The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 218: Chapter 219: The Serpent of the Endless Marsh

The journey toward the southern region continued for several hours.

Ares and the Broodmother traveled beyond the mountains where the Behemoth had once rested, crossing the vast western territory before the landscape gradually began changing.

The rocky terrain slowly disappeared.

The mountains became lower.

The air became heavier.

And eventually, the dry atmosphere of the western region gave way to an enormous expanse of dark green wilderness.

The Endless Serpent Marsh.

Ares slowed as they approached.

Below them, countless waterways stretched between enormous trees whose roots disappeared beneath the murky surface. Thick mist covered much of the region, drifting between the ancient trees and obscuring the deeper parts of the marsh.

The water was unnaturally still.

Occasionally, however, something enormous moved beneath it.

A ripple would spread across the surface before disappearing into the distance.

The Broodmother looked down.

"So this is the Serpent’s territory."

"Yes."

Ares continued forward.

"The environment is considerably different from the western region."

"The mana is spread throughout everything here."

The Broodmother’s eyes narrowed slightly as she observed the marsh.

"The water, the vegetation, even the mist."

Ares nodded.

"Most of the life here has adapted to it."

They descended gradually, landing on one of the enormous roots extending across the swamp.

The moment Ares stepped onto it, he could feel the moisture and mana surrounding the area.

The atmosphere was oppressive, but not because of overwhelming pressure.

It was the opposite.

The entire region felt unnaturally quiet.

As though everything was waiting.

The Broodmother glanced toward the water.

"There are a considerable number of creatures beneath us."

"Yes."

"Some are quite large."

Ares looked toward the distant waterway.

"I noticed."

A faint ripple appeared.

Then another.

They continued forward.

The deeper they went, the thicker the mist became.

Ancient trees rose around them, their enormous branches forming a canopy that blocked most of the light from above. Strange plants grew along the waterways, some possessing faintly glowing flowers while others released thin trails of vapor into the air.

Ares glanced at one of them.

"Interesting."

The Broodmother looked over.

"Something useful?"

"Potentially."

Ares continued walking.

"We’ll collect some later."

The Broodmother nodded.

They proceeded deeper into the marsh.

Then—

SPLASH.

Something moved beneath the water.

Neither of them reacted immediately.

A second ripple spread across the surface.

This time, it was considerably larger.

The Broodmother looked toward it.

Ares’s gaze remained fixed on the water.

"The larger creatures are beginning to notice us."

The Broodmother’s expression became slightly more serious.

"Seems like we’re getting close."

Ares nodded.

He looked toward the endless mist ahead.

"Let’s keep moving."

The two continued deeper into the Endless Serpent Marsh.

Far beneath the dark water, something enormous shifted.

The surface of the marsh trembled.

Then everything became still again.

The water suddenly began moving.

At first, it was only a faint disturbance beneath the surface.

Then the entire marsh began to tremble.

The Broodmother slowly turned toward the water.

"Master."

"I know."

Ares remained still.

Something was rising.

The water several hundred meters ahead suddenly began separating, as though an enormous object were forcing its way upward from the depths.

A dark shape emerged.

At first, only a portion of its body could be seen.

Then another.

And another.

The enormous creature continued rising from beneath the marsh.

Water cascaded from its body in massive streams.

The surrounding trees shook as the creature’s movements displaced enormous quantities of water.

The Broodmother stared.

"...It’s awake."

Ares watched silently.

The creature continued emerging.

Its body was impossibly long.

Eight hundred meters.

No—

Even that estimate seemed insufficient.

Its enormous body stretched for more than eight hundred meters through the marsh, disappearing beneath the distant water even after its head had already emerged above the surface.

Its dark emerald and black scales reflected the dim light filtering through the mist, each scale reinforced by dense mana and large enough to resemble a stone wall.

Six enormous fangs protruded from its mouth.

Its eyes slowly opened.

Two vast golden pupils emerged through the darkness.

The World-Eater Serpent had risen.

The enormous creature lifted its head.

Water poured from its body as it slowly moved toward the surface.

The Broodmother remained completely silent.

Even she looked small beside it.

