Chapter 174 - 124: The Swordsmanship Club’s Situation! Can Extraordinary Creatures Be Eaten? I’m Already Full, So What Do You Think?

Chapter 174: Chapter 124: The Swordsmanship Club’s Situation! Can Extraordinary Creatures Be Eaten? I’m Already Full, So What Do You Think?

People can’t imagine what they’ve never seen.

Lying before them, the corpse of the Blood-tooth Python—a creature completely different from the Unihorn Catfish—was a profound sensory shock to everyone.

After a long while, the members of the Fishing Club slowly came back to their senses.

Many of them now looked at Chen Chong with deep admiration in their eyes.

They were tired of expressing their shock with words; at this moment, their gazes said it all.

"Brother, you’re seriously incredible. First killing a Giant Catfish, then slaying a Blood Python. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d die before believing someone could be this amazing. I, Zhong Fang, have never been truly impressed by anyone in my life. You’re the first!"

These words from Zhong Fang came from the bottom of his heart. If there weren’t so many people around, he would have kowtowed to Chen Chong on the spot.

Xu Jun laughed. "You’re not the only one. When the Blood Python had just died, I didn’t believe it either. Even now, I still feel like I’m dreaming."

Chen Chong said, "Alright, enough idle chatter. We need to save time. First, let’s figure out how to get this Blood-tooth Python back."

Zhong Fang said, "But this thing is huge. How are we supposed to move it?"

Xu Jun suggested, "Drag it with ropes?"

Zhong Fang was taken aback. "How many people would that take?"

Gazing at the enormous Blood-tooth Python, Chen Chong’s brow furrowed. Getting this behemoth back to the school was a genuine problem.

The Blood-tooth Python was nearly twenty meters long and over a meter thick. A body of this size, though not as large as the Unihorn Catfish, probably weighed no less than ten tons.

Without professional equipment like cranes or trucks, moving it by conventional means was clearly impossible, to say nothing of doing so in a complex environment like the jungle.

The only solution was to butcher it and transport the pieces. That was the only way they could possibly get it out...

"Let’s dismember it. It’ll need to be processed when we get back anyway. Rather than making a mess on campus, it’s best to handle it here."

Hearing Chen Chong’s words, Zhong Fang raised another concern.

"What you said makes sense, brother, but... this thing’s torso is so thick, and its scales are like steel plates. With the weapons we have, I’m afraid dismembering it will be difficult..."

Everyone looked troubled, glancing at the small knives in their hands and the crude iron weapons that had come from Cards.

The only weapons that could be considered sharp were the tiger-head broadsword in Xu Jun’s hands and the Tang Blade in Chen Chong’s.

But after the long battle of constantly striking the Blood-tooth Python’s hard scales, the Tang Blade was covered in countless nicks, no matter how well-crafted or sturdy its materials. It was practically one step away from being scrap metal.

"Brother Chong, should I take out my Mountain-Cleaving Axe?"

Xu Jun took out the Card for the Mountain-Cleaving Axe, intending to use it on the spot, but Chen Chong stopped him.

"Dismembering it with our own strength and weapons is too inefficient."

Under everyone’s puzzled gazes, Chen Chong looked down at the shadow at his feet.

With just a single glance, the Blade-Limbed Assassin Insect crawled out from the darkness and quickly moved onto the Blood-tooth Python’s corpse.

"What is that thing?" a member of the Fishing Club asked, startled and suspicious.

Most of the group looked at the Blade-Limbed Assassin Insect with confusion.

Besides Ning Yu, Xu Jun, and Qi Zhen, who had witnessed the Blade-Limbed Assassin Insect’s recruitment at the beginning, only the Tiger Striped Dog and the Lion-headed Goose knew of its existence.

In the time since, it had remained hidden in the shadow at Chen Chong’s feet the entire time. No one had noticed it, not even Jia Wen and Wang Biao.

"It’s called a Blade-Limbed Assassin Insect. An Extraordinary Creature I recruited."

Chen Chong explained simply.

"A Blade-Limbed Assassin Insect?"

The members of the Fishing Club and Zhang Meng’s group were stunned.

Looking at the bizarrely-shaped Assassin Insect, so dark it was hard to make out its features, a hint of doubt flashed across their faces.

’This little bug looks like a mutated spider... can it really split open the scales of a behemoth like the Blood-tooth Python?’

The Blade-Limbed Assassin Insect moved...

It raised its two forelimbs and chopped down fiercely.

At first, there was a clang of metal on stone, and the Assassin Insect’s two limbs were deflected.

This scene made many of the Fishing Club members laugh, as if they had expected this all along.

’Such a small insect. Even if its eight legs look like knives, there’s no way it could cleave through a Blood-tooth Python that even an axe couldn’t damage.’

Chen Chong, on the other hand, showed no change in expression, remaining as calm as ever.

