Chapter 353: The Black Marsh Dungeon

“You guys are way too cruel—you actually left me behind!”

“Serves you right for being late again. Next time, you can delve the dungeon alone.”

“Ugh... Eileen, you’re getting more and more heartless! No empathy at all!”

“The last person I wanna hear that from is you...”

“Alright, alright, cut the bickering. We’re about to enter the dungeon—one final check of your gear, everyone.”

At Lucien’s words, the squabbling Russell and Eileen shut their mouths at once. Their expressions shifted to seriousness, their auras sharpening in an instant. For all their bickering during downtime, they were utterly reliable when it counted—making their party one of the top-tier Rank B teams structured around a core fighter supported by multiple auxiliaries.

“Let me go over the details one last time,” Lucien announced, his voice steady and authoritative.

“The dungeon we’re delving is called the Black Marsh Dungeon. Its terrain is dominated by swamps, and perpetual mist shrouds the area, severely limiting visibility.

“The monsters here are mostly swamp-dwelling creatures—experts at hiding their auras beneath the muck. Frots, when scouting, prioritize checking the ground below for ambushes.”

“Understood.”

Frots nodded briefly, his tone flat as always.

“Besides the monsters, there are two major hazards we must avoid. First is the Black Mist—an unpredictable, randomly occurring phenomenon. The mist is toxic; prolonged exposure is fatal. If we encounter it, we retreat immediately, no exceptions.

“Eileen, if anyone gets poisoned by the mist, you’re our only hope. We’re counting on you.”

“Leave it to me.”

Eileen nodded firmly, gripping her wand tightly.

“The second, even deadlier hazard is Swamp Demon Mosquitoes. Individually, they’re weak enough to swat with one hand—but they travel in swarms so massive they blot out the sky. If we run into a swarm, we take cover at once. If there’s no time to hide, we erect a barrier immediately and take shelter underground.

“That’s all the critical intel. We’ll handle anything else as it comes. Now—move out!”

Led by Lucien, the six of them stepped into the Black Marsh Dungeon...

Within the mist-shrouded swamps,

Frots split off from the group, advancing ahead to scout the path. The other five followed at a safe distance, sticking strictly to the clear, hazard-free route he marked out.

“Lucien, how deep are we planning to delve this time?”

Eileen asked, breaking the silence as they trudged through the muck.

“It depends on our pace. I’m aiming for a maximum two-day expedition—we turn back once the time’s up, no matter what.”

“Two days is way too short! We’ll barely make any profit!”

“It’s a calculated decision. The air in this dungeon is laced with trace toxins—it’s not fit for extended stays. We can’t afford to linger.”

Just then,

Frots, who had been scouting ahead, suddenly froze in place and held up a hand to signal the group to halt.

Seeing the gesture, the others fell silent at once and quickened their pace to catch up—while Frots backed away toward them, his eyes never leaving the mist ahead.

ROAR!

Splash!

Before Frots could rejoin the group, a patch of murky bog ahead suddenly churned violently. A cascade of putrid sludge rained down as a Deep Marsh Giant Crocodile burst forth from the depths, its massive jaws snapping shut as it lunged at the retreating Frots.

“Attack!”

Lucien shouted, a burst of white light flaring around his body. He launched himself into the air, his shield raised.

CLANG!

A resounding crash echoed as Lucien’s shield slammed into the crocodile’s skull from above. The giant reptile staggered, dazed by the impact.

Frots seized the opportunity to dart out of harm’s way.

Shaking its head to clear the fog from its mind, the crocodile regained its senses—then fixed its bloodshot eyes on Lucien, the one who had attacked it.

ROAR!

It let out a furious snarl and charged straight at him.

“Hah!”

Lucien roared, planting his feet and holding his shield like an impenetrable wall between himself and the beast.

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BOOM——!

The two collided with earth-shaking force.

Lucien was thrown backward by the crocodile’s immense strength, skidding across the damp marsh mud and leaving two deep furrows in his wake—but his stance never faltered. He had successfully blocked the beast’s charge.

As the crocodile paused, gathering strength for its next attack, the others struck.

“Take this, you overgrown lizard!”

Russell roared, lifting his spear high and leaping into the air. He drove the weapon downward with all his might, a swirling green cyclone coiling around its tip.

WHOOSH——!

On the other side, Arthur swung his flame-wreathed greatsword, slashing at the crocodile’s flank.

Their attacks landed simultaneously.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two deep gashes erupted on the crocodile’s back and side, oozing thick, dark blood.

ROAR——!

The beast howled in agony.

But the assault was far from over.

SLASH!

The ground beneath the crocodile suddenly erupted.

A jagged stone spike and a shadowy spear pierced upward, impaling its underbelly.

The searing pain forced the crocodile to abort its next attack.

Lucien seized the chance, drawing his longsword and swinging it with all his strength at the beast’s head.

SPLAT——!

Blood splattered everywhere as a gaping wound tore open on the crocodile’s skull.

From the moment the Deep Marsh Giant Crocodile had emerged to the second it was cornered, mere seconds had passed.

THUD! THUD!

Trapped and desperate, the crocodile flew into a rage. It lashed out with its tail—a tail as thick and tough as a steel wall.

“Get out of the way!”

At Lucien’s warning, Russell and Arthur had already darted clear of the attack range.

“It’s trying to escape! Eileen, stop it!”

Lucien saw at a glance that the beast wasn’t fighting to the death—it was trying to scare them off so it could flee.

“On it!”

Eileen shouted, slamming her wand hard into the ground.

Crackle, crackle......

The damp, squelchy ground around them rapidly hardened, turning from muck into solid stone in the blink of an eye.

Less than two seconds after the ground solidified, the Deep Marsh Giant Crocodile spun around and bolted, diving headfirst toward the swamp.

CLANG——!

Predictably, it didn’t sink smoothly into the bog as it had when it emerged. Instead, it crashed into the hardened earth and got stuck fast.

“I can’t hold the spell for long! Hurry up and finish it off!”

Eileen gritted her teeth, pouring every ounce of her magic into maintaining the petrified ground.

“Charge! All together!”

Lucien yelled. The four of them surged forward in unison.

A barrage of attacks rained down on the trapped crocodile—especially Lucien’s blows, each one powerful enough to kill a lesser monster outright, if not for the beast’s thick, tough hide.

Facing imminent death, the Deep Marsh Giant Crocodile thrashed and struggled frantically.

“Oh no! Fall back!”

Eileen’s face paled.

BOOM!

In the next instant, the crocodile broke free of its bonds. Driven mad by desperation, it flailed its body wildly, its tail whipping around like a violent storm that threatened to engulf everything in its path.

“Wait! Wait a second! Why’s it coming straight for me?!”

Russell scrambled backward as the swirling tempest of the crocodile’s tail swing hurtled toward him.

SPLASH!

But disaster struck—

His foot suddenly sank into the muck, trapping him.

“Are you kidding me?! Now of all times?!”

Russell’s face turned ashen with terror.

The crocodile’s attack was about to land on him.

WHOOSH——!

A colossal wind blade sliced through the air right in front of him, moving with blinding speed.

The enraged crocodile froze mid-attack, as if its systems had crashed. Then, a thin red line appeared down the center of its body.

SPLASH!

A shower of warm blood sprayed everywhere as the beast’s massive body split clean in two, crashing to the ground with a thunderous thud......

A deathly silence fell over the scene.