Seeing this scene, the Nine-Headed Hydra King couldn't help but feel triumphant; in its eyes, the human before it was courting death. An assault of magic at its level, if landed simultaneously, would certainly kill this human, no matter how powerful they were.

Just then, the Bright Holy Sword in Mo Han's hand began to swing rapidly. In an instant, Mo Han unleashed dozens of strikes, instantly forming a screen of white light before him. Every swing of Mo Han's sword managed to shatter one of the magical projectiles launched by the Nine-Headed Hydra King. With a series of cracking sounds, all the magic hurtling toward Mo Han was broken apart by the Bright Holy Sword. Mo Han's body, however, showed no decrease in speed as he flew rapidly toward the Hydra King. In the blink of an eye, he was less than ten meters away from it.

But just at that moment, Bai Ling's urgent voice called out from behind, "Be careful of its magic!"

No sooner had Bai Ling spoken than a circle of faint blue light suddenly appeared around one of the Nine-Headed Hydra King's heads. This pale blue halo rapidly expanded, instantly covering an area spanning dozens of meters around them. Seeing this, Mo Han's heart jolted, because as a mage, he was intimately familiar with this type of spell—it was the Slowing Spell frequently employed by mages.

However, the Hydra King's Slowing Spell covered a vastly larger area than that cast by ordinary human mages, and its power was clearly superior to theirs. In just an instant, the pale blue circle enveloped Mo Han, and he felt a powerful suction gripping his entire body.

It wrapped around him tightly, as if he had plunged into an endless swamp, and his speed instantly plummeted.

Seeing that its Slowing Spell had trapped Mo Han, the Nine-Headed Hydra King became ecstatic, convinced that no matter how formidable Mo Han was, he could not escape the power of the enchantment.

It didn't even bother with magic, instead extending one of its enormous heads directly toward Mo Han, who was caught at the center of the pale blue aura, and lunged to bite. Mo Han could clearly see the Hydra King's teeth, covered in venom, shining with a chilling white luster.

Yet, witnessing this, Mo Han felt no fear; instead, a calm, faint smile touched his lips. Just as the Nine-Headed Hydra King was about to clamp down on him—

A brilliant white light suddenly erupted from Mo Han’s body, followed by a piercing, agonizing shriek from the Nine-Headed Hydra King.

When the light dispersed, Mo Han stood unharmed, still grasping the Bright Holy Sword. The serpent head that had been aiming for him was completely severed, the undeniable masterpiece of the incomparably sharp Bright Holy Sword.

The severed head lay entirely before Mo Han.

The body, now separated from its head, continued to writhe and convulse, struggling to drag itself back toward the main trunk of the Hydra King, an utterly bizarre sight.

The Nine-Headed Hydra King, now missing one head, thrashed its body wildly, emitting continuous, agonizing screams.

Seeing this, Mo Han frowned slightly. He hadn't expected the Hydra King's hide to be so tough. He had infused the Bright Holy Sword with Battle Qi just now, but striking the creature's body felt like hacking into soft cotton. That sensation of having no purchase made Mo Han deeply uncomfortable, though he had ultimately managed to cleave the head off.

If he had been wielding ordinary weapons, he certainly could not have severed the head. The fact that the severed portion was not yet completely dead and could still move demonstrated the astonishing vitality of the Nine-Headed Hydra King. Mo Han then softly murmured a few magical incantations, and a massive gout of flame surged toward the severed head on the ground, instantly engulfing the Hydra King’s huge head and rapidly igniting it.

Witnessing this, the Nine-Headed Hydra King went completely berserk. Its remaining eight heads glared malevolently at Mo Han, their crimson eyes bathing him in their gaze. Mo Han showed no fear; instead, he smiled and taunted them, "I know you Sacred Beasts can understand human speech. How does it feel to lose a head?"

The moment Mo Han finished speaking, the Nine-Headed Hydra King roared violently, and then all eight heads simultaneously spat out differently attributed magical attacks toward Mo Han. Having suffered a significant loss, the Hydra King now understood that the weapon in Mo Han's hand was certainly not an ordinary blade that its hide could withstand; otherwise, even a Sword Saint might not have been able to cleave off its head in one swing, given its naturally impenetrable skin.

Therefore, the Hydra King no longer rashly offered its heads to Mo Han for a suicidal bite. It resolved to use its magical superiority to kill Mo Han. Immediately, a torrent of multicolored, varied spells surged toward Mo Han, far denser than the previous two waves of magical attacks. Clearly, the Hydra King had not deployed its full power before; now that one head was gone, it had gone truly mad.

In an instant, no less than a hundred spells erupted, all being mid-to-high tier magic of considerable power. Seeing this onslaught, even Mo Han, holding the Bright Holy Sword, dared not block them head-on. One or two such spells posed no threat to him, unable to penetrate his protective Battle Qi. But a hundred spells of this magnitude represented terrifying energy—definitely equivalent to a Level Ten spell, perhaps even approaching the power of a Forbidden Spell.

