Chapter 50

 

Displayed on the panel:

[Clearwater Crocodile: Aquatic Melee]

[Threat Level: C]

[Drop Rate: Low-grade Growth Potion]

Lu Yu first noticed the viciousness level, C grade, which was the same level as a lion. He breathed a sigh of relief; this level was relatively easy for Tai Lie and the others.

Then he saw the dropped item.

His heart jumped suddenly, a life potion!!

Just as he was about to rejoice, his eyes flickered, and he saw the word ‘growth’, not ‘life’.

…Okay.

Lu Yu calmed down.

It seemed that life potions, these heaven-defying items, wouldn’t drop easily.

However, what was this growth potion?

Previously, with strength potions, he could guess their usage based on the name, but this growth potion… an advanced version of the red pill? Maybe a regeneration after limb loss?

Or… something even more powerful…

Forget it, let’s not think about it for now.

After scanning, Lu Yu focused even more on the river, trying to figure out the number of crocodiles. Of course, he didn’t forget to listen to Tai Lie and the others discuss, so he perked up his ears.

—

“Chief, I’m better at swimming. Let me go into the river first to explore.”

“This river doesn’t look deep. Why do we need good swimmers? I’ll go, I’m stronger.”

Shan Pu interjected eagerly, “Are you saying I’m weak, Chief? Let me go first. I run fast, so even if there are many crocodiles, I can quickly run back.”

Others were unconvinced, “Are you going to run in the river?”

“I run fast, so I paddle fast!”

Lu Yu: …

After discussing for so long, these guys really…

However, Lu Yu understood them to some extent. He could tell from their demeanor that catching crocodiles shouldn’t be too difficult for them; the instinct for battle among the Matai people was strong.

Moreover, their discussion was futile anyway. Given Tai Lie’s temperament, he would definitely be the first to charge out.

Lu Yu pondered for a moment, “The key isn’t who goes to catch them, but how to catch them. These animals attack by tearing and biting with their huge mouths, so holding their mouths shut should suffice. But you only have two hands, and who knows how many crocodiles are underneath…”

He paused, “I think it’s better to go together. We can watch out for each other and retreat ashore if there are too many crocodiles.”

Since the crocodile won’t drop a life potions, there was no need to rush to get it. He noted down the location, and when the training ground was upgraded later, there would surely be water combat training. It wouldn’t be too late to deal with these crocodiles after training.

Hearing his suggestion, the Matai people who were arguing about who would go first stopped arguing.

“Right, let’s go together!” The crowd was eager to try. Besides fishing, they hadn’t hunted anything in the water before, so it felt quite novel.

Tai Lie remained silent, implicitly agreeing to this plan.

“Oh, right!” Lu Yu had a sudden idea. “Why don’t you guys take this with you?”

The Matai people were puzzled. “Take what? Red pill? We still have plenty, Witch.”

Lu Yu smiled and took out some tough grass from his ring.

This grass was thin and long, but the key point was that it was extremely resilient. When Lu Yu was gathering wild vegetables before, he found this type of grass and thought it might be useful, so he collected a lot of it and stored it in his ring.

After taking out the tough grass, Lu Yu rubbed a few strands together to form a rope-like shape.

The Matai people were confused. “Witch, what are you doing? Making a grass basket?”

Lu Yu didn’t answer. After quickly making the grass into a rope, he bent it and prepared to make a slip knot.

This type of knot he had learned once. He wanted to eat the freshest seafood, so when he went out to sea to fish with the ship, the captain taught him the simplest one.

Lu Yu told the curious Matai people around him, “We’ll need this later. Pay attention to how I do it.” It was a good opportunity to teach them as well.

Lu Yu slowed down his movements. He first tied a slip knot, then elongated the end, bent it into a loop, passed the other end of the rope through this loop, tied it tightly, and then threaded the long end of the rope through the new loop. The slip knot was ready.

The Matai people had expressions like “Who am I?” “Where am I?” and “What am I doing?” on their faces.

