Black Iron’s Glory

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It was a niros crocodile! Welikro’s cry of shock slammed directly into Eriksson and Borkal’s heads like a bolt of lightning. Eriksson’s legs softened and he almost slipped and fell in the boat. “This… this is impossible… It’s still a few kilometers away from Swamp Kemda… How… how could a niros crocodile show up here…”

Borkal looked at the approaching ‘wood plank’ and started to stutter. “This… this is a c-c-crocodile… It… It’s pushing across the water w-w-w-with its tail…”

A niros crocodile? Claude still hadn’t snapped alert yet, but he soon searched through his memories for an impression of Swamp Kemda. Both the transmigrator and the old Claude hadn’t gone to the swamp before. But he did hear that there were a few rivers from the swamp connected to Lake Balinga which were the sources of freshwater for the lake.

It was said that Swamp Kemda went on for hundreds of kilometers all the way to even the westernmost prefecture of the three southwestern prefectures, Tordesass. It was also connected to the largest river in the three southwestern prefectures, Normandis River. The geography books describe the swamp to be rich with flora and fauna, but that also meant that poisonous critters were all over the place. Every year, there would be word about some adventurer or forager losing their life in the swamp, making it one of the most famous forbidden adventure zones in the area.

That’s right, the books did mention niros crocodiles… These are the most savage beasts of Swamp Kemda and they like to hunt while submerged in muddy waters. There used to be a crocodile about the length of seven meters that burst out of the water all of a sudden to kill four passing adventurers without breaking a sweat… Then again, they usually live deep in the swamp and seldom came out to hunt…

Claude looked at the bark-like niros crocodile swimming their way. He could now see the waves caused by its swaying tail. Obviously, their using it as target practice had enraged the beast that was pretending to be a piece of wood to hunt. It swam really quickly and was no more than 130 meters away from the boat.

Claude grabbed the gun from Eriksson. As he loaded it, he roared, “Get sailing, quick!”

Welikro was already raising the sails. He then grabbed the punt pole to push the boat away. But as they were in the midst of reeds, they weren’t moving that fast towards the center of the lake.

Claude had finished loading the gunpowder and bullets and took aim and fired. This shot hit the incoming crocodile, but it merely shook a little and continued swimming towards them like nothing happened.

“Shoot its head, ideally in the eyes. It’ll be fine even if you hit other parts. The crocodile’s hide is really thick!” roared Welikro as he forcefully pushed the boat away. Claude’s gunshot startled Borkal out of his daze and he panickedly loaded his own gun.

The niros crocodile swam faster and faster. By the time Claude aimed at it once more, it was only some seventy meters away. Only when it was that close did the others manage to see clearly that the crocodile wasn’t as ridiculously big as being seven meters in length. It only stretched up to four meters from head to tail, being not much bigger than the fishing boat itself. But there was no doubt that it was an adult crocodile.

It was no wonder Borkal and Eriksson thought it a floating piece of wood when it was around 200 meters away. None of them imagined that they would actually encounter such a large niros crocodile.

Eriksson fumbled around with the boat’s wheel, but he could do naught but turn the rudder of the boat and control its course. Being in the wetlands, there was no way for the boat to turn around immediately and they could only rely on Welikro for pushing the boat away with the punt pole.

Eriksson rushed to adjust the sails. But even though there was wind, it blew towards the wetlands instead of away from it. Even full sail was no help to maneuver the boat away from danger. He could only angle the sails before controlling the course of the boat at the helm.

Claude calmed himself down. He aimed at the ever-encroaching niros crocodile. Given its grey, muddy color, it was hard to tell where its eyes were. Claude could only guess where it was and pull the trigger.

With a lou bang, the niros crocodile shuddered. When it finally stopped, a trace of blood could be seen near its head. However, the crocodile’s head submerged into the water and its whole body rolled.

“It hit!” cried Welikro with delight. But before he finished, the niros crocodile reappeared on the surface of the water and swam towards the boat with even more ferocity.

Another bang sounded. Borkal had also fired, but all they could see was a splash of water near the crocodile’s head. That shot had been misaligned.

“How did you aim?! You didn’t even hit at this distance!” cried Welikro angrily as he pulled up the punt pole from the bottom of the lake.

The crocodile was around fifty meters from the boat now. The rest of them realized how terrifying the creature was now that it wasn’t far off from them. Even as it swam for the fishing boat, they could see the deathly determination and bloodlust in its eyes that threatened to eliminate everything in its sights mercilessly.

Borkal’s hand loosened as he dropped the gun on the boat. “It’s over… We’re not going to make it…”

Welikro bellowed, “Pick the gun up! Load it! We’ll fight it to the death even if we have to!”

Claude didn’t pay the slightest bit of attention to what Welikro and Borkal were doing. He only gazed at the head of the niros crocodile that was approaching them. My previous shot did hit its head, but why is the crocodile still so lively and active? Impossible, the head should be its vital part!

