An arrow shot out—swift as a meteor.
In an instant, the Green Python King felt a deadly threat, an overwhelming sense of death enveloping its body and mind. It couldn't even track the trajectory of the bone war arrow. Before it even hit, a sharp pain had already spread across its body. All its scales instinctively flared open, flickering with green light.
Each scale gleamed with a metallic luster.
Subconsciously, a surge of green blood essence burst forth from within, transforming into a blood essence divine barrier. A beast's greatest strength lay in its physical body and innate bloodline powers. Once its physical body reached a certain level, the vast blood essence within could directly manifest into a blood essence barrier—stronger than a protective true energy shield. Incredibly formidable.
The Green Python King's body was simply too massive.
Dodging was nearly impossible.
Moreover, the arrow's speed was so fast it left no time to react. It appeared in front of the beast in an instant, leaving it only time to respond instinctively and shift its vitals slightly aside.
Thud!
But it wasn't enough.
The golden bone war arrow struck the beast and collided with the blood essence barrier. On the surface of the barrier, dense streams of blood light circulated, transforming constantly—its power undeniable. Yet before the golden arrow, it shattered like fragile glass, pierced through instantly, and plunged into the Green Python King's body in a flash of light.
Its green-glowing serpent scales clashed with the war arrow, ringing with sharp metallic sounds, but even these resilient scales couldn't block the arrow's deadly edge. The arrow carried the sharpness of metal, empowered with armor-piercing force. The scales barely slowed it. It penetrated straight into its body, unleashing a spray of blood.
The war arrow, imbued with terrifying force, hurled the enormous serpent backward, slamming it to the ground.
Fueled by immense power—tens of thousands of pounds—the war bow exponentially increased the arrow's force, combined with true energy infusion and inscribed rune power.
One arrow drove the Green Python King into the ground.
The arrow was so sharp it pierced through its back and embedded deep into the earth, vanishing from sight.
ROAR!!
The Green Python King let out a blood-curdling roar.
The armor-piercing power within the bone arrow ravaged its insides the moment it pierced its flesh. The resulting wound was several times larger than the arrow itself.
Blood gushed violently.
"What a domineering arrow. Fast, fierce, precise—reaching an astonishing level. I doubt anyone could dodge it. Who would've thought Mayor Yi's archery was this refined," said the pale-faced scholar, pupils contracting in shock at the sight.
A bow could only unleash such power with a powerful physique. Without great strength, one couldn't even draw a fine bow, let alone cause such lethal damage.
A skilled archer always possessed tremendous physical power.
"Incredible. That arrow actually injured the Green Python King—it's a second-rank fierce beast, comparable to a cultivator at the Life Aperture stage. Its body is even more formidable. He's not only strong and skilled in spear techniques, but also terrifyingly good at archery. Is he truly a universal genius?" muttered Ye Zhiqiu, tongue-tied and wide-eyed.
Yet this alone didn't change the battlefield.
Blood spurted from the wound—but then something shocking occurred.
A layer of green light emerged from the Green Python King's body. Under this glow, the wound rapidly healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Flesh regenerated swiftly.
The blood stopped flowing. The wound disappeared in an instant.
It was like a dream.
"Such rapid regeneration... even beasts can't usually heal this quickly. But the Green Python King did," Yang Ye said grimly. "That means the earlier arrow had no lasting effect."
"What incredible healing. This python is no ordinary creature. It must be a bloodline divine ability, though which one, I don't know," said Huang Chengyan, frowning.
"It should be some kind of regenerative bloodline ability," Yi Tianxing said, his expression darkening.
If it truly possessed such a power, killing the Green Python King would become exponentially harder.
An enemy that could rapidly regenerate was the most difficult to deal with.
Indeed, this was the Green Python King's innate bloodline divine ability:
Life Aperture – Regeneration!
Yes, what resided within the Green Python King was the Rebirth Life Aperture—a divine ability that allowed its body to rapidly regenerate, even reviving muscle and bone. At its peak, it granted near-immortality. Unless destroyed completely in an instant, even a piece of flesh could potentially regrow the entire creature.
Realizing this, Yi Tianxing frowned slightly, but didn't hesitate. He drew another bone war arrow.
He drew the bow—fired!
The motion was fluid. Another arrow—this one crimson—shot forth.
It was a Flame War Arrow!
The arrow soared like a crimson meteor.
Flames flickered intensely around the projectile as it flew.
Boom!
But this time, the Green Python King was prepared. Without thinking, it slammed its tail against the ground.
Whoosh!
A wave of green light surged into the ground. Around them, countless green weeds erupted wildly. Saplings soared to dozens of meters tall in mere breaths. These plants intertwined, forming a massive shield wall of living grass and vines.
A Green Grass Shield Wall.
Flexible yet filled with potent vitality, it fully wrapped around the Green Python King. A vast swath of green now blanketed the battlefield.
The Flame Arrow struck the wall. Flames erupted instantly, setting the vegetation ablaze. Even so, the plants were so moisture-rich and tough that the flames had trouble spreading. The shield absorbed much of the arrow's force—like a sponge, dulling its impact.
This, too, was a divine ability derived from the Rebirth Life Aperture.
Indeed, the core of the regeneration ability stemmed from a unique life force—the essence of life. This essence could heal flesh and restore injuries, but also act externally, triggering explosive growth in vegetation. The Green Python King's life force was particularly aligned with wood-elemental energy, granting it astonishing power over plants. It had no regenerative effect on other creatures, only on flora.
With this power, it could manipulate and conjure endless waves of plant-based defenses.
Even the Flame Arrow couldn't pierce through this shield wall.
Each layer it burned through was quickly replaced by another, again and again.
The Flame Arrow's strength was completely exhausted.
"No wonder it's a second-rank fierce beast," Yi Tianxing muttered, eyes serious.
This kind of defense was like waves crashing endlessly—unstoppable. Unless the shield was shattered in one instant, all the force would simply be worn away.
"What a shame. If I had comprehended Arrow Intent, or if the Meteorfall Bow had evolved to a higher grade to fully bear my power, I could break through even this shield with one shot," Yi Tianxing thought to himself.
But comprehending Arrow Intent wasn't easy.
Arrow Intent required talent and endless hours of practice, far more difficult to grasp than sword or blade intent. Archery required repetition—day after day, year after year—until the essence was internalized and suddenly awakened.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Meanwhile, the ogre and jackal armies advanced rapidly. Boulders and logs triggered rune bombs ahead, exploding in fiery blasts and clearing safe paths.
"Archers—ready! Fire!!" Yang Ye commanded.
At his order, the archers released their war arrows without hesitation.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
All the soldiers wielded bone war bows—immensely powerful. Their rune-imbued arrows flew like lightning. With the enemy concentrated in fixed positions, the arrows rained down in waves of dazzling colors.
Their speed even surpassed bullets from before the Cataclysm.
Arrow howls filled the air.
"Kill!!"
Ogres roared in defiance, raising stone shields to block the arrows. They swung their weapons to shatter any incoming arrow mid-air.