Ethan Brooks glanced toward the mouth of the volcano. He very much wanted to get rid of that little demon and travel the world from now on, but he also wanted to stay and witness the rare battle between man and serpent. He was torn with indecision. In the end, he couldn’t resist the temptation and quietly crawled back toward the volcano’s mouth. When he was about a dozen zhang away, he hid behind a massive boulder.

　　Little Princess carefully examined the giant serpent curled up at the mouth of the volcano, then laughed and said, “Who would have thought this stinking snake was so cunning, pretending to be weak to trick us. No one go over there—attack it from here.”

　　The guards took out their powerful bows and crossbows, aiming arrows at the giant serpent, while the three apprentice mages began chanting spells, preparing for a magical attack.

　　Rows of feathered arrows shot toward the giant serpent like a swarm of locusts, but to everyone’s shock, the steel-tipped arrows merely sparked as they struck the serpent’s scales, then slid harmlessly to the ground.

　　The massive wind blades unleashed by the apprentice mages struck the serpent’s body, but only made it tremble slightly, leaving not a single mark.

　　Little Princess decisively ordered, “Stop attacking other parts—focus all attacks on its eyes.”

　　Arrows rained down, all aimed at the serpent’s blood-red eyes, but the giant serpent, as if mocking everyone, closed its eyes, blocking the arrow storm outside.

　　At this moment, the three apprentice mages gathered a large amount of magical energy, condensing it into three chilling ice spears. Under the sunlight, the three ice spears shone brilliantly as they shot toward the serpent’s eyes like rainbows across the sky.

　　“Bang”

　　“Bang”

　　“Bang”

　　The ice spears shattered into countless pieces in front of the serpent’s eyes, their brilliance fading. These three powerful magical attacks were not entirely ineffective—traces of blood appeared on the serpent’s eyelids. At the same time, the enormous serpent head rose up, its previous weakness gone. The terrifying serpent tongue flickered in and out, its sharp fangs gleaming with a chilling light, and its blood-red eyes stared fixedly at the crowd.

　　Ethan Brooks hid behind the boulder, ready to make a run for it at any moment.

　　“Whoosh”

　　The giant serpent opened its massive jaws and spewed a torrent of flames, the blazing fire sweeping toward the crowd. The three apprentice mages hurriedly chanted spells, and a pale blue magical barrier enveloped everyone inside.

　　Ethan Brooks stared in shock and exclaimed, “No way, this super terrifying creature has already become a demon! My god, a serpent demon!” Seeing this, he retreated another dozen zhang from the battlefield.

　　At this moment, the three apprentice mages gathered enough magical energy again. They opened a corner of the magical barrier and then cast a large curtain of light toward the giant serpent. The pale blue curtain transformed into layers of waves, instantly extinguishing the flames around the group and drenching the giant serpent. Thick white mist rose from the volcano’s mouth, and the group took the opportunity to retreat seven or eight zhang further back.

　　The giant serpent seemed enraged. Amid thunderous rumbling, it slid another four or five zhang of its body out of the cave, sending countless rocks tumbling into the depths of the volcano. Now, the part of its body suspended in the air was seven or eight zhang long, and its massive head looked especially ferocious and terrifying. The serpent glared down at the crowd, its eyes flashing with a fierce light, as if it wanted to dive down, but in the end, it unwillingly retreated to the side of the Fire Lotus, pressing its entire body against the volcanic rock.

　　Little Princess and the others let out a sigh of relief. At this moment, a female guard stepped forward and said, “Your Highness, this demon serpent has already achieved its cultivation. We are no match for it—we should retreat quickly.”

　　An apprentice mage also said, “Yes, this... this is no ordinary snake, this... this is a serpent spirit! We should...”

　　Little Princess shot him a glare, and the apprentice mage immediately fell silent in fright.

　　Ethan Brooks, hiding behind the volcanic rock, thought to himself: Little Princess is fiercer than the giant serpent!

　　Little Princess said, “Didn’t I give you thirty-six powerful magic arrows? If you don’t use them now, when will you? Shoot!”

　　The attendants took out the magic arrows from their backs, nocked them to their bowstrings, and all aimed at the serpent’s crimson eyes.

　　“Whoosh”

　　“Whoosh”

　　……

　　The magic arrows shot out like lightning, leaving ripples in the air as the magical elements vibrated irregularly. The giant serpent seemed to sense danger and jerked its ferocious head to the side. The magic arrows sparked as they grazed the serpent’s mouth, then suddenly exploded, blasting away a large patch of scales on the left side of its mouth. The remaining arrows struck the same spot, instantly turning the serpent’s mouth into a bloody mess, exposing its white fangs.

　　Enraged, the giant serpent reared its massive body, its blood-red tongue flickering among its gleaming white fangs. At the same time, the rest of its body, hidden in the cave, kept slithering out, making the volcano’s mouth shake as if in an earthquake.

　　Everyone was stunned. Little Princess said in a low voice, “It seems we have no choice but to use the final move.” She took an ancient, simple long box from her pack, opened it, and drew out a longbow with a dark, lustrous sheen.

　　When Ethan Brooks saw Little Princess's actions, his pupils contracted, and he stared unblinkingly at the longbow.

　　“The Hou Yi Bow!”