Chapter 84: Section 85: I Am a Green Lizard (Two-in-One)
The night forest was a picture of tranquility, occasionally pierced by the roars of unknown beasts or the calls of nightingales.
Through the gaps in the leaves, one could see the bright moon hanging in the night sky.
Three hammocks had already been set up.
While at the Oasis, Lord Zhenjin had mutated into a gun scorpion leader, hunting a large number of Acid Liquid Green Lizards. With the stomachs of these lizards acting as water sacks, Cang Xu and the others focused their labor on making hemp ropes and coarse cloth.
They first made hemp ropes of various thicknesses, and then wove the finest of those into the most rudimentary coarse cloth.
Using this coarse cloth and hemp ropes, they then crafted hammocks.
...
Due to the scarcity of resources in the Oasis, and the massive amount of labor required, Lord Zhenjin and the others ultimately only managed to make three hammocks.
However, though they were a party of five, they didn’t need that many.
Each night, at least two people were assigned to keep watch. There were five in the small group, which left exactly three to enjoy the hammocks.
Resources were tight, and the three hammocks were the little team’s precious collective property.
In the center of the three hammocks was a campfire burning bright.
With no wind to disturb it, the campfire glowed orange, occasionally crackling and sending a few sparks flying.
The area had already been carefully checked by Lord Zhenjin, and there was no sign of any Fire Poison Bee Swarms.
Having nearly lost his life to Fire Poison, Lord Zhenjin naturally paid extra attention to this matter.
However, even if Zi Di had promptly informed Lord Zhenjin of the existence of Fire Poison Bees, Lord Zhenjin, who had just woken up at the time, did not have the ability to scout the vicinity.
Speaking of which, before meeting Lord Zhenjin, Cang Xu, Lan Zao, and the exploration team did not know about Fire Poison Bees either. They had lit fires in the forest many times without encountering any attacks from Fire Poison Bees.
Dinner had just concluded, and all five had eaten their fill.
For the time being, the team’s food reserves were ample. Even since leaving the Oasis, the five members rarely replenished their food and water en route.
They had made extensive preparations while at the Oasis.
Upon reaching the forested area, the abundance of resources far exceeded that of the desert, further easing everyone’s concerns about food and water.
Cang Xu, by the campfire, stared at the map in his hands. His aging eyes had weakened, and with one hand holding the sheepskin map and the other pinching his spectacles, he peered closely to see.
Sometimes, he would shift his gaze away from the map, murmuring calculations to himself, with his hands tracing crisscrossing lines on the ground.
Other times, he would take out a charcoal pencil and cautiously add a few black lines to the sheepskin map.
The charcoal pencil he used was created by burning one end of a piece of wood until it blackened and then whittling it down for use.
After studying for a while, Cang Xu looked up and laughed, reporting to Lord Zhenjin, “Lord Zhenjin, our progress is swift. According to my estimations, if we continue as we are, we should reach the place we first entered the forest within a day or two.”
This was mainly because, with the protection of Lord Zhenjin, the entire team’s pace had greatly exceeded Cang Xu’s expectations.
“I have some not-so-good news, though—we don’t have much of the pink potion left,” Zi Di said as she ground materials, speaking up after hearing Cang Xu’s words.
The materials she was grinding had been casually gathered along the route during the day.
This included the feathers and blood of Iron Feather Birds and the Green Spotted Poison Moss that poisoned Bai Ya, among other things.
The forest was rich in resources, unlike anything the desert could compare to.
However, the primary ingredient for making the pink potion was a heat-generating and luminescent ore, a food source for Monkey-tailed Brown Bears.
Zi Di had not collected this material.
The exploration team needed this pink potion for marking their route. Besides preventing them from getting lost in the forest, it could sometimes serve as a distress signal.
“How long can we last?” Lord Zhenjin asked.
Zi Di had already made calculations and answered directly, “If we use it sparingly, it can last for three more days.”
Lord Zhenjin nodded slightly, thought for a moment, and then replied, “That’s enough time. We needn’t go out of our way to search for the ore; our primary goal is still to return to our original location.”
No one objected.
After all that had happened, Lord Zhenjin possessed supreme authority and influence within this five-person team.
After further discussions, Cang Xu, Zi Di, and Bai Ya lay in their hammocks to rest.
