novelraw Chapter 239: The Swamp Lurker, the Breath of the Frost Dragon!
Chapter 239: The Swamp Lurker, the Breath of the Frost Dragon!
“Just up ahead.”
Dirk pointed toward the front, his face grave as he said, “This section of the mission is the most dangerous and the most critical…”
Lin Mo scanned the area. The land ahead had turned an inky black.
In fact, once they entered the Blackwater Swamp, the ground here differed greatly from the yellowish soil outside.
On the outskirts it had not been so obvious;
the mud kings there only had a faint dark tint. But the deeper they went, the more the ground shifted into a desolate gray-black.
Now, right before them, the blackness spread like thick ink splashed across the earth.
Step onto it and you felt a constant unease that you might fall through at any moment, as if you were walking not on muddy land but on the edge of an abyss.
That was precisely why this place was called the Blackwater Swamp.
“Move out.”
After a brief check and confirming the horses and wagons were fine, Dirk spoke again. The convoy rolled onto the dark ground.Silence surrounded them, the creak of wheels unusually loud, and a heavy chill hung in the air.
A little farther off along their route, patches of swamp bubbled up, swamp gas thick and rolling, carrying the smell of rotten eggs.
“Pffoo…”
The popping of gas bubbles sounded sharp in the quiet.
Miasma drifted through the air, visibility worsening.
They could not make out things a short distance ahead.
The oppressive atmosphere tightened everyone’s nerves. The newcomers who hadn’t been through this before — namely Ellie and Finnie — were tense from head to toe.
Ellie fared a bit better, but Finnie had always been timid. Faced with this situation her breathing became ragged and her mind nearly froze.
Sherfilia stayed at her side. Although the maid had never been to this part of the Blackwater Swamp either, her mental resilience was clearly far stronger than Finnie’s.
Her eyes were sharp as a torch, carefully scanning the surroundings.
This place felt too uncanny...
Lin Mo frowned slightly, feeling the long-missed tension return.
But this tension wasn’t entirely bad. Human nervousness stems from ancient eras of hunting and combat.
When doing tasks that require rational thought, anxiety can cause confusion. In a dangerous environment like this, however, nervousness is more likely to have positive effects.
Perception, reaction time, and burst power could all be heightened.
“Remember to drink your anti-toxin potions!”
Dirk reminded them.
He was an old-school adventurer and immediately thought of this given the surroundings.
Lin Mo then passed around the anti-toxin potions he had brought, and Ellie took out several bottles to share with the group.
The caravan had not prepared them, so this was a necessary precaution.
The first ten minutes after entering this area passed without incident.
By the map’s path they had already covered more than a quarter of the distance.
But no one relaxed. This place was far too oppressive;
you simply could not let down your guard while inside it.
“Watch the ground ahead. If anyone spots a suspicious patch of swamp, call it out immediately!”
Glenn, the caravan leader, wore a serious expression. This was the most critical stretch.
The wagon wheels had already sunk more than ten centimeters into the ground, slowing their pace considerably, but luckily they had not encountered any monsters yet.
Because this area was relatively close to the Core Area of the Blackwater Swamp, many Middle Zone monsters avoided lingering nearby, so as long as they did not run into particularly troublesome creatures, progress could be smoother than expected.
Fifteen minutes…
They had about half the dangerous stretch left to pass.
Long periods of tension and focus had left everyone somewhat fatigued, but no one dared relax. They kept sharp, watching their surroundings.
Twenty minutes.
They had only the last third of the dangerous zone left to cross, and excitement rose among the group. So far, luck had been on their side;
they hadn’t encountered any powerful monsters.
“Leader, look ahead!”
At that moment a caravan member suddenly cried out, pointing to the ground ahead.
Countless eyes turned to look. On the pitch-black surface, there seemed to be faint ripples of motion.
“A swamp?”
Glenn frowned.
According to the routes planned by Fargard City, swamps shouldn’t appear here, but within the Blackwater Swamp new bogs could form unpredictably and without pattern.
If luck ran out, they could indeed encounter a newly formed swamp right on the road.
If that was the case, their luck was terrible.
Of all places, it had to happen here…
Glenn tightened his brow and the convoy ground to a stop. He climbed down and walked to the rippling sludge.
It did look like a swamp, about seventy or eighty meters wide in a semicircle;
the length was hard to judge.
Their only option was detour: find a patch without swamp and cross there, then return to the main road.
That sounded simple, but near the Core Area the gaps between swamps were usually narrow.
There were many places people could pass, but very few where wagons could go.
Route 11 had been completed only after long surveys and careful design, winding and difficult to traverse.
The worst-case scenario was that there was no passable road nearby, and they'd have to turn back and try to circumnavigate from further back.
Who knew how much time that would waste, and it might not even succeed.
