What frustrated Leilin the most was that this toxin acted far too quickly, and he had no good countermeasure for it.
The venom of the Great Kemosin Serpent seemed to be more than just a neurotoxin — it was infused with some primordial malice and ill will, making it extraordinarily difficult to neutralize.
The reason Leilin himself feared it was that, after his heart modification, he was partially a Kemosin Serpent himself and naturally could not be poisoned by his own venom. But trying to save others with it was beyond his ability.
By his estimate, even a Third-rank
"I can't use this ability carelessly in the future! It has to stay hidden as a last resort!"
Leilin gave a wry smile.
The attack radius was simply too wide, and it made no distinction between friend and foe. If he ever deployed it again, it would certainly cause massive innocent casualties and incite public outrage.
Though Leilin harbored no guilt over such things, he had no desire to accumulate meaningless grudges.
Right now, for instance, seeing their subordinates completely annihilated, the two Second-rank Wizards Koben and Leisiman were practically on the verge of a breakdown.
"You… how dare you…"
Leisiman roared, the lightning sigil on his forehead flaring wildly. "How dare you destroy my Lightning Corps! I'll kill you!"
He had brought the elite of his Lightning Corps with him this time, and combined with the two squadrons left behind as reserves, the entire Lightning Corps had been wiped out under Leilin's Vile Toxin Bile. Leisiman's eyes had turned faintly red, and a savage aura radiated ceaselessly from his body.
Compared to Leisiman, Koben's composure held up considerably better. After all, he was a Dark Wizard who had long grown accustomed to slaughter — no matter how many subordinates perished, they could not shake his resolve in the slightest.
His attention had been entirely seized by Leilin's bizarre sorcery.
"What a terrifying ability! Is this his innate talent spell? An indiscriminate toxin attack of this magnitude? Even First-rank Wizards can't resist it…"
As a seasoned Dark Wizard, Koben immediately began estimating Leilin's combat strength, and the prospect of Leilin deploying such an ability on a battlefield sent chills down his spine.
This was essentially destructive-level firepower.
"Not good!" Both Koben and Leisiman went pale at the same time, their levitating bodies trembling slightly.
A purple-black gas continued to billow from their faces — this was the venom of the Great Kemosin Serpent! Even Second-rank Wizards could not fully purge it!
"Myriad Toxin Seal!" The tumour on Koben's shoulder burst open. A ring of crimson flesh converged on his face, forming a bizarre, twisted circular rune that sealed all the purple-black gas within.
Only after the poison gas had been sealed did he have the composure to check on his old rival Leisiman's condition.
Leisiman was in slightly worse shape. Lightning radiance blazed across his face, and the lightning rune between his brows continuously shifted, driving the black toxin down toward his right arm. Then, with a狠 expression, Leisiman's left hand slashed down like a bolt of lightning — and severed his entire arm at the shoulder!
Though wizards could regenerate lost limbs through various means, the loss of an arm still dealt a massive blow to one's combat ability.
"You old fossil, how are you holding up?" Koben and Leisiman, longtime enemies, now found themselves facing Leilin's overwhelming menace and actually began to feel a sense of reluctant solidarity.
"Fine… fine!" Leisiman gasped, a ring of lightning flashing across the wound and instantly staunching the blood. "I can only fight at seventy percent of my peak strength at most. And you?"
"Somewhat better! I can manage eighty percent! Any more and my seal will fail…" A bitter smile crossed Koben's face. "This Leilin dared to kill one of my bloodline! I will make him pay!"
Under Leilin's indiscriminate toxin attack earlier, Giant and Xishan — two heavily wounded, unconscious First-rank peak Wizards — had naturally not been spared either.
Moreover, the young boy Leilin had killed previously had not revived. Xishan's three mental split bodies had all perished. In other words, he was truly dead.
Koben was Xishan's father, and his relationship with Leilin had never been good to begin with. Now there was the added weight of a blood feud.
"It seems we have no choice but to join forces," Leisiman said, his expression grave.
"Mm!" Koben and Leisiman drifted slightly closer to each other. "Who knows how this freak cultivated to reach this level!"
"Ah…"
At this moment, Leilin let out a soft sigh and appeared before Koben and Leisiman.
"Kill!" Leilin struck first. Massive black fireballs filled the sky like giant, blooming stars.
The situation had escalated to a point where the conflict between Leilin and these two Second-rank Wizards could no longer be reconciled. Now, only the utter destruction of one side could bring this to an end.
After advancing to Second-rank, the power Leilin could draw from First-rank spells had increased dramatically.
His Shadow Fireballs now were several orders of magnitude more powerful than when he had been a First-rank Sorcerer!
