inquisition, Ronan had seen his predecessors who had already tilted, but the existence that could control such a wide range of mysterious techniques, even covering and affecting an entire area, was something that the tilters in his memory could not do.

But they're so young!

"Nonsense, if I were in the second phase, would I need your participation? I'd go tear that snake apart right now."

Ai smiled and didn't try to be mysterious, after all, information exchange between teammates is still very important.

"I'm ashamed to say that I only have a little bit of research on the Ash Criterion, and I still need your help."

Ronan was still assessing the risks, while Ai was calmly participating in the command of the operation.

"I will try to break through her mystery directly. As for you—I hope you can help me weaken her power as much as possible, as long as you can create an opportunity for me to execute her."

He looked at the two pure deer-people; their harmless expressions naturally inspired trust.

"Trust me, I can fight."

—He can only fight.

Although the deteriorating situation was briefly brought under control, it did not mean that the fight would be easy. The "defense team," which was originally intended to limit melee combat, had been wiped out, and the remaining cleanup crews were not equipped with additional mystical resistances, making it difficult to continue to restrain the snake's aggressive desires.

Even though Ai deprived her of the means to quickly dismantle the tin can, the current situation is that before everyone is wiped out, it is impossible to inflict any irreversible damage on her, and it is unknown whether even half of the life force stored in that living body can be destroyed.

If the health bar is too thick, you can only kill it by relying on mechanics.

"How exactly do I do it?"

Ronan had already raised his head, his decision self-evident, while Mia blinked beside him. "If it's a weakening in the form of a curse—I might be able to help. Give me some time, about ten minutes. I need to set up a more complete ritual to enhance the spellcasting, and it would be best if you could give me some of that snake's contents as a medium."

"Simple."

Ai took a deep breath: "I'll go in alone first, and then you guys unleash the most ruthless methods you can think of the moment I give the signal, and then we can just lie back and wait for victory to be settled."

"----ah?"

Ronan and Mia exchanged a glance, their suspicion barely concealed—their seemingly reliable colleague had suddenly turned into a reckless brute who only knew how to perform F2A.

However, he still sighed softly.

"I'll listen to you."

The alleyway was pitch black.

The smooth scales ignored the obstacles on the ground and moved freely through the collapsed ruins—although the hiss of the snakes that annihilated the enemy was blocked by a strange force, the snakes, as hunters, did not show any agitation. They simply moved coldly, turning the people they saw into scrap iron and rotting corpses on the ground.

After demonstrating the power of the "Principles of Revelation," this serpent also displayed considerable combat wisdom.

She was able to pinpoint the location of distant snipers and actively avoid areas where she might be attacked—it was unclear whether this was an instinct for self-preservation or a rational decision.

Although it is still temporarily referred to as a living body, the true nature of this mysterious life form has become a question.

Beneath her feet lay a deathly stillness, trampled underfoot, as Ai silently approached the snake.

"It's strange—it's connected to those bizarre life forms, but it's still quite good-looking—"

Even he had to admit that, without the allure of that "influence"—the serpent goddess with the face of a young girl before him—she was still a symbol of beauty and holiness. The olive branch crown on her head, though drenched in thick blood, still exuded an inviolable majesty.

Doorway agreed: "If it was created by that Holy See—that means their aesthetic sense is on point, but it's impossible no matter how you look at it—there's definitely something wrong with this snake woman; at least it doesn't seem like an image that appeared out of thin air."

"If my guess is correct—the truth will be revealed soon."

Ai sighed softly, his face finally turning serious. He rubbed his nose, and his pale blue eyes turned icy cold in the next instant.

"Let's fight the boss!"

After tilting, in the fully enhanced container, the swaying seedling suddenly plunged its roots into the bottom of the container, and the red liquid flowed between its tiny, transparent roots before entering the "Spirit Spine" mixing components. The abundant secret essence burst forth in ripples in the next instant.

"Secret Technique: Grant Enhancement - Reaction"

"Secret Technique: Grant Resistance to Toxins |"

Both are pre-set buff-type arcane arts, and they are the two most widely applicable. You can customize the special attack direction as needed. With Ai's arcane power and secret essence bonus being several times higher than that of other arcane scholars at the same stage, the effect has already reached the limit of the first level.

At the same time, Ai broke the silence beneath her feet. Almost simultaneously, the serpent god, who had been wandering aimlessly, turned his attention to her. Between his blood-red vertical pupils, anger and ferocity surged like a storm.

She knew in an instant that it was the person in front of her who had interfered with her neighing.

Seeing the serpent god charging straight at him, Ai's reaction was simply to stare intently at its vertical pupils. He narrowed his eyes, capturing every fleeting glimpse of fluid within them, as if searching for any possible "reason" that might exist within them.

However, he still failed. The snake's inorganic gaze held only straightforward hostility and destructive desire from beginning to end, which made Ai feel a little frustrated.

"————"

Where are they?

Before the snake could even process what was happening, its killing intent arrived—realizing its hiss was ineffective, the snake instantly switched its attack to venom and strangulation.

The surrounding air began to thicken, and the omnipresent, sweet and pungent smell almost completely filled the space. Even with the added resistance to toxins, a kind of "numbness and heaviness" began to accumulate in her limbs. Ai frowned, and with the double boost of camouflage and enhanced reflexes, she easily dodged the rotting touch that was spreading towards her with two quick movements.

Without thinking, Ai pressed a fireball onto the snake god's face. He wanted to test whether fire had any special effect on flesh and blood. If he could delay her attack, that would be good.

