Jason stood nearby, calming his battle qi. The fight and pursuit had consumed quite a bit of it.
His opponent was also holding his breath and calming himself. He had just broken through, and his battle qi was unstable.
The two sides faced off for nearly five minutes, until both men's battle qi had stabilized and withdrawn into their bodies.
Jason tossed aside his saber and shield, along with the bow and arrows on his back, and took up his two-handed straight saber, a Tang saber.
Jason had long since sent the zombie bird back to the Netherworld. His mind was clear now, and he was in peak condition.
His opponent had also been surprised to see the strange bird, finally realizing what had kept him from hiding.
Jason found his opponent troublesome. The man was clearly a seasoned mercenary, while Jason had spent only a dozen or so days training in the Sunset Mountain Range, and had fought nothing but magical beasts.
If his opponent had not just broken through and had an unstable foundation, Jason would have turned and left.
The sword-and-shield warrior launched straight into a savage charge, cutting through everything in his path.
Jason jogged forward in short strides. Just before they collided, he leaped high, pushed off a nearby tree trunk, and sprang above and behind his opponent, bringing his saber straight down.
The sword-and-shield warrior located him by sound and quickly spun around. After blocking with his shield, he thrust his broad-bladed sword straight at Jason's face.
Jason tilted his head aside to dodge and quickly pulled away.
In that first exchange, both men had gauged each other's strength.
Jason was fast and struck hard, wielding his two-handed straight saber with great agility. The sword-and-shield warrior had strong offense and defense, as well as extensive combat experience.
And for the first time, Jason realized that his Thunder Swift Lightning Battle Qi was not actually so poor. Instructor Feidier's earlier assessment had probably been made in comparison with the other top-grade battle qi cultivation methods in the Rhine Clan's collection.
Compared with warriors of common birth, Jason's battle qi was by no means inferior. In every respect, it was outstanding among battle qi of the same attribute.
Jason attacked in the second exchange.
He charged straight in and swept his saber across. The powerful blow struck the shield, leaving the sword-and-shield warrior unable to counterattack for the moment. Jason then quickly circled behind him and tried to strike his lower back, but his opponent carefully sealed off his avenue of attack. The sword-and-shield warrior then thrust his shield forward and charged, knocking Jason back some distance.
Jason took the opportunity to break away again. The collision had sent his insides churning.
The sword-and-shield warrior reached behind his back, only to discover that he had used up his javelins dealing with the Wind Wolves. With no means of attacking at range, he was at a serious disadvantage against a warrior who excelled in speed.
Jason held the initiative, but he had no effective means of attack either. His opponent's defense was too tough, and he was highly experienced.
Just then, a violent disturbance came from nearby. Looking closely, Jason saw that it was the Green-Striped Giant Python from earlier.
During the pursuit, Jason had faced off against this Green-Striped Giant Python for several minutes. He had chosen to avoid it, and it had not stopped him, but for some reason it had followed him here.
Green-Striped Giant Pythons were water-attribute magical beasts, generally at the sixth or seventh level. The strongest could reach the eighth level.
This Green-Striped Giant Python had probably reached the seventh level only recently and was still roaming between the middle and outer regions of the Sunset Mountain Range.
"Trouble," Jason muttered, immediately backing away.
Jason was not actually flustered. With the magic scrolls he carried, he could kill even an eighth-level magical beast.
But that would defeat the purpose of his training.
Water Mist Technique was a water-attribute spell that Green-Striped Giant Pythons could cast naturally just by breathing. The water mist released by a seventh-level Green-Striped Giant Python severely obstructed both men's vision.
The Green-Striped Giant Python had already seen Jason's speed, and the sword-and-shield warrior was clearly a hard-shelled turtle.
The Green-Striped Giant Python had not been at the seventh level for long, but it had plenty of experience fighting humans. Seventh-Level Magical Beasts were already quite intelligent. It had secretly observed the two men's strength earlier, and neither seemed capable of inflicting a fatal injury on it.
The water-attribute Green-Striped Giant Python had a flexible body that made it easy to dissipate force, and the magic it had awakened was geared toward defense. Once it wrapped itself around a human, few seventh-level warriors could escape.
The sword-and-shield warrior turned and fled. Given his strength and the nature of his battle qi, he could not withstand the Green-Striped Giant Python at all.
