Chapter 838 - 838 838 Fishman

Chapter 838: Chapter 838 Fishman Chapter 838: Chapter 838 Fishman The wetland search squad consists of a total of 37 teams.

At the same time, the special forces [Eternal Night Wolves] will also participate.

This special unit, through rigorous training and selection, accustomed to operating in the night, with superior moving speed, physical fitness, and search capabilities surpassing the average of the Expeditionary Army, will act as the “search hub” in this operation.

The seemingly sporadic search teams will be connected by the Wolves.

The search across the wetland will not be a random spread in a “dot-like” manner but will form a tightly connected spider web, gradually covering the wetland area.

Among the Wolves, there are many Beast Knights from the Behemoth Knight Regiment, all of whom Abe naturally knows.

When they learned that Abe was participating in this search operation, the attention of many shifted towards him… they inevitably had to pay extra attention to this ‘future team leader’ in the shadows.

If anything happened to Abe and they returned to the city safely, Captain Kaimon would probably squash them flat.

…

Astonishment on his face, Abe asked:

“A toad deity statue? Nicholas… have you already figured out the origin of the wetlands?”

“Not yet, just obtained some reliable intelligence in advance… We need also to find the statue to confirm it.

Let’s go, we’re ready to head out.”

Leading out the Raven Carriage also attracted quite a few eyes.

The black carriage moved as if a dark crow swiftly entered the wetland region.

Its presence lowered to the minimum, even the sounds of the horse hooves and the carriage wheels were silenced… The silent Raven quietly advanced through the wetlands, searching for its secrets.

It was when they left the garrison point.

Tick-tock, tick-tock…

A dripping sound came from inside the carriage.

Such strangeness made Abe, whose attention was highly focused, bristle, and sharp beast claws sprang from his fingertips… thinking that the moisture had invaded the carriage.

“Abe, don’t be nervous, this search operation needs ‘external’ assistance.”

An odor like ‘rotting fish stuffed in rubber boots’ filled the carriage, abruptly pulling everyone’s thoughts back to the previous harbor mission.

The Fishman noble—Count Denox Leter—appeared.

Swollen, obese, and covered in wrinkled folds, he plopped down beside Han Dong… Mia hastily pinched her nose, trying to avoid the smell.

Although Han Dong did not ask the ‘Deep Sea Nursing Home’ for help with fighting,

when it came to exploring the wetlands, the old Fishman knew far more than anyone else, potentially improving the efficiency of the search.

“Isn’t this… the Fishman demon from the port?”

Both Abe and Mia wore looks of surprise.

They quickly recalled the strange journey in the port, realizing that their ability to abruptly end the investigation and return safely was inseparably linked to Han Dong.

Placing his finger on his lips, Han Dong replied in a whisper, “That’s right, life at Ostia Port has been tough, so I secretly provided refuge to this group of Fishmen… You must not mention this to anyone else.”

Who knew… when Count Leter first embarked in the carriage as an assistant,

he immediately pressed his face against the window, gazing out at the wetland scenery.

“Count Leter, what’s the matter?”

Gurgle, gurgle~

Before speaking, it sounded as if bubbles were rising from a stinking ditch.

Decayed innards, along with a whiff of ‘Mr. Ollie’s aroma,’ leaked out of the Count’s mouth, and a few oily black dead fish fell to the floor.

“It’s a bit strange, over a hundred years ago I was directed by the Deep Sea to visit the Toad Ancestor’s territory… It wasn’t like this.

May I go take a look?”

Han Dong immediately signaled ‘Midnight’ to stop galloping.

Count Leter, showing his age, moved slowly, giving the impression that he could die of old age at any moment.

He seemed naive, but was actually quite clever… Before disembarking, he pulled a Fisherman’s cloak from within his body and draped it over himself, completely concealing the demon’s scent and appearing as nothing more than a down-on-his-luck Fisherman.

His thick webbed feet landed on the damp grass.

Splish splash, splish splash~

Fish appeared out of nowhere around Count Leter, the sea creatures frantically flapped against their bodies, jumping into the nearest puddle.

However, this behavior only expedited their death.

Shortly after,

the surface of the puddles within dozens of meters was covered with dead fish.

“Indeed… this wetland gives me a very strange feeling.

There is something else mixed in here, causing the fish to die from a fungus in the water.

The ‘Toad Statue’ might just be an expansion of the wetland’s appearance, but there are more dangerous things hidden here… To be safe, I suggest that you return to your human army first, and let others explore.

Rashly searching this wetland could lead to trouble…

Small-scale conflicts will not be protected by the “World Rule.”‘

Han Dong and his party also enveloped their bodies in sealed clothing and stepped off the carriage after concealing their presence.

“Fungus?”

Just as Han Dong squatted by a puddle attempting to find the source of the plague, a burning sensation from the Little Demon Eye on his forehead…

Han Dong abruptly looked up towards the distant shrubbery.

“Hm… why do I feel like the plants in the distance are slowly moving towards us? Every [Perception] seems to be restrained by the thick moisture, and I didn’t notice it at first.”

At that moment,

the horse ‘Midnight’ whinnied in response to sensing something, further confirming Han Dong’s thoughts.

“Dumps, take good care of the horses… Leave this place to us.”

“Sure thing.”

Dumps stepped lightly and crossed his legs sitting on top of the carriage, resembling someone who was there to watch a show.

“What’s coming? Why can’t I feel anything?”

Mia had already grown four Spider Legs from her back, and numerous compound eyes squeezed out on her forehead, but she couldn’t detect anything.

Abe was also frowning. His Beast perception was equally ineffective; he didn’t smell any abnormalities.

“The limitation on [Perception] by the wetland is much greater than expected, even several times stronger than the suppression inside Perugia City… What’s the reason? Even the function of the Little Demon Eye is suppressed to less than 20% of its capability.

If the ‘perception limitation’ is really that significant… The other exploration teams might also encounter big trouble.”

As Han Dong thought for a while and looked up again,

they were surrounded by a multitude of shrubs about fifty meters away, with vines entwining the trees like Tentacles of the shrubs – eerily pulling and even starting to intertwine with each other.

Soon after,

more and more vines wound together, forming a dense shrub net that completely isolated the area.

No longer concealing their presence,

the swollen, enlarged trunks covered with Suction Cups reflected twisted and hollow faces.

A number of creatures, encased in tree bark and vines, slithered out from the trunks, totaling a dozen or more.

All at the level of ‘Newborn-Demon.’

The vines making up their bodies could elongate or shorten, piercing and sucking individuals, or form hammer shapes to directly crush them, or even create a net to capture alive, some even bearing deadly poison.

“Count Leter, you should go back first… We’ll handle the fight,”

“Now that I’m out here, I might as well help you out… The humidity here is just enough to support my old bones, and it would be even better if there were Conches.

These things are not minions of the Toad Ancestor, so I won’t expose my identity.

I’m also quite curious about what’s really going on with this wetland.”

As Han Dong handed a Conch to the ‘Fishman Count,’ a series of spike-shaped vines shot towards them…

Whoosh~ piercing through Count Leter’s plump body, some rotten fish bones, shells, and leather scattered on the ground.

“Huff… ha…”

Even as the vines pierced his abdomen,

Count Leter didn’t seem to care about such an injury, appearing to enjoy ‘sucking’ on the Conch in his hands…

The next second,

arms covered with Fish Scales grabbed the vines, pulling with brute strength.

The attacking Demon was directly pulled in front of Count Leter from a distance.

At this moment, Count Leter had transformed into the strongest Fishman in the port area… devouring the shrub Demon in one bite as if it were a vegetable salad appetizer before the meal.