#653 - The Hunt Begins

"Bang!"

With a gunshot, a pink meteor streaked across the sky, its long shadow striking the heart of the flame-constructed target. The fiery target instantly exploded, and the tornado of flames was torn open by the powerful force.

Then came a sickening sound of force tearing through flesh. In a very short time, muscles were torn apart by the bullet. The mind bullet, condensed with Quentin's full power, blasted through the scales of the King Cobra, creating a basketball-sized hole.

"Boom!"

Like the sound of a high-explosive grenade, the bullet, having penetrated the flesh, unleashed its secondary effect, exploding like a bomb. To destroy an impregnable fortress, one must start from within, and the same principle applies when dealing with superhuman with strong defenses.

The King Cobra's long tail exploded into a shower of minced meat and blood mist. Amidst the vision-obscuring crimson, the golden seven-headed serpent staff emitted an eerie glow. The serpent eyes, composed of gems of different colors, seemed to stare at everyone who cast their gaze upon it.

No, that's exactly what it was doing.

The serpent eyes, made of seven different colored gems, radiated a strange light behind the crimson blood mist, attracting everyone who looked at it, gradually leading them astray.

Johnny, flying in the air, gradually stalled and fell from the sky, rolling a few times due to inertia before lying motionless on the ground. Even Ben, who had been wrestling with the King Cobra, tilted his head and collapsed.

Apart from Quentin, who had fainted from exhausting his mental energy, everyone on the battlefield lost consciousness, falling into the illusion woven by the serpent staff.

The King Cobra’s scream of a severed tail gradually turned into unrestrained laughter. His plan had succeeded. He had known all along that these guys were after his treasured serpent staff. How could the insidious him not take advantage of that?

Rather, the reason why the other party cared so much about the serpent staff was intentional on his part. The King Cobra had noticed that ever since he began using the serpent staff to display his power, these people would more or less divert some attention to the serpent staff.

He could take advantage of this. With just some feigned movements and a little illusion, he could take care of everyone present. Although he lost a tail, he gained a chance to escape.

Besides, as long as he could communicate with the god Set again, this injury would quickly recover. As long as the serpent staff was still there, he could make a comeback.

Now, he just needed to take the serpent staff and run away while these people were lost in the illusion. The difficult part had been overcome. Now, all he had to do was turn around and grab the serpent staff in mid-air.

Just turn around, reach out, and then run.

With a smile that had become crazed due to the pain, the King Cobra twisted his supple body and reached for the serpent staff falling from mid-air…

"Whoosh!"

A sharp sound pierced the eardrums, and a purple shadow cut through the air, flying straight towards the serpent staff that was flashing with an eerie light, its speed even faster than the King Cobra who was closer to the serpent staff.

The King Cobra, who was laughing maniacally just a second ago, gradually turned towards horror as the purple shadow entered his peripheral vision.

"No..."

"Crack!"

The purple shadow slammed into the serpent staff, and with a crisp sound, the serpent staff shattered into countless pieces, along with the King Cobra's heart.

"No! No! No!"

The King Cobra crawled towards the shattered pieces of the serpent staff with both hands and feet, trying desperately to pick up the fragments on the ground, as if trying to piece them together. His crazed appearance was shocking.

"My power, my future, everything, everything!"

The King Cobra said as he collected the fragments on the ground, completely ignoring Johnny and the others who had regained their senses because the serpent staff had been destroyed.

"Ouch!" Johnny clutched his shoulder. "My body hurts so much, like I was hit by a car. It's strange, how did I fall from the sky?"

"My head is spinning." Ben clutched his head and got up from the ground, looking at the King Cobra, who was scratching and clawing at the ground with his back to him, and couldn't help but feel puzzled.

This was natural. Because of the illusion, both Ben and Johnny's memories had gaps. In their minds, it was like watching a badly edited movie, where the scenes before and after didn't connect at all.

However, Ben, a veteran of many battles, although he didn't understand what had happened, he certainly wouldn't give up the opportunity of the enemy having his back to him. This was definitely a good time for a sneak attack.

However, before Ben could sneak attack, the King Cobra turned around first. His eyes were bloodshot, looking like they were filled with blood. Venom mixed with saliva kept flowing from his mouth, looking like a sick mad dog.

"It's you! You destroyed my serpent staff!" The King Cobra's resentful gaze passed over Ben. Clearly, his hatred came from behind Ben.

This almost materialized hatred made Ben couldn't help but feel curious. Quentin wasn't behind him. Could it be that the person who destroyed the serpent staff wasn't Quentin? Or did Quentin change positions to fire that shot?

"I'll make you pay for all of this with your life!"

The King Cobra had already transformed into a streak of emerald green wind before he finished speaking, rushing behind Ben before he could react. The speed was so fast that Ben couldn't help but feel ashamed.

If it hadn't been for Johnny and Quentin's restraints, he might not have even been able to touch him alone. This speed was too exaggerated.

By the time Ben turned around, the King Cobra had already rushed far away. Following the direction of his charge, Ben also saw his target, a strange man wearing a British naval coat and an old-fashioned diving helmet.

The man was slender, looking like a model who often appeared in newspapers and magazines. His temperament was also different from ordinary people, and his posture always gave people a feeling of being battle-hardened, making Ben unable to see through his flaws.

"Huff!"

Two streams of white air spewed out from the oxygen pipes of the diving helmet. The man stretched his right hand forward, and a purple stream of light gradually lengthened in his palm, eventually turning into a staff.

With a slight movement of his right fingers, the staff made of purple energy waved in his hand. During the waving process, a blade and a fork also grew out of one end of the purple staff, looking like some kind of harpoon.

"My name is Kahn," Kahn said calmly, completely ignoring the crazed King Cobra.

"Here, I conduct the great hunt, dedicating the spoils of this battle to my master, the great Celestial Lord, the omnipotent God of Magic, the Supreme Heaven above all!"

Raising his spear and lifting his leg, Kahn launched a charge towards the prey in front of him.