The Blade-Limbed Assassin Insect circled the spot, then tapped the scales with the tips of its limbs as if sensing the prey’s hardness. And then...

Again, it raised its two forelimbs. The motion and height of the lift were identical to before.

The only difference was that this time, two streams of light flashed across its matte-black, blade-like limbs.

Although it was minuscule, Chen Chong still caught it.

SCHLICK—

As the blade-limbs sliced down, the Blood-tooth Python’s seemingly indestructible scales split apart like kindling, shattered by the sharp attack.

The flesh beneath was swiftly marked with a neat incision that extended all the way down until the beast was completely severed in two.

Even the scales on its belly were split open by this strike, which also left two finger-deep gashes in the stone ground below...

"Holy shit!"

Everyone was dumbfounded. They had never expected the Assassin Insect to be so terrifying, splitting the Blood-tooth Python in half with just two strikes of its claws.

’How could such a small insect have so much power?’

For a moment, everyone was shocked, and their gazes toward the creature became tinged with a trace of apprehension...

Chen Chong smiled.

Although he had anticipated the cutting power of the Blade-Limbed Assassin Insect’s strike, the result exceeded his expectations.

’As expected, it must have used its "Heavy Slash" and "Shell Breaker" abilities. That’s the only way it could have torn through the Blood-tooth Python’s tough scales so easily.’

’It really is a born combat creature.’

’If only I’d gotten it sooner, hunting the Blood-tooth Python wouldn’t have been so difficult...’

The Blade-Limbed Assassin Insect stood atop the corpse, motionless, staring fixedly at Chen Chong as if asking its master if it had done the right thing.

"Well done."

CLICK-CLACK—

The Blade-Limbed Assassin Insect’s mandibles clacked together, once again making the sound it only made when it was happy.

Then, it began to crawl over the Blood-tooth Python’s body. Its eight legs moved continuously, and the sound of tearing flesh and blood echoed through the cavern...

....

After half an hour of busy work, the massive Blood-tooth Python had been dismembered into several hundred chunks of meat of various sizes.

Based on the maximum amount the dozens of people present could carry at once, it would take at least four or five trips to get it all back to the school.

Almost none of the materials from the Blood-tooth Python went to waste.

Although no one planned on eating the snake’s internal organs, aside from the Snake Gallbladder which Chen Chong collected, the rest of the viscera was tossed directly to the Tiger Striped Dog, the Lion-headed Goose, and the Blade-Limbed Assassin Insect.

The dog, the goose, and the insect all ate with great relish.

For animals, after a successful hunt, the internal organs are often more valuable to eat than the meat.

Chen Chong emerged from the cavern entrance. In his hands, he held the most important parts of the Blood-tooth Python...

A pair of blood-red fangs, each over a meter long!

Beside him, Xu Jun, Wang Biao, Jia Wen, Zhang Meng, and Huang Mao were each carrying a hundred-odd-pound chunk of Blood-tooth Python meat.

The members of the Fishing Club, however, had improvised. They used local vines and wood to fashion back-baskets, carrying poles, and vine nets on the spot. They packed up several hundred pounds of meat and carried it out in teams of five.

The one carrying the most was Qi Zhen.

During the butchering, Chen Chong had deliberately instructed the Blade-Limbed Assassin Insect to peel off the scaly snakeskin.

Layer upon layer of snakeskin had been piled up, forming a small mountain several meters high.

Qi Zhen simply bundled it all up and hoisted it onto his back.

This much weight was no problem at all for an A-Level Transcendent like him, who specialized in physical training. The only inconvenience was that the snakeskin was so soft and voluminous that it drooped down and sometimes blocked his vision.

From a distance, you couldn’t see Qi Zhen at all. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought it was a walking pile of snakeskin...

Zhong Fang and another member emerged from behind, carrying the snake’s head. "Given the Blood-tooth Python’s weight, we’ve taken about a quarter of the meat this trip. We’ll probably need another three or four runs. I don’t know if we can finish before dawn."

Chen Chong smiled. "Isn’t this a good problem to have?"

Zhong Fang laughed too. "It really is a good problem to have. A prize this big... how long will it take us to eat it all? And it’s meat from an Extraordinary Creature, no less. Forget three or four trips—even if it took thirty or forty, I’d say it’s worth it!"

As he said this, Zhong Fang seemed to remember something. His expression grew conflicted, and he hesitated, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

"What’s wrong?" Chen Chong asked, noticing his strange behavior.

Zhong Fang finally spoke after some hesitation. "Brother, do you think meat from Extraordinary Creatures is edible? This stuff is different from normal wild animals. What if people can’t eat it? Won’t we just be asking for trouble by bringing it all back?"

Hearing this, Chen Chong wore a strange expression and turned to look at Xu Jun.

Xu Jun looked over as well, fresh blood still smeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Huh?"

"Not edible?"

"I’m almost full. What do you think?"

...