Chapter 129: Unleashing Potential

A tremendous crash rang out, and the raft caught in the vine net shifted slightly. That gave everyone aboard an immense surge of confidence. Carissa stared at the densely packed natives clad in animal skins and could do nothing but cling to **, trembling on the raft.

Huafo’s spirits lifted. He worked the bolt of his rifle and shouted, “Come on, savages! I’ll show you the taste of technology!”

Chen Cao aimed at the spearmen preparing to hurl their javelins. His hands never stopped moving as he fired controlled bursts from the sniper rifle. Although he was not using the standard scope, the distance was only about thirty meters—close enough to make this an exceptionally precise shot, and not especially difficult. Before the first wave of spearmen could throw their weapons, thumb-thick bullets spiraled into them, knocking them down along the riverbank.

The second wave, made up of archers, immediately rushed forward. They had evidently seen through Chen Cao’s intentions. The instant they arrived, they hurled their javelins without hesitation. But because they had not completed the proper throwing motion, the weapons lacked much of their force. Most splashed into the river, while only a few wobbled weakly toward the raft.

“Watch out!”

Huafo deflected the incoming javelins with one of his own, switched his rifle to automatic fire, and soon cut down the second wave of spearmen along the bank.

Chen Cao understood the principle of alternating cover. Once Huafo had emptied his magazine, Chen Cao immediately took over with the sniper rifle. As Huafo withdrew to reload, Chen Cao covered him, and then the two switched again. After two or three such exchanges, the riverbank was littered with native corpses. Blood stained the water red, yet the native warriors showed no intention of retreating. Lacking any long-range weapons, they continued forward without hesitation, trampling over the bodies of their own people and shouting as they brandished whatever weapons they could lift.

They clearly knew how dangerous the piranhas in the river were, however, and were too frightened to enter the water. For a time, the two sides reached a standoff.

Seeing that the spearmen had failed to accomplish their task, the few remaining archers immediately moved up. Before they could even form ranks, Huafo’s vigilant fire scattered them. Even so, several archers had already drawn their powerful bows into full moons, preparing to shoot toward the raft.

Chen Cao saw the longbows in their hands and realized that if the archers completed their first volley, he and Huafo would be forced to take cover. With the enemy’s overwhelming numbers, they would then completely lose the initiative, and the situation would reverse at once.

Without hesitation, Chen Cao slammed in a fresh magazine, raised the rifle, and took aim. He sniped the few archers who had survived Huafo’s sweep of fire, killing them on the riverbank.

Huafo fired as he slapped the stock of his rifle, sending the empty magazine clattering to the ground. He changed magazines at astonishing speed and immediately resumed firing.

“Chen, well done!” he shouted.

With another tremendous bang, the raft shook again—this time far more violently than before. Stanley let out an excited cry.

“Almost there! Just hold on a little longer!”

Huafo and Chen Cao, however, felt no relief. Once the archers had been eliminated, the natives on the bank evidently realized that such attacks were useless. The faster they attacked, the faster their enemies could kill them. They ceased their assault, continuing only to shout and stare from the riverbank rather than foolishly throw more weapons.

Huafo heard Stanley’s cry, but the enemy’s silence brought him no comfort. They had seen densely packed black heads emerging from the shallows. The creatures had huge bellies and crawled back and forth across the riverbank like dogs, their mournful whimpers blending with the cries of the natives.

Huafo stopped firing and rubbed the heated barrel of his rifle. Turning coldly to Chen Cao, who stood on guard with his weapon raised, he said, “It’s the goblin children.”

Chen Cao kept the natives in his sights and replied, “Don’t worry. There are piranhas below. For now, they’re our most loyal allies.”

Huafo pressed bullets one by one into his magazine and shook his head.

“I wouldn’t count on that. I only hope those two damned idiots behind us can cut through the fishing net soon. If a few modern mercenaries show up, we’ll all end up in the river as fish food!”

Stanley and Uki were having a difficult time. The vines had been soaked, making them extraordinarily tough. To prevent any fish from escaping, the natives had coated every vine in the fishing net with resin. As a result, the net was more than ten times stronger than one woven from ordinary rope.

The dagger was sharp, but the danger of falling into the river to feed the fish, combined with the psychological burden of being attacked by the natives on the bank, made the work many times more difficult.

Even so, driven by the will to survive, the two men had managed to cut through half the net. Sweat poured down Stanley’s face as he asked Uki, “Savage boy, isn’t there a better way to do this?”

Uki wiped the sweat from his brow.

