CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 41: HOPE IS GROWING, SWAMP POISON FROG

A chubby little cutie circled around shyly, but eventually flew back into the Starry Sky Vines to the ↑north, transforming into a stream of light and merging in.

Then Lear could feel clusters of life energy gathering within the vines.

There were a total of... 34 clusters.

Quite magical.

After giving birth to her little babies, the Vine Fairy quickly flew out again.

She seemed much more relaxed.

Each one had rosy cheeks, a bit embarrassed to look at Lear.

Lear smiled.

He originally wanted them to rest well, but these little ones scurried away to continue nurturing the Starry Sky Vines.

And it was obvious that the Vine Fairy’s ability to harness magic had improved significantly.

These lives truly are astonishing.

Thus, in just half a year, new Vine Fairies would be born.

On the other hand, the Bubble Beast only needed two months.

These two important strategic forces gaining augmentation are undoubtedly a major boon for Weilu City.

The next day, August 12th, Lear continued to lead the team out for hunting.

At the same time, he instructed Bain to send some Mud Swamp People out to search for Black Dragon Broad-leaf Grass.

As swamp beings, the Mud Swamp People were as familiar with the swamp as the Wetland Lizard-men, though their combat prowess was inferior to these ferocious beings.

They also had their own ways of survival, learning skills like risk avoidance and food foraging from a young age, which had already become instinctual.

Without the protection of Wetland Lizard-men, there’s more risk, but they can still perform tasks.

Today, the search continued to the ↑north.

The relic occupied by the Foul Giant Demon wouldn’t show signs until the 15th. Lear would explore the surroundings to eliminate hidden threats, making future operations smoother.

More critically... the potential of the Wetland Lizard-men only needed the last step for enhancement!

Upon leaving Weilu City, Lear dispatched the five squads of Wetland Lizard-men.

Today, finding enough hunting targets was imperative.

After advancing about 5 kilometers, the lizard-men in front stirred, immediately relaying information — an unexpected discovery.

Upon Lear’s arrival, he immediately saw a series of three-toed footprints, larger than millstones, on the muddy ground ahead.

They were deeply sunk into the mud.

Over a meter deep!

They extended to the grasslands where they disappeared.

His expression turned grave.

He’d seen similar three-toed footprints before, but not from this direction.

Had that unknown mysterious monster been active around here?

Vigilance surged in his heart.

These footprints... so immense, what creature was their original form?!

"Stay alert!"

The direction the creature disappeared was precisely toward the ↑north, where the Foul Giant Demon resided.

Perfect to go together.

Marching speed remained unchanged, but the Wetland Lizard-men’s eyes were already full of caution.

They grew increasingly careful.

After walking forward for about ten minutes, a warning came from the front!

Lear immediately brought the troops over, but was slightly disappointed—it wasn’t the three-toed monster.

Ahead was a large muddy area, and a group of ugly monsters was rolling in the mud.

Their grayish-brown toad bodies were extremely rough, with white bellies, walking upright, large yellow eyes, and sporting huge mouths, croaking incessantly.

Their backs were covered with pus sacks the size of fists, looking extremely disgusting.

At a glance, their numbers exceeded two hundred!

Swamp Toads

[Level]: Level 8

[Potential]: 2 Stars

[Racial Talent]: Poisonous Pus Sack, containing venom, which causes area poison damage upon breaking.

[Skills]: Highly Poisonous Long Tongue (1 Star) — possesses a super long tongue that can extend three meters to attack enemies.

Venom Spray (2 Stars) — can spray venom to attack enemies, causing corrosive damage.

[Evaluation]: Disgusting monsters imbued with venom.

Stars potential, Level 8 wildlife?!

Lear frowned slightly.

This was a tough nut to crack!

He turned to look at Haggs beside him.

"We can’t force it. Fall back 300 meters, and lure these monsters out in batches to hunt them down."

Swamp Toads were covered in poison, and ruptured pus sacks on their backs would cause splash damage.

Like spiked porcupines, assailing them directly, even with a powerful Healing Technique, could result in massive casualties.

Every Wetland Lizardman Warrior at this moment was valuable combat power and could not be squandered here.

However, if they could take all these monsters down, the promotion of the Wetland Lizardman Warriors was imminent.

Haggs immediately affirmed.

He gathered the troops and retreated silently.

It wasn’t until reaching a drier area that Lear had the Wetland Lizard-men stop.

He looked around, surrounded by reeds taller than a person.

Dense and impervious, one could disappear half a meter in.

The center was an oval clearing with a 30-meter diameter.

Very suitable for an ambush.

"Hide around, stay downwind, and do not expose your scent... Haggs, lure some Swamp Toads over, keep the number small, within two squads."

"If too many Swamp Toads are pursuing, circle around and escape."

The Level 7 Wetland Lizardman Hero’s eyes were solemn.

"As you wish!"

