Chapter 32: 31. Serpent of the Earth

31. Serpent of the Earth

【Serpent of the Earth, Anastasia】

【A Star Soul conceived by absorbing the power of the earth, surpassing even an incarnation of the earth itself. Due to its immortal nature, it was reborn after many years. Its consciousness has not yet awakened, and its power is significantly weakened, but it is growing rapidly and craves to absorb the energy of the Star Soul greenhouse.】

【Species: Star Soul】

【Combat Intelligence: Tier 1 [Nascent]】

【Minion: Divine Rock Guard, Tier 4 (-1)】

【Energy Source: Creation Equation, Tier 4 [Nascent]】

【Body Strength: Diamond Scales, Tier 6 [Nascent]. Energy-Conducting Scaled Crown, Tier 4 [Nascent]. Starlight Snake Eyes, Tier 4 [Nascent]. Extraordinary Earth Elemental Body, Tier 6 [Nascent].】

【Special Attack: Gem Ray [Weakened], Magnitude Escalation [Weakened]】

【Skills: Earth's Grace [Grafted], Ancient Memory [Weakened], Power of Gems [Weakened], Light of the Star Soul [Weakened], Human Incarnation [Locked], Creator's Link [Locked]】

【Combat Power Increase: 27%】

Hmph, this is truly something else.

Those unfamiliar but clearly significant terms made Li Ang feel a sense of gravity.

Creation Equation, Ancient Memory... neither this energy source nor that string of skills were ordinary things.

The items marked [Nascent] were likely because it had only recently revived and hadn't grown to its full state, whereas the latter—

【Skill: Ancient Memory [Weakened]】

【Activation Method: Passive】

【An entangled ancient connection, glimpsing a corner of the Age of Gods from memory; some methods of utilizing long-lost powers will revive as a result. Due to its dormant consciousness, it is basically unable to function.】

This item was likely why it could summon the Divine Rock Guard.

This was the first time Li Ang had faced a so-called "Star Soul."

It seemed the existence known as a Star Soul had an extraordinary origin, tied to ancient karmic connections, and its strength... even with a string of weakened information, he would not underestimate the opponent, or rather, it was precisely because of this that he would not.

Even weakened, the combination of its various attributes was quite well-rounded, with a combat power increase of a full 27%.

Fortunately, its combat intelligence was only Tier 1, which put him slightly at ease.

Li Ang felt that the spiritual aura of this thing was two parts stronger than when he had sensed it the day before, and he was certain that coming down early was the right choice.

He silently recited the command, and the elemental beast he summoned received clear instructions; it spread its four sharp claws, took a running start, and leaped toward the Serpent of the Earth.

The giant snake did not dodge or evade, showing no fear at all, and let the elemental beast collide directly with its body. The latter's impact only made its torso sway slightly, and both their bodies, which were like gemstones, emitted loud, crisp sounds upon collision.

A flash of starlight appeared in the giant snake's eyes, and a cloud of dust swirled nearby; the Divine Rock Guard he had fought before appeared once again.

The curved blade held by the guard slashed toward the elemental beast in unison, but the blade was blocked by the gem armor and shattered on the spot.

Its wrist flicked, summoning the blade again, and it performed a sword flourish, slashing continuously at the elemental beast at high speed.

Having fought it before, Li Ang knew it would keep regenerating, but its attacks could not break the elemental beast's defense. Although both had the same combat power, the latter had superior basic defense, while the guard relied on Star Soul energy to repair itself. As long as it couldn't break the defense, his side held the advantage in the confrontation.

The battle between these two minions remained deadlocked for the moment.

Using a summoned beast to entangle the opponent's summoned beast was a simple tactic; some warriors would coordinate with their own summoned beasts, which effectively split the combat power.

The holy snake bypassed their battlefield and slid its body directly toward Zoe.

The giant snake's speed could not be called extremely fast, but due to its massive size, it covered the dozen or so meters in an instant. Its sliding body reflected a brilliant luster, trailing a bright, curved ribbon of color.

The iridescent light at the front of the ribbon was the jeweled crown atop its head; when it aimed straight ahead, it became a sharp ram, signaling superior frontal lethality.

Li Ang saw that Zoe did not dodge or evade the attack, but instead raised her palm toward the giant snake, with divine light faintly appearing in the depths of her eyes.

"Watch out!"

Zoe did not seem to be doing it on purpose; she stared with wide eyes, her lips trembling as if enduring something, and Li Ang's warning could not be heard by her at all.

Li Ang threw a diamond at the girl at maximum speed, channeling his magic power, and a series of spiritual manipulations were released one after another.

The hard spirituality within the diamond was extracted and then enhanced to explode, forming a transparent defensive barrier over the armor on the girl's body the moment it was struck.

Crackle.

