"Is it really dead?"
Claude leaned against the side of the boat, his body dripping wet. Both he and Welikro had been splashed by the crocodile when it fell into the water.
However, he didn't have the time to care about such trivial matters. He placed his gun horizontally in front of him and started reloading gunpowder.
Sitting down wasn't as convenient as standing, but his left ankle was as swollen as freshly baked bread and he couldn't stand up.
"It's really dead. Otherwise, it would've pounced on me when I fell into the water.
I saw its belly exposed and it wasn't moving at all. It's definitely dead … "The one who replied was Borkal, who had just climbed onto the boat. He looked like a drowned rat as water dripped from his body.
However, he calmed down after the crocodile's death and returned to his usual liveliness.
Welikro used the broken pole to poke at the motionless crocodile. After poking it a few times, he breathed a sigh of relief. "It's completely dead. It's all thanks to Claude's accurate shot. You hit it right in the head and killed it.
Otherwise, we would've really been in trouble. Perhaps all four of us wouldn't have been able to escape and would've been torn to shreds. "
Claude finally finished loading the gun and gunpowder, but the match was completely wet and couldn't be used anymore. Unable to get up, he called out, "Wero, bring me my backpack. I'll get a new match."
"What do you need the match for now?" asked Borkarcher.
Isn't the crocodile already dead? "
Welikro walked over and gave Borkal a shove. "Go away. Don't get in the way. Claude is being considerate just in case.
We're still here, after all. Who knows if there'll be a second crocodile?
Also, where's your gun?
You can't even help at a crucial moment and you're just causing trouble for us! "
Borkal's face turned red from Welikro's scolding. He knew how badly he did during the crocodile's attack.
Welikro saying that he was causing trouble was already a pretty good comment. In fact, he was dragging everyone down. Not only was he paralyzed on the deck, he even threw his gun away and only knew how to scream.
"Eh?
Where's my gun? "Borkal couldn't find it after looking around. That's weird. The cabin isn't that big, so why can't I find it?
Claude pointed at the lake and said, "Stop yelling. I think you took your gun with you when you rolled into the water. Look at the bottom."
Welikro brought the backpack over for Claude and helped him take out the match. He wrapped it around the gun and used a match clip to hold it. Both of them breathed a sigh of relief after lighting it.
If anything were to happen, he would be able to protect himself with his gun.
"What happened to your foot?"
Welikro looked at Claude's swollen ankle and helped him take off his left shoe.
No matter how careful he was, he couldn't help but gasp in pain.
"I twisted it when I fired."
Claude forced a smile and said, "I'm fine. Go take a look at Eyke first. His face is covered in blood. I don't know if his injuries are serious.
I remember we brought two bottles of healing serums with us. Go find them and treat him. "
Eriksson had already climbed up and was holding his face as he walked towards the damaged right side of the boat. Blood was still dripping from his face and it seemed rather serious.
Borkal, on the other hand, was taking off his drenched clothes to reveal his chubby white body. It seemed like he was going to go into the water to retrieve his gun.
Welikro was annoyed. "Boa, don't go into the water yet!
Go take a look at where Eyke is hurt. I'll go look for some healing serums. "
Eriksson's left cheekbone was cut by the handle of the steering wheel. Even though there was a lot of blood, it wasn't a serious injury.
However, when the crocodile fell into the water after being shot by Claude, he hit the bottom of the steering wheel again. Not only did he get a huge bump on his head, but he also felt a little dizzy from the impact.
Borkal hurriedly helped Eriksson to sit on the deck and used a wet linen towel to wipe his face.
Welikro found some healing serums and poured some on his wound to stop the bleeding.
However, healing serums were usually used to treat external injuries, so Eriksson's wound didn't need to be ingested.
Claude's sprained ankle didn't need any healing serums either. He had to get a herbalist to set his bones and apply some ointments to treat it.
"It's best if you stitch it up. The wound is a little long. If you don't stitch it up, it'll leave an ugly scar on your face," said Welikro as he looked at the wound on Eriksson's face.
"Then, help me stitch it up …" Eriksson had no choice but to grit his teeth and act tough.
It would be too late to get a herbalist to stitch it up when they got back to town. It would take two hours to get back by boat and the wound had already been stopped by the healing serums. If he didn't stitch it up now, he might not be able to close it up.
The tools he had were ready-made sewing needles and catgut, which were essential medical supplies in the wilderness. They were packed in a paper bag.
However, Welikro's skills weren't that great and the three stitches he made were still crooked. Eriksson bit on a wooden stick and gasped in pain.
Borkal didn't dare to look and jumped into the water to retrieve his gun.
After Welikro stitched up Eriksson's wound and applied some healing serums before wrapping his face in a clean cloth, Borkal picked up his gun and got back on the boat.
