Damn, I've been tricked

The Black Snake Exotic Beast hadn't expected its prey this time to be so formidable—one strike had already wounded it heavily.

Lin Li saw that his fireball attack, though not hitting the exact spot he'd aimed for, had still dealt considerable damage to the opponent. This made him decisively launch another assault.

As they say, strike while the enemy is down. If not now, when?

Channeling the Spiritual Energy within him, Lin Li spread open his left palm.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh."

Three apple-sized Small Fireballs instantly appeared above Lin Li's palm.

"Swish, swish, swish."

With a wave of his hand, the three apple-sized Small Fireballs hovering above his palm shot out simultaneously, forming a triangular formation in midair as they flew toward the still-reeling Black Snake Exotic Beast.

"Hiss..."

Sensing danger approaching again, the Black Snake Exotic Beast snapped back to its senses. Seeing that Lin Li was so quick to use his ability to attack again, it was filled with alarm.

Faced with the three incoming Small Fireballs, it immediately twisted its body to dodge.

"Boom, boom, boom."

Of the three Small Fireballs flying in a triangular formation toward the Black Snake Exotic Beast, two struck its body, while one missed and hit the grass.

The two Small Fireballs that hit the Black Snake Exotic Beast blasted two more massive wounds into its thick body.

The scales at the injured spots were blown off, blood gushed out in torrents, and the high heat from the fireball explosion scorched the surrounding scales white.

"Hiss..."

The pain from the damage caused by these Small Fireballs was several times more intense than the pain from the earlier injury.

As they say, strike while the enemy is down. As long as it's still alive, the attacks won't stop.

After launching the second wave of fireball attacks, Lin Li immediately drew his sword and charged forward, chasing close behind the exploding Small Fireballs.

No sooner had the heat wave from the fireball explosion dissipated than Lin Li, holding the Spirit Artifact Longsword glowing with Pale Gold Spiritual Light, pressed in close and swung the Spirit Artifact Longsword, stabbing it into the Black Snake Exotic Beast's wounded area.

"Thud, thud, thud, thud..."

They say that pouring salt on a wound makes the injured person suffer unbearably. So what kind of agony would the injured person endure if you stabbed the wound several times in a row?

Well... that question can only be answered by someone who's personally experienced it, and this Black Snake Exotic Beast in front of them can't speak human language.

Even after personally enduring such painful suffering, it can't tell anyone about it.

Still, from the heart-wrenching screams coming from its mouth, one might get some sense of what it's feeling!

"Hiss..."

After being stabbed several times in a row at the injured spot by Lin Li, the Black Snake Exotic Beast let out a earth-shaking, miserable hiss, then quickly swung its body, lashing out at Lin Li.

"Whoosh..."

A fierce wind howled.

Reacting swiftly, Lin Li immediately crouched down, narrowly dodging the Black Snake Exotic Beast's lash.

After evading the attack, he immediately stabbed two more times into the wound on its body, then pushed off the ground with both feet, leaping backward.

"Thump, thump, thump."

With two or three quick jumps, he instantly widened the distance between himself and the Black Snake Exotic Beast.

"Awesome!!!"

Having escaped the Black Snake Exotic Beast's effective attack range, Lin Li felt elated by his smooth, flowing series of attacks.

"Haha... this black thing just looks fierce. When it comes down to a real fight, it's no match for me. A little more effort, and the Miracle Small Tree's needed exotic beast flesh and blood will be mine."

The Black Snake Exotic Beast had now lost all its earlier smugness and ferocious demeanor.

About four or five meters below its head, there was a terrifying wound—first blasted by Lin Li's Small Fireball, then stabbed over a dozen times in a row.

The dozen or so stabs Lin Li had just delivered were all done with great force, creating wounds of considerable depth. Several stabs had even pierced straight through the Black Snake Exotic Beast's body.

Blood gushed out from the wound in torrents, instantly dyeing the lush green grass beneath the Black Snake Exotic Beast a deep red.

"Whoosh."

An Orange Red Small Fireball appeared once again in Lin Li's hand.

Seeing the Small Fireball reappear in Lin Li's hand, the Black Snake Exotic Beast's pupils suddenly contracted, shrinking to the size of pinpricks in terror.

"Hiss..."

Already frightened out of its wits by Lin Li's fireball attacks, the Black Snake Exotic Beast kept letting out weak, blustering hisses, hoping to scare off this terrifying enemy.

But it clearly underestimated this enemy's resolve to hunt it down.

"Haha... look at you now, all pathetic. Scared now? Too late.

If you hadn't charged out of the grass to attack me in the first place, you wouldn't have ended up like this. Now just accept your fate!"

Seeing the Black Snake Exotic Beast's blustering cowardice, Lin Li laughed, taunted it a few words, then casually tossed the Small Fireball in his hand toward it, and once again grabbed his Spirit Artifact Longsword as he charged forward.

"Boom."

The Black Snake Exotic Beast, struck by the Small Fireball once more, let out a hissing roar. The searing pain from the fresh wound, layered on top of its previous injuries, nearly drove it to the brink of unconsciousness.

But in this situation, it couldn't afford to black out.

The Black Snake Exotic Beast clearly sensed Lin Li's determination to claim its life.

It had to flee—escape at once. Blood poured from several wounds on its body, and if it kept fighting, the bleeding wouldn't stop. When its blood ran dry, it would be helpless prey.

Pfft.

The Spirit Artifact Longsword, glowing with Pale Gold Spiritual Light, stabbed into the Black Snake Exotic Beast's wound once more, the tip piercing through the other side of its body.

Lin Li's strike had skewered the beast, opening another gash that gushed blood.

"Hiss..."

The Black Snake Exotic Beast twisted its body, its massive jaws lunging ferociously at Lin Li.

Though Lin Li had gained the upper hand, this was still a fierce and savage exotic beast.

Facing its desperate counterattack, he had no choice but to evade the edge of its fury. He swiftly pulled the Spirit Artifact Longsword from its body and retreated in quick steps.

Judging by the beast's violent retaliation, Lin Li expected it to launch a flurry of attacks. So he fell back a full dozen meters.

"What...? Damn, I was tricked. That fierce attack from the Black Snake Exotic Beast was just a bluff."

After retreating over ten meters, Lin Li saw the gravely wounded beast immediately turn and flee, slithering swiftly toward the dense grass nearby.