The Top Fishing
Chapter 777 - 323: Battle of the Four Fishes_2

Chapter 777: Chapter 323: Battle of the Four Fishes_2

"It seems the meat of the African catfish is not just ordinarily unpalatable, not only do humans not eat it, but even pikes won’t touch it."

Amidst the audience’s joy, the first round of the program also achieved a perfect effect.

Our native pike prevailed in the battle against the invasive species, the African Giant Catfish!

Especially in the program where two pikes unexpectedly joined forces, it caught everyone by surprise; even before this, there was no information indicating pikes could actually cooperate.

After all, if it were in natural waters, pikes as top predators, are basically invincible, and fish of the same size stand no chance against them.

Even against opponents larger than themselves, they rely on their terrifying burst of speed, great stamina, and agile bodies, and generally face no threat.

Of course, this presumes there is enough space in open waters.

However, in the confines of an aquarium due to its limited size and lack of space, pikes faced certain threats when up against larger opponents, and under these circumstances, they made a very smart and swift decision, which was to team up.

Two pikes working together against a formidable opponent quickly turned the tide of the battle.

And as they coordinated, they fully utilized their nimble and agile characteristics, resulting in what seemed like a formidable opponent becoming a helpless lamb under their cooperation.

The 230-pound African catfish barely put up any effective resistance and was directly rounded up and killed.

After the end of this first battle, the host Xia Xiaoxue summarized the fight.

She was very excited and appreciative of the pikes’ outstanding performance.

She then announced the next part of the program schedule, leaving a bit of suspense.

"Ladies and gentlemen, next up we’ll give our two pikes a little rest and use our powerful filtration system to optimize their environment."

In the background, the staff were busy at work, quickly clearing away the dead African catfish on one hand.

On the other hand, the powerful water filtration system swiftly cleaned out the foreign matter in the aquarium.

After all, the previous battle had left many fragments of the African catfish as well as blood and mucus, among other things.

But this aquarium is custom-made with a very strong filtration function, and before long the water was completely clear.

And the two pikes were swimming joyfully in the water, their condition back to optimal.

Xia Xiaoxue continued, "Coming up next, dear audience, don’t go anywhere, because we still have the second half of the battle, and besides these two pikes, there are two other invasive species yet to make an appearance."

"They are the Nile Perch and the North American Alligator Gar, so who will confront whom in the next battle? Let’s wait and see!"

Soon, with the stage rearranged, the two pikes had rested and recovered to their best condition.

In the program, we even saw the staff feeding several small fish into the aquarium.

The two pikes showed no hesitation and launched an attack right in front of the camera, easily capturing the small fish and eating them outright.

This terrifying hunting ability and ferocious method thrilled the audience.

"So fierce, truly tigers of the waters!"

Then, as Xia Xiaoxue continued hosting, the next part of the program proceeded.

It was time for the other two invasive fish species to appear—the Alligator Gar and the Nile Perch, both also weighing over 100 pounds.

In the program footage, the staff had already transported the two contestants over.

Seeing the two massive fish, the audience had already started a lively discussion.

"The performance of the two pikes I just saw was knee-buckling; I think it will be the same result, the Alligator Gar and the Nile Perch stand no chance against the two pikes."

"Indeed, the combined power of two pikes is just too great."

"I’m not so sure, the Alligator Gar and the Nile Perch are not as slow as the African catfish we just saw; the African catfish might be big, but it’s terribly slow, and that’s why it was defeated so quickly."

"You make a good point, the African catfish is too clumsy, and its speed is like a little brother compared to the pikes, but the Alligator Gar and Nile Perch are also extremely fast competitors, so they shouldn’t be at a disadvantage in that respect, especially the Alligator Gar with its slender body clearly designed for speed, and its scales are extremely hard, not even a knife could necessarily cut through."

"The Nile Perch is also extremely fierce, not at all a match for the African catfish. I estimate that if it’s still a two-on-one situation, the two Pikes must cooperate precisely to have a chance of winning."

