Spotting Thiago on the side of the lake the serpent immediately darted towards him with its huge body.
"Oh, crap!" cursed Thiago before quickly dodging the serpents blow at the last second.
'The serpent is really fast, as expected of the Superior Student realm,' thought Thiago while already running away in the direction of the next red dot, which represented the Lightning bear.
"Come and try to catch me!" shouted Thiago to further incite the snake, which certainly worked as the snake roared in anger and quickly followed him. Obviously, the snake was following him not only because of his incitement, but also because of the Fury Stone and its spiritual fluctuations he had removed from his space storage for a split second, which had awakened the murderous intent in the snake's mind.
"Roaarrr!"
The serpent chased after him and destroyed numerous trees in its wake, while Thiago could smoothly sprint through the woods with the trees as a cover.
Thus, the serpent could only wantonly launch attacks at the fleeting images of him that Thiago let it see purposely, for it to be able to accurately follow him and not lose his tail.
The reason that the serpent who was a being in the Superior Student realm was not faster than Thiago, had to do with its innate physique, which was one of a snake. Even though a snake could move relatively fast, it was still no match for the speed which a tiger on all fours could exhibit.
Of course, in this case, there was a difference in cultivation realms between them, which meant that Thiago had a lower realm than the Ice Serpent, which was the only reason why the Serpent was able to almost catch up with Thiago.
The snake seemed to realise that it would not be able to catch up for the time being, as a glaring blue and freezing cold energy could be seen building up inside the snake's huge abyss-like mouth, until suddenly - "Boom!" sounded the explosion of an ice attack that hit a tree and thereupon created a crater the size of a small bomb just a few metres beside Thiago.
The crater was covered in extremely cold ice, and the surroundings also cooled a few degrees after this attack, as the air around it was affected by the ice and cooled abruptly and visibly, with small ice crystals even forming on Thiago's own body, making him shiver from the invading cold.
Despite that he, who was thrown aside by the sudden shockwave, still managed to land on all fours and continue running forward.
The only thing that was on his mind was the fact that he had apparently forgotten something important, but at the moment he had no idea what it was.
"Phew, that was close! This snake's attack power is truly extraordinary, as expected from a beast of the superior student realm." Thiago muttered as he dodged and weaved his way through the forest after the first attack failed to hit him.
"Raaaah!" sounded the serpent's murderous and aggressive screech, after which Thiago also realised to his delight that he was now very close to the red dot on the map in his mind and would therefore soon encounter the lightning bear.
'Hehe here we go, the first step of the plan should be completed soon,' thought Thiago happily while simultaneously becoming more cautious as he approached the lightning bear's territory.
Just then it suddenly came to his mind what he had forgotten earlier and what had bothered him just now.
It was because he had forgotten to take the protective potions he had bought earlier, which was also why he had felt the cold entering his body just now, when the air had cooled down so drastically due to the snake's attack, because if he had drunk the potion, he wouldn't have felt such a cold at all, the attack would have had to be at least a direct hit to make him feel anything. 'Damn how did I forget that? Well, now it doesn't matter much I have to wait for the serpent and the bear to fight each other and then I can take some time to swallow the potions' content,' figured Thiago while inwardly face palming himself for his potentially severe mistake.
A few minutes later the serpent once again hissed and screeched, but this time there was unexpectedly a response from a certain beast residing in the vicinity.
Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed through the trees, causing Thiago's ears to perk up in alarm.
He recognized the sound immediately as the roar of a bear, a formidable creature that he would not dare to tangle with for now, not that he intended to do so since his plan was to let the bear fight with the other beasts.
The bear's roar began as a low, guttural growl, gradually increasing in volume and intensity until it reverberated through the mountains and trees, a primal expression of power and dominance.
The smaller and weaker beasts in the vicinity were frightened and did not know who or what had angered the mighty lightning bear for him to roar out at the moment.
Thiago knew that the bear was warning all who heard it that it was a force to be reckoned with, a true king of the forest.
He felt a mixture of awe and fear at the sound, knowing that even he, with all his strength and agility, would probably be no match for such a powerful adversary at his current realm.
The bear was particularly angered by the intrusion of the Ice Serpent, whom he had recognised instantly by his senses as he entered his territory and seemed to warn him not to go any further with his booming, angry voice: "Old man Ice, what are you doing in my territory?!"
The top beasts in this forest knew each other of course, even if they were enemies and kept each other at bay, so the Lightning Bear also knew the Ice Serpent, whom he had just addressed as "Old man Ice"... Additionally, the Golden basilisk, Ice serpent and Lightning bear each head their own territory, which was also the reason why the bear reacted so strongly just now after the Ice serpent trespassed into his territory.
