The jungle was far more difficult than Lorraine could have imagined.

After converging the advance supply fleet at Trini Bay, the landing force finally solved the problem of overstretched capacity.

Every soldier can sail up the river in a boat, no longer having to go deep into the treacherous jungle and no longer have to use his luck to challenge the appetite of terrifying beasts such as the Cyplam, the jaguar, and the brightly colored poisonous insects.

But that doesn't mean the rest of the road will be smooth sailing.

During the dry season, the San Juan River is less navigable than anyone expected.

At the mouth of the river, the water is still two to three meters deep, and by the time it reaches Trini Bay, the water that has widened suddenly is just over a metre long.

This depth is constantly challenging the 10-meter and 15-meter draft limits, and the slightest change in the riverbed can make it easy for these vital ships to run aground.

What's more, the river water, which is rich in aquatic life, is as green as oil, and it is not clear, even if the water depth is shallow, it cannot be seen to the naked eye.

What is the condition of the riverbed? Does it meet the navigation standards?

All kinds of invisible and unknowable doubts made the landing force never get out of the state of being in a state of trembling, not only did it not improve significantly in speed, but even its spirit gradually returned to the high-pressure state of the first day.

Nelson was keenly aware of the team's concerns.

He consulted with Lorraine and Spencer, and assumed the heaviest responsibility, as usual.

The marching queue was thus adjusted, and Nelson and his guards moved to the Dahlia, becoming the pioneer of the entire fleet.

As long as it was under sail, five sailors stood at the bow of the ship and probed into the improvised pole in a radial pattern, 3 meters forward and 1 meter downward, which was exactly the draft and turning distance of the Dahlia and Cactus.

After Dahlia, the Cactus followed suit, followed by the previous fleet, which was controlled by Bartow.

Lorraine and his Pale Dewdrop fell to the back of the pack, monitoring the nearly impossible pursuit. He also had a new look, Mr. Live Animal, Spencer's aide-de-camp, Second Lieutenant Freemani.

Overnight on the river.

Today is the seventh day of the upstream, and the fleet is on its way to Rice Bay.

Rice Bay is a continuous bend in the middle of the San Juan River, where the current washes out a tidal flat on both banks.

During the wet season, the water should be fast, or the rainforest plants with such tenacity will not let go of the nutrient-rich mudflats.

But now it's dry season.

The chaotic water was smooth and waveless, rolling mud and smoke, and there was no trace of agitation.

Indigenous sailors say the tidal flats are a common drinking ground for rainforest animals and a natural hunting ground for American crocodiles.

These social predators tend to hide in burrows under water, and their natural protective colors and quiet habits make them extremely difficult to distinguish from the human eye, but when they do, they will burst out with great power and speed far beyond human imagination.

For safety's sake, Lorraine suggested setting up the overnight spot on the river away from the tidal flats, and all boats were tied with cables to create a relatively stable floating island, with large boats outside and small boats inside.

This is to protect those fragile dinghies.

A fully loaded dinghy with a deep draft? Is the freeboard less than 20 cm above the water? That unsheltered state leads to a lack of protection for the people on board, in the event of a raid by predators? The 14 people on board didn't even have room to hide.

Busy? It's the middle of the night.

Physically empty, mentally exhausted soldiers, most of them had already slept on the crowded ships.

The big ship usually leaves 4 to 6 people on duty for the night? The boat did not have room to watch at night, and the crew was not in a state of being able to undertake duty.

Tired from long-term tension? Can't even put on the lights for an overnight stay? Only absolute darkness can give them a moment of respite.

Lorraine was the star of the night, and after a circle around the island-like ship, he returned to the green dewdrops, and saw the lantern with a gun? Ensign Freemani standing like a pine.

Take off the gun? Pause, kick, stand up!

When Ensign Freemani saw Lorraine return, he lifted his spirits and shouted in his moving voice, which could seduce parrots: "Good morning! ”

Lorraine was nearly shaken off the ship's plank.

He has a black face? Flew up and landed on the deck: "Ensign Freemani......"

"Yes! My lord! ”

"Neither subordinate nor positional, I am not your official ......"