Amidst the sound of the surface barrier shattering, the girl was sent flying by the impact and fell off the rock mountain.

She landed on a soft cushion, which was the thick dust accumulated at the edge of the Storm Scar.

Li Ang ran and jumped to her side; the strong physique provided by the system during his warrior experience training came into play, and he quickly pulled her into a blind spot.

The divine light in Zoe's eyes had dissipated, but her eyes were filled with tears, and she couldn't speak at all.

After a dozen seconds, she said with a sobbing voice:

"I saw it again. I saw many children who had been devoured from within until only a skin remained. They, they... I don't know the monsters that devoured them, but I know they are Star Souls..."

"Li Ang, will I become like that too? Eaten by a Star Soul?"

"No, you won't. I'll take it down, just like your parents did."

Li Ang squeezed her hand.

"You rest for now and hide here. As long as it doesn't find you, I can seize the opportunity to attack it."

Li Ang looked up; the giant snake was sliding its body, searching for Zoe from a high point, flicking its amethyst-like snake tongue.

This thing was extremely savage.

Its Tier 1 combat intelligence made its attack pattern basically close to that of a beast, but its strongest point right now was its body; the Tier 6 strength was definitely something Zoe's Tier 2 water-flow formation iron armor could not withstand.

However, it was precisely because of this armor that it could, together with the defensive barrier Li Ang had temporarily constructed using diamond spirituality, just barely offset the impact of the holy snake's body.

Otherwise, a Tier 2 defense against an attack from a body that had stepped into the 7th–9th Tier realm of excellence would result in being smashed to pieces if hit squarely, or suffering broken bones and tendons if even grazed.

Li Ang let out a breath.

He generally knew the opponent's advantages and attack patterns; next was further probing.

Because he lacked an energy source, his magic power was currently limited, and his recovery was slow—in short, he was low on mana—so he could not cast spells recklessly for a frontal confrontation; he had to find the opponent's weakness.

Gathering Tier 5 magic power again, Li Ang pointed to the high part of the snake-body rock mountain; the rock mixed with various gemstones split and peeled away, and a new elemental summon took shape—a mudstone colossus over two meters tall.

This time he did not use Shamanic elemental summoning, but rather the spiritual manipulation of a Curse Master.

The colossus grabbed the gemstones nearby and patted them onto its own body, soon covering itself in gem armor as well.

Usually, there could only be one temporary summoned beast because it required the summoner to divide their mental focus to control it.

But if the summoning was performed using a different professional skill, it was allowed to exist simultaneously.

It was just that for the average person, cultivating multiple professions to the tier where they could cast summoning spells was almost impossible.

Relying on the Shaman class provided by the system and the Curse Master class he had painstakingly cultivated himself, Li Ang could control a second summoned beast at this moment.

【Gem Mudstone Colossus】

【A colossus molded in response to the call of the Earth Spirit; precious gemstones were incorporated during its formation, enhancing its abilities.】

【Species: Elemental】

【Combat Intelligence: Tier 5】

【Minion: None】

【Energy Source: None】

【Body Strength: Gem Body, Tier 4. Gem Armor, Tier 6.】

【Special Attack: Form Reshaping】

【Skill: Elemental Body】

【Combat Power Increase: 8%】

Because it was his own primary profession, the Gem Colossus was not limited by form like Shamanic skills; its body was also mixed with hard gemstones during formation, making its body strength even greater than that of the elemental beast.

The colossus took heavy steps, opened its solid arms, and hugged the giant snake tightly, instantly dragging down its body as it searched for Zoe's location.

The giant snake ignored the Gem Colossus's restraint and relied on the brute force of its body to slide, dragging the colossus forward bit by bit.

Li Ang cast a curse into a cat's-eye stone on the giant's body surface.

【Cat's-Eye Stone】

【A gemstone formed when the essence of the wind element condenses into cloud-patterned light strips within chrysoberyl during earth movements; also known as Wave-Light Jade.】

【Tier: 4】

【Spirituality: Accumulates extraordinary earth and wind elements】

【Usage: Equipment manufacturing, spellcasting material】

Spiritual Manipulation—Explosion!

The wind element within the cat's-eye stone instantly broke through the gemstone itself; a bright, milky-white light strip stretched between the Gem Colossus and the holy snake, with cloud-like ripples diffusing from both ends of the light strip, then generating a violent wind on the spot.

Crackle, crackle, crackle!

The spirituality of a Tier 4 extraordinary spellcasting material was far beyond what it had been when Li Ang first dealt with the mischievous girl; they almost immediately shaped a wild, violent storm.

As the storm raged, the violent rotation of the air itself released countless wind blades, which slashed against the giant snake's body, emitting continuous crisp sounds.

Then, amidst the storm, the giant snake, which had previously only cared about Zoe, began to react.