58: Chapter 42 Snake Scale 58: Chapter 42 Snake Scale “Ding!”
The crisp sound of metal clashing, accompanied by fleeting sparks in the chilly air, echoed intermittently in the spacious area of the cave.
The iron-gray curved sword light, howling as it instantly landed on the scales resembling black iron.
Xia Nan only felt a paralyzing recoil force coming from the sword hilt, causing half of his body to momentarily lose sensation.
And what followed immediately was the intense pain beneath the splint and bandage on his right hand.
Sitting on the ground for a while, with his clothes soaked in sweat at the back, he finally managed to recover.
He tiredly leaned against the stone wall, looking at the massive snake body before him, as thick as a train.
He glanced up again at the snake head, with its emerald green icy eyes, glaring coldly at him.
He couldn’t help but sigh.
“Really, was I too naive?”
Driven by the whimsical thoughts in his mind, Xia Nan had grandly executed his plan to collect the spoils of war.
Although he wasn’t sure of the specific type of this black snake, both the scale armor and the gall bladder, if brought back to the town, would likely bring him considerable profit.
However, this snake, so massive it defied common human imagination, seemed to possess defense capabilities as powerful as the most advanced armored vehicles.
Chopping, dicing, prying, drilling…
Over the past several minutes, Xia Nan used all his strength and attempted countless methods.
In the end, even with his injuries, he used the Vortex Slash, yet made no progress.
He even suspected that those cool and delicate black scales could easily withstand bullets and explosives from the technological world.
Under such circumstances, the dagger and longsword in Xia Nan’s hand were as primitive and powerless against the snake’s body as human weapons in sci-fi novels confronting the trisolaran “droplets.”
He also tried climbing the snake’s body to reach the section on the cave roof where the snake was pinned by stone spikes—
The scales there must be breached, and he might gather a few fragments or even a few drops of blood.
The result was still a failure.
The scales appeared rugged and distinctively shaped, but the gaps between them were actually extremely tight, making it difficult to find leverage during climbing;
The scale edges were sharp, and a slight force would cause a continuous bleeding cut on his hand.
Moreover, with the massive snake itself suspended at the cave’s top, even if he really climbed up, a slip could result in instant death, undeviated by any Healing Potion.
Leaning on the stone wall with his still functional left arm, Xia Nan slowly stood up, placing the Beheading Longsword back into its sheath.
Aware of the myriad methods of collecting spoils from demons listed in the adventurer’s manual, he knew well how many precious treasures such a large snake demon held within its body.
His expression was a bit complicated, as he forcefully shifted his gaze away.
No point in being stubborn.
However much energy and thought he spent, what’s not achievable remains unachievable.
“I’ll come back later, if I get the chance.”
Now, the foremost task is to find the exit from this eerie place.
Xia Nan exhaled slowly, calming his emotions while regaining his spirits.
He carefully surveyed the spacious cave he was currently in.
Unlike the previous deep, long passages, the luminescent fungal colonies on the stone walls around the cave were particularly active, their bluish glow filling every corner of the space.
Allowing Xia Nan to observe closely and clearly, the details hidden in the darkness.
“There are numerous scratches and impact marks on both sides of the stone walls, presumably left by this giant snake during its lifetime.”
“Judging by this snake’s size, the passage I came through earlier is inadequate.”
“Is there another exit or some other reason?”
“The scattered human remains seen earlier are now strangely absent…”
Xia Nan suddenly halted his gaze.
He looked towards a corner deep within the cave.
A dab of pale white appeared in his sight.
Approaching closely, it turned out to be human skeletal remains leaning against the wall.
Different from the fragmented bones encountered earlier, this skeleton, though reduced to bare bones, was relatively intact.
Calf, pelvic bone, ribs, skull…
Even a few pieces of navy-blue ragged cloth clung to it, faintly revealing the previous “robe” style.
Amidst this, the most striking element was the pitch-black scale piercing through the spine, embedded in the stone wall, right in the middle of the chest cavity.
Xia Nan’s eyes lit up, filled with a sudden sense of surprise, like seeing light at the end of a tunnel.
“Sorry to disturb,” he said softly to the remains ahead, then directly walked forward.
With both hands, he pulled the scale out of the stone wall.
Cradling it in his palm, he closely examined it.
The scale was rhombus-shaped, about the length of a forearm, its surface dark with a glossy sheen, cold and smooth to touch, yet resiliently hard.
Undoubtedly, the rhombus-shaped scale in Xia Nan’s hand was just the Steel Rock Snake Scale that he had futilely exerted all his energy to obtain earlier.
Recalling now, the formidable defensive power, unbeaten even by his Vortex Slash using the Beheading Longsword, which left no scratch on it.
An emotional ripple stirred in Xia Nan’s heart.
Once back, perhaps he could ask the blacksmith in River Valley Town to craft equipment using this scale as the primary material.
“It should be ‘Rock Hammer’ I think, they do have custom services at their shop.”
To fully exploit its defensive properties, crafting it into armor or a shield would be best,
Though its size might be insufficient, and if a shield were made, he might need to learn related usage techniques.
Considering its sharp edges, could it also be an option for small weapons?
“I’ll deal with that when I get back.”
Xia Nan shook his head.
Carefully tucking the scale deep into his backpack.
Suddenly finding his cautious demeanor amusing.
If something really happened, with the demonstrated defensive strength of this scale, even if his ashes were scattered, the scale would probably remain unscathed.
The unexpected discovery lifted his spirits slightly.
Intending to leave just like that, he suddenly noticed.
Besides the remains, near lies an old wooden sword covered in dust, its surface bearing the traces of time.
For safety’s sake, Xia Nan held his breath and focused intently on the wooden sword.
A string of translucent information floated before his eyes.