2. Teamwork

That beast stands there with its ravenous sight, sticking out its split tongue with a hiss. The team readied themselves for a strike, terrified as hell, but some of them tried to examine the situation, like what was on Mei Li's head. She has been focused on observing the creature.

There is something uncommon about the snake. On top of its eyes, there are large horns curved a little bit backward, expanding its sinister allure. The monster began to move and descended, charging so fast that it was capable of making all of them bounce back in terror. Ha Suan responded quickly, standing in front of his members with a shield.

Even though they were taking cover behind the leader, it was not enough. The amount of destruction, when Carastes ran into Ha Suan with that speed threw them into a near-death state for an instant, leaving some of them ricocheting in various directions in an awful condition, their bodies feeling numb and making it too hard to stand.

"Damn... it's hurt!" Arknar moaned in pain, unable to move other than lying on the dirt.

Howard was seen unconscious. He was supposed to heal the other members, but now it seemed they were on their own. On the other side, Liu Han was able to move despite the menace because, in a split second, he was able to avoid it, just like Mei Li. She was now trying to bait the serpent with her wonderful acrobatic moves.

Even after the dreadful crash, Ha Suan could hold firm with his sword embedded in the sand, having been sent off and tossed around. "What a strength! I shouldn't underestimate it," he said as he stared at his destroyed shield.

He hurls it and drinks a bottle of rare tier potion which can be identified as blue color. "Liu Han, recover them as fast as you can! I'm off with Mei Li."

Liu Han nodded and ran to Howard as soon as possible. The Healer is their top priority right now, without him, this mission feels impossible to achieve.

Mei Li, however, still endures the series of threats from that creature. Her swiftness has made her untouchable, continuously doing some attacks while evading all the dangers.

Mei Li, at some point, miscalculates her stamina regeneration and ends up unable to move. It's a bad time indeed when the mouth in front of her opens wide, about to consume her alive.

In a sheer moment, Mei Li becomes vulnerable and sees her impending death before Ha Suan appears with a slash that hits the monster.

A loud hiss comes from the snake as it squirms, preparing for its next move with its tail. Ha Suan and Mei Li can't avoid the blow and get blown off a few meters. The beast then hides under the sand and slides in the direction of Liu Han, who is still busy rescuing Howard from the last blast.

"Come on!" Liu Han is a little bit bitter, feeling thrilled as the dune moves faster toward him. "Please, wake up!"

As the scattered sand approaches him, Liu Han witnesses a marvelous view of the serpent, which emerges with its gigantic size, showing off its venomous fangs right in front of Liu Han, who is about to run away with Howard on his back. Luckily, he can dodge it yet again but in a messy condition due to the impact.

Poor Howard was forced to feel discomfort when his body rolled over, waking him up from his slumber.

As his eyes tried to focus on what was in front of him, he started mumbling, "What's happening?" He then noticed a man running for his life, with Carastes following him like a dolphin.

The creature leaped from one to another with a fearful sound, shredding Liu Han's mentality to pieces. He could no longer keep his pace as his stamina almost dried up, making it hard to breathe.

However, he had to ensure that the Carastes were still pursuing him because Arknar and Mei Li stood ahead, casting their ultimate skills.

A light yellowish arrow glowed as Mei Li aimed, while Arknar held a massive fireball in his hand. The beast closed its gap, ready to prey on the tiny human who was scared of getting caught. The sand beneath Liu Han's feet began to tremble, causing him to struggle to maintain his shaky steps.

"Hang on!" Ha Suan screamed, standing beside Mei Li.

Liu Han is out of breath right now, and his speed is drastically changing very slowly. The stamina bar has turned red, and it is almost depleted. He feels like walking but at an intermediate tempo.

Simultaneously, his sight begins to blur, and the rays of power in front of him are the only things he can notice. Yet, Arknar and Mei Li are about to unleash their supreme skills.

