Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 44: Chapter 38: Going on the Offensive

Thanks to Tang Mo keeping him fed, Qin Ling had soon fattened up nicely.

Meanwhile, Tang Mo’s Sword Skill had improved by leaps and bounds; compared to before, it was the difference between a child and an adult.

There were only three days left until the mist dispersed, a date Tang Mo kept firmly in mind. At this point, Qin Ling was clearly getting restless.

”This won’t do. I have to kill that thing. Got anything else useful? Lend it to me. I’ll pay you back once we’re out of here.” No matter how he looked at it, Qin Ling couldn’t stand the sight of that huge, coiled snake.

He was now fully recovered and raring to go. ’Isn’t it time for the roles of Hunter and prey to be reversed?’

”I’ll go with you. I have some gasoline and realgar wine. I still have the gun you gave me last time. You can use the Wind Breaker. What else do you think you’ll need?”

Tang Mo took out the items they might need one by one. She had long been prepared for Qin Ling to undertake this momentous task.

”This is enough.” Qin Ling stretched his arms and legs, limbering up.

After a moment’s thought, Tang Mo pulled a hemp rope as thick as a wrist from her Space. It was very long; something she had picked up when Lin Yi was stocking up on supplies.

Tang Mo soaked the rope in a barrel of gasoline. ”When the time comes, you’ll need to find a way to wrap this rope around the snake.”

Unlike Qin Ling, Tang Mo was always more prudent and cautious, viewing her Life as more important than anything else.

They decided to carry out their snake-hunting plan the following day. The two of them hid behind the entrance to the stone cave, peeking out like a pair of timid mice.

”You think it’ll just swallow me in one gulp while I’m trying to wrap the rope around it?”

The giant snake was currently gaping its massive maw, its forked tongue flicking in and out, a sight that made Qin Ling’s heart flutter with lingering fear.

The plan Tang Mo had devised was quite thorough. Qin Ling would make the first move. When the great snake counterattacked, he would climb onto its body and wrap the gasoline-soaked rope around it several times.

Then, he would light the rope. Once the snake was on fire, Tang Mo would come out and sprinkle a circle of realgar wine around it to temporarily restrict its movement. Finally, they would work together to kill the beast.

It was a comprehensive plan. If nothing unexpected happened, their chances of success were high.

”You were the one who wanted this fight. Why are you getting cold feet now?”

Tang Mo looked at him with contempt. ’Is this really the iron-willed, ruthless Qin Ling I read about in the Alliance Daily in my past life?’

”No, I just wanted to study it a bit more. I mean, look at the snake’s fangs—AH!”

Before Qin Ling could finish his sentence, Tang Mo sent him flying out with a swift kick.

This sudden move clearly startled not only Qin Ling, but also the great snake, which had been resting with its eyes closed.

Recognizing the tiny human before it, the snake opened its massive mouth and slithered forward.

Qin Ling steeled himself. With the hemp rope in one hand and the Wind Breaker in the other, he didn’t dodge but charged straight toward the snake.

The last time he’d fought the snake, he had been exhausted and his leg was injured. Now, he was at his peak, and with his level of strength, Qin Ling felt much more confident.

Quickly, the agile Qin Ling leaped onto the great snake’s back. He scrambled around, wrapping the rope several times around the area near its head.

The giant snake went into a frenzy, thrashing its body wildly to throw off the impertinent human on its back, but it failed every time.

Meanwhile, Qin Ling had not only finished tying the rope, but was also periodically stabbing the giant snake with the Wind Breaker. Although none of the wounds were fatal, they pushed the snake’s rage meter to its absolute peak.

Tang Mo watched from below with rapt attention. Across two lifetimes, this was the first time she had ever seen Qin Ling in combat.

He was truly worthy of being the man who had ranked first on the combat power charts and become the Alliance Leader in her past life. Qin Ling didn’t just work hard; he possessed unparalleled Talent.

He was already displaying such immense strength in the early days of the apocalypse; Tang Mo could hardly imagine how powerful Qin Ling would eventually become.

’And to think I thought he was being reckless for wanting to enter the mist to kill an Intermediate Beast. Turns out I was the one who didn’t know anything.’

Time always seems to fly during a battle. In less than three minutes, Qin Ling had completed all the preparations Tang Mo had laid out. But just as he went to flick the lighter, the unexpected happened.

Perhaps their planning had been too perfect, making them forget to test it out first. The lighter Tang Mo had given him was completely unable to ignite the gasoline-soaked rope.

”The rope won’t light! How about I just attack it head-on?”

Qin Ling shouted from the snake’s back, holding up the lighter and waving it at Tang Mo.

’This is bad!’

Hearing Qin Ling’s words, the color drained from Tang Mo’s face.

The giant snake was already completely enraged. If Qin Ling engaged it directly now without lighting the rope, he would surely be at a disadvantage.

Seeing Qin Ling crouched precariously on the snake’s back, on the verge of being thrown off, Tang Mo didn’t hesitate and rushed out of the cave.

”I have a way! Get down and cover me!”

Hearing Tang Mo, Qin Ling didn’t hesitate to launch an attack on the giant snake. As the snake turned to strike at him, Tang Mo seized the opportunity, using every ounce of her strength to clamber onto its body and grab the rope.

’Seriously? It looked so easy when Qin Ling was climbing up and down. Why is it so difficult for me?’

Tang Mo took out a long-nosed utility lighter she had pulled from her Space. Then, she mobilized her spiritual power, using it to drive all the moisture from the air around the rope.

She flicked the lighter and aimed it at the rope...

’Success!’

The instant the flames flared up, Tang Mo leaped from the great snake’s back, tumbling twice on the ground before coming to a stop.

She had never tried using her spiritual power to keep the air dry before, but the idea had suddenly occurred to her, and feeling it had a good chance of working, she had gone for it.

’I can’t believe it,’ she thought. ’My spiritual power really can be developed for all sorts of uses, just like I imagined.’

”Now’s our chance! Kill it!” Tang Mo shouted.

The giant snake was now wreathed in flames, thrashing and rolling on the ground in an attempt to put them out.

But as soon as it rolled out of the fiery area, it was met with the smell of the realgar wine. Hemmed in at every turn, the giant snake was thrown into a state of helpless frenzy.

While the snake was too preoccupied to deal with him, Qin Ling took his Wind Breaker and viciously stabbed at its eye.

Tang Mo wasn’t idle, either. She grabbed a knife from her Space and aimed for the giant snake’s vital spot.

They struck at almost the exact same moment...

The knife in Tang Mo’s hand met resistance before it could even break the snake’s skin, refusing to go any deeper.

Tang Mo awkwardly retracted her hand. ’Okay, so I overestimated myself. Close-quarters combat with an Intermediate Beast is definitely beyond my abilities.’

In contrast, the Wind Breaker in Qin Ling’s hand slid right along the snake’s eye socket and plunged deep into its brain.

The grievously wounded snake let out a pained shriek and began to thrash even more violently. Its massive, thick tail whipped toward them, sweeping them aside and sending them sprawling to the ground.

Tang Mo and Qin Ling exchanged a look, then both scrambled to pick up their weapons and run for the cave.

The giant snake was critically injured and at its most frenzied. It wasn’t smart to provoke it when its aggro was at its absolute highest.

The fire on its body would burn for a while longer, and the barrier of realgar wine would also hold. It was far more efficient to wait until the beast struggled itself to exhaustion and then finish the fight with minimal effort.