Chapter 56: Shipbuilding Workshop

Chapter 56: Shipbuilding Workshop

Hearing that it was only these natural spirits, Chen Shouyi actually felt somewhat relieved.

These things were far less intimidating than the "sacred tree" the barbarians had threatened him with before their deaths.

Moreover, if they were truly so terrifying, the barbarians wouldn’t have survived until now.

It was simple logic.

"There’s nothing to fear. The sun is rising, and we’ll be back long before nightfall," Chen Shouyi reassured Shell Woman.

Shell Woman nodded vigorously, whispering nervously, "I’m not scared."

"If you behave well, there’ll be a reward later."

Shell Woman nodded again with great effort, forcing a faint smile.

Clearly, even her favorite gem couldn’t ease the unease in her heart this time.

Chen Shouyi paid her no further mind. Before setting off, he gave his equipment one final check.

Then, he listened carefully to the surroundings.

Yet, everything was eerily quiet. Apart from the rhythmic sound of waves from the sea, even the usual chirping of insects and birds from the island’s forest was conspicuously absent.

No—not just scarce, but completely nonexistent!

The entire island was so silent it felt oppressive, exuding an ominous aura that made his heart race.

Glancing at the nearby forest, he immediately dismissed the idea of entering it.

Chen Shouyi exhaled softly, then crouched low and cautiously advanced along the shoreline.

Still, he wasn’t overly afraid. Most land-dwelling plants feared high-salinity environments, and the complete absence of vegetation on this beach suggested the same held true in this world.

"As long as I stay on the sand, even if that so-called ‘sacred tree’ the barbarians spoke of is incredibly powerful, it shouldn’t be able to harm me. At worst, I can always flee into the sea."

He moved forward cautiously, remaining vigilant of his surroundings.

Shell Woman stayed unusually quiet the entire way, not making a single sound.

Chen Shouyi could sense her tension—her tiny body, perched on his shoulder, trembled slightly.

He inwardly scoffed: This little thing claims she’s not scared, yet she’s shaking like a leaf.

……

After walking slowly for over ten minutes, a winding stream flowing from the distant forest into the sea appeared ahead.

The stream was about a meter wide, its water crystal clear. Though calling it a "stream" might be generous—it was more of a narrow brook.

He dipped his hand into the water and found it warm to the touch.

Clearly, this brook originated from a geothermal hot spring. He surveyed the area, mentally noting the location.

Given the island’s size, this was likely its only freshwater source. Following it would almost certainly lead him to the barbarians’ settlement.

He pressed on.

After just a few minutes, he suddenly dropped to the ground.

Shell Woman yanked his hair in fright, nearly tumbling off.

But Chen Shouyi had no time to worry about that now.

His eyes quickly scanned ahead, spotting a large boulder not far away. Seizing the opportunity, he began crawling toward it on his belly.

After nearly two minutes of slow progress, he finally reached the boulder and let out a quiet breath.

Then, using the boulder as cover, he crouched and peered cautiously into the distance.

Ahead lay a massive construction site.

Over a dozen barbarians were bustling about, hard at work.

This should be a barbarian shipbuilding workshop.

Chen Shouyi could see three massive logs, already split and laid out in a row on the beach to dry. One of them was already being hollowed out.

Clearly, after losing a large number of canoes at once, the barbarians had immediately intensified their construction efforts. Under the morning sun, the barbarians sweated profusely, their skin glistening with a greasy sheen.

Just as Chen Shouyi had previously guessed, the productivity level of these barbarians was still in the Stone Age. The tools they used for hollowing were nothing more than hard stone tools with sharpened edges, which they gripped in their hands and repeatedly struck against the logs.

Chen Shouyi noticed a path near the shipbuilding workshop that extended deep into the forest. It was obvious that these massive logs had been transported to the shore using rolling logs along that route.

Lowering his gaze, he carefully observed the situation, not missing a single detail.

