Survival Match (III)

Everything was ready. A stretch of mud lay before the swamp, and all seven of them were carrying large backpacks. Their first priority now was to pray that the mud was not too soft.

Chubby was rather heavy, so having him carry a large backpack as well simply would not work. Jiang Hao took his pack, while Gongsun Qianxun, their agility-based fighter, led the way. If she started sinking, her agility combined with Chen Xiaolin's support should keep things from becoming too troublesome.

Gongsun Qianxun released her beast pet and fused with it. After the fusion, she looked completely different-a full-fledged catgirl, with cat ears, a cat nose, and several adorable whiskers beside her mouth. A cat tail swished constantly behind her.

This was the first time Gongsun Qianxun had shown this form to others without being in stealth. The moment Chubby saw her, he turned into a complete lecher, all but drooling and howling.

"I love it, I love it! Catgirls really are my favorite!"

His voice was a little too loud. Gongsun Qianxun, who had been about to set off, stumbled and nearly fell. She turned back and glared furiously at Chubby. "Drop dead!"

Whoosh!

With those words, she shot toward the mud.

Wen Ruxue hurriedly reminded her, "Take it easy! Watch your footing."

Even with branches strapped to her feet, Gongsun Qianxun moved as though the wind were beneath them. She quickly crossed the mud and reached the first mound of grass. She tested it with a few stomps; it held up well enough.

"You can come over now." With that, she charged straight ahead and leaped onto another grassy mound three meters away. That distance was child's play for her after fusion.

As agreed, Chen Xiaolin would cross first, then pull the others over one by one.

He released a palm-sized black spider from his Beast Taming Space. The spider actually had a human face. The thing was frightening beyond words.

The Human-Faced Demon Spider crawled onto Chen Xiaolin's wrist, its eight legs gripping him firmly. Chen Xiaolin shot a strand of silk toward the first grassy mound. Though thin, it could bear dozens of times an adult's weight and was incredibly tough.

The demon spider reeled in the silk, carrying Chen Xiaolin across the mud and onto the mound. Jiang Hao silently quipped to himself, Wouldn't this guy have a promising future as a notorious woman-stealing rogue?

Being able to scale walls and bound across rooftops like that would be ridiculously satisfying.

While he was thinking, a strand of silk suddenly shot toward him and wrapped around him. A gust of wind swept past, and he was already on the grassy mound.

Under their combined weight, the mound immediately began sinking. Foul-smelling black water bubbled up with a gurgle.

Seeing this, Chen Xiaolin flicked his right hand and shot out another strand of silk. "You go ahead."

The third mound was only a little over a meter from the second, so Jiang Hao could reach it with a small leap. It was also larger, and Gongsun Qianxun was already standing there to receive them.

Once everyone had gathered, Jiang Hao released Big Hen.

Skill: Eagle Strikes the Sky!

This was an ability he had obtained from Yang Di's beast pet. He did not know whether the Survival Simulator had modified it, but the skill had certainly been weakened considerably.

Visibility in the fog was extremely poor, and the swamp was crawling with bugs and mosquitoes. The moment they caught the scent of living people, they swarmed over. The boys hardly minded, thick-skinned as they were, but the two girls could not stand it.

"Damn it, these mosquitoes are poisonous!"

Gongsun Qianxun suddenly slapped a mosquito dead on the back of her hand. The crushed mosquito actually bled black blood. The bite reddened and swelled at a visible rate, and Wen Ruxue took a bottle of medicine from her backpack and handed it to her.

"Quick, rub some on!"

At first, none of them paid much attention. It was only a mosquito bite, after all.

Before long, however, Gongsun Qianxun began feeling dizzy, and her thoughts gradually grew sluggish.

Only she could feel these symptoms. She initially assumed she was exhausted; during the fishing tournament, she had fished day and night for points and barely slept.

After Jiang Hao pointed out the direction, she set off again. While leaping from the tenth grassy mound to the eleventh, she shook her head hard, but something still went wrong.

Halfway through the leap, her body suddenly dropped. An enormous creature erupted from the previously still water-a Water Python!

The huge Water Python was thicker than a human waist and covered in mottled markings. Even the portion of its body above the water was six or seven meters long. Judging by its aura, it was at least in the Golden Body Realm.

The Water Python's long body instantly coiled around the falling Gongsun Qianxun.

Chen Xiaolin had been watching everyone closely. The moment he realized Gongsun Qianxun was in danger, he instinctively fired a web to snare the Water Python's head. Unexpectedly, it twisted aside and turned its scarlet eyes toward him. That cold, sinister gaze sent a chill through him.

That brief hesitation was enough for the web to brush past it.

The sudden turn of events left everyone rooted in shock, forgetting to react. Just then, an egg fell from the sky.

The egg burst less than a meter above the Water Python's head.

Fireball!

Two fireballs struck the Water Python's eyes with perfect accuracy, one after the other.

"Hiss!"

The Water Python recoiled in pain, but showed no intention of releasing Gongsun Qianxun.

The others finally snapped into action. Chubby, in particular, immediately released his beast pet, Brown Bear, when he saw the girl he liked in danger.

