Coelacanth

The fish before him had an enormous head, and its slightly open mouth was packed with sharp teeth.

Its body was covered in round scales and was blue-black all over. Faint mud stains and wounds marred its body, making it look filthy.

What drew the most attention, however, were its fins: pectoral fins, pelvic fins, and a distinctive tail fin.

Besides the central lobe, its tail fin had two short fins extending above and below it—the upper and lower lobes.

Whether its pectoral fins, pelvic fins, or the upper and lower lobes of its tail fin, they were all unlike those of modern fish. Where the fins connected to its body—the fin bases—were thick, muscular masses covered in scales, resembling limbs.

It was as though thick thighs extended from its body, with fins at their ends.

Judging by its appearance, it seemed to be a Coelacanth from the Sarcopterygii class.

Sarcopterygii had originated hundreds of millions of years ago. Some studies suggested that humans had evolved from amphibians, which in turn had evolved from a branch of Finned Fish within Sarcopterygii.

The other type, Coelacanth, was also known as the Hollow-spined Fish.

Coelacanth had existed on Earth for 360 million years. They had been thought extinct 100 million years ago, but specimens had been discovered one after another since 1938.

Xia Qiu had not expected to encounter a Coelacanth, much less one this enormous.

The largest Coelacanth on Earth was only 1.5 meters long, but this one was thirty meters long.

How great was the difference between them? This Coelacanth weighed well over 150 tons, perhaps even as much as 200 tons.

As for him, at eighteen meters long, he probably weighed only around fifty tons.

There was nearly a fourfold difference in weight. Its massive body was even larger than his own.

A fish like this should never have appeared in these waters.

But Xia Qiu thought of the Capture Agent. Perhaps this Coelacanth had been drawn here by it.

And at that moment, it had locked onto him and launched an attack.

A trace of panic rose in Xia Qiu's heart. Facing a fish so much larger than himself, it was impossible not to feel nervous.

The moment he saw it, he turned and fled.

He did not know how strong it was, but with such a huge difference in size, he could not underestimate it.

Besides, he was injured. His skull, lower jaw, and the area around his body were all wounded.

More importantly, the heat flow inside his body was growing stronger and stronger.

This time, the heat flow within him was roughly equivalent to that from the Navy and pirates combined.

When the time came, his body would definitely be affected.

I'm out of here.

Xia Qiu immediately turned and swam toward the distant waters.

But his turn allowed the fish to close some of the distance between them. They were now less than ten meters apart.

Accelerate.

Xia Qiu twisted his body with all his strength and beat his fins, shooting toward the distance at high speed.

So fast.

After swimming for a while, Xia Qiu discovered that the other fish was tightly on his tail.

Despite its enormous size, it was no slower than him.

Xia Qiu was not worried in the slightest. As long as he reached the shallows, it would not be able to catch him.

But at that moment, the heat flow within him spread through his entire body, followed by pain that began to seep everywhere.

Hiss.

This pain was part of his body's strengthening process. His muscles, bones, scale hardness, and fins were all changing.

And while moving at high speed, it grew increasingly intense. Though he could endure it, his speed was affected.

It's getting closer.

Xia Qiu could feel the current behind him growing stronger and stronger. The other fish was rapidly closing in.

I can't get away.

Xia Qiu felt that he would be caught before he could reach the shallows.

What should I do?

Xia Qiu's expression darkened. Colonel Lido had not posed much of a threat to him, yet now he was about to be caught by a fish.

I can only fight.

You want to kill me, then I'll kill you instead.

But it was too large and not slow. He could not confront it head-on; he had to carefully consider how to fight it.

Xia Qiu's gaze turned cold as he continued swimming forward, slowing down ever so slightly.

The Coelacanth rapidly approached. When it was still two meters away from Xia Qiu, it opened its bloody maw and lunged forward.

Its enormous mouth was nearly as large as Xia Qiu's head. It bit down from behind, capable of killing Xia Qiu in a single bite.

But at that moment, Xia Qiu suddenly accelerated and veered to the right.

