Chapter 28: Narrow escape
As Tang Yue cautiously moved around on the forest grounds, she had a clear goal in mind. It was a simple and straightforward strategy.
Her plan was to hunt as many bristle wolves as possible and retreat back to her cave hideout to binge on them one by one until she regained her previous alluring sensual figure.
With her mid-grade long sword in hand and her improved venom toxicity, Tang Yue was quite confident that she could achieve this feat.
In fact, the only thing that she was concerned about was the number of wolves.
One or two, she could easily handle without a sweat, but she didn't yet have the confidence to manage an entire pack of wolves.
Tang Yue's chubby body soon reached near the lush pasture. She crouched in a nearby bush, and carefully examined the area for any wolf sighting.
And voila, just as she had expected, there was one big guy strutting near the swampy mess, by the huge tree.
Wolves were much more agile and responsive compared to salamanders and would definitely put up a decent fight against her.
They usually roamed around in groups, but it looked like this was her lucky day, since this guy was alone.
However, unbeknownst to the snake woman, four large birds circled the sky above her moving figure.
As Tang Yue carefully watched her prey and moved closer, the four birds as well followed her closely, ready to attack.
The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!
The snake woman suddenly sprang forward from the bush and dashed towards the wolf, fully ready to engage it in a duel.
The wolf was startled initially but soon regained its composure and snarled at the incoming danger.
It reared its paw and smoothly blocked the incoming sword slash. A loud deafening clang sounded as the metal screeched against its paws.
As Tang Yue glared at the ferocious wolf and withdrew her sword to slash at it again, the animal's eyes surprisingly moved upwards.
Intuitively Tang Yue also lifted her head up, slightly sensing something fast approaching.
As soon as she looked up, shock and fear filled her eyes.
"Damn it." she cursed out loud.
Four fire twin-tail birds were flying towards her at an alarming speed.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
It looked like the birds had chosen her, the juicier one, instead of the scrawny bristle wolf as their night's dinner.
And unlike the bristle wolf which was just a common-grade beast, these mighty birds were actually low-grade beasts.
Tang Yue was completely cornered. Everything was happening at lightning speed.
She waved her sword around, but to no avail. Too many attacks were slipping through.
At this moment, she was genuinely thankful for her new protective defense.
But even with it, Tang Yue's entire body was covered in bite marks and blood was oozing out from almost all parts of her body.
With the taste of her thick luscious beast blood in their mouth, the birds kept continually drilling at her.
Their agility and speed were top-notch making Tang Yue unable to respond to even a single attack.
And the frightened wolf had run away a long time ago at the first signs of the approaching danger.
Now only Tang Yue was left, stuck defending against a losing battle, that was probably going to cost her her life.
"This is not happening." Tang Yue shouted.
Clearly, she was outnumbered and less skilled. Running for her life was the only option left!
She would probably be safe if she ran back into that cave. But it was too far away.
Then her eyes fell on the muddy swamp waters nearby. She had no idea what lay at the bottom of that swamp.
Something even stronger than the birds could be waiting there for her, but she had no other choice except to try her luck.
Without another thought, Tang Yue shifted into her serpentine form and started slithering away at her maximum speed.
Her body looked even more gruesome in the snake form.
Several parts of her skin had been pecked out, blood was oozing out and her dark grey flesh was almost completely exposed.
As she left a trail of blood, Tang Yue didn't care about anything and rushed towards the swamp as her life depended on it.
Maybe because she suddenly shape-shifted into her snake form, the birds were confused for a second and she got a head start.
But her thick body still gave her away, as the birds immediately started attacking the snake that was running away from them.
Tang Yue bore the pain and continued running without even flinching.
20 feet ...10 feet... 5 feet...
Holding her life in her hands, she dove into the swamp like it was a wall of protective barrier.
She went deeper and deeper till finally, the birds had to give up on her.
Her entire body burnt as the grimy salty water touched her exposed flesh, but at least she had escaped the birds for the time being.
Tang Yue's beautiful emerald eyes were completely bloodshot as she settled uncomfortably on the murky grounds at the bottom of the swamp.
She hesitatingly looked around here and there. "Please let there be no monster here."
Luckily, apart from a few fishes, nothing else seemed to be swimming past her, at least in her corner.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Tang Yue finally relaxed. She was out of danger... at least for now.
Despite the tiredness that swept over her body, her weary bloodshot eyes stayed open to watch out for any potential incoming danger.