Chapter Forty-Nine: The Fatal Blow
The colossal figure of the sea serpent unleashed a terrifying force of destruction. It surged into the cavern encampment, tearing through the towering arrow towers that blocked its path with an unstoppable might. In just a few breaths, three or four arrow towers were laid to ruin one after another.
The warriors atop the towers had no time to escape, their anguished cries echoing as they tumbled to the ground. Collapsing towers sent splinters flying, injuring many of those nearby.
“Gao! What should we do? We can’t hold it back!”
Under the sea serpent’s rampage, panic swept through the warriors within the camp, who retreated again and again. The palisade of the cavern encampment had fallen; defeat was written across their faces, yet none dared flee. On this blood-red moonlit night, who knew how many sea beasts prowled the island, searching for prey? Not far outside the camp, only a few miles away, a fully grown golden sea demon crab lay in wait, its eyes on the camp. It did not approach, cowed by the presence of the serpent.
Gao Jian glanced up at the main arrow tower, where Ye Mo and the poison master Lin Zhi stood, observing the battle below.
Ye Mo had already given orders: Gao Jian was to lead the warriors in holding off the sea serpent and protecting the palisade. Until new orders came, he could only fight on; this was his duty.
“No more hesitation! Attack! Dodge its assaults—don’t face it head-on. Circle around and hack at it from all sides—wear it down, little by little!”
With a determined shout, Gao Jian gripped his Azure Edge Sword and charged at the sea demon serpent, leading the warriors forward, their spiritwood shields raised. Swords, blades, and spiritwood javelins rained down upon the beast.
The sea serpent, after destroying several towers, now found itself beset by twenty or so warriors, hacking at it like ants. Countless spiritwood javelins aimed for its serpentine eyes and head. Though a sword or blade could not pierce its armored scales, the relentless assault gradually opened small wounds in the thinner gaps of its armor, causing it some pain.
For such a massive creature, these wounds were trifling. But as a small amount of poison seeped into its body through the injuries, discomfort began to spread.
The serpent thrashed wildly, lashing its tail in an attempt to drive the warriors from its side. Yet the warriors were nimble and small. When it swung its tail, they hacked at its body; when it turned to bite, they evaded and attacked its head with javelins.
Wherever it lunged, the warriors scattered, only to return and press the attack as soon as its gaze shifted. Its enormous body could not defend every angle.
Frustrated and impatient, the serpent’s eyes flashed with ferocity as it suddenly opened its cavernous maw. Dense water vapor coalesced, and a massive water arrow began to form.
“It’s casting a demon spell!”
“Raise your shields! Dodge!”
The warriors cried out in terror, scrambling for cover.
On the main arrow tower, Ye Mo’s expression finally changed. His right hand trembled—not with fear, but with excitement and battle-lust. He had been waiting, restraining himself from joining the fray, for this precise moment: the instant the serpent, goaded to fury, would unleash its demon magic.
A piercing whistle cut through the air as the chilling water arrow exploded from the serpent’s jaws, swift as lightning. With the force of a thousand pounds, it struck two unfortunate warriors.
One’s sturdy spiritwood shield shattered instantly, his chest pierced through; he fell limply with a wretched scream. The other was luckier—his leg was impaled, but he survived, a small mercy.
“Now! The moment after it casts its spell is when the sea demon serpent is at its weakest!”
Ye Mo’s eyes flashed with a cold brilliance. In a single bound, he leapt from the five-story arrow tower, descending toward the serpent’s head.
With a metallic ring, the Golden Spirit Sword was drawn from his back, both hands raised high.
Wave-Crashing Triple Slash!
In an instant, Ye Mo’s sword split the air, trailing three shimmering afterimages of golden light. The serpent, having just unleashed its water arrow, was momentarily drained—its senses dulled. In that instant, it failed to react in time to the danger from above.
A single instant, and the cost was grave beyond measure.
With a sickening sound, Ye Mo landed atop the serpent’s head. Driven by a force of a thousand pounds, the Golden Spirit Sword pierced through the hard scales, driving into the skull and lodging a foot deep in bone.
The sword was smeared with Ghost’s Despair, a potent toxin, which now poured directly into the serpent’s head.
“Ye Mo has finally made his move!”
“He’s pierced the serpent’s skull!”
The warriors in the camp looked up in shock, drawing sharp breaths at the sight of Ye Mo’s sword. He had seized the serpent’s moment of weakness for a fatal blow.
The serpent was seized by agonizing pain, thrashing madly to throw off the attacker on its head.
“Hold on! Its head is drenched in Ghost’s Despair—it won’t last long!”
