Taking a Pill and Fighting for His Life

Lu Heng's heart sank completely.

There were no exaggerated thoughts, only the cold reality pressing down on my chest.

His feet were firmly planted on the cold stone ground of the bridge arch, his muscles tense to the limit, his breathing extremely shallow, and he dared not make the slightest unnecessary movement. The air was filled with the unique, sweet and pungent venom of the Mutant King Cobra. He inhaled a small amount of the venom into his lungs, his throat felt slightly dry, and his scalp tingled.

What he feared from beginning to end was never the physical strength of this Bronze Tier beast.

It's poison.

The Poison Fang and glands of the Mutant King Cobra pose an instantaneous and deadly threat. A single moment of carelessness, with venom on the skin or a gash from its Poison Fang, will result in instant death, regardless of physical strength or stamina, leaving no chance for treatment.

In front of him, a huge snake coiled up, completely blocking the bridge's escape route.

Thick, neatly arranged scales clung to its body like cast-in-the-wall iron, gleaming with a deathly sheen in the dim light. The pouch around its neck bulged slightly, and its narrow, dark pupils were fixed on Lu Heng, lying motionless yet always poised to strike at any moment, ready to unleash its venom.

The Bone Demon beside him was utterly devoid of intelligence.

There was no fear, no judgment, no tactics. Only the primal instinct for attack and destruction etched into their very bones.

It pushed off the ground with its limbs, charging forward stiffly and violently time and time again, its bare bony claws scratching wildly and its skeletal body savagely ramming into the ground. Each impact struck the snake scales with only a dull, heavy thud, without even wearing away the very outermost layer of scales.

With a slight sway of its head, the Mutant King Cobra could easily send the Bone Demon reeling and tumbling through the air with a headbutt or a sweep of its tail.

The Bone Demon got up and charged again mindlessly, repeating ineffective attacks. It could only become the most ridiculous harassment throughout the entire process, completely unable to restrain its opponent.

Lu Heng's eyes were icy cold.

He finally saw the gap between them clearly.

With the Bone Demon gone, the terrain sealed off, and no way to retreat, we've tried the Hunting Blade's slashes, tested different angles, and devised every safe attrition strategy.

In a head-on confrontation, they are completely outmatched.

If the stalemate continues, the only outcome will be either being instantly killed by the venom or being crushed and torn apart by the immense force.

Lu Heng's fingertips trembled slightly as he raised his hand to touch the Storage Space of the Wristband.

A dark red Blood Beast Pill lay quietly in his palm. The pill was slightly cool, and within it lay a violent energy, his last remaining trump card.

Without hesitation, without weighing the pros and cons.

Lu Heng tilted his head back and swallowed the pill directly into his stomach.

In an instant, scalding heat burst through the internal organs, flowing through the meridians and filling the limbs and bones. Relaxed muscles were forcibly pushed to their limits, dormant physical strength surged threefold, blood vessels roared and pulsed, and hearing, vision, and nerve responses were all forcibly elevated to their peak state.

But after just two seconds of perception, an even deeper despair pressed down.

Not enough. Far from it.

Even with a three-fold increase in physical strength, he lacked the ability to turn the tide against opponents of higher levels.

It only allowed him to barely keep up with the Mutant King Cobra's attack pace in terms of reaction speed; and to barely withstand a normal impact from the opponent in terms of arm strength.

If it comes down to a head-on collision and brute force, the outcome will still be one of being crushed.

He went from a sure-kill situation to a barely hanging-up game with only a sliver of health left.

Hiss--!

A sharp, piercing screech suddenly exploded.

The lurking Mutant King Cobra suddenly sprang into action!

The enormous snake body shot out like a black shadow, bringing with it a stench and a strong venomous aura. Its mouth was wide open, revealing two long, pale white Poison Fang that gleamed coldly as it aimed at Lu Heng's head and viciously bit down.

One bite, and you're dead.

Normally, Lu Heng wouldn't have had time to react at all.

Relying on the tripled reaction speed provided by the Blood Beast Pill, Lu Heng's pupils constricted, and his body instinctively twisted and retreated. At the same time, he gripped the Hunting Blade tightly with both hands, using all the power that had surged throughout his body to fiercely block and slash horizontally!

Clang--!

The ear-piercing roar of metal clashing echoed through the bridge arch.

The blade struck the hard, scaled surface, only creating tiny sparks and leaving a fleeting white mark.

The immense force rebounded wildly from the hilt of the knife, causing Lu Heng excruciating pain in his hand and numbness in his arm, which instantly stiffened. The tremendous impact propelled him backward three steps, his heels scraping against the stone ground, leaving two shallow marks. A violent, metallic taste churned in his chest, and a mouthful of blood rose in his throat.

