"Roar!"
The bitten Crocodile Lizard howled in agony, desperately thrashing its limbs in a futile attempt to counterattack under the pressure of impending death.
Yet its body remained tightly bound by layers of Vines, rendering all resistance meaningless.
"Hiss!!"
Under Snowflake's terrifying bite force and tearing, the Crocodile Lizard's neck emitted a horrifying "crack" as bones shattered.
Gradually, its struggling weakened visibly.
"Excellent work!"
Seeing this, Han Ning manipulated the Vines in his hand to probe forward, drilling into the smaller Crocodile Lizard's eyeball and turning its brain into mush.
Meanwhile, the other Crocodile Lizard, entangled by six Vines, erupted with its full strength, on the verge of breaking free from most restraints.
"Snowflake, finish it off—quick!" Han Ning commanded sharply.
He wanted to test whether there would be a difference in Energy gained between delivering the final blow himself versus Snowflake doing it.
Snowflake immediately released the second Crocodile Lizard, now lifeless, letting its corpse sink into the water.
Its yellow vertical pupils locked onto the first Crocodile Lizard as its hind legs propelled it forward like a vicious crocodile, lunging again.
Its fang-filled maw clamped down hard on the lizard's relatively soft underbelly.
Rip!
The tough scales tore easily under Snowflake's terrifying bite force, spilling slippery entrails and intestines.
"Screech…"
The first Crocodile Lizard remained restrained by Han Ning's Vines until its death.
Its massive body convulsed violently a few times before going completely limp, only its tail twitching sporadically.
The murky water rapidly darkened with spreading crimson as the heavy stench of blood permeated the rain-soaked air.
"Phew… Snowflake is far more capable than the likes of Chen Yan or Lu Minghu."
Han Ning exhaled slowly, his tense nerves relaxing slightly.
Two pure blue Energy orbs floated up from the Crocodile Lizard corpses, swiftly splitting apart.
The first orb came from the smaller lizard Han Ning had killed by crushing its brain.
After splitting, it was about the size of a glass marble and vanished directly into Han Ning's chest.
Once inside him, it transferred to Snowflake in a peculiar manner—unlike when hunting with other humans, where it divided midair.
[Druid Growth Progress +25, Current: 187/300]
[Vine Manipulation (Intermediate) Proficiency +3, Current: 187/200]
[Spiritual Power: 15/20]
A familiar warmth spread through his body, nourishing both flesh and mind.
[Swamp Crocodile Lizard Growth Progress +6, Current: 53/100]
Next came the second orb, from the larger lizard Snowflake had killed.
[Druid Growth Progress +30, Current: 217/300]
[Vine Manipulation (Intermediate) Proficiency +2, Current: 189/200]
[Spiritual Power: 17/20]
[Swamp Crocodile Lizard Growth Progress +13, Current: 66/100]
"There is indeed a difference."
Han Ning's eyes gleamed.
"When I land the killing blow, I receive about 80% of the Energy, while Snowflake gets 20%."
.
"For prey finished off by Snowflake, I take about seventy percent, while Snowflake gets close to thirty, maybe even a bit more... Overall, I get the lion's share, but Snowflake still gets decent nourishment."
This arrangement was perfectly acceptable to Han Ning.
He needed energy to level up and enhance his skills, and Snowflake's rapid growth was an indispensable part of his strength.
Whether the split was 8:2 or 7:3 didn't make a huge difference to his total energy gain, but it accelerated Snowflake's growth—a worthwhile trade-off in the long run.
"Hiss..."
Snowflake emerged from the murky water, shaking off blood and mucus from its head before sidling up to Han Ning's feet.
Its yellow slit eyes swept over the two sinking Crocodile Lizard corpses. Unlike its usual instinctive craving for other prey, there was no such hunger in its gaze—just like the last time Han Ning had fed it the flesh of its own kind.
"Other wild Crocodile Lizards eat their own, but Snowflake doesn't..."
It seemed that after forming the Soul Contract, Snowflake hadn't just gained intelligence—its perception of its own kind had also shifted subtly.
Perhaps, on some subconscious level, it now saw these wild Crocodile Lizards as kin rather than mere food.
Or maybe it was instinctively repelled by the Black Tide's aura.
"I'll let Snowflake try other species next time."
Ideally, Han Ning needed to find a cheap, abundant meat source for Snowflake. Otherwise, its voracious appetite would soon outstrip the human food they scavenged.
The stench of blood here was too strong—they couldn't linger.
Han Ning's gaze settled on the slightly larger Crocodile Lizard's corpse, and a plan formed in his mind.
"Snowflake, help me out."
He directed Snowflake to dive back underwater and use its sharp claws to tear off several large chunks of flesh—still attached to Scales—from the relatively intact hind leg of the larger lizard.
Dark red blood gushed out again, staining the surrounding water even darker.
Han Ning used Vines to bundle the pungent meat, then used Wang Mazi's cleaver to scrape off the outer Scales, leaving behind pure flesh. He wrapped it in a plastic bag.
"Let's go! Time to move!"
He climbed onto Snowflake's broad back again.
Splash!
Snowflake carried him swiftly away from the blood-soaked waters, heading deeper into the park.
Over the next few hours, the duo prowled the flooded ruins of Blue Bay Park like aquatic hunters.
Han Ning repeated his tactics.
Sometimes, he used half-submerged observation decks as hunting grounds.
Other times, it was the slanted roofs of pavilions.
Then, he'd have Snowflake swim slowly through nearby waters with a small, blood-drenched piece of Crocodile Lizard meat in its jaws—acting as live bait.
Whenever a lone Crocodile Lizard was lured by the scent, Snowflake would speed back to the ambush point.
If the target was too large, it would simply drop the meat and flee.
After taking down about six Crocodile Lizards, noon approached.
But the sky grew darker, and the rain seemed to intensify.
Han Ning's Spiritual Power was mostly depleted, and even Snowflake showed signs of fatigue. While killing monsters replenished Energy and improved physical limits, the recovery rate couldn't keep up with the high-intensity hunting.
"Let's rest and eat something. I remember there's a small shop near the park's northern entrance—we'll check it for supplies later..."
Han Ning gave most of the food he brought to Snowflake, while he himself nibbled on a bottle of water and a few pieces of compressed biscuits.
As he ate, he took stock of his gains.
[Class: Junior Druid (Lv3)]
[Spiritual Power: 9/20]
[Skills:
Vine Manipulation (Intermediate): 197/200
Rapid Growth (Intermediate): 78/200
Rejuvenation (Intermediate): 38/200
Tree Skin Art (Intermediate): 12/200
Animal Companion (Intermediate): Snowflake (Swamp Crocodile Lizard Lv1 Growth Progress: 92/100)]
[Druid Growth Progress: 269/300]
Vine Manipulation was only 3 proficiency points away from leveling up.
His Druid level was also stuck at 269/300, still 31 points short of a breakthrough.
On the other hand, Snowflake was close to growing.
Its body had subtly grown larger again, its gray-white Scales gleaming with a cold, metallic sheen in the dim light. Its muscles were slightly more pronounced, appearing solid and strong.