35 The Mara Forests (II)

The duo walked deeper into the dark Mara Forest, their hearts pounding with an unsettling mix of tension and anxiety. Every step they took seemed to be accompanied by a heightened sense of danger, as if the very air around them crackled with an unknown threat.

Their eyes darted nervously from tree to tree, their bodies tense and ready to react at the slightest sign of crisis as they followed the traces of the dark blood that stained the once pristine soil of the forests.

The trails of black blood on the soil grew larger and larger as they advanced, transforming from a solitary droplet to a sprawling pool of blood. With each step, their proximity to the lair of the Lord-level beast became more apparent, bringing with it a mounting sense of tension and dread.

Surprisingly, despite the ominous atmosphere of the forest,the duo miraculously managed to avoid any encounters with the menacing beasts lurking within. It was eerily quiet, sending cold shivers down their spines. Alexander and Oliver couldn't help but feel tense and uneasy in the unsettling silence.

"What could have injured such a powerful beast to this extent?" Alexander muttered under his breath as he walked, his voice tinged with trepidation and nervousness. There was a very anxious expression on his face.

He was beginning to rethink his decision to find the lord-level beast. If a peak Lord-level beast could be injured to this level, then the beast that injured it would be at the emperor level or higher!

With his current pitiful strength, there was no way he would be able to defeat a champion-level beast, not to mention a lord-level beast. If it weren't for the fact that the lord-level beast was heavily injured, the mere thought of confronting a lord-level beast would never have crossed his mind.

After walking for over twenty minutes, the duo finally arrived at the lair of the injured Lord-level beast, as the trail of black blood led to a very inconspicuous cave in the forest. If it were not for the fact that the Lord-level beast was heavily bleeding and they followed the traces of its blood to the cave, they would most definitely not be able to find the lair of the beast.

Alexander wasted no time, instantly bringing out his rare-ranked weapon, the Vanquisher, as he prepared for the possibility of a life-and-death battle. He then brought out an exquisite, rare-tier sword from his space ring and handed it over to Oliver with a resolute gaze.

"You can use this, right?" Alexander inquired casually, his gaze fixed on Oliver as he handed over the weapon.

"Of course." Oliver answered curtly, his eyes narrowing with determination as his grip tightened around the hilt of the sword, opting to use as few words as possible. However, he could not hide the expression of shock that made its way to his face at the sight of the exquisite, rare-tiered sword.

'Such an exquisitely crafted weapon!' Oliver exclaimed in a fascinated tone as he stared at the sword. The weapon before him was a sight to behold, exquisitely crafted with meticulous attention to detail. Its sharp edges gleamed under the light, a testament to the skill of its creator.

His eyes gleamed with a mix of fascination and focus as he swung the sword in different directions and angles, trying to gauge his compatibility with the sword and pushing it to its limits with every swing.

The weight of the sword was not too heavy or too light, and it fitted just perfectly into his large hands. It certainly did not hinder his fighting prowess, but instead boosted it greatly.

Alexander and Oliver glanced at each other and nodded lightly, exchanging a silent understanding. With steady footsteps, they then made their way towards the inconspicuous cave that the trail of black blood had led them to.

The entrance to the cave was quite small compared to the size of the trees in the Mara Forest, but it was wide enough to fit two fully grown men side by side. With bated breath and hearts pounding, Alexander and Oliver cautiously ventured into the foreboding depths of the cave, rumored to be the abode of a Lord-level creature of immense power.

The inside of the cave was even darker than the Mara Forest, but both Alexander's and Oliver's eyesight were unhindered. They could both see perfectly well in the dark cave.

Although the entrance to the cave was small, the inside of the cave was quite the opposite. It was extremely large—so large that both Alexander and Oliver felt extremely small inside it. Suspended menacingly from the ceiling were an abundance of jagged rocks, their sharp edges pointing downwards like inverted daggers. The very essence of the cave exuded a chilling aesthetic, evoking a sense of dread and trepidation.

The floor of the cave was also quite moist, and the temperature in the cave was very hot, forcing Alexander and Oliver to coat their bodies with mana, which was the abundant energy that most warriors used on the Omrys continent.

Surprisingly, there were still no signs of any beasts in the cave, but they were still quite cautious as they both gripped their weapons tightly, carefully navigating past the moist floor of the cave.

Navigating past the moist floor of the cave, they inched closer and closer to the lair of the Lord-level beast. Soon enough, they finally got to the end of the trail the black blood led them to.

They did not know what to expect at the end of the trail, but the sight before them was not one they expected to see in their wildest imaginations.

Lying before them was a colossal, awe-inspiring serpent of pure alabaster hue, its form resembling that of a mighty snake. It was so colossal that even the mightiest residence Alexander had witnessed back on earth paled in comparison to the sheer magnitude of the serpentine entity.

There were white scales, mighty and grand, resembling those of a dragon from the fantasy RPG games he played back on earth on its skin, and on its head rested two white horns, sharp and formidable.

However, Alexander and Oliver were not simply shocked by the immense size of the serpent-like creature; it was the all-encompassing aura emanating from the monstrous serpentine being that truly mesmerized them.

The creature exuded an aura of such immense power and grandeur that Alexander and Oliver were overwhelmed, their breath caught in their chests.

The enormous serpent was however not breathing, laying still in its own pool of black blood.

'This is no Lord-level beast!' Alexander thought fearfully in his mind as he stared at the gigantic alabaster serpent.

'There is no way our current military can defend against the attacks of such a creature! If this creature finds its way to Assyria, there is no way that we can win!' Oliver exclaimed internally as he stared at the immobile visage of the enormous alabaster serpent, his hands holding the sword trembling as he did so.

The duo were left in awe at the magnificence of the serpentine creature, and it took well over a minute for them to regain their senses.

"Your Royal Highness, this serpentine creature is not breathing." Oliver stuttered as he stared at the unmoving visage of the enormous serpent.

"I can see that." Alexander replied matter-of-factly, his azure iris not moving from the visage of the unmoving serpent.

"I wonder what could have killed such a powerful creature." Alexander thought once more, shivering greatly at the existence of a creature that was more powerful than the serpentine creature in front of him.

Alexander and Oliver moved closer to the alabaster serpent, but their senses were still very heightened, ready to react to danger at a moment's notice. On the Omrys continent, one could not be too careful, and even though they were just on the outskirts of the Mara Forest, the Mara Forest was still an S-rank danger zone after all.

If Sun class lords could lose their lives in this forest despite their vigilance and unfathomable strength, what would happen to them that were at the bottom of the strength pyramid on the Omrys continent if they were to become lax?

As they got closer to the enormous serpent, the aura of the dead serpent became increasingly dense, making it harder for the duo to breathe. Nonetheless, Alexander and Duke Oliver pressed forward, battling against the aura of a dead ruler-level beast.

Unknown to them, the beasts in the Mara Forest strictly obeyed the law of the jungle, where strength reigned supreme; therefore, after the heavily injured ruler-level serpent appeared in the Mara Forest, they all vacated the area, leaving the injured serpent in charge of the area.

The duo continued forward, battling against the aura of the dead beast by coating their bodies with mana, and the moment they finally got within a meter range of the dead serpent, they were met with something that shocked them to their very core!