The Era of Gods - Chapter 35

Chapter 35: The Growth of the Naga

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Fishmen had no defense against such brutal monsters, but by bearing the brunt of the first wave, they slowed the Abyss ferocious wild boar’s charge, allowing the Naga, who were ready and waiting, to launch their assault.

The Salted Fish Charge granted them five times the explosive power, each Naga swiftly undulating their bodies, with thick scales rubbing against the wasteland’s gravel sending sparks flying—a trail of sparks with lightning breaking into the ranks of the Abyss ferocious wild boar, ramming each beast three to four meters away, pinning boar and spear fiercely to the ground.

But the power of the Abyss endowed the ferocious wild boar with strong vitality, so even that didn’t kill them; they grunted and tried to get up.

And those Abyss ferocious wild boars that were further away felt threatened by the Naga and, snarling furiously, turned around; beneath mouths full of sharp fangs, their small, bloodshot eyes glared angrily, hooves scraping the ground, heads lowered to charge again.

The charge of the Abyss ferocious wild boar was fast, but the Naga were not slow either, and they were much too flexible, especially after learning from previous battles. In the moment the wild boars charged, the Naga’s serpentine bodies twisted sharply to the side, almost touching the ground; the wild boars missed their target and, colliding with the Naga’s snake-like bodies, lost balance and tumbled, plowing through the hard ground, leaving a bloody groove decorated with broken fangs.

After many battles, the Naga began to gradually unlock their talents and form their unique combat styles.

This kind of on-the-spot evasion was highly deceptive, and in the blink-and-you-miss-it battles, one unexpected dodge could completely result in unforeseen victory.

Even though the Abyss ferocious wild boars had thick hide and meat, a face-first fall due to a failed charge was extremely uncomfortable; many couldn’t get up after sliding, allowing the Naga to easily finish them off.

But this group of Abyss ferocious wild boars had held out for more than five minutes, and as the portal opened again, the next wave of invaders arrived—

A troop of two hundred Furious Demons!

Whether it was the location of the portal coming from a Crystal Wall System of the Abyss or not, up to this point, the creatures emerging in this Endless Mode were almost all Abyssal beings, each wave more powerful than the last.

Although there were not many in this wave of Furious Demons, the threat they posed was far greater than any before.

As common cannon fodder in the Abyss, Furious Demons had large builds, standing over two meters tall, with a thick layer of keratin armor covering their bodies, exuding a nauseating stench, and possessing extremely aggressive combat power.

Upon emerging from the portal, the sight of the ground strewn with corpses and slaughter made them let out delighted roars, excitedly lunging towards the Fishmen and Naga.

The Naga were not afraid either; with a few leaders brandishing spears and shouting, numerous Fishmen, at their command, surged forward.

The two sides rapidly closed in; one by one, Fishmen exploded into action within a fifty-meter range, colliding at high speed with the Furious Demons, their Fine Iron Short Spears piercing through the demons’ armor, but getting stuck at just the tip.

The Furious Demons, indifferent to their own wounds, chuckled grotesquely as they grabbed the Fishmen who came close and brutally tore them apart—within moments, nearly two hundred Fishmen were instantly killed.

“Not enough strength!”

Even multiplied by five, the strength of the Fishmen was insufficient to inflict fatal damage on the Furious Demons, which came with their own armor.

This was a crushing disparity; without weapons, without skills, just these two hundred Furious Demons could easily slaughter tens of thousands of Fishmen.

The Nagas realized this, and one naga wielded a short spear, loudly commanding the fishmen to continue their assault while directing its companions to coordinate their attacks, using the fishmen as cannon fodder for cover.

A fishman collided head-on with a berserk demon and was ripped in two. Seizing the opportunity, a Black Scale Naga rushed forward and stabbed the berserk demon in the back with its spear. The demon roared in wrath, swinging a claw in retaliation, but the naga twisted its body to dodge and struck back with another spear thrust to the demon’s neck, creating a hole similar to those made by the fishmen’s Salted Fish Charge, though slightly shallower.

The Naga’s basic attack caused less damage than the fishmen’s bursts, but they were just regular attacks that didn’t render them powerless afterward, unlike the fishmen.

However, even a naga would meet a grim fate if caught by a berserk demon.

The physical prowess of a berserk demon was much stronger than that of a naga; it was at least two levels stronger in physique, and its armored defense was extremely high. According to the common assessment of civilizations, berserk demons were classified as Level 2 combatants, among the strongest of their tier.

While Black Scale Nagas were the elite of the First Level combatants, there was an entire level difference between them.

Had it not been for the nagas’ greater speed and evasion, they would have been crushed on the spot.

Yet, being an entire level apart meant their advantage in speed was limited, and high evasion was not foolproof. As it happened, a naga, while twisting its body to dodge close to the ground, was pounced on by the berserk demon, which pinned the naga down. Sharp claws pierced through the naga’s scales and into its flesh, and with a fierce yank, the demon tore its body open, pulling out chunks of flesh and organs.

Less than two meters away, two berserk demons had caught another naga. One bit fiercely into its neck, pinning down the upper body, while the other’s claw pierced through the tail, ripping through. With a violent pull, the serpent’s tail was split into six bloody strands of meat by the sharp claws.

Close by, three nagas had knocked a berserk demon to the ground, six fine iron short spears simultaneously piercing its face and chest, one of them even thrusting through its foul-smelling mouth.

The enraged berserk demon turned over quickly, grabbing a naga and ruthlessly beheading it, but at that moment, another naga sprang up four or five meters high, descending to thrust its spear viciously into the demon’s head, killing it instantly.

On the battlefield, it usually took two or three nagas to barely match a berserk demon, and even then, victory wasn’t guaranteed. Fishmen were utterly outmatched, sometimes rushing in to seize an opportunity only to leave a wound before dying dismembered.

Even those results were only achieved after using the Salted Fish Charge. Regular attacks simply couldn’t breach the demons’ defenses.

Lin Xiao was surprised by the tremendous combat power of the berserk demons as he looked down upon the battlefield from the Vault of Heaven. Even from his perspective, it was difficult to tell who had the upper hand.

Unfortunately, the Salted Fish Charge skill had a ten-minute cooldown. Most of the nagas had already used their skills in the previous wave, and without those powerful attacks, they were struggling to bring down the berserk demons.

Compared to him, who was still maintaining a stoic expression, Meng Hui from another dimension was staring at the situation in his realm, his face darkening to the extreme.

Before the final exam, he had amassed over two thousand dog-headed beings and had personally descended as an incarnation, formally training an army of over a thousand kobolds.

He had thought he would perform well in the final exams. Indeed, his performance in the preceding stages had been excellent, so much so that after hearing about extra rewards from his homeroom teacher, he fantasized about rushing to the end to make a profound impression.

However, after the fifth wave of the Endless Mode was activated, he realized that his dream was crumbling.