Chapter 33: The Swamp of Death Part 3

The night deepened.

Was I worried over nothing after all?

The swamp of death was silent. Not even the common rustling of grass insects could be heard. It was to be expected as the insects had likely vanished decades ago from this place.

The unease did not fade easily, so I remained awake, sitting in front of the campfire and staring into the endless darkness.

-Crackle, crackle…

The fire was dwindling. After adding firewood for the second time, I turned to Jamil who was chewing on jerky across from me and asked him,

"You're sure there's nothing out there?"

"Nothing at all."

Jamil had ordered his men to scout beyond the usual perimeter around the ash trees. Yet his men returned without seeing or hearing anything.

"It seems I was just being overly sensitive."

I sighed and stood up. Did I make a fuss for nothing? I should just sleep. The moment I raised my head while thinking that,

I noticed the leaves at the end of an ash tree branch trembling.

It was an ordinary scene.

That is, if this place wasn't known as the "Swamp of Death".

In the deathly still swamp of death, where not a breath of wind stirred, the presence of leaves gently swaying was an eerie anomaly.

As I thought… there's something.

If the firmly rooted purifying ash tree was swaying, it shouldn't be an ordinary being causing it.

"What's wrong?"

Jamil followed my gaze upward before his expression quickly hardened.

"Jamil, it wasn't a mistake."

"It seems so."

"To have such an incident on the first day. Our luck couldn't be worse."

I pulled back the tent where El and Ayla were sleeping.

El did as I told her and fell asleep leaning against Ayla while wearing her combat clothing. Ayla woke up first at my approach, followed by El who looked at me with sleepy eyes.

"El, wake up."

"Master…?"

"From now on, you and Ayla will move together."

"Yes, wh-what?"

"Grab your weapon."

"Did something happen?"

"It's about to."

After securing my bow and arrows, I turned to Jamil and said,

"Whatever it is, it's bound to be huge. Make sure everyone is thoroughly prepared."

"Don't worry. Everyone's itching for a fight."

"This is no joke."

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

How could anyone laugh in the face of a looming ambush in the swamp of death? I sighed and spoke to El.

"El, go and inform the wizards that an attack is imminent. Then, come straight back to this tree."

"Yes, Master."

"Don't even think about fighting alone. You're not yet skilled enough for that."

"…Yes."

El responded dejectedly before running off toward the wizards' tents with Ayla.

After watching them go, I climbed to the very top of the purifying ash tree.

The area was surrounded by darkness and a thick poisonous mist, so there was nothing visible.

But our position must be very clear to our enemies.

Given the campfire and the subtle glow emitted by the purifying ash tree, it was only a matter of time before our location was discovered.

I need to at least figure out the direction they're coming from.

I squinted my eyes and observed the movement of the leaves, focusing intently to discern the slightest difference in their movements. That's when I saw them.

"…. Shit."

The enemies were already quite close.

And from the looks of this rustling, it's not just one of them.

"Jamil, they're almost upon us…!"

Before I could finish my words, the purifying ash tree shook violently.

– Whoosh…

– Splash. Splash. Splash.

– Thud! Thud! Thud!

Deep within the swamp, the creatures that revealed themselves were five trolls of indiscernible type.

Trolls here?!

It was hard to believe.

Trolls were a type of monsters with heavy bodies and sluggish movements that shouldn't be found in swamplands.

In the first place, there was no talk of trolls in the wizards' briefing.

This meant that our party was completely unprepared for an encounter with trolls.

First of all, we lack holy oil…

To kill a troll, holy flame or "sanctified fire" was needed.

Creating this "sanctified fire" required holy oil from the temple.

However, the priests who would have carried the holy oil didn't participate in this mission.

We can't kill the trolls…

At that moment, my blood ran cold and my head spun.

Damn it, damn it, damn it…

What should I do?

No viable solution came to mind.

But I must do something…

Or we die.

I racked my brain frantically.

What skills do I have available right now?

[Beast Transformation]?

No, charging at the trolls with the transformation of a Maple Bear might work, but it would be madness to do so with the shadow wolf transformation.

Then, what about [Beast Summoning]?

No, the beasts too wouldn't withstand the poison emanating from the swamp of death.

[Moonlight] was also out of the question as morningstars couldn't bloom in the swamp of death.

Given the limited supply of magic stones, it wasn't possible to excessively accelerate the growth of the purifying ash trees from the outset.

Then what to do now…

"Ah…"

As if by a miracle, an idea suddenly came to me.

-Clink.

I reached into the pouch tied around my waist.

There it is.

The seeds of a "lotus" I had found at the entrance to the swamp of death.

This lotus was a plant that adapted to live in the swamp of death with its own purifying power, even without my use of [Blessing of the Forest].