Tonight, it was Lord Zhenjin and Lan Zao’s turn to stand watch together.
In the desert, two people would take turns watching each night, one for the first half of the night and one for the second.
However, in the forest, with the dense trees blocking the view, they had adjusted to having two people on watch simultaneously.
The night grew darker.
And the forest seemed even more impenetrable and frightening.
Predators often moved under cover of darkness.
This made the forest at night far more dangerous than during the day.
Lan Zao wore an expression of vigilance, reacting to even the slightest rustling of grass.
The recovery and addition of Bai Ya and Lan Zao greatly alleviated Lord Zhenjin’s burden.
Lord Zhenjin felt energized. Despite clearing the way as the vanguard all day, he was still responsible for night watch duty.
This wasn’t because his endurance had increased, but rather because the green lizard’s eyes were simply too useful!
With them, almost all hidden threats in the forest were exposed before Lord Zhenjin.
“In terms of practical value, the green lizard’s eyes are certainly top-notch,” Lord Zhenjin felt deeply.
Without the green lizard’s eyes, the young knight would have had to move forward slowly, cautiously exploring step by step, always tensely on guard, passively defending against surprise attacks from any direction.
With the green lizard’s eyes, Lord Zhenjin could detect crises in advance, take control of the situation, and actively allocate his physical energy and focus.
The difference in consumption of physical energy and focus between reactive and proactive states was immense.
It was a transformative change.
Squeak, squeak!
Suddenly, a shrill cry of an animal being attacked rang out from the nearby forest.
Lan Zao’s heart instantly skipped a beat, and his hand, which was always on the handle of his knife, immediately gripped it tighter.
But in the next moment, the squealing cry abruptly ceased, never to be heard again.
Lan Zao frowned deeply, his expression serious.
Without any special bloodline, although Lan Zao was at the Bronze Level of elite warriors, he didn’t have the ability to see in the dark. He could only use the faint glow of the fire to discern his surroundings.
Beyond a certain distance, all he could see was pitch black, unable to tell if there was nothing there or if an Evil Wolf or venomous snake lurked in the dark.
In the dark forest, scenes of survival involving hunting and fleeing were underway.
The campfire of the temporary camp had driven away many wild animals, but it seemed to have also attracted certain presences.
In the darkness of the forest, something seemed to stir more and more restlessly. Sometimes, it was the sound of dry branches being crushed; other times, it was the sudden rise of a mysterious call.
Lan Zao grew increasingly tense, feeling that something was slowly and quietly approaching the camp.
“I’ll go check it out. If anything happens, you must call out loudly,” Zhenjin spoke at this moment, instructing Lan Zao.
“Yes, Master,” Lan Zao immediately responded.
Zhenjin merged into the darkness, quickly disappearing from Lan Zao’s sight.
He too lacked the ability to see in the dark, so he activated his Heart Core.
His vision suddenly transformed dramatically.
The base color tone of the night forest became even more subdued, there was no wind, and the living creatures that could move radiated faint red, orange-yellow, fluorescent green, and other colors, more conspicuous than in the daytime. Sёar?h the novёlF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
During the day, Zhenjin had to rely on both human and lizard eyes. But at night, in the pitch-black forest, human eyes were almost useless, and both his eyes had transformed into lizard pupils.
Zhenjin first patrolled around the camp a few times, accurately eliminating several wild animals, temporarily clearing the threats near the camp.
Then, he picked a direction and delved deeper into the forest.
After moving a certain distance from the temporary camp, Zhenjin slowly stopped his steps and began to undress.
He stripped himself completely, then climbed up a tree and carefully placed his clothes in the treetops.
Then, he made sure to memorize this location.
If he forgot, he would have to return to the temporary camp stark naked. If Zi Di, Cang Xu and the others were to find him like that, it would certainly be embarrassing.
Zhenjin, without a stitch on him, descended to the ground and took several dozen more steps, looking around to ensure there was no one else before he started to activate his Heart Core.
Mysterious and eerie demon energy surged out from the Heart Core, rapidly enveloping his entire body.
Within a glow of red light, Zhenjin’s human form seemed to collapse like snow under sunlight, transforming into the shape of a lizard.
The red glow quickly dissipated, and where Zhenjin once stood, there was now no trace of him. Instead, an Acid Liquid Green Lizard took his place.
This Acid Liquid Green Lizard had sturdy limbs, a powerful long tail, and was covered in green scales.
