Rise Of The Infinite Sovereign
Chapter 81: Snake Stampede

Regeneration.

The act of exaggerated healing that could even regrow lost limbs.

It was a rare ability or spell that Grandmasters could cast, and sometimes Masters too. Any item that had such an effect was sold for…who knows how much? It was almost never publicized, but it was worth thousands of platinum.

Now, an evolving beast.

It was simply a beast that had reached a major threshold in its bloodline and was now advancing onto a higher stage.

While evolving, beasts go through a complete metamorphosis where their bloodlines are refined, their bones restructured and their flesh replaced with far better ones.

This is why the snake's scales were falling off, revealing flesh underneath.

They were also being replaced at a rapid pace by scales glimmering with a purple and white sheen. But Rowan hadn't taken cognizance of it till this moment, when he saw the large gash he left in its eye healing at a rate that could be seen with a naked eye.

Rowan grit his teeth. They needed to kill this thing, and fast.

Thankfully, the mages had finished casting their spells as they bombarded the snake with skills. Some cast water spells and turned the ground muddy, successfully derailing its mobility and simultaneously dealing sufficient damage as they targeted the places where scales were yet to regrow.

This was where the effect of increased mana recovery shone the most. The mages were able to use more lethal spells without fearing mana deficiency.

The snake screeched in horrifying pain as its skin singed with the smell of barbecue after being burnt by a fireball spell.

Worse, the burnt part wasn't healing as fast as it was supposed to because it was also hit by an acidic poison spell.

The pain was more than anything it had ever felt in its entire life, and so it directly ignored Rowan and went for the congregation of mages, intent on destroying them before all else.

But of course-

"Where do you think you're going?"

-Rowan wasn't having such a thing as he shouted once more before going in for another strike.

"Keep firing!"

As the snake evolved by the minute, so did its brain. And there was no doubt that those mages would burn it to death if it didn't do something about them soon.

But with the obstacles called Rowan and Ilyon, as well as the numerous guardians blocking its way, not to talk of the muddy ground that annoyed it to no end, getting to the mages didn't seem very likely.

But it seems fate was shining upon the monster, because…

"Argh!"

A mage shouted as the others turned around to find the cause of the matter and their faces turned pale.

The mage was bitten on the shoulder while preparing a spell. He tried to shake the snake off, but before he could do so, he shrieked as he felt three pairs of fangs pierce his buttocks and legs, before being pulled down to the ground where other snakes swarmed him.

He wondered why none of the mages helped him and stood frozen in place as his vision went dark.

But he would have understood had he looked behind him.

Had he looked back, he would have seen the approaching swarm of frenzied snakes akin to a stampede. Only, this was a snake stampede.

Such a development spread panic through the ranks of mages as they turned the spells intent on burning the evolving beast and used them to attack the approaching swarm instead.

"Are you KIDDING ME?!" Rowan's voice resounded at the sight of the incoming swarm as his brain whirred, before moving away from the snake as he quickly surveyed the surroundings.

Specifically, the humans. He also strained his hearing, trying to see if he could hear the sound of breaking glass.

Alas, there was none.

'But then, what is causing this?' Rowan questioned.

Unknown to him, the snake lover potions Fredrick dropped were only beginning to take effect now. That wouldn't be the case if not for a multitude of factors.

The snake lover potion should've only lasted two minutes before turning completely ineffective.

Instead, because of the mana rich atmosphere, it was enhanced, causing the effect to last longer as some of its properties went airborne and spread much wider than its normal range.

Of course, the snake swarm should have arrived earlier, but there was a reason why they hadn't.

"Sh*t! What's wrong with these bastards?"

"Watch your flank!"

"Damn it Damn it! These things just won't let up"

The guilders of Red Wolf were culling them at fast speeds.

They did not rally towards Rowan because they were on the lookout for Motavu…and because they were tired from all the running and jumping.

But they weren't allowed much rest when snakes began rushing over.

So, no, they weren't doing this because they wanted to. They were doing it because they had to.

The snakes didn't just pass them by. They attacked at first sight, making their intent to kill known. Their lives were on the line whether they liked it or not. And they didn't want to die.

But they were not enough to stop the snakes from other paths as they swarmed towards the mountain where the smell originated from.

There was only one problem, the adventurers were in the way.

Rowan was able to stay calm and quickly gave out orders.

"Half of the mages focus on attacking the swarm. The other half, attack the big one"

"Guardians, half of you go and protect the mages, the other half stay with me"

"Ilyon, leave this beast to me, just make sure those snakes don't reach us"

"Ok" Ilyon answered as he ran towards the snake stampede.

The situation was getting darker by the second and it was at this moment that the sound of rocks breaking rang out once more.

With it came a familiar voice.

"I'm going to kill that b*stard even if it's the last thing I do!"

It was Motavu.

At the moment, he was standing with dust all over his armor as his veins popped out all over his body.

His eyes were red with blazing fury as he was just able to come out of the ground after pushing away the boulder that fell on him.

His eyes darted all over the place, looking for the one he believed to have caused him such misery.

But he didn't get to do so before some voices called out to him.

"Look over there, doesn't that seem like the boss to you?"

"Boss? No way, that's not…hmm, now that you mention it, it does seem like boss"

"Are you guy's deaf?! How can you not recognize the boss's voice?! That's definitely him"

As the guilders of Red Wolf peered their eyes to see if that was really their boss, Motavu had seen them and spoke…

"What are you boys doing? What about the b*stard we were chasing after?"

"Boss! It's really the boss!" one of them shouted before being handed a quick slap to shut his mouth.

"We know" the man said, before continuing…

"Boss, we can't come over there because of the snakes!"

Motavu raised an eyebrow as he asked…

"What-"

But he couldn't finish the sentence because a shadow loomed over him at that moment, causing him to raise his head to the sight of a huge snake screeching while Rowan continuously attacked it with his great sword.

Motavu's head spun dizzily as he wondered what the heck was going on, before deciding to shut down his curiosity as he looked around him.

Observing the big snake and then the swarm of snakes, he smiled.

He was furious already, now he had something to vent on without repercussions.

So, without any further ado, he began picking the broken chunks of rocks, before throwing them towards the stampede.

But while some people fought with all their might, some were profiting right under their noses.