He barely escaped the fatal bite of the Poison Fang fangs and barely survived.

That's all.

The Mutant King Cobra missed its first attack, but its ferocity was completely ignited.

It no longer lay low and probed; its body twisted and darted about wildly, its broad head constantly launching cunning attacks, sometimes lunging and biting, sometimes sweeping its tail across, its mouth always slightly open and closed, maintaining a venomous and intimidating posture.

Lu Heng remained on edge the entire time, his eyes fixed on the snake's mouth and Poison Fang.

He dared not take the attack head-on, nor did he dare to be greedy for offense.

Every dodge and every parry must prioritize avoiding the angle of the venom spit and the trajectory of the Poison Fang' bite.

The boost from three times the strength was used entirely to save my life.

They were constantly on the defensive, completely overwhelmed, and never had a chance to launch an attack.

The Bone Demon continued its mindless charging, getting knocked away and getting back up again and again, futilely wearing down the serpent's patience without causing any effective damage.

Lu Heng knew he couldn't afford to waste any more time.

Physical strength, nerves, and the effects of the pills are all limited in their duration. Once the effects wear off, he won't even have the chance to defend himself.

He opened his palm and presented the Geothermal Talisman.

Extreme high-temperature energy erupted instantly in front of him!

A scorching red heatwave instantly enveloped the front half of the Mutant King Cobra, accompanied by a piercing sizzling sound. The scales on its surface were instantly charred, curled, and cracked, and a strong, burnt stench filled the entire bridge archway.

This attack only resulted in minor injuries.

But the extreme burning pain drove the Mutant King Cobra completely mad.

It emitted a frantic hiss that nearly tore at the eardrums, its massive body tumbling, crashing against the walls, and whipping its tail wildly, causing the entire underground tunnel to tremble violently and sending rubble flying. The enraged snake head charged wildly, grazing Lu Heng's body several times, its Poison Fang brushing against the hem of his clothes, the deadly sense of death repeatedly brushing against his skin.

Lu Heng gritted his teeth, shrinking back to avoid the attack, not daring to relax for a moment.

The eruption of Geothermal wonders does not disappear instantly.

The high temperature continued to burn, seeping into the snake's body through the cracks in its scales, continuously roasting and carbonizing its flesh and veins.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

The ferocious struggle gradually weakened.

The Mutant King Cobra's rolling motion became smaller and smaller, its explosive power rapidly diminished, and its originally swift attacks became stiff and sluggish.

The continuous high heat gradually wore down its defenses and exhausted its vitality.

A few seconds later.

The massive snake's body suddenly stiffened.

With a heavy, muffled thud, it crashed heavily onto the rocky ground.

The robust body was now only twitching weakly intermittently, the enormous snake head drooping helplessly on the ground, its once deadly Poison Fang completely losing their threat, and warm, thick blood continuously gushing from its charred wounds.

The Mutant King Cobra had kept him pinned down the entire time and could have killed him in an instant was finally scorched by the Geothermal, dragging him half to death.

A brief silence fell.

Without a chance to catch his breath, the terrifying backlash from the Blood Beast Pill instantly engulfed his entire body.

The power that had just surged threefold was instantly and completely drained, as if someone had suddenly ripped the blood and blood from his entire body.

A deep-seated emptiness and depletion swept through his limbs and bones.

It's not fatigue, it's not soreness.

It is the extreme feeling of being on the verge of death, with blood rapidly disappearing and vitality continuously being depleted.

Lu Heng's limbs instantly turned ice-cold, his fingertips trembled uncontrollably, his legs went weak and numb, and his vision blurred and blacked out in waves. His chest felt empty, and even his heartbeat became weak and powerless.

He could clearly feel his blood withering and his vitality dissipating.

Delay for another three or five seconds.

Even without the beasts retaliating, he would die from blood loss in this bridge archway.

The terror of death gripped his consciousness.

Ignoring the fishy smell, the nausea, and all the physiological rejection and discomfort.

Lu Heng, supporting his swaying body, staggered to the side of the dying Mutant King Cobra.

He bent down, ignoring the burning heat of the wound, and pressed his cheek tightly against the huge, charred, and gushing wound.

In this desolate underground tunnel, he abandoned all dignity and instinctive disgust, and swallowed the scalding, fresh snake blood.

Warm blood slid down his throat, barely filling his rapidly depleting veins and keeping his last vestige of life alive.

Inside the bridge arch, only his hurried, heavy swallowing sounds, filled with a twisted will to survive, echoed forlornly in the cold darkness.