While being forced to step back, Jason instinctively unholstered his Five-SeveN, but his gaze didn't leave the Wind crystal horned python for a single moment.

Using most of its mana to create a compressed gust of wind, the arrow´s trajectory was slightly averted, causing it to pierce into the python´s long body, while the water spear´s velocity decreased, barely tearing out a few scales, missing the targeted area.

None of them expected the wind crystal-horned python´s reaction to being so fast as it instinctively saved its own life, even though it had to use up most of its mana.

But even without mana, its physique alone was terrifying enough to threaten them, while the red crystal horned python noticed its companion getting surprised attacked, which caused it to spew a bunch of fireballs towards the small group of humans it immediately perceived.

"Fuck!" Everyone exclaimed, while Lin and his treant used up more than half of their mana in order to erect a large wall of roots, which barely protected them.

Burning through the wall of roots, everyone could hardly avoid the fireballs, which would have burned them alive, as they turned around to run, without hesitating for a single second.

It was already hard to imagine the five of them defeating one completely healthy magical ranked python with its thick scales, but with the failed assassination, their chances to kill both magical was almost non-existent.

To add on, Malia and Jennifer were forced to use up most of their mana, while Lin´s reserves were also negligible.

With everyone running away, Jason noticed an essential mistake he and their team didn't calculate while thinking about all kinds of possible issues that might occur if their assassination were to fail.

'I´m too slow!!' gritting his teeth, he noticed that he forgot one of the most important things he should have thought of.

How should someone with a 7th Adept physique be able to reach the same speed as a Master rank? It was impossible and Jason bit on his lips, as he circulated all of his mana into the weightless steps technique, before ordering Artemis to fly into the sky.

Transmitting a thought to Scorpio within his soul world, he immediately felt that his second soulbond entered his mana core, enhancing his physique to the 8th Adept rank, which increased his speed by another notch.

But even so, the distance between him and his team increased further, while he didn't even dare to imagine how close the magical ranked pythons were as he already felt death approaching him from behind.

Suddenly Jason saw that everyone in front of him unholstered their mana weapons, as they turned their heads, only for their eyes to widen, as they noticed him falling behind.

Malia was even more shocked, to see so far Jason behind their team because she completely forgot about him, as she holstered her pistol again, only to see Lin and Lux pointing their weapons towards Jason´s direction.

Meanwhile, Jennifer´s eyes widened while Theo gritted his teeth, only to holster his pistol again, as Jason heard him shouting.

"Don´t shoot!! You may hit Jason!!!" 

Jason´s heart felt warm for a second because Malia, Jennifer, and Theo were considered about him, which was however not really helpful if nothing were to change in the next few seconds.

But seeing Lux and Lin´s eyes gleaming, he immediately knew that Theo´s words were worthless towards them, while his mana eyes barely perceived their guns being supplied with mana.

'F**K!' Jason cursed in his mind, thinking about all kinds of ways to survive either a barrage of bullets in front of him or the threat of two magical ranked pythons from behind him.

'Why the hell did I even come here?' He asked himself, lamenting his stupid decision, as a sudden item he purchased came into his mind.

But before he could even do something, Jason saw Lux smiling slyly, as his face turned extremely hideous, causing him to shiver involuntarily, as he instinctively enveloped himself with a thick mana membrane.

Additionally, he instinctively summoned Scorpio's exoskeleton that barely reached the late-awakened rank.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

Not even a second later, an unimaginable impact flung him back and he could barely hear Malia cry out "NOOOO!!!" 

A single bullet pierced straight through his mana membrane and Scorpio´s exoskeleton which barely decreased its velocity only to be halted by the mana grade-2 black leather armor, which began to drain his almost empty mana further, only for Jason to supply it subconsciously with the mana within the mana sphere bracelet.

The golden runes brightened up and Jason´s sight blurred, while his abdomen felt as if he was shot by a bazooka, as he fell into a bunch of bushes, 

Crashing into the ground, he spits out blood, as he tried to breathe, which was hardly possible.

Not being able to breathe freely due to the impact his abdomen endured, he reminded himself that there were still two magical ranked beasts pursuing them, as his gaze turned toward his right side, where he saw the two crystal horned python´s mana fluctuation that seemed to have split up.

The weak mana fluctuation which most likely belonged to the wind affinity python seemed to approach him slowly and Jason sensed its unstable fluctuation indicating a severe injury, which was the only good point he could perceive from his current predicament he was in, as it further slowed down its speed.

'At least Malia will only have to face one of them, right?' He told himself worrying about her for a moment, before his gaze turned cold, as he thought of Lin and Lux which sacrificed him, even though he was already about to die.

'These F*ckers` Jason thought, but before he could continue to curse inwardly, he would have to survive.

Taking a deep breather once it was possible, he took out a football-sized globe from his spatial device.

'Please work!!' Jason pleaded as he led the mana within his mana sphere bracelet into it, causing it to brighten up before he felt the heat in his surroundings increasing.

Hurriedly standing up, the noises he made attracted the wind crystal horned python, that was still more than 20 meters away from it.

Snapping out, the distance between the two of them decreased within a single moment, shocking Jason, who threw the heating up globe straight towards the python who opened its mouth, causing the hot globe to enter it unintentionally.

'YES!' He shouted inwardly, as his lips curled upwards, due to the unpredicted, yet fortunate development of the whole fight, if one could even call it like that.

Without further ado, Jason´s coccyx began to itch, as a 60-centimeter long stinger grew out of it with which he used to push himself from the ground in order to reach a tree branch above him.

The crystal horned python was astonished by the sudden growth of an additional limb from its prey which caused it to hesitate for a millisecond which was enough for Jason, to exert his weightless step technique once again, to jump from one branch to another.

'Please don't let me miss the branch now, alright?' Jason pleaded inwardly, because he never did something like that before, as he calmed himself down as well as possible, while the crystal horned snake coiled itself around the tree he was currently on, only to break it with its brute force.

This caused a thick fountain of blood to ooze out of the serious injury Malia and Jennifer created which in return led the python to change its strategy…

"Fortunately you're already out of mana and injured, right? If your fire elemental friend were to pursue me, I would be dead by now… Thanks for choosing me and sorry, but you´ll die now" Jason said, as the countdown he imagined in his mind turned to 0.

Using the mana within his mana sphere bracelet, he supplied his mana grade-2 leather armor to the brim, while he reproduced Scorpio´s skeleton forcefully with the usage of nutrition and his remaining mana inside his mana core.

Once his leather armor was supplied, he forcefully ejected a large amount of mana only to barely control it in front of him, constructing a crude shield, as the wind crystal horned python´s eyes turned red with its body inflating, before it exploded, devastating the surrounding landscape.

*BOOM* 

"F**K"