Chapter 18: Smugglers

Jiang Kai succeeded as expected. Under the effects of neurotoxin, the Venomous Spike Boar didn't get far before collapsing in spasms and dying shortly thereafter.

Its steel spikes had decreased by dozens, and its amber eyes were instantly recognizable to Jiang Kai.

It wasn't quite a coincidence—Jiang Kai had been deliberately heading in the direction of the boar that once chased him when he decided to hunt one.

[Killed Venomous-Spike Boar, gained 2 experience points.]

[Obtained item: "Corpse of the Venomous-Spike Boar."]

Yuan Zhu hurried over with excitement. "Hey, when did you get so good? Back when we played basketball, your aim was pretty awful."

A clean hit from ten meters away? That wasn't something most people could do without practice.

Jiang Kai, busy collecting spikes, snapped, "Quit babbling and start pulling spikes already."

Su Nuannuan also joined to help, and the three of them gathered over a hundred spikes.

These spikes were inherently laced with paralytic toxins—not as lethal as snake venom, but still much more effective than uncoated ones.

"Nuannuan, how many spikes can we coat with snake venom?"

"Forty, at most."

Jiang Kai nodded. "Alright, let's coat forty of them."

Su Nuannuan hesitated and then spoke, a little embarrassed. "They'll need cleaning first—I don't know if the paralytic toxin will conflict with the snake venom."

"Then let's head to the river to clean them."

After a thorough cleaning and some processing, 42 venom-coated spikes were ready.

"Fourteen each," Jiang Kai said.

Yuan Zhu shook his head. "I think Nuannuan and I only need one each for self-defense. The remaining 40 should go to you. We're not cut out for ranged attacks, anyway. Nuannuan, what do you think?"

Su Nuannuan nodded. "I agree. One is enough for close combat."

Jiang Kai frowned. If he handled all the kills, the experience would accumulate entirely with him.

"That's not fair to you two. Aren't you trying to level up, too?" Jiang Kai wasn't comfortable taking it all.

Su Nuannuan smiled. "You leveling up first helps all of us. Once you're stronger, you can carry us through fights more efficiently."

She had a point, but Jiang Kai resolved to give them opportunities to land finishing blows whenever possible.

With the distribution decided, Yuan Zhu and Su Nuannuan each received one venom-coated spike for defense, while Jiang Kai kept the remaining 40 venom-coated and 74 paralytic spikes.

He fashioned three makeshift quivers from animal hide: one for venom-coated spikes and two for paralytic ones. Yuan Zhu temporarily carried one of the quivers for Jiang Kai to keep him more agile.

While the group was discussing their next move, Yuan Zhu suddenly let out a startled cry.

The sharp sound made Jiang Kai and Su Nuannuan jump. Jiang Kai slapped Yuan Zhu on the back. "What's wrong with you? Screaming like that—do you want to attract every beast in the area?"

Yuan Zhu's eyes were wide with fear, and he pointed to the river. "Th-there! What is that?"

Jiang Kai tensed and followed his gaze to the river. A dark figure was partially visible beneath the water's surface.

Moments later, the shadow emerged—a man in black clothes with long hair, stepping out of the water.

At the same time, the sound of laughter came from behind them.

The three spun around to see three figures stepping out of the forest.

They were surrounded.

The newcomers were all Asian men, about 1.75 meters tall, with sinister smiles on their faces. Dressed in black and armed with curved blades or longswords, they slowly closed in on Jiang Kai and his group.

Jiang Kai's heart sank. Judging by their attire and equipment, they were almost certainly smugglers.

Rookies didn't have access to proper clothes or weapons.

"Smugglers!" Su Nuannuan's voice trembled as she whispered the word.

The three rookies stood back to back, gripping the spikes they had harvested, eyes locked on their enemies.

"Hahaha! Look at this, we found some stragglers." one smuggler said in heavily accented Chinese, laughing. "And a pretty girl, too."

The four men continued to close in, tightening their circle.

"I just love being a smuggler," a man with a mole on his nose sneered. "Every time we kill your Huaxia rookies, it's such a thrill."

Another man chuckled. "You're lucky to have run into us."

"Earlier, we caught three rookies and tossed them to a pack of Shadow Wolves. Just as they were about to be eaten alive, we pulled them out—only to hand them over to a Six-Clawed Golden Monkey to rip open their chests."

"While they were writhing in agony, they begged us to kill them, said they'd pay us anything."

"Isn't that pathetic? Are all of you Huaxia folk so spineless?"

The mole-faced man burst out laughing. "Don't say that. It's generosity, not spinelessness. They should take after our Bushido spirit and commit seppuku." [T/N: Bushido is code of honor among samurais and seppuku is taking one's own life, in the ancient Japan. It is getting racist, so buckle up.]

"They'd love to, but they can't—they don't have the strength to move after we shred their limbs to mush," the other smuggler replied with a cruel laugh.

Hearing this, Jiang Kai's eyes narrowed. He had known smugglers would target Huaxia rookies but never imagined they'd use such gruesome tactics.

Beside him, Su Nuannuan whispered, "Don't let them get to you. They're trying to scare us into breaking down."

Yuan Zhu's voice quivered. "Kai, I'm scared… I don't want to die."

Jiang Kai took a deep breath to steady himself.

"If you don't want to die, then fight them." he said firmly.

He quickly outlined a plan. "Listen to me. On my count, Zhu, block the left and front enemies. Nuannuan, run to the right and distract that one. I'll find an opening to escape. Trust me—wait for me."

"But splitting up…" Yuan Zhu hesitated.

"There's no other choice." Jiang Kai's tone left no room for argument.

Su Nuannuan glanced at him, her eyes filled with trust.

"Three, two, one—run!"

At Jiang Kai's command, Yuan Zhu charged toward the left and front enemies, using his size to force them to engage him. Su Nuannuan sprinted to the right, drawing attention from another enemy.

Their coordinated actions created an opening, and Jiang Kai darted to the right before abruptly changing direction and sprinting toward Yuan Zhu's position.

"You think you can escape, trash?" the smuggler from the river shouted, lunging after Jiang Kai.

But Jiang Kai's agility and sudden feints caught the smugglers off guard, allowing him to slip into the dense underbrush.

The mole-faced man cursed. "Baka! How dare he make fools of us. After him."

"Catch that bastard. I'll spend two days torturing him."

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