Infinite Hunter

After following him all the way, the beasts didn't dare to jump out and attack him. Cheng Yijiu returned to the town. The first thing he did when he got back to the city was to go to the local grocery store and antique shop. He even invited the inn owner for a drink to ask about the situation. The owner had been in the area for decades and of course knew where to find these things.

This place has experienced wars for many years in history. Arabs and Egyptians came and went and left behind many weapons. Cheng Yijiu was looking at the weapons in the antique shop. "Damascus knife! The real Damascus sword. Look at this ladder-like pattern." The boss said excitedly.

That's why he asked for a high price, but Cheng Yijiu would never accept being ripped off, so he chopped his foot off. The other party exaggeratedly said that if he sold it to him, he would definitely lose money and the store owner would hang himself.

As the boss spoke, he made a beheading gesture with his palm on his neck. However, Cheng Yijiu was hard-hearted. He immediately pointed out that the boss's so-called Damascus sword was basically a piece of junk, and he was willing to spend so much money to buy it purely for charity purposes.

The boss said, "This sword of mine cannot be tattered, otherwise I will be dragged away by a lion when I go out." Cheng Yijiu shouted, "This is actually a fake!" The boss said, "If it's a fake, I will eat it." After repeated bargaining, Cheng Yijiu finally bought the sword at a price that was two-thirds lower. Both parties were very satisfied and immediately became friends.

The boss counted the pounds happily, and Cheng Yijiu happily took the sword back to the inn - although it looked like a fake and a piece of junk, it was really a Damascus steel sword. This half-hand sword only needed a little careful grinding to restore its original appearance, and Cheng Yijiu happened to have the ability in this area.

There was a blacksmith shop here, and you could borrow it for a few shillings. Cheng Yijiu quickly finished trimming and polishing it, and even reforged it and heat-treated it. After sharpening it again with a grindstone, Cheng Yijiu looked at the ladder pattern on the sword and smiled, "I made a profit!"

In his opinion, this was definitely a forged Damascus steel sword from the late Crusade period. He was now grinding away the rust and reforging the edge. All that was left was fine polishing, adding the guard, and re-attaching the handle. Cheng Yijiu had to work on this quickly; he didn't have much time left.

His efforts to buy guns failed—it wasn't that there weren't any guns, but that there were few that met Cheng Yijiu's requirements. The weapons for sale were old, some even fired black powder. Cheng Yijiu naturally didn't want any, and he lacked the time and tools to make his own. So, he decided to just buy a couple of pistols and fight with his weapons.

If he used a steel sword, he was confident that he could repair the various protruding parts of the elephant's body. So after a night's rest, Cheng Yijiu set out on a hunting trip again - still in the same place as last time. To be honest, he was quite interested in Nandi bears. If he came across a Nandi bear, he wouldn't mind observing it carefully at close range to see what kind of animal it was.

Had the elephant attacked humans again during his absence? Now it seemed not so much a question as a fact—Cheng Yijiu had seen the mangled bodies of people, likely villagers from a nearby village. These poor black men had died horribly, their spears unable to save them from the elephants.

When Cheng Yijiu found them, one of the bodies was tangled like a dry towel, clearly strangled by the elephant's trunk. The trunk had practically crushed the poor creature's ribs, leaving him hanging like a rope. Another dead person had been crushed alive, and it took Cheng Yijiu some time to determine that the red dirt was actually a person who had been crushed.

The last few men were hacked to pieces. Cheng Yijiu immediately recognized the fragments as ivory—the work of the elephant's blade-like tusks. The cattle they had driven away must have run away, and the carnivores here were probably in for a good time...

Cheng Yijiu looked around at this hell. How long would this be? "Half an hour? An hour? It's strange why there aren't any vultures or hyenas right now?" Cheng Yijiu thought to himself, "Damn it!" He immediately drew his sword, jumped, and turned 360 degrees to survey his surroundings.

It was likely the elephant hadn't left, waiting to ambush him. Sure enough, just over twenty meters away, in the bushes, the elephant was swaying, its trunk twitching as it looked at Cheng Yijiu. Cheng Yijiu, too, held his sword in one hand, braced for a fight. However, a sudden reaction forced him to turn again, and within ten meters, a reddish-brown monster appeared.

Up close, the dog's head was even more obvious. This Nandi bear was truly enormous, about the same height at the shoulder as a polar bear, according to Cheng Yijiu's observations, and even larger than a European brown bear. Now Cheng Yijiu was being attacked from both sides, so he half-turned and stepped back, trying to take both beasts into his field of vision.

