Chapter 743 - 45: New Discovery
Excruciating pain can instantly sweep away all drowsiness.
Ambedkar’s sweet dream was shattered by a whip, and before seeing the attacker clearly, he instinctively drew the curved saber from his waist.
Seeing him resist, Pandit was even more enraged. The second whip he lashed out was more ruthless, hitting Ambedkar’s wrist so hard that he couldn’t hold the knife at all.
The adrenaline made Ambedkar temporarily ignore the pain. He didn’t know why his intentions were exposed, only that if he didn’t fight desperately, he would definitely lose his life.
At the crucial moment of life and death, cooperation and supplies—all had to be cast aside.
With a roar, he charged forward against the long whip attack, like a Bengal tiger.
...
The dying bonfire was whipped, sparking, the air filled with the scent of extinguished ashes.
A second stone tightly clenched in his palm, Chen Zhou watched from the tree, stunned.
He had considered the challenger being not fooled, considered the challenger discovering his position immediately, but never thought of this possibility—
I haven’t acted yet, how come you started fighting amongst yourselves?
Could this stone possibly have a special ability to affect people’s minds?
Just worried that his exposed body would increase the chances of being discovered, seeing the two Indians genuinely attacking without acting, Chen Zhou boldly sat sideways on the tree trunk, watching from afar.
The first Indian to act used a long whip, and the attacked Indian wielded a curved saber, but it was soon knocked away by the first mover.
The barehanded Ah San was already at a disadvantage; even with a fighting spirit, he couldn’t match the first mover.
The brief stalemate was soon broken, as Ah San was enveloped in the shadow of the whip, his clothes quickly shredded, and bloodied wounds left him powerless to fight back, kneeling down with his hands hugging his head, protecting his vital parts.
The whip-bearing Indian attacked while cursing loudly, enjoying the rightful punishment of high caste over low caste, just like during the Mughal Empire, when priests should act.
The sound of the whip and Ambedkar’s screams blended, his dark brown skin damaged, without arousing pity but making someone feel ecstatic—
Pandit never thought Ambedkar worthy of being his partner, considering it an insult to his noble status to treat this person as a slave.
An innate sense of superiority overwhelmed him as he swung the long whip vigorously, not noticing the sound of someone jumping from the tree behind him.
...
Shurikens spun in Chen Zhou’s palm, quietly standing about three meters behind the Indian, watching the "slave master" punish his companion, Chen Zhou found it amusing—
Even natives on an isolated island know to treat their companions kindly, showing cruelty should be directed towards enemies.
This gaudily dressed man pretending to be dignified acted as if he wanted to kill his partner; does he think he can complete the challenge alone?
Comparing this Ah San and the Black-robed Man in his mind, Chen Zhou felt he didn’t possess such ability.
With the situation unfolded to this extent, the plan to lure them and muddy the waters was certainly ruined.
Chen Zhou originally planned to search for opportunities before and after securing air-dropped supplies to possibly eliminate other challengers and obtain more survival tools.
Unexpectedly, opportunities didn’t need searching; they came on their own.
Since this group of challengers had escalated to this point, reducing the effort he needed to act, it would be a delight for him to directly accept the "big gift."
...
Pandit regrettably felt his facial wound no longer bleeding after venting his anger.
The low-caste man lay on the ground, clothes completely torn, blood-drenched, seemingly still breathing but not moving for a long time.
Retracting his whip, Pandit regretted being so heavy-handed—
His only slave now barely alive, future dirty and tiring tasks of the lower class would fall upon him.
In the Mughal Empire, where the traditional caste pyramid was structured, those in power never needed to do such tasks, and sometimes even high caste members would be expelled for doing "lower" work.
The only relief for Pandit was the absence of other priests watching. Returning to the empire, he would still remain high and mighty, possibly achieving higher status having "contacted" the gods.
"Phew!"
Spitting on the ground, Pandit intended to add firewood to the bonfire before it entirely extinguished and find some water to clean his whip—
It’s stained with too much Dalit blood, making him uncomfortable.
Turning around, he saw a tall, sturdy, masked figure stand ghost-like behind him.
As one of the earliest to descend the cliff, Pandit instantly recognized the person—
Black-robed Man!
No time to ponder about the absence of the black robe, or notice the person’s height shorter than the Black-robed Man, in a panic, Pandit quickly swung his whip, attempting to strike first.
But it was already too late.
A shuriken flew from Chen Zhou’s hand, piercing Pandit’s chest, emerging from his back and striking the tree trunk, emitting the clear sound unique to stone collision.