“Hold on tight,” Zachary said as he waded deeper into the river.

Katherine, who was clinging to his back, let out a hiss as the cold, rushing water submerged them both up to their necks. They were finally crossing the river, not for any pressing reason, just that they had to continue pushing deeper into the jungle. It was a risk but one they had to take to survive.

Zachary felt a tug and started to move forward. The vine rope tied around his waist was taunt, connected to a large, gray catfish that was swimming slowly and pulling them along. As the latest addition to his summon lineup, he had named it Whiskers. Katherine protested the name but he disagreed as a catfish still had cat in the name.

Whiskers was close to one meter from head to tail. Its body was wide and girthy. It weighed as much as Katherine. The catfish didn’t have any special abilities but it was a powerful swimmer. With soul cultivation at the Three Paths Novice Rank, there were probably few creatures in this section of the river that could compete with it.

“Let’s go.” He said and started to swim.

With Whiskers pulling them along, their pace was not slow. The river was as wide as a training field. The current was weak near the shore but quickly became fierce as they crossed. However, they made steady progress and the opposite shore closed in steadily.

Katherine kept her head up, examining their surroundings as well as the sky above. At the same time, Zachary’s other Ensouled were scouting the water. Hammer, the giant crab, and Dream, the rainbow fish, formed a perimeter around them while Sugo, the green slug that was covered in seaweed, crawled along the river bottom.

“Stay alert,” Zachary said as he came up for air.

They were crossing the midpoint now. It was the most dangerous position, the longest distance from safety. If any aquatic Ensouled had observed their attempted crossing, now would be the most optimal time to attack.

Zachary kept his soul senses active, scanning all directions. His physical condition was good as Whiskers was doing most of the swimming. Although he was already suffering from a rising headache, it was still bearable. If nothing stopped them, the trip wouldn’t take much longer.

However, just as he became optimistic, Katherine’s grip around his neck tightened. Before he could ask, she was already shouting into his ear.

“Seagulls! Three of them! They’ve spotted us!”

He shivered. It was the worst possible enemy. These giant seagulls were all at the adept rank whereas the toughest creature in the river was only at the novice rank. But at least, three was better than five or ten or a whole flock.

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“Hold your breath!” He shouted.

He heard her take a deep breath. He did so as well and then gave three quick tugs on the vines connecting him to Whiskers. This was one of the preplanned signals. The catfish thankfully understood and started to swim downward, pulling them along.

He could no longer see the seagulls above but he knew they were coming. He was well familiar with their aura now as waves of Eternum filled with sharpness and savagery accosted him from what seemed like all directions. They were already a body-length beneath the surface but he didn’t know if it was enough.

In a burst of inspiration, he expended a great deal of Eternum to recall Hammer from a long distance. He then immediately summoned the crab again.

His actions came just in time as in the next instant, the water around them shook violently as a massive, body splashed down right above them.

“Gah!” He out a mouthful of air, stunned by the impact.

Before he could recover, a large bird head appeared. It had a shiny yellow beak surrounded by white feathers and a pair of small black eyes that were filled with hunger. It lunged towards him and Katherine.

“Ahh!” Her scream was muffled by the water.

Zachary was also frightened. If that beak connected, at best he would lose his arm or suffer a grievous wound. At worst, both of them would be pulled out of the water and become a tasty meal.

Kah!

The seagull’s beak connected… but not against soft human flesh. Hammer’s giant claw was in the way. The bird let out of burst of Eternum in anger and bit down again, easily crushing the crab’s hardest body part.

The powerful adept rank Ensouled flapped its wings and pulled. Hammer’s claw was ripped out of its socket. But that was all it had as it returned to the sky.

Before Zachary could celebrate, he felt another shockwave as a second seagull plunged into the river. They were twice as deep as before but the wild bird still tried to snap its beak at them. Hammer once again came through for him, acting as a shield and sacrificing two legs in the process.

All of this action left him almost breathless. He imagined that Katherine was probably the same. But he didn’t dare come up for air just yet.

He gave two sharp tugs on the vine rope and felt an immediate tug. Whiskers sped forward while remaining at the same depth. He gave two more sharp tugs after a pause, causing the catfish to go into a frenzy and use its full power.

The river rushed past as they swam, creating a roaring sound in his ears. His eyes stung from being open underwater. His lungs screamed for air. The fear of drowning threatened to cloud his mind. It was all he could do to not thrash around in desperation.

They finally started to rise as they came upon the opposite shore. He didn’t know if the seagulls had left or if they were waiting for them to reappear. He couldn’t take the risk of sticking his head out so he could only send out Hammer once more.

The resilient red crab swam up after receiving a push on its bottom. It broke the surface with a splash, waving its one remaining claw in the air in a threatening manner. Fortunately, nothing accosted it even after a long time.

Zachary and Katherine eventually emerged in the shallows. Gasping for air, they rushed and stumbled up the steep river bank. Without looking at the sky, they helped each other and dragged their weary bodies along as quickly as they could manage until they were finally within the safety of the trees.

He collapsed onto a soft patch of dirt in relief. She chose to fall right on top of him.

She hugged him and mumbled tiredly, “I hate seagulls.”