Gon looked at the smile on Luo Ye's face and felt his brain struggling to keep up.
Drop down from above?
Onto that monster's face?
Could a sane person come up with a plan like that?
"Are you crazy?"
Gon's voice cracked.
"How is that any different from jumping down there to feed the fish?"
"There's a huge difference."
Luo Ye waved the fishing line in his hand as though it were perfectly obvious.
"We have a rope. We won't die."
"Besides, don't you think it's cool? A hero descending from the sky, pounding the boss right in its face. Now that's an awesome script."
Gon listened in bewilderment.
He couldn't follow Luo Ye's train of thought at all.
"But..."
He still wanted to say something.
Crack!
The huge tree beneath their feet shook violently again, the sound of splitting wood growing louder.
The tree could fall apart at any moment.
"No time for buts."
Luo Ye patted Gon's shoulder, his expression turning serious for a rare moment.
"Trust me just this once."
"Worst case, we fall, and I'll cushion your landing."
With that, he gave Gon no more chance to hesitate and grabbed the fishing line.
With his other arm, he held Gon around the waist.
"Hold tight!"
He barked the words.
Luo Ye kicked off the branch with both feet.
Like stones fired from a sling, the two plunged straight toward the depths of the swamp.
Wind howled past their ears.
Weightlessness instantly engulfed them.
Gon instinctively closed his eyes, his heart leaping into his throat.
It's over.
We're toast.
That was the only thought left in his head.
"Open your eyes! Missing something this exciting would be a total waste!"
Luo Ye's voice rang out beside his ear, brimming with irrepressible excitement.
Gon snapped his eyes open.
Directly beneath them, the enormous dark shape had stopped ramming the tree.
It raised its head.
Its lantern-sized eye reflected them and the jar of glowing Phantom Light Fireflies.
The bait had successfully caught its attention.
The King of the Swamp opened its enormous maw, wide enough to swallow a small boat.
A foul-smelling gust surged up from below.
It wanted to swallow them in one bite.
"Bring it on!"
Luo Ye laughed loudly.
He gave the fishing line a sharp tug.
Their fall slowed, and their trajectory shifted slightly.
They flew past, just grazing the edge of that gaping maw.
Thud!
A heavy impact rang out.
It sounded like a sack of cement hitting an iron plate.
The two landed hard on the King of the Swamp's head.
Beneath their feet, its scales were slick, hard, and cold to the touch.
The King of the Swamp was clearly stunned.
In all its years of life, this was the first time any little bugs had dared jump onto its head.
The next second.
Its fury erupted.
The King of the Swamp let out a soundless roar and plunged underwater.
Splash!
Cold swamp water instantly engulfed them.
Immense water pressure squeezed in from every direction.
Gon felt as though his lungs were being crushed flat, almost losing his breath.
Even more terrifying was the ferocious force whipping them around.
The King of the Swamp rolled and thrashed wildly underwater, trying to shake the two little creatures off its head.
That force was far beyond anything human strength could withstand.
Gon clung desperately to the fishing line, feeling as though his arms could be torn off at any moment.
He looked at Luo Ye beside him.
Luo Ye seemed to be doing even worse.
He was being flung around like a rag doll, his face pale, a trace of blood even seeping from the corner of his mouth.
But his hands still held the fishing line-and Gon-as firmly as iron clamps.
"Luo Ye!"
Gon shouted underwater, producing only a string of meaningless bubbles.
He wanted to move over and help, but there was nothing he could do.
Just then, he saw Luo Ye's eyes light up.
It was a strange gleam, mingling pain with wild elation.
Luo Ye could feel his bones groaning and his internal organs shifting.
The force coming from the King of the Swamp far surpassed that of the boar from earlier.
But it still wasn't enough.
The Nen within him circulated furiously at an unprecedented speed.
Every cell in his body screamed, then restructured, then grew stronger.
He was adapting.
Adapting to that violent force, to the immense water pressure.
The initial agony slowly faded, replaced by a sense of control.
His core strength was increasing rapidly, allowing him to cling more securely to the fish's back.
Is that all you've got?
Luo Ye taunted it silently in his mind.
Try harder!
As though it had heard his provocation.
The King of the Swamp suddenly shot out of the water.
Boom!
Its enormous body carried them several meters into the air.
Then it crashed heavily back down.
Once.
Twice.
It repeated the motion tirelessly, trying to fling them into the swamp.
The fishing line tied to the dead tree stretched taut, creaking under the unbearable strain.
The enormous tree, already on the verge of collapse, had split halfway through.
But it still wouldn't break.
And Luo Ye and Gon stayed on the fish's back as though nailed there, refusing to fall off.
Gon's initial terror slowly gave way to numbness.
He realized he seemed to be gradually getting used to this wild shaking, too.
It was Luo Ye.
Luo Ye was absorbing most of the impact, allowing him to barely hold on.
Who knew how much time had passed.
The King of the Swamp's movements began to slow.
Each leap was lower than the last.
Each roll was weaker than the last.
It was getting tired.
Meanwhile, Luo Ye felt better than he ever had.
The strength inside his body was almost overflowing.
He even had the leisure to glance around.
"Hey, Gon."
He was panting, but his voice was steady.
"See that big rock on the bank?"
Gon looked in the direction he pointed.
"I see it!"
"The next time it charges, let's find a way to steer it over there!"
Luo Ye shouted.
"Make it beach itself!"
Gon's eyes lit up.
"Okay!"
Their chance soon came.
The King of the Swamp gathered the last of its strength and shot toward the sky.
At the instant its body reached the highest point.
"Now!"
Luo Ye and Gon exerted themselves at the same time, swinging their bodies hard toward the bank.
The fishing line pulled at the exhausted King of the Swamp, shifting its course just a little.
Its enormous body traced an arc through the air.
A thunderous crash rang out.
Instead of landing back in the middle of the swamp, it slammed onto the muddy flats in the shallows.
Most of its body sank into the muck along the bank.
It struggled and twisted, but could no longer get back to deep water.
They had done it.
Luo Ye and Gon let go, rolled off the fish's back, and tumbled into the mud.
Both were utterly exhausted, panting heavily, their bodies covered in water and mud.
They looked at each other.
Then, without planning it, they both began to laugh.
Luo Ye lay on the ground, gazing at the gray sky and feeling the increased strength within him.
He grinned.
What a massive win.
Before you continue