Escape

Steadying the Fine-Thorn Sword, Liu Zhi quickly assessed his chances of getting out of this alive.

But he ruefully realized that he didn't have what it took to fight them. His Z-Secret Sword was only level 1, and he'd learned it from Perkin. In terms of skill, he was no better than an ordinary person who'd trained in it for three months. Beating them would be difficult.

His Sailor's Basic Swordsmanship, on the other hand, had reached level 4 and granted him extraordinary abilities. But he'd lost the cutlass that suited it while fighting the giant snake. Without a cutlass, the Fine-Thorn Sword was no use for Sailor's Basic Swordsmanship.

With that in mind, Liu Zhi raised his hands, planted the Fine-Thorn Sword in the ground, and reached back to grasp his pack.

Seeing what Liu Zhi was doing, Mr. York and the others stopped approaching. They only watched him with cold smiles as he gave up his map.

But they had no idea that Liu Zhi wasn't even looking at them.

He brought up his status window and poured all his saved experience into [Jungle Survival Knowledge].

[Jungle Survival Knowledge Level 4 (0/10000): Jungle survival expert. Even without any supplies, you can survive in a dangerous jungle. Exploring a perilous forest is like strolling through your own backyard.]

[Jungle Survival Knowledge (Extraordinary Common Sense): You have gained some understanding of the extraordinary creatures that live in the jungle. As long as you don't provoke them too much, you can easily avoid most of them.]

[Description: Jungle Survival Knowledge is not easy for ordinary people to learn, but for rangers and druids, it comes naturally.]

Once Jungle Survival Knowledge had been forcibly raised to level 4, Liu Zhi felt as if the jungle belonged to him. He didn't even need to look up to know that the giant snake that had attacked him hadn't left. It was still nearby, waiting.

Liu Zhi slowed his movements and pretended to take off his pack. The instant he set it down, he kicked the Fine-Thorn Sword planted in the ground with all his might.

The kick didn't send the sword flying. Instead, he applied a subtle force that made it ring with a hum.

As everyone's attention was drawn to the sword, Liu Zhi spun around and ran toward where the giant snake was lurking.

When Mr. York and the others saw Liu Zhi flee, they chased after him without hesitation. The mercenary leader ran at the front. He could tell he hadn't performed well this time, and if he wanted to survive, he needed to do better.

Just as the mercenary leader was about to catch Liu Zhi, Liu Zhi suddenly ducked low and rolled to the left. He moved so dramatically that everyone heard him snap a branch.

The mercenary leader was still wondering what Liu Zhi was doing when a foul stench hit him.

When he raised his head in confusion, he found the giant snake had appeared right in front of him. Its jaws gaped as it lunged to bite him.

Mr. York and the others stopped in their tracks. Time seemed to freeze.

In the next instant, the giant snake clamped the mercenary leader in its jaws and shot backward. Mr. York and the others had no time to react. They could only stare blankly as the mercenary leader disappeared from view.

After a long while, the woman with the throwing knives finally cried out, "Where's Sandru? Where did he go?"

When they searched again, Liu Zhi had already run far away.

Once he reached a safe place, Liu Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief. He set down his pack and began thinking about how to deal with Perkin and the others.

He wasn't the sort of pushover who'd let people target him without fighting back. His decision to sail with the fleet from Tortuga Port to deal with the Fishmen made that clear: he was the kind of person who dealt with his enemies before they could become a threat.

If he had no opportunity, he might have laid low for a while. But now the opportunity was right in front of him, and he wouldn't let it pass.

After setting down his pack, Liu Zhi didn't rush into action. He closed his eyes and carefully recalled the Jungle Survival Knowledge that had been poured into his mind.

Based on the little details he'd noticed along the way, Liu Zhi gradually formed a clearer picture of the jungle.

Whatever Perkin was looking for, the two giant snakes Liu Zhi and the others had encountered that day weren't the only ones along their route.

There were more snakes ahead, just as huge or even larger.

And there would be more and more of them in the days to come. Liu Zhi had realized that the snakes were in mating season. It was as if some kind of summons was drawing them toward a certain place.

This was his chance.

Liu Zhi quickly came up with a plan. He hoisted his pack onto his back and was about to head for the landing site Perkin's group had chosen at the start.

But just before setting off, Liu Zhi gave a bitter smile and rummaged in his pack. He pulled out a patterned silver fork. He had no weapons left, and this little thing was all he had to fight with.

With the fork for protection, Liu Zhi finally felt a little more confident.

He glanced around, picked a safe path, and hurried on.

Compared to the way he'd crept cautiously through the jungle before, Liu Zhi now moved as if he were in his own backyard. He no longer had to worry about a beast suddenly appearing behind him, or about taking a wrong turn and stumbling into danger.

Whenever he looked up, he found the right, safe direction to go. Sometimes, in inconspicuous places, he even found things others would never have noticed.

Before long, Liu Zhi reached the landing site Perkin and the others had chosen.

Just as Liu Zhi's map had indicated, a God Tree could be seen near the landing site.

It wasn't actually a tree, but a mountain peak shaped like one. It stood far above the surrounding forest, starkly out of place on the river's floodplain.

Not a single tree grew on the entire peak. Instead, it was covered in crimson vines that looked like leaves from a distance. If you didn't look closely, you really might think it was a colossal, towering God Tree.

After confirming Perkin's group's landing site, Liu Zhi slowed down. He walked along both banks of the river and finally found traces left by Perkin and the others.

It was clear that they'd let their guard down after reaching the landing site and had rested there for a while.

From the footprints they'd left behind, the people who'd made it there were Perkin, Lloyd, Mr. York, the guide, the swordsman, and the woman with the throwing knives.

The swordsman and the woman with the throwing knives still had enough strength to keep watch. The rest had collapsed on the ground for a while before they could move again. They had now entered another part of the jungle, and judging by the timing, they'd left less than an hour ago.

"So there really are six of them. Then the first target I need to take out is... Mr. York."