The sky looked gloomy, and the forest was silent. A couple of colorful fireflies could be seen dancing in the bushes.

A Forest Python died by my hands, its blood staining the glowing Weeping Fire Blade. I couldn"t remember how many Forest Pythons I had killed, but I could see my experience had gone up by a lot. With that grind session I had reached Level 29.

"Phew…"

I exhaled and checked the contents of my bag. I had collected 45 Forest Python Sacs thus far, but I still had no idea what they were used for.

My original plan was to follow the forest trail leading into the Black Forest and lure out any Forest Python on my way so that I could take them out one by one. However, due to an error in judgement, after wandering aimlessly for 4 hours straight, I had no choice but to admit. I was lost!

The map proved helpless, since it didn"t detail any location I haven"t explored. I only had a vague idea where Cold Wind Canyon lay.

I wasn"t alone, however. I had a "fierce" skeletal python that looked like it had been built from a dinosaur fossil. It was Level 25 and had high enough Defense to serve me as a tank. It was also the main reason for my survival in this unknown and dangerous environment. A monster servant conjured with Summon Undead couldn"t be recovered, so its death wouldn"t bother me in the slightest.

Suddenly, a ring resounded in my ears—

Ding~!

System Notice: Player "Dominating Heaven Blade" is the first player in Floating Ice City to reach Level 30. Rewards obtained: 3000 EXP and 200 Reputation!

Wow, Dominating Heaven Blade is seriously killing it!

I let out a small gasp of surprise, but quickly got over it. If Lin Yixin and I hadn"t dueled each other and dropped a couple of levels, the achievement would never have fallen in his hands.

Beep!

I received a message from Lin Yixin. "There you go. See? Dominating Heaven Blade and the Domination Clan claimed the achievement because we lost G.o.d knows how many levels during that duel! They won everything, while we lost everything!"

Slightly dumbfounded, I replied, "I"m pretty sure I"m not the only one to blame here."

Her reply came quickly. "A man should have the b.a.l.l.s to take responsibility!"

I couldn"t help but smile at that and replied, "Fine, I"ll take responsibility for the two of us."

She was probably fuming because it took her about half a minute before she made a reply. "But I haven"t eaten breakfast yet…"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It means I won"t have the energy to beat the s.h.i.+t out of you…"

"..."

Happy that she had scored one over me, Lin Yixin sent one last smiley face before going silent.

Fuming, I went back to searching for a way to reach Cold Wind Canyon. I need to find that Green Pepper before daylight, or I won"t be able to slaughter Iron Pardon"s wallet!

I didn"t manage to go far before I suddenly noticed that my environment was slightly different from before. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that most of the gra.s.s on the ground had wilted, and the leaves were completely black. It looked like… poison?

I looked up and gripped the Weeping Fire Blade tightly. I had a feeling that I had run into a powerful enemy!

Rustle!

The moonlight was dim, and the night"s wind shook the three branches violently. Before I knew it, a pair of blood red eyes were staring at me from a corner, causing my skin to crawl with gooseb.u.mps. If the earlier pythons were tiny snakes, then this one was a true python in every sense of the word. Its body was as big as a tree trunk and fifteen meters long. It had golden scales and a frighteningly huge head, and when it opened its mouth and spit its forked tongue at me, I could smell the blood stench all the way from where I was! Its merciless, beastly eyes stared at me like a predator eyeing its prey!

Golden-scaled Python King (E+ Rank Boss)

Attack: ???

Defense: ???

HP: ???

Skill: ???

I couldn"t see its stats at all, but I was certain that this boss was going to be a tough one. For all I know it might even be Level 40!

I groaned miserably in my head. When it rains, it pours. All I wanted to do was collect some Green Peppers, but I just had to run into what might be the forest protector itself in this entire forest. Should I say I was lucky, or unlucky?

I gripped the Weeping Fire Blade and glared back at the Golden-scaled Python King with equal ferocity. I"ll fight! I won"t cower in fear! That"s not how I play my game!

Behind me, the Cyanfire Cloak fluttered slightly to the wind. Its 22 Defense and +7 Stamina was one of the main reasons I hadn"t bolted off yet. With a total HP pool of 610, it wasn"t completely hopeless.

"Hiss hiss!"

The Golden-scaled Python King continued to flick its tongue in and out as it stared at me. Then, it coiled and shot straight for me like a cannonball, its mouth opened wide! It was incredibly frightening!

I sidestepped at the right time and was barely able to dodge the boss"s attack. At the same time, the Weeping Fire Blade burned with the light of Slayer Slash and plunged into its fles.h.!.+

Crack!

My attack hit the boss"s weak point perfectly, and a pleasing amount of damage entered my view—376!

That was good news. If I could break through its defense, then killing this boss was definitely possible.

However, the Golden-scaled Python King quickly turned toward me and spat a mouthful of poisonous venom. My body immediately felt numb as my HP started dropping drastically—

Beep!

Combat Log: You are taking poison damage. You are losing 5% HP every 10 seconds!

Thwack!

410!

Moreover, the monster swung its tail across my chest armor and dropped its durability to almost nothing in the blink of an eye. The boss"s damage was just too much to handle!

I chugged a potion and decided to not take this battle head-on. I turned 45 degrees clockwise, bent at my waist and lunged towards a pair of large trees with the speed of a lightning bolt.