An electric shock-like feeling coursed through Cheng Yijiu's body. This was yet another extremely dangerous fight. Cheng Yijiu drew his gun with his left hand and opened fire at the nearby Nandi Bear. He emptied his six rounds in one breath and then dropped the gun. In a fight like this, he wouldn't have the chance to reload—he still had to find a chance to fire all six rounds from his other revolver.

Chapter 7 Fighting

Six bullets flew towards the Nandi bear under Cheng Yijiu's steady and powerful grip. He felt like at least four of them had hit the bear, but he wasn't sure if they had any effect. The hunting situation wasn't quite right this time, and he was already skeptical of the lethality of modern firearms. Furthermore, the revolver used black powder as propellant, making it far less powerful than his usual Magnum.

Cheng Yijiu gripped his steel sword and strode backward. The Nandi bear and the elephant didn't rush at him blindly. Instead, they continued to move closer, aiming to put Cheng Yijiu in the middle of the line connecting the two beasts. If he hesitated, Cheng Yijiu would be dead. The hunter continued to retreat, trying to avoid being on the line and instead position himself at one of the corners of the triangle. Cheng Yijiu also tried to recall the terrain, trying to find a narrow enough spot to allow the two beasts to be directly in front of him.

They had to take action. Cheng Yijiu didn't want another punishment mission. He could ignore the Nandi bear, but he had to kill the killer elephant. "It's really tricky." Cheng Yijiu was very calm now. If he panicked, not only would he lose the punishment mission, but he might even lose his life.

Cheng Yijiu was lucky. He quickly retreated into the bushes, which allowed him to quickly approach the Nandi Bear and see if another six rounds could kill it. Cheng Yijiu was also very decisive. With his sword in his left hand and his pistol in his right, he quickly approached the Nandi Bear, which was not far away. The previous few rounds seemed to have hit the air, but this time he wanted to see what he had hit.

He quickly fired off six more rounds, then tossed his gun aside. Despite the elephant's speed, it was now temporarily held back by the trees. He watched as the bullets struck the Nandi bear, yet the monster remained unfazed. "Damn it!" Cheng Yijiu thought nothing more, thrusting his sword forward and preparing to lunge, at least inflicting significant damage to the Nandi bear first. This creature was as tall as a polar bear at the shoulder, standing at a height of over three meters—a truly large bear, though likely not as heavy as the man-eating bears Cheng Yijiu had previously hunted.

The monster was indeed a bear, also attacking from a half-human stance. Cheng Yijiu only had one chance to strike before he quickly rolled over to face the elephant. His thrusts were unfortunate, yielding little success. The Nandi bear was thinner than any brown bear he had seen before. The strange, dog-headed creature twisted its body to avoid Cheng Yijiu's blow, only for one claw to be completely pierced—the Damascus steel sword was indeed incredibly sharp.

Cheng Yijiu quickly drew his sword, severing half of the bear's paw. This dealt a heavy blow to the bear, at least preventing it from attacking again so soon. With the elephant already imminent, Cheng Yijiu dove and rolled, still following the short tree. The trunk crackled with a crackling sound, the elephant's impact breaking the trunk, as thick as a man, with a single impact. Fortunately, the multi-bladed structure of its swinging tusks caught on the branch, effectively slowing the elephant's advance.

Cheng Yijiu seized the opportunity to roll over and directly attack the elephant's foot. Half-kneeling, he swung with all his might, clenching his sword in both hands. He aimed for the elephant's front foot, striking from behind, attempting to sever the muscle and ligaments. The strike was effective, the Damascus steel sword piercing through most of the blade's width before dragging and slicing out. Cheng Yijiu decisively rolled over again. The wound was deep, blood gushing out, but it didn't seem to have severed the ligaments.

The elephant roared with an earth-shattering roar, its trunk unleashing force to crush the branches and tree trunks—far exceeding the capabilities of an average elephant. While its trunk was powerful, it was also flexible, not a rigid crusher. As it swung its head, its blade-like tusks also shredded the embedded tree trunks. As for the wounds on its feet, the elephant ignored them and attacked Cheng Yijiu directly.

It was a low-profile shovel, its ivory blade slicing along the ground. Cheng Yijiu rolled over without hesitation, trying to escape the attack range while also dodging its trunk, which was more nimble than his hands. However, the elephant was clever enough to wield its trunk carefully, taking care not to overexert itself, thus being hit by Cheng Yijiu's sharp sword. If it had been hit now, with Cheng Yijiu's sharp sword, it would have likely chopped off a section of its trunk.

The elephant's front paw was injured. While rolling around, Cheng Yijiu noticed yellow mucus forming on the wound, which seemed to be condensing to stop the bleeding and stick to the wound. "Is it so fast to recover?" Cheng Yijiu looked at the scar on the elephant's butt. It had only been a short time, but the bloody wounds had completely healed, leaving only scars on the skin.

