78 – Schemes and Intrigues (3)

The atmosphere changed dramatically as we passed the plains and reached the swamps.

The bright sun was hidden by the trees in the jungle, and my steps were buried in the swamp.

Submerged plants and aquatic plants pulled my feet every time I walked.

It wasn’t easy to step on the mud and move forward.

It’s a pity that I prepared boots because I knew in advance. If I made a mistake, I would almost throw away all my shoes.

‘To think I had to roll around in a swamp like this for four days.’

I hoped to quickly find Cerberus and finish her quest.

However, even after breaking through the thickets of the deep swamp, there was no sign of Cerberus.

However, the jungle was infested with other monsters.

Waves of water swayed through the swamps. I instinctively picked up the knife.

“Prepare for battle.”

Erina is a long sword. Kayla is a magic circle. Celica is a staff.

At my words, the comrades each took out their weapons.

I moved forward cautiously, trying to figure out the presence in the water.

However, it was impossible to properly identify the enemy in the muddy water.

“…Watch your back!”

Hearing Erina’s screams, he quickly embraced Celica.

Immediately, a wooden spear popped out of the water.

“I am the Lizardman. Everyone be careful!”

A creature with a crocodile face and a human body. The Lizardmen were already besieging us.

It seems to have been lurking like the smartest of the monsters living in the swamp.

I quickly checked the number of enemies with my eyes.

A total of 20 dogs surrounded in all directions. The numbers were quite large.

“Uh, what should I do…?!”

Celica trembled in fear.

Always hiding in the back row, this was the first time she was surrounded like she is now.

“Don’t worry.”

I didn’t use a shield as a weapon for nothing.

To protect other comrades. I chose her shield soldier to protect Celica.

“Serica. Don’t fall away from me Don’t worry, just keep praying. Got it?”

“…I see.”

Right away, Celica waved her wand lightly and prayed for a miracle for her.

Divine light descended and touched her staff.

The tip of her wand began to glow, illuminating the surroundings.

A lamp of healing. A wide-area healing device that automatically heals nearby allies.

It could be said that this was Celica’s special skill.

Feeling that something was wrong, Lizardmen began to attack from all sides.

Calmly blocked the window with a shield. There was no way that a wooden spear could pierce an iron shield.

As it was, he drew his sword and cut off the spear. In an instant, the bare-handed Lizardmen began to rush at them recklessly.

He calmly swung his sword. After slicing through his chest, he raised his shield and struck it, breaking his jaw.

With his face crushed, the lizard man fell and sank into the swamp.

Meanwhile, Kayla had a flame whip in her hand.

Every time he swung his whip in the air, the Lizardmen’s bodies lit up with flames.

Not to mention Erina. His body split in half with each blow of her sword.

“…Be careful!”

Then, among the Lizardmen, the biggest one appeared.

He stabbed Kayla with a huge two-handed spear.

“hehehe…?!”

“Kayla!”

She narrowly avoided the stab, but it grazed her side.

However, there were no scars left. No, new skin sprouted where the scar should have remained.

“This is…”

Rather, it was an amazing resilience to the point that Kayla was embarrassed.

Meanwhile, I stepped forward.

The elite soldiers of the Lizardmen were a little taller than me.

As he looked down at me, he exhaled a sense of intimidation and threw a wooden spear at me.

However, he already knew the Lizardmen’s weakness.

“Huh…!”

I cut off my leg with all my might. Compared to his muscular upper body, his lower body was relatively weak.

As expected, when I aimed for his leg, his body staggered greatly.

However, the opponent moved skillfully. Even when my body was leaning, I tried to use my center of gravity to press me down.

But I was also confident in my strength.

“Keuheop…!”

I grabbed the Lizardman’s body and pushed it away. He lost his balance and threw a knife at his opponent who fell to the floor.

The blade, which had accurately dug into the pit of the stomach, penetrated the torso as it was.

My body jumped loudly for an instant, and then I lost my strength. I no longer felt the vibration of life.

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He pulled out his sword and cut his throat to finish it off.

Lizardman’s corpse sank into the swamp.

“…Is everyone okay?”

“Yes, that’s fine. Not one was hurt.”

First, we looked at Kayla’s condition. Fortunately, she was unharmed.

Even though he was hit by a spear, only a few pieces of clothing were torn, and no blood was shed.

It’s all thanks to the healing lamp. Anything from light to fatal wounds could be healed within the reach of the light.

As for the downside, Celica became defenseless, and her instant death and abnormal condition could not be prevented.

However, if even that was possible, it would have been too fraudulent.

