Bait and Attack

At midday, Bai Chuan finally managed to take down the Gray Wolf model.

He looked over his injuries. He'd only lost a few scales and had several bloody scratches, so they weren't too serious.

After thinking it over, he decided to go after another eagle.

He wanted an eagle's abilities badly. And if he wanted to strengthen Digestion and Absorption in the future, he'd probably have to deal with all kinds of birds.

He might as well get used to it early.

But before he went, there was one more thing he needed to do.

He had to catch a little snake. After all, how could he hunt an eagle without bait? What else could he use to lure one down?

With that in mind, he slithered northwest, flicking his tongue to search for the scent molecules of other snakes.

He'd seen eagles land there for several days in a row, and there were plenty of small animals around, too.

He guessed it was probably an eagle's hunting ground.

Before long, he caught a little green snake that was hunting a rat.

Bai Chuan took a closer look and realized it seemed to belong to the Python genus.

Come to think of it, he felt that Pythons were an incredibly unlucky bunch. As snakes, they were neither venomous nor particularly large, and they had no real constricting ability. Worst of all, they had plenty of natural enemies.

Not only were they eaten by their fellow snakes, but they were also bullied at will by all kinds of cranes, eagles, falcons, herons, cats, geese, and more.

But maybe because of all that, the Pythons had been bullied so much that they eventually gave rise to a king of their own—the King Python.

He just didn't know if that king had been bullied too much when it was young.

That would explain why they were usually so hot-tempered and territorial. They attacked any other snakes they came across, and even inexplicably went after unrelated creatures just passing by. They were a truly neurotic kind of snake.

Bai Chuan recalled the little snake-related knowledge he had, comparing it with what he knew as he wondered how he'd fare against a King Python now.

He didn't know if he could easily crush every kind of snake these days.

He was rather curious. Ever since evolving, he'd found it hard to pin down his place in the ecosystem.

In short, he didn't have a clear grasp of his current strength, since he'd experienced so few real fights.

Before long, he reached his destination.

Trees stood sparse across the area, mostly tall pines and dead trees. The view was wide open, though there were still some shrubs on the ground.

As long as he kept his head down and stayed low, he could remain hidden.

After carefully surveying the area, Bai Chuan headed toward the spot where the most animals were active—the left side.

There were plenty of animals there, and plenty of shrubs, too.

Soon, he slid into the bushes and released the little green Python he'd been holding by the head all this time.

Since it was meant to be bait, he hadn't bitten down hard enough to kill it. He'd merely kept it under control.

The moment he let go, the little green snake glanced at him in panic. It didn't even dare raise its head and bare its fangs before scrambling away.

Against the yellow-brown earth, a green Python over a meter long stood out clearly.

Especially since it was now darting around in plain sight, making quite a commotion.

It quickly caught the attention of predators, and inevitably frightened away plenty of pheasants, wild hares, doves, rats, and other small animals.

In an instant, some hid, some fled, some ran, and some flew off. The whole scene was a chaotic mess.

Before long, the lively little hillside had fallen completely silent. Only the stunned little green snake remained.

High above, the eagle that had been circling for a long time was also taken aback. It had already picked out a wild hare.

But an unexpected intruder had suddenly appeared below, startling all the prey.

Fortunately, the foolish snake was still there. Years of experience hunting snakes told the eagle that this one wasn't venomous and was safe to eat.

The next moment, its sharp eyes locked onto the snake's vital point. It tucked in its wings and dove.

With a faint hiss through the air, a handsome, majestic eagle landed right in front of the little green snake.

Before the snake could even react, the eagle half-spread its wings and shot out its sharp talons like lightning, seizing the green Python by its vital point. Then its razor-sharp beak curved, struck, and lifted, instantly tearing the Python open.

At the same time, Bai Chuan, hiding not far away, used the opportunity to creep closer to the eagle as it fed.

One meter... two meters... three meters...

He edged closer step by step. When Bai Chuan felt he'd reached his attack range—about thirteen meters—

his body coiled, then exploded into motion!

In an instant, a black shadow shot forward.

The eagle, which had been feeding, sprang alert and immediately tried to spread its wings and take off. However—

It was too late.

With Bai Chuan's speed, his burst could cover nearly twelve meters per second. Add in his five-meter-long body, and he could close the thirteen-meter gap in less than a second. Just before the eagle could take flight, his fangs sank into its neck.

Then the eagle was sent flying by the impact of Bai Chuan's high-speed lunge.

Unable to take off, neck bitten, and knocked away by the tremendous impact, the eagle was hit by one blow after another and lay dazed for a moment.

Bai Chuan wasn't about to let that chance go to waste. His long-poised fangs began furiously injecting venom.

An enormous quantity of venom entered the eagle's body. What did that mean? The Eye King was famous for delivering a generous dose.

Once he'd finished, Bai Chuan pulled away and hurriedly retreated.

He didn't want to get hurt by the eagle's desperate counterattack.

All he needed to do now was wait for the venom to take effect.

Only then did the eagle come to its senses, but the venom had already spread throughout its body.

It staggered to its feet and weakly flapped its wings before crashing down.

Bai Chuan cautiously tossed the carcass of the green Python over to test the eagle. Once he was sure it was well and truly dead, he went over and began his feast.

By dusk, Bai Chuan had finished everything and returned to his nest with a round, bulging belly.

He'd had a truly bountiful haul today. His points had now climbed to '1(92%).'

That's right.

In just one day, his points had increased by 1% on their own. It was all thanks to the Digestion and Absorption ability he'd strengthened earlier.

His powerful digestion meant he no longer had to rely on the Panel's built-in Frenzied Digestion all the time. Instead, he could quickly digest food on his own and gain points.

He believed that if he kept strengthening this ability, one day he could stop relying on the Panel's built-in digestive ability altogether and fully digest and absorb all the energy in his food.

He was sure that one day, gaining a point a day—or even several—would be no dream.