A Brazilian Rainforest Black-tailed Scorpion crept cautiously among the dead leaves, motionless. Its thick tail was raised high, its sharp stinger glinting with a blinding cold light beneath the sun.
Three rats in green vests held wooden forks in their paws, forming a triangular formation. Their long tails were coiled around their waists as they stared intently at the prey before them, poised for battle.
The standoff lasted several seconds.
The black-tailed scorpion's tail twitched slightly. The rat positioned to the north let out a sharp squeak and thrust its wooden fork at the scorpion. The scorpion's tail darted toward the northern rat like lightning, but the rat had only feinted. It rolled aside on the spot and dodged the strike.
At the same time, the two rats at the southeast and southwest corners seized the opportunity and rushed in together. One pinned the middle of the black-tailed scorpion's tail with its fork, while the other pinned its head, holding it firmly in place.
After struggling wildly for a few seconds, the black-tailed scorpion was brutally stabbed in the forehead by the first rat that had rushed over. It finally breathed its last. The entire process had taken less than half a minute.
After cutting off the black-tailed scorpion's tail, collecting its great claws, and stuffing the spoils into the small bags on their backs, the three rats raised their forks and charged at their next opponent—a Black Centipede nearly a foot long.
The black cat crouched in a tree, staring unblinkingly at the chaotic battlefield below, clicking his tongue in admiration.
Yes, a battlefield.
The battle between the rats and scorpion he had just witnessed was no isolated case. In the clearing not far from the black cat was a fiercely contested battlefield. Fights like that between the three