“If there were, I would have used it already. Who would want to do this damned backbreaking work? Hurry up!”

He bent over and began dragging his dagger back and forth across the vines again.

How could Huafo be in a good mood? More and more natives and goblin children were gathering along the riverbank, nearly enough to overwhelm them. Some of the dwarfs had even begun chopping down trees at the edge of the jungle. Clearly, they intended to swim across.

How could he not be anxious?

He swung the muzzle of his submachine gun toward Stanley and Uki.

“You two bastards still have time to chat? I’m giving you ten seconds. If you haven’t cut through the net by then, I’ll open fire and kick you both into the river to feed the fish!”

He shook the submachine gun and began counting.

“One.”

Stanley glanced up and saw the black muzzle aimed directly at him. With a cry of alarm, he accelerated his movements and put all his strength into the dagger.

“Two,” Huafo called.

Snick, snick—the dagger severed two vines.

Chen Cao did not stop Huafo. He knew that at times like this, human potential was limitless. More importantly, he understood that Huafo was deliberately forcing Stanley to draw upon every last reserve of his will to survive.

When Huafo reached ten, the raft lurched violently once more against the current. Then it began to slide slowly forward.

Stanley was utterly exhausted. Still clutching the dagger, he collapsed onto the raft and gasped for breath.

As the raft began moving again, Lu Tianming threw his arms around his wife, craned his neck, and bellowed, “Long live freedom!”

Huafo kept his rifle trained on Stanley.

“What are you waiting for? Row!”

Stanley and Uki did not dare delay. They seized their oars and began rowing with all their strength. The two rafts gradually picked up speed, breaking free of the fishing net and moving swiftly downstream.

Chen Cao had been crouching with his weapon raised, keeping watch. When he felt the raft advance, he slowly relaxed. But the natives on the bank saw the rafts moving again and flew into a rage. They waved their weapons, trampled over the bodies of their tribesmen, and chased after the rafts while howling.

Some of the spearmen still refused to give up and hurled their javelins. For a time, the splashing river and the natives’ cries rang throughout the jungle.

“Go to hell, you bunch of monkeys!” Huafo laughed, waving his rifle.

“Stay alert. The enemy may still have snipers,” Chen Cao warned as he watched the natives recede into the distance, though he himself had relaxed considerably.

It was nearly noon. The mist above the water had begun to disperse. After traveling several dozen meters, they could still see the natives pursuing them frantically, but the rafts’ progress brought everyone a brief moment of calm. Their spirits eased, and the howls behind them seemed to grow faint.

“Looks like we’re about to become rich men,” Stanley said with a smile, slowing his stroke and turning around.

“Don’t say that. We’ve already entered the territory of the ** Tribe, and I’m unfamiliar with the terrain here,” Uki began.

Before he could finish, there was a loud splash, and Uki pitched forward.

The raft behind them could not slow down in time. Its bow slammed into the raft ahead. Although both boats were made of hide, the impact still sent Huafo and Chen Cao staggering. Huafo finally regained his footing and shouted angrily, “What happened?”

Stanley steadied himself with the oar and carefully inspected the underside of the raft.

“It seems we’ve hit something again.”

The moment they heard Stanley’s words, everyone aboard fell silent. The joy of having temporarily escaped danger plunged straight back to freezing point.

Chen Cao braced himself and turned around. He looked toward Stanley and the drifting raft ahead. The mist had not yet completely cleared, but through it he could make out a dark, indistinct shape in the distance. As the mist shifted, the object gradually became clearer: a naturally formed island rising above the river, less than half a kilometer across.

Huafo stared at the tiny island in silence. Behind them, the natives’ pursuit and howls were drawing closer.

His mood dropped to rock bottom.

“Idiots! We have to get across there immediately!”

By then, the natives had reached the riverbank again. They were packed together, waving their weapons and roaring angrily at the rafts. The few remaining archers had formed ranks and were firing arrows in volleys.

However, the channel through which Chen Cao and the others were traveling had widened. Many of the arrows, propelled only by human strength, fell into the water before reaching their targets. The few that made it to the rafts landed weakly inside them.

Huafo’s roar left Stanley stunned and helpless for a moment. Furious, Huafo snatched the oar from Uki, tested the depth beneath the raft, and then leapt into the river with a splash.

Chen Cao immediately followed.

Fortunately, there were no piranhas in this shallow stretch. The instant he entered the water, Chen Cao shouted to those aboard the raft:

“Get down here! We’ll carry the rafts across!”