Chapter 297: Ambush and Tea

The Mist Forest is vast and boundless, and the faint mist that drifts leisurely in the air due to the highly concentrated magic particles is the characteristic of this fertile land that nurtures countless lives.

It is like a natural large-scale labyrinth; those towering and dense giant oak trees, waist-high long grass, and lush shrubs have become the natural enemies of the sense of direction.

Any reckless person who has not made corresponding preparations before entering will be lost in this land under the shroud of mist and green plants, offering their lives as nutrients to nourish the forest.

Adventurers may possess stronger physical fitness than ordinary people, have more professional equipment, or have special abilities to identify directions in the depths of the dense forest.

But this does not mean that they can ignore the mist and green leaves that fill every corner of their line of sight and find their targets finely and accurately.

Especially when the mission location is in the depths of the forest far away from the town.

In this situation, some landmarks with distinct characteristics become lighthouses that point the way for adventurers in the depths of the gray mist.

Perhaps it is a strange oak tree with a unique shape, a large clearing that appeared for no reason, a small rock hill that doesn't know why it was born...

When adventurers see these strange and peculiar points, they can confirm their location in the forest.

And then, whether heading deeper toward the commission target or returning, they have reference objects.

Rotten Root Swamp is one of the landmarks commonly found on major maps.

Located in the core area of the Mist Forest, it is not a simple water puddle.

But a huge, dangerous evil land that emits a corrupt aura.

A layer of viscous, thick, yellowish-green miasma eternally drifts above it, merging with the mist in the air, just like some kind of morbid filtering mechanism, filtering the warm sunlight and the life aura emitted by the vegetation into a distorted, dim, and substantial decay.

On the surface of the ink-black, nauseating slurry is a layer of oily, iridescent film, reflecting faint light, slowly squirming, occasionally bulging a huge bubble, and after bursting, making the surrounding poisonous miasma even thicker.

This dangerous zone filled with death and ominousness, even a country farmer who has never seen or heard of a "swamp" terrain, would never approach it the first time he saw it.

Adventurers who make a living in the dangerous forest where magic beasts gather know the danger within even better.

But even so, a considerable number of adventurer squads still go missing near the swamp every year.

As for the reason... naturally, it is for some expensive crops that only grow in the depths of the swamp, or some rare materials produced from the sediment at the bottom of the swamp.

The "Oath-Blackwood" squad certainly knows the danger of this place.

In fact, with the rich adventure experience accumulated over many years, they have even fought enemies in the swamp more than once and completed missions.

It is precisely because of this that they clearly know which places the danger is distributed in, understanding that as long as they don't go too deep or stay for too long, just simply using it as a reference point on the road, it won't be much more dangerous than the dense forests beside it.

It is a pity that, perhaps because of the addition of new team members, the actions of the "Oath-Blackwood" squad were too hurried; after returning from Niumu City, they didn't take a few days to rest in town using the gaps between missions as they did in the past.

Otherwise, if they had the chance to sit in the lobby of the White Tit Tavern and chat with the adventurers beside them, they might have been able to hear about the missing incidents that have occurred frequently near the "Rotten Root Swamp" recently, and thus change their route.

Right now, it is too late.

"Sshh-plop."

Leather boots covered in sticky slurry were pulled out of the ink-black mud with difficulty; every step taken in the swamp was more difficult than ever before.

As the captain of "Oath-Blackwood," Margaret, who has the 【Swordsman】 profession, abandoned part of her defense in exchange for instantaneous burst and the ability to delicately manipulate the sword blade.

Therefore, she lagged behind while walking, falling into the last position.

1.79 meters, a height not much above the average for human females, and two slender and powerful thighs wrapped in durable leather trousers allowed the mud water to just submerge the leather boots, about the position of the lower leg tibia.

The lv4 professional level also made her physical fitness far exceed that of ordinary people, and walking in the swamp didn't consume much of her physical strength.

By contrast, the dwarf warrior Suoerding, who was walking at the very front of the team with a sturdy figure and a body filled with knotted muscles, appeared exceptionally strenuous.

The mud slurry, which was about the position of other people's lower legs, had already submerged his knees and almost reached his thighs for him.

It was impossible to pull his boots out of the mud and move them in the air to save physical strength; he could only force his way through the sticky mud, step by step, moving forward with difficulty.

He was not the most difficult one in the team.

The one who really held back the team and slowed down the speed of the whole team by a large margin was the young Mage with a thin figure who was protected by several people and sandwiched in the middle of the queue.

The lv1 professional level was the lowest in the whole team, and the profession of 【Mage】 made his physical fitness no different from ordinary people, and even worse than ordinary people because of his noble background and lack of exercise.

Having just entered the "Rotten Root Swamp" not long ago, he was already sweating profusely, his legs trembling, looking like he was about to collapse.

"Hold on a little longer, we'll be out soon."

Behind, the encouragement from captain Margaret sounded at the right time.

To some extent, this was actually her negligence.

She just thought about arriving at the mission location in the fastest and simplest way, without considering the accidents that might occur due to the Mage's physical fitness on the road.

It could also be considered a good thing.

After all, the purpose of their trip, the association commission was one aspect, and the other aspect was to increase the team's tacit understanding and grind with each other.

Now that this loophole was discovered, reflecting in time, when planning routes in the future, it was naturally impossible to make the same mistake again.

"Hey, can you do it, kid? Is there any spell that can save some strength?"

A teasing voice with a bit of sarcasm came from his ear.

The Rogue Shajin walked flexibly on the flank of the team; perhaps he had received special training, or perhaps he possessed relevant professional specialties, his movements were much easier than others in the team.

Every step taken, the mud water on both sides of his lower legs seemed to encounter some kind of invisible force, rotating and retreating toward the surroundings like a reverse vortex, and the physical strength consumption was significantly reduced.

"I, I'm sorry, brother Shajin."

Knowing that he had held back the team again, the Mage Yueshuya lowered his head subconsciously, not daring to look into the other party's eyes, and apologized:

"I don't have many spells in my memory table, and my spiritual power storage is only at an average level; I really don't have any suitable spells..."

Saying this, he took a few more steps forward with force, as if wanting to speed up slightly, but because of the dragging of the mud under his feet, his center of gravity was unstable, and his body swayed violently.

If it weren't for Margaret behind him who was quick-witted and helped him, he would have almost fallen.

"If it really doesn't work, let that short dwarf in front carry you over."

"With that small frame of yours lying on the 'iron turtle shell' on his back, it actually fits just right."

Shajin shook his head, a smirk of watching the fun and not fearing the trouble hanging on the corner of his mouth.

Originally, it was just a casual joke, but he didn't expect that as soon as the voice fell, the dwarf Suoerding's face actually showed a look of contemplation, as if he were really considering the possibility of carrying Yueshuya over.

"Quiet, Shajin!"

"This is the Mist Forest, not River Valley Town; say less useless words!"

Seeing this, Margaret glared at him and warned.

"At your command, my captain~" Shajin deliberately and awkwardly posed a noble posture, "Then I will soak in this 'fragrant' hot spring for a while longer."

"Gurgle."

Perhaps it was some kind of coincidence, or perhaps it was precisely taking advantage of the moment when several people were talking and relaxing their vigilance.

Not far from the side of the team, a small string of bubbles that looked plain and unremarkable floated to the surface quietly and burst.

One could vaguely glimpse a huge, blurred shadow fleeting, silently merging into the depths of the darkness beneath the silt.

Margaret only felt a very faint and unnatural touch in her heart, and looked back subconsciously, looking at the position where the sound came from. ===== CHAPTER 298 =====