Lu Yu smiled and reached out for Shan Pu’s hand, preparing to demonstrate how to use the slip knot to them. However, as soon as he touched Shan Pu’s hand, a cold, icy gaze shot over from the side.

Lu Yu: …

Shan Pu’s body trembled slightly. Although he couldn’t fully understand what had happened, he instinctively pulled his hand back.

The Matai people really had strong survival instincts.

Lu Yu glared back and grabbed the hands of Tai Lie, whose possessiveness was overflowing, and even touching someone else’s hand emitted death rays. He tied the slip knot around Tai Lie’s wrists.

Lu Yu picked up the other end of the remaining long rope and gently pulled it, tightening the slip knot and binding Tai Lie’s hands.

“Wow!!!” The Matai people exclaimed in shock.

Lu Yu didn’t look at Tai Lie, but turned to the Matai people and said, “You can take this slip knot with you. When you see the opportunity, tie it around the crocodile’s mouth. With the crocodile’s huge mouth immobilized, its combat effectiveness will decrease significantly.”

The Matai people obediently nodded, “Okay.”

Lu Yu took out some tough grass from his ring and distributed it to them, instructing them to make it into ropes and then turn them into slip knots.

The Matai people who had been serious just now took the grass and started to work, while some who had been absent-minded earlier scratched their heads sheepishly. “Witch, I seem to have forgotten how to make this slip knot.”

Lu Yu smiled gently, “It’s okay, you can make it into a rope first, and I’ll teach you later.” Anyway, making this slip knot was simple; if it weren’t for teaching them, he could make many of them quickly by himself.

As the crowd lowered their heads to work, a low, deep voice sounded in Lu Yu’s ear?

“Aren’t you going to untie me?”

Lu Yu turned his head, innocently smiling, “I thought with the Chief’s abilities, you could break free by yourself?”

Tai Lie raised his eyelids, casting a glance at him. “You want to tie me up?”

Without waiting for Lu Yu’s answer, he added indifferently, “No need for that.”

Lu Yu: …

Sometimes this guy’s words are really.

Lu Yu leaned over, fiddled with the slip knot, loosening the lasso, then collected the lasso and handed it to Tai Lie. “You can use this.”

“No need.”

“Huh?” Lu Yu frowned. “I know you’re strong, but still, take it. Just in case.”

Tai Lie replied, “I’m not going into the river.”

Lu Yu was surprised. “You’re not going into the river?” Wasn’t the Matai Chief always fond of charging into battle?

Tai Lie said, “I’ll stay here to protect you.”

Lu Yu’s eyelashes quivered, he turned his head away and said softly, “We’ve just seen everything here, except for these crocodiles in the river, there aren’t any large beasts. Besides, you’re not going far, so… there’s no need for you to specifically protect me.”

Tai Lie pursed his lips, but remained silent.

At this moment, Lu Yu didn’t think he was acquiescing. He continued, “We still don’t know how many crocodiles are in the river. Are you sure you want to let them go down on their own?”

Tai Lie replied coldly, “If they can’t handle a few crocodiles, then being injured is their deserved lesson.”

Shan Pu, who overheard their conversation, couldn’t help but interject, “Witch, let the Chief protect you. We can handle it!”

Lu Yu hesitated.

Shan Pu patted his chest, “We’ve been training hard these days, and it’s a good opportunity to show it. If the Chief goes with us, we’ll just stand idly by.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” other Matai people chimed in.

The people who had hunted the fierce cattle with Tai Lie before testified to the Chief’s fate, saying that they had ended up doing nothing and couldn’t help.

“Most importantly, it’s your safety, Witch. Otherwise, we’ll be worried about fighting the crocodiles.”

Lu Yu was not someone who wouldn’t listen to advice. He nodded gently and smiled, “Okay, then be careful.”

—

With the slip knots ready, each person took two.

