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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Seventy-One: Sea Serpent
After eating the Squid, Xiaqiu and Moo Moo approached the island.
The island was larger than Zoumeida Island, but not by much, roughly six to eight square kilometers in size.
However, three-quarters of this island was occupied by mountains, with peaks rising sharply like swords.
The lower slopes were covered in green vegetation, while the upper parts were bare rock dotted with dark spots.
On the southern side of the island, there was a town and a concave area known as the Coast.
Xiaqiu slowly made his way toward the Coast and found the location of the port. As he got closer, he caught a whiff of a terrible smell.
It was unbearable.
Worse than eating bananas and jujubes together.
What on earth was that?
Moo Moo had already stopped moving, but Xiaqiu held back his nausea and swam forward a short distance until he was thirty meters from the port.
There, several Sea Vessels were docked, their shapes peculiar, resembling large rubber boats but much bigger.
The sides of the vessels looked like two massive brown rubber tubes, while underneath were numerous slender pillars.
The Sea Vessels could accommodate about ten people and featured a small cabin with two sails.
Could such a boat survive in the Grand Line?
One vessel couldn’t even compare to Merry.
The boat was relatively low compared to the Sailboat, making it easy to be capsized by the waves.
As they approached, the stench became more pervasive.
Or perhaps it shouldn't be called a stench.
Instead, it was a subtle yet dense molecular scent that, once detected, made one feel uneasy.
It was the smell of the boat.
Xiaqiu was certain it was the odor emanating from the vessel, which made him feel quite uncomfortable.
Unable to endure it any longer, Xiaqiu moved away from the Coast, but the foul smell still lingered in his nostrils.
It seemed that this boat's scent was a method to deter Sea Kings or fish from coming near.
From a distance, all he could sense was the foulness.
But upon getting closer, there was an irritating odor, so intense that he could hardly bear it.
He wasn't navigating purely by instinct; he had his own intelligence and awareness, yet he almost couldn't hold back.
No wonder the Squid didn't perish; after approaching the island, there were very few marine creatures around.
Sensitive marine life likely couldn't tolerate it either.
Moo Moo, just dozens of meters away, found even the faintest whiff unbearable.
Could this place be uninhabitable?
Xiaqiu furrowed his brow. This should be one of the starting points of the Seven Routes; could it really be uninhabitable?
Xiaqiu circled around the Coast, and as the distance from the Coast increased, the scent became fainter.
The scent was diminishing; one reason was that the molecules in the water were becoming less dense with distance, and the second was that the farther one moved from the island, the faster the ocean currents flowed, diluting the scent.
Xiaqiu continued to circle until reaching the back of the island, where the scent was nearly imperceptible.
The sea breeze here was strong, blowing through the openings above the mountains with a low, moaning sound.
This place is nice, Xiaqiu thought, releasing sound waves. Based on the information from the sound waves, it determined that the seabed was approximately three hundred meters deep.
Such depth was considered relatively deep, qualifying as an Ocean Cliff and a vertical strait.
This was quite rare in the East China Sea.
However, compared to nearby depths, it was still sufficient for habitation.
Yet, from the feedback of sound waves from the Coast, Xiaqiu discovered that beneath the island, the cliffs were not flat; in some areas, they extended inward for several meters.
Is this an entrance? And there’s more than one?
Moreover, there were many openings on the mountain range of the island.
Why are there so many holes?
Not only that, but numerous sound wave signals appeared around, densely packed yet distinct.
What kind of creatures reside here?
Xiaqiu dared not approach and quietly waited.
But at that moment, the creatures around began to draw closer.
Xiaqiu didn’t take it to heart; these creatures were not very large, the longest being just over ten meters, and the shortest only three or four meters.
Even if they were a group of piranhas or sharks, Xiaqiu wouldn’t be worried.
Their teeth might not even be able to harm him.
Xiaqiu slowly backed away, and as the creatures approached, he finally saw their true forms.
Snakes.
They were sea serpents, one after another.
Xiaqiu turned and ran, heading in the direction of Moo Moo to distance himself from the coast.
The sound of splashing echoed behind him.
The sea serpents charged at Xiaqiu, taking advantage of his turn to collide with him and bite at his body.
However, with Xiaqiu's scales and the toughness of his fins, their teeth couldn’t pierce through his scales or fins at all.
But other areas were different.
Especially his abdomen, where several snakes latched onto Xiaqiu's tentacles and began to gnaw at them.
Not only that, but many more snakes appeared from the cave behind him.
Giant sea serpents measuring over twenty meters, thirty meters, and even forty meters rushed toward him.
Xiaqiu dashed into the distance, fleeing in panic from this place.
There were many snakes, and they were quite large.
This was not important, as the binding ability of the Sea Serpent was weak, almost nonexistent. One reason for this was that most marine creatures were difficult to bind; some had slippery scales, others had hard shells, and some had unique body structures. The second reason was that the Sea Serpent also breathed through lungs. Although it spent most of its time underwater, its lungs took up a significant portion of its body, with the largest ones occupying almost the entire torso. When they coiled around something, they would actually compress the air inside their lungs.
This made it difficult for the Sea Serpent to entangle its enemies. More importantly, throughout their long evolution, their scales and body structure did not develop to use entanglement as an attack method.
The scales were spaced far apart, and their bodies were elongated rather than robust.
