NOVEL WEB Ch. 9
Chapter 9: Mutual Destruction
After encountering the charging Mongoose, Mo Lin immediately thought of the Honey Badger he had met before, which was also his natural enemy.
Since both were natural enemies, the Mongoose and the Honey Badger were bound to be evenly matched.
If he operated carefully, perhaps he could reap benefits from their conflict.
Although this plan was bold, Mo Lin actually had a certain level of confidence in his heart.
If the plan failed and the Mongoose did not fight the Honey Badger, both sides would still be affected, holding each other back, and he would still have the chance to escape.
However, Mo Lin never expected that the Honey Badger would truly lower its guard against him, allowing him to maneuver beneath its body.
And the development of events unfolded exactly as Mo Lin had plotted.
The Honey Badger fought against twelve Mongooses!
The Honey Badger indeed lived up to its name as the most fearless creature on Earth.
At the very start, it seized the upper hand, mercilessly biting through the neck of one Mongoose, then fighting fiercely against the remaining eleven Mongooses with unstoppable ferocity.
Even though the Mongooses had the advantage in numbers, and even though they bit many wounds into its body, the Honey Badger—provoked—seemed to have activated a “bloodthirsty frenzy” buff, growing braver and stronger with each clash.
After several minutes of battle, seven Mongooses fled in terror, leaving behind five mangled corpses lying cold at the Honey Badger’s feet.
“Hu～hu～”
Even for the Honey Badger, whose combat strength was off the charts, surviving against twelve Mongooses came at a huge cost.
But for the Honey Badger, all of it was worth it.
The Mongoose corpses sprawled on the ground, and the bloody wounds covering its body, were all its medals of honor.
“Guwa.”
Seeing the remaining Mongooses flee, the Honey Badger walked to the corpses left behind and sniffed them.
Although Mongooses were not part of its diet, trying something new every now and then was not bad.
“Gu?!”
Suddenly, the Honey Badger jerked its head up.
In the heat of the battle, it had been too focused to notice.
But once it calmed down, the Honey Badger caught a scent in the air—it was the scent of its favorite delicacy.
Venomous snake!
There was a venomous snake nearby!
However, it was already too late.
From the very beginning, Mo Lin had secretly slipped under the body of the first dead Mongoose and hidden there.
Now he suddenly launched himself, sinking his fangs into the exhausted Honey Badger!
“Gu!”
Fresh from a grueling battle and mentally relaxed, the Honey Badger never expected a venomous snake to be so bold as to hide beneath its natural enemy, waiting for the chance to ambush.
Mo Lin’s fangs sank deep into the Honey Badger’s neck, and streams of protein-based venom surged into its body as though at no cost.
The Honey Badger’s blood, already rushing from the intense fight, quickly carried the venom throughout its entire body.
“Gu……”
The battered Honey Badger widened its beady eyes in shock, staring helplessly at the venomous snake with a triangular head clamped tightly onto it, while the snake’s tail silently coiled around its body, tightening bit by bit.
However, with its stamina depleted and the venom eating away at it, the Honey Badger’s consciousness grew hazy, unable to muster effective resistance.
“Ultimately, with its fearless character, the Honey Badger had created the glorious record of 5 kills and 7 fleeing Mongooses. Yet, on the eve of victory, it fell to the cunning plot of the venomous snake, cold and insidious……”
As he firmly locked down the Honey Badger, Mo Lin announced its death in his heart as though he were narrating a tale.
For using the scheme of driving Mongoose against Badger, Mo Lin felt no shame whatsoever.
Natural selection, survival of the fittest—for survival, any method was reasonable and justifiable.
The defeated had no right to comment; they must offer their lives as spoils to the victor.
Having been in this world for several months and experienced multiple brushes with death, Mo Lin had long seen this truth clearly.
If one day he were to die in a snake catcher’s trap, or be besieged by wolves, or ambushed by a crocodile while drinking, he would simply raise his head and sigh, “Truly, this world is full of heroes.”
