Liu Ji felt that it was strange. The little potatoes, who usually chirped away whenever they erged from the ground, had been eerily quiet ever since the mud splattered on them.
Could there be sothing wrong with this swamp? Liu Ji suddenly had a sense of worry.
But… Apart from the abundance of mosquitoes, nothing seed out of the ordinary on their journey so far.
Myza had also said that this was an ordinary swamp that had been unchanged for several thousand years. It was just the dilapidated bridge that made them uneasy.
Roughly 10 minutes later, the group crossed the ruins of the long stone bridge and reached the first safe spot in the swamp.
It was a stone mound, roughly the size of a football field. The surface seed to have been artificially leveled and it was covered in moss, which probably ant it had been abandoned for a long ti.
Yaine checked the map, then surveyed the area before saying with a frown, "Indeed, Mr. Myza's information is already outdated. The map says this was a rest stop, but now there's not even a foundation left."
"It might not just be the passage of ti. He ntioned before that even the desert used to be sothing else," Calidora added. "This route directly leads to the desert, but perhaps, after it beca a desert, the path was gradually abandoned."
"Hmm… That makes sense." Yaine sighed, looking up front. "The road ahead will be tough…"
According to the map, for the upcoming journey, they needed to rent a local creature called a swamp turtle from the rest stop to pull them through the swamp on sleds.
But now, there wasn't even a single bird on this barren stone hill, much less any swamp turtles.
In the short term, Yaine could use magic to create a path, but her mana would eventually run out. The swamp's terrain wouldn't support earthen platforms either as they would slowly sink.
"If only Nox was here. His summoned beasts are perfect for this," Girunini muttered.
"If worse cos to worst, Calidora and I will have to take turns making paths." Yaine sighed. "Just thinking about it is exhausting…"
"What about your little apprentice? Can he help with the path?" rvant asked.
"Him? Well…" Yaine mulled, then shook her head. "No, he's only just learning incantation. He doesn't know how to control mana or guide magic. This kind of sustained control and output is beyond him."
"I see, so it's not that simple, huh." rvant scratched his head. "Magic sure is complicated."
"But you've reminded . Though he can't help with the path, he might be able to assist in other ways," Yaine said. "It's getting late. Let's make camp for the night and decide what to do tomorrow."
"Mm, alright," rvant agreed, then turned to the others to start setting up camp.
anwhile, Liu Ji, who couldn't understand their conversation, stood at the bridgehead, taking in the scenery.
The little potatoes remained huddled together, trembling and sending waves of unease to Liu Ji, making him feel anxious as well.
At first, he convinced himself it was just their instinctual fear of the swamp. But gradually, he also felt sothing was off.
The environnt here lacked a particular sound.
Rustling leaves, buzzing insects, bubbles popping… But since entering the swamp, he hadn't heard any birds or frogs.
Could there be no birds and frogs here? This was another world, so it wasn't entirely impossible.
However, Liu Ji still felt uneasy as if there was sothing lurking in the black mud. As he scanned the swamp nervously, he suddenly felt a poke in his side.
Startled, Liu Ji jumped, turning to see that it was only Yaine.
"What's wrong?" Yaine asked, puzzled by Liu Ji's jittery deanor. "First ti in a swamp?"
"Uh, yeah, first ti." Liu Ji nodded.
It was indeed his first ti. He had never been to a swamp in his past life either.
"But," Liu Ji scratched his cheek, muttering, "swamp is strange. Can't hear birds."
Yaine paused, then started listening intently to the surroundings. The more she listened, the deeper her frown grew.
She had been focused on their route all this ti and hadn't noticed that there wasn't birdsong in this swamp.
Swamps, being insect havens, should attract many birds. A place like this with no birdsong was definitely odd.
But why? What's the reason for this?
As Yaine was frowning in contemplation, a sudden cry ca from behind.
"Osar? Osar! What's wrong with you! Hey! You're in the swamp!"
Yaine turned sharply and saw Osar in a daze, with his lower half sinking into the swamp. Soon, the tigerman realized his predicant and a look of panic showed on his face.
Girunini, who had been the one shouting, quickly threw a thick rope toward Osar. Osar grabbed the rope, trying to pull himself up, but the pain from his lower body made him wince.
He realized sothing in the swamp was holding him down. Without delay, Osar let out a roar. His fur shimred with a golden light, and his body seed to swell.
At the sa ti, Girunini's eyes flashed red, and her entire aura underwent a drastic change, making her seemingly fierce and violent.
With a low growl, she yanked the rope, pulling Osar up. However, she couldn't get him all the way to solid ground; she just managed to pull him free of the mud.
It was then that everyone saw the countless black threads clinging to Osar's legs, tearing at his flesh. The threads seed alive, wriggling and burrowing into his flesh, trying to drag him back into the swamp.
In that critical mont, rvant's dragon wings spread, and there was a flash of his long sword. In an instant, he sliced through the myriad of threads.
"Nini! Pull him up!" rvant shouted from midair.
"I'm on it!" Girunini replied, tugging hard and finally hauling Osar onto the solid ground of the stone mound.
Osar sat on his butt, clutching the rope tightly while still in shock.
The remnants of the threads on his legs stopped moving and soon turned into wisps of dead fibers, scattering on the ground.
However, Osar's legs were covered in blood.
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