Essence flowed more than ever in Ju’s body as he went towards Oberon’s direction; it was not that the young boy wanted to help that much; instead, he had noticed the flanking that Tylen and Aron wanted to use. Oberon was right at the center. The two of them waited for Oberon to draw out more Snakes while they grabbed the eggs.

Ju also wanted to act as bait, but not because he felt generous or kind. His instincts screamed danger the more he delayed.

"I can not act passive any longer."

As he saw Ju join in the fight, a grateful look appeared in Oberon’s eyes as the large man grew more confident; with the two working together, they managed to kill two more snakes while gravely injuring the third beast.

Tylen and Aron saw their chance now.

Aron let out a low shout that echoed around the cave, and an intense aura filled the nest. He brought his knives together, and a wave of power spread out, far stronger than Ju had felt from him previously.

Aron rushed to the egg's location, and as expected, snakes rapidly surrounded him. One of the beasts used its upper body as a whip to knock Aron off course. Aron did not show any fear, and the inscriptions shone from the knives as he gently slashed forward three times.

The extremely sturdy body of the Spiritual Snake seemed to be so weak in front of Aron, as it immediately divided into several pieces and fell to the ground. When he saw this, Ju's face showed a bit of surprise, but then he sneered internally.

Aron wanted to take the eggs for himself, but how could the others allow him? Tylen also rushed in next to Aron. As he quickly made hand seals; streams of white and blue light appeared in the air and intertwined,, looking to restrain the remaining Snakes. Tylen's binding was powerful, and for a moment, the beasts could only watch helplessly as the two approached. It seemed like they were finally about to snatch the eggs.

However, Ju’s mind sensed the arrival of another entity, and it moved so fast that it pierced Aron instantly. Aron’s eyes widened during this life-or-death situation as he yelled.

“Explode!”

One of the inscription's knives vibrated intensely and scattered in a flash of bright light. The new foe hissed with pain as it moved backward slightly. Aron quickly used this opportunity to retreat; however, drops of blood appeared where he stood as he held his midsection. Although it was not completely fatal, Aron had been seriously wounded in a single exchange; seeing another variable appear, Tylen had no choice but to cancel his technique, and the snakes immediately swarmed the group leader.

"There was another snake as powerful as this?"

Ju didn’t have time to worry about Tylen and Aron as he observed this new arrival. It was larger than the others, although not as big as the Mother Snake. Also, unlike the smaller snakes, this newcomer had a small horn on its head, and its spiritual pressure was higher. Although this snake did not form a core, it was as close as the Falcon leader had been during their last hunt.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Although against the falcon leader, they had used a formation to defeat the beast, this time it was different. Right now, they all were somewhat exhausted because of the previous fights, and now a stronger opponent had appeared. It was not like all the smaller snakes had been killed. About half remained of them. So not only were they short of power, the group was grossly outnumbered.

“This is not looking good.”

Ju's expression gradually turned grim.

One of Mason’s arms was missing as he took deep breaths. The Mother Snake’s counterattack had been extremely vicious,

“I am quite lucky to lose just an arm in that exchange.” Mason thought

As the battle heated, the snake slithered with otherworldly grace, performing a lightning-quick rhythm that bewildered the Essence Artists. With a swift motion, it initiated a skin-shedding process that was both mesmerizing and horrifying. Thick layers of its scales began to peel away, revealing a fresh, iridescent underlayer that seemed almost alive with power. This rapid molting allowed it to evade injuries and fortify its defenses by providing a new set of scales glistening with enhanced properties.

However, the beast seemed smaller than before. As she softly said, Madam Pang looked at her in disbelief.

“Pike, what is going on?

“I don’t know…This is an innate ability.”

Master Pike replied with a grim expression. The Mother Snake’s reptilian eye had also recovered; however, its aura was a little weaker. It seemed that in exchange for rapid healing, the Mother Snake had lost a portion of its power.

This was bad because all the work the three had done from the start was for nothing, but that was not the worst. The Mother Snake seemed to have sensed something; a furious hiss escaped from its mouth as it turned back and quickly moved back to its nest.

Master Pike and his associates could not stop the spiritual beast; rather, they chose not to. Not only were the Essence Artists already spent, but if the Mother Snake insisted on retreating without fighting, they could do nothing to stop it. It was just logic.

Madam Pang’s expression was gloomy as she muttered.

“Would it be sort of a waste for those kids to die?”

“We already bought them enough time; if they were still unable to get the eggs and leave the nest, they deserved to die, but you are right; maybe we can lend a hand.”

Master Pike shrugged his shoulders.

“Did you anticipate from the start that we would be unable to defeat the Snake?” Mason spoke out with a harsh tone, and the loss of an arm troubled the Essence artist a lot. The missing limb was already wrapped with cloth and carefully preserved. Essence Artists were supernatural beings; it was fairly easy to reattach a missing arm or leg; however, it permanently weakened the person and would not function as well as before. He had lost an arm with nothing to show for it; it was understandable why Mason was unhappy.

Master Pike's expression was unreadable as he said it in a low tone.

“Oh no, I believed we had a fairly good chance, given that the SnaSnakeuld be a bit weaker after laying another batch of eggs. But it seems like I still underestimated the beast a bit. However, we managed to deal significant damage to it, and it would be much more difficult for it to break through after today. Do not worry, Mason, I would spare no expense for you to recover to your original condition.” Pike concluded solemnly.

Mason’s expression eased a bit, but he said nothing.

The trio took some time to heal to gain Essence, and then they rushed towards the silver-horned Snake nest.