Chapter 20: Abandoning Ship

In that instant, everyone aboard the ship fell silent; no one dared to move. They all stared fixedly into the serpent’s eyes, bracing themselves for whatever came next.

York, the jungle survival expert, crouched low and quietly instructed the others to follow suit, murmuring, “Everyone, don’t move, don’t do anything reckless—slowly, squat down…”

But then, the giant serpent made its move.

With jaws wide open, it lunged straight at the mercenary captain standing at the center of the deck. The captain rolled left, narrowly evading the attack, but the serpent’s massive body crashed into the mast, snapping it in two.

In a wild cry, Uji—the black man—raised the stick he’d been clutching and swung it at the serpent’s head. As Uji leapt forward, York nearly went mad, shouting, “Come back, don’t do it!”

But it was already too late. Uji’s blow landed atop the serpent’s head. Stung by the attack, the serpent disregarded its surroundings and coiled its body in a deadly constriction.

This was a typical attack from a giant python, but this serpent’s size and length were monstrous. Instinctively, it wrapped itself up the moment it was struck. Nearly a hundred meters of its body whipped out of the water, writhing and squeezing everything it touched on the deck.

Uji, closest to the serpent, was the first to be caught. He tried to push its body away with all his strength, but in the next moment, he was crushed into pulp.

Caught in the serpent’s coils as well were the captain’s two sons. Lacking any combat experience, they failed to react properly in the face of danger. As the serpent rampaged, they screamed and ran, only to blunder straight into its deadly embrace.

York realized then that staying aboard was no longer an option. Without a backward glance, he leapt into the river, shouting, “Everyone jump off, get to the shore!”

Perkin reacted fastest. With just a glance at the chaos, he dashed toward the edge of the ship without hesitation. The sounds of their running drew the serpent’s attention; its body snapped upright, lunging toward the footsteps.

Perkin felt a chill down his back, and somehow managed to run faster than his age should allow. Before the serpent could reach him, he hurled himself forward, leaping more than a meter, clearing the rail and plunging into the river.

The serpent’s jaws closed on the rail, splintering the wood into dust.

The others seized the opportunity, scrambling in every direction toward the ship’s edge—even the captain had no thoughts of vengeance now. Their frantic movements and the deck’s trembling transmitted information to the serpent. Without York’s guidance, the survivors had no notion of softening their footsteps; their only thought was to jump into the water before anyone else, to escape the doomed vessel.

Only Liu Zhi, nearest the rail, maintained the posture York had taught, inching cautiously toward the ship’s edge. Having watched television, he knew that snakes largely rely on heat and vibration to locate their prey. As long as he wasn’t the most conspicuous target, he wouldn’t be the serpent’s first victim.

Just as Liu Zhi was about to reach the ship’s edge, disaster struck. The mercenary leader running nearby drew the serpent’s attention.

It was no surprise—after several deaths, the number of survivors had dwindled. The mercenary leader carried too many weapons, which clattered loudly even with the slightest movement. In his desperate flight, he became a moving source of noise.

The serpent locked onto him instantly.

As the serpent prepared to strike, the mercenary leader raised his hand and hurled his hatchet toward Liu Zhi. Using the momentum of his throw, he jumped overboard. The thud of the hatchet striking the deck masked the sound of his other equipment, drawing the serpent’s attention to Liu Zhi.

By now, Liu Zhi had reached the rail. Faced with this turn of events, he could no longer move slowly; pressing his hands to the rail, he vaulted straight into the river.

But the serpent’s reaction was swifter than he’d imagined. As Liu Zhi flipped over the rail, its jaws snapped toward him.

Instinctively, Liu Zhi dodged backward, evading the bite. His reaction was pure instinct, harnessing the zigzag footwork of the Secret Sword’s Night Strike. Facing the serpent as it prepared to open its mouth again, Liu Zhi felt a sudden, inexplicable urge. Drawing the sailor’s cutlass at his waist, he slashed at the serpent’s tongue as its mouth gaped.

He felt the blade strike something slick, almost slippery, resisting his cut. Without pausing to examine it, he released the hilt and spun, leaping overboard.

As he looked back while falling, he saw the serpent, jaws wide, lunging after him from the ship. His cutlass was lodged halfway into the serpent’s tongue.

Liu Zhi frowned, mentally calculating his swimming speed. He knew the moment he hit the water would be the moment the serpent caught up to him.

So he lifted his foot, kicking hard against the hull for extra momentum, propelling himself further away.

As he struck the water, he pressed his hands to the surface, forcing his body up and using the momentum to sprint across the water.

Those still struggling to swim were now in a predicament; no matter how fast they swam, it was nothing compared to running. Worse, swimming made much larger movements. While the serpent was on the ship, it was less dangerous, but now that it had entered the water, everyone became its target once again.

As the serpent slipped beneath the surface, all the swimmers froze momentarily before frantically paddling again. In their minds, reaching the shore was their only hope for survival.

The thought of fighting the serpent never crossed their minds. Against an ordinary giant python, they might have had confidence, but before this monstrous creature, none dared face it head-on. Their only thought was escape!