Noah inhaled again while the middle tier Snakes leaped toward him. Those creatures attacked him without holding back, but they could only fling him further away.
His skin opened in a few spots, and more bruises appeared on his body as he fell into the sea. Creatures on that level couldn't hurt him more than that. Noah was too strong for magical beasts on that level.
Noah came out of the sea and focused on the group of middle tier Snakes. The creatures had flown past the continent's edges during their last attack, but they began to retreat when they saw that the invader was still alive.
Those underlings knew that they weren't a match for Noah. Their leaders had sent them to test his prowess, and the result of those exchanges worried them.
It was clear that they couldn't hurt Noah. Their bodies were on the same level, but the quality of Noah's tissues was almost on par with creatures in the upper tier. Moreover, his ambition empowered him as a whole, which made him express an even superior power.
Creatures in the middle tier had become nothing more than ants in Noah's eyes. It didn't matter that the Eternal Snakes' state was perfect due to the environment of the Immortal Lands. They lacked the power to threaten his life.
Noah barely considered those creatures as enemies. They were nothing more than target dummies useful while he learnt to release his new lungs' real power.
The lungs didn't lose their ability to cast simple flames. Noah had simply added a new function to their structure. In theory, they could also use the healing skill without relying on the fire.
However, Noah didn't need the weaker versions of his innate ability. He wanted to express the fusion of the two skills and see the new power of his organs.
'I have already learnt how to do it,' Noah thought while he flew toward the retreating creatures. 'My body knows what to do. My mind only needs to understand that.'
Noah closed his eyes as he entered the new continent again. The middle tier Snakes charged toward him at that point, but he ignored them to focus on his lungs.
His organs seemed to react to his concentration. The laws in their fabric began to work together to express the real power that his lungs were capable of.
The world suddenly went dark, and cries of pain resounded in the area before light returned in those lands. Black flames covered by a silver halo had filled the sky, and the middle tier specimens couldn't ignore them at that time.
The Snake's flesh burned while they remained immersed in those peculiar flames. Noah's attack forced them to interrupt their assault to fill the area with their silver liquid, but their innate ability crumbled due to the destructiveness carried by the fire.
Then, the pieces of burning flesh separated from the Snakes and converged toward Noah. Those fiery chunks of skin and scales turned into ashes before fusing with his body and redirecting the energy they carried toward his injuries.
Even the bruises began to heal after that wave of energy entered Noah's body. It was as if the flames had consumed the Snakes' flesh only to take the "Breath" that it contained and transfer it to Noah.
'Not yet,' Noah thought as he analyzed the effects of his attack.
Noah knew that he had failed again. His mind had told him that he didn't express his lungs' true potential as soon as the flames came out of his mouth.
Still, that only made him more enthusiastic about his new ability. All his injuries had healed in a few seconds at that time. He had returned at his peak instantly, and that wasn't even the full power of his lungs!
The leaders of the packs couldn't ignore that threat anymore. Their underlings had revealed to them that Noah was too dangerous and that they had to handle him properly if they wanted to beat him.
A series of roars echoed in the region after the four leaders gave voice to a battle cry. All the creatures in the three packs spewed silver liquid to fill the environment with ice-shards as they rose in the sky to face the invader.
The middle tier Snakes managed to escape the silverish starry sky and reunite with the rest of the packs during that call to arms. Noah's flames even dispersed shortly afterward, but his focus remained on his organs.
Second Prince had given him the chance to go all-out, and Noah intended to kill every specimen in the area. Yet, he wouldn't start fighting for real until he learnt how to express his innate ability properly.
The sky above the lava lake turned into a massive structure made of ice in a few seconds. The three packs counted more than forty specimens, and all of them were pouring their silver liquid into the environment to prepare for the imminent clash.
The leaders acknowledged Noah as a worthy opponent and used their numerical advantage to modify the environment according to their needs. The Eternal Snakes would almost be immortal with so much ice lingering in the air.
Noah ignored the behavior of those creatures and closed his eyes again. His lungs began to tremble as dark matter flowed into their fabric. The primary energy that they contained fused with the higher energy to activate the functions of his organs.
A smile appeared on Noah's face when he felt the reaction of his lungs. He knew that he had succeeded before he even launched his flames.
The world went dark for an instant, and a blinding silver radiance filled the environment when the light illuminated that area again. The halo almost hid the pitch-black flames that crackled in the sky and surrounded the frozen structure.
The ice created by the Eternal Snakes melted, and the energy that it contained entered tongues of flames that separated from the main attack and converged toward Noah.
Flames surrounded Noah's figure and transferred their energy to him. His black hole then absorbed it to purify it and distribute it on his tissues.
Noah could directly absorb the energy seized by the flames if he didn't have any injury. He could make that power his as long as his fire managed to burn the matter that contained it.
Countless small flames flew toward Noah to transfer the energy that they had gathered while they melted the frozen structure. All the ice in the sky soon vanished and revealed the Eternal Snakes, who kept spitting silver liquid.
Only a few chunks of ice remained in the sky. They were the result of the leaders' innate abilities, and Noah's flames couldn't burn them easily. Their power was on a similar level.
Noah still came out as the winner of that clash of innate abilities. His flames spread in the sky and engulfed the weaker creatures who had lost the protection of the ice. Many specimens in the lower tier couldn't escape them.
Casualties immediately mounted. Noah's flames burned to death the lower tier specimens that didn't manage to escape toward their leaders. Eleven creatures died before the fire depleted its energy. Most of the other weaker beasts ended up badly injured.