The Mantis Stalked the Cicada, the Oriole Waited Behind—But There Was an Eagle Behind the Oriole!

Bulbasaur's seed bulb trembled all over.

"Bulba!"

Vine Whip retracted at high speed. Venom dripped from its tip onto the ground with soft hissing sounds as its crimson eyes swept the bushes soaked in twilight.

The tip of the Vine Whip that had killed the Earth Crystal Snake still carried a dim violet glow, a mixture of Rotting Flesh Poison and Life Poison. It flickered faintly in the darkness like an ominous warning light.

The air was as thick as solidified resin.

The rustling of wind through the treetops seemed infinitely amplified, and every faint sound of a falling leaf hitting the ground was like a heavy hammer striking Lin Xia's heart.

He could clearly hear his own thunderous heartbeat—not from fear, but from the primal shudder that erupted from the depths of his marrow when prey was locked onto by a higher-ranking predator.

Within the shadows of a tangled vine thicket to the right, two murky orange-yellow glimmers suddenly lit up, cold and utterly devoid of warmth.

Then, a massive snake nearly two meters long slowly slithered out, its entire body covered in dark golden scales.

Its head was triangular, its neck grotesquely swollen, and a deep purple stripe ran from the corner of its mouth to the tip of its tail. It was the ruler of this place—the millennium-old Skyhorn Snake!

As its tongue flicked in and out, a sweetly foul, rotten-rust stench spread through the air. The surrounding grass and trees yellowed and blackened at a visible pace.

"Hiss—"

The Skyhorn Snake's vertical pupils fixed tightly on the lingering venomous glow on Bulbasaur's Vine Whip before sweeping over the festering wounds on the Earth Crystal Snake's corpse.

That was its prey!

The dinner it had tracked by expending venom!

Yet this strange creature before it had killed it first!

A violent hiss tore through the silence. Its thick tail lashed the ground, blasting apart dead leaves and mud to reveal rocks below that had been corroded purple-black by snake venom.

The Skyhorn Snake attacked without warning!

Rather than lunging forward in a straight bite, its body twisted bizarrely and shot across the ground like a dark golden bolt of lightning, precisely targeting Bulbasaur!

Its jaws gaped open. Instead of striking with its fangs, a ball of dark green pus deep within its throat compressed rapidly, then shot out!

Lin Xia's pupils contracted sharply. Knowledge of biology from his previous life became an instinctive reaction at the brink of death.

He shoved Bulbasaur into a sideways roll while Poison Vine Bone Wings instantly twisted together before him into a heavy vine shield!

Splat!

The ball of pus slammed into the vine shield and began corroding it wildly like concentrated acid!

White smoke carrying a pungent stench rose with a hiss. The tough vines blackened and dissolved at a visible rate.

Even though the bone wings could regenerate, the searing pain still drew a muffled grunt from Lin Xia as his Soul Power drained rapidly!

"An opening!"

A fierce gleam flashed through Lin Xia's eyes. The brief stiffness after the enemy's ranged attack was Bulbasaur's only chance to counterattack!

"Vine Whip! Hit its old wound!"

"Bulba—saur!!"

Bulbasaur understood at once.

Two Vine Whips shot out like poisoned spears, tearing through the lingering toxic mist and wrapping with perfect precision around a festering patch beneath the Skyhorn Snake's vital spot where scales had fallen away—it was the wound left by its earlier battle with the Earth Crystal Snake!

Deep purple Life Poison surged through the barbs at the ends of the Vine Whips and ruthlessly entered the depths of the rotten flesh!

"His—raaargh—!"

The Skyhorn Snake let out an unprecedented scream of agony!

Dark green venom spots spread wildly across its body as if alive. Its flesh sizzled at the festering wound, instantly carbonizing black.

Its huge body writhed and rolled madly, venom spraying everywhere. Any grass or tree it touched withered instantly!

"Sludge Bomb, blind it!"

Bulbasaur immediately understood. A mass of purple sludge condensed, then, under the control of Soul Power, shot directly at the Skyhorn Snake!

Unable to evade in time, the Skyhorn Snake was covered in sludge and completely lost its vision. The toxins carried by the sludge also invaded its body at the moment of impact.

"Bulbasaur, now! Hit it with Venoshock and Sleep Powder!"