Worse, this place was so close to the core that the longer they lingered, the more likely they were to attract a powerful monster.
One minute.
“Throa...”
With a helpless sigh, Glenn knew this was not the time for regrets;
he had to find a solution quickly.
On the bright side, at least this was an obvious swamp, not one of those deceptive trap patches that looked solid on the surface but had already become swamp underneath.
Just as he decided to arrange men for a path probe…
the ground beneath them suddenly shifted!
More precisely, it softened. Everyone clearly felt the wagons sink.
“Bad!”
Glenn’s face changed. Had they already driven into a swamp without realizing it?
“Quick, reverse!”
He shouted, commanding the wagons to turn and flee.
But it was too late. The wheels had sunk deep into the sludge and could not steer free.
Sweat soaked Glenn’s back. This was more serious than they’d thought.
“The wagons are gone. Find firm ground or people will be dragged down!”
Dirk kept his cool enough to say the minimum sensible thing.
With events unfolding, they had to find the best immediate solution.
“Wait…is the sinking stopping?”
Luke cried out from the side.
Indeed, they had clearly felt the trap-like descent, yet now things seemed different.
Glenn’s face brightened. Could this newly formed bog be unstable and have reached its sinking limit?
If so, there might still be hope.
He eagerly peered down and then froze.
“How…how is this possible?”
The wagon wheels were still rapidly sinking into the sludge, already half-submerged.
Yet from their vantage aboard the wagons, they no longer seemed to be descending.
What was going on?
Lin Mo noticed the same thing and frowned, deep in thought.
Suddenly he shouted, “We’re rising! We’re rising up!”
At that instant the view shot upward at tremendous speed, the whole convoy lifted off the ground…
A colossal thing broke out from beneath the earth.
It was an impossibly dense black mass, heaving and roiling…
The convoy felt like a roller coaster, pitching up and down. Some caravan members could not keep their footing in the jolts and fell into the black mud below, and within moments the creature swallowed half their bodies!
Glenn was drenched in cold sweat.
What they had encountered was not a swamp at all, but a monster.
A monstrous creature a hundred meters long and tens of meters wide.
“Corrupted Swamp Stalker!”
Dirk uttered the monster’s name.
Images and information flooded Lin Mo’s memory.
He had seen this creature in books. Put simply, a Corrupted Swamp Stalker was a black mud monster — basically a huge, terrifying mass made from countless black mud monsters fused together.
The book’s illustration showed one about fifty meters long, forty meters wide, and nearly twenty meters tall, with a threat level of eight.
This one in front of them was roughly twice those dimensions!
This wasn’t just twice the size by appearance — it was at least eight times larger!
What level would such a monster be?
Undoubtedly it was a Middle-tier Lord monster, and likely not level 11 or 12 — it might be level 13 or even 14!
“We have to get out of here! The wagons will be swallowed completely soon!”
Dirk shouted.
Everyone understood the urgency, but where could they retreat to?
The ground beneath was broad black sludge. If they jumped off the wagons they’d be swallowed, and they could not fly. Were they just supposed to wait to die?
In the critical moment Lin Mo’s mind seemed to speed into overdrive, becoming exceptionally clear.
The Corrupted Swamp Stalker was a special kind of monster, essentially formed from many black mud monsters. It could only form in unique places like the Blackwater Swamp.
Although it was enormous, its combat power wasn’t as exaggerated as its appearance suggested.
Typically, monsters that reached the hundred-meter scale would have already passed Lord tier and be Epic-level.
But this thing should still be below level 15 and not very aggressive — in short, a big, scary, dim-witted brute.
Furthermore, the Corrupted Swamp Stalker had a deadly flaw —
it did not possess the highly developed intelligence of other monsters at its level.
Its intellect was comparable to ordinary black mud monsters;
it acted on instinct, constantly devouring to grow.
As these thoughts ran through Lin Mo’s head, he lifted his hand.
Powerful ice-element energy surged and coalesced in his palm, then shot outward.
[Frost Storm]!
This epic-level skill displayed its terrifying might at such close range.
Cold winds howled, blizzards whipped.
Massive ice elements shattered into white specks, falling densely from the sky.
At visible speed, a thin layer of frost began to cover the Corrupted Swamp Stalker.
But that was far from enough...
Lin Mo drew the Frost Dragon Scale Sword. Qi and blood poured into the blade, and a terrifying dragon aura immediately spread out, making everyone present shudder.
Even that enormous creature’s movements reduced noticeably under the pressure of the dragon might.
The Frost Dragon Scale Sword’s dragon aura could lower all attributes of non-epic monsters by ten percent.
Still not enough!
Lin Mo continued pouring his qi and blood into the sword. The next moment the blade glowed with a blinding blue light.
“Breath of the Frost Dragon, activate!”
