Book 6 Chapter 6.3 - From the Sea
When afternoon arrived, an old-fashioned truck made its way out from the distant shrubbery. Its exhaust released a few painful groans before coming to a stop. Seven or eight fully armed soldiers jumped out from within. They wore grayish-green old-fashioned military uniforms, their lower bodies wearing military shorts. Some of them wore high army boots, some directly barefooted, relying on their thick skin and calluses to deal with the thorns and insects covering the ground. These soldiers were quite short, their skin pitch-black, but they were extremely agile and strong. They traveled five or six meters with a single jump, and after jumping around a few times and spreading out, they occupied the main points in the truck's surroundings.
Bang bang! The truck's driving compartment shook quite a few times before it was finally kicked open. A tall and well built middle-aged male squeezed out from the carriage while cursing. He wore a similarly styled army uniform, his build large and tall. Even though it wasn't an extremely muscular type of sturdiness, every part of his steel-like body exuded great power. Unlike the soldiers under him, he was caucasian. Extended exposure under wind and rain added a layer of bronze to his face. At his waist was an old-fashioned revolver, but it was clear that the more dangerous weapons were those large hands with clear joints.
The passenger seat's door on the other side was similarly pushed a few times before it was opened with great difficulty. A young man leapt out like a vigorous and nimble leopard from within, his face full of unruliness and arrogance. He didn't carry any firearms, only carrying two tribal styled curved machetes. He had brown skin, his sharp facial features displaying that he was someone with mixed blood.
The middle-aged male narrowed his eyes, first producing a cigar full of tropical style, lit it, and then took a deep breath. The youngster produced a pair of binoculars, gazing into the distant mist shrouded coconut grove while saying, "Kabi, don't tell me you had us set out so early, making us drive several hours just so we could look at all the coconut trees here… Oh! My god! This… this is…"
Kabi gave him a glance, and then swiped over the binoculars with a light fast motion, gazing into the coconut grove. After only a brief look, the remaining half of the handcrafted cigar silently dropped onto the floor. In his field of view, the lush coconut grove only had bare tree trunks left-over. After seeing this strange scene, he couldn't help but feel a deep chill.
The young man had long collected his flippant attitude, asking, "Kabi, what is going on?"
Kabi lowered the binoculars, and then said, "Don't ask me, I don't know either. Have all the lads stay behind and carefully stand guard. Robbio, you are following me into the grove to take a look. Draw your blades, don't be careless. Hidden inside might be something beyond our imaginations!"
Robbio looked at Kabi with a bit of shock, asking, "Maybe it's just a wild beast, there's no need to be this nervous, right? You are… in the end a fella equivalent to six levels!"
Kabi laughed, pulled out the revolver at his waist, spun it a bit, and then said, "You seem to be getting better and better at flattery. However, my old friend told me that even if you have seven levels, if you aren't careful, the fella in the forest might bite off your neck!"
Robbio shrugged his shoulders, pulled out the machetes at his waist, and then followed behind Kabi into the forest.
When they entered the coconut grove, they immediately sensed the deep coldness that surrounded this entire place. The two of them no longer spoke, simultaneously lightening their footsteps, carefully observing and listening, definitely not letting any detail go easily.
A moment later, the two of them had more or less made a trip through their surroundings. They gave each other a look.
Kabi spoke first, raising his head towards the sky and saying, "All of the leaves and coconuts disappeared… there seem to be clear marks."
"Let me!" Robbio leapt out, instantly making his way to the top of the tree, even more agile than a monkey. He carefully examined the mouth marks, and then sniffed deeply with his nose like a wild beast. "From the traces, it should be a bite mark left by a human or monkey, but from the cross-cut of the fiber fractures, it was extremely strong, not like a human at all, different even if there was strengthened power! Strange, there is no odor left behind at all, none even on the bite scar."
Kabi didn't doubt Robbio's judgment. In the forest, Robbio's instincts were even more frightening than a wild animal's. This youngster who grew up in the jungle since he was young was also an expert in tracking and counter tracking. He had five levels of speed and strength, as well as five levels of perception, making him the definition of a beast.
"Biting to eat?" When he heard Robbio's judgment, Kabi couldn't help but frown. He observed the deathly still forest, and then took a deep breath. The air he inhaled also seemed to contain a concentrated deathly aura. Apart from this, there was nothing else.
"What kind of thing is it exactly, to clean out such a large coconut grove? Or is it to say that they brought away all of the coconuts and tree leaves?" Kapi asked. "Also, how did they go up?" He looked all around him, but there was no sign of any creature's footprints.
When Robbio on the treetop only begun to think about this problem, his face immediately changed. This type of thing who didn't leave any traces or smell aside from these bite marks, for Robbio, was no different from being invisible. Moreover, from the degree of flatness and smoothness of the bite marks, if what this mouth bit down on was him, even the sturdiest bones would be chewed through. Robbio suddenly leapt from one tree to another, observing the bite marks on it, continuing like this all the way to the coast before returning, landing in front of Kabi. Robbio's complexion was pale, cold sweat continuously produced. "The bite marks are all quite fresh, should all have been made within twelve hours of time. The oldest bite marks were at the coast, while the ones here are all quite fresh. If we are judging purely based on these traces, then…"
Robbio swallowed with difficulty, saying, "They might very well have originated from the sea!"
"From the sea?!" The revolver in Kabi's hands released a groan unique to metal friction under the tremendous grip strength. This vicious weapon made with crude workmanship, but well known for its durability and great power was almost accidentally crushed into a lump of metal.