Iron-Tailed Crocodile

In pure surprise, Sol loosened the grip on the Iron-Tailed Crocodile, allowing it to scurry forward.

He leaned back and sat on his rear, his eyes observing the bright room around him.

It was a circular chamber that was beautiful to gaze upon. Sparkling nodes of amber glistened in his eyes as his pupils darted around.

He stood up while still looking upwards. That's when he heard another splashing noise.

It was then that he looked down for the first time after observing the overpopulation of crystals on the ceiling that he discovered a decent-sized pond in the center of the chamber.

'Another pond inside of an underground cave inside of a pond?' He mused, seeing the ripples of water near the edge of it.

'That fucker escaped in there. This must be its home then. It's quite strong for a beast in the first section of Jetai, so no wonder this entire pond that I'm under is seized by it.'

Sol began to walk toward the pond. His drenched clothes poured drips of water onto the flat dark-stone ground beneath him.

The pond in the middle was about 30 feet in total length and width.

Apart from that, there was over 35 feet of space from the pond to the walls of the round cave room.

As he got to the center, Sol investigated the lake. It wasn't dark blue like the lake up above him on the surface.

Instead, due to the many bright amber crystals inside refracting with each other inside, it was a transparent body of water.

Sol could directly see the crocodile resting in the center of the pond which looked to be about 15 feet deep.

"Stupid lizard. I'll skin you alive and make boots of your hide." Sol remarked, irritated by the thing.

He then saw a few round objects next to it that reflected the glimmer of the amber crystals.

"Oh?" Sol was a bit surprised, "Eggs? In water? Crocs usually don't do that. It can lead to predatory threats or threats of drowning for the babies."

Sol inspected the 3 eggs closer. They were about the size of a large mango.

Their exterior seemed to be some sort of stainless steel with spikes on it, which explained why they reflected the amber crystal light.

"No way the eggs are drowning with an interior like that. And in this protected cave, there are no threats of predators. I guess this thing has evolved to lay eggs in water due to its unique traits."

He then noticed the croc begin the gnaw on his spirit stone bags. His brows furrowed.

"Oh... did you think they were food bags? Your eggs must be close to hatching."

His tone was quite simple. One couldn't tell how he felt about his words from only hearing them be spoken.

"Not that I care... you're a wild animal that has to do what it can to survive and reproduce. But... so are we Humans. Except, we just pretend to be more complex and act out different roles in society. Today, you chose to steal from the wrong creature, and you'll learn the consequences."

Sol walked next to the pond, kneeling down before cupping a handful of water and taking a sip.

"Ah~ fresh cool water... just kidding... it tastes like ancient stone dust and dirt."

The ripples of his hand touching the water immediately alerted the Iron-Tailed Crocodile.

Its entire body turned to face Sol in an instant. Sol felt a hint of his bloodlust as he made eye contact with it.

He smirked, "Oh~" chuckling slightly, he said, "Come at me then, fat lizard."

As the last of his words left his lips, the croc whipped its tail and beamed toward the young boy.

"Not much is more dangerous in the wild than a mother protecting her child. Not that it matters in this situation." Sol stood up and took a few steps back.

As soon as he did, the crocodile's blade-like teeth chomped down ferociously at where Sol's head was just a second before.

The croc rushed onto land, running at Sol with its maw gaped wide open.

It was a sight that could send shivers down a grown man's back, but Sol smiled in the face of such danger.

"You're probably a threat level 9 demon beast looking at the presence of your Ether. Not bad. Usually, a skilled cultivator that was at least in the 7th layer and above of the Origin Rank could defeat you."

Sol lunged forward at that moment. His head appeared within the beast's jaw for only a split second.

The croc bit down as fast and as powerfully as it could, sending a loud gunshot-like sound echoing through the chamber.

However, Sol had been moving out from its mouth before it had even noticed he was in there.

He dodged the bite, instead jumping forward and above the beast.

Turning around in mid-air, he landed on top of the croc's back with his hands firmly placed on its mouth, tightening its jaws shut and pressing it against the floor.

Sol's arm veins bulged as he fought against the croc's attempt to open its jaw.

It squirmed its whole body like a worm, swatting its tail in desperation, but to no avail.

"Before it death rolls me..." Sol paused, letting go of the beast's jaw as it suddenly flew open.

With this amount of danger right in front of him, Sol quickly reached for his Flame Sword and unsheathed it.

The crocodile now had the ability to swing its head around now.

It could have easily escaped from its position with its newfound leverage.

Before that, however, Sol swung his sword above his head and drove it down toward the cranium of the Iron-Tailed Crocodile with all the force in his body.

His blade engulfed itself with an orange flame as it penetrated through the thick hide of the beast and then through its entire skull down to the bottom of its jaw.

Sol's blade dug a few inches into the ground as well before the Iron-Tailed Crocodile finally stopped squirming.