Thus, looking at the Honey Badger that had died to his scheme, Mo Lin’s cold serpent heart remained utterly unshaken.
“……”
After carefully confirming that the Honey Badger had truly died from venom and constriction, Mo Lin slowly released it.
“Hiss, my head feels dizzy.”
To ensure he killed the Honey Badger, Mo Lin had shown no mercy, pouring all his reserves—his venom—into it.
The consequence was that, while he reaped the rewarding kill, he also felt a wave of dizziness, and his poison glands on both sides seemed on the verge of shrinking away.
“Looks like I’ll need a good rest after returning.”
“But to obtain a Honey Badger’s body unscathed, plus five Mongooses as a bonus, this deal is simply too profitable.”
Fearing that other predators might lurk nearby, Mo Lin did not linger.
He quickly carried the corpses of the Honey Badger and Mongooses back to his territory in several trips.
After devouring all six spoils, Mo Lin’s tail—which had once been broken and was slimmer than the rest of his body—had now grown back to its original size.
And once again, his body showed signs of dryness.
“Looks like the corpses of natural enemies truly do benefit my Shedding. Just this one time, I can clearly feel my progress advancing significantly.”
【Mo Lin】
【Strength: 82】
【Speed: 77】
【Agility: 81】
【Defense: 85】
【Demonic Power: 0】
【Abilities: Devour, Shedding, Poison Resistance, Snake Venom】
After examining his body’s condition, Mo Lin shook his head:
“Replicating such gains again won’t be easy. Last time was merely luck.”
“But still, after devouring the Honey Badger and Mongooses, even though I haven’t shed yet, I’ve made great progress.”
“If I were to fight a Honey Badger one-on-one, disregarding injuries, with my venom and constriction, I’d already be capable of hunting one.”
……
While Mo Lin’s plan of driving Mongoose against Badger succeeded greatly, at the foot of the mountain, smoke from cooking fires rose in a small village.
“Hong Wen!”
On the sandy ground, Hong Wen, who was scratching aimlessly with a branch in frustration, raised his head:
“Uncle Yun.”
At his family’s gate stood a sharp-eyed, dignified middle-aged man—Hong Yun, the “Uncle Yun” Hong Wen spoke of.
Hong Tianyun, younger brother of Hong Tianfeng, Hong Wen’s father, was one of Hongjia Village’s snake catchers.
Hong Wen opened the door in surprise and looked at him:
“Uncle Yun, why are you here?”
Hong Tianyun smiled and patted Hong Wen’s head:
“Hong Wen, what are you doing in the sand?”
Hearing this, Hong Wen scratched his hair in distress:
“Don’t even mention it, Uncle Yun. Last time we went to the mountain to catch snakes, one jumped onto my neck then ran away.”
“Although I wasn’t harmed, my father was frightened. After we came back, he refused to let me catch snakes anymore.”
“So now, he locked me at home to practice writing in the sand, while he went up the mountain alone.”
Hong Tianyun’s eyes widened in shock:
“Your father went into the mountain alone? Didn’t your family already catch enough snakes to cover the dynasty’s tax? Why go again?”
Hong Tianyun frowned, his brows forming the shape of the word “川.”
Everyone in Hongjia Village knew snake catching required pairs.
That way, whether faced with venomous snakes or wild beasts, there was always a way to respond.
Going alone was far too dangerous.
And Hong Tianfeng, being an experienced veteran in the trade, would never deliberately break the rules to enter the mountain alone.
“Utter nonsense. Hong Wen, did your father say why he went snake catching?”
Hong Wen hesitated.
Seeing his expression, Hong Tianyun immediately knew father and son were hiding something from him.
His anger flared:
“Hong Wen, what could you possibly need to hide from me? What could be more important than your father’s safety?”
“Everyone in Hongjia Village knows how dangerous it is to go into the mountain alone!”
“If your father has an accident while catching snakes, what will you do? What about your mother, your younger brothers and sisters?!”
“And now you still want to keep it secret? Are you so willing to disregard your father’s life?!”