Chapter 90

Wicked Swamp

“The treasures are here?” Lord Terrom asked before taking another bite of the meat stick in his hand

His face was tainted with the sauce from the meat but he doesn’t seem to care about it

Around Lord Terrom were the other Lords of the Twighlight Beasts, there were twenty of them in total, excluding Lord Keito that was in the front of them, taking the lead

Wicked Swamp… it was a place that mages tend to avoid at all cost. From the name alone, it was easy to guess that this swamp is far from being a good swamp

The water in the swamp was completely black in color and the trees around were the same. The trees don’t even have leaves on them, they were simply composed of the trunk, branches, and roots all of which looks rotten

The Wicked Swamp is home to magic beasts with most of them having the ability to use poison or venom. Some were even parasitic and are really hard to deal with

“Do I look like I am lying?” Keito asked back, seemingly irritated that he was being doubted

“Lord Keito, it’s not that we don’t believe you. It’s just a bit hard to believe that the special cherries could grow in this kind of environment” another one of the Lords said

All of them were gathered here for one reason and one reason only and that is to get their hands on the exploding cherries

They could either use those cherries on their enemies or sell them for a lot of money. Either way, the benefits that they would receive are astronomical

However, the Wicked Swamp doesn’t look like a place where such good things could grow. Hence, they are having some doubts

“Only in Snowy Mountains can we find Snow Lotuses that increase the mage’s power when using snow and ice-type spells. Only in a volcanic environment could we obtain Mystic Rocks that could purify our elixir field and let us contain an additional mystic gem of every level permanently. Are those environments favorable for treasures to grow?”

“One is a place so cold that low to high-level mages could freeze to death. The other is a place so hot that we would burn before we can even get close. Is it that weird that we can find treasures in the Wicked Swamp where most mages avoid causing the resources inside to be more abundant?”

“I’m not forcing any of you to help me but only those that would give their help would be able to reap benefits!”

Lord Keito spoke coldly causing the others to be unable to give him any rebuttal. This is not the time to fight him since he is the only one that knows the location of the treasures

“W-we understand…” the others said

“Before we proceed, are you sure that no one knows where you went? I don’t want more people to have a piece of our pie”

The others gave positive answers and Keito can only hope that was really the case

Their group proceeded as planned but the environment was taking a toll on their bodies

“[Dark Stream!]”

One of the Lords sent a stream of darkness towards a group of mosquitoes. Those mosquitoes could suck all of a human’s blood in just a matter of a few minutes

They are not something that should be let off alive

“Ahh! Damn it!” That mage curses. A mosquito break through his spell and managed to pierce his skin

He can feel his blood being sucked out from his body. The sucking rate was at a terrifying level and he panicked a bit

Fortunately, he was not alone. There were 20 Lords at the 4th fusion rank with him

“[Fire Bullet!]” another one of the mages send a small bullet of fire and that burned the mosquito alive, saving the mage that got bitten

The Wicked Swamp is named as such because of its characteristics. The swamp’s water was heavier than normal water and all sorts of bugs and insect-type magic beasts lived there

These bugs and insects are more troublesome to deal with. Their numbers were higher than usual though they are usually very weak

Even a mosquito at the 3rd rank might be killed by a 1st fusion rank mage if the mosquito was already sucking a target’s blood

Of course, there were some exceptions but they are rarer

“Lord Keito, how long till we arrive?”

“Do you think the treasures can be found on the outskirts of the swamp?” Keito asked back as if the mage that asked him was stupid

In truth, it was really a stupid question. If the ‘treasure’ can be found and located easily, others would have gotten them already

The mage became furious but he just kept his mouth shut. Anyway, it’s still not too late if he were to avenge himself once they already arrived at the place where the treasure was located

The group of 21 mages continued and they faced more and more annoying enemies

“Watch out!” Lord Terrom called out before raising his hand

“[Flesh Eater!]” he chanted and from the pinkish cream magic circle he had created, tens of ‘meat balls’ with sharp rows of teeth came out

The flesh eaters opened their mouths, biting and swallowing the entities that were falling down

Those entities turns out to be snakes and they disguised themselves as tree branches

Crunch crunch

The flesh eaters killed and ate a number of the falling snakes but not all of them forcing the other mages to act

“[Fire Storm!]”

“[Wind Stream!]”

“[Tiger’s Strength!]”

“[Bullet Storm!]”

“[Golem’s Fist!]”

The Lords used their spells as the number of snakes they encountered was more than usual

Even if they use an AoE attack to kill all the snakes at once, more would follow suit to attack them

Magic beasts can also use magic and they don’t have a choice but to use one magic after another

“Ah? Ahhh!!!”

One of the Lords screamed miserably. When he looked at his legs, he saw green beetles climbing his body

These beetles bit his skin and his legs started to rot

“[Wind Needles!]”

His fellow Lord saved him by sending needles created with condensed winds to prevent him from also being harmed

That mage was saved by his colleague but that also causes his leg to rot. Going further than this would be harder for him

———

“A-ahh…”

“F-fuck…”

“Shit…”

“This damned Swamp!”

After hours of traversing the swamp, their group ended up in a miserable state

The only fortunate thing was that none of them died albeit they have injuries that varies with most of them being afflicted with poison

“L-Lord Keito, are we still far from the treasures?!” A mage asked angrily. His skin was already purple

For now, he was suppressing the poison on his body but this wouldn’t last long. If they are still far then he might as well give up now before he dies

The others have the same thoughts as him. Going further in this swamp is akin to a death sentence

Lord Keito stops walking. Just like them, he was also in a miserable state when…

“W-what the hell!”

“H-how?!”

“Are you messing with us?”

Lord Keito was also poisoned by the various insects and bugs from the Swamp along with some physical injuries

However, in an instant, whether it be the poison or the physical injuries, all of them healed

It was as if Lord Keito wasn’t in a miserable state just a moment ago!

“Don’t worry, we are here now” He said with a smile that made his fellow Lords uncomfortable

They have a bad feeling about this and that was proven right

Shiinggg

Suddenly, something in their surroundings lit up. They can feel the surrounding mana was being sucked and when they look at the source, they saw… tattoos?

“What are those?”

“Tattoos?”

“What’s happening?”

Everyone don’t like what was happening except for one person

“I’m sorry guys, I lied” Keito said before an invisible dome was erected by the Tattoos, trapping all the Lords inside

“What is this?!”

“You fucking bastard!”

“You lied? Fuck you!”

As expected, the Lords were enraged by this sudden development and they were about to attack when

“[Flaming Claw!]”

A voice suddenly said and a crimson light entered their vision

That crimson light came from a person that uses magic to cover his hand with flames in the shape of a claw

“Hmph, a mere 3rd fusion rank mage!” A Lord said and he simply uses a stream spell of the fire element

“Heh…” Rezen smiled coldly as Tattoos stretched from his stomach to his whole body

A Tattoo Warrior! Rezen has become a Tattoo Warrior, increasing his physical abilities by a large margin

Rezen met the [Fire Stream] spell with his flaming claw and…

Bang!

An explosion occurred after the collision of the fire element

“Hmph” the Lord snorted coldly before his expression changes