At this time, the Nandi bear also began to attack. The roar of this guy was very strange. The cooperation between these two monsters was hard to describe. Cheng Yijiu dodged to the side, trying to avoid the Nandi bear's big mouth, but the elephant did not cooperate to block Cheng Yijiu's dodging direction. So Cheng Yijiu dragged the sword forward behind his back while dodging, and easily cut open the side of the bear's body.

The injury wasn't serious. Cheng Yijiu felt the blade had only sliced ​​through the opponent's fur, probably not into the flesh. After all, the distance he was dodging made it difficult to exert force, and he simply took advantage of the change in their positions to let the elephant take the blow. The elephant's trunk, a beat slower, finally gave Cheng Yijiu an opportunity. With a flash of his sword, the elephant let out a deafening roar of pain. The trunk was split in half, and the pain must have been excruciating as blood gushed out.

At least it could attack with its trunk once more. The elephant wouldn't dare to do it again until the wound healed, but it could use its tusks, which again effectively contained the Nandi bear's counterattack. If the bear didn't want to commit suicide, it had to stop, otherwise it would have plunged directly onto the multi-edged tusks. Cheng Yijiu blocked the blade with the strong body of his sword, and then rolled backwards to take advantage of the momentum - how could human strength compare to that of an elephant?

"Huh? It seems I can actually hold up." After taking the force seriously, Cheng Yijiu realized the elephant's strength wasn't as formidable as he'd imagined. It seemed like if he just tried a little harder to steady himself, he could actually hold up. But Cheng Yijiu didn't want to try. If he couldn't hold up, he'd be dead. The tusks were nearly two and a half meters long, and a careless move would be enough to chill him to the bone. So Cheng Yijiu still had to fight from a distance. If he had to go head-to-head, he'd take down the Nandi Bear first.

Chapter 8 Hunting

Cheng Yijiu could only fight from the perimeter, hoping to see if he could inflict a heavy blow to the Nandi bear while dodging the elephant's attack. The bear had a weakness: due to Cheng Yijiu's previous stab, it had effectively lost the ability to fight with one leg. Its severed foreleg was completely useless, and with half its foreleg broken, it couldn't act as a weapon. With one forelimb injured, the bear's other forelimb was also half crippled, unable to exert any force.

To unleash its full combat potential, it would have to stand upright, and Cheng Yijiu was least afraid of the bear standing upright. Standing upright would expose many of Cheng Yijiu's vital points. Like humans, the entire central axis of the body is vulnerable—and the Nandi bear was certainly not as well-adapted to bipedal combat as humans. Although the elephant's foot had stopped bleeding, its speed had decreased significantly. Cheng Yijiu decided to find an opportunity to attack its hind legs so he could focus on the Nandi bear.

They still needed to rely on the trees in the copse. The acacia trees here were generally thicker, with thorny branches that spread out wide, and their height was ideal for blocking elephants. While elephants were powerful enough to crush trees, they weren't complete steamrollers. Cheng Yijiu ran as hard as he could, using the trunks of the trees to fling both the bear and the elephant to the same side. He then ducked forward and rushed to the side and rear of the elephant once again.

This time, Cheng Yijiu had a good chance. With his height, the most comfortable place to chop was undoubtedly the kneecap of the elephant's hind leg. Cheng Yijiu used a thrust, and with the blessing of his strength, the Damascus steel sword directly pierced the elephant's kneecap, and the tip of the sword even penetrated the front kneecap. Then Cheng Yijiu twisted the sword and dragged it, making the wound bigger, and quickly retreated to avoid being kicked.

The elephant's knee ligaments were completely damaged. Theoretically, this hind leg was completely incapable of exerting any effort. Once weight was added to it, the leg would quickly become unbalanced. Consequently, the elephant's movement speed dropped even further, and turning became difficult. Cheng Yijiu could finally focus on the Nandi bear—it was very thin, weighing perhaps less than 400 kilograms.

The bear-man rose to its feet and attacked Cheng Yijiu from above, its massive, dog-headed mouth gaping, its fangs stained with foul saliva. Cheng Yijiu retreated, then advanced, stabbing and slashing with his two-handed sword. He first deflected the bear's other paw's blow, then chopped off most of its claw. Then, with a powerful swing of his sword, he split the bear's chest and abdomen in half.

Cheng Yijiu struck at the perfect height, and the bear's fur resembled armor—at least that's what he felt, unlike ordinary bear hide. "Hardened armor," he thought, his movements unwavering. The sharp blade sliced ​​through the bear's hide, slashing deep, long wounds into the Nandi bear's flesh. The blood instantly stained its fur red.

