The cobra's body was forced deeper into the water, sinking rapidly.
Sylas was a snake expert. There were probably very few people in the world who understood better than him just how good cobras were at swimming. They were naturals, and their agility and ability to orient themselves in water would rank high among most land creatures.
Trying to lure the cobra into the water to kill it seemed like a foolish task when this was taken into consideration. But there were two things missing in this analysis: context and relativism.
No matter how good the cobra was at swimming, would it be able to battle as effectively in the waters as it could on land? And if it was forced to use its Aether to stay above water, then wouldn't that ruin its chances at replenishing its reserves enough to launch a powerful attack?
On top of this, Sylas' main goal was to make it across. That was because this river was now a dividing line between himself and the oncoming enemies. If they wanted to attack him again, not only would they have to cross this river, but even in the case that they weren't, they would at least have to expose themselves first. And once they exposed themselves, he could kill them.
Sylas appeared high on the roof of a cottage. The first ballista bolt had already thrown the Arctic Emperor Cobra off, but it wasn't nearly enough. Gritting his teeth, he unleashed another fist.
A fiery green fist shot through the air and smashed down when the cobra was looking for air. Again and again. His visualization saw the cobra writhing. In its foolish rage, it had already taken up several mouthfuls of water.
Sylas' gaze darted back toward the forest on the other side, and the sight he saw made his eyes redden. He could see several shadows moving through the forest, and their goals were all the same. They were collecting the corpses of the cobras that he had defeated, collecting the spoils that he had put his life on the line for.
Sylas found himself getting almost irrationally enraged. This wasn't like him. He had already guessed that this would happen, and it was a sacrifice that he had already been willing to make. It was well within his calculations. But seeing this now, he was so infuriated that his muscles tensed and blood flew from his mouth.
He circulated with a fiercer intent, and his fist drove forward with such strength that the roof beneath his feet shattered. He almost fell through, but his fist imprint was even larger. He only sensed after the fact that it was because the Gluttony Seed had acted again, making the effectiveness of his telekinesis hit a new ceiling.
The Arctic Emperor Cobra was driven even more deeply into the water, and at that moment, Sylas' Aether surged through him like a roaring tide. One second. Two seconds. Three...
The skill finally activated as the Arctic Emperor Cobra writhed. Sylas had chosen to take this chance. He already knew that the Emperor's son had had a method of dispelling binds, but it could do nothing against the Basilisk King's version of the skill. If it was still the former FF+ Skill, Sylas wouldn't have dared to try this at all. It cost too much, and the chance of it being rebuffed was too high.
However, after had been active for so long, he could sense that the cobra Emperor was actively weakening. And from the very start, at least after he completed his Fusion, his will was far beyond its own. And, even in the case that he was wrong, he would force the Arctic Emperor Cobra to utilize more Aether, which would stop it from casting skills. Sylas' senses were completely focused on the cobra, and when time passed without him sensing it being rebuffed, he was pleasantly surprised. It had actually worked. The raging waters sloshed around, but the cobra didn't show any signs of it coming up.
'Cobras can spend over a dozen minutes without oxygen, but this one swallowed up several mouthfuls of water and is definitely in a panic right now.'
At that moment, the shadows that were the source of Sylas' fury appeared. But this time, rather than targeting Sylas, they seemed to have realized that there was a new weak link. They rushed toward the water, aiming their weapons and seemingly waiting for the cobra to come up.
Sylas didn't do anything for a moment. Watching them, he seemed to sear this matter into his mind. If he wasn't sure before, he was now. He hadn't just joined the Trial because he was bored of his life and wanted excitement... he wanted control. He didn't want to put his life in the hands of others, and he certainly didn't like it when others seemed to think that he was someone to take advantage of.
Quicktime Events had rewards that were distributed based on merits. The system would take a tally of who did what and in the end, create a ranking system. No matter how you sliced it, Sylas had the highest contributions. Even if he just turned tail and ran now, he would still have the highest contributions. However, it was impossible that he would be allowed to do this because by now, these people were also aware of this. If he died, then first place on the contributions list would no longer be his.
The government. That was who they were, it was obvious just by their military garb and the rifles on their backs. They didn't even realize that if not for him wringing his mind dry maintaining his Beast Totem, they wouldn't even have the right to stand before this creature.
Sylas took deep breaths, taking a rare moment of reprieve. Fighting, fighting, and more fighting. It was all he seemed to do nowadays. He should have hated it, this pain coursing through his veins, these emotions that he had rarely experienced in the past, but instead... he found that he truly loved it.
Suddenly, his hand reached back, and he caught the shaft of a spear. He twisted it out of the hands of the attacker and struck back with it. The attacker was taken aback and flinched in fear, only for the spear to suddenly burst into a rain of ash that shot into their eyes.
Sylas' punch blew a hole right through that person's skull, so perfectly controlled that it looked as though a large bullet had sped through instead.
The two remaining Level 17s stood stunned.