Dimensional Strike, One Stone, Three Birds (Part One)

One side in the battle was Su He's grayish-brown-backed Old Crocodiles; the other was a group of green-colored foreign crocodiles from who knew where.

These crocodiles were rather large, generally around two and a half zhang long. On Su He's side, only four or five had reached that size.

Every Green Crocodile could suppress two Su Family Crocodiles.

Crocodiles did hunt their own kind, but only when food was desperately scarce. Now, in autumn, the fish were fat and plentiful. They would not risk their lives merely to hunt down a hundred or so Su Family Crocodiles.

It was not worth it! Even if the Su Family Crocodiles were smaller, they were no easy prey.

This was not hunting. This was war!

Su He remained curled up in the bloody water, not rushing forward.

He wanted to subdue these Old Crocodiles and truly give them the name Su Family Crocodiles, but that depended on him staying alive and well. It was selfish, but realistic.

Roars and sounds of slaughter came from afar. An Old Crocodile spotted Su He and began bellowing, "Gua-gua!" The cry probably conveyed one meaning.

King! Boss! Strongest! Fiercest!

Something like that.

Their cries actually carried excitement. Our boss is here, the strongest is here! You green-headed lot are doomed! Su He's heart suddenly clenched. Had they taken him for their pillar of support?

An indescribable feeling abruptly rose within him. Responsibility? Pride?

It weighed heavily on him.

He was a little embarrassed, but it really felt great! Su He looked at the Green Crocodiles opposite him with hostile eyes.

A Green Crocodile saw him and charged over with shrill cries. A faint scent of Demon Transformation Fruit drifted over on the wind.

There were Old Crocodiles among them that had transformed, but it was not the enticing fragrance of an ordinary Demon Transformation Fruit. This Demon Transformation Fruit carried a fishy stench.

Some beast had eaten a Demon Transformation Fruit, then been hunted and divided up by these Green Crocodiles. The fruit had likely been more than half digested already, which was why so many Green Crocodiles bore its scent.

They had followed the scent of the Demon Transformation Fruit to Crocodile Beach.

Su He had lived here for too long. His scent had thoroughly blended into these waters.

At the forefront, a giant crocodile swam straight toward Su He. It was a full three zhang long, the largest crocodile Su He had ever seen, and its terrifying pressure came assaulting him head-on.

Su He... was a little excited! His heart began pounding. The feeling was just like when he had only been the size of a dinner plate, snatched the Wolf King's Demon Transformation Fruit, and fled at breakneck speed.

This was wrong! Very wrong. Turtles should not enjoy thrills. Turtles should enjoy quiet, concealment, and playing the old sixth.

But... this feeling was truly incredible! "Roaaar!"

Su He roared, swept his tail through the water, and charged at the Green Crocodile. At top speed, he accelerated! Then accelerated again! He tucked in! Bang! With a muffled impact, his turtle shell slammed squarely into the Green Crocodile's upper jaw. His vision went black and the world spun. Su He only felt his Internal Organs churning as blood ran from his nostrils.

His speed combined with the Green Crocodile's was like a truck crashing headlong into a table-sized boulder.

His Internal Organs shook, blood flowing from his mouth and nose. Across from him, the Green Crocodile's entire head had caved in. It floated stiffly on the lake's surface, utterly motionless.

"Wooo-roar~"

"Wooo-roar~"

The Su Family Crocodiles cried out, their calls filled with excitement.

So they also had empathy. They would cheer for their king's victory.

Su He suppressed the strange feeling at the Bottom of Heart and shook his head to ease the dizziness in his mind. The trip to Snake Valley was imperative; he had to go again in two days. A turtle had too few Attack Methods! How could a turtle possibly compete with a crocodile in biting? Besides, not everything was suitable for putting in one's mouth.

Demon Arts—he had to master them! As the dizziness in his mind receded, Su He slapped the water and swam toward another massive Green Crocodile. It too carried a strong scent of Demon Transformation Fruit.

Su He counted them. Including the giant crocodile he had rammed to death, three Green Crocodiles emitted the scent of Demon Transformation Fruit. These three were also the largest, all over three zhang in length.

And that was after they had divided up the Demon Transformation Fruit. If one crocodile alone had eaten the fruit, Su He would probably have had to flee far away.

