NOVEL WEB Ch. 8
Chapter 8: Driving the Mongoose to Devour the Badger
As winter drew near, those still roaming freely in the mountains and forests were inevitably creatures at the upper tiers of the food chain.
Snakes, relying on venom, agility, and concealment, had become top predators in the forest.
Yet, beings that could rival them—or even be regarded as their natural enemies—were not nonexistent.
Just like at this very moment, on a clearing ahead of Mo Lin, a honey badger was resting.
Because the honey badger had a flat layer of white bristles on its back, and because it acted with no scruples, daring to provoke even lions, it was also called “Flathead Bro.”
Moreover, honey badgers had a considerable resistance to snake venom.
Even if they collapsed from poisoning, their powerful claws could still tear a venomous snake in half before losing consciousness.
Even though Mo Lin now stood at the pinnacle of serpents, if he were to force a one-on-one fight with a honey badger, perhaps he had a fifty percent chance of winning, but the risk was too great.
He only wanted to complete his third Shedding before hibernation.
If he could take down the honey badger unscathed, that would naturally be best—the body of a natural enemy of snakes was certainly a great tonic.
But if he were injured, affecting his subsequent hibernation, that loss would outweigh the gain.
Thus, after glancing at the honey badger a few times, Mo Lin silently retreated backward.
Not long after leaving the honey badger’s territory, Mo Lin soon bumped into a group of creatures resembling weasels, though smaller in size.
Mongooses, also called mungos, lived in groups and fed on snakes, insects, and small mammals.
Though small and slender in build, their combat strength was particularly fierce.
They too could resist most snake venoms.
In his previous life, netizens jokingly said:
“Mungos eat King Cobras like eating spicy sticks.”
Yes, mungos—several sizes smaller than Flathead Bro—were also among snakes’ natural enemies.
Although the honey badger’s individual combat power surpassed that of a mongoose, the honey badger was solitary, and its snake-hunting tactics usually boiled down to three moves: charge, grab, bite.
As long as a solitary honey badger did not discover them, snakes could preserve themselves.
But the true threat of the mongoose lay in group combat.
Even if a snake could coil around one mongoose, the rest of the pack would tear that snake into shreds with their claws.
At this moment, seven mungos were devouring the corpse of a lizard on the ground, while five were “standing guard.”
From a distance, Mo Lin watched the sentry mungos and prepared once again to turn around and leave.
A pack of mungos was far too great a threat to him—making enemies of them was not a wise choice.
However, one of the sentry mungos suddenly turned its head toward his hiding spot and let out a sharp cry:
“Zhi zhi! Zhi zhi zhi!”
“Shua shua shua!”
The mungos that had been eating all abruptly lifted their heads, their gazes locking onto Mo Lin.
He had been discovered!
Mo Lin, who had planned to sneak away quietly, no longer hid his body and immediately began fleeing for his life.
“Zhi zhi zhi!”
Behind him, the sentries and the eaters all became attackers, chasing after the escaping Mo Lin.
The sight of twelve mungos tearing through the forest together was indeed impressive to behold.
But for Mo Lin, it was no such thing.
As he slithered desperately, he kept cursing inwardly:
“What’s wrong with this mountain? Isn’t it a bit too much to have this many natural enemies of snakes? With all this, how are there still so many snakes surviving here?”
Mo Lin did not know whether to call himself lucky or unlucky.
If lucky, then this mountain he reincarnated into had so many snake predators.
If unlucky, then after living here this long, he had never encountered them within his original territory.
Had he run into so many mungos when he had just arrived in this world, Mo Lin would not even have had the will to struggle—he would have just lain down to await death.
But now, after completing two Sheddings, Mo Lin had completely immersed himself in the survival mode of snakes.
The mungos outnumbered him and outpaced him; their threat level surpassed even that of the solitary honey badger.
Neither fighting nor fleeing was the best course.
If he wanted to survive the mungos’ pursuit and remain relatively unscathed, there was only one way!
With that thought, Mo Lin did not hesitate—he immediately shifted his escape route, heading straight toward the direction of the resting honey badger he had just encountered.
Behind him, the twelve mungos drew ever closer.
Closer, closer.
Lacking legs, relying only on body undulations to flee, Mo Lin could already hear the panting of the mungos behind him.
In just a few more seconds, their claws would land on him and toss him into the air.
After that, he would face the twelve mungos’ siege alone.
Even if he managed to survive their encirclement, he would hardly have the strength to live through the coming winter.
But for Mo Lin, that time was already enough.
Because his snake eyes had already spotted the honey badger ahead!
“Shua!”
Mo Lin narrowly dodged a mongoose’s claw, swiftly sliding to the honey badger’s rear.
Naturally, that mongoose’s claw landed squarely on the honey badger.
“Gu?”
The honey badger, disturbed from its dream, raised its head, not yet realizing what had happened.
At that moment, Mo Lin was already behind it, gazing at its completely unsuspecting figure:
“Sorry, Flathead Bro, don’t blame me.”
To survive, Mo Lin would use any means—even if it meant becoming a hyena in spirit!
The snake tail, which had once strangled Toads and Field Mice to death, coiled tightly around the honey badger, and then squeezed fiercely!
“Guwa!”
The drowsy honey badger was struck as if by lightning, its small eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.
Just then, the remaining eleven mungos arrived, surrounding the honey badger and Mo Lin in a circle.
To preserve Flathead Bro’s combat strength as his “comrade,” Mo Lin had not used his full strength in that “Constriction.”
Thus, after a brief daze, the honey badger quickly regained clarity and spotted the dozen mungos encircling it.
The bad-tempered honey badger immediately linked the culprit who had attacked it with the mungos that had surrounded it.
The honey badger, notorious for “fighting whoever it saw,” often provoked others without reason.
How could it tolerate being sneak-attacked like a hyena?
Without hesitation, the honey badger—over one meter long, with a brawny body, two sizes larger than the mungos—pounced directly at the mongoose pack.
“Guwa!”
Driven into madness by pain, the honey badger instantly drove its claws into the neck of the nearest mongoose.
That mongoose died on the spot.
Even in death, it could not comprehend—what was supposed to be a simple group hunt, how had it managed to provoke the world’s most fearless creature, the honey badger?
The death of one mongoose spurred the others.
Those that had shrunk back upon seeing the honey badger were enraged.
Mungos were famous for sticking together.
Faced with the enemy that had slain their companion, even if it were a honey badger, they would not retreat.
Thus, the remaining eleven instantly swarmed, employing pack tactics as they clashed violently with the honey badger.
The very Mo Lin who had just been pursued suddenly became the most idle bystander.
Watching the chaos before him, Mo Lin could not help but curl his snake mouth into a grin:
“The plan of driving the mongoose to devour the badger—massive success!”