Jason leaped straight up into a tree.
The Green-Striped Giant Python was clever. Knowing it could not catch Jason, it went after the other man alone, snapping at him.
Jason thought for a moment and gave up on kicking a man while he was down for the time being. What he wanted was a chance to test himself in combat, preferably not a fight to the death, one where he could hone his martial skills and be sure of getting away unscathed.
Just such an opportunity lay before him.
Neither the Green-Striped Giant Python nor the sword-and-shield warrior could catch Jason, so he could escape at his leisure.
Jason had just been troubled by his inability to break through the sword-and-shield warrior's defenses. Now it seemed he could simply wait until the man and snake had decided the winner, then fight whichever one emerged with a costly victory.
The sword-and-shield warrior could not outrun the Green-Striped Giant Python, and no expert capable of defeating it was likely to pass through this area.
The sword-and-shield warrior glanced at Jason in the distance, then turned straight around to fight.
His sword struck the python seven inches behind its head, but an armor of ice blocked the blow.
The Green-Striped Giant Python pressed forward, trying to wrap itself around the sword-and-shield warrior.
The sword-and-shield warrior slammed his shield against the python's body and used the impact to leap away. As he did so, he slashed across its head, leaving a wound.
"Hiss!" The Green-Striped Giant Python recoiled in pain, then rammed its body at him again. The sword-and-shield warrior wisely climbed a giant tree.
But pythons could climb trees too, and this one was not slow at all. Seeing that it was about to catch him, the sword-and-shield warrior leaped, trying to reach another tree, only to see an icicle flying toward him.
His shield saved his life once again, but it shattered in the process.
The sword-and-shield warrior also fell to the ground, and the python seized the chance to attack.
Without his shield to defend him, the sword-and-shield warrior immediately fell into a disadvantage. His repeated thrusts with his one-handed sword were all stopped by magic and the Green-Striped Giant Python's hide.
At last, with a scream, the sword-and-shield warrior was swept up in the python's coils and gradually fell silent.
Watching the struggle between man and snake, Jason slapped his forehead.
"I forgot I could use magic."
Among low-level necromancy spells, the most direct attack was Soul Shock, which was exceptionally effective against warriors. If Jason had used it during their close-quarters fight, he could have decapitated his opponent on the spot.
"That move doesn't seem useful against this Green-Striped Giant Python."
A magical beast's spiritual power and magical strength also grew with its level. Although they did not necessarily grow in step, there was generally not much difference between them.
A Seventh-Level Magical Beast's spiritual power would be at the peak of the fifth level even in the worst case. The leopard belonging to Linley in the original story had broken through by devouring a Saint-level magicite core, a situation that would leave a magical beast's spiritual power far below its own level.
Saber in hand, Jason jumped down from the tree and walked over to face the Green-Striped Giant Python.
The Green-Striped Giant Python found it strange. Why had this human not left? Did he think he could win?
Still, the Green-Striped Giant Python cautiously refrained from swallowing the sword-and-shield warrior. Instead, it coiled its body and assumed a fighting stance.
Jason once again charged and struck straight down.
The Green-Striped Giant Python turned its head aside and used its flexible body and innate magic to meet the saber, then snapped at him.
Jason pushed hard with both legs and sprang backward, avoiding the attack.
Jason's attack was clearly a notch stronger than the sword-and-shield warrior's had been, and lightning-attribute battle qi had an advantage over water-attribute magic. A bloody mark appeared on the python's body.
The Green-Striped Python was strong, much stronger than the sword-and-shield warrior, and it had both magical and physical prowess. Even after a fierce battle with the warrior, it still had a clear advantage over Jason.
The sword-and-shield warrior had only been able to defend and counterattack against Jason, who had held the advantage throughout. Now, however, Jason was barely fending off the python's attacks. No wonder the Green-Striped Giant Python had dared to interfere while the two men were fighting.
The Green-Striped Python stuck to its usual routine: charging and constricting, and if that failed, lashing out with its tail and following up with an icicle. It was simple and effective, a routine that had worked against humans time and again.
Jason's only advantage was his speed, which was why he had managed to hold out against the Green-Striped Python for so long. Otherwise, he would have pulled out a scroll and hurled it at the python long ago.