Regarding the new showdown, everyone generally felt that the Nile Perch and the Alligator Gar were stronger opponents, stronger than the African catfish.

Because both of these fish are of the faster variety, they are much stronger than the African catfish in this regard and would not be too severely restrained by the Pikes due to speed.

Moreover, these two fish have other special moves, such as the Alligator Gar, which, on one hand, has very hard scales. Its scales are so tough that even a sickle can hardly damage them, let alone the biting and tearing of other fish.

Then there’s the body shape of the Crocodile Sparrowfish, which is very distinctive, being narrow and streamlined, somewhat like a crocodile and somewhat like an eel, hence the name Alligator Gar.

Such a body shape will undoubtedly allow it to better capitalize on its speed advantage.

Furthermore, the mouth of the Crocodile Sparrowfish is sharp and elongated, like a pair of scissors, very sharp. What’s even more fearsome is that within this pair of ’scissors,’ there are many sharp teeth, greatly enhancing its destructive power.

Then there’s the Nile Perch, whose build is similarly robust as the African catfish, but with a more streamlined body structure, its speed and explosive power are stronger.

In terms of combat power, of course, it is a notch stronger than an African catfish of the same size.

Therefore, the audience generally believed that if the rule remained the same as before, which is two Pikes teaming up against one invading fish species.

Then the difficulty of the fight would be much greater than that against the earlier African catfish, and even the two Pikes would be at a great risk of defeat.

Unless the two Pikes once again demonstrated excellent cooperation, they could achieve the effect of 1+1>2, winning by strength in numbers to compensate for the disparity in size.

Soon, Xia Xiaoxue began introducing the next set of rules with a smile on her face.

But as soon as she spoke, all the spectators were stunned.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the next round of the fight is upon us. In this round, the two Pikes will again make an appearance.

However, as the two Pikes showed great power in the last fight, we decided to add a bit of difficulty for them this time. We’ve chosen the Alligator Gar and the Nile Perch to enter the ring at the same time."

"Doesn’t that make it two versus two? Are you kidding me?"

"One weighing 90 jin and the other 120 jin, going up against two opponents each over 150 jin? That’s just too unfair, a completely one-sided contest."

"Is the production team stirring up trouble on purpose? They’re deliberately trying to make the Pikes lose."

"They’re trying to boost others’ morale at the expense of our own prestige, but they don’t have to go about it this way. I oppose this setup by the production team; it’s blatant sabotage against our local Pikes."

"Exactly, it’s set up for failure. The point seems to be for our Pikes to lose against foreign fish species on purpose, just to create hype and sensation. It’s disgraceful."

No sooner had Xia Xiaoxue announced the rules than there was a chorus of dissent from the audience.

Because everyone thought the two-on-two method was too unfair for the Pikes.

The two Pikes were at a huge disadvantage in terms of size. If this were a boxing match, they wouldn’t even be in the same weight class; how could they compete together?

Some people even raised objections directly, suspecting that the program was deliberately arranged.

However, the voices of opposition could not be immediately heard by the production team, and even if heard, it wouldn’t be possible to change the competition format on the spot.

So, although the audience was cursing and worrying, they still continued to watch.

Some spectators also expressed a slightly more optimistic view. Although the two Pikes couldn’t beat two fish each weighing over 150 jin,

with four fish in one tank, it wasn’t necessarily a case of the two Pikes against two opponents. It could turn into a melee, and even the other two fish might fight each other first, both ending up injured.

Possibly seeing some spectators’ analysis, many in the audience also harbored a little hope.

"I hope those two foreign fish species don’t just team up against the Pikes..."

Soon, the Crocodile Sparrowfish and the Nile Perch were successively put into the fish tank.

Instantly, four fierce carnivorous fish were sharing the small aquarium.

Suddenly, a tank that was previously fairly spacious now seemed a bit crowded; the four fish only had to turn around for them to be in close proximity to each other.

In such an environment, the atmosphere was extremely tense, as if a great battle was about to erupt at any moment.