Chapter 57

The squirrel flicked her fluffy tail and clung to the top of the mast, staring at the shadow below. Judging by its shape, it didn’t look like a fish, nor did it have the aura of a beastman; it was more similar to the primitive beasts on the shore.

Wu Mu had already dived underwater, but his shadow was mostly mixed with the creature’s, making it hard to see clearly. It was already evening, and the visibility in the seawater was low. On the swaying mast, Song Xu couldn’t see what was happening on the battlefield below.

The giant tiger on the boat was particularly restless. She stepped on the gunwale, seemingly wanting to go down, but hesitated with her paws wet. Even though she was formidable on the shore, capable of punching five-meter primitive beasts and kicking twenty-meter snakes, in the middle of the ocean, she was like a tiger trapped in a cage.

Song Xu could only infer from the boat’s swaying that the battle below was intense. If it weren’t for the overweight tiger stabilizing the boat, it would have capsized in the waves stirred up by the creature.

The tiger took two steps on the narrow boat and looked up at the squirrel, urging her to come down. The distracted squirrel slid down, ran to the side of the boat, and stuck her head into the water—She was the kind of person who would turn back to look even if there was an explosion.

With her head underwater, she could see more clearly. Song Xu, enduring the slight stinging and soreness in her eyes, first saw the body covered in dark green scales. It wasn’t Wu Mu; it was the big guy. Its body was thick and not quite like a fish, more like a crocodile or a lizard. But it was different from the lizards and crocodiles on the shore, with many mutations on its body. It had gills for breathing underwater, while its nose and mouth had degenerated. Its limbs had also degenerated into short stubs that could be mistaken for fins, with only the tail hinting at its original form. This giant beast had shellfish growing above its murky eyes, almost covering them, and its body was covered with barnacles, making it look even more grotesque and ugly. It had a crocodile-like mouth, with Wu Mu’s tail caught in it.

Wu Mu’s body was no match for the giant beast, but he was long enough to wrap his tail in the beast’s mouth and still coil around its neck and part of its body.

The hunting of a snake is different from that of a tiger. Most of the time, it doesn’t look bloody but rather slow and quiet. Entangling, strangling, the gradually increasing force would slowly suffocate the prey or crush its body internally.

The big guy was obviously uncomfortable being entangled by the snake, thrashing its short, degenerated limbs in the sea, trying to shake off the snake. It was quite cunning. The shellfish and barnacles on its body, which restricted its movement and made it slow, became its armor against attacks. As it rolled and rubbed, the sharp shells and barnacles cut into the snake’s body, leaving wounds, while it bit down harder, its teeth sinking deeper into the snake’s tail.

Song Xu had seen Wu Mu fight normal-sized crocodiles before, and he was coming out unscathed in a one-on-three battle. But now, the snake was in a tough fight. The harder the beast bit, the tighter he coiled, not letting go despite the pain and injuries.

Song Xu watched anxiously, wanting to shout, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she gulped down some salty seawater. She pulled her wet head out and pounded the boat angrily, shouting at the sea, “Block its gills! Block its gills!”

The creature was clearly not a local species. She guessed it might have been a beastman before, like the tiger mom, who had grown larger and lost its sanity after eating too many primitive beasts on the shore. Trying to venture into the sea, it had stayed too long and eventually evolved gills, becoming a bizarre marine creature.

Generally speaking, the evolution of species is slow, but this place seems unique, accelerating the changes in the beastmen’s bodies. Song Xu thought that although the giant beasts that evolved in such circumstances had a terrifyingly powerful side, they must also have weaknesses. Since it had evolved gills, it meant it relied on them to breathe underwater, so damaging them would surely be effective.

Less than a minute had passed since the squirrel jumped down from the mast, buried her head in the seawater, and lifted it up, and the situation in the sea had changed again. The creature, which had its teeth deeply embedded in the snake’s body, gradually lost its strength. It was forced to open its mouth wide as seawater rushed in. Even though it had valves in its throat to prevent water from entering, this was still painful for its degenerated body. Moreover, the snake twisted its body, tightly blocking the gills that had grown out.

The snake dragged it deeper into the sea in the struggle, and the surface gradually calmed. This calmness made the big tiger restless. She remembered this monster, and seeing it again, old and new grudges drove the vengeful tiger to recall some things. During several attempts to cross the sea, this creature capsized her boat twice. It was cunning and vicious, attacking any beastman passing through this sea area. She would have almost become its food if she hadn’t been so fierce.

