Chapter 11: Main Text Chapter Eleven Overlord Salamander

Main Text Chapter Eleven Overlord Salamander

The undercurrents and eddies beneath the river surface grew stronger and stronger, impossible to stop, and we were involuntarily swept forward by the river's flow, while that huge monster behind followed us like a shadow.

Most of its body was in the water, kicking up wave after wave of spray; the mountain cavern of the river channel was pitch black, so we only heard its voice without seeing its shape, and judging from the sound, its length was no less than seven or eight meters.

In the final stretch of the underground river, the current grew even swifter; the four of us, fearing we'd be swept apart, clung tightly together and tumbled through a hole in the river while spinning.

Below lay a huge underground river, its water scorching hot, with countless tributaries identical to the channel we had just passed, jetting out of the rock walls like giant showerheads and merging into this main river below; both sides were dotted with protruding stone holes constantly spewing white-hot gas, and some fissures even glowed with dark‑red molten lava, indicating that this was probably the underground volcanic zone Luo Ning had mentioned.

The river water was too hot; we struggled desperately in the rapids to scramble onto a huge boulder by the bank, only to find even the stone was warm. Since the nearby lava's firelight provided illumination, I switched off my flashlight to save precious battery and asked them, "Did you get a good look? What the heck was that thing behind us? It's huge."

Dagezi and Luo Ning both shook their heads, having seen nothing clear; Ga wa was the worst off, having gulped a bellyful of river water, his stomach bloated round, and when he opened his mouth to speak he vomited several mouthfuls before uttering a word, rubbing his belly as he said, "Oh, I saw that Ga xiong following us behind; it fell into the middle of the river."

Just in case, Dagezi grabbed his bayonet, stood up to check the nearby river conditions, saying, "What water monster? Nothing at all." After speaking he turned to head back, when suddenly a blood‑red tongue over two meters long shot out of the river, coiled around his legs, flung him to the ground, and dragged him toward the water.

Thanks to Ga wa's quick eyes and hands, he stabbed the tongue hard with his bayonet; the creature winced in pain, released Dagezi, glared with two red‑lamp‑like eyes, and clambered out of the river.

It looked exactly like the salamander that Dagezi had shot dead earlier—frog‑like head, skinless‑crocodile body—but this salamander was enormous, over ten meters long, its skin flashing with iridescent scales, and as it swung its massive tail it fixed the group with a ferocious stare.

I hurriedly asked Luo Ning, "Lu Engineer, are you sure it doesn't hurt people? How can it be this big?"

Luo Ning's face went ashen as he stammered, "I… I was talking about the previous one… this… this is merely an Overlord Salamander, highly aggressive… it was already extinct in the Ice Age… I never expected to find one here."

No one had imagined that in this isolated, special environment a prehistoric beast long extinct would actually exist.

Salamanders of this subterranean kind are cold‑blooded, and the excessive geothermal heat has made the Overlord Salamander before us extremely ferocious; moreover, Ga wa had stabbed its tongue, the smell of blood provoking its aggression further, and besides, we don't know whether the salamander we killed with gunfire was its kin—so the feud is settled, and we'll have to fight to the death here.

I gave a look; Dagezi and Ga wa understood, each flanking the Overlord Salamander on either side, and our three‑person combat team formed a pincer.

The Overlord Salamander bellowed and brandished its claws at the three of us; before we could act, it swept its massive tail, knocking Ga wa to the ground, coiling around him, and flung open its blood‑filled maw to bite—though a salamander's mouth normally has no teeth, this Overlord Salamander's huge jaws bore three rows of razor‑sharp teeth top and bottom, and a single bite would surely be fatal.

Seeing the urgency, Dagezi and I lunged forward, using both hands to pry open the salamander's huge jaws from above and below, determined not to let it close its bite, for otherwise Ga wa's head would be gone.

As long as it had nothing to do with religion, Ga wa instantly became fearlessly brave; although his lower half was trapped in the salamander's tail, his hands never stopped, seeing the creature's rough, fire‑ and water‑proof hide, he had no choice but to jab wildly with his bayonet inside its mouth.

The Overlord Salamander, wounded and enraged in its mouth, summoned monstrous power, arched its body and flung the three of us to the ground; its strength was tremendous—I was thrown onto a rock, my blood surging, stars bursting before my eyes; Dagezi fell into the river but quickly scrambled back onto the bank, his whole body steaming white as he howled from the scalding water.

Trying to fight that colossal Overlord Salamander with only three bayonets was as futile as striking a stone with an egg; the four of us shouted and fled in panic, while the beast pursued relentlessly behind us.

The underground was nothing but volcanic rock and ash, soft and slick underfoot, making running an ordeal. To shake off the huge monster behind us, we climbed the steep volcanic rocks lining the river valley, using hands and feet, climbing higher and higher; when I was halfway up, I heard Dagezi shouting at me to be careful. I glanced down and saw the Overlord Salamander moving like a giant lizard along the cliff wall, tailing me, its distance now under three meters, its long tongue almost licking my buttocks. I wanted to jump down to escape, but I was too high to be sure I could land in the river; a slight mistake would mean a nasty fall on the rocks, so I cursed loudly, freed a hand, drew my bayonet, and prepared for a last‑stand fight—even if I died, I'd drag that monster down with me.

The other three also saw the Overlord Salamander about to catch up to me, but the cliff's slope was too steep for them to reach me in time; they gritted their teeth and stared anxiously, yet could do nothing.