Chapter 59: Echoes of the Past
The water settled back into a stillness. In silence, the Great Crocodile slid back into the depths of the river, disappearing beneath the dark surface without leaving a trace.
The hunters let out a collective, held breath among the branches.
"We have been monitoring it for two years," said Krag, adjusting his posture on the tree. "We know it’s cautious and won’t come out easily. It never strays too far from the riverbank."
"Are there no other options in this part of the basin?" asked Kellar.
"Unfortunately for us, there is no other suitable beast in the area," said Krag. "The other squads are also tracking a prey we’ve invested a lot of time into. If at least one of those monsters were to fall, we would have enough high-quality meat and could recover once and for all."
As Krag spoke, a sharp jab of pain pierced Kellar’s temple. A foreign memory, buried deep within the mind of his body’s previous owner, surged forward like a flash of light.
In the vision, Kellar see the tribe’s settlement engulfed in fire and chaos years ago. He recalled a bloody invasion where ferocious beasts and enemy hordes breached the defenses, slaughtering dozens of warriors and villagers in a single night. The stench of smoke and burning flesh, the desperate screams and the loss of life had crippled the tribe, condemning them to the critical scarcity they fought against every day.
Two full days passed in the same position. No one moved or abandoned the watch post. Being trapped up in the heights was a brutal test of patience for Kellar, who fought against crushing boredom. His system had nothing new to show him; it wasn’t like a stream platform where he could watch videos to pass the time. All he could do was grit his teeth and wait in silence.
Throughout those two days, the giant crocodile only popped its head out before submerging again. However, by noon on the third day, the beast finally decided to haul itself out of the water and walk onto dry land.
"Now, now!" shouted Krag, shattering the stealth as he leapt from the high branches.
The hunters dove down right after their leader. Brandishing thick hunting spears tied to gut ropes, they drove the iron tips straight into the folds of the monster’s hide to pin it down.
But the crocodile was no easy prey. Ferocious and roaring with a thunder that shook the ground, the beast began death-rolling with brutal violence. The lash of its tail and the sheer power of its body whipped the ropes around, tossing the experienced hunters in every direction demonstrating the creature’s terrifying physical superiority.
Enraged by the spear pricks, the giant crocodile let out a deafening roar that echoed through the basin. The beast thrashed with wild fury, sweeping the ground with its tail and snapping wildly at the warriors. The hunters fought with desperation, but they looked like a scattered mound of ants attacking without order in different directions, slamming their weapons against the giant’s most solid, impenetrable armor. Most aimed for the beast’s eyes to blind it, but the monster kept spinning on its axis, making landing a single accurate strike next to impossible.
Kellar, watching the mess from the branch, couldn’t take it anymore.
"No! No! Don’t fight like that, you’re wasting energy!" shouted Kellar, leaping to the ground and landing upright on the snow.
He charged straight into the fray, dodging by millimeters a devastating tail sweep that pulverized a rock right next to him. His mind analyzed the chaos in an instant as he used his speed to direct the battle.
"Krag, fall back!" shouted Kellar as he side-stepped a snapping jaw. "Lupar, to the left! Marty, don’t attack blindly! Grok, follow me! Form a diamond, form a diamond!"
With precise and sharp commands, Kellar began directing the veteran hunters, repositioning them to exploit the monster’s blind spots while nimbly dodging the creature’s brutal swipes.
High up in the pine tree, the small white cat remained seated on a branch, staring down intently at the battle with glowing eyes. The crocodile, despite its frenzied drive to crush the "ants," constantly kept one of its yellow eyes locked on the feline, sensing a threatening presence within it. That was what had kept it hidden and on edge for the past two days; it had felt the white cat’s presence from the moment they entered its domain.
"Stop wasting your energy battering the frozen armor on its back!" shouted Kellar, running in a desperate arc around the monster as the ground thundered beneath his feet.
Kellar waved his arms and slammed his metallic mallet against a boulder. The ringing clatter echoed through the ravine, forcing the Great Crocodile to shift its yellow eyes toward him. The creature delivered a brutal swipe that pulverized the rock into thousands of shards; Kellar had to throw himself sideways into the snow dodging the blow as the rush of freezing air swept over him.
"Grok and Lupar, cross-encircle!" shouted Kellar as he scrambled back to his feet. "Don’t aim for the head, run in opposite directions and weave the ropes around its back left leg!"
The two hunters activated their Red Bear Fury, wreathing themselves in a crimson aura. They sprinted at high speed, crossing the lines behind the colossus’s limb, attempting to create a human lever to take it down. However, the crocodile was no submissive prey. Sensing the trap around its leg, it delivered a violent tail whip that struck Lupar square in the chest.
The hunter was launched several meters through the air, spitting blood before slamming against the rocks.
"Lupar!" shouted Krag, trying to hold the line.
"Don’t lose focus!" shouted Kellar dodging a snapping jaw that threatened to tear his arm off. "Marty, grab Lupar’s rope! Grok, drive your spear into the ice and anchor now!"
It was complete chaos. The ropes screeched under the colossal tension as the beast thrashed with wild fury, dragging Marty across the frozen snow while he scrambled to hold the loose line. The crocodile’s bone plates were virtually impenetrable, and the sheer brute force of three hunters was enough to slow down a single one of its legs.