Even though the quality of his Demon Transformation Fruit had improved and he had continuously eaten high-grade food, a mere Two Months was not enough for a turtle to challenge a crocodile that had consumed an entire Demon Transformation Fruit.

The gap in their species foundations was simply too vast.

For Beasts, species innately determined far too much. Even after becoming demons, some would still be restrained by their natural predators. Whether they could break those shackles depended on this period of "gestation in the womb," from swallowing the Demon Transformation Fruit until Transform into Human!

That was why Su He could not wait to obtain Demon Arts.

The Demon Arts he mastered now should give him a greater advantage after transforming. Perhaps they might even become something like Innate Divine Powers.

As Long As there was the slightest possibility, Su He would not give up.

Two enormous Green Crocodiles swam toward Su He at the same time. The two crocodiles and one turtle faced off from seven or eight zhang apart. Su He breathed deeply and steadily, doing his utmost to calm the tremors in his Internal Organs.

The two Green Crocodiles did not know Su He's true strength and did not dare act rashly—the Green Crocodile that had died at a touch was their warning.

With the three strongest creatures locked in a standoff here, the battle at Crocodile Beach gradually shifted in favor of the defenders. There were only around thirty Green Crocodiles, while the Su Family Crocodiles numbered over a hundred.

Su He did not unnecessarily try to "command the battle." Setting aside whether the crocodiles would listen to him or understand commands, suddenly changing formations in the middle of battle could disrupt their rhythm and cause the entire war to come to nothing.

He only needed to honestly keep these two giant crocodiles in check. He would leave the rest to the Su Family Crocodiles and trust their savage instincts! Two Su Family Crocodiles could fight one Green Crocodile to a draw; three could kill it! The bloody stench at Crocodile Beach grew Even More intense, and the shrimp, crabs, and fish in the lake fled far away.

Blood would draw predators, but a stench this thick would only frighten every animal away. All of Crocodile Beach fell silent. Even the insects and birds were cowed by the oppressive bloodiness and did not dare make a sound.

Only the roars and slaughter of crocodiles remained.

The setting sun was like blood. At last, some Green Crocodiles could no longer hold on and began retreating.

One, two...

Whole groups of Green Crocodiles fled. The two giant crocodiles facing Su He also became hesitant, preparing to escape.

No matter how formidable they were, they could not possibly face the attacks of Su He and the Crocodile Pack.

As Su He faltered for an instant, the two crocodiles suddenly rolled over, lashed their tails, and fled into the distance.

That was how beasts were. If they fought, they fought by any means necessary; even tearing out an enemy's anus was fair game. If they could not win, they fled at once. What was shameful about that?

What was face? It was not even as important as a rat.

Beasts did not need dignity or face.

Su He did not give chase. A thread of twisting pain in his abdomen made it difficult for him to make any large movements. Under the same impact, the Green Crocodile had been rammed to death while he only suffered abdominal pain. That was already a great victory.

But for beasts, anything short of a complete victory was defeat. That was the naked law of beasts.

Among Beasts, even tigers and leopards preferred to catch the old, weak, sick, and injured that could not resist. When facing powerful prey, it was no longer a matter of whether they could win. If they were injured while hunting, the loss outweighed the gain.

For tigers and leopards, injury usually meant being sentenced to death.

Just Like the crocodile whose claws Su He had torn off and whose belly he had ripped open that day.

Today, he had inexplicably fought a battle and suffered abdominal pain, perhaps even internal bleeding. Even though he had driven away the Green Crocodiles, he had still lost.

Ignoring the howling crocodiles, Su He moved his limbs and slowly climbed onto the sunning rock.

The bloody stench at Crocodile Beach was terribly unpleasant, but Su He did not dare leave. The Green Crocodiles had come for his Demon Transformation Fruit; the crocodiles had merely suffered an Unforeseen Disaster.

But if Su He left now, the two giant crocodiles would definitely lead their subordinates to hunt him down. No matter how hard his turtle shell was, how many blows could it withstand? Only by staying within the Crocodile Pack could he best preserve his life.

It was unfair to the crocodiles, but that was nature. That was the meaning of Su He subduing them.