Lizard Lord - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Run Really Fast

With powerful forelimbs and large front claws, Tang Zhao had decent digging abilities. With enough patience, it was no problem for him to dig deep enough trap pits.

Of course, his claws and teeth were not as dexterous as human fingers. It took some effort to set up spikes and cover the pit with branches, but fortunately, the results were worth it.

He dug a small slope from the side of the pit. Tang Zhao stepped on the slope, stretched his neck, and bit the hind leg of the roe deer. With the force from his limbs and neck, he dragged it in front of him.

Tang Zhao held the deer's body with his front claws, and his sharp teeth pierced through the prey's trachea. Soon, it stopped struggling and lost its life.

He dug out a dagger from the ground and stuffed it into the prey's mouth. Tang Zhao quickly left while dragging the prey.

There was the scent of a wolf pack nearby. It was too risky to eat in the same spot.

As usual, he dragged the prey up a tree. After confirming that there were no threats around, Tang Zhao stuck his head into the prey's body and retrieved the blood core he needed.

He didn't waste the rest of the roe deer. He opened his mouth wide and enjoyed the feast, swallowing chunks of flesh.

Lizards couldn't swallow things directly like humans, so he had to tilt his head back to let the flesh slide into his stomach. It wasn't troublesome, but it felt strange.

【I still need 30 kilograms of meat, and three more blood cores. If I keep catching like this, I should be able to reach my goal in 4 or 5 days.】

He had caught prey using traps before. Including the wild boar, he had already consumed three blood cores, halfway to his goal.

【After one more evolution, I should consider migrating or confronting the monsters here. My strength should be comparable.】

While contemplating his future plans, a low roar reached his ears.

Tang Zhao was startled and quickly looked down from the tree. Two large gray wolves were prowling around, staring at him with fierce eyes.

【Did the smell of blood attract them? Or are they scouts from a larger group? Either way, it's not a good situation. I need to retreat quickly.】

Tang Zhao immediately looked around, searching for a viable escape plan.

Even though he had about a 30-40% chance of taking on two wolves, the problem was that wolves were pack animals. There were definitely more than just one or two.

【I'm too heavy to climb along the branches, and the nearby stream is too shallow for me to swim away. Running directly is not realistic either, as I can't outlast a pack of wolves. In other words, I have to give it my all.】

After making up his mind, Tang Zhao didn't hesitate. He exerted force with his claws and jumped down from the slightly tilted tree trunk, landing on the ground in a few steps.

Facing the two wild wolves, he used his hind legs to support his body, making himself appear as tall as possible, hoping to intimidate them into retreating.

But the two wolves paid no attention to this intimidation and directly bit towards Tang Zhao's relatively vulnerable belly.

Tang Zhao immediately lowered his body to force the two wild wolves back, then revealed his sharp teeth and bit towards one of the wolves.

Seeing that the surprise attack was unsuccessful, the two wolves quickly turned around to avoid Tang Zhao's bite, and then immediately dispersed, circling around Tang Zhao, looking for weaknesses.

Facing Tang Zhao's large and hard armored skin, they found it difficult to attack.

However, it was not easy for Tang Zhao to bite them either. They were agile and experienced in combat, so a direct attack wouldn't work.

As the two sides continued to engage, it became disadvantageous for Tang Zhao. He decided to change his strategy and pretended to focus most of his attention on the wolf in front of him, neglecting his defense from behind.

After all, wild beasts were still wild beasts and had never encountered such a deceptive opponent before. They fell for the trick.

While Tang Zhao and the wolf in front of him were in a standoff, the wolf leaped onto Tang Zhao's back and bit towards his neck from the blind spot.

If it managed to bite, even with the scales protecting him, Tang Zhao would not be in a good position.

But Tang Zhao was prepared for this. His neck was much more flexible than the wolf had imagined. He slightly turned his body, causing the wolf to lose balance. Tang Zhao then bit down on the wolf's jaw.

With a burst of strength, he pulled the wolf off him.

The wolf desperately kicked its legs, trying to push Tang Zhao away, but it had little effect against the much larger animal.

Tang Zhao held the wolf's head with his front paws, ignoring the other wolf that was pouncing towards him. He directly bit the wolf's throat.

The wolf immediately let out a whimper, and its strength in its legs weakened.

Releasing his grip, Tang Zhao pushed the wolf, which was undoubtedly dying, away. He was about to continue dealing with the other wolf that had bitten onto his left paw, but it let go and quickly retreated a few steps, creating distance.

With a hint of human-like anger in its eyes, it growled at Tang Zhao twice before turning around and choosing to escape. In the blink of an eye, it ran a distance of five to six meters.

【Too fast, can't catch up. I'll take this opportunity to run away.】

Tang Zhao quickly ran to the dying wolf and swiftly ended its life with a bite to its vital spot. He then quickly retrieved the blood core from its body and swallowed it, before swiftly stepping on the creek water and leaving the scene.

As for where to run, to be honest, Tang Zhao had no idea. He didn't know what kind of retaliation this action would bring from the wolf pack.

After thinking it over, he decided not to go out but to continue deeper into the forest.

Running directly out of the forest would be too far for him, and the outskirts were the territory of those wolves, which wouldn't bring any benefits.

The inner part of the forest was also dangerous, but spiders were creatures that relied on weaving webs to hunt, so their mobility was not as strong as the wolf pack. If he really wanted to run, he could.

With a plan in mind, Tang Zhao put it into action and moved forward into the depths of the forest.

The interior of the forest he saw this time was much better than before. Although the trees still appeared twisted and had some spider webs hanging from them, the webs were not connected into large patches, and he didn't see any spiders similar to the ones he encountered last time.

Feeling somewhat relieved, Tang Zhao began to search for a suitable dwelling for himself.

【Spiders can climb trees and dig holes without a retreat. The best place to hide from other arthropods is probably in the water, as most existing arthropods do not swim.】

Tang Zhao eventually found a pond and settled there temporarily.

Like many relatives, he could swim and was quite good at it.

At least he could immerse his body in the water while sleeping and then breathe with his head floating on the water surface.

After finding a suitable dwelling, Tang Zhao began to explore the surrounding environment. However, the results were strange, and he didn't know how to describe it specifically. He could only temporarily assume that "the forest is sick".

The trees were covered with spider webs, and giant spiders and insects were everywhere, but there were hardly any wild boars, deer, and birds that should be present in a normal forest.

Many skeletons could be found on the ground, with bite marks from arthropod mouthparts. The condition of the marks indicated that they were relatively recent, sending shivers down Tang Zhao's spine.

He was certain that there must be some special monsters in the forest, but he hadn't seen them yet, and he hoped he wouldn't have to see them in the future.

Fear didn't last long in his heart, and soon he shifted his focus to other things—such as whether giant arthropods had blood cores.

He could find fish and a small amount of prey like wild rabbits for now, but he still needed blood cores to evolve.

Previous Chapter | Index | Next Chapter