Chapter 221: Pinched from Both Sides
The combat suit was not just an outfit to be worn. It had plenty of tools necessary for one’s survival, and all would be incorporated into such a suit. An example was the night-vision goggles fitted into the facemask, the air-filter mask, et cetera. Meanwhile, there was a small tank of compressed air by his waist.
Normal people would think that the air tanks that divers carried on their backs would be filled with oxygen when, in fact, they were not. Having a pure oxygen tank was actually very dangerous, and it might even induce oxygen-poisoning; as such, these tanks would all be filled with the normal balance of air, and this was no exception.
Xia Fei’s compressed air tank was not even half the size of a fist, and it could at most last him twenty minutes or so. It could only be used underwater for a short while. Any longer and he would need a larger, more specialized air tank.
*Splas.h.!.+*
Xia Fei plunged into the water head-first, his posture vertical and streamlined, so it did not make too loud a sound.
This lake at the heart of the cliff was wide. All he could hear was water flowing from every direction, yet he was unable to see its edges. Xia Fei was like a nimble loach, swimming right for the center of the lake, maintaining a depth of about fifty meters beneath the surface.
The water was numbingly cold, so it was a good thing he had the combat suit for protection; with the suit, the low temperature could not harm him while it also ensured that the water pressure would be negligible to him.
Xia Fei turned on the night-view function of his combat suit to see in the underwater surroundings, which had very low-light visibility that even his superhuman vision could hardly afford him any sight.
There were many schools of fishes swimming about in the water. These fishes were all snowy-white, a strange and soft horn on each of their heads. Due to the lack of light, their eyes had devolved into small, black dots, about the size of sesame seeds.
What made this quite odd was the fact that the closer Xia Fei got to the center of the lake, the number of fishes became fewer and fewer; it was as if they were intentionally avoiding the middle.
“Don’t you want to clear up the air about who really stole those martial arts techniques from whom?!” Darkshadow stood by a cave opening as he yelled across the lake.
It was evident that Xia Fei’s words had greatly stirred the old man, and it was already no longer that important who killed Greenshadow; Darkshadow was occupied with helping clear up the disciples.h.i.+p from being wrongfully branded as thieves, determined not to let the a.s.sa.s.sins bear the charge of thievery.
There was a skill or technique behind how he could speak so penetratingly, such that even Xia Fei could hear him loud and clear despite being underwater.
Xia Fei did not have the mind to explain things to Darkshadow, he was even more unconcerned if the old man would get depressed for not getting his answer. He sped up his swimming toward the opposite sh.o.r.e of the lake, where there were plenty of cave entrances tightly packed together. He would eventually be able to escape as long as he had the patience to search through them.
However, just as Xia Fei made it to the center of the lake, the water current abruptly accelerated, and a whirlpool quickly formed right there in the middle.
The lakewater pulled at Xia Fei constantly, and the originally calm surface was now subjected to churning waves. Xia Fei knitted his eyebrows tightly. All of the water began changing when they reached the center of the lake without any bias. This might not be a natural phenomenon but artificially created.
In order to avoid being detected, Xia Fei intentionally suppressed his swimming motion in the water, but with this sudden change, he no longer paid heed to such matters and began applying great strength to move all his limbs, rapidly making his way to the water surface.
Xia Fei was a speed ability user and had quite the explosive strength to boot, which was why the force of the pull from the whirlpool was not enough to prevent him from making progress.
Xia Fei broke to the water surface and swam effortfully toward the nearest sh.o.r.e. He had a nagging feeling toward this abrupt change of water current, and he was unsure if there was some unknown organism living at the center of the lake.
Darkshadow spotted him from afar and directed his yell Xia Fei’s way. “Don’t run! You have yet to explain yourself!”
*Splas.h.!.+*
Darkshadow impatiently leaped into the lake as well, continuing his pursuit of Xia Fei.
This was when that violent whirlpool on the lake suddenly disappeared, and what replaced it was a powerful aura that very clearly came from under the water.
Be it Xia Fei or Darkshadow, both were shocked by this immense killing intent. Xia Fei looked at the bottom of the lake and peered at it intently. A gentle tap of his finger on the protection goggles and the vision was adjusted to the maximum magnification possible.
What he saw was a silvery body in the murky depths making a mad charge toward him.
From the size, Xia Fei could tell that it was a gigantic python, roughly two hundred in length. Its jaws were wide enough to swallow an elephant whole.
“c.r.a.p—it’s a giant snake!” Xia Fei gulped.
Swimming effortfully with his two arms, Xia Fei did not dare to underestimate the enemy. He was not on land, so if he needed to engage in combat, both his speed and psychokinesis would be greatly reduced.
All he could rely on was his Beast Spirit Codex, but Xia Fei was not confident on how effective it could be when used against such a gigantic and fierce beast.
The perfect opportunity was a mixture of time, place, and luck; with none of the three conditions in his favor, attempting to get out of the water and onto land as soon as possible was his only option.
A good distance away, Darkshadow was showing an uncertain expression. Who would have guessed that there would be such a ferocious and big creature living in the middle of this lake? His finger lightly tapped a signal transmitter on his right arm and sent a call out. Darkshadow knitted his eyebrows and continued to catch up to Xia Fei quickly.
Darkshadow’s persistence went well beyond what Xia Fei had expected; not even the appearance of that giant python had deterred him from giving chase. He only had a single thought in mind at this point, and that was: Xia Fei could not die until the truth of the matter was revealed. He simply could not accept his disciples.h.i.+p bearing the guilt of thievery for no apparent reason.