Zhenjin observed himself; within his lizard vision, he could only see the vague outline of his own faint green form.
“The visibility has dropped, but it’s much better than that of the Silver Spear Scorpion.”
Zhenjin tried sniffing the air vigorously and immediately found that the lizard’s sense of smell was far more sensitive than that of humans.
“In the air, there seems to be… the scent of water?”
He opened his mouth slightly, sticking out a huge, dark purple snake tongue, successfully emitting a hissing sound.
Zhenjin moved his fore and hind legs, maneuvering the agile lizard body as he walked through the dark forest.
His progress was smooth.
The green lizard had four legs, which was similar to the feeling of crawling on the ground with hands and feet while lying prone.
Another reason was that this was not Zhenjin’s first time attempting to completely transform into a green lizard. Back in the desert, during the night watches when he was alone, he had transformed multiple times.
“But there are still many differences compared to crawling with hands and feet,” Zhenjin stopped and silently summarized his experience.
He turned his head to look behind him.
The biggest difference was right there—behind him—the sturdy tail of the lizard.
When transforming into the leader of the gun scorpions, the scorpion tail was thin and curved upwards, not much of a hindrance to Zhenjin. But as a lizard, the tail was thick, heavy, and long, dragging on the ground and being quite bothersome.
Especially when Zhenjin moved forward on all fours, the lizard’s tail would sway slightly from side to side. This swinging affected his balance, and the faster he moved, the more profound the impact.
“When the Acid Liquid Green Lizard runs, not only the limbs and the torso, but also the tail are coordinated together. Whether walking slowly or running, there is a perfect rhythm to the movements, a completely natural rhythm.”
“The lizard newborns, just emerged from their eggs, might be clumsy. But as time passes and they grow, through the exercises of hunting, fleeing, and playing, they will naturally master this movement rhythm.”
“But I haven’t.”
“I am like a newborn lizard, just born, yet with a fully grown lizard’s body.”
“Even though I’ve trained many times at night, I still haven’t been able to master the correct way of running as a green lizard.”
Zhenjin found his tail to be quite bothersome, yet he had no solution.
Just as he had secretly practiced the scorpion form, sharp turns remained tricky.
After all, he was human, and the time spent transformed into a Magic Beast form was far too short.
“There is water here, indeed.” Following the scent of water, Zhenjin found a small pool.
“As long as I have sufficient training, I’ll be able to completely master the shape of the green lizard at some moment in the future!”
Zhenjin encouraged himself inwardly and began practicing with his tail near the pool.
He first swung his thick long tail forcefully, creating whooshing sounds in the air.
Then he charged towards a large tree. After brushing past the tree, he swung his tail hard against the trunk.
The tree trunk shook slightly, its dense branches swayed even more, and the leaves rustled, but not a single one fell.
Pat pat pat…
In a series of sounds, Lord Zhenjin was using trees to train his tail.
After training for a while, he began to change his attack method.
First, he charged fiercely at a tree, then his limbs forcefully pushed off, sharply changing direction and using his massive body inertia to whip his tail against the trunk.
Pat!
The trunk shook, large pieces of bark fell off, and branches rustled loudly, almost as if a strong wind had arrived.
This mode of attack was much more fierce than before.
“With such force in my attack, even if a charging Ranger was coming at me, I could send them flying off their horse.”
“Hmm? That’s not quite right.”
“Lizards have short and stubby limbs; I wouldn’t be able to reach a knight on horseback.”
“Maybe I could try, in the moment when I swing my tail, to push off with my hind legs and prop my body up, forming a low-head, high-tail stance. That way, my tail could reach higher targets.”
Having thought of this, Lord Zhenjin began to try it out.
On his first attempt, he couldn’t control his strength properly. When he flicked his tail, he pushed off too hard with his hind legs and flipped his whole body over, landing on his back.
On the second attempt, he got the force wrong again. There was less upward thrust, but an increased forward momentum, causing him to nose-dive into the mud and grass. It was all too reminiscent of a dog face-planting.
Lord Zhenjin propped himself up on all fours, spat the mud and grass from his mouth, and forcefully snorted from his nose. After a bout of shaking his head, he finally cleared his nostrils and mouth.
The two failed attempts did not discourage him; they even fueled his motivation to keep trying.
