Having It

Having seen Snow Mane feign death once before, Xia Hong was naturally not going to be careless.

Faking death wasn't a simple matter.

Even in his past life, it was nearly impossible for ordinary people to fake death.

Simply closing your eyes and lying on the ground wasn't faking death; that was acting for a movie.

To truly fake death, it generally involved three steps:

First, you had to stop breathing and remain completely still; this was the foundation.

Second, you had to control your internal organs. Your body wouldn't move, but your blood vessels and pulse would still be active. By controlling your internal organs, you could stop the heart from supplying blood and the digestive system from functioning, causing the pulse in all parts of your body to pause.

The final step was to hold your breath.

Here, "holding your breath" didn't mean not breathing, but rather stopping the emission of scent.

After a normal creature died, its body would quickly decompose, producing a foul odor, generally referred to as corpse qi.

It was impossible to fake corpse qi, but at the very least, one had to lock away their own living scent to deceive the opponent.

Xia Hong hadn't observed Snow Mane up close, but judging by the cunning and caution of Frost Wolves, if they could be fooled, then a Frost Beast like Snow Mane would certainly have a strong talent for faking death.

Last time, weren't the people at Big Stone Camp not cautious?

In the Lumbering Realm, every human was on the brink of survival. If they could be fooled by a simple faking death technique, they would have died countless times over.

Just as Xia Hong had guessed, Snow Mane was indeed faking death.

The moment Frost Wolf released its bite, Snow Mane's two stiff, unmoving pupils suddenly darted, and it exhaled two rough breaths from its nostrils, its face contorting even more fiercely.

Even though its left hind leg was reduced to bare bone, Snow Mane still managed to prop itself up. It then flipped over and charged at Frost Wolf, crushing down with the force of Mount Tai.

Frost Wolf realized it had been tricked and instinctively opened its mouth to bite again, but unfortunately, Snow Mane gave it no such opportunity. As it crushed down, it used its back.

Snow Mane's back was covered in barbs.

The outcome of Frost Wolf opening its mouth was predictable.

Several barbs plunged directly into its mouth. It was unclear how deep they went into the flesh, but Frost Wolf let out a pained roar, with emerald green blood constantly oozing from its mouth.

Frost Wolf struggled and writhed on the ground, trying to break free, but Snow Mane continued to press down in the direction of its struggles, giving it no chance.

This continued until Frost Wolf's head twisted all the way to its tail.

While having a large body had its advantages, in such a life-or-death struggle, any single factor could become the key to victory or defeat.

Snow Mane's massive size meant it only used half its body to pin Frost Wolf. When Frost Wolf twisted to its tail, its head finally found a moment of respite.

Frost Wolf suddenly twisted its head and bit down on the area below Snow Mane's tail, the part of its left hind leg that had already been torn apart.

This solid bite caused Snow Mane to instantly lose its strength.

Frost Wolf quickly scrambled out from under its body and then darted into the depths of the dense forest.

It ran without looking back.

In the end, the victor of this battle was the adult Snow Mane.

Last time, Frost Wolf won; this time, Snow Mane won.

It seemed that as low-level Frost Beasts, Snow Mane and Frost Wolf had no significant difference in strength, only different combat styles.

Snow Mane was large, with strong charging power, and possessed excellent faking death skills.

Frost Wolf, on the other hand, was adept at using the terrain, favored surprise attacks, and was fast and agile. Most importantly, it knew when to retreat if outmatched.

Xia Hong watched Frost Wolf completely disappear into the dense forest before his gaze shifted to Snow Mane, which was limping towards the Small Torch. A hint of hesitation appeared on his face.

But the hesitation lasted only a moment.

Xia Hong quickly scanned the surroundings, pointed at two trees, and said to Yuan Cheng and Xia Chuan:

"See those two trees? Once I engage Snow Mane, you each climb one and stay in the trees. Don't move unless I tell you to!"

After giving his instructions, Xia Hong immediately stood up from the snow, drew the Stone Axe from his waist, and sprinted towards Snow Mane at high speed.

He had to be fast; Snow Mane was about to reach the torch.

That torch could heal Snow Mane and also make it stronger.

In the winter snow forest, scents weren't easy to discern.