Adapting to this place had changed its appearance; unlike the common lotus flower, it was black in color and its roots and stems were as tough as steel wires. I took its seeds thinking they might be of use, but I didn't expect to use them so soon.

If I use [Blessing of the Forest] and [Breath of the Forest] on this lotus, which already possesses its own purifying power, to explosively enhance its purification and growth, and then control it with [Song of the Forest]…

Killing the trolls might be too ambitious, but it was possible to trap them.

Thanks to the lotus's nature of spreading sideways and propagating once a bud blooms, it could infinitely increase its numbers given the right conditions.

This meant that even with only ten seeds in my possession, using my skills to promote growth and reproduction could potentially increase the number of lotus flowers infinitely, as long as my mana allowed it.

This could actually work…

It wasn't just about entangling their feet; I could potentially bury them completely.

In the swamp of death, failing to constantly move meant gradually sinking.

Once the trolls' feet were bound, the swamp would consume them even if they weren't directly killed.

Good.

I fixed a lotus seed onto an arrowhead and aimed at the base of a troll's foot.

Let's target two feet per troll.

-Swiiiiiish!!!

-Thwack!

The arrow sliced through the mist and plunged into the mud near a troll's foot.

I immediately shot the next arrow.

-Swiiiiiish!

-Thwack!

-Swiiiiiish!

-Thwack!

A total of ten arrows were embedded in the ground, and I jumped from the tree and landed lightly.

-Whoosh!

-Grrrr!

At that moment, a troll's club barely missed my head as it swung overhead. It should have crushed my skull, but fortunately, Jamil had wedged his axe into the troll's club and slightly changed its trajectory which caused only my hair to flutter.

"Theo, did you let your guard down?"

"Not at all. I had taken even this into account."

Wahaha! Jamil burst into a hearty laugh.

"Good timing. Cover me."

I trusted Jamil to watch my back. Without waiting for his reply, I plunged my hand into the black mud. With my resistance to poison and the totem's protection, poisoning was the least of my worries.

-Splash!

After activating both [Blessing of the Forest] and [Breath of the Forest], a pale light spread from the tips of my fingers. The sounds of Jamil and a troll locked in combat echoed from above, while in the distance I could hear the sound of trolls, mercenaries, and wizards clashing. But I ignored them all and just closed my eyes while focusing my mind.

"My body, blessed by your grace, shall not rot in this place…"

-Bubble.

"O Lord of the Green, bestow your noble breath here and let death retreat…"

-Rumble.

For a long while, clear bubbles rose and burst above the boiling black mud. This was a sign that the lotus seeds were beginning to sprout. When I opened my eyes, I could see the life force of the lotus flowers spreading out in lines down the swamp.

"Theo! Another one is coming!"

"I'm almost done! Just hold on a bit longer!"

"Sh*t!"

The lotus flowers were growing rapidly. But it wasn't just their growth that mattered. I used [Song of the Forest] to control the direction of the stems so that the lotus flowers grew tangled together like a net. Managing multiple stems at once was quite the chaotic task.

-Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

-Grooooar…

Just as Jamil had warned, another troll was approaching.

In such a situation, it would be normal to break into a cold sweat and tremble with fear.

But strangely, I found my mind becoming clearer and more composed in these moments.

Well, I was often told at the office that I perform well under pressure.

It was odd to recall such memories from my past life in the midst of this surreal situation.

I let out a wry smile before abruptly raising my hands high.

Clear and clean drops of water hung from my hand as I took it out from the infamous Swamp of Death—this black muddy water that rots flesh.

With that, I swung my hands toward the troll.

-Chaaaaaaah!!!!

The "Lotus Stem Net" which was meticulously crafted stitch by stitch enveloped the troll in an instant.

– Slam!

– Guuuuuuuuk!

Caught under the net of lotus stems, the troll lost its grip on its club and began to flounder helplessly. Its bulging eyes rolled around as it tried to grasp the situation, but it was already too late.

– Plop!

It was only a matter of time before the troll toppled over.

The creature plunged face-first into the swamp of death and started flailing around. Its arms which were twisted in bizarre shapes and sprouting strange tentacle-like appendages, tried desperately to tear through the net of lotus stems but to no avail. The lotus flowers that adapted to the harsh environment of the swamp of death were as resilient as strands of steel.

– Bubble, bubble…

I tightened the lotus stem net around the troll even more to ensure it couldn't escape. Once it was sufficiently submerged, the swamp of death would take care of the troll without any further need for intervention.

It's definitely working.

Though it consumed a considerable amount of magical power, the ease with which the troll was dealt with made this expenditure seem trivial.

"What did I just see?"

Jamil stood over the club dropped by the troll and looked at me with his mouth wide open.

"See, I told you I was almost done."

Don't you trust me?

I grinned and plunged my hands back into the muddy swamp water.