Chapter 282

The roar of the shotgun exploded through the river valley, and despite the occasional night breeze, it did not dispel fear—it only made their hearts grow colder.

In the darkness, a fleeting black shadow vanished as quickly as it appeared, too fast for the eye to follow; but soon after the gunshots faded, a sharp, piercing roar rang out, as if expressing its fury toward them.

Kallen trembled violently, clamping both hands over his mouth, tears streaming down his face.

As a student at Dar es Salaam University majoring in this field, he naturally understood the terror of an adult leopard. If it were a male leopard going on a killing spree, and they lacked sufficient firearms, they stood no chance against it.

Leopards can reach speeds of up to 90 km/h and possess extraordinary leaping ability—jumping six or seven meters is effortless. Especially at night, this was the leopard’s domain entirely.

Joseph leaned against a rock, his shoulder wound throbbing worse with every gunshot and roar. His face was as pale as paper, his lips blue. But his fear outweighed the physical pain—if he hadn’t reacted quickly, the leopard would have torn his throat out in one bite.

“Don’t shoot, Hassan. Everyone stay quiet,” Momboma whispered, frowning but composed.

An adult male leopard wouldn’t attack them without reason, especially not with so many of them armed. As a top predator, it had its own judgment—risking such a confrontation was not worth it.

Unless they had done something to make this leopard so enraged.

Amina saw fresh blood seeping from Joseph’s shoulder and quickly reassured him: “Joseph, rescue will come soon. We’ll be fine.”

But her voice trembled—not from fear of the leopard, but from the memory of Salim running out and being dragged away by the Nile crocodile. Who could have imagined such a massive crocodile was lurking near their camp, waiting to hunt them?

Salim had fled in panic from the leopard, only to be snatched by the crocodile—the agonized screams had turned her bones cold.

“Damn beast!” Hassan muttered under his breath. “It’s determined to kill us.”

In the darkness, the leopard’s shadow reappeared, flashing past—exerting immense pressure. No one knew where it would strike next. None dared run toward the car; Salim had tried that, and look what happened.

Who knew if more Nile crocodiles lurked along the shallows now?

“Professor Momboma, I’ll go get the car.”

After a moment, Hassan could no longer hold back. He spoke to Momboma beside him.

Momboma thought for a moment: “Then we all go together.”

After deciding, he had Amina and Kallen support Joseph, and the four of them followed Hassan step by step toward the parked vehicle.

The car was parked at the shallows, about two hundred meters from their current campsite, blocked by granite boulders they couldn’t drive through.

Momboma held the flashlight to light the path; Kallen and Amina used their headlamps to scan left, right, and behind, guarding against ambush. After walking ten steps, they stopped dead—the leopard stood directly ahead, its vertical pupils locked on them, eyes brimming with malice, throat rumbling with a low growl.

Hassan stood at the front, saw the leopard, and immediately aimed his gun at it, ready to fire at any moment.

The leopard was only ten meters away from Hassan. Its body remained hidden in shadow, but its keen sense of smell easily detected the scent of blood and the potent odor of gunpowder it dreaded.

Its nostrils twitched slightly as its body lowered slowly.

“Boom!”

At that moment, Hassan fired.

But the leopard moved faster—in the instant Hassan pulled the trigger, its body vanished from its spot, darting sideways.

“Auuuugh—!”

A piercing roar exploded beside Hassan’s ear.

Hassan’s nerves were taut; he had no time to think—he swung his gun barrel and fired again.

“Boom—!”

The shotgun discharged at point-blank range, spraying a dense hail of buckshot. The leopard let out a shriek, its body jolting violently—blood spurted from its left shoulder, instantly staining its deep golden fur.

In pain, the leopard vanished into the darkness—but its low whimpers and growls grew louder, circling them relentlessly, hidden in the shadows.

“...”

Hassan frowned. From experience, he knew the leopard had grown even more frenzied. His shot had wounded it, but only superficially—no bones broken, most pellets missed.

Fortunately, his shotgun was semi-automatic. If it had been pump-action, requiring manual reloading, he wouldn’t have had time.

“One round left!”

He thought quickly, removed the magazine, and pulled ammunition from his pocket to reload.

But at that moment, the leopard attacked from behind—targeting Kallen.

“Watch out!”

Hassan roared, whirling around to fire—but it was too late. The leopard moved too fast, lunging to Kallen’s side and slashing its claws toward his skull. Kallen froze in terror, unable to react, staring helplessly as the claws closed in—death’s shadow engulfed him.

At the last instant, Professor Momboma lunged forward and shoved Kallen aside. The leopard’s claws slammed into Momboma’s arm, slicing through his tactical jacket and burying deep into flesh.

Momboma grunted, collapsing heavily to the ground.

“Boom—!”

Hassan’s final round fired instantly, trailing sparks toward the leopard.

But the leopard showed no interest in fighting—it struck Momboma and vanished into darkness once more.

“FUCK!”

Hassan’s last shot missed again—he cursed in fury.

“Professor! Professor, are you alright?” Amina screamed, abandoning Joseph and rushing to Momboma’s side, trying to lift him.

Momboma’s brow was knotted in pain, sweat beading on his face.

“I’m… fine. Don’t worry.”

Amina tore open his shirt and saw the mangled shoulder—immediately burst into tears.

The leopard’s claws had ripped through muscle and bone. Without prompt treatment, he might never move his arm properly again.

“Roar—!”

Suddenly, a roar unlike the first leopard’s echoed through the night. Hassan’s gaze was still fixed on Momboma when he felt a foul wind descending from above.

Next, he was slammed to the ground by immense force—searing pain erupted at the back of his neck, a wave of death’s dread flooding him. He swung his gun stock backward with all his strength.

“Thud!” The stock struck something hard; the pressure on his neck released, and the attacker vanished.

“T… two leopards… how is that possible?” Joseph had seen it all—his eyes overflowed with terror.

“Hassan! Hassan!”

Momboma shouted.

Hassan touched the back of his neck—blood streamed freely, but the vertebrae were untouched; only flesh had been torn. Even so, the agony sent jolts through his brain, making him shudder uncontrollably.

One more inch, and he would have been dead.

“Amina, check Hassan’s neck immediately!” Momboma cried. That was the carotid artery—if severed, he’d die instantly.

Amina rushed to Hassan, helped him up, examined him closely, and exhaled in relief—only a large chunk of neck flesh had been torn away; the artery remained intact.

Through the pain, Hassan looked at Momboma.

“Professor Momboma, aren’t leopards solitary? How could there be two?”

Momboma’s expression was grim: “We’re unlucky. We must have disturbed their mating season—this week is when they should be pairing up.”

Uh… interrupted during mating?

Everyone fell silent. No wonder the male leopard was so furious.

“Back… back to camp. Everything’s there. First, treat the wounds.”

They had no choice. One male leopard had already crippled them; now two lurked in the dark—like death itself.

Aside from Amina and Kallen, everyone was wounded. Without prompt disinfection, infection could kill them all.

Quickly, the group returned to camp. The two leopards vanished as if they’d never been there—no sign for a long while.

But once everyone finished disinfecting and bandaging, the male leopard reappeared, circling the camp, occasionally stalking closer. Hassan kept his neck stiff, never relaxing his vigilance.

Tense until nearly midnight, his eyes grew blurry.

Suddenly, movement stirred at the perimeter.

“No… something else is coming.”