Is this really a Game?!

"Fall back and spread out!" Reign commanded, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Don't let that cloud touch you!"

The team reacted swiftly, moving away from the green cloud. Mia conjured a wall of ice, hoping to block its advance, but the cloud dissolved the ice within moments, proving its potency.

"Just stay clear of it and let me handle this!" Wolf yelled out as flames erupted around him before being drawn to his hand. He channeled his mana and made the flames wrap around his hand before glancing at the snake with a smirk.

"Let's see if this will actually work," Wolf said before extending his open palm forward, sending a massive pillar of flames to the cloud of poison.

The flames struck the cloud, but unfortunately, what Wolf and the others expected to happen didn't happen. The cloud didn't combust and explode, but, the flames did indeed stop it and made it much thinner and weaker.

In fact, the fire was so hot, so powerful, that it was burning everything around it incredibly quickly, including the poison itself. Even though it didn't combust, it was getting destroyed by the flames.

"I'll help you out."

"Me too."

Beast and Aelrinder used their wind manipulation together, causing a gale to blow at the snake, pushing its poisonous cloud away and spreading the powerful flames around even faster, making them get closer to the snake, which in turn forced the snake to stop exhaling the poison and move out of the way in order to not burn.

The snake recoiled as the powerful flames threatened to engulf it. The combined efforts of Wolf's fire manipulation and the wind manipulation from Beast and Aelrinder had turned the tide of the battle. The green poisonous cloud dissipated into the air, its deadly threat neutralized.

Seeing the snake retreating, Reign knew this was their chance to press the advantage. "Now! While it's disoriented, go for the head!"

The team responded instantly, their movements fluid and coordinated. Greenie charged forward, his hammer glowing with fierce energy as he smashed it into the snake's side, causing the beast to stagger. Wolf, still manipulating the flames, sent another torrent of fire towards the snake, aiming to scorch its already weakened scales.

Mia, seizing the opportunity, unleashed a barrage of ice spears, targeting the soft tissue beneath the snake's jaw. Each spear struck with precision, piercing through the weakened areas and causing the snake to thrash in pain. Laura followed up with a volley of demonic energy blasts, each one aimed at the snake's head, trying to disorient it further.

Reign, Shadow, and Aelrinder, the fastest of the group, moved in tandem. Aelrinder's spear whistled through the air, striking the snake's head and forcing it to lower its defenses, Shadow disappeared before appearing behind the snake, quickly attacking its tail which was without a shred of doubt the weakest part of the snake.

Reign, however, with his dual swords glowing with the energies of light and darkness, moved in for the kill.

It was time to end the battle, they had already wasted a lot of time, mana, and stamina fighting the snake. If they didn't finish the battle quickly, it was highly likely that somebody would notice their battle and could attempt to interfere or attack them right after the battle was over and they were a bit tired.

That would further slow them down, and Reign didn't wish for anything to slow them down any longer.

Reign moved with incredible speed, his dual swords cutting through the air as he aimed for the snake's vulnerable spots. The energies of light and darkness around his blades created a mesmerizing yet deadly display. As he approached the snake's head, he channeled all his strength into a powerful cross slash, aiming to sever the creature's jaw.

The snake, sensing the imminent danger, tried to retaliate, but it was too late. Reign's swords struck true, cutting deep into the snake's jaw and causing a torrent of blood to spill forth. The beast roared in agony, its massive body thrashing violently as it tried to shake off its attackers.

"Keep it up! We're almost there!" Reign shouted, his voice filled with determination.

Shadow, capitalizing on the snake's weakened state, delivered a series of swift, precise strikes to its tail, further debilitating the beast. Aelrinder's spear flashed through the air, finding its mark again and again, each thrust aimed to cripple the snake's movements.

Wolf's flames intensified, engulfing the snake's already scorched scales and causing them to crack and fall away. The beast's hide, once impenetrable, was now riddled with wounds and exposed flesh. Greenie, with a mighty roar, brought his hammer down with earth-shattering force, breaking through the snake's defenses and leaving it reeling.

Mia's ice spears continued to rain down on the snake's head, each one striking with unerring accuracy. Laura's demonic energy blasts disoriented the beast further, making it impossible for it to defend itself effectively. Beast's arrows pierced through the gaps in its scales, each one driving deeper into the creature's flesh.

Jin, observing the battlefield with a strategist's eye, saw the opening they needed.

"Reign, attack the lower portion of the snake, stab it with the lance!"

"Tank, get ready and do it on my command, alright?!"

Tank and Reign both nodded at Jin as Reign did what his uncle asked him to do. He disappeared, a blur being left in his wake before appearing right in front of the snake, his sword being wrapped in black lightning as a black lance manifested itself around the sword and his entire arm.

[ Lightning Lance ]

The lance struck the snake's underbelly, penetrating through it and causing the snake to convulse as the lightning burned the area around the wound, as well as the insides.

The snake tried to shake it off and attack Reign, only for a flash of light to appear right next to Reign.

[ Directional Explosion, West ]

A powerful explosion struck the snake, and more importantly, even though it took place merely 2 meters away from Reign, he didn't even feel it.

It was another part of Jin's ability. He could create explosions whenever and wherever he wanted to create them, but he could also manipulate them masterfully. In this case, he had created an explosion whose entire power was focused on one direction, completely ignoring the other 3 directions.

Even if Reign was closer to the explosion, he still wouldn't have felt it as it was like a funnel was created to make sure it only struck one direction, its entire might focused on the snake that tried to bite Reign.

Now, however, the snake was shaken, the explosion had struck its face and dealt immense damage, even stunning it for a moment.

But that was not all, however, as the explosion was also the sign that Tank was waiting for, the one that Jin had told him to wait for before acting.

He charged forward, and then threw his shield in front of him and stepped on it before an explosion took place right beneath the shield, sending Tank flying toward the snake with immense speed, his two hands clenching his axe with full force.

[ Emperor's Mercy: Swift Execution ]

Tank struck down, a powerful black aura appearing around the axe before a black axe light passed through the neck of the now weakened snake. He continued flying forward after the attack, only to be caught by Shadow who quickly teleported them away.

As for the snake, it froze after being hit by Tank's attack, and then, the giant head of the snake slid down from the body, cleanly severed.

The snake's head hit the ground with a heavy thud, sending tremors through the surrounding area. Its massive body twitched and convulsed before finally lying still. The once formidable beast was now defeated, and the Heaven's Hooligans stood victorious.

The team let out a collective sigh of relief, their breaths heavy and their bodies worn from the intense battle. They had faced a boss-ranked monster and emerged victorious, their unity and combined strength proving to be an unstoppable force even against such a powerful foe.

"Great job, everyone," Reign said, his voice filled with both pride and exhaustion. "Let's keep moving. We can't afford to lose any more time."

With the snake defeated, the path to the summit was clear. The Flame of Ascendance glowed brightly in the distance, beckoning them forward. The team quickly regrouped and continued their ascent, their determination unwavering.

As they climbed higher, the air grew thinner and the temperature dropped even further. The storm that had raged around them began to subside, replaced by an eerie stillness. The summit was close, and the anticipation of reaching their goal filled them with renewed energy.

And then, the flame suddenly disappeared from sight as a system notification echoed around the entire area.

[ The team 'Silent Whisper' has successfully claimed the flame. ]

[ If the team managed to make their way down the mountain, they would be crowned as the victor of this trial. ]