"That's why you're called an adult? My lord! Is this a heartfelt worship and respect, which is completely different from transactional respect up and down? My lord! Please, my lord! ”

Lorraine looked at him playfully: "Sound? You still don't seem to understand my preferences. Will you report back to Bartona tomorrow? You need to reinvent the wheel. ”

Freemani's face changed drastically? The voice suddenly lowered sixteen degrees: "I...... I'm going to look at the water...... Mr. President, don't let me feed the mosquitoes again......"

It's not thorough enough......

Looking at Frymani, who fled back to his post in embarrassment, Lorraine shook his head and climbed onto the top cabin.

The blue dew is of the Bermudan Slupp type, with the characteristic aft deck of the Slupp type, and the superstructure is only half a storey, and the blue dewdrops, even if they are raised, only raise the roof.

The upper deck roof of the traditional Slupp type is self-contained, not jointed stern, not on the sides, like a box protruding from the deck.

The green dew is designed at Bermuda's high speed, with a transverse tilt to form a fluid inclination, and the stern end extends directly around the entire raised stern, giving it better windward performance.

So the cabin of the pale dew is more like the stern of a big ship. The roof is the aft deck, which is the most spacious and has the best view on the entire ship.

Lorraine saw a slender figure on the top of the cabin, draped in a smock and hooded, sitting on one leg in the direction of the river, silently watching the blurred moonlight.

Henna ......

Ever since Lucy's visit to Nelson, Lorraine and Henna have been locked in a strange cold war.

Lorraine was angry that Henna locked the door without his consent, and Henna ...... It is estimated that Qi Lorraine accepted Nelson's invitation without a thorough recuperation.

Anyway, the two haven't spoken seriously since then.

There was no direct communication between the two during the war on Mais Island, and they did not even show their faces when they traveled to the Coral Kingdom and excavated the remains of the shipwreck.

At the mouth of the San Juan River, they said a few words, but they parted unhappily.

Since then, even the most basic eye contact between the two has been turned off, like two close parallel lines, independent of each other and not interfering with each other.

Shh Woman!

Lorraine looked at the moonlight with disgust, walked up to Henna with her head held high, took out the star-shaped shell she had picked up at the bottom of her arms from her arms, stuffed it, and stuffed it into Henna's palm.

Henna looked down in confusion.

Under the moonlight, the star shell glows with pearlescent, like a rainbow-like color wheel with breathing, light and shadow flowing, light and shade twisting.

But all the bright things are just a foil, and in the very center of the star, a dark red ink-like mark becomes the end of all light and shadow, attracting all eyes.

"It's ...... Did you engrave it? ”

"Born."

Henna's eyes lit up like jewels, brighter and brighter than the shining stars and the white moonlight.

"Where did it come from?"

"Souvenirs of visiting Poseidon Gardens, can't think of anyone else but you...... Anyway, go to bed early. ”

The conversation seems to be over again.

Lorraine stood depressed for a moment, he didn't speak, and neither did Henna.

Silence lingered, Lorraine grabbed the handle of the knife and simply turned around, only to take a step, and suddenly felt something tug at his trouser leg.

"About the events of that day......"

Henna's voice is as thin as a mosquito, not even as noisy as a rainforest mosquito.

"...... right"

"Crocodile! The crocodile dragged Charles away! ”

A sudden exclamation pierced the sky, and in the middle of the ship's envelope, a terrible scream erupted from the unsuspecting dinghy.

Lorraine froze in place.

In a matter of moments, he slammed into action, picked off the wind-lit lantern hanging on the broadside, and threw it towards the dark dinghy.

The weak light of the fire swirled in mid-air, slamming into the head of the unlucky bomb, and extinguishing in an instant.

Just before the fire was extinguished, Lorraine saw at least 20 crocodiles with a gray-brown narrow-snout tumbling on the water's surface, twisting and writhing like intertwined muscle fibers.

"Defend against it...... Lorraine gritted her teeth and drew her knife, "Henna, go and inform Nelson and Spencer." ”

"Freemani, fire, engage!"