The serpent continued moving upward until its enormous head finally reached the surface.

Then it turned toward the deeper portion of the marsh.

It wasn’t attacking.

It was simply returning to the surface.

Ares watched carefully.

"Follow it."

The Broodmother looked toward him.

"You’re going after it?"

"Yes."

Ares moved.

The two followed the serpent as it slowly traveled through the marsh.

The creature’s enormous body continued moving beneath the water, creating waves that spread across the entire region.

Ares flew above the surface while the Broodmother followed beside him.

Eventually, the serpent reached a vast opening beneath the marsh.

The water suddenly became deeper.

Ares looked downward.

There was an enormous chamber beneath the surface.

It extended for several kilometers, large enough for the World-Eater Serpent to coil its entire body within it.

The serpent slowly descended.

Ares and the Broodmother followed.

The deeper they went, the darker the water became.

Eventually, they entered the enormous underwater chamber.

The World-Eater Serpent slowly coiled its body across the bottom.

Its enormous form occupied almost the entire chamber.

It lowered its head.

Then it closed its eyes.

It had returned to rest.

The Broodmother looked around.

"This place is enormous."

Ares didn’t answer.

His attention had shifted toward the chamber floor.

Something else had caught his attention.

He could feel it.

Deep beneath the water.

Something wasn’t right.

Ares slowly descended.

The Broodmother followed.

"There’s something beneath us."

Ares extended his perception.

The ground beneath the chamber became transparent within his senses.

His eyes narrowed.

There.

Something metallic was buried deep beneath the sediment.

Not one deposit.

Several.

Then dozens.

Then hundreds.

Ares’s expression changed.

"Interesting."

The Broodmother looked toward him.

"What is it?"

Ares raised one hand.

The earth beneath them trembled.

Several enormous pieces of metal slowly rose from the seabed.

They passed through the water.

The Broodmother stared.

"What is that?"

Ares examined the material.

"Orichalcum."

"Orichalcum?"

He moved closer to one of the deposits.

"Orichalcum is one of the rarest metals in existence."

He placed his hand against the surface.

"It possesses extraordinary durability, excellent mana conductivity, and an exceptionally high resistance to magical interference."

The Broodmother listened carefully.

"R-really? How rare?"

"Rare enough that most civilizations can go centuries without discovering a meaningful deposit."

Ares looked toward the enormous amount buried beneath the chamber.

"Even finding a small quantity would be considered fortunate."

He paused.

"But this..."

His eyes moved across the seabed.

"There are enough deposits here to forge weapons, armor, defensive structures, and magical equipment for an entire kingdom."

The Broodmother’s expression changed.

"So that’s why you look so pleased."

Ares smiled.

"Naturally."

He looked around the chamber.

"To think Orichalcum would be hidden here."

The Broodmother glanced toward the enormous serpent resting nearby.

"So the serpent has been sleeping on all of this?"

She shook her head.

"That’s rather absurd."

Ares nodded.

"Yeah."

He looked toward the serpent.

"I’ll take it."

The Broodmother blinked.

"All of it?"

"All of it."

Ares raised one hand.

The water surrounding them suddenly began moving.

The seabed trembled.

Then enormous chunks of Orichalcum began rising from beneath the sediment.

One.

Ten.

Hundreds.

Thousands.

Massive deposits emerged from the bottom of the chamber and slowly floated upward.

The Broodmother stared in disbelief.

"You really intend to take everything."

Ares smiled.

"Why would I leave valuable material behind?"

The Broodmother gave a small laugh.

"I suppose that’s true."

Ares looked toward the resting serpent.

"Stay back."

The Broodmother immediately understood.

She moved toward the edge of the chamber.

Ares remained alone before the World-Eater Serpent.

The enormous creature suddenly opened its eyes.

The water began moving violently.

The serpent lifted its head.

Its enormous jaws opened.

A tremendous roar shook the chamber.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The water exploded outward.

Ares raised one hand.

A massive Eclipse barrier appeared around him.

The serpent’s body surged forward.

Its enormous jaws snapped toward him.

Ares remained behind the barrier.

The impact sent an enormous wave through the chamber.

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The barrier trembled.

