Their pace wasn’t slow. As afternoon approached, after crossing another mountain ahead, the terrain did indeed begin to sink gently, just as the female knight had described, as if they were gradually stepping into a giant mouth opening from the earth.
The edge of the coniferous forest soon came to an end, replaced by a withered woodland.
The trees grew sparse and twisted, their bare black branches reaching toward the leaden sky like countless arms of despair.
The first thing to assault them was the smell.
A foul stench mixed of rotting vegetation and the reek of stagnant, bloody water.
They say scents don’t lie; something that smells this bad is nature’s way of warning off any living creature, a sign to the living to stay away.
Fia instinctively covered her nose and mouth with her hand, her stomach roiling.
Lortissa’s brows also furrowed, though barely perceptibly, and a rare trace of disgust flickered in her emerald eyes.
Weiss likewise couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose slightly, though his gaze sharpened as he carefully observed everything around them.
When they truly stepped into the bounds of the Blackwater Marsh, the sight before their eyes made the very air seem thick and sticky.
There was no path.
All they could see was black mire and murky, dark green pools.
Calling it water was perhaps too generous.
A thin, black layer of miasma drifted slowly along the ground, leaving even the hardiest moss scorched and sickly in its wake.
Rotting duckweed and unknown water plants floated on the surface. Occasionally, they glimpsed a blackened fragment of beast bone, or a half-buried human skeleton shrouded in muck—silent proof of the dangers here.
A swollen corpse lay face down in the shallow water not far away, its leather armor long since rotted beyond recognition, with only a broken sword still stuck in its back, swaying with the ripple of the foul water.
Farther off, the complete skeleton of a horse was half-sunken in the mire, its bones stained a glossy black by the mud, its hollow eye sockets staring straight at them like a silent warning.
Deathly silence.
Except for the occasional squelch of footsteps in the soft mud beneath their feet, and the distant sound of huge bubbles bursting in the depths of the swamp like the breathing of some great beast, there was no sound of life here.
No birdsong, no insect chirps—only a suffocating, absolute silence.
Fia couldn’t help but grip her sword’s hilt more tightly, sticking close behind Weiss and watching her step with the utmost care, afraid that the ground beneath her feet would become life-devouring quicksand at any moment.
Though Lortissa still maintained her composure, even she could not help but be on edge in this atmosphere.
Weiss halted and looked around:
“Hearsay is one thing, but the reality is worse than expected. Judging by how nasty the place is, that knight called Weiswood wasn’t exaggerating…”
But this isn’t even the biggest problem.
Forget about carriages—there weren’t even any intact wheel tracks left here.
It all happened a few days ago.
A single rain, or the swamp’s own shifting, was enough to erase all traces.
In these conditions, just a few days was enough for a victim to disappear without a trace, not even bones left behind.
In other words, the chances of survival were slim.
Fia and Lortissa both turned their gaze to Weiss, waiting for his next move.
Weiss, unhurried, took out a smooth black cube from his coat. It gave off no magical aura, but was remarkably well-made.
He fiddled with the black cube for a while, as if searching for something.
At last, he put the cube away and instead took out a badge from another inner pocket.
Fia watched in fascination as Weiss took out one unfamiliar device after another—whether it was those miraculous potions before, or these various handy tools for self-defense, it was all eye-opening for her.
Unable to hold back her curiosity, she leaned in closer:
“Weiss, is this another of your gadgets?”
Weiss shook his head, holding out the badge in his palm for them to see:
“This one’s not mine. It’s from the merchant lord. When I took the commission, I only got a description, no portrait, and certainly no photo.
Can’t exactly go up to every young woman who fits the description and ask if she’s that person, right? I’d seem like some pick-up scoundrel. So the merchant gave me this as a key clue for finding her.”
Fia leaned closer, examining the badge carefully.
The badge was shaped like an eagle with outstretched wings, exquisitely crafted—every feather vividly lifelike.
It was forged entirely from a softly gleaming golden metal, and Fia instantly recognized it as rare and costly Crystal Gold.
What surprised her even more was the pure and refined magic power she could feel quietly flowing inside the badge.
“Just judging by the craftsmanship and material, even as a decorative item, only royal family members in the kingdom could afford something like this, right?”
Fia couldn’t help but marvel.
Weiss chuckled.
“Is that so? Well, the client’s a big merchant guild boss—he’s got nothing if not money.”
The long-silent Lortissa finally spoke, her voice cool and straight to the point:
“So, how do we use it?”
Weiss held the badge out to them.
“Simply put, the merchant’s daughter has one exactly like it. The two badges resonate with each other, and the detection range is pretty big. As long as you pour magic into it to activate it, the closer we get to the target, the brighter it glows. However…”
At this, Weiss shrugged with a touch of regret.
“Um, I don’t have any magic. So I’ll have to ask you two for help.”
“Please, allow me to do what little I can.”
Fia immediately volunteered, reaching out to take the badge from Weiss’s palm. It was cool to the touch, and the magic inside felt warm and gentle.
Following Weiss’s instructions, she focused and slowly channeled a bit of her magic into the badge.
Bzzz—
A faint hum sounded, and the originally gentle golden glow suddenly brightened several times over, a pale halo enveloping the eagle’s wings.
She tried rotating her body, and sure enough, as she turned, the light of the badge shifted as well.
“There’s a reaction?! Over there?”
Fia’s voice held a trace of excitement.
“Yeah, looks like the merchant’s tool is actually reliable.”
Weiss strode forward in the direction indicated by the badge.
However, they had barely gone a hundred meters when the mire ahead suddenly churned violently.
The ground boiled as black sludge was forced up,
Rotten limbs and shattered bones surfaced. Stinking mud and twisted vines fused together, barely taking the shape of a humanoid figure slowly rising from the swamp.
It had no face—only countless pale arms thrashing madly across its body, emitting an ear-splitting scraping sound.
“Weiss! That’s an Abhorrent!”
Fia instantly gripped her sword and took a combat stance.
“So there really are these things, huh.”
Weiss didn’t look surprised at all, as if he’d expected this.
It couldn’t be helped—
Magic not native to this place was like a torch in the night, bound to attract the attention of Abhorrents.
He also drew the sword from his waist.
“No point wasting time—let’s finish this—”
Before he could finish, the roar of wind drowned out the end of his words.
Lortissa silently walked past them from the front:
“It’s dealt with.”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.