"But this is still a flesh wound, because it didn't cause any damage to its internal organs. This bear will never fall down like this." Cheng Yijiu thought, and at this time, the elephant began to limp towards him. Although its trunk had not yet healed and could not launch an attack, its most brutal weapon - tusks - still chopped down. This elephant probably also knows the three-sword style and is quite skilled in using the knife with its mouth.

The elephant twisted its head, wielding its two tusks like two long swords, striking back and forth with surprising method. Cheng Yijiu couldn't help but curse, "Is there such an animal? Didn't you know it wouldn't become a spirit after the founding of the People's Republic of China? Oh, it's 1921 now, so that's all right." The elephant's expression was quite amusing, its trunk held high, fearing Cheng Yijiu would strike again—at least until the wound healed.

The hardness of the two tusks was comparable to the Damascus steel sword in his hand. At least Cheng Yijiu hadn't seen any flying ivory fragments. Logically, ivory shouldn't be this hard, but there was no such thing as reason in this world. Cheng Yijiu quickly approached the bear again, cunningly using the bear as an obstacle to block the elephant. The bear had a large gash on its side, and the bleeding was minor, but the critical issue was that the muscles were injured, making it less flexible.

Moreover, both of its front limbs were injured, and it was useless to move on all fours. It was impossible for a bear to run like a human. Cheng Yijiu directly lunged at the bear, pierced its throat with a sword, and then ignored it and began to concentrate on dealing with the elephant. But the elephant suddenly turned around and ran away. How could this be tolerated? Cheng Yijiu immediately ran to catch up - but the damn elephant's three legs could run straight much faster than a human, and it disappeared after turning around the woods.

Cheng Yijiu cursed and turned back to look at the Nandi bear lying on the ground. In fact, in terms of combat effectiveness, this bear was far inferior to the killer bears Cheng Yijiu had hunted before. The most crucial point was its weight. Even though its fur was as hard as armor, the disadvantage in weight meant that once Cheng Yijiu broke through the fur, he could directly cut through the muscles below. Those killer bears still had at least ten centimeters of fat to block it.

Cheng Yijiu didn't know why the bear was so skinny, nor did he know why it had a dog's head. It was even hard to say if it was a bear. Cheng Yijiu was truly utterly pissed off when he looked at the Nandi bear. Holding a Damascus steel sword, Cheng Yijiu wouldn't be afraid of a fallen bear, especially with the "mysterious" factor involved. How could a warrior blessed by Apollo be afraid of a mere, ordinary, weird bear?

Unless it is also a giant bear that has left its mark in mythology.

After all, Cheng Yijiu thought back and realized he had indeed done what Hercules should have done—he had indeed strangled two lions of mythical descent. Taking a closer look at himself, he realized he was about 1.80 meters tall, definitely considered tall for ancient Greece, and his muscles were incredibly practical. With the olive oil applied, he could be described as a statue.

The hunter examined the dead Nandi bear closely, almost convinced that it wasn't a bear at all. The dog's head was fine, but a closer look at its forelimbs revealed they definitely didn't resemble a bear's. The skeletal structure was completely off, and its tail was broken. Before it was broken, it must have been much longer than an average bear's, allowing it to form a stable triangle with its tail and hind legs.

Chapter 9 Night

If you look closely at this monster, you'll see its forelimbs are unexpectedly long, perhaps even proportionally longer than the slender short-faced bear. Its claws are also quite powerful, though unfortunately they don't make much of a difference. Cheng Yijiu believes this creature isn't a bear, but more like a giant ground sloth—a tuskless edentate, with teeth only in the back sockets. However, this creature's dog-like mouth holds four large tusks.

"Well, I don't know what this thing is. Maybe it's some kind of relict and evolved species of ancient creature." Cheng Yijiu muttered. Although he was not injured or bleeding, his muscle soreness was real, and there was no ointment here to relieve the pain, so he simply decided to go back and rest - fortunately, there was still enough time. If he guessed correctly, he still had at least a week.

Still, no ferocious beast dared to approach Cheng Yijiu, but this guy did notice that there seemed to be a lioness lurking in the tall grass on his way back - Cheng Yijiu could even strangle and skin the mythical male lion, so an ordinary lioness was nothing.

Even a sword made of Damascus steel needed to be maintained after today's battle—cleaning away the blood and grease, then re-polishing the blade, applying maintenance oil, wiping it off, and scabbarding it. Otherwise, the sword would become foul-smelling and rust. Cheng Yijiu felt that the most appropriate maintenance method was to clean it and then soak it in mineral oil...

Walking back to town, Cheng Yijiu scrubbed the sword with water and a soapy brush. He then carefully sharpened the blade and tip with a whetstone to restore its edge. Finally, he luckily found a small can of Vaseline, which he smeared on the sword and wiped dry with a soft cloth. He repeated this two or three times to complete the maintenance. After that, it was time to apply horse cream. Unfortunately, there weren't any decent massage therapists locally—he'd have to go to Turkey.

