Chapter Fifty-five: The Overlord of the Valley

In addition to the surprise brought by “Heart Enhancement,” Lu Chen also discovered a change in his “Suitable Temperature” range, now extended to 15-40 degrees Celsius. This meant that even during parts of winter, he could venture into other areas of the forest to hunt, rather than being confined to Snake Valley as he was before.

With his evolution complete, Lu Chen began to seriously contemplate hunting the golden eagle. He had long regarded the snakes in the valley as his private property and would not tolerate other predators intruding. More importantly, the presence of this golden eagle posed a constant threat to the three juvenile saltwater crocodiles.

Lu Chen feared that if he left the valley, he might repeat the disaster of the clouded leopard attacking his lair. Therefore, the golden eagle had to die.

However, the creature could fly and was incredibly fast, its aerial advantage overwhelming. In battle, a single missed strike would allow it to escape on the wing. Thus, the key to hunting the giant golden eagle was first to restrict its air superiority… Lu Chen’s solution was not particularly innovative—he would use bait.

The method itself was irrelevant, so long as it worked. Judging by the time, the eagle should be appearing soon.

Soon enough, a writhing red-banded snake appeared atop the large stone by the lake. This snake’s venom was negligible, and a bite rarely caused much reaction, but its scales were strikingly red and black, making it easily visible to the golden eagle circling overhead.

At this moment, the red-banded snake twisted and coiled, attempting to slip into the nearby shrubbery, but failing every time. The scene was identical to when Lu Chen used the mountain rat as bait.

With the trap set, Lu Chen concealed himself in the shallow waters by the lakeside, patiently waiting. To avoid detection by the golden eagle, he dug a shallow pit with his claws, lay his body flat within, and used his tail to sweep sand and mud over his back, leaving only his head exposed.

His pitch-black scales blended seamlessly with the earth, and even the eagle’s extraordinary vision would not detect him from thousands of meters above.

As expected, a clear cry soon echoed from above the valley.

The eagle, enjoying recent hunting success and encountering no danger, had relaxed its vigilance, subconsciously ignoring the sense of threat. After circling the sky several times, it swooped down as usual.

Its talons struck like lightning, piercing the red-banded snake with precision. It then beat its wings, attempting to return to the sky.

Large birds require a running start to take off from flat ground, and the golden eagle was no exception.

In truth, as the ruler of the skies, its fate was sealed the moment it folded its wings and landed.

Without incident, Lu Chen sprang up, jaws wide…

This giant golden eagle had been feeding on the valley’s snakes, its physique transformed dramatically. When Lu Chen devoured and digested it, the twenty pounds of flesh provided fifty energy points, on par with the Burmese python he had previously consumed.

With the hunt complete, Lu Chen became the undisputed master of the valley.

Yet now he faced a more practical problem: there were few large snakes left in the valley. After evolving to tier three, his appetite continued to surge. He now ate twice a day, each meal consuming nearly twenty pounds of food. Including the other crocodiles, the daily consumption reached about sixty pounds.

This meant that at least a dozen snakes were required to feed the four saltwater crocodiles. Snake Valley was now hardly worthy of its name—apart from a handful of young snakes, only a few larger specimens clung to survival deep within the forest.

Fortunately, as the snake population dwindled, fish in the small lake began to increase. Though their energy content was less than that of snakes, it was higher than most prey outside the valley.

For the three juvenile crocodiles, the fish made decent meals.

Since migrating into the valley, their bodies had expanded rapidly. The eldest crocodile now exceeded one meter in length and weighed more than ten kilograms.

Compared to Lu Chen, the anomaly, they were no match, but among ordinary saltwater crocodile juveniles, they were extraordinary.

Along with the increased fish, the valley’s bird population also grew in recent days. There was also the troop of macaques, who, seeing the reduction in snakes, began settling in the tall trees nearby to overwinter.

Lu Chen had no intention of preying on the monkeys, allowing them to roam the valley freely. In fact, from a certain perspective, their presence served as excellent shields and cannon fodder for the young crocodiles.

Although the giant golden eagle had been slain, Lu Chen could not guarantee that other birds of prey would not appear. The macaques’ golden fur was far more conspicuous than crocodile scales, making them the most obvious targets for aerial hunters.

Better a neighbor than oneself!

***

The scent of prey filled the air once more.

Using the cover of the grass, Lu Chen sniffed deeply, arched his back, and crept forward step by step. The entire process was utterly silent.

His hunting posture closely resembled a counterfeit feline.

But for Lu Chen, authenticity was irrelevant—only effectiveness mattered. Minimum cost, maximum gain… such was the instinct of every carnivore.

Indeed, thanks to the camouflage of his scales, Lu Chen was far more adept than any feline. Under the dense cover of grass, he quietly closed in to within fifty meters, finally able to clearly make out his prey.

It was a forest musk deer, also known as a fragrant deer, whose musk is a prized medicinal ingredient and high-grade perfume.

This creature possessed unusually developed canine teeth, sharp as tusks, serving as its weapon.

But those tusks were only useful against rivals of its own kind—useless against a carnivore.

Like most small herbivores, the musk deer was highly alert, its senses acute and movements agile.

It soon heard the rustling in the grass, instantly raising its head and ears to listen.

The next moment, Lu Chen lunged decisively, his powerful limbs pounding across the grass, his massive crocodile tail swinging to maximize balance and speed.

Thud, thud, thud!

Each leap left a heavy impression on the ground, his posture wild, like an off-road vehicle tearing through the grass.

Within seconds, his speed peaked.

The distance between predator and prey shrank to thirty meters in an instant.

Twenty seconds later, less than ten meters remained.

Half a minute later, Lu Chen was just two meters behind the musk deer.

He suddenly accelerated, leaping through the air. Using the immense momentum of his body, both forepaws struck down with full force.

Thud… The prey was sent flying more than three meters, letting out a desperate cry.

Before the musk deer could rise to flee, Lu Chen had already closed in, jaws wide, clamping down on its throat. Then, his body rolled a full three hundred sixty degrees, tearing open the animal’s arteries and sinews.

This was but a glimpse of Lu Chen’s hunting.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed since he became a tier-three saltwater crocodile, and his menu had expanded ever further.

Wild boar, dwarf deer, wild goats, musk deer… all had become his food.