Chapter 42: Snake Scales

"Ding!"

The crisp sound like metal collision, accompanied by the fleeting sparks in the cold air, rang out in the open space within the cave.

【Circle Slash】

The iron-grey arc-shaped sword light fell on the scales that were like black iron in the whistling sound in the blink of an eye.

"Ah... pain, pain, pain."

Xia Nan only felt a wave of sour and numb counter-shock force coming from the hilt, and even half of his body lost sensation in an instant.

And following closely behind was the incomparably intense pain from under the splint and bandage on his right arm.

He sat on the ground for a long time, and even his back was soaked with sweat, before he recovered.

He leaned tiredly against the stone wall, looking at the massive snake body that was as thick as a train before him.

And looked up at the ferocious snake head that was still staring at him with its icy green eyes.

He couldn't help but sigh.

"Sure enough, was I too wishful?"

Driven by the whimsical ideas in his brain, Xia Nan had been carrying out his loot collection plan vigorously just now.

Although he didn't know the specific species of this black snake, whether it was the scales or the snake gall, if he could bring them back to the town, they would likely bring him considerable profit.

It's just that this giant snake, which was already beyond the imagination of ordinary people, seemed to possess powerful defensive performance comparable to the most advanced armored vehicles.

Chop, hack, pry, drill...

In the past few dozen minutes, Xia Nan had used all his strength and thought of countless ways.

In the end, he even forcibly topped the pain on his body and used 【Circle Slash】, but still made no progress.

He even suspected that those cold and delicate black scales could still easily block and defend even if faced with bullets and explosives from the technological world.

In this situation, the dagger and longsword in Xia Nan's hand were like humans facing the "Water Drop" of the Trisolarans in science fiction novels from his previous life, primitive and powerless.

He had also tried to climb the snake's body, seeking to climb to the top of the cave where the giant snake's body was pinned by the stone cone—

The scales there must have been broken, and if he went over, he might be able to touch some fragments, even if it was just a few drops of blood.

It also ended in failure.

Those scales looked angular and flake-like, but in reality, the gaps between the scales were extremely tight, and his fingers couldn't penetrate them at all, making it difficult to borrow strength while climbing;

The edges of the scales were sharp, and with a little force, his hands would be covered in bleeding wounds.

And the giant snake itself was pinned to the top of the cave, even if he really climbed up, at that height, if he accidentally fell, it would be a death on the spot, and even a healing potion wouldn't save him.

Supporting himself with his still-intact left arm, Xia Nan slowly stood up with his back against the stone wall, and the decapitation longsword had already been sheathed.

Having seen a large number of magic beast loot collection methods in the 【Adventurer's Handbook】, he clearly knew how many precious treasures were hidden on such a giant snake magic beast.

"Unreconciled."

His expression appeared somewhat complex, and he forcibly shifted his gaze away again.

He couldn't get stuck in a dead end.

No matter how much thought and effort he spent, if it didn't work, it didn't work; if he couldn't do it, he couldn't do it.

"Come back later, if there's a chance."

The most important thing right now was to find the exit of this ghost place.

Xia Nan breathed slowly, calming his mood while cheering himself up again.

Carefully examining the open cave he was in.

Unlike the deep and long tunnel before, the glowing fungi on the stone walls around the cave were exceptionally active, filling the space with their faint blue light.

This also allowed Xia Nan to carefully and clearly observe the details that should have been hidden in the darkness.

"There are a lot of friction and impact marks on both sides of the stone wall, which should have been left by this giant snake before it died."

"According to the size of this snake, the size of the passage I came through just now is completely insufficient."

"Is there another exit, or some other reason?"

"The human corpses that were everywhere just now are nowhere to be seen..."

"Hmm?" 【4

Xia Nan's gaze suddenly paused.

He looked toward a corner deep in the cave.

But...

Walking closer, he saw it was a human skeleton slumped against the wall.

Unlike the scattered, fragmented bones he had encountered before, although this body had also become a skeleton, it was relatively well-preserved as a whole.

Lower legs, pelvis, ribs, skull...

Even a few scraps of dark blue cloth still draped over it, from which the style of a "robe" could vaguely be discerned.

And among all this, the most eye-catching thing was the pitch-black scale in the center of the corpse's chest cavity, which had pierced through the spine from the outside in and was embedded straight into the stone wall.

"What is this?"

Xia Nan's eyes lit up, and he was suddenly struck by a sense of pleasant surprise, like "finding a new path through the dark willows and bright flowers."

"Excuse me," he said softly to the corpse before him, then walked straight up to it.

He used both hands to pull the scale out of the stone wall.

He held it in his palm to examine it carefully.

The scale itself was diamond-shaped, about the length of a forearm, its surface pitch-black and lustrous; it felt cool and smooth to the touch, and while hard, one could also feel the inherent resilience it possessed.

Without a doubt, the diamond-shaped scale now in Xia Nan's hand was exactly the Steel-Tough Snake Scale he had exhausted all his energy to find but could not obtain earlier.

Recalling the exaggerated defensive power it had displayed earlier—where even his 【Circle Slash Spin】 with the Decapitation Longsword hadn't left a single scratch on its surface—

ripples stirred faintly in Xia Nan's heart.

After returning, perhaps he could find a blacksmith in River Valley Town to help him craft a piece of equipment using this scale as the primary material.

"It should be 'Rock Hammer'; I remember they have a custom service at their shop."

If he wanted to fully utilize its defensive properties, making it into armor or a shield would be best,

but the size might not be enough, and if it were a shield, he might still need to find a way to learn some relevant usage techniques.

Considering the sharpness of its edges, did the option of a small weapon seem possible too?

"I'll think about it after I get back."

Xia Nan shook his head.

He carefully buried the scale deep in his backpack.

He suddenly felt that his cautious demeanor was a bit funny.

If he really encountered something, given the defensive strength this scale had just displayed, it probably wouldn't be damaged even if he himself were reduced to ashes.

The unexpected harvest suddenly lifted his spirits.

He had intended to leave just like that, but suddenly noticed something else.

Beside the remains lay a tattered wooden sword, covered in dust and marked by the passage of time.

To be safe, Xia Nan held his breath and focused his gaze on the wooden sword.

Then, unexpectedly,

a long string of translucent information appeared before his eyes.

(End of chapter)