As this python had lived many years in the water, it was well-adapted to a fight in this type of environment. The place was its backyard, and it knew everything about it like the back of its figurative hand. Though Xia Fei was fast, the python was even faster.
Xia Fei could thoroughly appreciate the severity of this situation. When a speed ability user faced an opponent with an even greater speed than they did, even the slightest disparity could be enough to be a death sentence.
He needed to get out of this awkward situation as quickly as he could.
Celestial Moon suddenly sprang out into the air and formed a series of steps leading to the safety of land in the distance.
Xia Fei rose from the water and landed fitfully on one of his disk blades.
Since there was no way for him to leverage on his speed while in the water, Xia Fei decided to bring this fight into the air.
The giant python very quickly understood Xia Fei’s intention and opened its jaws, flas.h.i.+ng its sizable fangs as it shot out a jet of white water.
Like a beam of white light, this powerful jet of white water shot forth.
Instantly, several steps from that flight of stairs he made with his disk blades got pushed off several hundred meters as they could not withstand the powerful impact.
Xia Fei’s special ability was speed, not flight, so he had no way of getting across when faced with a s.p.a.ce of a kilometer-wide, unless he somehow miraculously grew a pair of wings on his back.
Those disk blades could only withstand Xia Fei’s weight for a short time, and he was completely unable to fly with them. While he could forcefully use Demon Axe to increase the explosive force of his Celestial Moon, each use would require him to expend a large amount of mental energy, and using it back to back would very well be too much of an expenditure and cause him to faint.
Besides, Demon Axe was a powerful move used to kill his foes, and he was not in the least bit willing to use it just to escape his current predicament.
“F*ck it!” Xia Fei bellowed. He used 0.01 second to come to this decision and resolved to go all out against this silver giant python.
Though his chances of victory were slim, he still had some chance, while fleeing would only leave him in a pa.s.sive state. Darkshadow was already catching up from afar, and Xia Fei had no wish to fight two strong foes at once. It was best if he took one down first.
Xia Fei closed his two eyes. When he next opened them, a ray of light shot forth. It was an exclusive technique from the Beast Spirit Codex that was an ancient and unexplainable transmission signal sent through ocular cognition.
He activated Demon Axe at the same time.
Silver disk blades sliced through the water, leaving a stream of bubbles in their wake.
Using both the third stage of the Beast Spirit Codex and Demon Axe brought significant mental stress to Xia Fei, but there was no time for him to hesitate. When the failure of making a decision could result in suffering, a voice in his head would tell him that only by dealing a powerful blow with all his might could take down the powerful enemies he faced.
Any hesitation or cowering on his part would ultimately cost him his life.
When the silver giant python felt the a.s.sault of the Beast Spirit Codex, its mind descended into chaos. It was like a severed earthworm, writhing in pain in the water as if it had been subjected to an electric shock.
*Whoosh—*
Celestial Moon did not let this perfect chance slip by. Its blades did not disperse and attack separately this time. Instead, all of them went straight for the python’s head, because that was its most fatal spot.
Just as Xia Fei calculated, the eighteen-disk blades plunged into the head of that enormous python. Fresh blood spurted out at that instant, painting the lakewater red. The giant python was hidden in that cloud of red, making it difficult to tell the state of injury it had suffered.
Because he did not have any disk blade left under his feet to support his weight, Xia Fei splashed into the water, his eyes alert as he observed the situation underwater.
All this while, Darkshadow was still rus.h.i.+ng over to Xia Fei, and he was about to reach him.
Misfortune truly came in droves; Xia Fei gritted his teeth and retracted his Celestial Moon, ready to take on Darkshadow’s challenge.
All of a sudden, that silver python came charging vigorously toward Xia Fei from underwater.
It turned out that the beast was still alive.
Blood was flowing out from its head non-stop, and its eyes had turned even more savage as a result of its rage.
It opened its jaws wide; the sight of the rows of jagged fangs within was enough to make anyone shudder.
‘c.r.a.p!’ Xia Fei yelped in his mind.
Due to the fact that he was now in the water, there was no way for him to take advantage of Celestial Moon’s explosive power to the fullest. Not only did he fail to kill the giant python, he even ended up enraging it.
When a beast was completely enraged, their greatest fighting spirit would be evoked, and with how the pain from the injury might take up some of its attention, there was no guarantee that Xia Fei would be able to control it even if he disregarded his life and unleashed his Beast Spirit Codex again.
Darkshadow was several hundred meters away from Xia Fei, while the silver giant python would reach Xia Fei in two seconds.
Facing attacks from two powerful foes, it was hard to say what needed to be done.
Most people would feel despair when faced with such a situation, but Xia Fei was just the opposite.
In the face of adversity, his two eyes had turned bloodshot, the redness bright like a raging fire that consumed all.
JUST DIE ALREADY!” Xia Fei yelled in his crazed agitation.
His voice echoed in that rocky cavern, making it sound even more savage.
It was as if what he had uttered were not words but was a battle hymn for blood. The wildest and most unrestrained fighting spirit instantly exploded.
At that moment, Xia Fei had transformed from a human into a ferocious demon.
Darkshadow and the silver giant python froze in place due to the sudden explosion of will from Xia Fei. Neither had ever heard a human make such a deranged cry.
Like a tsunami wave, Xia Fei roared.
“Thunderfury!”