Fighting for his life
The ground, a mix of mud and broken ice, was incredibly slippery. The python's immense force continued to crush his body, the muffled thuds of the bones bearing the pressure echoing throughout his body.
Lu Heng remained conscious, not completely swallowed by the suffocating dizziness. He quickly reviewed the most fatal flaw in his mind. At this moment, he was holding the knife with one hand and restrained with the other, his entire body's strength locked by the giant python's compression, his posture extremely awkward. If he rashly reached for the Wristband potion with one hand, the moment he lost his balance, the snake's mouth would suddenly bite down, or the python's body would suddenly tighten, leaving him no chance to recover and he would die instantly.
We must not act rashly.
Lu Heng silently calmed his mind, adjusting his tense muscles in advance, making thorough preparations. He cleared his mind of all distractions, steadied his body under extreme pressure, and gripped the hilt of the knife tightly with his fingertips, using the slight resistance of the blade being caught in the snake's mouth to maintain his posture.
3, 2, 1.
The moment his mind settled, Lu Heng swiftly touched the Wristband's screen with his left fingertip, instantly opening a spatial channel. He precisely pinched an orange-red test tube of medicine with his fingertip. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out the stopper, tilted his head back, and poured the medicine in—the entire sequence of actions was completed in one smooth motion, without the slightest hesitation.
The cool medicine slid down his throat, and in an instant, a surge of scalding heat exploded from deep within his abdomen, rushing through his blood vessels to his limbs and bones.
In the instant he took the medicine, taking advantage of the brief gap in the python's exertion, he quickly withdrew his left hand, which was under pressure, and gripped the hilt of the Bronze Hunting Blade tightly with both arms at the same time. The awkward posture of holding the knife with one hand was completely relieved, and the steady strength of the combined force of both hands was instantly restored.
The heat flow continues to surge.
At first, it was just a warm feeling in my abdomen, but in just two seconds it turned into a burning heat that penetrated every muscle and every bone. The chill on my body was completely dispelled, and the soreness from being crushed by the python's body, the dull pain from the pressure on my bones, and the suffocating tightness in my chest were all completely covered by a domineering heat.
What followed was an unventable, violent rage that spread wildly from the depths of his heart.
It wasn't emotional anger, but a fighting instinct forcibly induced by the drug.
His entire body was restless and trembling, every muscle craving power and destruction, wanting nothing more than to fiercely chop and tear apart everything in its path against the colossal creature that was suppressing him.
The calm in Lu Heng's eyes was covered by a layer of crimson agitation, but he still retained the last shred of rationality and did not lose control and launch a reckless attack.
He locked the knife hilt with both hands, lowered his waist and stomped on the ground, using the only remaining solid ground beneath his feet as a support, and suddenly pressed down hard in the opposite direction.
The ultimate struggle erupted in an instant.
The snake's jaws clenched tightly, the hard inner walls of its mouth gripping the blade. A tremendous force, weighing millions of pounds, relentlessly pressed down, attempting to crush everything in its path and sever the thorny blade completely. The python's coiled body continued to tighten, squeezing out gurgling water from the mud, shattering the surrounding ice, and causing the entire swampy clearing to tremble slightly with the beast's exertion.
The beast and the man were now completely engulfed in a brute-force battle.
The giant python relied on its innate physical strength to crush its prey, using brute force to strangle it; Lu Heng relied on the burst of power amplified by the potion and his tenacity to fight to the death, using his mortal body to withstand the divine might of the giant beast.
The Bronze Hunting Blade was wedged between the toughest flesh and skin of the snake's mouth. With each struggle and pull, the sharp blade went deeper, constantly cutting and tearing the soft tissue of the python's mouth.
Warm, bloody blood oozed continuously from the blade, soaking the surface and sliding down the hilt, wetting Lu Heng's palm.
Excruciating pain completely overwhelmed the python's nerves.
The greater the pain, the more frantically it exerts its strength. Its massive body is stretched to the limit, scales stand on end, muscles bulge and bulge, and the force of its strangulation is layered upon layer, as if it wants to crush the tiny human beneath it into mincemeat in an instant. Its mouth bites and tears wildly, trying to break free from the shackles of the blade, or to directly crush its prey with the sharp blade.
Lu Heng was completely unaware of this.
The drug completely numbed his sense of pain; all his bodily sensations remained: exertion, resistance, and downward pressure.
The excruciating pain from the pressure on his bones, the suffocating dizziness, and the stinging pain from his skin being torn apart—all of these had vanished completely. His eyes no longer held the terror of the enormous creature, nor the fear of a life-or-death situation; only the constantly bleeding, tearing mouth of the snake before him.
