Wizard: Starting from the Skill Tree-Chapter 344: Swamp

Chapter 344: Chapter 344: Swamp
Scarface Mercenary frowned, "Do you have any more of that stuff?"
Gray Mouse shook his head, "This is all I have. After taking you there, I’ll need it to come back; I can’t give you any."
Scarface Mercenary looked dissatisfied but said nothing. Causing a dispute here was clearly not a wise choice.
He indeed hadn’t thought of this, failing to prepare any means to deal with the environment here beforehand, leaving him to just improvise.
Frey took out a bottle of perfume-like substance from her bag, sprayed it in front of herself, then walked around in a circle to let the fragrance envelop her body.
Seeing this, Scarface Mercenary swallowed, wanting to ask Frey to give him a spray as well. Yet considering that Frey was no ordinary woman, he dared not use her perfume, ultimately choosing not to speak.
Duke, on the other hand, did nothing. This environment posed no threat to him, appearing even less dangerous than the Decomposition Forest in his eyes.
Gray Mouse was the first to step into the fog-covered swamp’s edge, his feet sinking into muddy depths with every step, rotting vegetation and muddled dead water intertwining to make bubbling noises.
Visibility around them was less than ten meters, the dense fog rolled about as if a living creature.
The team lined up in a row, Gray Mouse at the front, Scarface following closely, Frey in the middle, and Duke at the rear.
Each person held their breath, heightened their awareness to the maximum, and focused closely on the footsteps ahead, not daring to be distracted.
A soft ’plop’ came from in front, like something falling into the water.
Scarface instantly tightened his grip on the knife handle, Gray Mouse immediately halted, cautiously gazing into the depths of the fog where the sound originated, while a long fiery red whip with barbs suddenly appeared in Frey’s hand.
Duke noticed this and realized that this whip was likely one of Frey’s Awakened Abilities, most probably her Demonized Armor.
Duke’s Spiritual Power pierced through the fog, sensing that a small water bird had been suddenly dragged into the murky water by a lurking shadow underneath, leaving only a few ripples behind.
It was a demon similar to an octopus, with many tentacles, presently devouring the bird with gusto, seemingly not planning to attack the group yet.
Gray Mouse waited a few seconds, noticed no further movement, and signaled to continue advancing.
"Speed up!" Gray Mouse frowned slightly and said softly.
The mud below their feet grew deeper, each step accompanied by unsettling squelching sounds and the bubbling of breaking air pockets.
The stench was so thick it almost solidified, invading noses and making them nauseous, while the fog churned as if hiding innumerable prying eyes.
This swamp was infested with countless poisonous insects, all quietly neutralized by Duke before they could approach him.
With Spiritual Power deployed, every movement around them was completely under control, with no lapse in perception.
Duke was the most relaxed, followed by Gray Mouse and Frey, both of whom had insect-repelling items, somewhat preventing the poisonous bugs from getting close.
Scarface Mercenary, however, was having a tough time, often troubled by the poisonous insects.
Several finger-length, gray-black bloodsucking leeches had already crawled on his pant legs and boots, greedily trying to pierce through the fabric.
He had to endure nausea and pain, scraping them off fiercely with the knife handle.
These insects weren’t deadly, but if not removed in time, collapsing injured in the swamp would mean never walking out again.
Moreover, fresh blood would attract more poisonous insects and even demons; in this place, the scent of blood was the most obvious signal.
After being injured, Scarface Mercenary’s pace significantly slowed down, often needing to deal with insects crawling inside his pant legs, sometimes even finding some dropping into his collar.
Before long, Scarface Mercenary had fallen behind the group, with Duke and the others not considering slowing down for him. They needed to leave this swamp as quickly as possible.
A few minutes later, Scarface Mercenary just scraped off another leech from his leg. His legs were now a sight too pitiful to behold, full of cuts, some places even missing chunks from bites.
He looked at the scraped-off bug on the ground, filled with rage and grievance, couldn’t help but crush it with his foot, applying a bit more force.
Unexpectedly, a strange noise came beneath Scarface’s foot, as if something decayed and hollow had been crushed.
Scarface Mercenary instantly lost his balance, his entire left foot, along with his leg, suddenly sank deep. Below was a thick mud, its horrifying suction power instantly engulfing his knee.
"Help! Give me a hand!" Scarface frantically waved his arms, desperately trying to grab anything beside him, but such futile struggle only made him sink faster.
Where Scarface sank, the muddy water churned violently as if boiling, numerous tiny bubbles bursting frantically.
Gray Mouse spun around, seeing this, his face drastically changed, "Run quickly, this commotion will attract big things, we need to leave fast!"
He didn’t even think of reaching out or saving anyone, as that would be courting death. They needed to hurry and leave this place now.
Without sparing another glance at the struggling and despairing Scarface sinking into the swamp, Gray Mouse swiftly turned around, bursting with speed, fleeing towards the depths of the swamp like a frightened rabbit.
Understanding the horrors of this putrid swamp all too well, such bloody and struggling commotion was enough to awaken the sleeping predators.
Frey was just half a beat slower than Gray Mouse, her figure like a nimble red fox chasing after Gray Mouse’s silhouette, diving into the thick fog.
Duke followed closely behind, yet his extended Spiritual Power could still sense the commotion at Scarface Mercenary’s side.
Underneath Scarface’s sinking quicksand, several thick, gray-brown tentacles covered with suckers and barbs emerged fiercely from the mud like sharks sensing blood, greedily wrapping around Scarface’s body, pulling him faster toward the chasm of death.
Meanwhile, further in the swamp, several larger shadows, reeking of malice, were drawn by the commotion, swiftly closing in like phantoms.
"Roar——!!!"
A deep, violent roar, seemingly from the depths of hell, burst forth from the quicksand where Scarface sank.
It echoed like thunder from a clear sky, shaking the dense fog violently, followed by the gut-wrenching sound of bones snapping and flesh tearing, ending Scarface’s last, extremely brief scream abruptly.
Mud erupted skyward like a fountain, a horrifyingly massive shadow, covered in sticky mud and twisting tentacles, appeared intermittently in the quagmire.
It seemed even more furious after shredding its prey effortlessly, more serpent-like tentacles frenziedly lashed the water’s surface and surrounding mire, raising towering waves of murky sludge. The intense scent of blood and demon stench instantly overwhelmed the swamp’s inherent putridness.