Mo Han propelled himself suddenly into the air, instantly escaping the range of the incoming magic. All the spells struck the massive trees behind him. A rapid series of explosions echoed, and when the sound faded, the trees behind Mo Han were obliterated; dozens had collapsed.

However, these trees were clearly made of some extraordinary material. Despite being struck by the massive force of the magic, most of the trunks remained entirely intact. Only the relatively slender trees were shattered into several pieces by the magical blasts. This level of resistance to magic even made Mo Han gasp in astonishment.

He knew the power of those spells was in no way less than a Level Ten spell. Ordinary trees, after such a bombardment, would likely have been reduced to dust. Yet, most of the trees here retained their whole form, with only a few smaller ones broken by the magical assault.

The Nine-Headed Hydra King's attack missed its mark.

Seeing Mo Han floating in the air only fueled its rage. Suddenly, three of the Hydra King's heads lunged toward Mo Han, hissing madly. Mo Han watched them calmly, feeling no fear. Hadn't Bai Ling said this Hydra King was much stronger than ordinary Sacred Beasts? So far, other than the speed and power of its magic, there seemed to be nothing else particularly unique.

If they were on the ground, the Hydra King might have given Mo Han a headache; its preternatural casting speed would certainly make anyone cautious, including Mo Han.

But when facing a mage who could fly, even though the Death Forest's canopy restricted Mo Han's altitude, the trees were still immensely tall. If he flew slightly higher, he could easily reach forty meters in the air. At this rate, Mo Han was confident he could deal with the Nine-Headed Hydra King easily.

After all, the Hydra King could not fly, and its magical assaults posed significantly less threat to the agile Mo Han hovering above. What puzzled Mo Han, however, was that after he took to the air, the Nine-Headed Hydra King, despite its obvious fury, did not immediately launch another attack. It simply stared coldly at Mo Han, causing a wave of confusion to ripple through him.

Just then, Bai Ling, from below, suddenly shouted, "Watch out behind you!"

The moment Bai Ling's words ended, Mo Han felt a strange whistling sound erupt from directly behind him. It arrived instantly—a speed that surpassed anything Mo Han had ever witnessed. Though he didn't know what it was, it was too late to turn around now; he probably didn't even have time to activate his protective Battle Qi.

In a desperate move, Mo Han let out a loud roar and twisted the entire arm holding the Bright Holy Sword at an unbelievable angle, bringing it around to intercept the unknown object that had reached him. Simultaneously, a faint white glow emanated from his body. Then came a deafening boom. Mo Han, suspended in mid-air, felt as if his Bright Holy Sword had been struck by a mountain. An immensely powerful force traveled directly through the sword and into his body, knocking him violently backward.

What surprised Mo Han even more was that he felt as if his entire body had been plunged into a furnace; an intense heat wave accompanied the force surging toward him. Fortunately, the Bright Holy Sword had bought him a split second, allowing him to barely activate his protective Battle Qi and completely neutralize the intense heat. Thus, though he was sent flying, Mo Han sustained no actual injury.

Even so, the attack startled him. He could clearly sense the sheer power of that energy, a force no ordinary magical beast could possess. He quickly looked back toward the source of the energy.

Where Mo Han had just been hovering, there now floated a tiny bird, no larger than a fist, entirely enveloped in a faint red aura.

Seeing this, Mo Han could hardly believe his eyes. That tremendously powerful attack had originated from this unassuming little bird! Furthermore, after being struck by the Bright Holy Sword, the bird seemed utterly unharmed. The Bright Holy Sword was the pride of the Church of Light, a divine artifact, yet it couldn't penetrate the barrier around this small bird. How could Mo Han not be astonished?

Upon seeing the insignificant little bird, Bai Ling immediately cried out in shock, "Fire Blaze Bird! It's the Ancient Sacred Beast, the Fire Blaze Bird! Mo Han, get down now! You are no match for the Fire Blaze Bird in the air!"

Hearing Bai Ling, Mo Han dared not hesitate and rapidly descended. Seeing Mo Han's movement, the Fire Blaze Bird suddenly shot forward, leaving a blur of motion as it streaked toward him. For a creature of this speed, a distance of dozens of meters was instantaneous; it seemed as if he had only just seen the bird move, and in the next second, it was before him.

"This Fire Blaze Bird's speed is incredible," Mo Han muttered inwardly. But this time, Mo Han was prepared. The Bright Holy Sword in his hand flashed with white light as he slashed toward the Fire Blaze Bird charging at him. Mo Han had poured a significant amount of Battle Qi into the sword this time. The Fire Blaze Bird seemed wary of the artifact; its slender body curved in an unnatural arc, deftly evading Mo Han's swing. Although it failed to strike Mo Han, the Bright Holy Sword missed entirely, unable to make contact.

Mo Han seized this rare opportunity to return to the ground, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Bai Ling, warily eyeing the two Sacred Beasts. A wry smile played on Mo Han's lips as he said, "What do we do? Now there are two Sacred Beasts; this is turning into real trouble."

Hearing Mo Han, Bai Ling's expression grew grave. "No, not two. There are three."

"Three?" Mo Han looked at the two Fire Blaze Birds before him, a look of confusion crossing his face.