After the incident with the niros crocodile, the four of them no longer had the mood to hunt for waterfowl in the reeds and decided to head back to town.
The only problem now was whether they should scoop up the dead niros crocodile and bring it back.
"We can go back and call a boat to transport the niros crocodile back."
Welikro felt that the most important thing to do now was to send Claude to the apothecary to treat his sprained left ankle. His ankle was already swollen.
"Also, the starboard side of Eyke's boat is already broken and the deck is only a palm's height above the water.
This niros crocodile is about the same size as our fishing boat. If we bring it back, the entire deck will definitely sink into the water. How are we supposed to get back then? "
"No, if we don't bring the crocodile back now, it'll take us half a day to get back. We might not even be able to find the carcass by the time we get back.
Besides, the starboard side of Eyke's boat is so broken. Even if we sell all the fish we caught to him, we won't be able to afford the repair fees.
The only way we can afford to repair the boat is if we sell the crocodile for a high price. "Borkal insisted on bringing the carcass back with them.
"Wait, don't forget that we still have a purse seine and two blocking nets. Auntie Baelin lent them to me to test them out. We can't just leave them here," said Eriksson as he covered his face.
"Look, if we retract the nets later, we won't be able to fit the crocodile in our boat," said Welikro with a shrug.
Claude gave it some thought. "Boa has a point. If we don't bring the niros crocodile back or lose its carcass, we really won't have the money to pay for repairs. After all, we don't have a second wave-piercer that we can use to replace the side of the boat.
But Welikro's considerations aren't wrong. If we retract all three nets, the boat won't be able to fit the crocodile.
"What I'm thinking is, why don't we tie the crocodile up and drag it behind the boat? When the three nets are retracted, we can remove the wooden stakes from the nets and tie them to the crocodile's body.
I believe that with so many wooden stakes tied to the crocodile's body, it should be able to lift the carcass up. That way, we won't have to worry about the carcass being too heavy and slowing down the boat. "
Claude's suggestion was immediately approved by Borkal and Eriksson.
Borkal felt that Claude's brain was way too smart. That idea solved all their problems in an instant. It was no wonder his grades improved so quickly when he worked hard. Now, the three of them had to copy Claude's answers for every exam.
Welikro, on the other hand, looked at Claude worriedly. "What about your leg?"
Claude shook his head. "It's fine. It's just a sprain, not a broken one. There's no need to rush.
Bring me some medicine and linen. I'll give it a massage and wrap it up. I'll go to the apothecary to take a look when we get back. "
There were enough ropes in the cabin, but Claude and Eriksson couldn't get into the water due to their injuries. So, Welikro and Borkal had no choice but to tie up the crocodile.
Even though Borkal said that he wanted to bring the carcass back, he started getting scared when he tried to tie it up. He didn't dare to approach the carcass anymore.
Welikro cursed at him angrily and dove into the water to tie up the crocodile's mouth. Only then did Borkal swim over and tie the rope around its body.
When the two returned with the rope, Eriksson went over to help pull the carcass out of the reeds.
The carcass didn't seem heavy in the water. It only caused the boat to sink a little and the deck was only two to three centimeters above the water.
The boat slowly sailed out of the reeds and headed towards the purse seine.
Before closing the net, Claude had Borkal go into the cabin and bring out all the edible food beside him. He sat at the front of the boat and looked around with his gun.
However, there were only half a basket of blueberries and half a basket of apples left. There was also half a barrel of rye wine left.
The other ingredients were raw and there was no need to even consider roasting them. None of them had the mood to eat.
When the purse seine was pulled up, there were only three slightly larger fish. The rest were palm-sized white-scaled fish and there were more than ten of them. The fish weren't worth much as they didn't have much meat and bones. Nobody would buy them and the fishermen would usually chop them up to feed their poultry.
Actually, the fish would taste quite good if it was fried, but nobody in this era would be willing to use so much oil to fry it.
The two nets managed to catch 18 decent fish, which should be worth one riasso.
After the fish were thrown into the living water cabin, everyone hurriedly removed the wooden stakes from the net. Welikro and Borkal went into the water again and tied the wooden stakes to the carcass of the crocodile. As expected, the carcass of the crocodile stopped sinking and the burden on the boat was greatly reduced.
However, the boat was fully loaded with fishing nets and was flattened to the surface of the water. The damage to the right side of the boat caused waves to surge up to the deck from time to time.
Fortunately, the boat was built with the planks of a ship and had good buoyancy, so they didn't have to worry about the boat sinking.
By the time they packed everything up and headed back, it was already noon. The four of them only started to feel a little hungry after being busy for so long.
They had no choice but to eat apples, blueberries, and a glass of rye wine to fill their stomachs. They had no choice but to eat apples, blueberries, and rye wine to fill their stomachs.