Crack.

The Coelacanth bit down on empty water and continued rushing forward for some distance.

After dodging the attack, Xia Qiu made a tight turn and faced the Coelacanth's side before charging at it.

Having missed, the Coelacanth locked onto Xia Qiu and tried to turn around.

But its momentum carried it forward, delaying it slightly. Its body was huge and spindle-shaped, yet its height-to-length ratio was high, making it relatively slow to turn.

Xia Qiu, meanwhile, had made a much smaller turn. He stayed close to the Coelacanth's body, and just as it twisted its head around, Xia Qiu had already reached its side and bit down.

This was what Xia Qiu had learned from his two battles with the Navy. Against huge sea fish, attacking their sides never failed.

Though turning around just now had been dangerous, this was the only way to deal with such a fish.

Xia Qiu bit into its body and clamped his teeth together.

Screech.

His teeth scraped against its scales, producing a piercing sound like an iron awl striking an iron plate.

So hard.

Xia Qiu felt as if he had bitten into an iron plate. Its scales were far too tough.

Crack.

But Xia Qiu's bite force was still superior. After a brief stalemate, his teeth finally sank down.

Yet when his teeth pierced its body, he felt tremendous resistance.

And limited by the other fish's size, as well as the obstruction of his own upper and lower jaws, he could only bite off a small portion.

The damage is too low.

Xia Qiu finally understood how Colonel Lido must have felt when attacking him.

Even with his full strength, he could only break through the surface and found it difficult to inflict a fatal wound.

Xia Qiu's attack caused the Coelacanth pain. Its eyes turned vicious as it twisted around, attempting to attack him.

But the instant it turned its head, Xia Qiu suddenly slipped down along its body.

Snap.

The Coelacanth bit down on empty water, while Xia Qiu arrived beneath it and bit toward its belly.

Crack.

Xia Qiu's teeth pierced through the scales and sank deeper.

The Coelacanth's belly was still covered in scales, and its defense was astonishing.

But its belly had a smaller area than its sides. Xia Qiu could not fit the Coelacanth's body into his mouth when attacking its side, so he could only bite with the outermost row of teeth.

But he could bite down on the Coelacanth's belly whole and use several rows of teeth.

Rip.

A chunk was torn directly from the Coelacanth's belly. Both the size and depth of the wound were greater than before.

The Coelacanth's body shuddered. It twisted itself around, swung its head downward, and charged at Xia Qiu below.

But Xia Qiu swam to the other side, rising as he turned in a circle.

Whoosh.

Sharp teeth grazed past Xia Qiu's tail, leaving a wound on it. He had nearly been bitten.

His body hurt somewhat. The heat flow inside him had reached its peak effect, weakening his control over his body.

Xia Qiu dodged the Coelacanth's attack, circled around, reached its side, and bit down again, tearing off another piece of flesh.

The Coelacanth kept twisting its body, attempting to attack Xia Qiu.

But whenever it was about to strike him, Xia Qiu could always evade by a hair's breadth.

As Xia Qiu continued tearing into it, the Coelacanth's injuries grew increasingly severe, and blood spread through the surrounding waters.

Whoosh.

The Coelacanth charged at Xia Qiu once more. Xia Qiu dodged again. Because of its injuries, the Coelacanth's agility had greatly declined, making it easy for Xia Qiu to evade.

But after missing, the Coelacanth did not stop. Instead, it swam directly toward the distance?

It wants to run?

How could I let you run?

Xia Qiu froze briefly, then his expression changed. He swung his body and gave chase. With the Coelacanth injured, he was faster than it.

Xia Qiu rapidly closed in, but at that moment, the Coelacanth suddenly swung its body around, turned its head, opened its bloody maw, and bit toward Xia Qiu.

I fell for it.

It was not fleeing. It wanted to widen the distance, escape his harassment, and attack him again while he pursued.

And because he had charged straight after it, he could no longer evade its attack range.

Facing that terrifying mouth, Xia Qiu regretted his carelessness.

I can't dodge it. What should I do?