The Broodmother’s expression became terrified.

"Master!"

Ares remained completely calm.

The serpent opened its mouth again.

A vast torrent of compressed water and destructive mana erupted toward him.

Ares raised his hand.

"Eclipse Prison."

Black chains appeared throughout the water.

They wrapped around the serpent’s enormous body.

The creature struggled.

Its body twisted violently.

The surrounding water exploded.

The chains began cracking.

Ares narrowed his eyes.

"Interesting."

The serpent roared again.

The chains shattered.

The creature surged forward.

Ares extended one hand.

"Black Horizon."

Darkness spread across the chamber.

The entire underwater region became black.

The serpent’s movements slowed.

Its enormous body struggled against the pressure surrounding it.

The water itself seemed to become heavier.

The Broodmother stared from a distance.

She had never seen the serpent restrained like this.

The World-Eater Serpent continued resisting.

Its enormous body twisted.

The surrounding water formed massive waves.

The chamber shook.

The serpent released another roar.

"GRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Ares raised his hand again.

A small point of darkness appeared before him.

Then it expanded.

"Black Hole."

The darkness began pulling everything toward its center.

Water.

Stone.

Mana.

Even portions of the serpent’s enormous body began being dragged toward the gravitational center.

The serpent resisted.

Its claws dug into the seabed.

Its body coiled around enormous stone formations.

The chamber shook violently.

The Broodmother’s eyes widened.

"That’s..."

She struggled to remain steady.

"How is it still resisting?"

Ares remained calm.

"It’s stronger than I expected."

The serpent roared again.

The sound shook the entire underwater chamber.

Ares’s expression changed slightly.

Then he raised both hands.

"Then I’ll use something stronger."

The darkness above him began changing.

A massive black sphere appeared.

It resembled a miniature sun.

Except there was no light.

Only absolute darkness.

The surrounding water began evaporating.

The serpent’s eyes widened.

The Broodmother’s expression immediately became terrified.

Ares looked toward the serpent.

"Black Sun."

The black sphere descended.

The serpent attempted to escape.

Its enormous body surged backward.

The water exploded around it.

But the attack followed.

The black sphere struck the center of its enormous body.

For one second, nothing happened.

Then—

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The entire chamber erupted.

A tremendous wave of destructive Eclipse energy spread through the underwater region.

The water was pushed outward.

The seabed cracked.

Massive stone formations collapsed.

The serpent’s enormous body was lifted from the ground.

Its roar echoed through the entire marsh.

"GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The Broodmother desperately raised a barrier around herself.

Even from a great distance, the pressure nearly shattered it.

The World-Eater Serpent struggled.

Its body twisted.

Its scales cracked.

Its regeneration attempted to repair the damage.

But the Eclipse energy continued consuming the power sustaining it.

The serpent released one final roar.

Then its enormous head fell.

The rest of its body followed.

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The chamber became silent.

The water slowly settled.

Ares remained floating above the seabed.

The Broodmother slowly lowered her barrier.

Her expression was completely frozen.

For several seconds, she simply stared at the enormous corpse.

"W-What the... such power..."

She swallowed.

"How did you do that, Master?"

Ares looked toward the fallen serpent.

"I used several abilities that exploited its weaknesses."

He paused.

"More importantly, unlike the Behemoth, its defensive abilities were designed to withstand conventional attacks."

Ares glanced toward the enormous corpse.

"That doesn’t mean they can withstand everything."

The Broodmother remained silent.

Ares turned toward her.

"You alright?"

She nodded quickly.

"Yes."

Then she hesitated.

"...I think."

Ares looked across the enormous underwater chamber.

The World-Eater Serpent was dead.

Its colossal body lay motionless across the seabed, while the remaining mana slowly dissipated into the surrounding water.

The Broodmother remained several meters away, still staring at the corpse with an expression that suggested she hadn’t completely recovered from what she had just witnessed.

Ares, however, had already moved on to something else.

He looked toward the seabed.

There were still countless materials scattered throughout the chamber.

"Let’s see what else is here."

"The serpent is dead. There’s no reason to waste everything else that’s available."

He raised one hand.

