Global Game: I Can Choose Instance Rewards-Chapter 295 - 246: Assistance and Negotiation

"Alright, Captain."

The Crocodile-man giant was quite stable and reliable. Once he agreed with Wang Zhifan, he stood up to go find the struggling navigator on the deck, without even discussing the hiring fee with Wang Zhifan.

"Although this guy is an outsider, he feels more reliable than many humans after this period of contact. I hope he won’t pull any tricks like that old man."

Directly sailing the ship towards the Crocodile-man’s territory certainly posed some risks, but Wang Zhifan still decided to do so. On one hand, he felt there shouldn’t be any particularly strong entity over there, otherwise, they wouldn’t be hiding out in a desolate place like Storm Sea. On the other hand, he was truly exhausted by this side quest and could not pretend not to see such a significant aid.

Thus, for the next period of the journey, the Great Horn Shark headed towards the Crocodile-man’s territory. The distance from their current sea region was not short, even with the ship accelerating, it took four or five days to arrive.

When that day came and the Crocodile-man giant came to the captain’s cabin to inform Wang Zhifan that they were almost there, Wang Zhifan awoke from his dream cultivation and accompanied him to the deck to gaze out.

"Captain, from the island ahead, it’s our Crocodile-man’s territory, my clansmen should be appearing soon."

The Crocodile-man giant said as he pointed to the turbulent sea ahead, where a black island reef could be seen looming in and out of the waves.

"Alright, help us communicate with them later."

Wang Zhifan nodded, feeling puzzled by how small the island the other pointed to was. It didn’t seem inhabitable, but he could see this sea region was a bit different from other parts of the Storm Sea, with slightly smaller waves and relatively denser islands.

Before long, after a brief chat with the Crocodile-man giant, some unusual movements appeared on the sea surface around the Great Horn Shark. Human-like figures covered in dark brown scales emerged. They were long and hefty but wore nothing, breaking through the waves like big fish, arriving near the ship, and revealing the variety of weapons in their hands, primarily long-handled types such as axes, spears, and curved knives.

"How dare humans intrude into our Crocodile-man’s territory?! Warriors! Let’s slay them all! Then drink their blood! Eat their flesh!"

The largest Crocodile-man was the first to swim close to the Great Horn Shark. This guy, with malevolent vertical pupils, first spotted Wang Zhifan and a few other sailors standing by the ship’s rail, instantly becoming excited, opening his mouth full of sharp teeth and shouting.

"Roar!"

"Roar!"

"Roar!"

The other Crocodile-men in the water heard his charge and became similarly excited, each roaring in response like the horns before a battle charge.

"Gu Guzha! Stop! It’s me!"

The Crocodile-man giant standing on the deck quickly spoke to stop them, taking off his steel helmet to reveal a fearsome face identical to the naked Crocodile-men in the seawater below.

These fierce aquatic tribes, upon hearing a voice from their kind, immediately looked up and flashed surprised emotions in their yellow-brown vertical pupils.

"Gu Gucha! It’s you, the traitor! How dare you return!"

The large Crocodile-man called Gu Guzha, upon seeing him remove his helmet, roared instantly, with evident anger in his tone.

"Gu Guzha! Don’t falsely accuse me! I’ve never betrayed my clansmen!"

The Crocodile-man giant did not back down, raising his voice even louder to overpower him.

"No! Gu Gucha! You are a traitor! You wore the thin skin of weak humans and lived on their rotten wood! You are a disgrace to our noble Crocodile-man tribe! I challenge you to a duel of dignity!"

Gu Guzha the large crocodile-man shouted back, proposing a duel with the Crocodile-man giant on the deck, seemingly forgetting his earlier intent to bloodbath the ship.

"Gu Guzha! I didn’t return to kill you! I brought great benefits for our clansmen! Let the chief come out and talk!"

The Crocodile-man giant by the ship’s rail dismissed the challenge with contempt while stating his purpose.

"Hahaha! Gu Gucha! This is what happens when you mingle with humans! Don’t disguise your cowardice! If you’re a warrior, come down and duel with me!"

Gu Guzha began to loudly ridicule the Crocodile-man giant, trying to provoke him to come down for so-called combat.

Seeing as the communication wasn’t going smoothly, Wang Zhifan, who had been silent next to the Crocodile-man giant Gu Gucha, felt he couldn’t remain silent anymore, lest the Crocodile-man giant be put in a disadvantageous position, and future cooperation would be impossible.

So he interjected at this moment, shouting down to the big Crocodile-man Gu Guzha in the water:

"Hey, below, how about I duel with you?"

As soon as he spoke, the Crocodile-men in the water were momentarily stunned, then all burst into laughter.

"Haha! A weak human dares to challenge the strongest Gu Guzha! This is too funny!"

"Gu Guzha! Your food wants to duel you! Hahaha!"

...

Amidst the mocking laughter, Gu Guzha, who kept his gaze locked on the Crocodile-man giant Gu Gucha, slowly turned his vertical pupils sidelong, examining the human who made such an outrageous request.

As a battle-hardened Crocodile-man warrior, he naturally had immense confidence in his strength, but he wasn’t a fool who knew nothing. He knew that although humans were generally weak, there were some very formidable ones. So at this moment, he scrutinized the human challenging him, assessing the level of threat.

For a brief moment, the terrifying sensation akin to a sea beast surged into the mind of this Crocodile-man, making his otherwise cold-resistant, hardy body feel a bone-chilling chill, causing his vertical pupils to involuntarily contract.

"Are you going to respond or not? Do you accept the duel or not?"

Wang Zhifan noted the sudden flash of fear in the Crocodile-man’s eyes yet didn’t underestimate this Crocodile-man warrior. Accurately judging an opponent’s strength is a crucial ability, not one that just anyone possesses.

"Gu Guzha! What are you hesitating for!"

"Gu Guzha! Answer him quickly!"

"Gu Guzha! Don’t let us down!"

...

Discovering their warrior had suddenly become silent, the Crocodile-men in the surrounding water immediately expressed dissatisfaction, collectively pressuring the burly Crocodile-man Gu Guzha.

Under this pressure, the focus of everyone’s attention finally responded:

"I... Gu Guzha, will not duel with food! Gu Gucha! If you’re a warrior, come down and fight with me! It’s the only way to prove you’re not a traitor!"

This seemingly rash and barbaric fellow was actually quite shrewd, refusing Wang Zhifan under the pretext of him not having the qualifications and insisting on dueling the Crocodile-man giant with whom he had a chance of winning.

However, the Crocodile-man giant was also not a fool. He similarly noticed the earlier flash of fear in Gu Guzha and promptly unmasked him mercilessly.

"Gu Guzha! I can duel with you! But I demand you first deal with what you called food! Otherwise, I have reason to suspect you’re afraid! You’re afraid of a human you hold in the lowest regard! You don’t deserve to be a warrior of my tribe!"

The Crocodile-man giant Gu Gucha shouted, forcing the other Gu Guzha to face another dilemma.

"Pushing the blame back and forth? Will this never end?"

Seeing this, Wang Zhifan could barely hold it together. He simply stopped the back and forth up there, with a step he leaped over the ship’s rail, landing on the turbulent sea surface, standing above the ocean.

The reason he could stand on the sea surface was naturally due to him activating his power of ice, creating solid ice under his feet, which was merely the most basic use of this power.

"Gu Guzha, I’ve come down. I’ll let you make the first move."

Standing on the solid ice beneath his feet, Wang Zhifan then looked towards a certain astonished expression in the water ahead and spoke to the Crocodile-man.