Cheng Yijiu could only apply the horse cream and massage himself—a bottle of it he'd brought back from his time-travel journey, so it seemed less restrictive. "It's pretty effective at relieving muscle fatigue," he said, feeling the burning sensation on his skin. "What conditions would it take for that elephant to run away or suddenly reappear?" the hunter began to ponder.

It was indeed something worth considering. In each of his encounters, the elephant had appeared and disappeared suddenly, forcing Cheng Yijiu to believe there was a supernatural element involved. This was precisely why his blessing was activated. "I think it's vision. It only appears or disappears when you can't see it," Cheng Yijiu thought seriously. He was now soaking in the bathtub, the warm water very comfortable.

Colonial masters lived comfortably these days, with ample manpower to provide for all sorts of luxuries. His clothes were washed and dried the day before, and even the ironed newspapers were delivered to his bed if he wanted them and paid for them. Unfortunately, Cheng Yijiu couldn't get a rifle of sufficient quality through his boss' connections.

He could only use his steel sword again, but this time he could also add a short spear—the inn actually had a few boar hunting spears, which Cheng Yijiu had obtained for a small sum. The spearhead needed to be re-sharpened, and the shaft also needed to be replaced. Due to age and lack of care, the spear shaft was no longer usable. After replacing the shaft, Cheng Yijiu quickly polished the rust-free spearhead and sharpened it, ready for use tomorrow.

Will the elephant come looking for him again? Cheng Yijiu thought it would.

There was nothing going on in the evening, so Cheng Yijiu listened to some music in the bar on the first floor. After drinking a few drinks, he went to bed.

For some reason, it was particularly hot tonight. Cheng Yijiu's sleep wasn't very good. He seemed to be asleep, but also seemed to be suffering from insomnia. He closed his eyes and felt drowsy. He needed to sleep to rest for tomorrow's hunting trip, but he couldn't seem to fall asleep. He felt groggy and hot. There seemed to be light outside the window, and someone was shouting, and there was the sound of something being broken, but Cheng Yijiu couldn't open his eyes. He was drowsy.

It wasn't until the whole room shook that Cheng Yijiu suddenly opened his eyes and sat up. A second tremor struck. Wearing only his boxer briefs, Cheng Yijiu took down his Damascus sword and grabbed the short spear he had just prepared. There was indeed fire outside, and many people were screaming. He could even hear gunshots from time to time. Cheng Yijiu rushed out of the room and jumped out of the window halfway down the stairs—and then half of the hotel collapsed.

Cheng Yijiu emerged from behind. The first thing he saw was the fire. There were flames everywhere, and Nei Ge and Bao Tou San'er were running around. In the glow, he saw an elephant. In the nightlight, the elephant seemed much larger than it had appeared during the day, a monster. It was wreaking havoc, ramming into the buildings, sweeping with its sharp, hard tusks like giant battle axes, hacking away at the supporting pillars.

Of course, its trunk was also a formidable weapon, easily ripping roofs off houses with a single tug. Furthermore, the elephant was still chasing the fools who were running around, either trampling them or piercing and hacking them with its tusks. The streets looked like a river of blood. Some people were shooting at the elephant, but from Cheng Yijiu's perspective, their bullets had gone awry in the panic, and even if they had hit, it seemed they wouldn't have harmed the elephant.

"Because it's blessed by some supernatural power. This elephant itself is some kind of supernatural power," Cheng Yijiu thought. It was a pity he didn't bring his demon-killing spray gun, which would have been very effective. But who would have thought that it was just a normal hunt for a mad elephant? Now the elephant was right in front of him, and it turned around very nimbly, as if it knew Cheng Yijiu was there.

Cheng Yijiu discovered that the guy's injuries were almost completely healed. "Is this considered a super strong self-healing ability or... the ability to recover by killing living things?"

There was no time to think about anything else. The elephant roared angrily and charged forward. Of course, it first used its trunk to swing the burning roof beam towards him. "You know how to use tools and your brain. Well, you're smarter than many people." Cheng Yijiu wouldn't be so foolish as to use his sword to chop off the thick beam. He simply rolled over to solve the problem, but of course the price was that he was covered in dust.

A panicked Baotou San suddenly rushed out from the alley next to him, screaming and shouting, but no one knew what he was saying. After he came out, he bumped into the giant elephant that was charging towards him...

Chapter 10 Injury

This Baotou Indian was indeed in a miserable state. He only saw the situation clearly after he rushed out, but unfortunately it was too late to escape. He could only let out a sharp and short scream, raising his hands as if begging for forgiveness from the elephant, or perhaps also praying to the gods he believed in.