"Luxa Statera!" Mei Li exclaims, her voice resonating emphatically around them.

"Ignisa Flamen!" Arknar utters deeply, projecting his skill alongside Mei Li.

As the two energies merged, sparkling fires scattered like fireworks. The combination of two colors has made that destructive magic wonderful to look at, let alone its violent effects. Liu Han was on the verge of consciousness, forcing himself to gather all his remaining stamina to stay awake, determined to persevere until the end.

"Move now!" A shout came from Ha Suan carried out directly by Liu Han with his desperate scream.

The young man immediately changes his path sideways, gliding over the sand and starting to overturn. Meanwhile, Carastes is no longer hiding beneath the sand but slithering on the surface, having to face such burst damage. A spectacular explosion hits the snake, burning all over its skin and body without stopping, heading towards Ha Suan and his companions.

The warrior quickly saves them both, rolling instead of smoothly sliding to the other side of the area. During their tumble, some of their belongings spill out. Meanwhile, Carastes, still on fire, collides with a nearby dune hill, abruptly ending the battle between them.

From a distance, Howard is seen running towards their team members, especially Liu Han. He's just lying there with blank eyes staring at the sky. His chest is moving up and down as he takes deep breaths manually, gradually increasing his stamina again. Not too long after, his view is disturbed by Howard's dusty face.

"You okay?" said Howard, concerned, starting to perform his tradition. "Axilo."

His palm suddenly started glowing, emitting bright green-white colors. Howard closed both of his eyes, fully focusing on himself as his mana started to decrease. Liu Han felt his body was no longer heavy, and some of the aches disappeared slowly.

"As expected, that spell is not a common healing skill, am I right?" Liu Han noticed the difference in Howard's chants from before.

"It is to make sure our bodies stay fit from the harmful effects," Howard said, opening his blue eyes. Suddenly, his expression became serious. "We are still not finished here."

Arknar hurried at two of them followed by the others behind and said, "What a fight! Do we happen to confront that thing again?"

"I don't know," the man with the wizard robe stood, turning his head to the altars. "But this boss has three stages. I wonder what those sculptures have to do with this."

"Let's move out." Ha Suan extended his hand to Liu Han. "Let us do our best!"

The young man smiled and accepted his hand to stand up. "Thank you."

The team walked towards the location of the five altars, only to realize that the statues atop them were shaped like snakes. However, the one in the center stood out distinctly. It was no longer in the form of a serpent but rather a dragon!

Howard, who was still observing, approached the statue. He noticed an inscription engraved there. Roughly translated, it said:

"In the realm of sands, where ancient secrets lie concealed, Vithra, the fiery behemoth, soared aloft, scorching the desert in its fervent dance. The Altar of Magic, a guardian in its shadow, yearned for a strength akin to the dragon's flame."

"What does all of this mean?" Howard murmured, feeling a powerful jolt like an earthquake.

They all wavered and struggled to regain their balance. Suddenly, to their surprise, a creature emerged from within the sand, forcefully throwing them all off. However, this time, it didn't slither but flew with its wings that spanned the horizon, landing precisely on the central altar.

As the inscription had mentioned, a dragon with thick, red skin perched there, adorned with spikes and horns. Vithra, without hesitation, stretched its neck upward while opening its mouth, forming an orb of energy where massive power converged into one.

"Damn it! What are we supposed to do?" Arknar was thoroughly restless as he witnessed the terrifying scene before him.

"Mei Li!" Without a complete command from Ha Suan, the girl understood and directed her arrow toward the monster.

Upon release, the shot couldn't even break through and strike Vithra, as if there was an unseen barrier encompassing them. Mei Li was immensely taken aback, and hope began to fade.

"What is going on? Are we trapped here?" Arknar stammered with anxiety, attempting to run but colliding with the transparent barrier. "This is truly dire! There's no way out!"

"There is one if it's true," Howard uttered, unleashing a basic fire spell on his hand. "Let's try it out, shall we?"