The fireball, specially enhanced with a "burning effect," instantly used the snake's body as a breeding ground for fire. The flames shot straight into the sky almost instantly, transforming into a blazing cross-shaped fireball. The crimson color ignited half of the night sky, but in the next second, it was covered and enveloped by a layer of curling blood membrane, struggling to be extinguished amidst a tooth-grinding shriek.

Ai tilted her head.

—It seems useful, but it's not really useful.

He knew that attrition and entanglement were meaningless against this monster—his own reserves of secret essence would surely run out before the snake's health bar.

The only goal is to eliminate them! Therefore, we can only address this through the game's mechanics.

For a monster without vital organs, even if half of its body is burned to a crisp, there will be no substantial damage. The snake, which had been protecting half of its body, once again regained its full strength. The attacks that swept in from all directions were nothing short of frenzied. The roar was firmly choked in her throat by silence. After realizing that Ai was using evasion as a means of self-defense, the new attacks began to show their presence.

The tentacles that kept condensing, resembling umbilical cords or blood vessels, began to self-destruct.

Like the Holy See, the serpent is a walking pool of corruption—starting a few seconds ago, even intact tentacles would simply explode in mid-air if the first attack didn't touch Ai—the splattering crimson would cover everything in a thick layer of blood, and the surrounding walls would begin to collapse with a mournful cry.

He hastily cast several wind spells behind him, dispersing the hazy red mist and using the propulsion to create distance. Ai wiped his face—a piece of rotten, yellow skin was torn off, causing him to twitch in pain. He didn't have time to recover immediately and could only dart out of the alleyway.

With two armor-piercing shells hurtling in from a distance, the tense situation cooled down briefly. The snake calmed down almost instantly, avoiding the range of the attack, and continued to hide in the shadows of the ruins, baring its teeth and crawling around.

"Tsk." Ai clicked her tongue.

Fortunately, she doesn't actively use targeted secret techniques—she only attacks using her innate power.

He narrowed his eyes, looking somewhat helpless.

Matches where the player's level and stats completely overwhelm the other are just too difficult to win!

A tense voice came through the communication channel: "Are you alright?"

Ai hadn't given any instructions, so the two of them held back from making a move. The fox shook its head and replied, "It's a minor issue—I was just testing whether my secret technique could dodge her attacks and block her poison."

—Now we draw a conclusion.

Aiyi crouched down amidst the blood mist, took out a cigarette and put it in her mouth, using the break to calm her breathing and replenish her secret essence.

He exhaled a puff of white mist and chuckled, "Good news, the Boss can't kill me instantly."

—As we all know, when numerical superiority doesn't reach the level of "instant kill," there is room for maneuver.

Next, we'll get serious.

As if walking in his own backyard, Ai slowly strolled to a very close distance—he looked at the snake nearby, and at that moment, the snake's vertical pupils were staring intently at him. As if by illusion, the corner of the snake's mouth seemed to twitch, and a strange glint flashed by.

Ai tilted her head.

—What are you laughing at?

After it sprouted, he was able to directly perceive the emotions flowing in the souls of others. At this moment, Ai saw a hint of "mockery" and "taunt" buried deep within the rotten, stitched soul of this snake.

—I finally caught him.

Now it was Ai's turn to laugh.

"While it remains to be seen whether this snake is a living being—you, the little one hiding inside, you must have created it by referring to the process of a living being. It's such a pity. If this is really just a chaotic soul without a dominant structure, then I really have no way to deal with it."

His face was contorted in a ferocious expression, and the humming sound from his abdomen almost instantly drowned out the nearby hissing.

"It's my turn to speak to you directly."

"Induction Technique—"

Using induction magic on a stitched soul is generally considered "suicide"—but Ai didn't care about that. He simply moved forward step by step, getting directly into the snake's attack range, ignoring the red mist lingering around him, and the principle of activation bloomed from within his skull.

He peeled away the naked soul from the snake's body before him as easily as peeling a lychee, and then plunged straight in.

The self-illumination of the Whitebeak's Gift and the crimson vertical pupils dissolved into one. The will to understand instantly disintegrated the shell of this "bloated soul." Ai saw countless wailing figures—those innocent dead, everything of them had turned into the red liquid here. Even with their endless howling, they still only served as the "energy hub" of this body, until all the proof of their existence was squeezed dry.

If a chaotic and bloated thing displays obvious rationality, then it must have a "core".

"Let me see what you, and this snake, truly are."

In an instant, the scene changed—

When I opened my eyes again, everything in sight had turned into a crimson plain.

Ai looked around and frowned.

Contrary to his expectations, there was no scene of corpses strewn across the ground and souls floating in the air. Steep cliffs surrounded the area, making it appear like a basin.

This is the "inside the vessel" of the snake.

Next, find the real serpent and the "Holy Throne"—and then dismantle them on a spiritual level.

Moreover, this should be an easy task, since the land of vessels may seem vast, but the actual space available for movement is quite small.

For example, right now, Ai turned her head slightly and saw a small figure next to a raised, reddish-brown rock not far away.

He cautiously approached.

Unexpectedly, this person was not the Holy See.

It's that snake.

A girl wearing an olive leaf crown, with a snake tail at the bottom, elegant like a young nobleman, with delicate and fair skin, so beautiful that she seemed untouchable.

Ai tilted her head and a word popped out from the foundation of her understanding.

"Nobility"