Just as Bulbasaur and the Skyhorn Snake were locked in battle, Lin Xia's ear twitched, catching several extremely faint cracking sounds—the noise of hard mouthparts cutting into a tree trunk!

Lin Xia abruptly looked up. In the shadows of a giant tree higher above, several dim green compound eyes flashed between the branches and leaves. Before Lin Xia could see clearly, they vanished into the tree!

At the sight, Lin Xia did not dare hesitate.

"Bulbasaur, don't hesitate. Something is watching us. We need to retreat!"

Lin Xia truly had not expected that the mantis would stalk the cicada, the oriole would wait behind it—and there would actually be an eagle behind the oriole!

Lin Xia's voice was like cold iron, instantly cutting through the clamor of battle.

The command was clear and decisive, carrying an urgency that allowed no doubt.

His greenish-purple pupils shrank to pinpoints. Every muscle in his body tightened like a fully drawn bowstring as Poison Vine Bone Wings silently extended to their limit. Dozens of bluish-purple vines rose like venomous snakes sensing danger, their sharp tips faintly glowing.

He vigilantly scanned the forest shadows as twilight deepened—every bush and every giant tree seemed to conceal a beast waiting to devour its prey.

"Bulba—saur!"

Bulbasaur's response was short and sharp!

It was in the midst of a fierce battle, tangled in combat with the frenzied millennium-old Skyhorn Snake.

Lin Xia's command jolted it, but it held absolute trust in him.

Its blood-red eyes swiftly swept over the Skyhorn Snake, which was still struggling madly. Though its strength had waned under the erosion of Toxic, it remained dangerous. Then it glanced toward the giant tree where those dim green compound eyes had vanished high above.

A chill even greater than the one it felt when facing the Skyhorn Snake spread from deep within its seed bulb.

Without the slightest hesitation, it made its choice!

Two dark green Vine Whips, like living steel cables, abruptly abandoned their entanglement and harassment of the Skyhorn Snake's vital spot. They changed direction like lightning, precisely and powerfully binding the Earth Crystal Snake's massive, heavy corpse on the ground—a snake body with nearly three hundred years of cultivation was incredibly weighty!

Hiss!

The Skyhorn Snake broke free of its restraints. Toxic and fury had driven it completely mad.

Corrosive venom burst forth like an out-of-control fountain, blindly sweeping the surroundings. One stream of dark green venom shot straight toward Bulbasaur as it dragged the corpse!

The air sizzled as the venom scorched it.

"Block it!"

Lin Xia shouted sharply. Poison Vine Bone Wings instantly interwove into a wall of shields, blocking the venom from Bulbasaur's side.

At the same time, he shifted sideways like a phantom. The bone blade in his hand flashed coldly, not to attack, but to swiftly sever several vines blocking their path, each lined with highly toxic thorns.

Splat! Sizzle!

The venom slammed viciously into the vine shield, and white smoke rose with intense corrosive sounds.

Lin Xia grunted. Soul Power surged, and the agony from his bone wings beaded his forehead with sweat, but he held on!

The path opened by severing the vines was cleared at once.

"Retreat!"

Lin Xia growled, showing no desire to keep fighting.

Bulbasaur borrowed the momentum and gave a powerful backward yank, forcibly dragging the heavy Earth Crystal Snake corpse several meters away.

Its four limbs pushed off the ground, erupting with astonishing strength. Its emerald body became a blurred streak of green light as it followed Lin Xia and charged decisively into the dense bushes in the direction they had come from!

Like a guardian deity, Lin Xia retreated swiftly at Bulbasaur's side. Poison Vine Bone Wings did not retract; instead, like dozens of vigilant tentacles, they continuously swung, cut, and pushed aside obstacles behind him and Bulbasaur while remaining alert for any pursuit.

"Hiss—roar!!!"

Behind them, the Skyhorn Snake realized its prey had escaped its control and unleashed an earth-shaking roar mixed with pain and utter fury!

The poisonous miasma churned under the sound waves, and dead leaves whirled wildly.

Its massive body crushed forward violently. Giant trees shook in its wake, deep furrows were plowed into the earth, and frenzied venom poured like rain across the route of their retreat. Grass and trees withered, while rocks bubbled.

Lin Xia and Bulbasaur did not look back!

Speed was life!