Lu Yu also threw some grilled fish and meat into the river. Although it attracted some crocodiles, Lu Yu scanned with the panel and found that new crocodiles emerged each time. Roughly estimating, there were nearly twenty of them.

On their side, except for Tai Lie, who didn’t have plan to dive into the river, there were only nine people.

The crowd put on their armor, grabbed their weapons, and stepped into the river step by step.

Lu Yu was a little nervous.

After all, it was an underwater operation…

He discreetly glanced at Tai Lie beside him, wanting to see if he was also secretly nervous.

Tai Lie leaned against a tree, one leg bent, his hand resting on his thigh. Although he was also paying attention to Shan Pu and the others, he seemed very relaxed.

Lu Yu: Alright.

After being nervous for a while, as the Matai people gradually entered, the river water surged!

The disturbed crocodiles, one by one, emerged from the muddy river water.

—

Looking at the crocodiles lying half-dead, with their mouths firmly bound by slip knots and thrown on the ground, Lu Yu couldn’t quite believe it.

This battle ended way too quickly. It was simply an overwhelming victory!

Lu Yu had thought that the Matai warriors were accustomed to land battles and would be at a disadvantage in the water. However, the reality was completely different from what he had imagined. Although the river was muddy, it wasn’t deep. The two-meter-tall Matai people could barely stand in it, which made it easy for them. They just waited for the crocodiles to come to them…

The ropes easily captured the crocodiles’ snouts, followed by a beating, and finally, they were lifted and thrown onto the bank. The operation flowed like clouds and water. Lu Yu was dumbfounded by what he saw.

Tai Lie calmly explained, “They not only train in their dreams but also train when they come out.”

So that’s how it is. Lu Yu suddenly realized. No wonder he felt that their movements during battle were smoother and more precise, and they had also learned how to avoid injuries to some extent.

Lu Yu shifted his gaze back to the river.

He felt both gratified and melancholic. These honest, hardworking, and powerful Matai people, if it weren’t for that massacre in the beginning, if everyone had been fine, then now, how much…

Lu Yu suddenly clenched his fist.

But he would help the remaining Matai people become even stronger!

In total, the Matai people captured a whole twenty crocodiles.

Because Lu Yu was there, they didn’t need to bring them back to deliver for the final blow. The lives of these crocodiles lying on the ground were directly ended.

All twenty crocodiles were ordinary ones without a leader, resulting in two dropped treasure chests.

Lu Yu walked to one of the treasure chests and opened it.

Inside was a small glass bottle, similar to the one containing the strength potion.

Lu Yu picked up the bottle.

Unlike the strength potion, this time the game panel actively popped up, displaying several lines of explanation.

[Low-grade Growth Potion 1 Usage Time]

[Can accelerate the growth period of plants by four months]

[Effective range is one hectare]

Lu Yu had some guesses beforehand, but he didn’t expect it to be exactly this.

Although it wasn’t a life potions, it was still a very useful item!

The rice they planted wouldn’t be harvested until late autumn, and winter was approaching soon. With this potions, a two bottles, they could harvest three times in one cycle!

Now, not only would they have enough to eat, but there would also be plenty left over.

In this era of struggling for food all day long, the more food stored, the better!

With food, they could develop with peace of mind, absorb more people, balance their nutrition, and reduce illnesses…

“How about it, is this what you wanted?” Tai Lie’s voice came from behind.

Lu Yu held the small bottle, his expression excited for a moment.

He slowly turned around.

Although Tai Lie’s expression remained calm, Lu Yu still saw a hint of expectation in his eyes.

Lu Yu pursed his lips. “No.”

Yes, the Growth Potion was indeed great, but…

Tai Lie’s gaze dimmed slightly.

Lu Yu didn’t know what to say.

In fact, he was mentally prepared. The Life Potion wouldn’t be found so quickly, or even worse, it might not exist at all.

He had only been here for a few decades, or even less.

Tai Lie said, “Let’s go back.”

“Yeah.”