Tracking

This time, Schwar's luck finally played some part. Less than an hour and a half after Schwar led his men into the jungle, a Portuguese unit arrived at the scene.

Portuguese commander Howell frowned as he looked at the coast "ravaged" by the East Africans. All manner of footprints covered the narrow strip of beach.

"How many people did you see coming ashore?" he turned and asked those behind him.

"Reporting, Lieutenant, we didn't dare get close enough to observe them, so we don't know how many East Africans landed. But several enemy warships were anchored offshore, so there must have been quite a few East Africans." Modrice, the squad leader who had discovered the East African traces, answered nervously.

Howell impatiently demanded, "You didn't hide and observe them carefully? The dense forest beside the beach should have been an excellent hiding place!"

After swallowing, Modrice spoke with great nervousness. "We only wanted to get this information to you as quickly as possible. This was a race against time. If we had arrived quickly enough, perhaps we could have stopped the East Africans on the coast. Unfortunately, we were still one step too late."

Naturally, Modrice would not admit that he had been terrified and had chosen to run first. It would be awful if he got captured by the East Africans.

Seeing his subordinate trembling like a leaf, Howell cursed, "Useless trash!"

Modrice "earnestly" accepted the criticism, but to him, his own life naturally came first.

As for dying for his country, he would first need to possess such a concept of the Kingdom of Portugal. The Portuguese Army, which withheld wages at every level, made it difficult for Modrice to feel any sense of belonging.

Besides, Portugal's army was more like a mercenary force: it worked for money.