"Fusion!"

A bear-man nearly three meters tall roared and prepared to leap into the water to fight the Water Python.

Fortunately, Chen Xiaolin reacted swiftly. His hands flew as strand after strand of silk formed a web around the Water Python, anchored to the nearby grassy mounds.

Heavenly Net!

A huge web soon took shape. Not only did it block the Water Python's escape routes, it also gave everyone somewhere to stand.

He truly deserved his place among the top five support specialists in the Fifth Competition Zone. His hand speed and reflexes were impressive.

Chubby no longer cared whether the web could support his weight. He charged straight up to the Water Python and dug his sharp claws into its body, trying to drag it down from its upright position.

The result was a shower of sparks and lightning. Who would have thought the Water Python's skin would be so hard and tough? Not only did he fail to injure it, but it also slammed him head-on with a Heavy Strike, sending him flying.

Chen Xiaolin waved his hand again, and a strand of silk pulled Chubby back.

Song Jie also made his move.

His beast pet was an Iron-Armed Mantis, and his fused form was extremely strange. His upper body was human, while his lower body was that of a mantis. Four long legs gripped the web firmly, and his arms had become a pair of great blades lined with sharp barbs.

Song Jie swung his blades, slashing fiercely at the Water Python.

Reaper's Scythe!

Several afterimages struck its body in rapid succession.

Scrape!

Yet they left only faint scratches on the Water Python, still unable to breach its defenses. Its scales were simply too hard.

Physical damage was completely ineffective against it!

Wind Orb!

It still came down to Jiang Hao.

An egg fell. Having already suffered once, the Water Python sensed danger. It looked up at the falling egg and tried to dodge, but the egg was never going to strike it directly. It automatically burst a meter above its head, blooming like fireworks as brilliant, fluorescent wind orbs struck its forehead.

-

800

An enormous damage number rose from its forehead.

In pain, it instinctively tightened its coils. Gongsun Qianxun's face turned pale, and muffled groans of agony escaped her lips.

"Fuck your granny! Let her go right now, you bastard!"

Seeing Gongsun Qianxun groan in pain, Chubby cursed furiously and slammed his massive bear paws into the snake's body.

Heavy Strike!

Once.

Twice.

The heavy impacts made it clear that he was using every ounce of strength.

Wen Ruxue released her Seven-Colored Spirit Butterfly as well. With a flick of her hand, she cast Healing Art on Gongsun Qianxun without stopping to consider whether it would work, then activated Magnetic Field Rally.

Under the effects of Magnetic Field Rally, Chubby and Song Jie attacked like madmen pumped full of stimulants.

With his strength boosted, Song Jie finally broke through the snake's defenses with his exquisite bladework. Several scales shattered beneath his slashes, exposing blood-streaked flesh.

"Hiss!"

After enduring Jiang Hao's bombardment of Fireball and Wind Orb, then being cut by Song Jie, the Water Python could no longer spare any attention for Gongsun Qianxun. It whipped its body violently, hurling her at Song Jie like a sandbag.

Seizing the opening, Chen Xiaolin hurriedly shot out a strand of silk and pulled her over.

Jiang Hao caught her in coordination with him. "Watch over her!"

He handed her to Wen Ruxue, then directed Big Hen to cast skills again.

Fireball, Wind Orb-whenever their cooldowns ended, he bombarded the Water Python with them in turn without hesitation.

No matter how the Water Python dodged, he always hit it. After several rounds, it was utterly enraged.

It had finally figured it out. Unless it knocked down the thing circling above its head, it would keep getting beaten.

With one sweeping blow, it sent the troublesome Chubby and Song Jie flying. Then its body shot upward. Like an arrow, the Water Python launched itself into the fog, its exposed length suddenly increasing from six or seven meters to fifteen. Even so, it still could not reach Big Hen.

With nothing to support it, it had no choice but to fall back toward the water. Its enormous body crashed onto the web with a bang, and the tremendous rebound instantly tossed Chubby and Song Jie high into the air before they could get back up.

Seeing this, the Water Python's pupils narrowed to slits. Killing intent surged as it opened its jaws to swallow the relatively frail Song Jie alive.

A foul wind rushed into Song Jie's face. He went deathly pale at the sight, but suspended in midair, he could only watch helplessly as he fell straight into its trap.

At that moment, Jiang Hao and Chen Xiaolin acted almost simultaneously.

Mask of Terror!

Lure!

Mask of Terror could intimidate its target, stirring up the fear it felt toward its opponent and stripping away its will to fight.

Under Mask of Terror's effects, the Water Python turned in fright and tried to dive beneath the water. But Lure followed immediately, pulling it right back.

Jiang Hao shouted, "Xiaolin, don't let it get away!"

Chen Xiaolin understood. He did not notice that Jiang Hao had changed how he addressed him. Completely focused, he immediately set his hands flying at Jiang Hao's shout. Strand after strand of silk wrapped around the Water Python as though they cost nothing. Soon, with the Water Python still suffering from Mask of Terror's effects, the silk bound it like a wrapped rice dumpling, sealing it into a cocoon.