Swimming against the current alone, Qin Shilei's speed was faster, and he returned to An Qian and the others in less than twenty minutes.
Thus, Qin Shilei, either by carrying or dragging, brought the three of them to a small town twenty miles away once more.
Now, only An Qian needed to be transported, and they would largely escape the Roc's surveillance.
An Qian's body trembled slightly, "I can't swim at all, you have to protect me."
Qin Shilei teased, "Didn't you say women are made of water? How can you not even swim."
An Qian said shyly, "I didn't like wearing swimsuits before, so I've never been to a swimming pool."
Qin Shilei smiled, "Come on, let me, a sea king, save you, a landlubber."
As soon as An Qian jumped into the water, she immediately hugged Qin Shilei tightly like an octopus.
"Don't be afraid, pay attention to your breathing." Qin Shilei patted An Qian's back, signaling her to relax.
Then, he embraced her and dived underwater.
The murky river water did not hinder Qin Shilei's progress toward their destination.
He surfaced for a breath only once every few minutes. The Roc in the sky would not notice a head emerging from the surging river.
Qin Shilei swam in the river, more agile than a fish.
An Qian, hugging him tightly, also gradually relaxed her muscles. She turned to look around, but the murky, turbulent river water revealed nothing.
Suddenly, she felt Qin Shilei's left hand holding her tighten. Then, she saw Qin Shilei take out the Jinghong Sword.
An Qian was startled. Had the Roc discovered them?
Then, she felt a rapid current of water rush towards them from the left.
Qin Shilei, carrying her, moved to meet the current. She could vaguely see the enemy was a crocodile more than four meters long.
There are crocodiles in this river?
Are they ordinary crocodiles or mutated ones?
Would she hinder Qin Shilei's swordplay?
Could Qin Shilei defeat a crocodile in the water?
Various thoughts flashed through An Qian's mind.
Just as she was considering whether to move to Qin Shilei's back to allow him better freedom to wield his sword, she suddenly felt Qin Shilei pat her back again, and then he swam with her to an area filled with the smell of blood.
Was that it?
An Qian sighed, "Qin Shilei, this sea king, truly lives up to his name."
"Whoosh!"
Just as Qin Shilei was putting away the crocodile and its dropped treasure chest, a screeching sound suddenly came from above.
Oh no!
The crocodile's ability must have attracted the Roc's attention.
Qin Shilei dived underwater, swimming rapidly away from the area.
"Bang!"
Several golden energy balls exploded at their previous position.
Qin Shilei, holding An Qian, sank to the bottom of the river, motionless.
The murky river water concealed them.
The Roc had only flown over due to the energy fluctuation. After firing a few energy balls and finding no unusual activity, it flew higher to circle, but did not leave.
Qin Shilei, however, was inwardly groaning, as another crocodile was swimming towards them.
He had to strike a fatal blow.
Qin Shilei moved like a dragon, evading the crocodile's bloody maw. His Jinghong Sword smoothly slashed from the crocodile's lower jaw all the way to its belly.
The surrounding water was instantly stained red with the crocodile's gushing blood.
However, no treasure chest dropped. This was just an ordinary crocodile.
Suddenly, a rapid current of water came from behind.
Not good, another mutated crocodile, and one that had already unleashed its ability.
"Whoosh!"
The Roc in the sky had noticed the commotion and was diving rapidly.
Qin Shilei quickly dealt with the crocodile and, with a shift of his body, prepared to swim away.
A golden light flashed overhead. The breathing tube An Qian was using was reduced to a mere stub.
As a stream of bubbles rose, water gushed into An Qian's mouth from the top of the tube.
An Qian choked, swallowing two large mouthfuls of murky river water.
Qin Shilei quickly reached out, removed the tube from her mouth, then kicked off and swam forward.
Golden energy balls continuously whizzed past them, the turbulent water from their passage causing their skin to sting.
They had been locked on!
Qin Shilei tried to swim deeper into the riverbed, hoping to break free from the Roc's lock.
"Gurgle gurgle!"
A stream of bubbles rose, and Qin Shilei felt An Qian's grip on him tighten.
An Qian was running out of air!
With no other choice, Qin Shilei kicked off and surged out of the riverbed again.
"Phew! Phew!"
As soon as they surfaced, An Qian gasped for air.
"Hold your breath!"
Qin Shilei dived underwater again, taking An Qian with him.
Golden energy balls grazed his back as they plunged into the river, killing several fish that happened to be swimming by.
An Qian patted Qin Shilei, then shifted her body, moving to his back so that Qin Shilei could better deal with their perilous situation.
Qin Shilei swam rapidly along the riverbed, preventing them from being locked onto.
Golden energy balls shot into the river like cannonballs, erupting in towering plumes of water and killing countless unfortunate fish.
"Gurgle gurgle!" An Qian on his back exhaled another stream of bubbles.
Qin Shilei had no choice but to surface again.
Perhaps realizing that energy balls were ineffective, the Roc lowered its head, rapidly descending towards the river surface like a massive meteor.
Qin Shilei's mind raced. He took out a rocket launcher and handed it to An Qian behind him.
"An Qian, aim."
An Qian wrapped her legs tightly around Qin Shilei's waist and raised the rocket launcher, aiming at the approaching Roc.
Qin Shilei maintained his balance while drawing the Jinghong Sword, his gaze intense.
The Roc was getting closer.
An Qian gently squeezed the trigger, and the rocket, imbued with the "Law-Breaking" attribute, shot towards the Roc about thirty to forty meters away.
A golden energy ball flew from the Roc's mouth, targeting the rocket.
The rocket passed through the energy ball unscathed and continued its upward trajectory.
The Roc clearly hesitated. Then, its golden wings flashed, and it gently fanned them forward, angling its body to evade the rocket.
However, the distance was too short. The base of its massive wings inevitably took a hit from the rocket.
The Roc initially paid no mind to the small rocket, never expecting it to pierce its golden aura like a hot knife through butter and directly strike its wing.
"Boom!"
With a loud explosion, the Roc veered off course. Like a crashed airplane, it staggered and plunged towards the river.
Qin Shilei moved swiftly, diving away into the distance.
"Bang!"
The Roc hit the water like a colossal stone, creating a waterspout more than ten meters high.
A massive wave surged from behind, pushing Qin Shilei and An Qian even further away.
The Roc flapped its wings, attempting to regain flight, but its left wing, damaged by the missile, was unable to generate balanced force. It constantly tilted to one side, preventing it from taking off.
Strike while the iron is hot!
Qin Shilei dodged the impact of the Roc's crash and, with a turn, swam back.