"Roar!"

The Golden-scaled Python King pounced toward me again with open jaws. But to my surprise, it caught the trees instead of me and sank its fangs deep into their trunks. The boss struggled with all its might, but its venomous fangs were so long that they nearly penetrated the wood completely. The two large trees shook violently as the python roared and thrashed around again and again.

My eyes lit up as the golden opportunity landed in my lap. Who would"ve thought that a boss would make a mistake like this? The heavens were practically helping me out here!

I immediately ran up to the boss and attacked its weak point again and again. I also never stayed in one place so that its tail couldn"t get a firm lock on me.

Crack crack crack!

A few hits later, a pair of golden scales flew into the air. I had successfully broken through the Golden-scaled Python King"s protection and lowered its defense drastically!

"Roar!"

Suddenly there was a boom, and one of the trees was pulled right out of the ground. Then, the Golden-scaled Python King swung its head around and tore both tree trunks to bits. It stared hatefully at me. This annoying little skeleton was a poisonous thorn in its side, and it was beyond the point of rage already.

Puchi!

447!

I felt a pain around my waist area as the boss took a bite at me. I was lucky it didn"t swallow me whole!

I quickly drank another health potion. One more time and I"m dead!

The situation was critical, and it was do or die. And so, I activated my Earth Escape skill!

Swoos.h.!.+

I transformed into a ray of b.l.o.o.d.y light and gradually sank into the ground.

Throughout the process, I made sure to keep my breathing shallow. Thank goodness this boss didn"t have good sight, or I would be dead already.

My heart beat like a drum as I waited. To my pleasant surprise, the Golden-scaled Python King actually lost interest in me after lingering around for a couple seconds. This is my chance!

I hastily drank a couple more health potions and returned to full health. Then, I slowly made my way to a spot between the densely packed trees and the boss.

Hmph, you call yourself the king of the forest? Then tonight I"ll make this forest your deathbed!

Swoos.h.!.+

I burst out of the ground in a flash of b.l.o.o.d.y light, drawing the Golden-scaled Python King"s attention. He quickly aggroed on me again, slithering my way. As I had earlier planned, I immediately ran for the nearby trees!

My body was only about 30 centimeters wide, but this Golden-scaled Python King had a body width of 50 centimeters or longer. Just now, I had measured the gap between the trees of this forest; none of them were farther apart than 50 centimeters. I could use this to my advantage!

Swoosh swoosh...

I darted in between a couple of large trees like lightning. The Golden-scaled Python King might be a boss, but it wasn"t a smart creature.

Therefore, every time the boss tried to slither around the trees, all it really did was knocking them over. I, on the other hand, was able to dance past them like fish in water.

The Golden-scaled Python King"s angry roars nearly filled the entire Black Forest. Snakes had reverse scales too, and I had torn a couple right off its flesh during the earlier skirmish. It would be stranger if it wasn"t angry.

Puchi… Puchi...

My attack had shattered the Golden-scaled Python King"s defense earlier, and now its wounds were rubbing against the th.o.r.n.y barks of the trees again and again. As a result, its HP never stopped dropping since the pursuit began.

I couldn"t help but smile when I looked at the sorry-looking python. Heh, now this is how a "swimming dragon" should look!

Time pa.s.sed bit by bit. The entire Black Forest was turned upside down by our battle.

Countless sharp thorns were drenched by the boss"s blood. The terrible stench permeating in the air was vomit-inducing.

Still running across the forest, I took out a health potion and restored the HP I had lost. This venomous saliva is truly ridiculous; if I didn"t have plenty of potions in stock I would"ve died from poison already!

I paid close attention to the boss"s HP as it dropped lower and lower. After a couple of opportunistic attacks, the Golden-scaled Python King"s HP had dropped from 80% all the way to 15%. It was just about ready to keel over and die.

To say that I was excited would be an understatement. If it died, I had no doubt that it would be the first high-level boss to have been bested in Heavenblessed. Its attack power was out of this world, and the only reason I had a chance against it was thanks to my Bronze-grade equipment. If a party were to fight it instead, even their magic knight would have been one-shot instantly!

"Hiss hiss…"

A few more minutes later, the Golden-scaled Python King let out a dying hiss. It had long lost its kingly glamor, and it was missing more than half of the scales around its head because of me. Its huge, long body was only a burden in this terrain, and it was only a matter of time before it was put to eternal sleep.

When the boss"s HP dropped to a sliver, I immediately charged it without hesitation!

Swoos.h.!.+

Green light surrounded the Weeping Fire Blade, and Slayer Slash dropped down from the sky. I even leaned a little to make sure that the target wouldn"t be able to dodge my ultimate attack. That way, the lowered hit rate of Slayer Slash wouldn"t be a problem.

Puchi!

Blood flew everywhere, and a huge number popped into view—724!

It"s a critical hit!

"Roar…"

The Golden-scaled Python King groaned before its final sliver of HP disappeared. Its giant body slowly collapsed to the ground. I did it!

Swoosh swoos.h.!.+

Golden light surrounded me, and I actually leveled up twice in a row, putting me at Level 31. However, my attention was fully-focused on the ground beneath the boss. An equipment drop!

A fluorescent dagger and a purple skill book was lying in a nearby bus.h.!.+