Chapter 20 - 20: Got It Having seen the Snow Mane feign death once before, Xia Hong naturally wouldn't be careless. Pretending to be dead is not a simple matter. Even in the past life, it was almost impossible for ordinary people to convincingly feign death. Simply closing your eyes and lying on the ground isn't feigning death; that's acting. To truly feign death, there are generally three steps; First, you need to stop breathing, and your body can't move; this is fundamental; Second, you must be able to control your internal organs. Although a person is motionless, their blood vessels and pulse are still active. By controlling the internal organs, you can stop the heart from pumping, halt stomach and bowel activity, and pause the pulse throughout the body. The final step is breath-holding. This breath-holding doesn't refer to stopping breathing but to cease emitting any breath. After normal creatures die, their bodies quickly decay, producing a very unpleasant odor commonly referred to as Corpse Qi. It's naturally impossible to emit Corpse Qi while feigning death, but at least you should be able to seal your living scent, confusing the opponent. Xia Hong hadn't observed Snow Mane up close, but judging from the cunning and caution of Frost Wolves, being able to trick them suggests that Snow Mane, as a kind of Cold Beast, must have a strong talent in feigning death. Last time, weren't the people at Da Shi Camp cautious? Humans in the Logging Realm always strive for extreme survival, if they could be tricked by ordinary feigning techniques, they'd have died countless times over. Just as Xia Hong suspected, the Snow Mane was indeed feigning death. At the moment when the Frost Wolf loosened its bite, the Snow Mane's two rigid and motionless pupils suddenly turned, exhaling harshly through its nose, its face becoming even more ferocious. Although its left hind leg was reduced to bare bone, the Snow Mane could still support itself on it, flipping over and charging at the Frost Wolf with the momentum of a mountain crashing down. The Frost Wolf realized it had been deceived and instinctively opened its mouth to bite again, but unfortunately, the Snow Mane didn't give it a chance, turning its back to crush it. The back of the Snow Mane is covered in spikes. The Frost Wolf's open mouth, one can imagine the consequence. Several spikes pierced straight into its mouth, unknown how deep they went, as the Frost Wolf let out a painful howl, dark green blood continuously oozing from its mouth. The Frost Wolf twisted and struggled on the ground, trying to get free, but the Snow Mane kept pressing in the direction it twisted, not giving it a chance. Until the Frost Wolf's head was twisted to its tail. Having a large body size certainly has its advantages, but in life-and-death combat, any factor can become the key to determining victory or defeat. The Snow Mane's large body size meant it only needed half its body to pin the Frost Wolf, and when the Frost Wolf twisted to its tail, its head finally had a chance to catch a breath. The Frost Wolf suddenly twisted its head, biting down on the part of the Snow Mane's tail under its abdomen, where the left hind leg had already been torn nearly apart. This solid bite left the Snow Mane instantly sapped of strength. The Frost Wolf quickly scrambled out from under its body, then with a swift step darted into the depths of the dense forest. It actually ran without looking back. The ultimate victor of this battle was the adult Snow Mane. Last time, the Frost Wolf won; this time, it was the Snow Mane who triumphed. It seems that, as low-level Cold Beasts, there's not much power disparity between Snow Mane and Frost Wolf, only differences in combat approaches. The Snow Mane has a large body, strong charging power, and excellent feigning death skills; whereas the Frost Wolf is adept at using terrain to its advantage, likes surprise attacks, and is quick and agile, most critically, it knows when to run if it can't win. Xia Hong watched as the Frost Wolf completely disappeared into the dense forest, then shifted his gaze to the limping Snow Mane heading towards the Small Torch, a trace of hesitation in his eyes. But the hesitation only lasted a moment. Xia Hong quickly glanced around, pointing to two of the trees, and spoke to Yuan Cheng and Xia Chuan: "See those two trees? When I start fighting the Snow Mane, each of you climb one and stay there. Unless I call you, don't move!" Having given his instructions, Xia Hong immediately rose from the snow, drew a