Seemingly awoken by the booming yell of the bear, the serpent also seemed to regain a hint of clarity now and shook its head while looking around confusedly.
"Hmm, why am I here?" muttered the serpent, when it suddenly noticed Thiago standing not far from it. Immediately the memories of just now poured into its's mind and it realized how it had come here.
"You-" before the serpent could continue, Thiago had already taken out the Fury stone from his space treasure and laid it onto the floor, where it unnoticeably released the chaotic and murderous spiritual fluctuations, that made the serpent go berserk again no time.
And this time the lightning bear who only now noticed Thiago after it had come nearer, was also influenced by the mental fluctuations and its eyes were slowly becoming bloodshot. Before the beasts could accidentally attack him while in this state, Thiago quickly retreated a few hundred meters.
Not sensing any other presence in the vicinity than themselves, the beasts invertedly attacked each other violently in the next second.
The Ice Serpent and the Lightning Bear were both caught in a fury-igniting mental fluctuation, their eyes locked on each other as they attacked with wild abandon.
The serpent coiled around the bear, squeezing with all its might as the bear swiped and snarled, trying to break free.
With a sudden burst of energy, the bear managed to break free, sending the serpent tumbling backward. But the serpent was not deterred, and with a savage hiss, it lunged forward, aiming its icy breath at the bear's face.
The bear roared in fury, and with a crackling burst of lightning, it sent the serpent reeling. But the serpent was quick to recover, and with a ferocious snap of its jaws, it sank its fangs into the bear's shoulder.
The bear howled in pain, its fur standing on end as the electricity crackled through its body. But it was not defeated yet.
With a sudden surge of strength, it reared up on its hind legs, bringing its massive paws crashing down on the serpent's head.
The serpent's icy scales shattered under the force of the blow, but it refused to let go. With a snarl, it wrapped its coils around the bear's body, squeezing with all its might as the bear thrashed and roared, trying to break free.
The battle raged on; each creature fuelled by a berserk fury that drove them to fight with all their might. The surroundings were a blur, the only thing that mattered being the fight for survival.
Now having the time and no serpent chasing after him anymore, Thiago swiftly uncorked the vials of each potion - the Lightning Bolt Elixir, the Ice Shield Potion, and the Golden Basilisk Antidote Elixir.
As he did, he marvelled at the mystical appearance of each potion, captivated by their vibrant colours and shimmering auras.
Without hesitation, Thiago quickly drank the Lightning Bolt Elixir, feeling a sudden rush of energy coursing through his veins, heightening his senses and infusing him with the power of a bolt of lightning.
He then drank the Ice Shield Potion, feeling a chill spread through his body, followed by a warm sensation as his skin began to feel invigorated and protected against the elements.
Finally, Thiago drank the Golden Basilisk Antidote Elixir, feeling a sense of trepidation and excitement as he did so. The elixir's mysterious green colour and otherworldly aura sent a shiver down his spine, but he knew he had to be brave and face the deadly Golden Basilisk. The elixir's effects were immediate, and Thiago felt his body becoming immune to the basilisk's venomous bite.
With all three potions flowing through his veins, Thiago felt invigorated and ready to face what was to come, as he would have to get close to these beasts later on, or any unknown possibilities that might arise, as nothing was ever completely certain, except that Thiago would be an unimaginable being in the future with the help of his system, if he did not die prematurely, if that was even possible despite having a system.
Meanwhile Thiago was observing all this from a safe distance after he had drank all the potions already in order to already be prepared for what was about to come, until he suddenly mumbled:" now it's time for me to lure the Golden basilisk here."
With that being said, Thiago moved in the opposite direction of the ongoing battle and went to the place the red dot was blinking on in the map.
Just as he was looking at the map inside his mind, he noticed that the red dot was suddenly started moving and was actually approaching his position.
It seems that the basilisk has already noticed the battle going on here and has come to see what is going on.
'Haha, very nice! If the Golden basilisk is coming here on its own accord, it saves me a lot of trouble,' thought Thiago gleefully, while already anticipating the basilisk's arrival on the scene.
Keeping a constant eye on the fight and the map in his mind, Thiago was completely focused, not wanting anything to go wrong or the whole mission to end in failure.
And suddenly, just three minutes later, he noticed that the point was no more than a kilometre away from the current position, meaning that in less than a minute the golden basilisk would reach the ongoing battle.