Volume 2: Shenzhou Academy & The Battle of Venice
Chapter 118
Huanglu Island Assessment and Swamp Mysteries
The early morning sea breeze carried the bitter brine of Jinghai Bay as it whipped through jagged limestone cliffs, howling in eerie gusts like the shrill wails of a death horn. Dense sea fog, like an immense ash-gray burial shroud, tightly enveloped ancient mangrove groves and submerged reefs protruding from the water along the western coast of Huanglu Island.
At Field Outpost Number Four of Shenzhou Archmage Academy, the low, distant rumble of magitech engines from recently departed naval cruisers still reverberated across the waves. On a flat staging ground paved with compacted gravel, thirty freshman squads were gathered in disciplined formations under the strict surveillance of seasoned drill instructors and veteran high-tier hunters.
“Squad Nine! Step forward to receive your assessment assignment!”
A booming, resonant voice rang out from behind a heavy metal command desk. A middle-aged drill instructor, clad in the deep olive-green uniform of the Border Defense Legion and his rugged face crisscrossed with jagged scars from monster claws, slammed a parchment scroll sealed with crimson magical wax onto the sturdy timber table.
Lin Feng stepped forward, his slender fingers catching the parchment scroll. Behind him, Ye Qingwan—her lithe, graceful figure flattered by a sleek, form-fitting field suit of jade-green supple leather—followed closely, accompanied by Gu Xiaowei, whose round Lightning-element satchel bobbed against her hip, and Xie Zhaoyuan, hurriedly jogging behind under the strain of a bulging, heavy field pack.
Bringing up the rear was Bai Wei. The devastating injuries inflicted by Lin Feng’s thunderous fist during the Skymagic Arena Beast Gauntlet appeared to have been mended by the Bai Clan’s high-grade healing elixirs, yet the young noble’s handsome face remained pale, laced with poorly concealed malice and lingering resentment. He wore a brand-new set of mid-tier Blazing Flame Magic Armor embedded with scarlet fire-gems; intricate magical glyphs etched along its plates radiated waves of oppressive, shimmering heat, flaunting the immense wealth and prestige of his clan.
Lin Feng gently peeled away the crimson magical wax with his fingernail. A pale blue luminescent glow unfurled before them, revealing a detailed military topographical map of Huanglu Island, underlined by stark, blood-red directives outlining their assessment criteria:
“Squad Nine: Advance into the core zone of the Xunmo Mangrove Marsh. Objective: Harvest five Thunder-Crystalline Sea Azure Fruits before sunset. S-Rank Hazard Warning: Primary territory of the Crimson-Armored Crocodile Demons. The entire squad must maintain continuous magical communication; unauthorized departure from squad formation is strictly prohibited.”
“Holy mother of god... Thunder-Crystalline Sea Azure Fruits?!” The moment Xie Zhaoyuan glimpsed the three characters “Xunmo Marsh,” his eyes widened as round as duck eggs, and his jaw nearly hit the gravel. “Isn’t... isn’t this practically sending us to our graves?! The wilderness survival field guide explicitly states that Xunmo Marsh is the deadliest deathtrap on this entire cursed island! Beneath that mud lies a bottomless mire and pockets of toxic methane gas accumulated over millennia!”
Gu Xiaowei stuck out her tongue, her large, bright eyes blinking as she turned to Lin Feng. “I’ve heard my father mention them before. The Thunder-Crystalline Sea Azure Fruit is an exceedingly rare spiritual medicine that takes a thousand years to bear fruit in mangrove swamps. It absorbs natural lightning from oceanic tempests and pure water elemental mana from the subterranean veins. Each ripe fruit contains the purest concentrated lightning essence, worth an astronomical fortune on the Magic Capital’s black market! But... those spirit fruits are always fiercely guarded by packs of the most vicious carnivorous reptiles!”
“What are you trembling for? Country bumpkins who’ve never seen the world!”
A sneering, derisive chuckle drifted from behind. Bai Wei stepped diagonally forward, crossing his arms arrogantly across his chest. His disdainful gaze swept past Xie Zhaoyuan before locking onto Lin Feng with undisguised contempt:
“A bunch of spineless cowards! They’re just a few oversized reptiles crawling through the sludge—what’s there to panic over? I, Bai Wei, possess mid-tier Blazing Flame Magic Armor and wield the Blazing Flame Magic Sword personally bestowed by my father. This field assessment is the Bai Clan’s golden opportunity to seize the top overall rank among the entire freshman class! Hey, Lin—now that you don’t have that black beast to carry you, you’d better know your place, follow behind, and pick up scraps. Don’t you dare get in my way!”
