Chapter 48: A Predator’s Resolve
Growl!
When the crocodile saw Arthur heading toward it, it felt intense fear. It stared at the nearby lake with a kind of desperation, and realizing it would not be able to reach it in time, it resorted to its defensive skill in the hope of surviving.
A strange cracking sound came from every part of its body, its long tail extended further, and several serrated bony protrusions grew on it, and its scales swelled, and tripled in thickness.
Within a few fractions of a second, its form changed, its size grew, and extremely hard and rough scales surrounded it from every direction, and this made it look like a living tank.
Arthur did not like what he saw, yet, he showed no sign of hesitation, on the contrary, the ferocity in his eyes grew, and he increased his speed.
He covered the hundred meter distance separating them within moments, and when he got close to it, and wanted to pounce on it, the crocodile suddenly swung its long tail, like a whip.
Swoosh!
The air screamed as though it were in pain, nearby tree trunks were destroyed, and began to fall. Arthur’s eyes widened, and he immediately realized he would not be able to withstand a blow like this.
He jumped high sideways, and at that moment, the tail passed directly beside him, to the extent that it grazed the tips of his fur, then fell on the ground where he had been.
Rocks were crushed, and the ground was torn apart. The crocodile let out a powerful hiss, then quickly pulled its tail back, revealing a massive and long crater, and a second time swung it like a whip.
"Shit." Arthur was still in the air, with no way to dodge. His thoughts quickened, and he scanned his surroundings instantaneously.
He noticed that one of the trees whose trunk had been destroyed was slowly falling beside him, without any hesitation, and with as much agility as possible, he twisted his body, and braced his legs on it, then pushed himself away.
The tail hit the tree, splitting it into two halves, one of them fell on the crocodile’s armored back.
Dust and leaves flew in every direction. The crocodile showed no reaction, and very slowly, took a heavy step backwards toward the lake.
At the same time, it continued swinging its tail, which extended and contracted strangely, unleashing an endless volley of attacks.
Arthur ran around it, jumping nimbly from place to place, using everything in his path as a foothold. He was like an annoying fly that simply refused to go away.
In turn the tail chased him wherever he went, shattering everything that got in its way, and little by little, the crocodile got closer to the lake.
To begin with, only a few meters separated it from the lake, but because of the negative effect of its skill, which had made its body heavy and stiff as a rock, its steps were very slow.
Arthur panted in extreme exhaustion, and his already depleted body began to stumble and slow, it became difficult for him to dodge, and automatically he realized that the crocodile would escape his claws, if the situation remained as it was.
’This cursed reptile, it is not giving me any chance to catch my breath, damn, I have already reached my limit, and if it escapes me, it is likely that I will not be able to hunt any other suitable prey.’
He pushed his mind to its limits, searching for a solution, but, unfortunately, he did not have any useful skill that could help him in this situation, and his offensive power was also insufficient to penetrate the crocodile’s defense.
Despite that, he showed no intention of retreating, or rather, he was not able to retreat, for hunting the crocodile was not merely a matter of preserving his dignity as a predator, but an urgent necessity.
While thinking about what he would do, he suddenly noticed that the crocodile had reached the lake, and had already placed one of its hind legs in the water.
’Damn, I have no choice but to take a risk.’ He gritted his fangs, and decided to make another attack putting all his remaining strength into it.
He nimbly dodged the tail, then suddenly changed his course, and headed toward the crocodile at his maximum speed.
The tail turned, like a snake capable of thinking independently, and attacked him again, forcing him to slow his speed, so he jumped high sideways.
In the air, and when the tail passed directly beside him, he swiped with his front claws, and struck it. Sparks flew in every direction, and the sound of metal clashing rang out.
A small crack appeared in the hard scale layer around the tail, and a few drops of blood seeped from it.
’This is not enough.’ He frowned in displeasure, and was certain it was impossible to get rid of the annoying tail.
A second time, he scanned his surroundings instantaneously, and the moment his legs touched the ground, he surged toward the crocodile’s head.
This time he did not let the tail stop him, he dodged it several times, and within just a few fractions of a second, he reached his target.
As an automatic reaction, the crocodile opened its mouth to its fullest, and placed it as a barrier between them, but this alone was not enough to stop Arthur.
As usual, he made a crazy and unexpected move, jumping high above the crocodile’s mouth, which was unable to jump and bite him because of the heaviness of its body, and after that landed on its back.
And of course, this was not the end, for he dodged the tail that wanted to hit him, then with complete fluidity and agility, descended into the water, and wedged himself in the narrow space under the crocodile’s rear, and slipped beneath its belly between its legs.
"Let’s see how tough you are now." He smiled wickedly.
He took a deep breath, then drove his head inside the large wound he had previously made, and with complete savagery, began tearing through its entrails, and eating its vital organs from the inside.
Growl!
The crocodile let out a roar filled with agony, it tried to struggle, but to no avail, Arthur was literally inside its body, and there was nothing it could do to reach him.
Even venturing deeper into the lake was not an option, given its slow speed, and the fact that it had lost the strength in its legs, because many of its nerves had been severed.
In the end, all it could do was scream in desperation and wait for death, and after a short while, all its strength gave out. Its defensive skill deactivated, and it fell to the ground as a lifeless corpse.
Inside its belly, Arthur continued eating greedily. Because of his intense hunger, he had completely forgotten that he had wanted to hunt the crocodile for the spider woman.
[ ... ]
The system screen appeared before him, and once again it was empty and filled with cracks.
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