Wait, we still have some type 3 pellet gunpowder… Claude hurriedly reached into his pockets for a paper cartridge containing the gunpowder. He bit the cartridge open and filled the gunpowder into his gunbarrel and put in the bullet. Pushing the bullet in with his rod, he adjusted the slow match closer to the flash pan. In seven short seconds, Claude finished preparing for the next shot.

However, the ferocious niros crocodile was already less than three meters from the boat. It leaped out of the water towards them!

“It’s here!” cried Borkal in a panic. His legs softened as he slumped down on the deck of the boat.

Welikro was standing where the crocodile was leaping towards. He still kept his cool and hurriedly dodged right.

Claude was currently at the bow of the ship. Just as he was aiming, he saw the crocodile make its leap. Fortunately, it was still some two meters from the boat.

Eriksson turned the wheel with all he had, but he was powerless to prevent the harsh collision with the crocodile.

With a loud boom, the boat shook, sunk slightly, and propped back above the surface of the water. The boat was slanting to the right!

The whole right railing of the boat was cracked, leaving large hole in the side of the ship where the head of the niros crocodile was stuck. Thankfully, they used the boards on the wavepiercer for the fishing boat, which were doubly as thick as those of normal boats. If they were sailing Old Sunny’s small fishing boat, being rammed by the niros crocodile might cause the whole frame to rupture instead of merely leaving a large hole in the side of the ship.

Now that the head of the niros crocodile was stuck in the hole, it couldn’t quite bring itself on board nor could it wriggle itself free. The edges of the hole was caught around its neck and it couldn’t quite back its way through it. It shook its tail frantically, only to push the boat horizontally through the water.

Claude didn’t manage to maintain his balance and was sent rolling backwards on the boat. But when his back collided with the side of the boat, he grabbed onto it and struggled to kneel on the deck. He didn’t let go of the gun he clutched tightly in his right hand.

Eriksson hugged the wheel and had knocked his face against one of the handles during the collision. He was bleeding all over his face.

Borkal on the other hand was terrified. He had already slumped on the boat before, and after the collision, he rolled to the left side of the boat and back. Fortunately, he got caught between the cabin opening of the boat and stopping rolling back. The mouth of the niros crocodile was less than half a meter away from him and he was already pissing his pants from the fear.

As the crocodile started swimming frantically, it pushed the boat in a left slant.

Eriksson plopped to the ground and rolled towards the rear of the boat.

Borkal only knew how to moan in fear.

Welikro leaned against the mast and pushed his right leg against the right side of the boat while poking at the crocodile’s eyes with the punt pole. He didn’t think that the crocodile would bite the pole and snap it. He had no choice but to hammer the broken pole against the mouth that was closing in to him.

Claude was once more flung to the left side of the boat. He had loosened his hand and slumped flat on the slanting surface of the boat. Standing on the boat in an awkward posture with one leg on the left side of the boat and the other on the slanted deck, he managed to secure himself. Now, there was no longer a need to aim. He pointed the gun at the lower part of the niros crocodile’s eyes and pulled the trigger!

Bam! This gunshot sounded so much clearer than the rest.

Claude could see the eye he aimed at vanish, leaving nothing but a bloody hole behind. Traces of broken skull could be seen flying through the air.

The crocodile seemed to be struck by lightning and stilled in an instant. But soon, it raised its head upwards and instead of flopping towards the boat, it tumbled backwards into the water. With a loud splash, Claude and Welikro were drenched.

Now that the crocodile was no longer pushing against the boat, it slanted back down to a normal level.

“Aaaaaah!” Borkal shook free and rolled before he bumped against the right side of the ship. The broken railings didn’t do much to stop him from falling straight into the water, causing him to cry out nonstop.

Welikro supported himself well with his back, legs and punt pole and was only shaken when the ship fell back onto the surface of the lake. He quickly climbed back up and looked at the right side of the boat and stretched the pole in his hand to help Borkal.

Claude on the other hand was less fortunate. The posture he was in when he fired was too awkward. When the fishing boat fell back down, he rolled on the deck and rolled towards the right of the boat. Fortunately, that part of the railings were undamaged and prevented him from falling into the water. The bad news was that he sprained his leg, either from the shock or the awkward way he used to support his body just now.

Eriksson rolled and bumped into the back railing of the boat. Even though his head swelled, he was still conscious. However, his face was covered with blood and his injuries didn’t look light.

Borkal popped his head out from the water. He was so terrified that he was in a complete panic. As he kicked in the water, he cried, “I’m going to die… I’m going to be eaten!”

Welikro knocked on his head with the pole and roared, “Stop crying! You’re fine! Come up now!”

Borkal wiped his face and finally snapped out of it. “Uhh… Where’s the… c-crocodile?”

Welikro pointed at him. “It’s beneath you, dead.”

That part of the lake was rather clear. Three meters below in the mesh of aquatic plants, the niros crocodile had already turned over and revealed its grey-white belly, not moving in the slightest.