Bai Wei’s words were as razor-sharp as a scalpel, deliberately targeting Lin Feng’s current perceived vulnerability. The entire academy knew that after single-handedly sweeping through two hundred challengers, Lin Feng’s Abyssal Thunder Wolf had entered a dormant lightning-chrysalis state deep within the summoning dimension to undergo evolution, completely unable to be summoned into reality for the time being.
Hearing Bai Wei’s brazen taunt, Xie Zhaoyuan flushed red with fury, parting his lips to fire back, but a calm, steady hand was already placed firmly upon his shoulder.
Lin Feng turned around. The youth’s angular features remained as tranquil as an ancient, undisturbed well, his deep, dark eyes devoid of even the slightest ripple. He unhurriedly rolled up the parchment scroll, slotted it into the leather sheath at his hip, and spoke in a voice so even it felt chillingly cold:
“If you have a death wish, feel free to charge ahead and show off. But remember this: this is a live-combat wilderness survival trial, not a private stage for the young master of the Bai Clan to play hero. If your reckless stupidity drags this squad into danger, I will be the first to break all four of your limbs and leave you behind to rot in the swamp.”
“You dare threaten me?!” Bai Wei’s fury flared, twin sparks of fire mana igniting spontaneously in the palms of his hands. Yet the moment he met Lin Feng’s bone-chilling glare, his body involuntarily flinched. The phantom ache of shattered ribs from the arena still throbbed in his chest, causing his bravado to wither on the spot.
“Enough!” Ye Qingwan’s icy voice cut through the tension, radiating the dignified, unmistakable authority of the Ye Clan’s eldest daughter. “Before departure, the head instructor appointed Lin Feng as the provisional captain of Squad Nine based on combat performance. Anyone dissatisfied is free to submit a written request to withdraw from the squad and fulfill the mission alone! If anyone continues to incite internal discord, I will report the matter directly to the academy’s disciplinary tribunal.”
Openly silenced and rebuked by Ye Qingwan, Bai Wei bit his lower lip so hard it nearly bled. He let out a harsh, venomous snort and turned away, but dark, treacherous schemes churned in his mind. Just wait until we reach the marsh. The moment those Thunder-Crystalline Fruits are found, I’ll snatch them and race back to the command outpost to claim the bounty myself, making that bastard Lin Feng the laughingstock of the entire academy.
“Let’s move out. Swamp terrain makes navigation treacherous once the sun starts to dip.”
Refusing to waste another breath, Lin Feng spun around and led the squad forward, striding briskly toward the dense, untamed primeval forest occupying the island’s northwestern sector.
Leaving behind the windswept coastal perimeter, Squad Nine ventured deep into the central depression basin of Huanglu Island. In less than half an hour of march, the surrounding landscape had transformed completely into a somber, eerie underworld.
Stretching out before them was the Xunmo Marsh—an ancient, boundless mangrove wetland. The radiant midday sun was utterly blotted out by layer upon layer of interlocking canopies formed by thousand-year-old demonic mangrove trees, converging overhead like a colossal vaulted dome. The swamp was submerged in a sickly, pale-green gloom that weighed heavily upon the chest. Enormous roots twisted and coiled like gargantuan serpents, plunging straight down from mid-air into the pitch-black, stagnant water, slick with greasy layers of rancid moss.
The atmosphere was stifling to the point of suffocation, thick with the putrid stench of sulfurous mud and centuries of decaying vegetation steeped in black sludge. Underfoot, not a single square inch of solid ground could be found. The swamp surface was an unbroken expanse of viscous, tar-black mire, occasionally bubbling with fist-sized gas pockets that burst with dull, sluggish pops.
Gloop... bloop...
Xie Zhaoyuan took one misstep along the edge of a mud pit, and the viscous black bog instantly swallowed his tactical combat boot, sinking past his knee. The terrifying suction force from the mire clung to his leg like dozens of invisible grasping hands, dragging his entire body off balance.
“Holy shit! It’s pulling me under! Help!” Xie Zhaoyuan cried in panic, thrashing desperately, but the more he struggled, the faster he sank into the quagmire.
“Don’t move!”
Lin Feng barked a sharp command, his figure gliding across like a wraith. His arm shot out, locking onto Xie Zhaoyuan’s pack strap. Muscles rippling beneath his tactical shirt, he hoisted the hefty youth straight out of the deathly sinkhole with a decisive heave, planting him firmly upon the elevated knoll of a dry, gnarled mangrove root.