There were sixteen barbarians in total.

Their only weapons were spears for self-defense and the stone tools used for hollowing—no short spears were carried. He didn’t see any particularly strong barbarians among them; most were lean and small, even inferior to the ordinary barbarians who had come to the island before.

But then again, in such a primitive tribe, the strongest warriors held high status and obviously wouldn’t be assigned to hollowing canoes. These were likely just ordinary barbarians.

Still, Chen Shouyi didn’t act rashly.

The barbarians were over 200 meters away, far beyond his optimal attack range. The terrain ahead was completely open, without even a boulder to provide cover.

Attempting an ambush in such conditions was practically impossible—it would have to be a direct confrontation.

It had to be said that barbarians were intelligent beings after all. Despite their backward productivity, they weren’t lacking in wisdom. Moreover, their hunter-gatherer lifestyle made them far more sensitive to their surroundings than humans living in peace.

The shipbuilding workshop’s location clearly took safety into account.

Chen Shouyi drew an arrow from his quiver, idly playing with its sharp tip, hesitating for a long time.

Facing sixteen barbarians at once was far too risky.

If only there were fewer!

Fortunately, an opportunity soon presented itself.

After waiting for about ten minutes, one barbarian seemed ready to slack off. After saying something to his companions, he put down his stone tool, and soon three others followed him with laughter.

The four of them chatted and joked as they walked in this direction.

Chen Shouyi turned and leaned his back against the rock, his breathing growing even calmer. Slowly, he nocked the arrow to his bowstring and glanced at Shell Woman, only to find that she had already covered her eyes like an ostrich.

Gradually, the barbarians’ voices grew louder.

"This sun is too harsh. Let’s soak in the water later."

"Good idea. I know where there’s a ripe fruit tree. We can pick some afterward."

...

The moment his peripheral vision caught sight of the barbarians, Chen Shouyi instantly stood up and loosed an arrow.

The sharp projectile whistled through the air before piercing straight through one barbarian’s skull.

Before the others could react, he swiftly fired another arrow—and a second barbarian’s head exploded.

At this moment, the remaining two barbarians finally sprang into action, brandishing their spears as they charged fiercely toward him.

This group of barbarians had originally been heading toward the boulder, so the distance between them was extremely close—merely seven or eight meters.

For both Chen Shouyi and the barbarians, such a short distance could be crossed in the blink of an eye.

There was no time to shoot another arrow. Chen Shouyi decisively discarded his war bow and drew his longsword. In a flash, his body swayed slightly, effortlessly dodging the blackened spear tip of one barbarian, slick with blood. Simultaneously, he stepped forward, his longsword flickering like lightning.

A cold gleam flashed!

The razor-sharp blade cleanly sliced through the barbarian’s neck, sending blood spraying outward.

Feeling the resistance of flesh against his blade, Chen Shouyi remained expressionless. Without the slightest pause after his successful strike, he used the still-standing corpse as cover, his footsteps shifting like a ghost as he circled behind the last opponent.

By then, the barbarian was already sweating profusely in panic over his suddenly vanished enemy.

The next instant, he felt a chill at his neck—his strength draining away like air from a punctured balloon.

Chen Shouyi withdrew his longsword, flicking it lightly to shake off the blood clinging to its tip.

Only then did the two corpses collapse, one after the other.

"It’s… it’s the evil one!"

The commotion here finally caught the attention of the distant barbarians, and immediately, fear twisted their faces. A few of the more timid ones even began to flee.

Chen Shouyi picked up his war bow again, his youthful face bearing a coldness that belied his age as he observed the barbarian group.

This close-quarters fight, facing two opponents head-on with a short weapon, had greatly bolstered his confidence.

At the same time, the barbarians’ plummeting morale quickly dispelled his earlier tension.

In an instant, he moved!

His foot stamped forcefully against the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust behind him as he shot forward like an arrow loosed from its string, swiftly closing the distance toward the barbarians.