Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Death Swamp (2)
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When camping, nothing beats stew.
Simple, hot, hearty.
It's like the kimbap of this other world.
-Splash!
I dumped all sorts of ingredients into a large pot. Up to this point, it wasn't much different from a regular stew.
Just like all kimbap tastes similar, stews all taste about the same.
The kind of food you eat without much expectation.
'But I have my secret weapon.'
Just as a good kimbap joint has tasty pickled radish,
a good stew needs good spices.
I added aged tomatoes and olives, white bay leaves, and dried mustard seeds to the pot.
"Whoa~ Smells delicious!"
El gulped and stirred the pot vigorously with the ladle.
As El said, as time passed, an incredibly appetizing aroma wafted from the pot.
"Whoa~ Smells delicious!"
....
And apparently, even that one bear noticed the smell.
"Theo, your stews are always delicious. Nothing like the pig slop those other mercenaries boil up."
"Hey, hands off."
"I still can't forget the taste of that imperial-style buffalo stew you made."
"Hey, hey."
"El, a bowl please."
Jamil brazenly held out his bowl to El. She looked at me in panic, and I shook my head.
"No way. This guy's 'one bowl' is on another level."
"I'll eat just one bowl, honestly."
"Honest my ass. You're a mercenary captain now—you must have access to decent food. Why come here acting like this?"
"Theo, you know as well as I do. No mercenary worth a damn can cook. If they can scrape mold off jerky, they're lucky."
Jamil grinned and snatched the ladle from El, scooping a heaping portion into his bowl.
"One bowl, huh?"
"It is one bowl."
Brazen bastard.
Jamil sat down with a shameless grin and picked up his spoon. I let out a deep sigh, then served stew into El's plate and mine. Haah, El eats a fair amount too, but this guy's cutting into her share....
"Master, here's some toasted bread."
"Thanks. You eat too."
With lightly toasted bread on the side, it was a hearty meal complete.
We sat by the campfire and started eating. We had stew, while Ayla chomped on the hind leg of the sand bull beside us.
In the quiet swamp, the crackle of the campfire, the bubbling stew, the clink of bowls and spoons, and the whispers of mercenaries and mages echoed softly.
I slowly ate my stew, watching Jamil and El talk about the recent training.
Despite its fearsome name, Death Swamp felt unusually peaceful.
'I hope we can reach the center just like this, smoothly.'
* * *
'Why is this happening...!'
Pavel couldn't hide his shock at the Water Ash Tree emitting a faint blue glow.
Just a month ago, during his preliminary survey, no such Water Ash Tree existed.
And now, right as he was about to execute the plan, this!
The blue light from the Water Ash Tree was unmistakably holy—clearly a blessing or purifying force.
"Damn, damn, damn, damn...."
Pavel bit his lip and began tailing it from a safe distance.
'It's fine. Calm down, Pavel. At the right moment, call in one troll—no, two—and wipe them out.'
From what he'd observed, the Water Ash Tree only purified its surroundings, with no other effects.
Pavel steadied himself by recalling the trolls he'd buried in Death Swamp two months prior.
Trolls steeped in the swamp's potent poison and dark magic for two months would be too much even for the Western Tower's mages.
'Wait for them to sleep.'
Pavel watched from the top of a thorny tree not far from their camp.
'......!'
Then he spotted 'him.'
'That guy!'
The druid he wanted to tear apart, the one who deserved every curse—the damn druid!
Pavel finally understood why this hideous Water Ash Tree had sprouted in the beautiful Death Swamp.
'This time, I'll kill him for sure.'
Pavel ground his teeth, glaring at the damn druid from the shadows.
'Two won't be enough. I'll wake all five trolls and crush them all.'
Crunch. He drew his dagger.
-Slice.
-Drip, drip, drip....
He slashed deep into his already scarred palm, and thick red blood slowly dripped into the swamp.
-Grgrgrgr....
A faint vibration rippled through the entire Death Swamp.
The trolls, controlled by black worms and buried deep, stirred at the scent of their controller Pavel's blood.
"Yes, you filthy maggots. Wake up, come on...."
