Chapter 456 - 15: Prestige
Although cold-blooded animals have their movement capabilities reduced due to environmental factors, they must keep moving or bask in the sun to restore their body temperature to remain active. Their hunting and escaping abilities are inferior to those of warm-blooded animals.
But in such a life-and-death moment, even an ant can struggle desperately, let alone this robust giant snake.
The blade was sharp, but because Sunday wielded the knife with just one hand, the force was insufficient, and it did not sever the giant snake's cervical vertebra.
The pain and sudden attack not only failed to scare the giant snake away but instead provoked its ferocity.
Having ruled this dense forest for many years, when had it ever been humiliated like this?
Ignoring the lamb it was regurgitating from its stomach, the giant snake contracted its muscles, clamping the blade embedded in its body tightly.
Then, it coiled its body, bursting forth with speed unbefitting its robust frame, and reached out to coil around Sunday's calf.
The blade was firmly lodged into the snake's neck, making it impossible to pull out for the moment.
In the midst of battle, Sunday was highly focused and reacted swiftly, decisively letting go of the Long Saber, avoiding the giant snake's attack, and sprinting backward.
...
Chen Zhou, holding a rifle, had the giant snake in his crosshairs, ready to shoot it down as soon as it got closer.
Unexpectedly, as Sunday ran towards him, he waved his hand, seemingly signaling not to shoot. This left Chen Zhou hesitating, unsure if Sunday was truly confident in taking down the giant snake or simply trying to save face in front of the indigenous people, deliberately acting tough.
Tangling with such a thrashing beast was no joke; a single misstep, even without a bite, could lead to a devastating constriction by the snake.
The giant snake's body was all muscle, capable of constricting with enough force to easily crush human ribs.
While there were some medicines on the island, they were not much help for fractures, posing a life-threatening risk.
In combat, the snake had many opportunities, whereas people could suffer severe injuries from just one mistake.
Seeing Sunday wave his hand, Chen Zhou didn't fire immediately but didn't lower his rifle either, keeping the crosshairs locked on the giant snake.
If Sunday made a mistake or was in danger, he would not hesitate to shoot—
It was uncertain how much time and effort it would take to cultivate such talent again, and with manpower needed on the island, there was no need to incur losses for the sake of face.
...
The giant snake wasn't slow, but compared to Sunday, its agility was lacking.
Driven by the anger from its injury, it forcibly mobilized the muscles throughout its body, stubbornly pursuing Sunday for a distance and attempted three attacks.
But this cunning monkey dodged repeatedly with agile movements.
The giant snake failed to bite or constrict him, its attempts not even touching the corner of Sunday's clothes.
As its already limited stamina reached its end, compounded by the discomfort of undigested food in its stomach, the giant snake's movement slowed down, causing the Long Saber originally firmly clamped in its neck to fall to the muddy grass below.
In an instant, the roles of attack and defense shifted.
...
Sunday thoroughly enjoyed the process of toying with his prey. He turned around and flashed a toothy grin at Chen Zhou, showing he still had strength to spare before returning to battle mode, focusing intently on the giant snake.
Though the prey was nearing exhaustion, Sunday couldn't afford to be careless.
He used repeated feints to provoke the giant snake into attacking, then stopped his assaults in time, wearing the giant snake out more and more.
The indigenous people, seeing the scales of victory leaning towards Sunday, were elated and chanted slogans in their native language, making the area by the pond particularly noisy.
Seeing Sunday with victory in hand, Chen Zhou finally relaxed.
He no longer held his rifle at the ready, instead watching the battle with keen interest, curious to see how Sunday would ultimately finish off the giant snake.
...
The trampled grass was like the painting of an abstract artist, covered with snake trails and human footprints, blending with the chaotic weeds, enough to make one feel agitated just at the sight.
The giant snake finally gave up attacking Sunday, opting to "remain unchanged amidst change," curling its body up and halting its attacks, starting to regurgitate the food from its stomach—
The undigested lamb's body made it bloated, severely reducing its movement speed. If it could shed this shackle, it would have more confidence whether fighting or fleeing.
However, it was still in combat, and Sunday wasn't far; how could he allow the giant snake to expel its prey?
He completely abandoned his firearms, putting them aside, instead picking up the Long Saber that had fallen to the ground.
Each time the giant snake showed signs of vomiting, he would step forward with the blade, forcing the snake to concentrate more on countering his harassment rather than focusing on regurgitating its food.
Repeatedly, the giant snake grew very agitated.
But as the saying goes, humans grow wise with age, and animals grow cunning. Having lived for so many years, the giant snake's intelligence was a notch above its peers. Realizing it couldn't possibly devour this monkey, it abandoned the idea of a death struggle.
Temporarily ceasing to regurgitate its prey, the giant snake coiled itself, attempting to seize an opportunity to escape.
Sunday saw through its intention, shifting his actions from teasing to a formal attack.
...
Cautiously probing forward, using the tip of the blade to stab the giant snake's thick skin, Sunday carefully maintained a relatively "ambiguous" distance, continuously creating new wounds on the snake's body with the "Long Saber" as his extended arm.