Something had happened beyond Isaac's expectation.
'What happened to them? Were they caught?'
There were many questions in his head right now. This was why he hated misinformation the most. The slightest mistake would lead to many problems or mysteries. The crocodiles were different from He Dong's description. They were shaped like normal crocodiles. Moreover, there were no signs of scars at all on their bodies.
Of course, this raised questions. Something had killed them, but what?
Isaac scooped up the water with the palm of his hand, then he smelled and tasted it. He checked whether the water contained certain substances; such as acid or poison. The people around him looked confused.
"Did you find anything?" Ling Tian asked curiously. His face clearly showed many questions.
Isaac waved his hand as his attention was drawn to the crocodiles floating in the strait. His eyes narrowed into mere slits. He was really curious now. "Water only contains salt. No acid or other dangerous liquid. I don't know how they died."
Hearing the white-haired man's answer, Ling Tian nodded his head. He understood the situation. "Perhaps the lightning magic killed them all. The high voltage is enough to kill anything in the water in an instant."
"Including the people," Isaac added.
A frown appeared on the man's forehead as Isaac agreed with his answer. Since their feet had set foot in the mangrove forest, they hadn't stepped on dry land at all. Everything and everywhere was water. The previous joint party wouldn't be stupid enough to use lightning magic on the watery terrain.
Ling Tian bit his lip as he realized his stupidity.
Isaac tried to ask Aman, but the little girl also didn't know about it. As for his right-hand man, Guo Chen thought that it was likely that they died from parasites, but it would be hard to prove it.
They faced a dead end, but the search had to continue regardless of their current situation. Ling Tian thought that Cheng Ho's party was still alive. As long as their bodies had not been found, and the search had only been a few days, they were still considered alive. The leader of the gold-armored army believed that there was a possibility they had managed to defeat the crocodile monsters and made it to the other side of the forest.
Isaac didn't deny it. So, Ling Tian decided to cross the strait.
Before that, they had to make sure there was nothing in the strait, so one needed to cross first to find out about it. It was better for one person to be a victim than all to be killed. They needed a volunteer now. Isaac had volunteered, but Ling Tian didn't agree. The Party Leader didn't want the spotlight to be fixed on him again.
Of course, Isaac knew that.
"Okay, I'll cross over. If something happens, you will take the lead," said Ling Tian. A slightly tense expression appeared on his face as he said that.
Isaac just nodded.
Ling Tian took off the sword and golden armor that wrapped around his body, making sure there was nothing burdened him while crossing the strait, then he walked into the water. The hunters who were watching the action of their leader looked worried.
Seeing the man getting further and further into the middle of the strait, Isaac kept his eyes on the crocodiles floating around. He didn't take his eyes off them at all. The closer Ling Tian got to the middle of the strait, the more uneasy he felt, his hunch getting stronger. Isaac couldn't stop flicking his fingers.
'Is this a trap?'
Then, he saw bubbles all around. Instantly, his eyes opened wide.
"Ling Tian! It's a trap!"
His loud voice reached the man's ears. However, Ling Tian still looked clueless about his own situation. Until the bodies of the crocodiles around him flipped and started to move around.
The crocodile monsters changed their shapes. Their posture transformed to that of a human, and their four short legs were elongated. They stood on two legs. Their yellow eyes glowed and fixated on Ling Tian.
Ling Tian instantly froze. For the first time, the man regretted making the decision. The people on the shores of the strait started to get hysterical, especially the members of the Golden Dragon. It was a nightmare to see their leader would be killed right before their eyes.
Isaac realized it too late. The monster was no ordinary swamp crocodile that was sold in the shop. In fact, they had never appeared in his previous life. Those crocodiles that surrounded Ling Tian right now were monsters resulting from Earl Xenovia's experiments.
The gold-armored troops prepared to dive into the strait to help Lang Tian, ??but Isaac quickly stopped them.
"Fuck! Get out of the way, don't get in my way!"
"Are you blind? The leader is in danger!"
"Do you want him to die?!"
Various swears mixed with a tone of anger pierced Isaac's ears. He didn't care. The Nine Sky members also helped him to restrain them from making rash action.
"Hey! Didn't you hear your leader's words earlier?!" Guo Chen stopped the Golden Dragon members while reminding them about the previous words uttered by their leader .
Of course, they didn't ignore him. They kept trying to break through. However, they couldn't break through Isaac's power.
"Calm down. As his men, you should know the power of your leader." Isaac's words instantly stopped them.
Suddenly, in the middle of the strait, a huge fire blazed fiercely. Everyone who witnessed it was stunned. Isaac just smirked.
'You should have done it earlier.'
The crocodile monsters screamed, and a scorching smell of flesh wafted through the air. Crocodiles were cold-blooded creatures, they were never used to the heat of fire. Simultaneously, they dived into the water right away.
Ling Tian managed to survive. At least for now, he would be fine.
After casting fire magic that drained most of his mana, the man looked a little pale. Ling Tian quickly swam with all his might back to their comrades. The members of the Golden Dragon shouted for their leader to come back fast.
"Leader! Swim faster!"
"Leader!"
The screams were in the end just a sound. It didn't help to change the situation one bit. Ling Tian seemed to be swimming with all his might to save himself from the crocodiles.
Unfortunately, the man's leg was caught.
"Arrgggg!"
Lang Tian screamed his lungs out. His voice echoed throughout the air and his blood stained the river red.
The faces of the Golden Dragon members turned pale when they saw their leader screaming in pain.
"Brother, are we going to keep standing still?" Guo Chen asked in a low tone. The young man looked eager to dive into the strait and join the battle. He wanted to help Liang Tian.
Isaac didn't answer. There were no words he could utter. With the water level almost touching their chests, it was difficult to fight in the strait. Even if Isaac and the rest of the party jumped in, it wasn't enough to help the poor man. Unless he used an artefact or took off the 'Mortal Ring'. However, if he did it, his infiltration would be exposed.
Of course, Isaac wouldn't risk himself for it.
"There's nothing we can do."
Guo Chen's face looked bitter after hearing his answer. Other members looked the same, they had gloomy expressions on their faces. They could not bear to witness their leader being eaten alive. The worst thing was that they couldn't do anything about it.
However, luck was still on Ling Tian's side.
In the midst of that hopeless situation, from above the sky, dozens of fire arrows suddenly fell and pierced the crocodiles. Instantly, the cold-blooded monsters screamed as the burning arrows stabbed into their bodies. Some of them died, some quickly dived into the water.
The Golden Dragon members cheered happily. Their leader finally escaped from the grip of the grim reaper.
Meanwhile, Isaac smiled broadly. On the other side of the forest, he saw dozens of hunters with various colored armor riding in canoes. In one of the canoes, there was an old man with grey hair and a grumpy look. That old man raised his sword while saying, "Slaughter those goddamn monsters!"
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