Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1054 - 169: The River Channel

Chapter 1054: Chapter 169: The River Channel

"Go, now." Pannis, with eyes closed, lurked in the bushes, extending his right hand backward, finger after finger bending until, when the fifth finger also bent, his hand finally clenched into a fist. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he whispered urgently, "Thirty seconds, as fast as you can."

No sooner had the sound faded than several figures sprang from the woods behind Pannis like arrows. Each person kept low, their upper bodies completely concealed by the bushes; unless someone looked down from above, they could only see the bushes swaying slightly, the rapid movement within obscured. Monkeys in the towering treetops overlooked the moving group below, emitting their characteristically piercing screeches. Scenes like this were almost a daily occurrence for them, except that the creatures they saw hiding today walked on two legs.

"Faster, a bit faster." Pannis didn’t move, still hidden in the bushes, his eyes narrowed to slits, his voice continuously pushing, "Fifteen seconds, make haste, Vivian put in a little more effort, Lina support Little Deer’s head; it’s about to fall from the backpack. Ten seconds, time’s running out, Conaida don’t lag behind, catch up to the front, five seconds. Good, it’s my turn now."

Only after the last person had reached the destination did Pannis begin to move. The distance the others had covered in twenty seconds, he closed in under five, swiftly joining them. A few dozen meters in front of the bushes lay a dried-up riverbed. For some reason, it was deserted, leaving behind a deep channel and smooth stones that littered the riverbed. Pannis ended his run skidding along the bank’s edge to the bottom of the riverbed, signaling triumphantly to the others. "The timing was just right; I’ve seen them turn back."

"Your calculation was very precise." Flare peered over the riverbank, looking back at the spot where they all had been hiding moments before. A group of reptilian creatures slowly made their entrance into view, occasionally lashing at the bushes with their tails. These creatures closely resembled crocodiles but were larger than the average, their hard green skin blending into the jungle—makes them difficult to spot. The biggest difference compared to regular crocodiles lay in their limbs and tails; their claws were much sharper, and their limbs were far more agile. Their tails were more potent, capable of easily snapping a tree trunk a meter in diameter.

There were about seventeen or eighteen of the creatures, likely a large family—the biggest reaching four meters long, the smallest under a meter, appearing freshly hatched.

"It is indeed a pack of Jungle Crocs." After watching for a while, Flare returned to the riverbed’s bottom, nodding at Pannis, "How much longer?"

"Three minutes of transition time," Pannis, pulling out a timer to check, confirmed, "We move on to the next part of the plan in three minutes and eighteen seconds. Everyone’s good, right?"

"No problem," Catherine responded on behalf of the girls, "But are we sure it’s safe to hide so close to them in this riverbed? A few dozen meters away, even if we can fool them with sounds, what about our scent?"

"Jungle Crocs are an incredibly, incredibly lazy species," Flare explained in place of Pannis, "Their hunting method consists of lying in wait within bushes, using their skin’s camouflage to ambush prey and waiting for it to come within reach. Unless the prey is just a short distance away, they can’t be bothered to hunt. That’s why they usually don’t pose much of a threat. However, it’s just after their hatching period, and the newborn Jungle Crocs are following them around. During this phase, they become exceedingly aggressive, attacking indiscriminately anything they can. But this indiscriminate attack is limited to within their line of sight, so as long as we stay out of sight, we’re safe."

"No wonder they choose the dried-up riverbed to hide," Catherine said thoughtfully, "But couldn’t this habit be taken advantage of by other magical beasts? Lurking in the riverbed to ambush them instead?"

"They aren’t fools, either. You just have to look at their paths to understand. Besides ambushing prey, they patrol their territory roughly every hour—that patch of shrubbery," Flare explained. "During patrols, they stay away from places with significant elevation changes to avoid being ambushed by enemies hiding in the riverbed. And even if they are ambushed, they aren’t worried. Their hides are tougher than your Aggression Shields; hurting them is no easy task."

"Enough talk for now," Pannis, who had been listening to distant sounds with eyes closed, clapped her hands and showed no concern about alerting the jungle crocodiles dozens of meters away, said to everyone, "The situation has changed. It’s thirty-four seconds ahead of schedule, so it’s time to get ready now."

"Is it starting?" Flare’s thin eyebrows knit together in worry, "If it’s thirty seconds ahead now, then the timing for the next few steps..."

"Don’t worry, my plan has already accounted for a timing error of up to one minute," Pannis shook her head, "Trust me, only rookies make plans that hinge on perfect timing down to the second. I wouldn’t make such a basic mistake."

"That’s Kyle for you," Conaida, standing on tiptoes, patted Pannis on the shoulder and gave a thumbs-up, praising, "Over a hundred years and you’re still as reliable as ever. Adventuring with you is just so comfortable. There’s no need to worry about any difficulties. You can solve any problem with the simplest and most precise method."

"No one can solve all the problems," Pannis’ face stiffened as she sighed, "Even a Deity can’t do that, let alone a mere mortal like me. Alright, let’s get ready to begin. Remember the plan; we don’t have time to adjust. We need to execute three steps in one go."

"Ready to go anytime," Everyone gestured to Pannis, signaling their readiness. Pannis eyes were glued to the timer, but his ears flickered slightly—a sign that he was using his hearing to the utmost. After silently counting down, Pannis suddenly waved his hand: "Move out."

This time, led by Flare, the group didn’t hide their presence. Instead, they followed closely beside the queen, as if fearing being a second too late. They had all clearly heard the thunderous roar approaching from a distance.

The roaring sound grew closer. When the girls looked back for the last time, they saw a silver line of water carrying tumultuous waves, racing toward them amidst the thundering sound. Everything in the riverbed was being shredded to pieces by the sudden onslaught of water, churning up the dry river bottom.