The King and His Subjects

Bai Chuan's personality was the type that either didn't act at all, or once he made a decision, he wouldn't hesitate any longer.

Now that his mind was made up, the next moment, as he looked into the crocodile's eyes, a fierce glint appeared in his own.

He immediately slowed his speed, simultaneously doing his utmost to mimic the surrounding environment.

The reason for this was that Bai Chuan knew well that crocodiles weren't particularly sensitive to water currents, and as long as he reduced disturbances, combined with his invisibility, he could completely launch a surprise attack on this crocodile first.

But he also had to hurry, because that crocodile was about to reach the shore, and ambushing it on land wouldn't be easy...

Just as he thought this, Bai Chuan's eyes lit up the next moment.

Because this crocodile actually turned its back to the shore and started eating. Perhaps the confidence of being a river Overlord gave it the audacity to feed with its back to the riverbank—wasn't this a perfect opportunity for him?

So, taking advantage of this blind spot, Bai Chuan quietly crept up onto the shore from behind the crocodile.

After that, he stopped moving, held his breath, and silently watched the crocodile's actions.

He watched as it continuously tore off chunks of flesh from the Gray Leaf Monkey, first the left arm, then the thigh...

Until...

"Now!"

Bai Chuan, who had been staring intently the whole time, saw the crocodile swallow another bloody piece of meat and tilt its head back to close its mouth in that instant.

His body, already coiled like a bow underwater, suddenly gathered strength, like a bowstring pulled taut, and in a flash—

Explosion!

In an instant, Bai Chuan shot forward with this immense explosive force, opening his massive snake maw, targeting the crocodile's closed mouth.

In a mere moment, he bit down on the crocodile's large mouth with tremendous impact, and only then did the loud sound of water breaking ring out.

Before the crocodile could react, as the two were tumbled along by the force, his Flexible snake body followed closely, wrapping around the crocodile's neck, forelimbs, and abdomen from below the neck, encountering only a small struggle at the hind limbs—but it was too late!

Soon, on the riverbank ground, two massive creatures were entangled together.

A snake-like, dragon-like monster used its long body to tightly bind a nearly two-meter-long river-dominating crocodile.

At this point, Bai Chuan was delighted to find his attack successful, and he began to slowly but steadily contract his body inch by inch.

Trying to squeeze the prey's living space bit by bit.

At this moment, the Caiman finally reacted, its long, dangerous mouth about to open wide for a fierce bite, but—

It didn't budge!

The crocodile was baffled. What was going on? Why couldn't it open its mouth? Its greatest weapon was controlled, and an instinct from deep within told it—danger was coming!

It began to struggle wildly, trying to swing its body left and right, but it only gave the snake's body more room to contract faster.

Unable to sway left or right, it tried to perform a death roll.

But still, it didn't move at all.

Because Bai Chuan had already bound it tightly—how could it struggle?

This was the enormous advantage brought by thinking and knowing the crocodile's weaknesses.

As long as the gap between the two wasn't too great, once a fatal weakness was found, you would have no power to resist!

No matter how strong or invincible you were, as long as you had obvious weaknesses, you couldn't escape being caught and killed by an intelligent creature.

With the crocodile unable to use its three main tricks, its death was already sealed.

Remember, Bai Chuan wasn't limited to just a python's abilities. The next moment, with two "pfft" sounds, The crocodile's eyes bulged, its four small claws flailed wildly, and soon, streams of bright red, pungent blood flowed out, staining the ground.

Only then did Bai Chuan leisurely pull out his claws, then stab them in again deeply.

Sounds like cloth being torn open rang out continuously on the riverbank, each accompanied by the sound of liquid.

That was blood! Blood brought out by the claws!

The blood flowed faster and faster, gradually dyeing the ground red, and as it followed the slope, it seeped into the water.

So the river surface turned red too, and all kinds of fish and shrimp came out to feed.

With waves of intense pain hitting it, the crocodile's struggling resistance grew weaker, and in turn, the constriction became easier.

"Crack~"

The crisp sound of a bone breaking came—the crocodile's forelimb bone had been crushed.

Under this chain reaction, the crocodile gradually lost the strength to struggle, and finally, with a loud tearing sound, This 1.7-meter-long crocodile was completely disemboweled by Bai Chuan, and a large pile of steaming entrails spilled out with a "plop."

Only then did Bai Chuan slowly release his coiled body, quietly staring at the now-dead crocodile.

He felt a bit dazed—it seemed this was the first time he had taken down an ecological niche Overlord head-on without using his most adept deadly venom.

Although he had guessed the outcome before, when this moment actually arrived, Bai Chuan still found it hard to believe.

After a moment of stunned silence, Bai Chuan snapped back to reality, raised his proud snake head toward the sky, and laughed silently.

At this moment, perhaps he was laughing at his own lack of confidence, or maybe at finally growing to this point, or perhaps at how terrifying the power he now possessed truly was.

Of course, it could also just be that he felt like laughing.

Who knows? When life is good, one should enjoy it to the fullest.

After a long while, he lowered his head again, sweeping a glance at the various predators that had stealthily crept closer without him noticing. A flicker of disdain crossed his eyes, and he paid their arrival no mind.

Perhaps they thought they were well hidden? Little did they know, to his eyes, they blazed as bright and glaring as an open flame in the dead of night.

Let them watch. He'd like to see which one dared to overestimate itself and come snatch his meal.

Even if they all attacked at once, Bai Chuan wouldn't flinch in the slightest. After all, behind him lay a wide, bottomless river—what did he have to fear?

At worst, he'd dive underwater, swim a distance away, climb ashore, and pick them off one by one with ambushes.

With that thought in mind, Bai Chuan tore claw after claw into the crocodile's flesh, ripping away bloody, delicious chunks. He elegantly lifted his long neck, swallowing each soft, tender morsel of his prize.

Drops of blood dripped endlessly, spilling from Bai Chuan's claws and soaking the ground around him. The pungent stench of blood began to saturate the air.

It drove the surrounding starving beasts mad with hunger, their eyes burning red—yet not a single one dared to emerge.

At this moment, he was like an arrogant king, dining gracefully and slowly before his own palace, while the beasts crouched low around him, their eyes wild with hunger, all his subjects.

"Oww~"

A Jungle Cat with a tawny-brown body, black rings on its legs and tail, and a sleek, flexible frame couldn't hold back any longer and leaped out.

It arched its back lightly, springing forward with a pounce. The feline's innate high reflexes emboldened it, starving as it was, to snatch food right in front of a snake.

But Bai Chuan merely glanced at it. His right claw, still gripping the flesh, didn't falter as he continued bringing it to his mouth.

His left claw, however, rose. An invisible surge of high-voltage current instantly coiled around it, and he swung it at the charging Jungle Cat.

"Oww~!"

A piercing shriek rang out, accompanied by the stench of singed fur. The Jungle Cat limped back, its golden eyes with black pupils filled with pain.

Finally, it retreated, unwilling but helpless.

If anyone had looked closely, they would have noticed that a chunk of flesh was missing from the Jungle Cat's foreleg. And where was that chunk of flesh now?

It lay quietly in Bai Chuan's claw, skin and fur still attached.

The next moment, Bai Chuan swallowed it in one gulp.