After practicing a few more times, Lord Zhenjin’s moves became more fluid. But then he thought better of it and stopped this training regimen.
“Although I can hit higher targets, leaving my hind end suspended in the air makes the force of my tail whip considerably weaker than when I’m stable on four legs.”
“Moreover, having my hind end in the air leaves me briefly suspended. That’s a huge vulnerability.”
Lord Zhenjin knew the knight’s way of combat well and rapidly simulated a scene in his mind.
A Ranger charging at him, and he, as a green lizard, rushing to meet them. As they were about to collide, he whipped around with a tail lash, his back end lifting as his tail swung towards the Ranger.
But at the same time, the Ranger thrust his long spear forward, aiming opportunistically at… um… the green lizard’s rear.
At this point in his thoughts, Lord Zhenjin did not wish to simulate any further.
He went back to practicing the tail whip attack method he had started with, training diligently.
Hiss hiss…
Until Lord Zhenjin opened his mouth, taking in a sharp breath.
“I think I’ve twisted my tail!”
Pain shot intensely from his tail, making each slight movement feel like a barbed whip lashing against his head.
In this state, Lord Zhenjin had no choice but to stop his tail training and start the next.
He crouched on the ground, raised his neck, and suddenly his throat bulged, forming a round swelling.
The bulge moved, rolling from his neck into his mouth.
Lord Zhenjin strategically opened his mouth wide.
Then, the next moment, a glob of green Acid Liquid shot from his mouth.
The liquid hit a tree accurately.
The thick trunk, corroded by the acid, sizzled and emitted pungent smoke.
A few breaths later, the trunk bore a large hole and could no longer support the lush upper half; with a creaking sound, the tall tree fell to the ground with a boom.
Lord Zhenjin backed up a few steps and continued to spray towards the surrounding trees.
His ejected liquid almost always hit the targets accurately, with only one missing and hitting a stone instead.
After a few breaths, the afflicted trees fell one after another, creating a continuous boom.
The unlucky stone—although not small—dissolved away. This was to be expected, as the acid of the lizard could corrode even gold mica stone, let alone such ordinary rocks. If it were a silver-level green lizard’s acid, even a Black Iron Level gun scorpion would perish instantly, only the silver-level scorpions could resist it.
After so many consecutive shots, Lord Zhenjin felt weak, his head drooping down listlessly.
Spraying acid was not the green lizard’s normal combat method, but their trump card.
Green lizards would not use this trump card unless absolutely necessary.
However, for Lord Zhenjin, this long-range weapon was most suitable for him, as he also had the precision talent from the Hundred Needle Family. Despite scarce practice, his acid spray was much more formidable than that of any green lizard, almost never missing its mark.
After catching his breath for a while, Lord Zhenjin gradually regained some strength.
Weakness spread through his entire body.
His strong limbs felt limp, and his lizard body heavy.
At the same time, Lord Zhenjin felt his mouth and throat dry.
He was dehydrated.
Green lizards contain a large amount of water in their bodies, which allows them to synthesize corrosive acid. This means that after spraying their acid, green lizards would enter a state of dehydration.
Now, even if Lord Zhenjin wanted to spray his acid, he temporarily couldn’t.
Additionally, due to the lack of bodily fluids, the synthesis of the acid had also plummeted to rock bottom.
Lord Zhenjin moved his limbs and came to the edge of the pool of water.
The pool wasn’t deep and there were no signs of living creatures in the green lizard’s vision.
But, just to be safe, Lord Zhenjin did not take the opportunity to dive in and practice his swimming ability.
First, he flicked his tongue out, tasting the water. After determining there was no issue, he began to drink heartily.
A massive amount of water flowed into his stomach and then, under Zhenjin’s deliberate control, was stored in his other three stomachs.
“That’s really quenching my thirst.”
Zhenjin sighed softly and began actively controlling his internal organs, attempting to accelerate the production of acid liquid.
The water he had stored in his water stomach was squeezed out, flowing into the poison sack beneath his neck, beginning to transform into acid liquid.
“At this rate of transformation, by the end of the night, I should have a full sack of acid liquid. Just like before, firing off more than twenty times shouldn’t be a problem.”
Zhenjin had now discovered that when he transformed from human form into the complete Green Lizard, the acid liquid reserve in his poison sack was only half.
