"Yeah, man!" Luoming shouted.
But instead of turning toward Dougal, the Flame Python suddenly lunged at Luoming again. It had chosen the easier target.
"Shit! Hey! I wasn't the one who hit you!" Luoming panicked.
From the shadows, Lican couldn't help but chuckle.
Rhys moved, sliding across the ground toward the python with a curved dagger gripped in each hand. The blades resembled claws, their edges glinting as he closed the distance, and his agility was frightening. He leaped onto the python's massive body and darted around it with rapid footwork, slashing repeatedly as he ran along its scales.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
The python hissed furiously, its enormous body twisting as it tried to shake the pest off, but Rhys didn't stop. He moved with incredible speed, striking whenever he found an opening, his curved daggers scraping across the beast's scales as he searched for a weakness. Suddenly, the Flame Python opened its enormous jaws, twisted its head, and lunged straight at him.
Rhys's eyes widened as he leaped off the beast just before its jaws snapped shut.
But he wasn't fast enough.
CRUNCH!
The python's jaws caught his left arm.
"Gah!"
Rhys was thrown away, his body tumbling through the air. Even as he flew, he refused to surrender completely. His right hand reached for the dagger strapped to his waist, ripped it free, and hurled it toward the python before he crashed heavily onto his back.
THUD!
"F**k..." Rhys groaned.
He stared at his left arm, his face paling as the limb hung at an unnatural angle, mangled by the python's attack. Flesh had been crushed beneath the force of its jaws, and the arm was twisted so badly that he could barely recognize its shape. For a moment, he simply stared at the damage, unable to react. Then he gritted his teeth as the pain finally reached his eyes.
This time, the python was truly infuriated. It abandoned Luoming, the prey it had originally intended to take down, and violently whipped its massive tail toward Rhys.
Rhys's pale face grew even paler. That tail would shatter him if it connected, and with his injured arm and battered body, he couldn't move fast enough to escape. The python's tail tore through the air, growing closer with every passing second.
Dougal saw it, and his eyes widened. The python wasn't aiming at Luoming anymore. It was going for Rhys.
Without thinking, Dougal bolted from his position.
BOOM!
The ground cracked beneath his foot from the sheer force of his acceleration. He swung his axe back before throwing it with all his strength, sending the weapon tearing through the air toward the python. The flying axe caught the beast's attention, forcing it to turn its massive head toward the incoming weapon.
BOOM!
The axe slammed into its head, jerking it sideways from the impact. But its tail didn't stop. It continued whipping toward Rhys, who could only stare as the approaching mass seemed to grow larger with every second.
Too fast. Too close.
Then someone appeared in front of him.
Dougal.
He had reached him.
With his remaining axe gripped tightly in both hands, Dougal swung at the incoming tail.
BANG!
The axe collided with the python's tail, and a violent shockwave erupted from the impact. Vibrations tore through Dougal's arms and spread across his entire body, nearly forcing his weapon out of his grip. His boots scraped backward across the ground as the tremendous force drove him several steps back, but he gritted his teeth and held his ground.
Behind him, Rhys remained frozen in shock, his eyes wide as he stared at the man who had just saved his life.
"This motherf***er is stronger than we imagined. Damnit!"
Dougal tightened his grip on his axe, his arms trembling from the impact. Behind him, Rhys could only nod absentmindedly, still staring at his mangled arm, his face drained of color.
Then—
"ROOOAR!"
The Flame Python suddenly turned toward them, and its eyes began to change.
They were crimson.
Lican's expression shifted from amusement to curiosity as the python's body began to expand. Its scales stretched as its body grew longer and thicker, its muscles bulging beneath its dark yellowish-red scales. The ground trembled beneath its increasing weight, and the pressure radiating from its body grew heavier with every passing moment.
"Shit," Dougal muttered.
"Shit!" Rhys repeated, staring at the beast in disbelief.
"This beast has hidden bloodline potential!" Dougal shouted. "It's activating it!"
The pressure coming from the python suddenly intensified, weighing down on the surroundings like an invisible force. Luoming's face paled as he realized how badly their situation had changed.
"We aren't even its match now. F**k!"
He pulled his sword free from the ground and quickly moved toward his companions. Rhys glanced between the python and the other two men, his expression tense.
"Should we make a run for it?"
"Shit, we can't outrun this bitch," Dougal replied, his eyes scanning the surrounding mountains. "Even if we manage to escape, the other beasts will sense our weakness and ambush us."
The three men fell silent, their faces pale as the python continued growing before them. Luoming tightened his grip on his swords, his earlier confidence replaced by grim determination.
"Then let's inflict as much damage as possible before we escape."
Rhys nodded, his expression hardening despite the pain in his injured arm.
"I agree. It can't take us out as long as we're careful and cooperate."
The three exchanged glances. None of them said it aloud, but they all understood that from this moment onward, one mistake meant death.
Lican watched from the shadows, masking his presence even further. The temperature around him had begun to rise, and his gaze shifted back to the python. Its scales were no longer dark yellowish-red. They had turned crimson, and heat radiated from its body in waves, distorting the air around it. Even from a distance, Lican could feel the pressure coming from the beast, while the insanity in its crimson eyes had intensified.
Lican's gaze narrowed. Getting into melee range with this thing was almost impossible now. Its scales weren't simply tough anymore; they were scorching hot, and anyone who touched them would likely be burned instantly. He remained motionless in the shadows, watching as the three hunters prepared to fight a beast they could barely hurt. Now, even touching it had become dangerous.
The hunters spread out, each man moving into position as the Flame Python coiled its enormous body. For a brief moment, everything went still.
Then the python moved.
BANG! BANG!
Its speed suddenly doubled. Using the momentum of its movement, it swung its massive tail toward them like a whip, the heated air rushing ahead of it.
"Don't take it head-on!" Dougal screamed.
Before the tail even arrived, the wind pressure it created was already scorching hot. Without thinking, the three men scrambled in different directions, desperately trying to avoid the impact.
BOOM!
The tail slammed into the ground where they had stood moments earlier, sending dust and shattered earth flying through the air.