Chapter 494: The Matter is Settled

Beneath the lake.

The half-moon arc, after unleashing its immense destructive force, had already dissipated.

A thick layer of frost had formed atop the black-winged scale serpent’s skull.

Extreme cold surged like a tidal wave from its head, rapidly devouring its life force.

Under this excruciating pain, the black-winged scale serpent’s will to survive erupted.

Its emerald vertical pupils flickered with a mix of madness and terror; instinctively, it whipped its tail—the part farthest from its head, still untouched by the freezing current—toward Gao De.

The serpent’s tail was long and powerful, its scales small and tightly packed, with two rows of sharp backward-pointing spines along both sides.

The spines curved like fishhooks.

Once they struck an enemy, the spines would embed themselves into the flesh.

With a forceful pull and yank, the serpent could tear apart the enemy’s muscle and tissue, inflicting fatal wounds.

This was one of the black-winged scale serpent’s most effective attack methods.

And now, in its dying moment, the tail’s strike reached its peak power—like a steel whip, the water it displaced cut like blades.

Thud!

A deep, thunderous sound echoed through the lake.

At this moment, Gao De’s previous strength had exhausted, and his new energy had not yet formed; he could not react in time to defend or dodge.

He could only watch as the serpent’s tail struck him.

The faint shimmering shield created by [Shield Shu +] offered significantly greater protection than [Shield Shu ], but it was still a first-tier spell.

Thus, under the serpent’s tail strike, the shimmering shield shattered like fragile glass, dissolving into countless sparkling specks that vanished into the lake water.

The tail, still carrying residual force, struck Gao De’s chest without obstruction.

A flash of blue light vanished.

The chest was one of the protected zones of [Winter’s Arrival].

The level-one reinforcement runes offered insufficient defense against such a powerful second-tier monster attack.

But fortunately, [Shield Shu +] had already greatly weakened the impact.

Even so, the immense force of the tail sweep instantly sent Gao De flying backward.

Fortunately, he was submerged in water; its strong resistance acted like an invisible hand, slowing his recoil.

After retreating seven or eight meters, Gao De finally stabilized his body.

His body trembled slightly in the water; intense pain throbbed in his chest, as if a fire burned there, searing and sharp.

But Gao De had no time to heal himself—he gritted his teeth and immediately looked up at the black-winged scale serpent.

He knew that geopower creatures possessed extraordinary vitality, but he believed the power within the Frost Rune Martial Art, North Wind, was even greater.

His close-range release of the Frost Rune Sword Qi must have inflicted unbearable damage upon the serpent.

This final counterattack was merely its last flicker of life.

The truth proved him right.

After lashing out with its tail, the serpent’s emerald vertical pupils still trembled faintly, as if struggling to cling to its final thread of life.

But its body, save for occasional involuntary spasms, could no longer move at all.

Still, Gao De did not relax—he feared the serpent was feigning death, and waited silently nearby.

Until its massive body could no longer maintain buoyancy and slowly sank into the lake.

Gao De activated his mind; within the still-smooth second-tier source of Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, the term “Black-Winged Scale Serpent” now appeared.

The matter was settled.

Tonight’s moonlight was slightly brighter than yesterday’s.

At the Security Office’s dock, dozens of patrol boats were moored neatly together, swaying gently with the lake’s ripples, their hulls clinking softly against each other.

On the dock, several lanterns hung overhead.

The orange glow of the lanterns reflected on the water’s surface.

The night watchman sat in a small hut beside the dock, idly cracking open small nuts resembling peanuts, extracting the kernels, and crunching them between his teeth.

This was a local nut, and its taste was acceptable.

Occasionally, he would lift his gaze and sweep it across the lake.

It was nearly dawn, deep into the night; the night watchman was already exhausted, his attention long gone.

His eyes appeared to scan the lake, but in truth, they were unfocused—merely rolling mechanically, his thoughts far away.

So it wasn’t until a small boat was nearly at shore that he suddenly snapped to attention, leaping up and nearly losing his balance from the abrupt motion.

The night watchman didn’t wait to steady himself—he shouted toward the dark lake: “Who’s there?”

“It’s me.” Gao De’s voice drifted across the water.

The night watchman didn’t recognize the voice at first, but it sounded vaguely familiar.

While he was still thinking, Gao De had already rowed into the range of the lantern light.

Under the dim orange glow, the night watchman clearly saw Gao De’s face and finally remembered his identity.

He had been present yesterday when Gao De borrowed a boat, and had formed a strong impression of this young Sea Sentinel mage.

The night watchman quickly rose, left his hut, and hurried toward the dock to help Gao De dock.

As he helped, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Gao De’s patrol boat was sitting unusually low in the water.

The hull sank far deeper than normal, as if carrying something extremely heavy.

“Mage Lord, have you just finished tonight’s search?” The night watchman’s foggy, sleep-deprived mind couldn’t process details—he spoke while helping, half-dazed.

“Yes.” Gao De tied the rope to a dock post.

“Just leave the boat here. You can retrieve it when you need it tonight—I’ll inform the next shift. Or do you need a different boat?” the night watchman said respectfully.

“No need,” Gao De shook his head. “I won’t need the boat again tonight.”

“Huh? You have plans tonight?” The night watchman hadn’t caught on yet.

“It’s resolved.” Gao De leapt onto the dock, breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling sharply.

Only then did the night watchman notice the clear bloodstains on Gao De’s chest.

“Resolved?” His mind was still sluggish—he didn’t understand what Gao De meant.

“Could you get some people to help? This thing is heavy.” Gao De tugged on another rope tied to the boat.

The night watchman followed the rope downward until he saw its end vanish beneath the lake—then his pupils dilated in shock.

Beneath the water, a massive shadow drifted.

Though the light was dim and details unclear, the sheer size of the silhouette filled him with awe.

Plop!

Suddenly, a long tail lashed out of the water, spraying a great splash that hit the night watchman’s face—he recoiled instinctively, his face twisted in terror.

“Don’t worry—it’s dead. Just still twitching.” Gao De reassured him.

Long-bodied creatures like this often had such traits.

Like earthworms—cut off their heads, and their bodies still wriggled for a long time.

“That’s the serpent monster?!” the night watchman asked, voice trembling.

“Yes.”

“I’ll get people right away!” He felt both shock and joy, and hurried to act.

His footsteps clattered rapidly across the wooden dock, echoing sharply in the silent night.

Soon, the once-quiet dock erupted into activity.

The night watchman arrived with five or six others, some still half-asleep, clearly roused from sleep.

They brought a winch and a mechanical lifting device made of alchemy.

Someone dove into the water, swam swiftly to the black-winged scale serpent, and wound ropes tightly around its massive body, securing the bindings firmly.

Then they activated the alchemical device.

The ropes tightened slowly, lifting the serpent’s corpse from the lake.

Water streamed continuously from its body.

As the serpent’s body gradually emerged from the water, everyone’s eyes widened.

They had assumed this monster was merely a first-tier Thin-Winged Water Snake—but this enormous head, thick body, and the fleshy wings on its back—

This was clearly a second-tier Black-Winged Scale Serpent!

(End of Chapter)