Chapter 151 - Day CDLII

I woke up with the sunrise, then ate breakfast. It felt kinda lonely without anybody around me. I got used to this lively bunch.

After I grabbed the handles and started going further. Soon the terrain became so wet that it was getting harder and harder to pull the cart. Grass became higher and higher, obscuring the view, and making it harder to find the optimal path. I decided to summon the shadows and made them scout the way ahead looking for the best passageways.

It was a good decision, cause soon I realized that I found myself in the swamp. With puddles of stinky water hidden in that tall, annoying grass. This also ended eventually, making more room for the water.

It was everywhere, with only some places where it was shallow enough to pass without major problems. Trees grew straight from that water, with entangled, and clearly visible roots. They were shorter, with the upper branches spread widely, covered in dark green leaves, letting only a bit of light pass through.

That's when I saw the first group of monsters. Lizardmen with deep green scales covering their snake-like heads. They looked humanoid, with long, thick, meaty tails. Even compared to orcs, their equipment looked good.

Mainly made of bones, and heavy leathers, but they also used shields. I saw bows and arrows here and there. The group counted roughly 12, but I was unsure, since they were far, and I didn't have a straight line of view, because of trees.

I left the cart, and sneaked my way to the side, trying to circle around them, but I stopped in the middle, because of an idea. I decided to try, and send my shadows at them, to check how strong they are.

There was no need to put myself at risk when I had my minions.

They were simply stupid, or maybe overeager to fight, but there was no sneaking around. The moment I told them to attack, they just charged. And I have to tell you, it was quite a charge. They didn't care about the terrain and just run straight to the target. Some fell into the water, making a lot of noise, but that didn't stop them either. If they couldn't run, they would crawl, like stopping was not an option.

Lizards on the other hand seemed to be more tactical in their approach. Some of them spread around, taking cover behind the trees. Those who had shields went ahead, to face the enemy. Bowmen started shooting while the enemy was still far.

My shadows got massacred even before they reached the first line, thanks to arrows, but in the end, it was not that bad. I had a moment when I could finally count the enemies. Fourteen of them in total.

I could keep sending wave after wave at them, but It kinda felt pointless, so I decided to attack myself.

I just went out and started walking in the direction of lizard warriors. They noticed right away, as all of them had been on high alert. Few arrows went my way, but dodging them, or just simply knocking them to the side with created pudao, was way too easy for me.

Shieldmen moved my way, bowmen kept shooting, and the rest tried to flank from both sides. I waited for a good moment, not stopping my walk, and then swiftly went to full charge. Then I used shadow walk to appear behind the first line, and cut them down. Few swings and only crystals were left.

I was simply too strong for those creatures. I killed the remaining ones and picked up my score. Crystals were a bit bigger than those left by orcs, so the spot in that term seemed better, but in others way worse.

It was too wet in this place, and moving the cart was a pain in the ass. I decided that if the difference in points is not gonna be substantial, I'm not coming back.

Even though, I kept hunting. I made the shadows transport the crystals for me, while I focused on fighting. The cart was left in one place because I just didn't want to deal with pulling it through the mud and all of the water.

I managed to get lost and when I finally found my way, had to really push it to return to the spot with my stuff before the dark. I was annoyed, hungry, and surprisingly tired. Tired of this horrible place. On the positives, I got 74 crystals.

With that I pulled back, heading closer to the city. I had to keep walking even partially through the night. Fortunately, I had means of making fire, and few torches. Shadows proved themselves again, lighting up the path for me. They were terrible fighters, but still useful with other things.

I finally found a good spot for the camp a few hours later. On the way, I kept thinking about what to do. I was torn between looking around those parts since I was already here, and just checking what I can find behind the wolves' territory. 

I decided to go with option number two, since I just hated the swamp, and was rather skeptical about the scenery changing. This spot didn't seem that great to me. The terrain was bad, and the behavior of lizards too smart. I had this feeling we wouldn't be able to deal with them as easily as with orcs. Camping with a larger group of people seemed impossible too. There was too much water and too little solid ground.

Still no bugs though.

I ate something, and set the barriers to alarm me if something was getting too close, then called it a night. Hoping that tomorrow will bring me something better than wet pants and shoes. I had to take both of those down and leave them on the cart to dry at least a bit.

The day came to an end with 3 066 421 points remaining on my account, and 74 lizard crystals on the cart.