An opportunity

A cool breeze swept slowly over the muddy swamp, carrying a faint smell of damp earth and decay.

Lu Heng stood on a dry, rocky slope, his gaze fixed on a strangely shaped, low-growing herb. It mingled with the tangled weeds yet stood distinctly apart, its stems and leaves firm and compact, its color a deep green without a trace of gray. Its shape was far too orderly; one glance confirmed that it was no ordinary wild weed.

He raised his wrist, and his bracelet glowed faintly blue. The instant the cursor settled on the plant, clear, straightforward information appeared, without the slightest ambiguity.

[Black Iron-grade herb: Muscle-Bone Grass]

[Effects: specifically soothes muscle strain, repairs minor hidden injuries to muscles and bones, and relieves aching and stiffness in the limbs]

The moment he read the entries, Lu Heng quietly breathed a sigh of relief, followed by a faint swell of delight.

The aching heaviness and stiffness accumulated through days of fighting, quarrying, and strenuous labor had never fully eased, weighing on him every moment. This herb addressed exactly those symptoms. It was the supply he needed most right now.

He bent down, his fingertips hovering above the leaves, about to pick it. But just as his fingers were about to touch the plant, he stopped.

A familiar trope from all the adventure stories he had read sprang instinctively to mind-precious natural treasures always had guardians. The more unusual a plant was, the more likely a vicious beast lurked nearby. Seemingly peaceful wilderness often concealed the most unexpected danger.

As soon as that thought arose, his relief vanished, and every nerve in his body tightened.

Lu Heng straightened, casting aside all complacency, and swept a sharp gaze across the entire edge of the swamp. Nearby, rocks lay scattered, weeds drooped, and the mud lay still, without bubbles, movement, or hidden shadows. A little farther away, the swamp water was as motionless as stagnant water. Extending farther into the woodland on either side, the vegetation stood still and dead branches hung motionless. The entire outer fringe was far too silent.

He slowly turned in a circle, checking every blind spot again and again. Empty. Nothing.

The guardian beast he had imagined lurking in hiding, waiting to ambush him, never appeared.

Lu Heng froze briefly, feeling an absurd disconnect from his expectations. He let out a slightly embarrassed breath of relief. He had frightened himself over nothing.

After confirming that his surroundings were absolutely safe, Lu Heng hesitated no longer. He gently pinched the base of the Muscle-Bone Grass and pulled steadily along the crack in the rocks. The entire herb came free of the soil and stone, fine roots included, its stems and leaves completely intact. He casually stored it in his bracelet's storage compartment. His objective was accomplished, and this low-lying marsh was dangerous to begin with; he should not linger.

But just as he began to move, a faint sound of churning mud and water suddenly came from the deathly silent swamp pool behind him.

Splash-

It was not loud, but in that utter silence, it was especially jarring.

Lu Heng's back tightened. He stopped dead and whipped around. On the previously undisturbed surface of the black sludge, a hollow piled with rotting weeds suddenly burst open, splashing mud and water everywhere. A sinister gray-brown shape shot over the soft mud, keeping low and moving extremely fast, charging straight toward him.

It was a lizard.

Several times larger than an ordinary wild lizard, it had a thick torso and short, powerful limbs. Its belly skimmed the mud with almost no resistance. Most unnerving was its mouth: its jaws were slightly open, clear, thick saliva dripping continuously, strands hanging between its teeth and giving off a chilling impression of deadly poison.

The moment he saw it, Lu Heng instinctively moved to raise his wrist and activate the bracelet's appraisal.

His fingertip had already touched the light screen, but in that instant, he stopped.

He came to his senses at once. The bracelet currently could only identify supplies and plants; it had no bestiary database at all. With no corresponding data in the system, an appraisal would produce nothing. It would only waste his fleeting time to react.

He could rely only on knowledge from the real world to make his judgments.

Images from wildlife documentaries flashed through his mind-lizards like this, with thick saliva that stalked close to the ground, most likely carried potent neurotoxins. If it bit him, given his strained, weakened body and rudimentary medical resources, he would have virtually no chance of survival.

A chill raced up his spine to the back of his head, and Lu Heng's heart tightened.

The Swamp Poison Lizard neither roared nor made any threatening display. It simply locked onto its prey in pure, silent focus. Its narrow, cold eyes remained fixed on him, its intent to kill naked and unmistakable.

It had targeted him.

Without a moment's hesitation, Lu Heng turned and sprinted toward the higher woodland.

He would not gamble on the venom or tangle with it at close range. Retreat was his only choice.

He sprinted up the loose-rock slope at full speed, covering dozens of meters in one burst, but when he glanced back, his heart sank completely.

The poison lizard had a terrifying sense of smell. It followed close to the ground, neither rash nor reckless, steadily tracking him. Whether he accelerated, changed direction, or circled the slope, he could not shake it.

Lu Heng fully accepted the reality.

There was no avoiding this fight.

He forced down his panic, swiftly steadied himself, and scanned the natural terrain around him for anything he could use.

The slope was steep, with exposed rock walls. Above hung a precarious boulder, weathered at its base and jutting out into empty air. There was nothing beneath it, and its heavy bulk had already loosened, held against the cliff by only a few fragments of rock. Nearby were fallen trees lying across the slope, thick grass and tangling roots, and scattered stones-all basic, realistic wilderness terrain.

There were no elaborate traps, only the raw advantage of the environment.