Without hesitation, he grasped his steel saber and turned to leave.

Lear also concealed himself at the rear, making a gap in the grass, silently observing under the guard of two squads of Wetland Lizardman Warriors.

Seven or eight minutes later, a low growl came from the grass in front.

Haggs is warning!

Lear’s eyes sharpened as he waved his hand, directing the Wetland Lizardman Warriors ahead to prepare to engage.

The Wetland Lizardmen emitted a peculiar sound rhythm, and then it fell silent again.

Everyone was quietly waiting for the prey to arrive.

In the blink of an eye, there was a rustling sound, and the reeds in front shook.

Sizzle~

A burly figure broke through the reeds, appearing in Lear’s view.

Haggs!

This Level 7 Hero had no time for nostalgia, quickly charging into another thicket, as if he was merely passing through here while fleeing.

Rustle rustle~

The reeds shook violently, and the foliage ahead was lifted.

Seven or eight white-bellied, gray-brown wrinkled swamp toad bodies, large mouths with poison pustule-covered backs, eagerly dashed into the clearing.

Similar numbers of shadows followed from behind.

The prey... is trapped!

Lear’s eyes instantly became as sharp as an eagle’s!

The swamp toads at the forefront, in their excitement, did not notice anything amiss and directly crossed the clearing, reaching the reeds where Lear was hidden.

The foremost swamp toad opened its mouth, its tongue shot out like a sword, extending three meters!

Aiming to hunt down Haggs.

If hit, it would be severely wounded!

But at that moment, Lear shouted loudly!

"Kill!"

The fleeing Haggs suddenly turned around, the Qi Blood on him erupted like flames.

The steel saber reflected a cold glint!

The foremost swamp toad, unable to react, could only see a flash of the saber light, and then felt a terrifying pain in its tongue.

A segment of pale red tongue danced in the air.

The long tongue was directly severed!

The swamp toad, just about to act, saw the lizard-man who had been fleeing suddenly approaching...

The steel saber was like lightning, tearing through the sky.

In the swamp toad’s vision, the world spun, and with a thud, its head smashed into the ground, vaguely seeing a headless corpse standing...

Plop~

A huge frog head soared skyward.

The blood from the neck burst forth like a fountain.

Death fireworks!

The swamp toads behind suddenly froze, just realizing what happened, when the surrounding ambushed Wetland Lizardman Warriors surged forward, grinning ruthlessly!

The swamp toads’ Level was two levels higher than the Wetland Lizardmen.

Its Potential was also higher by 1 Star!

But... faced with absolute numbers, full armament, and the ambush attack.

These swamp toads watched in horror as the steel sabers swung down.

They could only barely lift their claws before they were sliced into flesh and bone by sharp blades.

The instant their tongues shot forth, they were confronted with the edge of the steel saber!

Slash~ Slash~

The distinctive sound of meat cutting and bone slicing echoed all around.

Their anguished cries sent shivers down the spine.

The swamp toads fell with a plop~ one corpse after another.

The few swamp toads at the rear who were not immediately slain opened their giant mouths, and whoosh~ spit out green venom.

Splatter~

The venom was like concentrated sulfuric acid splashing onto their bodies, corroding the skin at the armor gaps.

The Wetland Lizardmen did not emit a single cry of pain, instead becoming even more frenetic in their saber attacks!

Brutality (1 Star): when injured or attacking, they enter a brutal state, becoming extremely savage, fearless of pain, fighting enemies until the last breath.

These warriors can be immune to pain!

After the ultimate burst, the scene suddenly returned to calm.

The ground was left with nothing but bloodshed and corpses...

Lear glanced at the wounded warriors, his gaze flickering.

Magic Power surged within him, a wave of Magic Energy instantly enveloped the warriors covered by the poison.

The wounds scorched by venom began healing at a visible speed...

However, the lingering poison was fierce, eroding even as it healed, and the powerful healing skill Swamp Blessing had to be cast over five rounds to finally cure them.

This was despite only being splashed by a small amount.

If they had directly fought the swamp toads, significant casualties would inevitably follow.

Once the Wetland Lizardmen recovered, Lear looked at the field of corpses, feeling joyous.

The Swamp Divine Format in his mind slowly operated.

A divine force enveloped those twenty or so corpses, quietly extracting a substantial amount of rich crimson Life Energy.

The energy floated into the air, then directly poured into the surrounding Wetland Lizardmen.

The Wetland Lizardmen immediately sensed their internal strength increase, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

Their evolution rate on the dashboard rose from 95% to 96%.

The Level 8 swamp toads, containing ten times more Life Energy compared to the Kelder Ratman hunted when first entering the swamp!

Lear’s lips curled into a slight smile.

With such tactics, just a few more times... and 2 Star Potential warriors would be nurtured!

He glanced toward the direction of the swamp toads.

"Continue hunting!"