Chapter 20: Got It |
Having seen Snow Mane's fake death act before, Xia Hong naturally wouldn't let his guard down.
Faking death wasn't a simple matter.
Even in his previous life, ordinary people couldn't truly fake death convincingly.
Simply closing your eyes and lying down wasn't faking death - that was just acting.
To truly fake death, there were generally three steps:
First, stop breathing and remain completely still - this was the foundation.
Second, learn to control your internal organs. While the body stays motionless, blood vessels and pulse still move. By controlling the organs to stop blood circulation and halt digestive movements, the pulse throughout the body would temporarily pause.
The final step was breath containment.
This didn't mean simply holding your breath, but rather suppressing all living energy emissions.
While replicating corpse energy was impossible, one could at least suppress their living energy enough to deceive others.
Xia Hong hadn't observed Snow Mane up close, but judging by the cunning and caution of Frost Wolves, any Frost Beast capable of deceiving them must possess extraordinary talent for feigning death.
Hadn't those people from Boulder Camp been cautious enough?
Every human who reached the Lumberjack Realm was a survival expert - if they could be fooled by basic death feigning techniques, they would have died countless times already.
Just as Xia Hong suspected, Snow Mane had indeed been faking death.
The moment the Frost Wolf released its grip, Snow Mane's previously rigid pupils suddenly moved, its nostrils flaring as it exhaled two thick streams of air, its face twisting into an even more ferocious expression.
Despite its left hind leg being reduced to bare bone, Snow Mane still used it to push itself up before suddenly flipping over to crush the Frost Wolf with overwhelming force.
Realizing it had been tricked, the Frost Wolf instinctively opened its jaws to bite again, but Snow Mane gave it no chance - it crushed the wolf with its spiked back.
The Frost Wolf's mouth clamped down on numerous sharp spikes, piercing deep into its flesh. Green blood gushed from its mouth as it howled in agony.
The wolf writhed desperately on the ground, but Snow Mane kept rolling to match its movements, giving no opportunity for escape.
Only when the wolf's head reached Snow Mane's tail did it find breathing room.
While large size had advantages, in life-or-death battles, every factor became critical.
Snow Mane's massive frame meant it could only pin half the wolf at once. Seizing this chance, the Frost Wolf viciously bit Snow Mane's already ravaged left hindquarter.
The powerful bite made Snow Mane instantly lose strength, allowing the wolf to slip free and flee into the forest without looking back.
This battle's victor was the adult Snow Mane.
Last time, the Frost Wolf won; this time, Snow Mane prevailed.
As fellow low-level Frost Beasts, their strength seemed evenly matched, just with different combat styles.
Snow Mane relied on size, brute force, and expert death feigning, while the Frost Wolf used terrain, ambush tactics, speed, agility, and knew when to retreat.
Watching the wolf disappear, Xia Hong turned his gaze to the limping Snow Mane heading toward the Small Torch, hesitation flashing across his face.
But it lasted only moments.
Quickly surveying the area, Xia Hong pointed at two trees and told Yuan Cheng and Xia Chuan:
"See those trees? When I engage Snow Mane, each of you climb one. Stay there until I call you - don't move no matter what!"
Without delay, Xia Hong rose from the snow, drew his hand axe, and sprinted toward Snow Mane.
Speed was crucial - the beast was nearing the torch that could heal and empower it.
In winter forests, scents were hard to track, making sound the primary detection method.
Despite being fifty meters away, Snow Mane detected Xia Hong's voice immediately, though it dismissed the human as non-threatening and continued toward the torch.
Its injured leg slowed it drastically, allowing Xia Hong to reach its rear before it could react.
Facing his first Frost Beast - an adult Snow Mane - even knowing it was severely weakened from battle, Xia Hong couldn't help feeling tense.
Stay calm, he told himself. It's still just an animal.
After steadying his breathing, Xia Hong met Snow Mane's gaze, his expression turning fierce.
The human's audacity enraged Snow Mane, its eyes turning crimson as it charged.
But its injured leg made the attack sluggish.
Instead of dodging, Xia Hong placed the axe in his mouth and spread his arms wide - catching both of Snow Mane's massive tusks.
Even weakened, the impact sent Xia Hong sliding back five meters until he braced against a tree.
"Six thousand four hundred jin of force, and I still couldn't stop it," he realized. "At full strength, its charge must exceed ten thousand jin. No wonder you need Excavation Realm strength to hunt these!"
Maintaining his grip, Xia Hong watched as Snow Mane opened its maw wide.
Reacting instantly, he grabbed the axe with his right hand and leveraged the left tusk to dodge sideways as a six-meter-long, icicle-like tongue shot past, impaling the tree behind him.
When the tongue softened and curved toward his neck, Xia Hong recalled how Boulder Camp's axeman had been decapitated.
He'd anticipated this - releasing his left hand, he leapt high and brought the axe down hard on the tongue.
Though less sharp than steel weapons, the stone axe proved effective against the vulnerable tongue.
Snow Mane's agonized roar confirmed the hit.
Seizing the advantage, Xia Hong rained furious axe blows into Snow Mane's open mouth, driving the beast backward in disoriented retreat.
"Now!" he shouted upward. "Attack its right hind leg!"
Two figures dropped from the trees toward Snow Mane's rear.
As axe reflections flashed in his widened eyes, Xia Hong thought triumphantly:
"Got it!"
Comments 2