Lu Heng immediately backed away, deliberately slowing his movements to create the illusion that his strength was failing.

Sure enough, the poison lizard pursuing him along the ground took the bait. Its limbs drove hard against the earth, and it suddenly accelerated into a killing lunge, carrying the chill of the wet marsh with it. Its body stayed low as it raced straight for his ankles.

At the exact instant it charged into the blind spot below the slope and reached the space directly beneath the precarious boulder.

Lu Heng dropped the act. He strode forward, pressed his shoulder against the edge of the overhanging boulder, and shoved hard with all his strength.

Crack-

The weathered rock fragments shattered and fell away.

The entire overhanging boulder broke free at once and crashed down the slope!

Boom!

The heavy stone slammed squarely onto the poison lizard's back.

The poison lizard could not halt the momentum of its high-speed charge, and its body took the full force of the blow. A dull crunch of bones sounded. Its entire body instantly went rigid, its pushing limbs stopped, and its torso twitched slightly as it entered a brief state of stunned paralysis.

It had not died outright, but the boulder had severely injured and pinned it, stopping it completely.

The opportunity would vanish in an instant.

Lu Heng's gaze sharpened. He decisively abandoned the wooden spear, which offered little margin for error and lacked a sharp enough point, and pulled the iron axe straight from his bracelet's storage.

The iron axe's edge gleamed coldly, its blade weighty and sharp.

He rushed forward and, before the poison lizard recovered from its paralysis, raised his arm to gather force and drove his wrist downward!

Whoosh-

The axe blade aimed precisely at the soft skin of the poison lizard's neck and chopped down hard!

A gash deep enough to expose bone opened instantly. Warm, foul-smelling beast blood spurted out, streaming through the cracks between the rocks and staining the loose stones across the slope red.

The agonizing pain forcibly broke through its paralyzed state.

Severely wounded and bleeding, the poison lizard instantly went completely berserk. Its narrow pupils contracted sharply, its limbs strained, and its body twisted and struggled wildly. It forced its way free from beneath the boulder's edge and lunged at Lu Heng, covered in blood, snapping like mad.

Lu Heng was already prepared. He immediately retreated to evade it, switching hands as he pulled out his wooden spear.

Before the poison lizard could close in, he lowered his hips, exerted his strength, and thrust the spear upward at the lizard's side.

He deliberately controlled his strength, trying to deflect its lunging body, but days of strain made his exertion unsteady, with too much brute force. After several successive lifting strikes and struggles, the direct clashes produced a sharp crack. Unable to withstand the pulling and bending, the wooden spear snapped in two at the middle.

Only half the shaft remained in his hand.

His close-combat weapon was damaged, and the situation turned dangerous again. Lu Heng's heart clenched. After a brief moment of panic, he immediately reassessed: the iron axe was his only remaining main weapon. If he made a mistake with it, he would have no room left to maneuver. He absolutely could not recklessly clash head-on.

He quickly calmed down, stopped matching brute strength with brute strength, and began using the terrain to evade and wear it down.

He kept retreating, circling trees and using awkward corners among the loose rocks, always maintaining his distance from the frenzied poison lizard and preventing it from getting close enough to bite.

The enormous gash in its neck kept bleeding, scarlet blood continuously soaking the ground.

The next ten-odd minutes were a long, grueling battle of attrition. Every dodge and shift sent waves of pain through the accumulated injuries in his lower back and arms, making him think all the more of the Muscle-Bone Grass he had just acquired. The poison lizard lunged madly, charged, and circled in pursuit again and again, but the terrain always obstructed it, and the distance kept it strung along. Every violent movement tore its neck wound wider and made it bleed faster.

Its movements gradually changed from swift and frenzied to heavy, sluggish, and stumbling.

Its color gradually drained away, its body trembled more frequently, and its explosive strength continued to decline.

Bleeding, exhaustion, and severe injury-the threefold drain slowly sapped the Swamp Poison Lizard's life away completely.

Finally, after another futile lunge missed, its limbs gave out, and it collapsed heavily onto the rocky slope. Its body twitched slightly, unable to rise again. Only faint, trembling breaths remained, along with the lingering urge to launch a final counterattack before death.

Lu Heng still did not dare approach.

A wild beast's dying counterattack was the deadliest of all.

His gaze cold and grim, he gripped the iron axe, turned sideways to gather force, aimed at the poison lizard's head, and hurled it!

Whoosh!

The iron axe cut through the air, flying swiftly and powerfully toward its mark.

The axe's keen point instantly pierced the lizard's head and embedded itself deep in the soil.

Thud.

The poison lizard's body, which had still been twitching faintly and concealing strength for a counterattack, instantly went completely rigid.

The next second, all tension drained from it. Its entire body went limp and lay utterly motionless.

The frenzy had ended completely, and the threat of death had fallen utterly silent.

Only then did the raised bracelet finally display a delayed system notification.

[Contact with an unknown beast established. Bestiary entry successfully recorded]

[Black Iron-grade beast: Swamp Poison Lizard]

[Description: a predatory reptile inhabiting low-lying marshes on the forest's outer fringe. Secretive and patient by nature, it has an extremely keen sense of smell and excels at stalking and tracking close to the ground. Its mouth contains potent neurotoxins; close-range bites are fatal]

A breeze passed through the woods, dispersing the heavy stench of blood and leaving only scarlet-stained stones scattered across the ground and a hunting ground where everything was over.