Sylas took a breath, and his gaze sharpened. His Aether thrummed within him, and he felt his intent blazing.

He summoned the Basilisk King, and his Beast Totem appeared behind him. In that moment, the Basilisk King surged with power, and its golden eyes seemed to only become deeper.

After just a few minutes in the Hibernation Realm, it had already returned to a 100% state. In fact, Sylas was sure that even if it was completely drained, just 20 or 30 seconds would be enough.

However, its recovery ability wasn't the only thing that it could rely on.

—

[Basilisk King (FFF-)]

[Level: 5]

-

[Physical: 300]

>[Strength: 422]

>[Constitution: 473]

>[Dexterity: 149]

>[Speed: 156]

[Mental: 271]

>[Intelligence: 362]

>[Wisdom: 98]

>[Charisma: 353]

[Will: 650]

—

The Basilisk King unleashed an almost manic howl. Its body expanded, and a set of golden eyes appeared to its back. At the same time, Sylas realized that the oppression of his Beast Totem had been transferred over to the Basilisk King in part.

The Basilisk King shot out from behind the house, its momentum lethal as its body ripped out the grass. Its abdominal muscles slithered and writhed, each powerful stroke leaving deep lines in the soft soil.

Sylas rushed in behind it, three ballista bolts appearing high in the air behind him. One of his minds was occupied by maintaining his Beast Totem, another was used to scan his visualization area, and a third was used to control his body itself. As for the rest, he poured it all into controlling these ballista bolts. He trailed exactly 20 meters behind the Basilisk King.

Hisses suddenly filled the air, and a dense cold spread.

They entered the dense forest, and carnage was unleashed.

—

[Arctic King Cobra (FFF-)]

[Level: 8]

[Physical: 189]

[Mental: 221]

[Will: 154]

—

Three Level 8's appeared all at once.

The Basilisk King rose up, prepared to attack. It got into a rhythmic stance, ready to continue along with its usual cadence of movement, but that was when Sylas' voice rang out.

"Don't conserve anything. Give it everything you've got. Tank everything they have. They cannot break your defenses. You are a King. Act like it."

The ring of violence appeared in the Basilisk King's slit irises as though it had been provoked. It heard Sylas' command and then acted on it.

Its maw opened wide, and suddenly the Arctic King Cobras looked small and insignificant.

The Basilisk King ripped into the throat of one as the two others attacked it from the sides. But as though it hadn't seen them at all, it completely ignored them.

CLANG! CLANG!

The two cobras tried to sink their teeth into the body of the Basilisk King, only for their fangs to shatter.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Sylas launched two bolts that ripped through their bloodied maws. They collapsed without even the ability to resist.

By this point, five more cobras had appeared. They swarmed over from all sides, and though Sylas knew that there were only 50 of them, it felt like he was facing an endless torrent.

The Beast Totem rose high into the air, a pair of golden slit eyes suffocating everything within a 50-meter range.

At the same time, five pairs of <Chilling Scythe>'s appeared, slashing through the forest. But they were too far away; Sylas directly told the Basilisk King to ignore them.

As expected, the steel blue scythes collided with the trees, exploding with a chilling aura, but never managed to make it to them.

"Retreat," Sylas commanded, and the two slipped backward. His eyes continued to dart around as the five cobras swiftly closed in. But at the same time, he could feel that more were coming.

The air was only becoming chillier. The Portal alone was a heavy influence, the fact that winter was on its way was another, but right here, right now, the cobras were definitely the largest culprits.

Sylas could feel a looming gaze coming toward him from the distance, and it made his hair stand on end. However, it was precisely this that spurned him on.

'Come on.'

Sylas barely registered the thought. It came on its own accord, but he felt fed up with everything in this world already. A Maddened glint lit in his eyes, and the Gluttony Seed churned.

Five cobras shot toward them, and because they were retreating backward, they caught up in barely a few seconds. But that much was fine; Sylas was already expecting this.

Five <Chilling Scythe>'s appeared again, but this time they didn't seem dodgeable.

"Tank it," Sylas called out while summoning a <Solidify> for himself. He rushed toward two of the Cobras.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Two of the scythes landed on his shield, and three landed on the Basilisk King's body. But aside from a small crackle of ice, nothing more came. Sylas' understanding of these techniques was already deep. He knew that in the Basilisk King's current state, it would take much more to harm it.

The two moved in opposite directions, and Sylas' Scorned Wraps flashed.

Three ballista bolts targeted a single cobra, and Sylas descended onto the other with a vicious fist.

He sensed the <Arctic Howl> even before it came. He cast <Momentum Shift> on one of his ballista bolts, and his fist reeled back in a perfect feint.

Both Arctic King Cobras cast the defensive Skill at the same time, but they mistimed it.

Sylas activated Tail Whip for the first time in a long while and drove a leg right through the head of the cobra.

At the same time, two ballista bolts rebounded off the body of the second cobra, only for the third to wait out the duration of its Skill and suddenly drill through its eye socket.

Sylas didn't even wait for them to hit the ground, turning back with a fiery light in his eyes.

Three cobras had leapt onto the body of the Basilisk King while one hung from its maw.

More Arctic King Cobras slithered toward them through the trees, and right behind them, a menacing presence loomed.

The Arctic Emperor Cobra and five of its Level 10 elites.