However, it was useless. The unlucky guy was not specifically targeted by the elephant. The elephant just bumped into him. The man flew into the air and danced with joy. Cheng Yijiu watched as the guy fell to the ground on the road dozens of meters away, turning into a broken flour bag.

The elephant also rushed in front of Cheng Yijiu. The hunter, who was only wearing a pair of shorts, jumped up directly, rolled over, and exerted force on his legs again. He circled to the side again with the agility of a large cat. Cheng Yijiu felt bitter in his heart. The elephant's movements tonight were surprisingly agile.

He could have dodged it and easily cut in from the side, but a pair of tusks followed closely, nearly splitting his back. The elephant's turn was almost ghostly, so even if he was reluctant, Cheng Yijiu had to learn from his elder brother and start the parkour routine.

Using broken buildings to move invisibly was something Big Brother was good at, as was Nathan the monkey, but Cheng Yijiu had never tried it. Furthermore, the elephant pressed on relentlessly, its hide incredibly tough today—it didn't even get hurt when it smashed through those houses!

Cheng Yijiu himself had to be forced to try parkour. It took less than a minute for him to realize he wasn't cut out for it—he couldn't perform graceful and elegant parkour, instead appearing to stumble and fall awkwardly. But up until this point, he hadn't been hindered or tripped, and had successfully dodged several attacks, even earning himself a chance to strike out.

The elephant was facing Cheng Yijiu from the side, and it took a second for it to turn around. Without a second thought, Cheng Yijiu swung his right arm and threw the short spear at the elephant's side. One of the characteristics that made humans the most powerful hunters was their mastery of projectile weapons. And projectile spears were essential equipment for hunting large animals. Primitive people used this method to hunt mammoths, which were even larger than this elephant.

Thanks to Cheng Yijiu's incredible arm strength, the short spear pierced the elephant's shoulder with a mere hum. The thirty-centimeter spearhead penetrated almost completely, even the shaft partially penetrating. This meant a penetration of nearly half a meter—for an ordinary elephant, this would have been a serious blow. However, the elephant simply roared furiously and, with a twist of its trunk, pulled the short spear out, completely ignoring the gushing blood that followed.

The elephant threw the short spear somewhere unknown. The elephant seemed to have forgotten its injuries and directly knocked down the two-story building where Cheng Yijiu was. Until now, Cheng Yijiu still had no shoes or clothes, only a pair of pants. His only weapon was a Damascus steel sword. Now he had to face a wounded and mad elephant.

"It's nothing, just a chance to risk my life." If he could jump onto the elephant's back, the elephant would be dead. But unfortunately, he couldn't do it.

The elephant was quite intelligent. Although enraged, it didn't give Cheng Yijiu much of a chance. Even facing him, it cautiously kept its distance and didn't charge immediately. It was assessing Cheng Yijiu's situation. After all, it was a ferocious beast, so it attacked first. Its tusks and the wooden stake held by its trunk slashed down at Cheng Yijiu, and then it trampled on him.

What else could Cheng Yijiu do? He could only engage head-on. This elephant, in fact, gave him the impression of being inferior to the mythical lion. The key difference was their weapons—the lion was invulnerable to weapons and had extremely sharp claws and fangs, while this elephant only had strength and sharp tusks, and its defense was far inferior to the lion's. Therefore, even with a Damascus steel sword, Cheng Yijiu could fight this elephant.

From the outset, the elephant was in a commanding position, occupying a superior striking position, and Cheng Yijiu could only resort to rolling to save his feet. It was as if he was now seeking victory through risk—a direct, proactive dive from the front, diving under the elephant's belly. He narrowly avoided the sweeping blows of the elephant's tusks, the hammering blows of its trunk, and the continuous kicks from its two front legs. But the danger remained. The elephant's four legs moved like a tap dance, and Cheng Yijiu, regardless of the consequences, dodged and thrust his sword upwards.

He wanted to gut the elephant, and with one thrust, he stabbed it through its hide. But before Cheng Yijiu could pull it forward, the elephant actually rolled over, effectively knocking Cheng Yijiu's blade free and nearly crushing him. "Holy crap! Unexpectedly clever!" The dust rising from the elephant's head nearly blinded him, so he jumped back, breaking free.

The elephant stood up, its skin flushed red, and its subsequent movements became extremely agile—as agile as a 200-pound pig. This was a difficult situation. Cheng Yijiu relied entirely on his extraordinary reflexes to dodge, and he also had to be careful not to let the elephant take his weapons in the process of attacking. "What is this? A second transformation?" The elephant's skin was red, and so were its eyes. At first, Cheng Yijiu thought it was the blood from the wound behind its shoulder that stained its skin red.

