"The train..."
"Is the train coming?"
It was just like the night Ronald found the rchant caravan.
Even in his deep sleep, Nade was quick to react and swift in action.
From the mont he heard Ronald’s call, it took him less than three breaths to erge from the camp and stand beside Ronald.
Snap snap—
He slapped his cheeks, and Nade’s now fully awake eyes followed the train tracks deep into the forest.
Though he had just woken up, he already noticed the sound carried by the wind.
"..."
"Yes, the train is coming."
Hearing the faint noises, Nade felt as if a weight had been lifted from his heart, and his mood seed much better than before he went to sleep:
"In that case."
"Ronald, let’s get ready to board!"
"..."
Glancing at Nade, who was eager and about to head toward the railway, Ronald fell silent for a mont.
Then, he finally asked:
"Nade, I never asked you before."
"This isn’t a train platform; how do you plan to get on the train?"
"How else?" Looking at Ronald with an expression that said ’You can’t possibly not know, right?’, Nade explained as if it were the most natural thing, "Just jump on it."
"It usually goes at 60 kiloters per hour; anyone could jump on it, right?"
"..."
kiloters per hour...
Ronald quickly did the math in his head.
At 60 km/h, that’s roughly a speed of 16 to 17 ters per second.
Even champions of the 100-ter dash at the Olympics couldn’t achieve such a speed.
To grab onto a train moving at that speed with bare hands...
Maybe a skilled practitioner like Ashok could have a slim chance of success?
Subsequently, Ronald shook his head against the autumn breeze:
"Hey, Nade."
"You’re not joking with , are you?"
"There’s no way I can grab onto a moving train."
"Ah?"
Hearing Ronald’s words, Nade clearly was taken aback.
"Really? You can’t do it?"
"Of course not!"
"..."
Wuu wuu—
Thanks to the terrain favoring the propagation of sound, the distinct noise of the steam train grew clearer as it neared.
The train was almost here!
Standing at the edge of the camp, the two n locking eyes with each other, it was Nade who made the decision first.
Turning around to expose his back to Ronald, the rchant’s tone was a bit anxious:
"Ronald."
"You... co and get on my back."
Ronald’s face looked terrible, his eyebrows involuntarily furrowing:
"Nade."
"Don’t tell you plan to jump onto a speeding train with on your back?"
Imdiately, the rchant’s voice rose with determination:
"Do you think just anyone can ride on my back!"
"But what else can we do in this situation?"
"I certainly can’t just jump on by myself and leave you, a lad who couldn’t even fight off a chicken, out in the wild, can I?"
"Any bear could take you as its winter provisions!"
"Didn’t I tell you?"
"So you should understand!"
Wuuu wuuu wuuu—
Clang clang clang—
As the two argued, a bright beam of light shot through the gaps in the towering trees and the ground started to feel slight tremors.
The train, which up until now was only heard, almost instantly appeared right in front of them!
Seeing the train enter his field of view, Nade’s tone grew even more urgent:
"I’m saying it’s urgent, stop hesitating!"
"Trust , it’ll be fine."
"..."
"I’m really trusting your madness!"
In the end, Ronald had no choice but to agree to the plan.
After all, Nade had already exhibited quite astonishing physical prowess, and now placing trust in his companion was the first choice.
Reality was reality, just as Nade had said.
For Ronald to attempt escaping from the prival jungle on his own,
He still lacked that confidence.
With his hands on Nade’s shoulders, Ronald grimaced as he pressed his back against the other’s, also trying to clasp his legs around him to maintain friction.
Thus, the two guys were awkwardly stacked together at the edge of the camp.
Feeling Ronald cease his movents, Nade weighed his companion’s mass with one hand before speaking:
"Ready?"
Tightening his grip to ensure his arms didn’t choke Nade’s neck and interfere with his breathing, Ronald replied:
"If I fall, that’s on ."
"Go!"
Without a mont’s hesitation, Nade sprinted towards the railway.
Almost at the mont he reached the track, the steam locomotive’s headlamp, glaring with blinding light, thundered towards them, almost impossible to look at directly.
Whoosh—
The train had arrived!
The fierce wind slapped against their faces due to the proximity,
indistinguishable whether it was the chill of the night or the warmth taken away by the speeding train.
Feet firmly planted on the ground, Nade resisted the pull as the steam train passed by and twisted his feet hard against the earth.
Frankly, he felt a bit apprehensive...
Jumping on a train solo was certainly not an issue for him.
Even if injured, it wouldn’t really matter.
But to jump with an adult man on his back, on top of being injured, was indeed a true challenge!
No matter what, he had already made a firm promise to his companion.
And he had a compelling reason to board this train!
"Sss—"
Clamping his teeth together, Nade took a sharp breath through the gaps between them.
"VERIENDO--yo--escribir--la--Historia--de--la--Anatomía!"
In an instant, Ronald’s pupils dilated!
Because he was perched on Nade’s back, he naturally heard this phrase.
Accompanied by this whisper, a peculiar change occurred in Nade’s body, which had been through fierce battle and was seriously injured.
Inside, the mark etched on the heart revealed itself, and the curse power swiftly traveled through the blood to every part of his body.
The heart beat rapidly, blood circulation sped up, and adrenaline secreted.
As his body temperature rose swiftly, even the images that entered his pupils began to slow down.
At this mont, Nade could even clearly see the movent trajectory of the piston-driven wheels under the train!
Smack—
Without hesitation, he leapt towards the speeding train.
To outsiders, it was an action akin to suicide.
Success!
He had seized that fleeting mont.
Nade bent his legs, exerted his entire body’s strength, and then landed precisely between the connection of two train carriages!
Feeling solid ground under his feet, Ronald jumped down from his back.
Nade’s Spirit instantly relaxed.
Then—
The forcibly driven body imdiately rebelled, with oxygen deprivation and a loss of strength causing his vision to darken instantly!
Bang—
"Ah!"
It was the blink of an eye.
Nade’s body heavily collided with the train.
Falling from here, getting rolled under the train and minced into at was almost a certainty!
Even if he survived, there was no chance to board the train now.
I...
Is this how I end...?
Suddenly.
A cold wind struggled into his nostrils, and as air rich with oxygen burst into his lungs, Nade regained consciousness.
What appeared before him was not the iron wheels of the train,
But Ronald, who was tightly gripping his intact arm, pulling him back and preventing half of his body from being thrown off!
But this guy...
With that strength of his, barely enough to beat a bear, could he really hold onto himself on a speeding train?
"Ronald, pull up quick!"
"Just don’t let go, and I’ll marry my daughter to you!"
"She is a renowned beauty far and wide!"
Ronald couldn’t help but curse as he glared fiercely at Nade, who was shouting as if his life depended on it:
"You have ti to shout for help..."
"How about you pull too!"
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