Chapter 1122: Dividing the Meat

Xia Qing's gaze moved from the little bear that had swallowed an entire strip of meat in one bite, and turned toward the Python Lake, whose surface area was larger than Mountain Domain 60, its waters shimmering, her expression solemn.

On the lake's surface, a life-and-death battle for food was unfolding.

The giant python Xia Qing had shot dead 1500 meters out on the lake had been dragged away by some unknown animal and vanished without a trace.

After the segments of Yi snake Xia Qing had chopped up drifted a short distance with the waves, birds, snakes, and fish began fighting over this delicious food.

Birds that grabbed Yi snake meat and tried to fly away were bitten by large fish leaping from the water and dragged beneath the surface; small snakes that had just swallowed a chunk of Yi snake meat were coiled by larger snakes, and lightning-fast evolved birds skimmed the water and snatched up the tangled snakes…

In order to obtain food and defend their territory, killing raged every day, in every corner of the Evolved Forest.

The snakes in Python Lake need to hibernate, so when autumn weather turns cold they leave the lake and marshes to search for suitable hibernation spots.

Mountain 60 and Mountain 61, especially the area around this valley, should be their preferred habitat. Because on both sides of the river channel in the valley there are snake, bear, and wolf corpses. If the snake group only chose one mountain, they wouldn't have landed on both sides of the river at the same time.

The wolves and bears gather here both to obtain high-quality food and to protect their respective territories.

The pythons trying to seize territory for hibernation are not stupid in the slightest.

After those six giant pythons appeared 1500 meters from the shore on the lake surface, the white Yi snakes only began coiling around the Qiang snakes and coming ashore, which shows the white Yi snakes were driven ashore by the pythons.

This white Yi snake is prey that any carnivore wants to catch on sight, and the aura it emits is similar to the aura released by the big catalpa tree in Territory 3 when it budded in spring.

The big catalpa tree's aura makes Sheep Boss and Xia Qing emotionally agitated, wanting to bang against the tree and drive away the stem borers on it.

The Yi stone's aura makes Xia Qing agitated and angry, wanting to fight and tear everything apart.

The pythons drove the Yi snakes ashore to use the Yi snakes' aura to make the wolf pack and bear pack fight each other and weaken their combat strength. Then, based on the battle results, they would choose a safe hibernation spot.

That move is ruthless enough!

The corpses in this valley are the pythons' "battle record."

If not for the upgraded protective mask filter her idol—who stands at the very top of the pyramid, with far-sighted vision—had specially made for her to raise Xia Qing's safety coefficient in the Evolved Forest, Xia Qing would also have been disturbed by this scent, and the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Last year, a great battle also happened here, but not in September—two months later.

Last September no great battle occurred here. Xia Qing deduced it wasn't because the pythons didn't invade, but because at that time last year, the wolf pack's second combatant Broken-Back Wolf and Wolf Dog Lao Er were recuperating from injuries and illness in Xia Qing's territory, so the Northern Wolf Pack lacked combat strength, and the Head Wolf yielded part of Mountain 60.

Last November, the healed Broken-Back Wolf discovered Xia Qing had medicine that could boost combat strength, which led to the wolf pack's core members collectively soaking in medicinal baths to boost their strength and ambushing the python group hibernating on Mountain 60.

The bears on Mountain 61, which were in a semi-hibernating state, heard the commotion, were drawn over to snatch the meat, and it escalated into a three-tribe melee.

When Xia Qing was brought to Mountain 60 by Broken-Back Wolf, the Yi snakes had long been eaten down to nothing, and the Yi snakes' aura and magnetic field had dissipated, so she only saw the corpses of wolves, bears, and other snakes.

The wolf pack's combat strength this year is clearly higher than last year, and the Head Wolf no longer yields, so under the influence of the Yi synthetic element gas in this valley, the bear pack and wolf pack shifted from hunting Yi snakes to a deadly fight.

As for why the python group invaded the Northern Wolf Pack's core territory, Mountain 55, through underwater underground rivers last July, and why the bear pack joined the fight, Xia Qing speculates it may be related to Mountain 55 having pollution-free water sources and Yi stones.