Thus, their size and numbers did not pose a direct threat to Xiaqiu.
However, the Sea Serpent was venomous, even possessing potent toxins.
The Sea Serpent belonged to a subfamily known as Hydrophiinae, which includes over fifty species on Earth, most of which are highly venomous.
Moreover, the Sea Serpent was closely related to the Cobra; Hydrophiinae is classified under Elapidae.
It is generally believed that the ancestors of the Cobra ventured into the sea and evolved into what we now recognize as the Sea Serpent.
Of course, the appearance of the Sea Serpent was almost entirely different from what we know of Cobras; there was hardly any resemblance.
The term "Sea Serpent" refers specifically to snakes that live in the ocean, while "Water Snake" typically refers to those found in lakes, marshes, rivers, rice paddies, and ponds.
Although both belong to Elapidae, one is classified as Elapidae while the other falls under the Sea Snake family.
Sea Snakes are venomous but possess relatively weak toxins that are unlikely to kill a person.
In contrast, all Sea Serpents are venomous and possess strong toxins. Because they cannot bind their prey effectively, they must rely on poisoning their enemies instead.
Or perhaps it is precisely because they are venomous that they can thrive underwater and evolve into the current Sea Serpent family.
Thus, Xiaqiu dared not linger here any longer.
Run, run.
Xiaqiu dashed toward the distance, moving quickly. Aside from the Sea Serpent entangled around it, the other Sea Serpents were left far behind.
Boss, you're running again.
This time, I won't fall for it.
Moo Moo saw Xiaqiu running this way and feared that Xiaqiu would use it as bait again, so it hurriedly followed, quickly distancing itself from the sea area.
Xiaqiu retracted its Tentacles, tightening its grip on the serpent that had bitten it. The claws pierced through the scales of the Sea Serpent, leaving behind streaks of blood on their bodies.
As Xiaqiu ran farther away, it created more distance. Once there were no Sea Serpents chasing after it, it gradually came to a stop.
It released its Tentacles, and several Sea Serpents fell away—about six or seven in total. The shortest was around three meters long, while the longest measured seven or eight meters.
Some of these Sea Serpents had their lungs crushed by Xiaqiu's Tentacles and claws, while others were pierced through their bodies. All of them lost their ability to swim and began to sink slowly.
Seeing the Sea Serpents descending, Xiaqiu immediately chased after them, biting into each one and swallowing them whole.
Xiaqiu wasn't worried about being poisoned by the Venom because most of it was protein, containing toxins, mold, and non-toxic proteins.
A well-known question is whether a snake can be poisoned after eating its enemy once its venom has killed them; the answer is no.
However, some Venom can damage the digestive tract and oral mucosa, making complete digestion uncertain.
Therefore, it's not recommended to consume Venom.
Of course, when these venomous snakes were bitten by Xiaqiu and swallowed whole, the Venom went directly into its stomach for digestion.
Xiaqiu's digestive capabilities were extremely strong; there was almost nothing it couldn't digest.
Xiaqiu consumed the Sea Serpent, quietly waiting for the venom to take effect and for the digestion process to unfold.
The venom of the Sea Serpent consists primarily of neurotoxins, but most of it is cytotoxins. Unlike the Cobra, which primarily damages the nervous system, the Sea Serpent's venom mainly affects voluntary muscles.
Of course, the lethal effects are similar to those of neurotoxins; both result in muscle weakness and respiratory paralysis leading to death.
The toxicity of the Sea Serpent's venom is fierce, but it acts relatively slowly compared to other snakes. Some may not even feel its effects for thirty minutes to three hours.
However, once it does take effect, death can occur very quickly.
Xiaqiu was unsure of the potency of the Sea Serpent's venom and could only wait patiently, having already taken the best precautions.
One reason Xiaqiu consumed several Sea Serpents was that snakes can tolerate their own venom; however, the impact on themselves is significantly reduced. For example, if a Cobra bites itself and injects venom, the damage it suffers is many times greater than that inflicted on a human, though it can still be fatal.
Thus, by consuming several Sea Serpents, Xiaqiu hoped to gain some form of resistance to toxins.
At the same time, by eating the Sea Serpent, Xiaqiu would acquire Evolutionary Energy, which could help heal injuries.
Cytotoxins destroy muscle cells, and under repair conditions, recovery would be significantly slowed down.
With only six or seven doses of venom secreted by the Sea Serpent in comparison to Xiaqiu's massive body, the amount was already scarce.
Moreover, Xiaqiu had undergone several enhancements and was quite robust, which should help resist the toxin's invasion.
Given these four factors, Xiaqiu had a very high chance of resisting the toxin; even if injured, it was unlikely to lead to serious consequences.
With ample preparation in place, Xiaqiu remained calm and patiently waited while recording information about the toxicity.
This was not a bad thing.
As long as Xiaqiu could withstand the toxin, it would be able to hunt more Sea Serpents and evolve a venom sac with fangs.
Xiaqiu was looking forward to it...
"What's wrong, big brother? Why aren't you moving? Did you get bitten?"
In the distance, Moo Moo watched Xiaqiu and slowly approached, nudging him.
Xiaqiu flicked his tail at him.
"You were running pretty fast just now."
After being hit, Moo Moo felt relieved. If big brother could hit someone, then there was no need for him to worry.
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