If it were on the shore, the giant tiger wouldn’t fear this thing at all. She had killed primitive beasts several times her size, but in the sea, every encounter with it left her in a sorry state. Although she hadn’t died in its mouth, she had almost drowned in the ocean.

“Roar!” The tiger roared and jumped into the ocean. She couldn’t just watch that ugly thing drag her cub into the ocean’s depths.

“Wait!” Song Xu watched them jump into the water one after another, anxious. She grabbed the tools she had prepared, a rope made of twisted tree vines, quickly tied it to the big tiger’s paw, and quickly instructed, “Mom, use this to tie up that thing!”

And if it sank in the water, it might even pull the boat up. The snake had gone down too fast just now, and she hadn’t reacted in time.

The giant tiger resolutely entered the ocean, forcing herself to submerge her head against her instincts. Tigers are not animals that can live in water. Even if they can swim, they usually keep their heads above water to breathe; they are not good at diving.

The giant tiger looked determined, and the little squirrel looked tragic, but the battle between the big snake and the monster in the sea was not as grim as they thought. Now, the big snake had the upper hand.

As a venomous snake, Wu Mu’s abilities included not only powerful constriction but also venom. Usually, he didn’t need to use venom as the battle would be over. This time, he constricted the creature until its belly bulged, and his sharp fangs pierced its abdomen. His venom, just a drop of which could kill a large buffalo, gradually spread through the giant creature, sapping its strength.

Entangled together, the giant crocodile and the big snake looked like monsters in the dark green seawater, slowly sinking. Tiny white plankton scattered around them, and blood drifted out of their bodies like smoke. Even though it had stopped moving, the snake didn’t release it to prevent a last-minute attack. Then, he heard a commotion above—a tiger had entered the sea.

Finally, the snake released the stiffened monster and swam upwards. A mist of red blood followed him as he ascended.

The giant tiger had barely descended three meters when the snake’s head nudged her upwards. With a splash, the wet tiger clung to the side of the boat, almost tipping it over. Not paying attention, the squirrel on the boat rolled into the sea, landing on Wu Mu’s head as he surfaced.

The squirrel sat up, stepping on Wu Mu’s wet hair that had just transformed back, and looked down at his vertical pupils, which had become thin due to the intense battle. She excitedly hugged his head and kissed his forehead several times.

“Great! You’re okay!”

“Snake, you’re really amazing! Oh my gosh, how are you so powerful? So cool!”

“How did you defeat such a big thing? Did you use venom? You’re so venomous! Venomous snakes are indeed the best!”

“I thought we were going to die this time. Thank goodness we didn’t, or I would have had to ‘you jump, I jump’!”

The big snake’s head, warmly welcomed by the squirrel, was rubbed until frizzy. Suddenly, a splash of water hit them—it was the big tiger on the boat shaking off the water.

The commotion was like a sprinkler passing by, calming the excited squirrel, who was now soaked. She jumped off the snake’s head and waved at him, “Come up and let’s check if you’re hurt.”

The snake obediently swam to the boat and coiled around the edge. Song Xu examined his injuries closely and screamed louder than before, “Oh my gosh! You’re all cut up! My beautiful scales! This pattern is all messed up! This wound is so deep; even if you shed your skin next time, it will definitely leave a mark!”

The squirrel cried and fussed over the snake’s wounds. Thanks to her thorough preparations, she had brought not only food, water, and tools but also medicine.

The leaves of a certain plant could stop bleeding and disinfect wounds. She used them when she accidentally cut herself on the sharp edge of a shell while cooking or got pricked by a bone knife while making the big boat. At first, the giant tiger brought back these leaves, and Song Xu mistakenly thought they were for eating and ate two handfuls. Later, the giant tiger collected more and applied the leaves to the snake’s wounds, which had become slightly infected from frequent exposure to seawater. Song Xu then understood how to use these leaves.

After the snake got used to the seawater and no longer had infected wounds, Song Xu began using these leaves more frequently. However, she had picked a lot of these leaves to bring on the boat, mainly for eating. The leaves were a bit bitter, but chewing them freshened her breath and cleaned her teeth.

Now, all the stock was used on Wu Mu.

“Stay on the boat, and don’t go into the water,” Song Xu instructed.

If they had the right wind direction, they would set sail; if not, they would stop and rest. Looking back from this position, the coastline became a line, and the island they were heading to was a blurry patch—a distance that made them feel uncertain moving forward and reluctant to retreat.

“Was that also a beastman just now? Did he appear here because he once wanted to go to the island? What’s on the island?” Song Xu lay beside the snake’s head, scratching his chin and muttering to herself.

“I don’t know either,” a rough female voice answered.