Chapter 10: Aberrant Beasts

The Scarlet Moon hung in the sky, its terrifying glow growing ever brighter.

Matthew could clearly feel the polluted and warped power also growing stronger.

Correspondingly, the frequency and number of mutant creatures appearing were becoming higher and higher.

Not only were the Mutated Black Wolves beginning to attack the caravan, but the famous Swamp Merfolk from the Misty Swamp also began to make an appearance.

The Swamp Merfolk, along with the similarly small Goblins and Kobolds, are collectively referred to as the cockroach species of the material plane.

Their individual strength is not significant; even an adult woman could easily bully them.

Many trained children's first real-world mission is to defeat the Merfolk, Goblins, and Kobolds.

However, these three species with very weak individual strength

are perennially at the top of the annual leaderboard for wild creatures that kill humans and adventurers!

The most important reason is their vast numbers and strong reproductive capacity.

If not regularly cleared, water bodies similar to swamp rivers will be teeming with them in less than three years.

The Merfolk can also be contaminated by the Scarlet Moon and undergo terrible mutations.

Their roughly 1-meter-tall bodies will swell to nearly 1.2 meters, their short limbs growing longer and developing into muscular, bony claws covered with muscle and bone spurs.

Crack!

The sharp blade of the sword shattered the open maw, toppling the body covered with bloody scales.

Angela had no time to look for loot as she continued to retreat to the front of the carriage, vigilantly watching the Mutated Fishmen on both sides of the team, and proficiently giving commands:

"The heads of the Fishmen are quite fragile; if you find the right opportunity, you can kill them with one strike."

"Although they are small and agile, they lack jumping ability. Use shields for defense, and let the spearmen team up in pairs to eliminate them."

Angela, who had undergone formal and strict military training, was not only formidable in personal combat but also possessed exceptional talent in command operations.

Although her actual combat experience was not strong, she could still manage to deal with relatively simple enemies like the Mutated Fishmen with ease.

These soldiers, carefully selected and trained by the Searle family, might not be individually exceptional, but when it came to obeying orders and coordinating attacks, they were quite seasoned.

The seven or eight Mutated Fishmen that charged were met by six shield-wielding soldiers who managed to fend off the mindless slashes of their claws, leaving blood stains on their shields before the Merfolk's heads were pierced by the longspears.

The gurgling roars settled into silence.

From the initial excitement to the now quiet clearing of the battlefield, the participating soldiers were also becoming more and more mature.

The occasional appearance of one or two mutant creatures was quickly dispatched by the gleaming-eyed soldiers.

If there were too many mutant creatures, Angela and Butler Ralph, sitting at the center, would personally take down a few before returning to rest.

"...earned 30 Experience Points (EXP)."

"...earned 20 Experience Points (EXP)."

"…"

Listening to the successive prompts gave Matthew the leisure to analyze the differences behind each EXP.

"No significant difference in size…"

"The degree of mutation is also similar…"

"No need to even mention status…"

"The biggest likelihood should be the difference in Professional Levels…"

"This is too interesting... There are so many Merfolk with Professional Levels in Misty Swamp?"

"If Merfolk can have professionals, it means their original numbers had to be at least in the hundreds..."

"Which is to say, these few Mutated Fishman Professionals could be the 'essence' of thousands of Merfolk!"

"Even under such circumstances, the number of Merfolk is still increasing..."

"…"

Matthew had a premonition that after coming to the real world, those creatures he had dismissed and not cared about on a regular basis might also bring unexpected trouble...

Compared to the soldiers who were gradually getting excited, some nervous Cart Drivers had also started to feel at ease.

They cast envious glances at the soldiers being allocated Gold Coins, their minds filled with different thoughts while quietly chatting with their companions.

"Another Magical Material, that's the fifth one, right?"

"The sixth one already, four teams have gotten Gold Coins…"

"Not everyone has Gold Coins though…"

"But even those soldiers carrying shields are now getting more than 90 silver coins each!"

"More than 90 silver coins, it used to take us four months to earn that much..."

"And that still depends on the harvest..."

"What do you think, should we consider it in the future?"

"Forget about it, the majority of professionals don't end up well. It's better to live a quiet life of farming..."

"That's just something to deceive others. If you really wanted a quiet life, why would you have come here with us?"

"This..."

It has to be said, the cart drivers may have limited perspectives, but they lack neither courage nor the desire for a better life.

That's actually one of Matthew's goals!

Arouse the desire for change in more people, provide some assistance, alter the old order, spontaneously support this change, and then transform it into the driving force for the advancement of the entire territory.

That's Matthew's real plan!

Simply farming won't change the world!

In the end, you'll just quietly pass away.

Because, a cataclysm that will shatter the heavens and obliterate the earth is coming!

After about another half-hour of marching, the troops weren't too fatigued.

The ample food and the not-too-tense atmosphere, occasionally spiced up with interesting finds, kept everyone in good spirits.

Roar!

Gurgle! Gurgle!

Squeak! Squeak!

The growling noises were getting closer and closer.

The convoy moved farther away from Misty Swamp, and from a distance, they could see mutant creatures rapidly approaching them.

This time, there was a very large number of mutant creatures. Matthew did a quick tally and counted at least thirty or forty.

This was an astonishing number!

There were slain Black Wolves and Merfolk, and also a terrifyingly large new kind of creature.

Swamp Crocodiles!

A normal Swamp Crocodile already had a Challenge Level of 5.

In the swamp, with its advantageous terrain, even intermediate-level professionals wouldn't dare provoke them.

After mutation, although they no longer rely on their most skilled mode of ambush, they became even more troublesome.

Seven meters long from head to tail with a huge mouth full of sharp teeth taking up one-third of their body size.

Their grey-black hide was shimmering with a ghostly gleam, occasionally, a few fresh wounds would open, and from them, thin and twisted tentacles would grow.

Their limbs had become stronger and more elongated, allowing them to crawl quickly forward.

The splashing of the mud, "pom pom", exerted a tremendous pressure on the people.

Their Challenge Level had reached 7+!

And there were two of them!

The other mutant creatures also weren't easy to deal with.

Every mutant creature that survived the initial chaos indicated they had acquired the combat prowess of professionals.

As time passed, they devoured more and more flesh, became more deeply infected, sprouted more terrifying mutated limbs, and grew stronger.

Handling seven or eight at once was already the limit for the entire team.

The sudden appearance of thirty or forty could potentially cause massive casualties, even scattering the team outright.

The soldiers, who had accumulated a fair amount of combat experience, obviously realized this, and their faces quickly turned pale.

The cart drivers were also panicking, with the howling sounds coming closer from all directions.

Seeing morale drop rapidly, Butler Ralph straightened his body, ready to offer encouragement, at least not to leave the situation unattended.

However, Matthew stood up first, ahead of him. He looked at the more than ten Black Wolves charging from behind, raised his magic wand in hand.

Mental power guided, magic power converged within his body, passed through the magic model, transmitted via the structure of the wand, and formed a bright red fireball that whooshed towards the distance!

"Fireball Technique!"