stone axe from his waist, and swiftly charged towards the Snow Mane. He had to hurry; the Snow Mane was almost at the torch. That torch could heal the Snow Mane and even make it stronger. In the winter snow forest, scents are not easily distinguished. In this absolutely silent forest, sound is the greatest tool for any creature to identify enemies and their surroundings. Though he was fifty meters away, the moment Xia Hong spoke, the Snow Mane had already sensed him, but its instincts seemed to think the little crawler over there was no threat, so it kept moving towards the torch. Unfortunately, its left hind leg was too badly injured, making it too slow. Slow enough that Xia Hong had already reached its rear, the Snow Mane realizing danger, turned its head to glare fiercely at him. Facing a Cold Beast for the first time, especially an adult Snow Mane. Even though he knew it had just gone through a life-and-death battle and its strength was significantly depleted, Xia Hong still felt a bit nervous. Stay calm, stay calm. No matter what, it's still a beast. Xia Hong took several deep breaths to calm himself, then looked directly into the Snow Mane's eyes, gradually revealing a hint of fierceness on his face. This little crawler dared to look into its eyes, clearly angering the Snow Mane; with pupils reddened, it pounced swiftly toward Xia Hong. Unfortunately, due to the severe injury to its left hind leg, its speed was too slow. Xia Hong's gaze sharpened slightly. Instead of dodging the charging Snow Mane, he put the stone axe in his mouth, gripping it tightly, and spread his arms wide open. He expertly grabbed hold of the Snow Mane's two long tusks. Despite the severe injuries weakening the Snow Mane significantly, the abrupt impact still pushed Xia Hong back five or six meters. Bang... If he hadn't changed direction forcibly, bracing against a big tree behind him, dissipating most of the force, he would have been pushed much further back. "Six thousand four hundred pounds of force, yet it's still unstoppable. In its prime, an adult Snow Mane's full-force charge must exceed ten thousand pounds. No wonder it takes reaching the Earth-digging Realm to hunt them!" Despite the retreat, Xia Hong's hands still firmly clung to the Snow Mane's tusks. The Snow Mane raised its head and opened its bloody mouth towards the facing Xia Hong. Xia Hong saw this, his pupils constricted, he swiftly let go of his right hand, gripping the stone axe that was clamped in his mouth, taking the opportunity to swing to the left as the Snow Mane swung its head. Thump... A five- to six-meter long, sharp tongue resembling an icicle shot out of the Snow Mane's mouth. Xia Hong leaned aside just in time, as the terrifying tongue pierced straight through the big tree behind him. This was not over. Missing its target, the Snow Mane's tongue suddenly went limp, the portion that pierced the tree softening suddenly, curling toward Xia Hong's neck. The image of the person at Da Shi Camp, having their head sent flying after being entangled by the Snow Mane's tongue, was still vivid in Xia Hong's mind. He certainly wasn't going to let the Snow Mane succeed. In fact, just after catching the stone axe and dodging the long tongue, Xia Hong had already reacted. The moment the Snow Mane's tongue pierced through the tree, Xia Hong released his left hand as well. Gripping the stone axe with both hands, his legs on the tree kicked forcefully, propelling his body high into the air, hacking down furiously at the Snow Mane's tongue. Crack... Compared to Da Shi Camp's arrows and knives, the stone axe wasn't nearly as sharp. But it depends on where you cut. The tongue is one of the most vulnerable parts of almost any creature's body; the Snow Mane is no exception. The painful roar issued by the Snow Mane after its tongue was severed clearly showed it. Seize the opportunity to strike when it's down. With the tongue severed, the part behind the tree naturally lost its function too. With no more worries, Xia Hong swung the stone axe at the Snow Mane's open mouth in a frenzy, the fierce power forced the Snow Mane to retreat uncontrollably, but due to its leg injuries, it retreated slowly and haphazardly. It was swaying left and right on pure instinct. Meanwhile, Xia Hong shouted loudly at the trees: "Come down and hack its right hind leg, quick..." Two figures leaped down from the trees, jumping towards the back of the Snow Mane. The cold gleam from the stone axe flickered past Xia Hong's eyes, wide open from exertion. "Got it!"