*Hissssss*

Doyle had barely a second to leap back and escape the range of the serpent's neck. However, there began the problem.

He had leaped away from the entrance of the cave and could no longer make a quick getaway without going around the Viper.

"Fuck!" He yelled.

The Viper turned towards him and slithered with incredible speed to where he had managed to run to, inside the cave.

The Viper's fangs were long and vicious-looking as they snapped right close to where his leg had once been.

The serpent's tail suddenly swept out from behind and tried tied to swipe him to the ground but Doyle leaped upwards and escaped it.

He was aware that he could not keep avoiding and at some point, he would need to engage but his whole thought process was in the fact that once he engaged there would be no turning back.

But then again, if he did not engage, the Viper would eventually enjoy the taste of him.

After a particularly close call with the vicious fangs, Doyle drew back his fist and in it, he packed the full might of his cultivation, and then, he struck,

*Bam!*

*Angry Hiss*

The Viper recoiled from the strike and coiled within itself.

Doyle saw an opportunity to reach the entrance and finally get the fuck out. Unfortunately for him, things were hardly ever so easy.

The moment he was close to the door, the serpent's tail knocked him back inside. Winding him instantly.

As he fell to the cave floor, breathless. Doyle heard a different kind of hiss, one that did not come from the serpent's mouth.

He looked up just in time to see a cloud of Green poisonous fog being released from the Viper's pores.

Doyle immediately held his breath until the fog dissipated. During which time he aimed to stay as far away as possible from the serpent.

That became an issue however when the Viper turned towards him and once again, he could have sworn it was grinning.

Almost as though, it was taunting him,

'Where now?' It seemed to say.

And they both became embroiled in an altercation.

The viper was making use of its tails and trunk and Doyle was trying his ultimate best to keep the serpent away from him. He was quite convinced that the moment it was able to coil its great body around him would be the end.

All through that time, Doyle never gave up on possibly getting his hand on the Rune tile that remained stuck to the Viper's body.

There was obviously nothing new the serpent could do that could surprise him. After all, he had managed to survive this long, surely he could still get what he came here for.

Or so he thought.

The Viper never stopped releasing its Toxic gas but being one stage weaker than Doyle, the only way its gas could have an effect was if he breathed it in but this idiot knew not to breathe it in.

It seems it was time to take things to the next level.

The Viper suddenly began to suck in all the poisonous gas it had released prior and somehow used it to imbue itself...

Doyle's eye widened

Holy Shit!

Meanwhile on the outside,

The others waited patiently and began to suspect that things might have gone sideways,

Eldo was particularly nervous as he chewed his nails and started at the Cave entrance, from where he kept expecting Doyle to run out from.

"What is that idiot doing? All he needs to do is check if the serpent is asleep or not. What the fuck are you still doing in there" He mumbled.

*Bang!*

Suddenly a sound came from the cave and out of it ran Doyle at the full limit his legs could take him.

Eldo sighed from relief until he noticed the look on his friend's face was one of absolute panic, the reason why was revealed barely a second as with a loud sound, a Viper slithered out of them can be right after Doyle.

Clearly, it was the cause for Doyle's panic but there was something completely different about the viper. For one thing, the entrance that should have been large enough for the serpent was completely broken up to accommodate its size.

At that time Doyle arrived at his side,

"What the hell is going on?"

Eldo asked as the Viper continued to pull its larger-than-life body out of the cave that could no longer hold it.

"It can grow. The bastard snake can grow!" Doyle yelled.

While Doyle was not nice with his words, it was true all the same. The Toxic Viper's most powerful and secret technique was the art of imbuing itself with its toxic gas and enlarging its size and by consequence, its strength and speed as well.

Their eyes widened as it finally managed to pull its full body length out of the now shattered Cave entrance to tower above them and stare down with its beautiful green eyes and then it attacked...

*Snap!*

...with its large jaws and fangs.

"The tile?" Eldo asked and Doyle pointed at it on the Viper's body.

Eldo gulped but his eyes were resolute.

They would get that Tile!.

Frank who watched all Horst scions move into positions could not help shake his head at their stupidity hidden behind a facade of bravery.

Obviously, it was more prudent to seek out other lairs.

Why be so adamant to pit yourselves against a beast that is very pissed off.

His disapproving sounds were ignored.

However,

He was not the only one who thought going after other lairs would most likely be more prudent.

Hal and Marla had arrived at the scene long before Doyle ran out of the lair and thanks to Hal's Astral perception, they had been privy to what had occurred in the lair.

They had decided not to interfere. There was no point in doing so. So, they kicked back and watched the show.

Jack was still there as the uncomfortable third wheel whose existence was mostly ignored.

"I give them five minutes," Marla said and Hal smiled,

"Come on, give them some credit, I say they survive and get the tile," Hal said.

Marla giggled " If so, will we still take it from them?"

"Of course we will, They are allowed to fight back of course"

Jack rolled his eyes,

As though anyone could resist the two. Just how shameless could he be?

"I saw that," Hal said and Jack gulped. Hal then looked at the Viper closely.

"It's a shame though"

"What is?" Marla asked,

"Well, the Viper just wanted to sleep and she has now been angered into being a part of this competition. I'll be mighty pissed too if someone intruded into my own private space." He said and Marla narrowed her eyes,

"She?" She sounded surprised.

Hal just smiled and looked down at the battle between Men and Serpent.

Just as it had been with Doyle, The Toxic Viper attacked with its tail and swiped at them all.

They created a wall and all amassed the full might of their cultivation and punched out,

*HISSSSSS*

The Viper reared its head and struck down at them, breaking yo the formation but the distraction had worked as one Horst scion began to run up the serpent's body towards the glowing tile.

As preoccupied as the Viper was, it was not to the extent of not noticing someone on its large body.

A sudden flap and it sent the runner smacking away and right into a the cave wall.

But once again, this was another feint.

The moment it reared to shake off the scion, its underbody was exposed. It was where it was most vulnerable and it was where Doyle now flung himself at.

Doyle reveled in the wide space of the outside that allowed him to tap into the wide supply of skills available to him thanks to maneuverability.

Unfortunately, for him, the Serpent also loved the wide space of the outside where it would not be cramped up and allowed it to curve its neck and avoid Doyle's strike in its entirety.

Doyle was able to catch himself and land on his feet successfully.

The Viper's head turned towards him suddenly and Doyle knew that while it had not been his intention, he now had the viper's undivided attention.

He dodged and ducked but was eventually caught in the chest by the viper's tail which knocked him into a tree.

*Bam!*

The Viper slithered to him with such incredible speed and was getting close when it found it could no longer move.

It was stuck with a Binding Rune!.

It was the reason Eldo had not attacked and also why the others had leaped at the Viper readily. It has all been to give him time to amass enough Cosmic Energy to activate a Rank 2 Rune.

It was something that would have been impossible for anyone else but Eldo was nothing if not persevering. It had weakened him but he had succeeded. He could have activated Rank one runes but it would not have been difficult for the Serpent to break out of them with its physical prowess.

Their best bet was to lay it all down with the only sure way to hold the large Viper down long enough to retrieve the Rune tile and get the fuck out of here before the abysmal Cosmic energy imbued in the Binding Rune ran out.

However, weak as he was, Eldo did not delude himself that this was over. He and the others were sure they had spectators ready to steal the fruits of their labor. It was only a matter of time before they made their presence known.