He remained silent and motionless, only continuously increasing the force with his arms, chopping down the blade heavily and fiercely, again and again.
The sound of the blade slicing through flesh continued, growing clearer and clearer.
The wound in the snake's mouth was stretched wider and wider, and thick, bloody gushed out continuously, staining the entire muddy ground in front of it red. The snake's mouth, which was originally closed, split open into a hideous gash under the continuous cutting of the blade and the pulling force of both sides.
The gap continued to widen, completely destroying the python's jaw structure.
The snake's mouth, which had been some distance away, was now terrifyingly close to Lu Heng's body. The flesh around the split opening was exposed, and the warm, foul-smelling breath mixed with a strong stench of blood assaulted his face. The putrid, earthy, and bloody stench mingled together, thick and pungent, creating an oppressive sense of imminent life and death.
If his strength were to weaken even slightly at this moment, the snake's gaping jaws would snap shut, instantly injuring and devouring him.
Life and death were separated by a hair's breadth.
The prolonged, piercing pain and the severe damage from having the oral muscles torn apart finally broke the python's ferocity.
Its relentless crushing force suddenly loosened, and a clear break appeared in the force of the tightly coiled python's body. The coiled body began to unconsciously move backward and retreat.
It was afraid.
The extreme pain made this swamp overlord want to retreat. It no longer cared about strangling its prey, but only wanted to break free from the entanglement and escape the battlefield that had ravaged it.
The moment the giant python's body recoiled and loosened, the pressure beneath Lu Heng's feet suddenly decreased sharply.
His previously locked-down posture, unable to gain any leverage, instantly relaxed. His feet firmly planted on the hard ground, his center of gravity stabilized completely, and the space for leverage doubled instantly. The force of his hands pressing down increased several times over.
It was this moment of weakness in the force of withdrawal that created the opening.
The giant python shifted its massive body to the side and retreated with all its might, trying to create distance and escape. However, the Bronze Hunting Blade stuck deep in its mouth did not loosen its grip. Lu Heng gripped the blade tightly and pressed it down, remaining motionless.
The inertia of the withdrawn force, the weight of the massive body, and the firmly locked blade collided.
Sizzle--
A sharp, tearing sound of flesh being ripped apart suddenly rang out.
In the instant the python hastily turned to the side to retract its force, its immense pulling force, combined with the sharp blade, tore off a large chunk of thick skin, flesh, and fascia from the side of its mouth.
Large chunks of flesh and blood fell to the ground, crashing into the mud and splashing up tiny specks of mud mixed with blood.
A sharp pain instantly swept through the giant python's entire body, causing its massive form to tremble violently, and its previously ferocious struggle abruptly ceased.
At this moment, I completely panicked.
It no longer had any intention of fighting. Its massive body instinctively curled up and retreated, its rough python body rubbing against the mud and ice, making a dull grating sound. It only wanted to escape into the deep swamp behind it and flee from this place completely.
But Lu Heng's gaze remained unwavering, only cold and resolute.
He was perfectly clear-headed; he absolutely could not let it go.
The giant python was already severely injured, its mouth torn and flesh torn off, greatly reducing its fighting power. However, it was still the top predator in this swamp. The swamp had a complex terrain, with silt everywhere, waterways, and obstructed visibility. If it was allowed to escape and hide, no one could predict its whereabouts.
It will lie in wait, follow, and patiently wait for its opportunity.
If he escapes today, he will surely be ambushed in the future. At that time, he will no longer have the combat power enhanced by the drug, nor will he have the opportunity to get close and restrain him. His death will be inevitable.
More importantly, he was already in a terrible state.
Having endured the constriction of the python's body for an extended period, he suffered numerous hidden injuries, which were forcibly suppressed by the effects of the medicine. While his combat power appeared ferocious, his physical body was already on the verge of exhaustion.
Most fatally, the buff from the Tiger Potion never had a fixed duration.
This boiling, violent power might suddenly subside in the next second or the next moment.
Once the effects of the medicine wear off, the pain, fatigue, and internal injuries will instantly backfire on his entire body, and his surge of power will completely vanish. At that point, let alone slaying the giant python, he will even have a luxury of standing and protecting himself.
There is no turning back, no room for complacency.
Letting it go is to sow the seeds of your own doom.
While the medicine is still effective, their combat strength is at its peak, and the giant beast is severely injured and fleeing in panic, the only way to survive is to kill it on the spot and eliminate any future troubles.
Anger surged in Lu Heng's eyes. He gripped the hilt of his knife tightly with both hands, stepping on the muddy, bloody ground, braving the stench of the wind and the panicked flight of the giant python. He pressed forward step by step, refusing to slacken his efforts even slightly.