If you can't dodge it, then don't.
Facing the other creature's massive maw, Xia Qiu's eyes turned cold. Instead of retreating, he increased his speed and swam slightly upward, charging straight into it.
Bang.
Xia Qiu's massive forehead bone collided with the coelacanth's upper jaw bone.
Crack.
A crack appeared on Xia Qiu's ramming horn, while the coelacanth's upper jaw bone shattered completely.
He was large and powerful, but his sudden turn and attack meant his body hadn't accumulated enough momentum. Furthermore, he had opened his mouth, directing his strength into biting.
Xia Qiu, on the other hand, accelerated his charge, delivering a powerful blow.
Xia Qiu used the ramming horn on his forehead, which had evolved several times and was now a massive, hardened weapon.
The coelacanth's upper jaw bone was comparatively fragile.
Xia Qiu's strike shattered the coelacanth's upper jaw bone, halting its assault.
The two fish stopped moving. After a moment of stillness, Xia Qiu, enduring the pain, instantly activated his muscles, flipped over, and plunged downward, much like an airplane performing a barrel roll.
Then he charged forward, positioning himself beneath the coelacanth, and bit down on its pectoral fin.
Screech.
The left pectoral fin was torn off by Xia Qiu and swallowed.
Destroy your fins, and how will you escape?
But at this moment, Xia Qiu discovered that the base of the coelacanth's pectoral fin, where it connected to its body, contained hard bone.
Crack.
Xia Qiu crushed the pectoral fin. The coelacanth tried to turn and attack, but its body tilted slightly, unable to maintain stability.
Xia Qiu flipped again, positioning himself on the coelacanth's other side, and bit off its other pectoral fin.
With both pectoral fins gone, the fish lost its balance.
Pectoral fins were crucial for providing propulsion, assisting with balance and turning in conjunction with other fins, and supporting the head.
The coelacanth attempted to turn its body, but it swayed uncontrollably from side to side, unable to maintain its form, let alone attack Xia Qiu.
Crack.
Xia Qiu directly bit into the coelacanth's abdomen, tearing and devouring it.
The coelacanth thrashed, trying to escape Xia Qiu's bites, but to no avail.
Blood flowed more profusely.
In the blink of an eye, a massive bloody cavity appeared in the coelacanth's abdomen.
Plop.
Unable to stabilize its body again, the coelacanth flipped onto its side and plunged toward the seabed.
Thump.
The coelacanth's enormous body crashed onto the seabed, stirring up sand and mud.
Xia Qiu, meanwhile, swam alongside its body, continuing to feed.
Now, a single meal for me is at least a ton, and I can consume up to two tons at a time. A Marine Colonel is too light to fill my stomach.
Xia Qiu devoured large chunks of fish meat. As he hollowed out the upper side of the coelacanth's body, a sense of fullness spread through his stomach.
That's enough.
Xia Qiu stopped eating and glanced at the coelacanth, a hint of mockery in his eyes.
You wanted to hunt me? You only became my prey.
Xia Qiu sneered inwardly and swam away into the distance.
As Xia Qiu's form disappeared in the distance, other fish slowly approached, gathering around the coelacanth's corpse to feed.
...
So painful.
Xia Qiu lay on the seabed, feeling the heat within his body transforming his flesh, his body twitching in agony.
If it were just Reinforcement Energy, Xia Qiu could endure it.
But the Evolution Energy from the coelacanth was equally potent.
When both energies surged simultaneously, the pain doubled, making Xia Qiu feel as though his body were being torn apart.
The injured areas, especially his head, throbbed with immense pain.
Xia Qiu knew this transformation would make him stronger, and he gritted his teeth, enduring it with all his might.
After two hours, the heat finally subsided.
Huuuh.
Xia Qiu slowly swam upwards, but found that the movement of his pectoral fins and pelvic fins wasn't very responsive.
What's going on?
Before, when he controlled his pectoral fins, they would move.
Now, it felt like a part had extended between his pectoral fins and his body.
Xia Qiu tried his best to fold his body, making it into a semicircle. His eye on the side caught sight of his pelvic fin.
He saw that between his pelvic fin and his body, a section of muscle had grown. It was very thick, like a limb, but very short and covered in layers of scales.
This is?
Xia Qiu saw the change in his pectoral fins and realized it was the same as the coelacanth's pelvic fin, except that part on the coelacanth was much longer than his own.
I ate the coelacanth's pectoral fin, ate its flesh and blood, and I grew it too?
Xia Qiu didn't resist this new body part.
The Sarcopterygii class landed on land using this very part, evolving into amphibians.
If he continued to grow, could he land?
That seemed unlikely.
His body size and weight were too great; he couldn't support his body with fins at all. Not to mention finding other coelacanths, even if he grew ten times larger, he still couldn't support this body.
Moreover, he was constantly growing larger and heavier, and his body was growing too quickly. It would become increasingly difficult in the future.
To land, relying on this small, newly grown appendage, was unrealistic.
However, the growth of muscle at the base of his fins also changed Xia Qiu's control over his fins.
With muscles attached to bone, he could freely control them, swinging them forward and backward.
He used to control his fins directly, flapping them up and down. To hit someone, he needed to turn his body and use its momentum.
But now, he could directly control this new part, which moved his fins up and down. He could also flap them, though with less force.
This limb was still too short.
Xia Qiu was dissatisfied with its length.
He remembered that he had eaten the coelacanth's pectoral fin, as well as its pelvic fin, anal fin, and the upper and lower lobes of its tail fin.
Xia Qiu quickly swam towards the coelacanth's location, wondering if those fish had left anything for him.
Swish.
Xia Qiu arrived next to the coelacanth and, as he approached, he saw many fish fighting and attacking each other around it.
Many fish were attracted here to feed. Some ate the coelacanth, while others were attracted by other fish and initiated attacks.
After the coelacanth was completely devoured, the remaining fish began to attack each other.
Xia Qiu's arrival immediately alerted these fish. Seeing his massive size, they scattered.
The largest fish was nearly ten meters long. Without himself, there were few enemies in this sea area.
Seeing the fish scatter, Xia Qiu felt his own power for the first time. He charged forward, bit down on the largest sea fish, crushed its rear half, and swallowed it whole.
The upper half of the sea fish was still twitching, but Xia Qiu had no intention of attacking further. He slowly submerged, searching for fins.
The base muscles of some fins had been eaten, but the fins themselves remained. Two fins were still intact.
Xia Qiu immediately swam over, bit down on all the fins, and swallowed them, including the tail fin.
This is disgusting.
Xia Qiu muttered inwardly. He then ate the sea fish he had just bitten in half. Feeling full, he left the area.
He wasn't just leaving the vicinity; Xia Qiu planned to leave Naruto Village, the island itself.
He had killed two Marines, one of whom was a Captain.
When the previous Marine died, they came here to hunt him.
When that Captain died, how could they just stand by? They would at least come to this sea area to track him.
What rank would come to pursue him next?
A Commodore? A Rear Admiral?
Even if it were just a Captain from Headquarters, he would be slaughtered.
He had to leave.
Xia Qiu made up his mind and began to consider his escape route.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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