It turned out to be nothing like that. While fighting Cheng Yijiu, the elephant also attacked other humans it saw as if they were stepping on cockroaches. Killing each person helped the elephant feel better. "Vampire elephant?" Cheng Yijiu could only think so. He had a few scratches on his body. Fortunately, he hadn't been cut by the tusk blade so far, otherwise he would have been finished with such impact.

The elephant launched another attack. This time, Cheng Yijiu was also very ruthless. He leaned forward and swung hard, aiming at the elephant's front feet. Anyway, Cheng Yijiu wanted to chop off one of the elephant's feet to see if it could still move so fast.

The tusks flickered, and Cheng Yijiu felt a heat on his side. He swung his sword perfectly straight, using the force of both directions to slice directly into the elephant's left forefoot. Cheng Yijiu's wrist went numb, and the pain in his palms made the elephant stumble. Severing the elephant's left forefoot with the broadsword was essentially the same damage as having a human hand severed at the wrist.

Cheng Yijiu himself also had a long gash on his side, but it didn't seem to hit any vital parts, so it was probably just a flesh wound. He bled profusely, and it would probably need stitches. After losing one of its front legs, the elephant slowed down, then crashed into a burning three-story building. Cheng Yijiu didn't chase after it; as he turned his head, the elephant had vanished again.

This town had been dealt a heavy blow tonight—at least thirty people had died, and nearly every house on this street had been damaged, with a third having collapsed completely. Only those made of reinforced concrete remained intact, save for minor surface damage. Half of Cheng Yijiu's hostel had collapsed. The local clinic was now overcrowded, and after the elephant disappeared, people appeared from nowhere to put out fires and loot.

Fortunately, the British garrison wasn't far away, and there were even some colonial police officers stationed at the train station year-round. Therefore, order was quickly restored. As the sky began to light up and sunrise approached, Cheng Yijiu finally had a doctor come to treat his injuries. His wounds required stitches, and since Cheng Yijiu had money, the practicing British doctor used some anesthetic and carefully performed the stitches.

The wound looked horrific, but after cleaning, disinfecting, and suturing, it was just that—the crooked stitches stretched for over thirty centimeters. Cheng Yijiu checked into a new hostel this time. Luckily, his luggage was there. After a thorough cleaning, Cheng Yijiu just wanted to eat a big meal and sleep for the day—he still had time. Surprisingly, no one paid much attention to the elephant's foot left on the ground, and the firefighters who came to put it out ignored it.

Cheng Yijiu later recovered the severed foot. "What luck!" he thought. The sword had sliced ​​right into the cartilage of the joint. Otherwise, if it had hit bone, the blade would have either bent or slipped out of his hand. The sword wasn't seriously damaged, and his wrist and other parts only had minor bruises. Applying ointment and massaging would heal them. He then found a woman in a specialized profession and, after paying her, asked her to give him a massage.

The woman's technique wasn't great, but at least she had the passion and the energy to apply the ointment all over her body. An hour later, the woman left, and Cheng Yijiu fell into a deep sleep. He truly needed a good rest to recover and heal his injuries. Compared to fighting a werewolf, fighting an elephant wasn't nearly as brutal. This sleep was almost dreamless, and when Cheng Yijiu woke up, his body was finally less sore.

He was starving, so he went downstairs to eat a whole roasted leg of lamb, several pounds of bread, and a large bowl of soup, and only then was he satisfied. Then he went back upstairs to sleep, waiting for daybreak to set out again to kill the crippled elephant. Where could the elephant be? Cheng Yijiu had a rough idea that the place where he killed Nandi Bear might not be far from the elephant.

This speculation has no basis and is just something he came up with on the spur of the moment, but Cheng Yijiu has no other more reasonable speculation, so he can only continue on this path.

Chapter 11 Duel

The short spear was recovered, and Cheng Yijiu set out the next morning, his sword slung across his back and his short spear in hand. This time, he was still dressed in his colonial hunting garb; money was a given. He walked along the dirt road, wearing a straw hat and binoculars. Cheng Yijiu moved swiftly, ignoring any wild animals along the way. It seemed as if the warrior who had strangled the mythical lion had returned after that night's battle.

Cheng Yijiu's steps were brisk. He had a premonition that no matter what, today would have a certain outcome—either the elephant's defeat or his triumph. Feeling relaxed, Cheng Yijiu even had time to casually make a spear flower while walking, twisting his fingers and causing the short spear to spin in his hand. As he walked, his pace shifted slightly—and the next moment, a reckless hyena leaped out of the brush behind him, attempting to prey on him.