In this silent jungle, sound was the greatest tool for all living beings to identify enemies and their environment.

Even though he was fifty meters away, Snow Mane had already detected Xia Hong the moment he spoke. However, it seemed to instinctively feel that the little crawling thing over there posed no threat, so it continued to move towards the torch.

Unfortunately, the injury to its left hind leg was too severe, causing it to move incredibly slowly.

So slow that Xia Hong had already reached its rear. Sensing danger, Snow Mane could only turn its head and glare fiercely at Xia Hong.

This was his first time facing a Frost Beast directly, and it was an adult Snow Mane.

Although he knew it had just gone through a life-or-death struggle and its strength was reduced by seventy to eighty percent, Xia Hong still felt a bit nervous.

Calm down, calm down.

No matter what, it was still just a beast.

Xia Hong took a few deep breaths to calm himself, then met Snow Mane's gaze directly, a fierce expression gradually appearing on his face.

Snow Mane was clearly enraged by the little bug's audacity in staring back. Its pupils turned crimson, and it suddenly lunged at Xia Hong.

Unfortunately, due to the severe injury to its hind left leg, its speed was far too slow.

Xia Hong's gaze sharpened. Facing Snow Mane charging at him, he didn't choose to dodge. Instead, he placed the Stone Axe in his mouth, bit down firmly, and then spread his hands wide.

He had precisely grabbed Snow Mane's two long, massive tusks.

Although Snow Mane's strength had been greatly weakened by its severe injuries.

This sudden collision still sent Xia Hong staggering back five or six meters.

Bang...

If he hadn't forcibly changed his trajectory and braced his legs against a large tree behind him, absorbing most of the impact, he would have been pushed back even further.

"Six thousand four hundred jin of force, and I still couldn't stop it. The charge of an adult Snow Mane in its prime must be over ten thousand jin. No wonder, no wonder one needs to reach the Earth Excavation Realm to hunt it!"

Despite being pushed back, Xia Hong's hands still held tightly onto Snow Mane's tusks.

Snow Mane threw its head back, its cavernous maw opening towards Xia Hong.

Seeing this, Xia Hong's pupils contracted sharply. He abruptly released his right hand, grabbed the Stone Axe from his mouth, and then used the momentum from Snow Mane's head swing on its left tusk to shift his body to the left.

Splat...

A five-to-six-meter-long, sharp, ice-cone-like tongue shot out from Snow Mane's mouth. Xia Hong's evasive maneuver just barely dodged it. The terrifyingly long tongue pierced straight through the large tree behind him.

This wasn't the end. Failing to hit its target, Snow Mane's tongue suddenly went limp. The part embedded in the tree softened, then curved, slithering towards Xia Hong's neck.

The image of the man from Big Stone Camp, whose head had flown off after being ensnared by Snow Mane's tongue, was still vivid in Xia Hong's mind. He certainly wouldn't let Snow Mane succeed.

In fact, after catching the Stone Axe and dodging the tongue, Xia Hong had already reacted.

The moment Snow Mane's tongue pierced the tree, Xia Hong's left hand also let go.

He gripped the Stone Axe with both hands. His legs, already braced against the tree, pushed off again forcefully. His body leaped high into the air, and he brought the Stone Axe down with a roar towards Snow Mane's tongue.

Sizzle sizzle...

Compared to the arrows and knives from Big Stone Camp, the Stone Axe was certainly not sharp enough.

But it depended on where the cut was made.

The tongue was generally one of the most vulnerable parts of any creature's body, and Snow Mane was no exception.

The pained roar Snow Mane let out after its tongue was severed clearly indicated this.

Strike while the iron is hot.

With its tongue cut off, the remaining section behind the tree was also rendered useless.

With no further worries, Xia Hong swung the Stone Axe furiously into Snow Mane's gaping maw. The terrifying force sent Snow Mane staggering backward. However, due to its leg injury, its retreat was slow and erratic.

It was simply swaying left and right, dodging by instinct.

At the same time, Xia Hong roared up at the tree:

"Get down here and chop its right hind leg, quick..."

Two figures leaped from the tree, descending towards Snow Mane's rear.

The cold glint of the Stone Axe flashed in Xia Hong's eyes, which bulged with exertion.

"Got it!"