Besides hidden attributes and stat bonuses, this sword had an extra equipment skill.
Breath of the Frost Dragon: Upon activation, attacks (including sword energy skills) carry the dragon-breath power of the frost dragon, dealing 20% additional piercing damage (ignoring armor and defenses but still affected by the attacker’s constitution and shields) and adding a chance to freeze. Against already frozen enemies, it deals an additional 5% true damage (ignores armor, shields, and constitution-based defenses). Duration 120 seconds. After use, the dragon-breath enters a brief dormancy and requires 8 hours to recharge.
Lin Mo had never used this epic weapon’s skill in actual combat since obtaining it.
He had no need before.
He had not encountered any opponent that forced him to go all out, and this skill had limits. Use it once and you had to wait eight hours, so it could not be wasted.
This was his first time activating this powerful equipment skill in battle.
At once a mighty force poured from the blade into Lin Mo’s body.
Breath of the Frost Dragon did not only affect attacks;
skills were also granted the piercing damage, freezing chance, and bonus true damage after freezing.
From prior tests during rest, Lin Mo knew the skill applied to more than just warrior abilities — it affected all skills.
That meant Frost Storm would benefit from it too.
The frost-dragon power surged through Lin Mo, making him glow blue. Long ice spikes sprouted at his elbows, and a pair of dragon horns faintly appeared above the hood of his mage robes.
Lin Mo raised his hand again, his ice-blue eyes fixed on the cracking ice below.
[Frost Storm]!
In an instant the world seemed to pause. Terrifying ice elements poured down like a collapsing glacier.
At visible speed, a thick layer of ice covered the Corrupted Swamp Stalker beneath their feet.
“What are you waiting for? Move!”
Everyone around had been stunned into silence, mouths agape, until Lin Mo’s command snapped them back. They hurriedly jumped from the wagons and slid down the ice.
Ellie acted swiftly. She cut the ropes tying her wagon and freed the two Gale Steeds, rescuing them.
Those intelligent beasts had jumped onto the wagon heads to avoid the sinking earlier, so they had not been swallowed by the Corrupted Swamp Stalker’s body.
In the caravan’s center a black-clad figure watched the scene, forehead wet with cold sweat, astonished.
He stepped out of the wagon and caught Glenn’s eye. He nodded.
At this point, even if the matter risked exposure, they had to prioritize getting the young master away and deal with consequences later.
He leapt onto another wagon and ripped open its door.
“Young Master, go!”
The young man inside, trying to remain calm, nodded and followed him across the ice.
Within two or three minutes, everyone who could be evacuated had reached the nearby patch of solid ground.
A few unlucky people had lost balance at the start and fallen into the black sludge, swallowed by the Corrupted Swamp Stalker;
by now they were likely already dead.
Shaken, the survivors watched the slowly retreating Corrupted Swamp Stalker and wore faces of relief at having lived through the ordeal.
“That was terrifying…”
Luke looked pale. “We almost died there.”
“If it weren’t for Brother Lin Mo, it wouldn’t have been ‘almost’…at that point the monster would have swallowed us all!”
Dirk’s voice still trembled as he stared at the wagon half-submerged in sludge.
It was his first time seeing Lin Mo unleash his full power. He thought about how the leader had surrendered before, and realized it wasn’t unjustified...
If the two sides had fought to the death, the outcome might not have changed.
“It’s a pity about the wagons and the mission…we failed.”
Hahn lowered his head in dejection.
“Who said the mission failed?”
Lin Mo finally spoke, his eyes still fixed on the enormous creature.
His magic had not just frozen a surface to allow evacuation;
with Breath of the Frost Dragon backing it up, it had also dealt substantial damage to the Corrupted Swamp Stalker.
And now his mana and qi were still abundant.
“I’m going to kill it!”
This mission had been so hard to run, their luck poor and so much time and silent cost already spent — Lin Mo could not accept failure.
Besides, he had been comfortable on that wagon and hated to see it lost…
Dirk looked at him, stunned. How could they possibly kill such a colossal thing?
“You joining?”
Lin Mo turned to him, eyes burning with murderous intent and a hint of excitement.
For a moment Dirk felt he was seeing himself from over ten years ago: brash, ambitious, commanding.
“I’m in!”
The black-clad man exchanged a glance with Glenn. Without those wagons and their cargo as cover, they could not complete their task either.
“Look after the young master.”
He left that instruction and followed the two.
“Mr. Lin Mo, please be careful!”
A shaft of holy light shone on the three as Finnie watched Lin Mo go, a bright glow forming in her eyes.
Ellie’s gaze brimmed with pride, her mouth twisting into a bittersweet smile.
Once again she could do nothing to help…
Sherfilia stood straight as an arrow, her gaze deep as she watched that slender back disappear.