127
Chapter 127
When the Giant Centipede entered the Swamp Area.
The Frog riding on top of the centipede's head looked back and spoke to us.
"Ribbit. Unlike before, attacks will happen quite frequently from here on out. This Swamp Area is home to many vicious creatures with low intelligence."
"Hmm."
It seemed like it wouldn't be an easy path.
I suggested that if this Swamp Area was dangerous, we should take a detour even if it took more time.
There was no need to go out of our way to choose a dangerous route.
Even if we had Tosun's Mom with us, it was better to take the safer path if possible.
Hearing my words, the Frog shook its head.
"There's no need to take a detour. The path we're taking is just a place where attacks happen often, not necessarily a dangerous one, ribbit."
What did that mean?
If attacks happen frequently, isn't it a dangerous place?
When I tilted my head in confusion, the Frog added an explanation.
"Most of the guys living in the Swamp Area are on the weaker side. They aren't much of a threat to us, so you don't need to worry too much, ribbit."
"That's right! There are only guys here that even I can beat, kyuhuhu!"
The Giant Fist Lesser Panda chimed in to support the Frog's words.
Only guys weaker than him?
That made no sense.
[Giant Fist Lesser Panda lv.17]
┗Pw.34
┗Rnk.Uncommon
[Domain: Dragon]
┗Rank - Epic
There was no way there were only guys weaker than that.
The Little Yellow Dragon must have had the same thought, because he snapped at the Red Panda.
"Yongyong! You'll get in trouble if you lie, yong! There's no way a place like that exists in this world, yong!"
"Kyua?"
"Ribbit. What the Little Master said was a huge exaggeration... Just consider most of them to be weaker than me, ribbit."
I checked the Frog's information again.
[Lake Frog lv.40]
┗Pw.160
┗Rnk.Rare
[Domain: Water]
┗Rank - Rare
Hmm, there wouldn't be any need to take a detour.
If most of them were weaker than the Frog, it felt like we could just casually push our way through.
But.......
This Frog hadn't grown at all during this time.
Even the Red Panda had grown, but the Frog was exactly the same as when we first met.
He used to be much stronger than me, too.
Now the tables had turned, and I had surpassed him.
How lazy, our Frog.
"But if there are only weak guys, why do you look so nervous, yong."
The Little Yellow Dragon asked the Frog.
Just as he said, the Frog had a slightly tense look on its face.
"It's unlikely to happen, but I'm staying alert just in case we accidentally take the wrong path."
"Is it dangerous if we take the wrong path, yong?"
The Frog gave a small nod.
He mentioned that it could be dangerous if we encroached on the territory of strong creatures.
Come to think of it, he had said that most of them were weak; he never said that all the creatures living in the Swamp Area were weak.
The Frog added,
that strong monsters also inhabited the Swamp Area, albeit in very small numbers.
Because the Swamp Area was so vast, the chances of encroaching on their territory were low even if we wandered without knowing the way.
"If you know the paths of the Swamp Area even a little, trespassing into the territory of the strong guys rarely happens. Still, I'm staying alert just in case, ribbit."
It was a good mindset.
There was a good reason why the Master of the Lake trusted the Frog with the Red Panda.
"Anyway, there isn't much further to the Lake now. Once we safely push through this Swamp Area, we'll reach the Lake, ribbit."
"Jii, jiiii."
The Giant Centipede increased its Speed.
Like that, we headed toward the Lake, pushing through the Swamp Area without hesitation.
***
It was exactly as the Frog had said.
Most of the guys living in the Swamp Area had low intelligence and were ferocious.
The moment they spotted us, or the moment we crossed paths.
They would charge at us in a frenzy without a moment's hesitation.
They didn't even try to gauge the level of their opponent.
The attacks continued endlessly.
You could basically assume that every monster living in the Swamp Area was attacking us.
Ah, not all of them.
There were some that didn't attack us.
Those guys were busy attacking other Swamp Area monsters.
So, it was just that they couldn't attack us because they were already fighting another target.
The Swamp Area could be seen as nothing short of a battlefield.
Fighting over here, fighting over there—everywhere you turned, a battle was unfolding.
Right on cue, another group was coming our way.
[Flying Piranha lv.25]
┗Pw.75
┗Rnk.Superior
[Domain: Flight]
┗Rank - Superior
"Pyaaaa, pyaaaa!"
"Gom!"
Atop the running Giant Centipede.
I activated Barrage Mode.
Gom-dudududu-!
And I took care of all the monsters flying at us from the front.
It seemed like I had killed about ten of them.
The Giant Centipede continued to run forward.
If we stopped to gather the corpses and Mana Stones, monsters would endlessly swarm us from all directions.
Then it would be hard to move forward again, and we would be delayed much more than expected.
Even so, we didn't just abandon all the corpses and Mana Stones.