To find out the truth of that invasion, she can wait until this battle is over and ask the high-brain-domain evolved Broken-Back Wolf. But Xia Qing feels this shrewd, stingy wolf probably won't tell her.

That's a matter for later—no rush. What Xia Qing needs to consider now is how to resolve the disaster before her.

As long as the pythons don't give up invading Mountain 60 or 61, they will keep driving Yi snakes ashore. If only Yi snakes are coming ashore, Xia Qing, as a human, shouldn't excessively interfere in the fights between evolved animals. As the wolf pack's fourth combatant, Xia Qing will do her best to reduce wolf pack casualties and capture some Yi snakes to bring back to her territory.

Best to catch a live one, so her idol can figure out which Yi synthetic element is contained in this snake's body, and whether this high-quality snake can be artificially raised.

She wants the dead ones too—she wants to eat this meat to boost her combat strength.

Other humans invading the wolf pack and bear pack's core territory to snatch the meat would definitely trigger large-scale conflict. But she can snatch it without trouble, because she's a wolf pack member.

The main problem now isn't the Yi stones, but the Qiang snakes that leave Python Lake and wander ashore with the Yi snakes or drift along the rivers.

Her idol said that the mass reproduction of Qiang snakes is very likely to disrupt the existing ecological balance of the Northern Evolved Forest.

Over the past half year, the Territory 7 research team has been tracking and studying Qiang snakes. But the underwater robots they deployed in Python Lake several times were all damaged by creatures in the water, so they couldn't confirm the number of Qiang snakes.

Xia Qing needs to return to her territory as soon as possible with the Qiang snakes, Yi snakes, and injured wolves, and discuss with her idol how to resolve this crisis at its root…

Seeing Xia Qing had caught so many Yi snakes without eating them, the wolf pack and bear pack grew restless, wanting to snatch the meat.

Lao Er stood behind Xia Qing, took a stance, and blocked the restless bear pack on the opposite bank.

The Head Wolf came to Xia Qing's side and nuzzled her with its body; Broken-Leg Wolf also jumped in front of Xia Qing and pawed at her arm begging for meat.

With so much meat, Xia Qing of course couldn't eat it all alone. Following the wolf pack's feeding rules, she opened one of the packaging bags and let the Head Wolf eat its fill.

Seeing the Head Wolf begin to eat, the wolf pack quieted down, the bear pack's roars grew louder, and the greedy little bear urged Does Daigua monkey to cross the river for meat.

Does Daigua had only crawled forward two steps when fierce Lao Er barked at it, and it didn't dare advance.

After the Head Wolf ate its fill, Handsome Giant Wolf walked over as a matter of course and began eating. Although it could eat a lot, Xia Qing didn't feel sorry at all, because Handsome Giant Wolf had lost so much blood from its injuries and needed to replenish itself.

After the Head Wolf and Handsome Giant Wolf ate their fill, Xia Qing took three relatively intact Yi snakes from the packaging bag, put two into sealed bags and stuffed them into her backpack, and the other wolves in the valley gathered forward—it was their turn to eat.

These are all the Northern Wolf Pack's main combatants.

Xia Qing stepped aside, and the wolf pack surged forward. Broken-Leg Wolf, Black Wolf, and Lao Er seized the best positions and started eating. Wolves that broke the rules and tried to snatch food were fiercely slapped away with paws and roared at in anger.

No wolf dared to snatch the snake from Xia Qing's hand, but the bears on the opposite bank bared their fangs at her.

Xia Qing didn't want to test the Yi snakes' attraction to bears, so she beckoned to Does Daigua monkey, which was hugging the little bear's leg. "Does Daigua, come here."

Although the wolf pack beside her was terrifying, Does Daigua, hearing Xia Qing call it, immediately leaped across the four-plus-meter-wide river channel and came to Xia Qing.

"Ah—"

Xia Qing handed it the strip of meat and pointed at the opposite bank. "Go eat with your companions."

Does Daigua leaped back across the river. Unexpected yet reasonable, it didn't hand the snake to its good friend but gave it to Xiong Wang.