The water surrounding them began to tremble.

A faint spatial distortion appeared beneath the seabed.

Then the earth began moving.

Large chunks of stone slowly separated from the bottom of the chamber, revealing enormous deposits hidden beneath them.

The Broodmother’s eyes widened.

"There are more?"

"Quite a few."

Ares looked closer.

The first deposits contained ordinary magical minerals.

The next contained several rare metals.

Then something much more valuable appeared.

Ares’s eyes brightened slightly.

"Interesting."

The Broodmother noticed his reaction.

"What did you find?"

Ares pointed toward the seabed.

"Adamantite."

Large veins of dark metallic ore extended beneath the chamber, their surfaces reflecting a faint silver-blue glow.

The Broodmother stared.

"Is that another rare material?"

"Of course."

Ares crouched slightly and examined the deposits.

"Adamantite is extremely durable and possesses excellent mana conductivity. It’s particularly useful for weapons, armor, and defensive structures."

He looked across the enormous veins.

"And there is considerably more here than I expected."

The Broodmother looked around.

"How much would something like this be worth?"

"Quite a lot."

Ares smiled.

"But its usefulness to the Order is more important than its value."

He raised his hand.

The enormous deposits began separating from the surrounding rock.

The seabed trembled.

Then the Adamantite slowly rose through the water.

One section.

Then another.

Then another.

The metal floated upward as though gravity no longer applied to it.

The Broodmother watched silently.

Ares opened his spatial storage.

The first deposit disappeared.

Then the second.

Then the third.

He continued without stopping.

After the Adamantite, he moved toward another section of the chamber.

"These too."

Several enormous clusters of magical crystals began rising from the walls.

Unlike the Primordial Mana Crystals he had collected in the Behemoth’s territory, these were darker and more concentrated, with deep blue and violet energy moving through their interiors.

The Broodmother stared.

"Are those valuable?"

"Yes."

Ares examined one.

"They’re excellent for magical equipment and energy storage."

He smiled slightly.

"Octavia will probably be pleased."

The crystals disappeared into his storage space.

Then came the rare plants growing along the underwater walls.

Several possessed strange properties that could be useful for medicine, alchemy, or magical research.

Ares collected those as well.

The Broodmother watched him work.

"You really intend to take everything."

Ares glanced at her.

"Of course."

He smiled.

"Why would I leave useful materials behind?"

She gave a quiet laugh.

"I suppose that’s become your habit."

Ares continued collecting.

The chamber gradually became emptier.

Rare metals disappeared.

Magical crystals vanished.

Ancient minerals were removed from the seabed.

Even several enormous deposits of naturally formed magical stone were extracted and stored.

Ares worked methodically, making sure nothing valuable was overlooked.

After several minutes, he finally stopped.

He looked around.

"That should be enough."

The Broodmother glanced around the now mostly empty chamber.

Then his gaze returned to the World-Eater Serpent.

The enormous corpse still occupied most of the chamber.

Ares slowly approached it.

"There’s still this."

The Broodmother’s expression became serious.

"The serpent itself?"

"Yes."

Ares placed one hand against its enormous scales.

Even after death, the creature retained an extraordinary amount of mana.

Its scales were thick enough to resist powerful attacks, while the internal mana pathways remained saturated with energy.

The World-Eater Serpent’s enormous body began floating upward.

The water around it surged violently.

The Broodmother moved backward.

The colossal serpent slowly disappeared into Ares’s spatial storage.

First the tail.

Then the massive body.

Then the head.

Finally, the last section of its enormous form vanished.

The chamber became strangely empty.

Ares looked around.

The seabed had been completely cleared.

The rare materials were gone.

The crystals were gone.

The serpent was gone.

Nothing remained except dark water and several layers of ancient stone.

The Broodmother stared at him.

"...That didn’t even take long."

Then she sighed.

"If I had been hit by even one of those attacks earlier, I probably wouldn’t have survived."

She looked toward the place where the Black Sun had struck.

"No."

Her expression became even more serious.

"I probably wouldn’t have survived the first one."

Ares didn’t respond.

He simply turned toward the deeper passage.

"We’re finished here."

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