BECOMING AN ANCESTOR

At sunrise, we began the crossing. Before traversing the lake, I explained what we would do. I taught them how to use the oars, when to bait, and how to use the stone powder. We would act like an octopus, throwing bait at any sign of threat.

Due to concerns that the stone powder might not work, I tested it on a crocodile basking in the sun. The result was that they are more resilient than gnus, but the powder still affects them. Instead of being paralyzed, they become very slow.

I used pieces of meat seasoned with stone powder as bait, and we scattered the powder around the boat. It was genuinely challenging to create these boats. Alongside the craftsmen, we crafted five rowing boats, with each boat carrying five members of the exploration group.

"Martins, let's go!"

"Yes, sir. Um, not to challenge your decision, I've accepted my loss, but are you sure about this?"

"I know what you fear, but we already have countermeasures."

"Of course, I know that, but I still get nervous about passing through so much water."

"One day, I'll take everyone to a place where this amount of water is nothing."

"That's impossible. I know you know a lot, but a place with more water than this is impossible. Maybe there's a similar place, but much larger. I really can't even imagine."

"Don't worry about that. It's still years away. Now our focus is here."

"Yes, sir. I'll gather the others."

"Alright."

After Martins gathered the group members, I gave orders to those who would stay, and we began the crossing. Thanks to the training I subjected them to, they had no trouble rowing, but the rocking of the boat was a problem.

According to my calculations, it would take about 4 to 5 hours of rowing. At least today, the sun wasn't too strong, and there were no signs of rain.

After more than an hour and a half with nothing happening, a movement. I had been observing the water the whole time. As it wasn't murky but not crystal clear either, I could see a bit of what was happening. Dozens of crocodiles.

"Now, throw the meat far away!"

As trained before, they knew what to do. As soon as the meat landed far from the boats, the agitation began. Dozens of crocodiles tried to grab the meat.

"Spread the powder around the boat!"

We didn't have enough meat for all, so we had to use the powder to keep them at bay.

"Row faster!"

With increased paddling, we distanced ourselves, and the powder kept them away.

"Wow, you really got it right, sir."

"Don't let your guard down. We're still far from reaching the other side."

"Keep going, and stay focused."

After a few more hours, we could fully see the other side of the lake. Finally, I hoped there were many resources on the other side, especially ores. My iron weapons and the few ores I had were gone. To build the boats, I had to use them in an improvised clay forge. All that remained was a spear and a dagger.

It seemed like I was back to the beginning, looking at where I was and where I was going. Well, not entirely. I smiled.

"Chief, what's that?"

Taking me out of my thoughts, one of the members pointed ahead.

"That is..."

What the hell is that?

It was a crocodile, but it was enormous, much larger than an elephant. It was the size of an elephant, or even larger. A crocodile larger than an elephant? Is that even possible?

The largest crocodile I encountered in the forest was not even 8 meters long, but this one was over 10 meters. What madness is this? How could a creature of such giant size go undiscovered during this time? Crocodilians of this size lived millions of years ago, alongside dinosaurs.

"Chief, what do we do? Do we keep going?"

"What? Stop rowing."

Now, what do I do? I never thought I would encounter a crocodile this size. But I can't just turn back. It looks like the whole tribe will either gain boots or lose their chief. What is life without risks?

"Prepare all the stone powder we have. We're going to hunt that thing."

"What? That's too big, and we're in the middle of the water. We'll die."

"Calm down, Martins. We've come this far; we can't go back empty-handed. And it's not the first one we've killed."

"I know you killed the River Lord alone, but this one is much bigger, and we have no advantage."

"Don't worry; I have a plan."