70: The second victim

The shadow of death, like dark clouds, loomed over this small canoe.

A companion who had been alive just moments ago had become piranha food in the blink of an eye, leaving not even a complete corpse behind. This dual visual and psychological impact pushed the atmosphere on the boat to an extreme level of oppression.

"Dammit!" Carlos's eyes were bloodshot. He cursed in Spanish, his wooden oar paddling even faster as if to vent all the fear and anger in his heart.

Now, only four people remained on the boat.

Lin Feng, Wang Dalong, Juan, and Carlos.

Juan's face was equally grim, but he was much calmer than the enraged Carlos. While paddling vigorously, he kept an eye on the pursuers behind them.

"They only have three boats left! Their speed is slowing down!" Juan shouted in a hoarse voice.

Lin Feng looked back.

Sure enough, during the chase just now, one of the indigenous canoes had hit a submerged reef because they were paddling too fast and flipped over. Under the piranhas' assault, the several natives on the boat struggled for only a few seconds before disappearing into the bloody water.

Now, only two small boats remained, with about seven or eight natives still relentlessly pursuing them.

But they also seemed wary of the piranhas in these waters, not daring to accelerate frantically like before. The distance between the two sides slowly widened.

"We have a chance to lose them!" Seeing a glimmer of hope, Wang Dalong also picked up a spare oar and paddled clumsily but diligently.

With the combined effort of the four men, the canoe reached its maximum speed. The scenery on both banks flew backward as they rushed down the river toward the lower reaches of the valley.

The battle cries of the pursuers were gradually left behind, growing fainter and fainter.

After paddling for another ten minutes or so, as they rounded a large river bend, they looked back to find that the two pursuing canoes had completely vanished from sight.

"Huff... huff..."

Carlos was the first to drop his wooden oar, collapsing in the bottom of the boat and gasping for air.

Wang Dalong was also as exhausted as a dead dog, plopping down and feeling as if his arms no longer belonged to him.

"Did we... did we lose them?" he asked in disbelief.

"Seems so." Juan also slowed his paddling. He watched the rear alertly, only breathing a slight sigh of relief after confirming there were no pursuers.

The relief of surviving a disaster made everyone temporarily forget their exhaustion and fear.

"Dammit, we finally survived." Carlos pulled a bottle of water from his backpack and, not caring if it was clean or not, twisted off the cap and gulped it down.

However, Lin Feng did not relax at all.

On the contrary, his brow furrowed even tighter.

"Something's wrong," he said in a low voice.

"What's wrong?" Wang Dalong asked weakly. "Brother Feng, we finally survived; can't you just let everyone be happy for a while?"

"Those 'Guardians'," Lin Feng's gaze swept across the calm river surface, his voice carrying a hint of chilliness, "they are the masters of this jungle, the masters of this river. They know this river better than we do."

Juan's expression changed as well; he had clearly thought of something too.

"You mean..."

"Why did they stop chasing?" Lin Feng asked in return. "It's not that they couldn't, but that they didn't dare. Beyond this river bend, there is something that even they fear."

Lin Feng's words were like a bucket of ice water, dousing the fire of hope that had just ignited in everyone's hearts.

The smiles on Wang Dalong's and Carlos's faces froze. They looked around; the river surface that had seemed wide and peaceful now felt like the gaping maw of a giant beast waiting to devour them.

It was too quiet.

Even the bird calls and insect chirps had vanished. There was only the monotonous sound of flowing water.

A suffocating sense of pressure, even stronger than when they were being hunted, surged from all directions.

Just then, the silent Juan's pupils suddenly constricted as he stared fixedly at the water surface not far ahead.

"What... what is that?" His voice was trembling.

Everyone followed his gaze.

A hundred meters ahead in the middle of the river, two things that looked like dead wood were floating on the surface.

But that "dead wood" seemed to be... moving.

And it was moving upstream!

"Paddle! Paddle fast! Get to shore!" Juan suddenly let out a scream of terror that was out of tune. He grabbed his oar and paddled like a madman toward the nearest bank.

Carlos also reacted, the color draining from his face.

"It's an Emperor Crocodile! Move!"

Those two pieces of "dead wood" weren't wood at all! They were the eyes and nostrils of a prehistoric giant beast!

As they paddled frantically, the giant beast lurking underwater seemed to be disturbed. Beneath the calm surface, a massive black shadow was rushing toward them at an incredible speed!

Wherever the shadow passed, the water surface bulged slightly, forming a clear wake.

It was a giant crocodile at least ten meters long! Its size was even more massive than yesterday's forest python!

"Fast! Hurry!" Wang Dalong was scared out of his wits. He paddled with all his might, tears and sweat mixing together and covering his face.

The canoe rocked wildly on the water. They were fifty meters from the shore.

Forty meters.

Thirty meters.

The wake behind them, however, was closing in at an even faster speed!

Lin Feng could even smell the thick, prehistoric stench coming from underwater.

Twenty meters!

The giant crocodile had already reached the stern!

Splash!

A massive head covered in hideous scales and terrifying scars suddenly burst from the water! It opened its bloody maw, wide enough to swallow a bull, and lunged fiercely at the stern of the canoe!

"Jump!"

The moment the giant crocodile emerged, Lin Feng roared, grabbed Wang Dalong beside him, and threw him toward the shore with all his strength!