The Green-Striped Giant Python seemed a little impatient. A "feast" was waiting beside it, yet the human in front of it kept pestering it, even though one person was clearly enough for a meal.
The Green-Striped Giant Python even thought, Could these two humans be good friends? Does he want to avenge that turtle shell from earlier?
Finally, the Green-Striped Giant Python made up its mind to unleash a powerful move.
It had broken through only recently, and its spiritual power was still only at the sixth level. It had awakened a limited number of spells, and even fewer were suited to attack. Against this agile human, its only option was the wide-area spell Water Wheel Slash.
In the middle or core regions of the Sunset Mountain Range, the Green-Striped Python would not have dared use this spell. Its destructive range was too large, and if it accidentally angered some powerful foe, it would be in trouble.
But this was the boundary between the outer and middle regions, so the Green-Striped Python was not afraid.
The Green-Striped Python coiled its body again. Water-attribute elements around it responded and quickly gathered, and then water-blue magic power surrounded it. As it lunged forward, wave after wave of water slashed out in every direction, shredding all vegetation in their path.
Jason no longer dared engage it at close range. The sixth-level spell Water Wheel Slash was powerful enough to hurt him, and defense was not his strong suit.
This Green-Striped Giant Python has already cast a lot of spells, and now it's used a sixth-level spell. Maybe I can try Soul Shock, Jason thought.
In fact, below the seventh level, the difference in spiritual power between magicians was not as vast as heaven and earth. At the very least, Jason's current spiritual power at the peak of the fourth level amounted to thirty percent of a Sixth-level Magus's. People had specifically measured this, and Jason had studied it all systematically.
So Jason decided to take the risk. Before doing so, however, he felt for the scroll inside his clothes. If anything went wrong, he would pull it out immediately.
Watching for the right moment, he raised his saber and charged.
A Water Wheel Slash came at him. Jason brought his saber down and shattered it, then shifted to the right to dodge another water wheel. This time, the Green-Striped Giant Python's head came at him, its owner seemingly intent on finishing off the blind fool Jason in a single bite.
When less than two meters separated man and snake, Jason unleashed a Soul Shock, then quickly stepped aside.
As expected, the Green-Striped Python could not withstand Soul Shock in its current state. Dazed for an instant, it charged straight ahead.
Jason seized the chance and slashed at the spot seven inches behind its head.
The intense pain brought the Green-Striped Giant Python to its senses, and the backlash from the interrupted Water Wheel Slash sent a stabbing pain through its soul. It made him feel the fear of death.
This was not its first brush with death. The Green-Striped Giant Python had abundant combat experience, from fighting its brothers and sisters beside it from birth to battling the magical beasts of the Sunset Mountain Range and all kinds of human adventurers. It had turned the tables while near death many times, or it would not have intervened so confidently in a fight between two seventh-level warriors.
This time was different, because it was the first time it had encountered an attack capable of stunning it.
Faced with the bizarre attack, the Green-Striped Giant Python chose to flee. Yes, this was the lesson his extensive combat experience had taught him: when encountering something unfamiliar, especially something that might threaten his life, he should flee immediately without hesitation.
At worst, it could follow behind and come back to kill him once it had recovered.
But Jason gave it no chance. He had recovered for a while before fighting the sword-and-shield warrior, so he had plenty of spiritual power.
He unleashed another Soul Shock, and the Green-Striped Giant Python was still unable to withstand it. Jason seized the chance to leap up and stab straight down, piercing the back of its neck and pinning it to the ground.
The Green-Striped Giant Python did not die immediately. Instead, it lashed its tail at him.
Jason did not linger in the fight and immediately let go. Fortunately, the weapons he had thrown down earlier were nearby. He picked up the green bow and arrows and fired repeatedly.
The Green-Striped Giant Python was already in its death throes. After the repeated attacks, it lasted only a minute before dying completely.
Jason used Soul Probe to confirm that it was not playing dead.
He walked over and pulled out his long saber, then extracted the seventh-level magicite core.
He had bought a small knife in town specifically for this. He cut out the snake's glands, pried out its fangs, and slit its belly to remove its gallbladder. Jason could not carry the rest, so he simply took a piece of snake meat for breakfast.
After the succession of battles, the morning sun had already risen.