Chapter 46

Zhao Zhu only felt a darkness encroaching upon him, but in the water, his speed was severely limited, unable to dodge as easily as on land. However, he still tried his best to swim to the side. Unfortunately, Zhao Zhu's speed was definitely no match for the monster's.

A "splash" sounded, and Zhao Zhu was still enveloped by the monster's mouth.

However, at the last moment, Zhao Zhu managed to grab the chain on the upper stone wall with one hand. As a result, the monster not only engulfed Zhao Zhu but also got the chain stuck in its mouth, causing it great discomfort. It began to shake its head vigorously, trying to spit out the chain.

Zhao Zhu now felt himself enveloped by a disgusting, sticky secretion, and a powerful suction force came from below. But he still clung to the chain with both hands, knowing that he absolutely could not let go. If he were really swallowed into the monster's stomach, he would be instantly digested. Who knew how terrifying the acidic solution in such a large monster's stomach could be.

In fact, the reason Zhao Zhu was still alive at this moment and could continue to struggle was that the monster had no teeth. Whether it was because it never had teeth or because, after four hundred years, the monster's teeth had fallen out due to age or being trapped, Zhao Zhu was fortunate to still be alive. If the monster had teeth, a few chews would have turned him into minced meat.

Zhao Zhu could feel the monster's body shaking, trying to get rid of the chain. The chain was his hope, and he even wrapped it around his waist, determined not to let go.

This was a desperate struggle, Zhao Zhu's tenacious grip on life!

"Boom!"

The monster gave another powerful tug, and this time, the chain was pulled out, but Zhao Zhu, who had been in its mouth, was also freed.

Zhao Zhu now only felt the water rushing around his body, but his consciousness was fading. The two remaining air tanks around his waist had cracked under the pressure, forming a string of bubbles. He was now starting to suffocate.

"Hum!"

The water around him began to tremble again, and the monster charged once more. Zhao Zhu, almost unconscious, instinctively pulled on the chain and kicked upward, narrowly avoiding the monster's attack. However, the rapid water flow caused by the monster's movement hit Zhao Zhu like a heavy punch, making him dizzy. His hands involuntarily let go of the chain, and he fell onto the monster, landing in a position similar to its gills.

At this point, Zhao Zhu had lost the ability to struggle, but he happened to be stuck in the monster's gills, causing the monster great discomfort. It couldn't get him off, but the blocked gills made it even more uncomfortable.

The monster began to swim like an arrow in the water. Then, it leaped out of the water at a certain point.

At this moment, the monster's form was fully revealed—a creature with a fish-like body but distinct features. It was nearly fifteen meters long, with short limbs, lizard-like skin, and the rest of its body resembling a fish. Its head was a large, fish-like head, but it looked particularly fierce and terrifying!

While it was in mid-air, it began to shake its body violently, and Zhao Zhu, stuck in its gills, was shaken off. However, he was hit by the monster's tail and flung away.

"Thud."

Zhao Zhu landed heavily on the ground, vomiting the water that had entered his lungs, gradually regaining consciousness. The monster also fell back into the water, causing a splash.

"Here... is the next chamber?"

Zhao Zhu looked around, finding the situation somewhat absurd. He had arrived at the next chamber in such a way. This was a side chamber, relatively spacious with nothing inside, but the passage ahead was dark and eerie, clearly leading to the core of the ancient Qing tomb!

However, before Zhao Zhu could think for long, the water splashed again, and the monster landed on the ground, its short limbs pounding on the tomb's floor tiles, charging at Zhao Zhu at an incredible speed. It seemed determined to have Zhao Zhu as a meal, even risking coming to the tomb's ground, which it rarely did in four hundred years. The monster had an instinctive fear of the tomb, but the lure of fresh blood made it disregard everything else.

"Damn, it's back!"

Zhao Zhu's body was very weak, but his survival instinct squeezed out the last bit of strength from his body. He quickly stood up and limped toward the deeper part of the tomb, even though he ran very slowly, he had to run; he couldn't just sit there and wait to die.

Even on land, the monster's speed was extremely fast, like a charging wild bull, but its size was ten times that of a bull. When it was less than ten meters away from Zhao Zhu, it suddenly leaped, pouncing on him.

"Ah."

Zhao Zhu's legs gave out, and he fell to the ground. By a stroke of luck, the monster leaped over him, but its tail still swept him, rolling him several times on the ground. Zhao Zhu was thoroughly dazed, and the pain from his injuries and exhaustion overwhelmed him, causing him to faint completely.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The monster landed a few meters in front of Zhao Zhu, closer to the deeper part of the tomb. However, it seemed to have triggered a mechanism in the tomb. Arrows shot from all directions, piercing its massive body. The monster let out a wail, sounding like an old woman's scream.

The arrows were poisonous, but after four hundred years, the toxicity was very weak. However, being hit by dozens of arrows was still extremely painful.

But this was just an appetizer. The floor tiles in a hundred-meter radius around the monster suddenly sank, revealing a dense array of spikes. The monster's large body was completely impaled on these spikes. It writhed in pain, but each movement only caused more spikes to pierce it. Blood flowed continuously, and its struggles grew weaker. Gradually, the entire area was covered in blood, and the monster was ultimately impaled to death.

These dangers were originally meant for Zhao Zhu, but the monster had taken the brunt of them, even at the cost of its own life.

At this moment, Zhao Zhu was still unconscious, unaware of what had happened around him.

However, at this time, from the depths of the ancient tomb, a faint but clear voice suddenly echoed:

"Long live the Emperor, may he reign for ten thousand years, ten thousand, ten thousand years..."

"The Emperor has a decree, speak if you have something to report, otherwise, leave the court..."

This voice carried a chilling ghostly aura, as if leading to... another cold world!

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