Ye Mo gripped the hilt with all his strength, refusing to let go. He knew that if he were thrown off, he would become the serpent’s prime target for revenge. Unlike He An, his agility was not peerless. Even his golden armor might not withstand a single blow from the beast—he would be crushed instantly.
The serpent rolled and crashed through the camp, battering its own body against tower after tower in a desperate attempt to shake him off.
The other warriors retreated to a safe distance, ceasing their attacks. Their earlier harassment had only distracted the serpent, drawing its attention from the true threat: Ye Mo’s enchanted sword, a weapon worthy of an immortal, capable of piercing its scales.
This single blow from Ye Mo was more devastating than all their combined efforts.
They watched the serpent’s head with bated breath, hearts pounding for Ye Mo, who now fought atop the monster in a desperate struggle.
Ye Mo dared not relax his grip, the Golden Spirit Sword buried deep in the serpent’s skull.
The fight was at its fiercest.
Under the broken moonlight and blazing bonfires, the sea serpent was driven to madness. In its agony and rage, all reason was lost; its cruel eyes glowed with a sinister, mesmerizing light as it crashed into anything in its path.
Unable to rid itself of Ye Mo, the serpent opened its maw, firing water arrows wildly at the surrounding warriors and camp.
With a roar, a water arrow punched through an arrow tower, shattering the wooden structure. Warriors struck by the arrows were hurled aside, their shields splintered.
The sheer power of the serpent’s attacks left the warriors with no choice but to dodge for their lives.
After spitting out seven or eight water arrows, the serpent’s attacks began to wane.
“It took a sword to the head—and with Ghost’s Despair poison—how is it still alive?!”
Ye Mo gritted his teeth, struggling to hold on. The serpent’s vitality was astounding.
Had it not been for his sturdy golden armor deflecting debris, he might have been killed by the falling towers long ago.
This serpent was far more formidable than any young demon crab he had faced before.
Were it not for the warriors’ distraction and his perfectly timed ambush at the serpent’s weakest moment, he would have died a dozen times in a direct confrontation.
The sea serpent’s rampage was like a storm, devastating the camp.
Nearly half the encampment was reduced to rubble.
At last, a paralysis unlike anything the serpent had ever felt crept through its vast body. Its consciousness faded... it never found the enemy that dealt it the mortal blow.
With a crashing sound, the serpent’s massive body collapsed within the camp, sending clouds of dust into the air.
Ye Mo’s arms were numb. At last, as the serpent fell, he released his grip, leapt to the side, and rolled to a safe landing a few yards away. He watched the serpent intently, his coarse tunic soaked through with sweat.
Even after its fall, the serpent’s body still convulsed.
Miles away, the golden sea demon crab watched the serpent’s demise in alarm, retreating slowly into the forest. The death of a creature even mightier than itself in this camp filled it with unease. Its years of battle in the eastern seas had taught it: never provoke an enemy more fearsome than a sea demon serpent.
“Is it dead?”
“I’m not sure—anyone want to check?”
“Not me!”
The warriors stared in fear at the fallen serpent, keeping their distance. Even in death, its presence was enough to fill them with dread.
Only after a long silence, when the serpent lay completely still, did a bold warrior creep forward. Seeing its eyes lifeless and glazed, they confirmed the beast was truly dead.
“It’s dead—the serpent is finally dead!”
“We survived!”
A thunderous cheer erupted throughout the camp, echoing long before finally subsiding as the survivors began to restore order.
For these warriors, slaying such a formidable sea demon serpent was a joy and triumph beyond words. Though the battle came at a heavy cost, the exhilaration of survival outweighed their sorrow.
“Brother Lin, take a few men and see that our fallen brothers are laid to rest. It’s the least we can do for them.”
Ye Mo’s gaze swept the devastated camp, lingering on the bodies of four or five warriors. He sighed inwardly. Since setting out for the Eastern Sea in pursuit of immortality, escaping shipwreck only to find themselves stranded on this island, several more had perished.
How many such warriors had been buried along this road to seek immortality in the Eastern Sea?
A warrior’s pinnacle!
Renown throughout the world!
Seeking immortality in the Eastern Sea!
The path to ascension!
Every step toward immortality was soaked in the blood of countless warriors—none could rise above the mundane world with ease.
“Very well, I’ll see to it at once,” Lin Zhi replied, his tone now carrying new respect.
With Ye Mo’s decisive slaying of the sea demon serpent—a creature on par with immortals—the warriors now fully revered him. The veneration for strength and power, whether in the mortal world or along the path to immortality in the Eastern Sea, was ever the same.