Famu hung suspended in the water.
The smell of blood spread upward from the depths.
It was the blood of Famu and the Pitch-Black Giant Crocodile, the blood of Furnace Core creatures, the most precious blood in the rainforest.
The Red-Bellied Piranhas were roused. They swarmed around Famu, drawing in water to absorb the blood in it. But for so many of them, there was nowhere near enough blood in the current. They swung their guns around and turned their attention to Famu, whose wounds were healing.
To the Red-Bellied Piranhas, Famu was undoubtedly the loser of the fight. He was gravely injured and lay motionless.
They swarmed in, and a scarlet glow soon enveloped Famu.
This was the signal that the Red-Bellied Piranhas were hunting: faint red dots of light glowed on their bellies.
Famu watched silently as the shoal of piranhas surrounded him.
He had not wanted to move, because the areas burned by the intense heat were far worse than his bitten neck. If Famu moved now, he would tear open the wounds that the Furnace Core had been holding in check, making his injuries worse.
But the piranhas were too close to him.
The needlelike, saw-toothed fish could not break through Famu's unbroken scales, so they tried to burrow into his wounds and tear at his muscles. But the muscles contracted by the Furnace Core were like steel, and the saw-toothed fish could not gnaw off a single piece of flesh.
"Hum—!"
Famu roared, and his Furnace Core vibrated with him.
Circular ripples spread through the water. The powerful vibrations shattered the Red-Bellied Piranhas' ear canals and disrupted their nervous systems.
The shoal lost its bearings, and the deadly carnivorous fish began crashing about. Famu started swimming, opened his great jaws, and swallowed more than a dozen Red-Bellied Piranhas in a single mouthful. From the surface, his pitch-black shadow eclipsed the red dots of light. This hunting method was like sharks chasing sardines in the ocean: the sharks herded the fish together, then charged at the tightly packed shoal, getting plenty of food in a single mouthful.
Famu was doing something similar now.
He used vibrations to throw the piranhas off course and disrupt their paths.
Famu moved his body, using his massive Typhon bulk to herd the piranhas instead. When the little fish whose ear canals had been shattered ran into his body, they mistook it for the riverbank and turned to swim in another direction.
He circled the shoal, and the red dots of light gathered into a cluster underwater.
Famu raised his head and lunged. Though they were small individually, their numbers made up for it.
There were at least several thousand Red-Bellied Piranhas here. Wisps of bloody haze drifted from between Famu's sharp teeth toward the surface, and the creatures on the bank could see a blood-red vortex forming in the water.
Stealing the lives of other creatures to replenish his own strength was a Typhon's specialty. That furnace-like stomach could digest food and supply energy in a short time.
The energy could then be used to mobilize the Furnace Core.
The burns had stabilized for the time being. His Furnace Core rumbled incessantly, and immense vitality burst forth from within him. Famu shook off his fatigue and regained his strength.
Amid a mist of blood, the black Typhon burst through the curtain of water.
He climbed ashore and swam along the White Forest toward the Blackwater Swamp.
Now, Famu needed a safe place to recuperate.
Headscar stood beneath a tree, licking his paws.
The old monkey tossed down a few pieces of fruit.
These days, quite a few new faces had appeared among the White-Faced Monkeys. The newborns were afraid of the Nightmare Leopard with a face full of scars. The old monkey would introduce the newborns to him. To the troop, Headscar was not a dangerous predator, but a protector and partner.
But being too familiar had its drawbacks too. Now, some of the bolder White-Faced Monkey young would approach Headscar and offer him nuts, just as they did when interacting with others in their troop.
Headscar did not eat nuts and could not be bothered with the little monkeys, but the White-Faced Monkey young were at a mischievous age. Unable to stand it, Headscar could only gently push the little ones over with a paw.
Nightmare Leopards had a strong sense of family, and Headscar could regard Famu and the White-Faced Monkey troop as part of his own family.
Famu was the alpha male, and the White-Faced Monkey troop were young who needed care.
Red-Spot Colin's image still lingered in his mind like a nightmare.
This Nightmare Leopard lord's influence on ordinary Nightmare Leopards was extraordinary. Unlike Famu and Headscar, Typhons and Nightmare Leopards were as unrelated as two things that could not be reached with an eight-pole rod. But Colin was different. He and Headscar were essentially members of the same species, and Headscar could also sense the power of Colin's Furnace Core.
His instincts yearned for that power.
Just as Nightmare Leopards were born yearning for bloody meat.
Headscar glanced at the fruit on the ground, picked it up in his mouth, and put it behind him.
The old monkey was perceptive. It noticed something was wrong with Headscar and tossed down another piece of fruit, hitting him squarely on the back of the head.
Headscar turned and glared at the old monkey, baring his fangs and letting out a series of low growls.
Then his ears twitched, and he heard the sound of water.
A behemoth came cleaving through the waves. Famu had returned, swimming through the swamp with half his body charred black.
By now, a glow had appeared on the horizon. Famu had crawled the whole night on the journey from the Mara River to the Blackwater Swamp. His injuries had indeed affected him considerably.
On the bank, Headscar roared in excitement.
He could hardly wait to tell Famu where the Horned Giant Rhino Family was.
In Headscar's view, the Horned Giant Rhino Family was no match for Famu at all. The black Typhon had never been defeated, winning every battle he fought. He could even defeat one of his own kind larger than himself.
Colin was a more powerful Nightmare Leopard, a rare legendary individual among Nightmare Leopards and a Furnace Core creature. But to Famu, Colin had merely gone from being a lesser creature to a more powerful lesser creature.
The king of ants was still an ant.
Headscar had never intended to let the Horned Giant Rhino Family, who had nearly killed him, get away. He had always repaid even the slightest grievance.
But he did not intend to rely on Colin for revenge either.
Headscar had a greater backer: the true overlord of the rainforest.
In the water, Famu heard Headscar's cries. They were the signal that he had found new prey. Famu could communicate with Headscar practically without difficulty; he knew what each roar and each volume meant.
Judging by Headscar's roars, this time the prey was extremely valuable.
Come to think of it, Famu understood the calls of the White-Faced Monkeys and the cries of the Nightmare Leopards too. He could apply for a job as a rainforest language expert, if such a position existed.
"Hum—"
A vibration issued from Famu's throat, kicking up splashes as its frequency traveled across the water to where Headscar stood.
Then Famu sank into the deep water and slipped into his lair.
Valuable prey meant a certain amount of risk. Famu needed some time to recover from his injuries; a Typhon with half his body charred black was in no condition to keep hunting.
On the bank, Headscar heard Famu's response.
The bad news was that the lord was going to sleep again, but the good news was that he would not sleep for long.
As for recovering from injuries, that thought never crossed Headscar's mind.