After several rounds of training, he had also unearthed the techniques for spraying acid liquid.
Normally, a Green Lizard would viciously shoot out its poison, often emptying its supply in one go, capable at most of two or three shots.
But Zhenjin would only spray out a small blob each time, deliberately controlling the nearby muscles, thus greatly increasing the number of shots.
Zhenjin looked down again, drawing water into his mouth.
This time, his method of drawing water differed from before, controlling different organ tissues and muscle groups.
This time, the water from the pool directly entered his poison sack, instead of going down the esophagus into the stomach.
This was the ability of the acid liquid Green Lizard to draw poison.
After being pricked by the poison stingers of the Fat Ball Flying Fish, Green Lizards can draw poison from each other to detoxify.
Moreover, the poison drawn in is stored in the poison sack, not only not endangering other organs of the body but also can combine with their own acid liquid to produce even more violent poison.
This kind of situation is not uncommon in nature.
Cang Xu casually mentioned a type of beetle in the desert afterwards. This beetle preys on ants, deliberately collecting formic acid. When the beetle encounters a predator mongoose, it sprays the collected formic acid, hitting the mongoose in the face, causing the mongoose to flee in embarrassment.
As Zhenjin lay by the pond without much vigorous activity for a long time, he felt his body growing cold in waves.
Temperature has a significant impact on the activity of lizards.
This is why Green Lizards hurry to the gold mica stone clusters every dawn, using the temperature of the stones to raise their body temperatures. After the increase in body temperature, they gain stronger physical abilities.
“Tonight’s training should about come to an end.”
Zhenjin finally approached the big trees.
These trees that had fallen to the ground had been corroded by a large extent, but there were still some treetops and branches left.
The corrosive power of the acid liquid had clearly weakened.
After all, with Zhenjin’s intentional control, the frequency of continuous firing increased, but the amount of each blob of acid liquid sprayed out was limited.
Although the trees were certain to be completely corroded, Zhenjin could not wait.
He touched the surface of the tree trunk remnants with his right forelimb, activating the Heart Core.
Red light emitted, red lines entwined around the tree trunk, and almost instantly retracted, leaving only a few ashes at the spot.
Even ordinary trees are living entities.
As long as it’s a living thing, it can be absorbed by the Blood Core.
But the converted demon energy was very little.
After dealing with all the remnants of the trees, there was no option in Zhenjin’s Heart Core to become a tree.
“The acid liquid damaged the essence of the trees’ life, so related bloodline absorption was very minimal.”
“If I directly absorbed a large number of trees, I should eventually be able to transform into a tree.”
Time was about right.
Zhenjin returned to the distance, transformed into human form, climbed the treetops, and put on his clothes.
It’s worth mentioning that the hole in the back of his trousers had been mended.
It was Zi Di who one day accidentally discovered him, sought out Zhenjin in secret, and mended it for him.
He returned to the temporary camp.
“Master, you’re back!” When Lan Zao saw Zhenjin, the furrowed brows immediately relaxed, and admiration was evident in his gaze.
Zhenjin had not been gone long when he heard a roaring sound, as if it was the sound of trees collapsing.
“The master must have encountered some fierce beasts and clashed with them.”
“Such intense noise, the lurking predators in the darkness must be terrifying!”
“But now the master is back, unharmed, even without a single tear on his clothes, or a drop of blood.”
“Impressive!”
“As expected of one who holds the power of the spirit.”
“Even the darkness where you can’t see your hand in front of you, cannot hinder the master’s steps!”
“You know, on this strange island, the master can only rely on the strength of his flesh… What would it be like if he truly could stimulate Fighting energy?”
Lan Zao stared intently at Zhenjin, unblinking, his gaze growing more and more fervent.
Zhenjin coughed, “Is there any situation on your side?”
“With the master in action, the camp is very safe,” Lan Zao immediately replied.
Zhenjin nodded, somewhat unsettled by Lan Zao’s gaze, “You stay here and keep patrolling, I’ll go check the other side.”
“Yes, master,” Lan Zao immediately responded.
His gaze followed Zhenjin’s retreating figure until Zhenjin was blocked by the trees.
“After experiencing a fierce battle, the master is calm and composed, at ease – this is the bearing of a strong one.”
“Or perhaps, the battle in the darkness just now was only for him to stretch his limbs,” Lan Zao inwardly praised immensely.