Cheng Yijiu didn't attack deliberately—because the two guys ran out with a few strange laughs and ran away. "Say hello?" Cheng Yijiu was a little curious. He was waiting for the other group to really try to attack him—the lions. The lioness attacked less than a minute after the hyenas ran away. Cheng Yijiu used his back sword and with a beautiful turning sword flower, the first lioness was directly split from the neck to the waist.

As blood gushed out, the lion collapsed to the ground, unable to move. The second lioness was shot through the skull, but she was no longer alive because she had escaped. The loss of two experienced lionesses was undoubtedly a blow to the pride. Lions are not fools. Seeing this ferocious opponent, they naturally gave up immediately. At this point, Cheng Yijiu felt that these lions were not the ferocious and man-eating lions.

"They're nowhere near as ferocious as the last lion pack we encountered. Oh, and by the way, that happened only a few years earlier, right?" Cheng Yijiu looked at the two lion carcasses on the ground, their blood splattered everywhere. He shrugged and turned to walk away, leaving the hyenas to clean up the mess.

He quickly reached the site of the earlier fight. The Nandi bear's body was long gone, and the ground was a mess, suggesting scavengers had feasted. Cheng Yijiu did find a few large bones, likely the last remnants of the Nandi bear, proving that the animal at least existed objectively. As for the elephant? Cheng Yijiu knew it had an object, but it was hard to say whether it was real.

Cheng Yijiu walked casually, with no particular intention. He felt a certain direction might be the right one. He followed this path, and everywhere he went, he found tall thatch, almost half a man's height. He used his short spear to push it aside, clearing a path forward. Occasionally, he'd find zebra or buffalo skulls on the ground. There were plenty of them on the African savanna.

Walking through sparse acacia trees and tall grasslands, Cheng Yijiu came upon a sudden stone hill. He climbed to the top of the hill, which was about ten meters high. Before him lay a vast expanse of grassland and a rift valley in the distance. The vast East African Great Rift Valley was so magnificent that it could be seen from so far away. Cheng Yijiu stepped on the high stone with one leg. He felt so majestic that he felt like the King of Africa.

"King of Africa..." Cheng Yijiu suppressed the urge to roar. He surveyed the area carefully, finally choosing a direction to descend. The further he walked, the more excited he became, until he saw a barren hill over three meters high ahead. A strange laughter echoed nearby, the sound of hyenas. The hill was bare, with little grass on top.

Cheng Yijiu stood in front of the barren hill, took a long breath, checked the handle of the Damascus steel sword and other things again, looked at the short spear, and finally straightened his clothes, adjusted himself to the best condition, and then gradually climbed up the barren hill.

He wasn't surprised at all, as if he'd known this beforehand, and even had a sense of déjà vu—right at the bottom of the barren hill, there lay a slightly dishevelled, but largely intact skeleton. It was an elephant's skeleton. Its massive size wasn't surprising, but the strange thing was the pair of tusks that hadn't fallen out. These tusks had a familiar, multi-bladed, alien shape...

Cheng Yijiu smiled, "I found you!" The hunter's joints were rattling, and he loosened and tightened his hands, just to make the final adjustment to his weapon.

Beneath the elephant's skeleton, Cheng Yijiu could vaguely see several human skulls. Right before his eyes, the skeleton began to move. "Wow, a severed foreleg can actually be repaired?" Cheng Yijiu had already been mentally prepared for this supernatural phenomenon, so he didn't show any surprise or strangeness. Instead, he felt as if he were bathed in sunlight, feeling very comfortable.

The bones began with the feet, gradually piling upwards. The limbs quickly took shape, then the spine flew up, followed by the pelvis and ribs, and finally the skull snapped into place. The ivory shone with a cold gleam. Cheng Yijiu didn't attack, sensing that attacking now would be pointless. So he simply watched, like a spectacle, as tendons gradually sprouted from the bones, and the internal organs within the massive chest and abdomen grew.

After the muscles came the skin, and finally, a complete elephant—its ears still broken—appeared before him, a whole elephant, all in a single minute. "Sixty seconds of special effects spectacle, and I can actually watch it for free," Cheng Yijiu exclaimed, ready to fight. The elephant must have known this all too well; it too stared at Cheng Yijiu. They all understood that this was their final battle.

"This time it's a fight to the death," Cheng Yijiu said softly, then took the initiative to attack. Cheng Yijiu was the first to throw his short spear, and he chose the elephant's eye. In this battle, the elephant obviously had no chance of recovery, so blindness was blindness, and unless Cheng Yijiu could be killed, there was no way to recover. Unfortunately, this time the spear did not hit the elephant's eye.

The short spear pierced the elephant's cheek, most likely piercing the bone and entering its mouth—Cheng Yijiu's close-range spear throws were incredibly powerful. However, such an injury wouldn't kill the elephant, not even within an hour. The pain actually energized the elephant. It charged forward, using its two tusks as weapons.