As she realized Celica’s ability, Kayla looked at her own wounds with curious eyes.

The place where bruises or wounds should have been originally was very clean.

“Awesome…”

Celica was too embarrassed to say anything.

However, the way she twitched the corners of her mouth seemed to make her feel good.

How excited I am to have done my part for the first time.

“Serica. Good job.”

“Yes, yes! Thank you.”

Erina, who had been watching me quietly, approached me quietly.

Then she stuck her head out proudly while looking at me.

“Yes. You did really well too.”

“Thank you.”

Erina bowed her head in a strangely calm manner.

Recently, Erina has changed a lot.

Gone are the bright smiles and smirks like before.

Instead, she distanced herself from others.

I barely even talked to Celica.

When her eyes met once in a while, Celica would nod her head and Erina would just jerk her head away.

But that doesn’t mean that his affection for me has decreased.

Rather, it should be said that there is no hesitation as the distance has decreased compared to before.

The problem has become more unknown to the inside that was previously unknown.

“Let’s go to the outskirts of the swamp. After resting there, let’s go into the center of the swamp.”

I still don’t know where Cerberus is.

Couldn’t it be that he left Helen’s village and ran away very far?

‘Then it’s a waste.’

In the game, the boss never ran away.

But isn’t that the reality now? It wasn’t a very unlikely story.

I didn’t want to fail the request again.

Being with Celica was the main purpose, but of course the request was also important.

“Seohyun. We are ready to move.”

“Oh, yes.”

It was still too early to give up. I haven’t even looked around half of the swamp yet.

There was no reason to be impatient. If you search slowly, you will be able to finish the quest without difficulty.

“Serica. It’s very dangerous to fall apart here. It may be a bit difficult, but follow me well.”

“Yes. Don’t worry about me!”

Although he looks tired, he doesn’t look as tired as before.

It was clearly improved compared to last time.

“Yes. Let’s go now.”

So we searched all day long to find Cerberus.

However, until the sun went down, I was just fooling around.

***

The swampy area of Helen Village.

In the jungle where you couldn’t see an inch ahead, the cries of monsters roared over the ground.

Wolf. Among them, the three-headed mad dog of hell was looking for traces while snoring.

The thick scent of death. The stench of decaying corpses was Cerberus’ favorite scent.

And there was a giant who scattered a terrible scent.

Cerberus stopped growling and ran straight to the man.

“Yes. You had a good trip.”

The man bent down and stroked Cerberus’ head.

Then the three heads fought for each hand.

Following the man’s hand, three heads followed and competed.

When the giant stroked his head fairly, he flipped over and began to play tricks.

“Master.”

There was a woman following him. After passing through the swamp, Rose came out in front of the giant.

Her lower body had not human legs, but a snake’s tail.

Even though her tail was messed up with mud from the swamp, she calmly bowed her head in front of the man.

“Yes. Rose.”

The man who was playing with Cerberus went up to Rose and aimed his wand at her.

Her small magic circle was released and her black energy was directed towards her.

The scars on her tail disappeared as a mist wrapped around her lower body.

“Thank you. Master.”

As if it was nothing, the giant waved his hand and sat down on a nearby rock.

He clenched his chin and tapped his staff. Still, the giant remained expressionless.

“Yes. Rose. Did you tell the Demon King?”

“Yes. He said he would completely trust the master’s decision.”

Despite the permission of his superior, the man was still expressionless.

Rather, as if his anxiety deepened, he tousled his shaggy hair.

Meanwhile, Cerberus climbed onto his master’s lap as if he had noticed his master’s heart.

Who can deny a puppy playing tricks in his arms?

Sweeping his soft fur, the man was lost in thought.

“…Rose. To advance the plan. Let’s release the prepared monsters.”

Rose fell to his knees with the same expressionless expression as her master.

“Okay. Then, what do you plan to do, Master?”

At Rose’s words, the giant rose slowly.

She groaned as she straightened her knees. As he snapped his neck, the sound of his bones breaking rang out.

Holding onto his goal, the man propped himself up with his cane.

“I guess I should move slowly too. Rose. You should lead the monsters.”

“Are you okay… ?”

Although she was expressionless, her voice was full of concern.

Rather, the giant waved his hand as if it were okay. And he reached out to Cerberus, who was hovering around him.

Each of the three faces stuck out their tongues and twitched their fingers to accept the owner’s affection.

“It will be all right now that these children are here.”

“… All right.”

With those words, Rose turned her back to leave her master’s side and get out of the swamp.

With her jealous gaze at Cerberus in her giant’s arms.

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