Chapter 59: Be Cautious, Don't Skimp on Skills

Chapter 59: Be Cautious, Don't Skimp on Skills

"So, we've fished it up. Now what?" Liu Ji placed the stone jar on the ground and casually shook off the black mud clinging to his hands.

"Wait. What's with them?" Yaine pointed to the side with her thumb.

"Them?" Liu Ji followed her gesture and saw the potatolings that were sleeping in the basket had climbed out and were now huddled together and shivering at the far edge of the stone wall.

"Uh, probably scared by whatever is in that jar," Liu Ji said. "They've been on edge ever since we entered the swamp."

"Hmm, is that so..." Yaine crossed her arms, tapping her fingers rhythmically on her elbow. "Something still doesn't feel right..."Visitt novelbin(.)co/m for the latest updates

"What doesn't feel right?" Liu Ji asked, puzzled.

"It just feels off." Yaine frowned. "Say, what if this thing meant for us to catch it? Or perhaps there are a few of them crammed inside?"

"Huh?" Liu Ji blinked several times. "Is this thing that smart?"

"Who knows." Yaine shrugged. "But... I think, maybe we should get a corpse specimen first?"

"That works too?" Liu Ji scratched his head. "But isn't it usually better to catch them alive?"

"True, but..." Yaine mulled. "Look, if we caught one so easily, then maybe these things are dumb, and we can easily catch another one."

Liu Ji nodded in agreement.

"Right, so if that's the case, killing this one won't be a loss," Yaine said. "On the other hand, if there's something sketchy going on, we can nip it in the bud."

"Uh... Makes sense." Liu Ji nodded again. While he didn't fully understand why Yaine was being so cautious, logically, her plan was sound.

If it was easy to catch, they could catch one more next time.

If it was hard to catch, then something was definitely up.

Either way, they never had a corpse specimen previously, so this would be a good start.

"Damn, what is that thing..." Girunini lowered her weapon though her eyes glowed a brighter red.

"A swamp monster," Osar said. "I imagined it being disgusting, but this is much worse."

"Obviously, I can tell that it is a swamp monster..." Girunini muttered as she watched on.

The creature continued to roar, having already forced itself halfway out of the jar. Golden electricity flashed all over it continuously, blowing pieces of it into a black muddy pulp.

But very quickly, its body would regenerate once the lightning passed.

"I can't see through this thing. Its magic is too chaotic," Mervant said, the gold in his eyes dimming. "Nini, do you see anything?"

"Blood. Blood of many people," Girunini's voice wavered. "Each bit is small, but there's so much... I've never seen blood like this. What is this thing..."

As she said that, the creature roared furiously as its body swelled even more, and the stone jar shattered completely.

But at that moment, Yaine's second layer of incantation was complete; a gravitational force with a hundredfold times its weight crushed the creature, pinning its tendrils and claws to the ground.

Golden lightning continued to streak on, tearing apart the monster bit by bit.

At the same time, Yaine's third layer of incantation reached its climax. A tiny flame descended from the sky, and upon coming into contact with the creature, ignited and engulfed it in a blazing inferno.

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Somewhere underground.

An old man in a black cloak turned back abruptly, dim light revealing his gray, multi-pupiled eyes.

"Destroyed already?" He squinted. "Impressive. Seems I underestimated you..."

With a smirk, he said, "Alright then, come at me. It's been a long time since I encountered a high-quality prey..."