Pavel leered darkly down at the rippling swamp.
"Kukukuk...!"
* * *
"Hm?"
Jamil, who had claimed one bowl but was already on his third, suddenly looked up and scanned the surroundings.
When this beast of a man acted like this, it meant something was off.
But looking around, only silent darkness loomed—no signs of anything.
"What's up?"
When I asked, Jamil tilted his head and pressed his palm to the ground.
"Felt a vibration just now."
"Vibration?"
I followed suit, pressing my palm to the ground.
But I felt nothing.
"El, you feel anything?"
Jamil asked, but El just shook her head.
Even Ayla, the most sensitive among us—the shadow wolf—was too busy gnawing on the sand bull's hind leg bone.
"Guess it was nothing."
Jamil muttered uneasily but resumed eating. I set my bowl down and stood.
Better to warn the mages about even a minor anomaly.
"Jamil, help clean up after you're done."
"Does that mean I can finish eating?"
"Whatever. Anyway, I need to talk to the mages. El, don't get ready for bed yet—just in case."
Jamil and El nodded. I whistled lightly to call Ayla, then headed to the mages' tents together.
"Theo?"
Fortunately, the mages had finished eating.
"I have something to report."
"Go ahead."
"We should strengthen the watch tonight."
At my words, the mages' leader Jacob showed a hint of irritation.
"Theo. It's only the first day, and we're barely at the entrance of Death Swamp. We have a long way to go—better to rest and conserve energy...."
Jacob had a point.
It was the first day, and we were near the edge. Most threats had been cleared on the way here.
'So why does my gut feel so bad?'
Mages obsessed over logic.
Without solid persuasion, they'd ignore me.
"I'm connected to the purifying Water Ash Tree."
A lie.
Well, half a lie.
As a druid, I could control plants, talk to them, sense them.
But not constantly connected.
Sure, with advanced skills, I could merge with nature...
But not yet.
'Plus, linking minds with the Water Ash Tree absorbing this swamp's massive poison and dark magic would blow my head off.'
Anyway, I feigned sensing the purifying Water Ash Tree, speaking in a grave, mystical tone to sell the bluff.
"Something... I can feel it."
Doubt and awe flickered on Jacob and the mages' faces.
"It feels like... a warning from the purifying Water Ash Tree to me."
"...."
"If you don't believe me, nothing I can do."
I smiled faintly at the mages.
They immediately started whispering among themselves.
They couldn't just brush off a key member's words—especially invoking the purifying Water Ash Tree.
"Ahem... Understood. We'll add more to the watch."
"Good."
I clasped my hands prayerfully, bowed slightly, and left the tent.
It might be overkill, but better safe than sorry, even if it delays us.
'Above all, Jamil was the only other one who sensed that previous ambush with me. No harm in preparing.'
I'd only planted the purifying Water Ash Tree today—no direct combat—so I had energy left. I'd let El and Ayla sleep while I patrolled.
"Hope it's just needless worry...."
My instincts said otherwise.
I hurried back to the tent.
* * *
-Shrooooaaaa....
A waterfall-like roar unfit for Death Swamp echoed.
-Splash....
-Splash....
Slow steps slogging through sticky marsh added to it.
-Crack!
-Thud!
Rotten trees snapped and fell, small monsters splashing in flight.
'Trolls are such a pain. Too damn noisy.'
Pavel scowled down at the five trolls.
Controlled by black worms and submerged over two months, their bodies rotted and regrew in grotesque mutations.
-Kuuoooorr....
-Gurrrglurk....
Every orifice—eyes, nose, mouth—oozed the swamp's fetid muck.
Controlling trolls in this state was all thanks to the black worms.
With black opium smuggling from Niram impossible, black worms were rarer than ever.
Having five high-grade ones that could control troll-level monsters showed the organization's high hopes for Pavel.
'I can't fail this time.'
Last time, that damn druid ruined the black opium plan. Success was mandatory now.
'Or else...'
A chill ran down his spine. Failing this mission might make him a test subject in the ongoing human black worm implantation experiments.
"No more failures."
Pavel eyed the camp's firelight darkly.
"Go."