Super Gene

Perhaps it was because of the snake group, but Han Sen did not see any other creatures. The Peach Forest seemed to be solely for the countless snakes.

Inside the Peach Forest, Han Sen had no idea how far he had now traveled. All that occupied his vision were snakes and trees. As he went, the roar of the bear came closer and closer.

From afar, Han Sen could see that a section of the Peach Forest was in chaos. Snapped trunks of trees were strewn about, branches littered the ground, and soil had been churned up in a mess.

He ascended a hill, and he finally saw the black bear. It was guarding the entrance of a cave, its body stained in blood. It roared to the sky. In front of it was the bone elephant.

The bone elephant’s trunk and tusks kept bashing the bloodied bear, and it was clear that the bear stood no chance against the enraged elephant. It had many wounds on its body, and blood oozed from its mouth. Still, it continued to guard the cave entrance and keep the elephant from passing.

”Does a treasure reside within the cave? Are both super creatures fighting for treasure?” Han Sen changed his position to get a good look at what was inside the cave.

What he saw inside was a smaller black bear, peeping its head out of the cave’s entrance. Now Han Sen understood why, despite its inferior strength, the black bear insisted on guarding the cave—it was protecting its child!

The bone elephant’s body was turning red, while the black bear’s body was turning pitch black. They were both strong when it came to vitality, and the scene of them battling, in view of the hill, was a shocking spectacle. Rocks had been broken, trees had been unearthed. Wood chips and leaves were mixed into the soil, and the ground trembled when the titans collided.

The black bear was huge, and he thought it was scarier than the frosty bear. The frosty bear possessed ice powers, but the black bear had powerful vitality. Even though Han Sen had his Flaming Rex Spike with him, he doubted it’d be able to penetrate the creature’s hide.

It was a shame that the bear had to confront a much more powerful enemy like the bone elephant. They were both magnificent super creatures, yet if one was weaker in one particular department, the weakness would be obvious for the other to see and exploit.

The big black bear held back a tusk that was being driven towards it. The power was too much, though. The bear was pushed back against the cliffside by the bone elephant, the cliffside developing a crack under the force. The tusk penetrated through the bear’s defense and skewered the bear. Blood coated the tusk that now pierced it.

Pang!

The black bear kicked the bone elephant’s neck, which made it fall back a bit. But the bear’s attack was, quite obviously, not very effective. The damage it dealt was negligible.

The snake crowd had disappeared, obviously not wanting to get close to the battle. The pink snake had gone, too. Han Sen had no idea why the pink snake had chased him here.

”It wouldn’t just send me here so I could enjoy the show, would it?” Han Sen furrowed his brow as he contemplated the reason.

But when he looked at the big black bear and the cub that was inside the cave, his eyes glittered. It was obvious that the black bear could not compete with the bone elephant. If it continued fighting like this, it would only be a matter of time before it died. What if this was a chance for another easy kill?

If the black bear could produce babies, perhaps its Life Geno essence was the same as the Golden Growler’s. Maybe it could be absorbed by humans?

Thinking about this, Han Sen got excited. Maybe this was Lady Luck smiling on him, providing him the opportunity to be the one who cracked the secrets of the Life Geno essence.

Han Sen then contemplated when might be the right time for him to strike. That was when he suddenly heard some noise come from behind. In fright, he turned around and saw the pink snake writhed around a branch near him. Repeatedly, it stuck its tongue out and hissed.

Han Sen froze in place. He had no idea when the snake had drawn so near. He hadn’t sensed its approach at all. That should have been impossible against someone like Han Sen, who had superb senses.

The pink snake was two feet away from Han Sen, and so he didn’t dare to move. He was afraid that the pink snake would strike if he tried anything.

The Flaming Rex Spike was too big for the snake, too. It was ideal for taking on big super creatures, but for something as small as the snake, Han Sen would need precision. The rex spike was too cumbersome and large to effectively target the snake.

The pink snake, however, did not intend to attack Han Sen. The snake watched Han Sen, and then it squeezed its body and broke the branch it had slithered along. It then writhed itself around the broken branch and used it to write on the ground.

Han Sen watched the pink snake with surprise. He had no idea what it wanted, but its intelligence was astounding.

Han Sen watched the pink snake hold onto the branch and draw a few simple lines, which eventually formed the shape of an elephant. Han Sen quickly realized it was referring to the bone elephant.

But Han Sen did not know why the snake was drawing. As he wondered why, he noticed the pink snake draw an ”X” on top of the image.

Seeing that the bone elephant’s picture had been crossed, Han Sen then understood that the pink snake wanted Han Sen to kill it.

Han Sen was flabbergasted. He thought the pink snake might have wanted to get an easy kill along with him, by targeting the black bear.

After all, the black bear had already been grievously injured and was severely weaker compared to the bone elephant. It would have been possible to wait until the bear was on the brink of death, before waltzing up and killing it in a single strike, even.

But the little pink snake wanted to get rid of the bone elephant instead, and this surprised Han Sen a great deal.

”Animals are animals. No matter how smart, they don’t understand the concept of stakes.” Han Sen underestimated the pink snake.

But the more Han Sen thought about it, the less correct his initial assumption seemed. He’d seen the intelligence of the super creature, and it was the king of its kind. Perhaps it did understand the stakes. It must have had a reason to deal with the bone elephant or maybe it just had a fleeting interest in the beast.

Han Sen remembered when he was under the giant peach tree, the pink snake and the black bear were the same. Inside them, there was no energy flowing. It was just a blur. But the bone elephant and the little black bear had a special energy flow inside them.

”Is there any connection between that and what’s going on now?” The more Han Sen thought about things, the more shocked he became.

If the little pink snake’s target were the creatures that had energy inside them, its desire to deal with the bone elephant seemed normal.

But now that the big black bear was heavily injured, if the little pink snake got rid of the bone elephant, the cub would have lost its protection. The cub might end up as another target of the pink snake.

After all, this forest did seem to be the pink snake’s territory. With its army of snakes, the other creatures could be considered outsiders. They didn’t have others to help them.

”These kings are always so menacing!” Han Sen shouted, in his heart. But hope still resided there.