Originally, I planned to leave them all behind, but perhaps feeling it was a waste, the Giant Centipede was gathering some of the corpses.
"Jiiii!"
Earthworm-like things popped out of the Giant Centipede's body.
Those worms wrapped around the corpses of the monsters we killed, or those rolling on the ground after being killed by other monsters, and pulled them back inside the centipede's body.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to gather all of them.
Because this was a place overflowing with corpses.
It seemed to quickly assess which corpses were of high quality and only collected those.
The attacks continued endlessly.
[Venom Toad lv.29]
┗Pw.58
┗Rnk.Uncommon
[Domain: Poison]
┗Rank - Elite
"Puweeeeek!!!"
From the side.
A Toad that had been lying in wait spewed out poison.
"Ribbit!"
The Frog created two transparent water drops.
It used one to block the poison, and threw the other at the Toad.
The Toad became trapped inside the water, suffering before it drowned.
[Swamp Crocodile lv.30]
┗Pw.90
┗Rnk.Superior
[Domain: Swamp]
┗Rank - Superior
"Kuaaaa!!!"
Paaang-!
In the direction the Giant Centipede was heading.
A massive crocodile violently burst out from the swamp.
"Out of the way."
Ms. Vampire threw a spear made of blood at the crocodile.
The spear flew at an astonishing speed.
A giant hole appeared in the crocodile's body as it was pierced through.
The Giant Centipede quickly passed right through that hole.
[Mosquito Queen lv.30]
┗Pw.120
┗Rnk.Rare
[Domain: Blood]
┗Rank - Epic
"Yohohoho! I smell blood, the smell of blood!"
This time, a giant mosquito appeared.
One that looked like the Queen.
Behind it, a swarm of smaller mosquitoes flew toward us.
"Mmm?! I smell really delicious blood, yong!"
Before we knew it, the Mosquito Queen was being held in Tosun's Mom's hand.
With its body torn apart and dead, its blood was being sucked dry by Tosun's Mom.
"Buzzzzz!"
The rest of the mosquitoes were all caught by Tosuni using her Blood Whip.
Their blood also became our snack.
[Mist Snake lv.22]
┗Pw.44
┗Rnk.Uncommon
[Domain: Mist]
┗Rank - Superior
A snake that appeared soundlessly along with the mist.
The guys who tried to ambush us by climbing onto the Giant Centipede's back,
"Yooong? When did you sneakily climb aboard, yong!"
Without missing a single one,
were turned into gold snake statues by the Little Yellow Dragon.
"Kyua, kyuaaa...."
Protected by us, the Giant Fist Lesser Panda was frantically looking around in every direction.
It seemed he was looking around for a monster he could handle.
Right then,
[Bog Fly lv.5]
┗Pw.5
┗Rnk.Normal
[Domain: Insect]
┗Rank - Uncommon
An appropriate guy flew in.
The Red Panda must have instinctively felt that it was a weaker guy, because he spun both arms with a confident face.
"Spinning Spinning Fist!!!"
Thwack-!
The Red Panda's fist squarely hit the Bog Fly.
The Bog Fly's body completely exploded.
"Kyuhaha! How's that, a taste of my fist!"
"Woooong! Woong!"
"Woom! That's amazing, yong! That was super cool, yong!"
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
Tosuni and Tosun's Mom cheered and clapped enthusiastically.
At their praise, the Red Panda's shoulders rose in pride.
Seeing him get so cocky made me want to give him a good smack on the head.
***
The monsters' attacks continued at intervals of just a few seconds.
As a result of running while perfectly blocking them all, we finally escaped the Swamp Area and arrived at the Lake.
A Lake where the end couldn't be seen whether you looked ahead or to the sides.
They called it a Lake, but anyone would believe you if you said it was a sea.
"Ohh! We've arrived!"
"You came faster than expected."
"Welcome!"
"Kyurik, kyuriririk!"
Numerous monsters had come out to meet us outside the Lake.
Wow, were all of those monsters affiliated with the Lake?
It was a group with a much larger scale than I had imagined.
There were dozens of times more than the number that visited our Dungeon last time.
Receiving their enthusiastic welcome, we jumped down from the Giant Centipede's back.
"Master! The guests have arrived!"
At the same time, one of the monsters shouted in a booming voice.
The moment that voice cut across the Lake.
The surface of the water trembled gently, and then the ripples grew larger as the entire Lake began to shake.
Before long.
A vast area of the Lake churned, spreading waves in all directions, and then,
Splaaaaash-!!!
A spray of water surged towards the sky, and along with it, a giant shadow rose above the surface.
What popped out from the Lake was a snake with a body size that defied imagination.
Is that the Master of the Lake?
"You've finally come."
[Imugi lv.50]
┗Pw.500
┗Rnk.Unique
[Domain: Dragon]
┗Rank - Epic
The Master of the Lake was adorned all over its body with giant pink flowers.