Solor's sprint was nearly overtaken. His small body was unable to widen the gap between him and the pursuit of the giant white crocodiles pressing behind him like a plowing machine.
"Should I hide?" His feet bounded to dodge the massive roots of the trees.
Every so often, he glanced to the side and behind him, watching the giant white crocodiles scramble over one another to catch him.
"Then what should I do?"
"It's impossible to fight them..."
Despite his small stature, he moved nimbly, parting foliage and leaping over roots, though he occasionally slipped. All along, he had been keeping an eye out for places or crevices that might serve as a hiding spot. With his tiny body, doing so was actually easy. Repeatedly, he tried to slip into the hollows of tree stumps among the roots.
However, his instincts affirmed that hiding there offered no chance of survival—it was only a matter of time. The giant crocodiles kept chasing and were always within line of sight. Now, Solor had taken the place of the three youths who had carried him earlier.
"...I wonder how they are doing? Did they manage to save Wus Wus?"
He kept searching for a way to resolve this dilemma while running through the wild forest, oblivious to its direction or end. His hands were busy adjusting the small sickles fastened to the soles of his sandals.
Once he succeeded, he moved nimbly to climb a tree until he reached the highest branch.
GRAAKK!
Dozens of giant white crocodiles slammed into the tree he was climbing. They tried to scramble up, but failed repeatedly. Yet the pack of crocodiles was exceedingly stubborn; they piled atop one another, trying to reach Solor's position.
The vibration of the branch from the shaking caused by the climbing crocodiles kept swaying the spot where he stood. The creaking sounds from the trunk and branches rang out loudly, making Solor worry that the tree might snap or collapse.
The giant rain trees in the Lumut Mountains forest grew very densely. Solor searched for a branch that connected to the adjacent tree.
"Phew..."
Now he attempted to walk across the branch toward another tree ahead of him. That movement piqued the giant white crocodiles below to move along, following Solor's whereabouts.
Krakkk!
Gruuookk!
He looked down. From that height, he saw one of the crocodiles fallen into a gap between protruding roots. His eyes swept over the sight below—the charge of the giant white crocodile pack had damaged and crushed the forest floor covered in a carpet of green moss.
GRROOOAAR..!
His gaze fixed on the crocodile that had fallen earlier.
GROAARR..!
His straight beard tilted slightly. His forehead furrowed, making his long eyebrows stand out even more. The thinning outer edges of his eyebrows curved softly, emphasizing a face full of concern.
"It's in pain..." he muttered.
He leaped to catch a branch of the tree across, then climbed higher until he reached a larger branch. Solor walked along the branch of the giant rain tree toward the next tree. However, his movements were constantly tracked by the pack of giant white crocodiles below, as if waiting for a signal down there.
Vibration after vibration made the tree he was on sway, forcing him to look back down at the swarm of crocodiles.
"They're still following me..."
His gaze shifted back to the crocodile left behind due to falling into the roots. The monster roared occasionally, prompting Solor to observe it more closely.
"Oh... so you're not roaring out of pain?!"
Now Solor smiled slightly as he resumed his steps.
"A natural trap..."
Solor kept moving across the branches, transferring from tree to tree. Occasionally he slipped due to the slippery moss and nearly fell, but he always managed to recover.
"I know where you guys need to go!!"
His movements grew faster. Upon reaching an area where the giant rain trees grew even closer together, he moved from tree to tree across the branches with greater ease.
Fuuuiiiiuuuiitt...!
His whistle echoed once more, making the crocodiles move even faster.
The forest floor below was filled with a sea of rugged, protruding roots, making it difficult for several crocodiles to keep up with Solor's direction.
KRAAAKK!
GRRUUOKKSS!
The sound of snapping roots echoed behind the fog. Another giant white crocodile plunged into the tangle of old, intertwined roots.
Solor glanced down. The corner of his lips curled mischievously.
"Ha... just stay right there!"
He wagged his index finger slightly, as if scolding a naughty child caught red-handed. Without waiting for the reaction of the crocodile, which kept growling and thrashing, he resumed running, leaping from branch to branch.
Before long, Solor arrived at his destination.
Stretching before him was a vast valley filled with giant roots. Thousands of root trunks emerged from the earth, twisting around one another, piling up, and hanging in every direction until they resembled an expanse of a brownish-green ocean draped in a moss coat beneath the canopy of giant rain trees.
The Sea of Roots.
Solor immediately sat down comfortably on a large branch. Both of his legs dangled, swinging softly.
"Ffiiuuiittt...!"
His whistle pierced the quiet fog.
"Come on... hurry up over here, kids!"
The pack of giant white crocodiles still hunting him swiftly changed direction. With loud roars, they scrambled into the sea of roots, pursuing the small figure that seemed so easy to reach.
Yet after just a few steps...
KRAAKK!
One plunged in.
Followed by another.
GRAAK!
GRUUOOSSHHKK!
Their clawed feet struck and snapped the hanging, piled-up roots. However, the more they thrashed, the deeper their legs became caught between the tight, hard entanglements of the roots.
Their massive claws tried to pull themselves free.
Without success.
The roots of the Lumut Mountains gripped even tighter instead, slipping between their legs and underbellies. Every jolt only served to lock the coils of roots further.
One by one, the giant white crocodiles were ultimately trapped.
They thrashed, growled, and thrashed their tails, but to no avail.
From atop the branch, Solor simply observed while swinging his legs back and forth.
"Well... that's what you get for ruining the green carpets. Now the owner of this place is angry..."
Before long, the entire pack of giant white crocodiles was ensnared by the natural trap of the Lumut Mountains, dangling and stuck among the woven roots, just like geckos unable to break free from sticky sap.