Huge black fire waves tore across the sky, nearly evaporating the very air into nothingness.
"He just advanced — he hasn't recorded any Second-rank spell templates yet! Watch out for that venomous innate ability!"
Koben and Leisiman exchanged a glance. One unleashed a torrent of lightning, the other a gray-black hurricane, and both surged toward Leilin.
Lightning, hurricane, and black flame collided violently.
Silver spiritual power tore through the void, unleashing a colossal mental storm!
Under the direction of solidified spiritual power, the Second-rank Wizards' spells manifested a terrifying potency far beyond their First-rank days, reducing the
Three enormous silver hands, each over a dozen meters long, clashed in midair like ancient titans locked in struggle.
"Vile Toxin Bile!"
After dozens of exchanges, Leilin's gaze sharpened. An invisible wave of toxin surged toward the two Second-rank Wizards.
This time, even the air itself seemed to warp slightly.
"Beware his toxin attack!" Koben and Leisiman dodged as though from a venomous serpent.
Hummm!
The invisible wave struck their innate defensive barriers, producing a sizzling, corrosive sound.
A strange glint flashed through Leilin's eyes. The invisible wave transformed into a transparent hand that reached straight for Koben.
Crack! Koben's innate defense shattered under the transparent hand like paper, a massive hole corroded through it.
"Aagh! Withering of the Four Directions!"
Koben's face twisted in agony as he bellowed.
A black hurricane swept outward in every direction, blooming like a dark flower unfurling its petals.
Boom! The transparent hand collided with the black blossom. The hurricane's petals scattered, wisps of escaping energy rippling outward.
A sphere of transparent distortion detonated in the void, faint black spatial fissures materializing in its wake.
Leilin and Koben were flung in opposite directions.
Just then, a mysterious smile crossed Leilin's lips. He raised his hand, and a vast cloud of red powder dispersed into the air like a crimson nebula — "Searing Touch!"
Two elongated beams of scorching energy instantly tore through space, arriving before Koben in a flash.
The energy fluctuations radiating from them made Koben's expression shift wildly. "A Second-rank spell? How is that possible? He just advanced!"
Pfft! Pfft!
The two searing beams pierced through Koben's lower abdomen and right shoulder, leaving two massive, charred wounds.
The entire time Leilin had been sparring with these two Second-rank Wizards, he had been buying time — enough time for the Chip to analyze the Second-rank spell contained within the serpent!
After obtaining the Tome of the Great Serpent, Leilin had acquired three Second-rank spell templates within it, but during his time as a First-rank Sorcerer, the Chip had been completely incapable of decoding them.
Only now, after his advancement, could the Chip finally analyze those three Second-rank spells.
Leilin had immediately ordered the Chip to decode a fire-attributed offensive spell, and thanks to the Chip's formidable computational power, the analysis had just completed — the spell was transmitted directly into Leilin's memory.
"Thundercloud Storm!" Upon seeing his ally wounded, Leisiman immediately charged forward to help.
A colossal lightning storm surged like ocean waves, crashing toward Leilin.
"Kemosin Scales!" Leilin steeled himself, and fine black scales erupted across his entire body.
After advancing to Second-rank Sorcerer, the black aura emanating from his scales had grown far denser. Incomplete patterns had formed on the scale surfaces, vaguely resembling the shape of Dark System runes.
The massive black aura instantly coalesced into a huge, thick shield of dark runes, blocking the Thundercloud Storm head-on.
Leilin paid no heed to Leisiman's attack behind him. His eyes had transformed into amber vertical slits, locked onto the retreating, blood-spraying Koben.
"Petrifying Gaze!" From Leilin's amber vertical pupils, two terrifying beams of petrifying light shot forth, instantly catching up with the moving Koben.
"Aaaagh…" Koben let out a horrifying scream, clutching his eyes as a ring of gray-white stone skin spread around them.
A Second-rank Sorcerer's abilities were far more formidable — Leilin's two original First-rank innate talents had also received enormous enhancements, enough to affect even Second-rank Wizards.
Leilin's speed surged, and he caught up with the fleeing Koben in an instant.
His eyes were utterly devoid of emotion. The blazing crimson Searing Touch was unleashed once more.
Three fire-red beams fused together, thickening to the size of an arm, and punched clean through Koben's skull.
Boom!!!
Koben's head burst apart like a watermelon, brain matter and blood splattering across the ground.
Crack!
The enormous black shield shattered, slivers of lightning seeping through the cracks and lashing out toward Leilin.
Zzzz!
Blue lightning detonated against Leilin's back, and his face went pale.