Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree

Behind him were Vera and the others, all maintaining a high level of alertness.

For the Molten Spirit would likely not let them reach the Black Stone Plain so easily and might pose some obstacles.

The team had been traversing the Redridge Mountains for nearly four hours.

The sky was gray, with the mountain’s silhouette faintly visible in the morning fog. The mountain path was rugged, scattered with rubble, flanked by steep cliffs, and occasionally the remnants of defensive structures left by the Molten Spirit could be seen on the cliff sides.

These structures had already been cleared by the 235th Legion’s vanguard, leaving only charred stakes and shattered obsidian.

After traveling for a while, Duke sharply sensed something, then immediately stopped, raised his hand, signaling the team to halt: "Retreat immediately!"

Before his voice faded, the ground started trembling.

This tremor wasn’t caused by a magical explosion but was deeper, originating from the depths of the earth, a muffled sound, continuous, like an ancient beast turning over.

Rubble fell from the cliffs, landing with a dull thud, and the ground beneath their feet was trembling, with cracks spreading out from the crevices between the stone.

Duke’s pupils suddenly contracted as he sensed a terrifying energy surging up from the depths of the earth. The energy was so strong that his spiritual power instinctively recoiled in fear upon contact.

The central part of the Redridge Mountains cracked open.

The mountain was split from within, a massive fissure extending from the highest point of the ridge to either side, widening, with a dark red glow surging from it, dyeing the whole sky blood-red.

Rubble and dust fell from the edges of the crack, landing with a loud rumble.

A giant serpent’s head emerged from the fissure, enormous, fiery red, covered in dark red scale armor, with a curved horn on its head entwined with golden flames.

Its eyes were two burning golden fireballs, without pupils, only pure light and heat.

The giant serpent’s mouth opened wide, with interlocking fangs, and magma surged deep in its throat.

Its body rose slowly from the fissure, thick as the ridge, with magma flowing between its scale armor, each meter of ascent intensifying the ground’s tremor.

"Demigod Level!" Duke, after sensing this aura, immediately perceived that the giant serpent’s power was at least demigod level, or perhaps even stronger.

For now, he could only sense this much and could not determine the serpent’s exact strength.

Due to the effects of the Other Plane, his own power was somewhat suppressed, so his perception might not be accurate.

As half of the serpent’s body emerged from the fissure, the entire mountain range wailed.

Its body covered half the sky, the dark red scale armor reflecting the gray sky, casting a blood-red hue.

The serpent’s gaze swept toward the Slave Creature Legion at the foot of the mountain, the golden fireball eyes devoid of emotion.

The serpent’s first move was to open its mouth, with magma surging from deep in its throat, then spewing forth.

A thick stream of magma gushed from its mouth, like the collapse of heaven and earth.

The magma stream fell to the ground, covering instead of exploding, like a flood breaching a dam, swallowing the entire forward position of the Slave Creature Legion.

Thousands of slave creatures disappeared without even time to scream, only the slow flow of dark red lava remaining.

The serpent’s second move was to swing its tail, pulling it from the mountain, tracing an arc in the air, sweeping toward the middle position of the Slave Creature Legion.

Where the tail passed, rocks shattered, ground collapsed, air ripped apart.

Hundreds of slave creatures were disemboweled by the immense force in mid-air, their bodies mangled upon landing.

The logistics team was swept by the snake tail edge, causing supply crates and barrels to explode, scattering healing potions, magic crystal stones, and alchemy materials all over, consumed by the magma.

These logistical supplies were directly distributed to the Slave Creature Legion for immediate use, hence weren’t stored in the Space Ring.

The serpent then began summoning a rain of flames, not ordinary, but raining magma from the sky.

Countless fist-sized magma balls fell from the sky, trailing long fiery traces, crashing onto the Slave Creature Legion’s positions.

The magma balls exploded upon impact, spraying magma in all directions, igniting everything around.

The slave creatures ran, screamed, and rolled in flames, unable to extinguish the fire or shake off the magma.

The forward positions turned into a sea of fire.

Several Level 1 Mages perished in the rain of flames, not directly attacked by the serpent but struck by magma balls.

A young mage raised a magic shield just as a magma ball smashed atop him, shattering the shield, magma engulfing him.

His screams were consumed by the flames, leaving only charred bones after a few breaths.

Another mage, while commanding the slave creatures to retreat, was hit by the serpent’s tail, his body exploding mid-air, blood and flesh indistinguishably mixing with the magma.

Several others, hit by magma balls in the rain of flames, their shields unable to hold, were severely injured, carried off the battlefield by slave creatures, their fate unknown.

Duke watched all of this from halfway up the mountain.

His body was deep underground, merged with the rocks of the Redridge Mountains.

The moment the giant serpent appeared, his instincts wildly alarmed him, prompting him without hesitation to meld into the ground, burrowing deep with Earth Element Transformation.

His speed was swift, carving an arc deep in the mountain, bypassing the serpent’s body, emerging from the other side of the mountain range.

Meanwhile, Ares took action.

From the direction of the command post at the foot of the mountain, a silver-white light shot skyward.

Ares charged from the command post, silver-white fighting spirit burning around him, illuminating the whole sky.

His armor was silver-white, his longsword was silver-white, even his eyes were silver-white.

He drew a silver-white line at the foot of the mountain, rushing straight to the mountainside.

The giant serpent noticed him, its golden fireball eyes turning towards Ares, with magma surging again from deep in its throat.

But Ares’s speed was too fast. Before the serpent could spew magma, he was already in front of it.

The longsword descended, with a silver-white sword light tearing through the dark red sky, the blade striking the giant serpent’s neck, shattering the dark red scale armor, black blood gushing out.

The giant serpent writhed in pain, letting out an ear-splitting hiss.

Its body contracted fiercely, wrapping around Ares.

Ares remained motionless in the serpent’s coils, his silver-white fighting spirit sizzling against the serpent’s scale armor.

The giant serpent’s golden fireball eyes locked onto Ares, with magma surging in its throat for a third time, this time spewing in his face.

At that moment, an unusual power surged from Ares’s body, forming an invisible field around him.

The magma surged to his front, silently splitting upon touching the field’s edge.

Diverted, this magma vanished without a trace.

Subsequently, Ares gently thrust forward with the longsword in his right hand.

The moment the sword tip touched the serpent’s scale armor, the serpent’s body began trembling.

Ares channeled the rule power of war and steel into it, melding the two rules into one.

In an instant, the serpent emitted an earth-shattering scream, its body shaking, rolling, causing upheaval all around.

The serpent’s body began disintegrating, fracturing outward from within, akin to an old, dilapidated steel bridge collapsing under gravity.

Its scale armor peeled off piece by piece, turning into rusty iron flakes in mid-air; its flesh fell away in chunks, becoming dark red rust powder before hitting the ground; its bones snapped one by one, turning into gray-white iron slag at the moment of fracture.

The demigod-level giant serpent lasted less than three seconds against the Level 4 Knight.

Duke stood at a distance, gazing in Ares’s direction.

He couldn’t see the rules, but he felt an unusual energy fluctuation sweep through at that moment.

Duke carefully savored that fleeting sensation, a feeling as though grasping something but then having it slip away through his fingers.

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