As the huge fangs sank into Anaxa's legs, a terrifying pain tore through him- this was the first time he had been injured in this body and it felt far worse than he could have imagined. Seeing only whites in his eyes, Anaxa swung his tail in retaliation, just like a human tries to swing his hands in desperation.
Bang!
His tail hit the body of the serpent with all its might. And more importantly, the solid pebble that was still grasped by it.
Crack!
If Anaxa had been paying attention, he would have surely picked up on the distinct dull thud of bone cracking and noticed that part of the body sinking into the flesh, almost forming a crater.
That tail slap by itself did not matter much to the adult snake. It had even been similarly hit in earlier hunts as the water dragon tried a last ditch effort at survival.
Its skin and outer muscles proved more than tough enough to withstand such attacks without anything more than a mere flinch.
However this time the difference was the solid rock that Anaxa carried with him.
Stuck with such force by this huge, heavy object, the poor snake felt like a meteor had blasted into it, instantly breaking its ribs and rupturing the organs underneath. Its eyes bulged in pain and its bite slackened from the intense internal trauma, lessening the pain on Anaxa's legs.
The man immediately seized this moment to counterattack.
Opening his jaw to its utmost, unnatural limit, he whipped his head around with a terrifying roar and aimed straight for the stunned snake's neck, driving his teeth deep into its slick, fleshy body with everything he had.
Snap!
"Ding! You've successfully hunted a Green Water Snake. +1 Karma."
Anaxa decapitated the snake in that single bite.
Yes!
Anaxa's bite had literally severed the head from the body in one go. That was the power of a 2 strength, able to tear tough bones, muscles, and sinew in a single strike- it was no joke.
Thus that snake, like so many of Anaxa's victims died in the blink of an eye. It probably did not even understand how it had all happened- one second it was about to drag the helplessly hooked prey into its mouth and complete its meal, and the next moment it suddenly felt so much lighter… like it had 'lost' its lower body.
As such, the snake's head that was still attached to Anaxa's feet showed only a blank, glassy stare, it did not even have time to be surprised.
Anaxa on the other hand was still full of fury and vengeance.
The death of its most dangerous foe seemed to have done little to cool the raging lizard as the taste of fresh blood and bits of fresh flesh drove him to a half crazed frenzy. His stomach growled at him to instantly start chopping down the delicious flesh.
Anaxa followed his instinct without question, eager to claim his sweet, sweet biomass reward.
Thus willing his tail to move forward, he quickly approached the slender, tube like flesh floating aimlessly in the water, the intoxicating smell of the blood gushing from it tingling his hunger to a new crazed degree.
Anaxa dove into the delicacy without further ado, tearing into the soft flesh with huge gulps and rejoicing in the divine taste. This was the largest single meal he even had and the hunt did not disappoint- the flesh was extremely meaty and thick, with a sweet, mellow aftertaste that lingered for a great time afterward. It was so delicious that Anaxa did not even notice when he had finished eating it all, and licked his lips in regret after finding it was all gone.
It was right then a painful prick drew his attention to his leg and as he spotted the snake's head still stuck into it, Anaxa's eyes shone hungrily at the remaining leftovers. Thus eagerly using his dextrous tail to slowly pry the fangs out, he sent the whole lifeless head with his wide mouth, and crushed it like rock candy.
The taste of the skull of his mortal enemy was exquisite- especially the brain, it was so delicious that Anaxa almost forgot the extreme pain shooting out from his injured limb.
He only turned his focus to it once he was full.
Then immediately cried, "Aghhh… my leg. It hurts so much…. ahhh did I break any bones? Ah… I hardly dare to move it." With the danger subsiding, the adrenaline coursing through him had also passed, letting Anaxa sense the full blurt of the grievous attack.
And sure enough, having two huge gaping holes on his leg was not a pleasant thing. Just the water passing over the wound felt like someone was stabbing Anaxa there.
"I need to quickly find something to wrap it with… or it will get infected. Ahhh… it is leaking so much blood. I am dead if it attracts any other predators." Anaxa did not think he could survive another fight- that battle with the snake, even though it had only lasted a few seconds had taken a lot of his stamina out of him.
On top of that, he was also starting to run out of breath- meaning the time he could stay underwater was extremely limited.
Thus, when he spotted the reeds that the green snake used to hide in, he quickly shot towards it, moving his injured leg next to the green plant and then using his tail to wrap it around his leg just like how one would bandage oneself with only one arm.
"Aghhhh… arghhh… god it hurts… ahhhh!" Anaxa had to grit his teeth with all his might as he twisted the leaves around his injured leg, the pressure on the hurt limb causing excruciating pain to streak through his entire body.
"I snapped a bone! I definitely snapped a bone. Ahhh…" It was so much that Anaxa became convinced the sharp fangs had destroyed the skeletal structure there, and it was the straightening of the scattered bits that was causing so much pain.
He only breathed a sigh of relief once the bandage was done and tightly secured with a knot.
The moment this was done, Anaxa wasted not a single second staying underwater. He swiftly swam up, intentionally emerging along a very muddy part of the pond.
He did this as a precaution against predators swirling above in the sky.
Although such birds primarily hunted fish and water snakes, and Anaxa was a bit of a small fry for them to care, still, their keen eyes did let them occasionally target small bugs and reptiles.
Thus even upon safely exiting the pond, Anaxa moved along the banks very carefully, making sure to coat his body with mud and letting it stick to the ground as closely as enough… all to properly camouflage his movement.
His current destination was a small rock some distance in an open gathering, that was being bathed with the full force of the mid afternoon sunlight. After being in the water for so long, the cold blooded creature needed to bask to get his temperature up. Thus currently, that piece of hot, white, shining marble appeared extremely attractive to the shivering reptile.
"Ahhh… the pain on my leg seems to have significantly lessened. Good! Good!" Along the way to his spot, Anaxa also hummed so, finding using his injured limb was not as bad as he thought it would be. He could at least step using it- he had feared he would have to limp back home on only three.
"Looks like my worst fears have been avoided. The fangs missed my bones by sheer luck." Anaxa thus commented with a joyful voice. He did not doubt in a million years that if the bite had hit his skeleton, it would have snapped like a twig. A juvenile water dragon like him could never have resisted such a strong attack from an adult water snake.
In additon to the sheer luck, Anaxa also thanked the heavens for the fact that the snake was not poisonous- as most water snakes were not. His spine tingled at the thought of otherwise, "If it had venom… at best I could have committed double suicide."
Given how small his body was, any poison of even low repute would have rapidly spread throughout the body within seconds and caused irrevocable damage. At that point, he would have either drowned or been easily picked off by any other nearby opportunistic predator.
Lastly, Anaxa gleefully noted at the workmanship on his bandage as a credit to his quick recovery, "My wrapping is also not too shabby. The knot is holding nicely and tight, and no blood is leaking. Ahhh… I am really glad I chose the tail over camouflage. It might not be as overpowered but it is far more useful."
In this way, with a subtle happy swing of his tail, Anaxa at last arrived at the rock.
"Ding! Enough biomass accumulated. Host can level up!"