“Haaah... thanks, Lin Feng. I nearly became earthworm feed,” Xie Zhaoyuan panted heavily, his legs trembling as he stared down at the pitch-black mud slowly sealing itself shut.
“Useless deadweight!” Bai Wei sneered from atop a mossy boulder, his expression dripping with disgust. Looking at the sea of churned sludge ahead, his patience snapped, and he raised his right hand. A fiery crimson blaze flickered alive at his fingertips: “Crawling along like this, when the hell are we going to arrive? Let me blast these tangled roots with Blazing Flame and bake this sludge into solid ground—we’ll stride right across!”
“Are you insane?!” Gu Xiaowei glared at him, shouting in alarm: “With methane fumes this thick, you dare ignite open fire?! Do you want to blast the entire squad into charred bits?!”
Lin Feng cast a frigid glance toward the flame in Bai Wei’s palm, his eyes sharp as daggers: “If you let a single spark leave your fingers here, I will toss you straight into the deepest mud pit.”
Bai Wei choked on his words. Intimidated by the lethal intent in Lin Feng’s gaze, he pulled his hand back, snuffing the flames, though his lips continued to twitch with muffled curses.
“Allow me.”
A voice as crisp and melodious as jade chiming upon a silver tray broke the impasse. Ye Qingwan stepped gracefully toward the edge of the mangrove root. The emerald-clad maiden untied a violet silk pouch from her waist, opened the cinch, and withdrew a handful of shimmering emerald seeds that sparkled like uncut jewels: Wood Spirit Seeds—a specialized magical strain cultivated exclusively by the Ye Clan.
She gently raised her slender hands before her chest, her phoenix eyes half-closed. In an instant, seven jade-green Star Particles blazed brightly around her form, aligning into a flawless, unbroken Wood Star Track. A pure, revitalizing aura of life radiated outward, partially dispelling the suffocating, rancid stench of the swamp.
“Wood Spirit – Entangling Vine Bridge!”
As the elegant incantation fell from her lips, Ye Qingwan tossed the handful of emerald seeds into the viscous black mire ahead.
RUSTLE! SWOOSH! CRACKLE!
A breathtaking scene unfolded before their eyes. The moment they touched the mud, the emerald seeds greedily absorbed the rich organic nutrients and latent natural mana of the wetland, bursting open and sprouting at an astonishing velocity! Dozens of thick, sinewy wooden vines—as thick as a grown man’s thigh and armored with dark green thorned bark as resilient as cold-forged steel—erupted skyward from the depths of the bog.
They twisted, coiled, and braided tightly together, forming an arched suspension bridge of living vines over two meters wide. It spanned across the treacherous sinkholes, seamlessly bridging one ancient mangrove trunk to the next. Suspended half a meter above the mud, its deck was paved with thick, woven foliage so sturdy it could effortlessly support thousands of pounds!
“Wow! Qingwan, that’s amazing!” Gu Xiaowei cheered with delight, skipping onto the living bridge and testing the supple, springy tread beneath her boots.
Xie Zhaoyuan breathed a massive sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his brow before scrambling onto the bridge: “As expected of the Ye Clan’s premier jewel! With this bridge, we don’t have to fear sinking into that bottomless muck anymore!”
Ye Qingwan offered a faint, modest smile, though a hint of fatigue touched her porcelain features from the mana expenditure. Turning toward Lin Feng, she gave a gentle nod: “This bridge can sustain itself for roughly two hours. We must press inward while the path remains open.”
Lin Feng nodded in approval. “Well done. Let’s move.”
Squad Nine swiftly advanced along the vine bridge, covering kilometers of treacherous wetland without draining their stamina. Trailing behind, Bai Wei stared at the immaculate living bridge with a mixture of envy and resentment, yet he had no choice but to follow.
The deeper they penetrated toward the heart of Xunmo Marsh, the more bizarrely silent the surroundings became. No birds chirped, no insects buzzed; there was only the sluggish bubbling of stagnant mud and the mournful hiss of drafts passing through hollowed-out mangrove trunks.
Moreover, the air turned extraordinarily humid, laced with tiny specks of cerulean static drifting lazily through the mist. Whenever these luminous motes brushed against exposed skin, a faint, tingling electrical current rippled through their flesh, causing the fine hairs on their arms to stand on end.
“The lightning mana here is remarkably dense...” Gu Xiaowei extended a dainty palm to catch one of the blue motes, her large eyes glittering with excitement. She glanced at Lin Feng and gave a playful wink: “Captain Lin, let me probe the mud beneath us!”
Without waiting for Lin Feng’s reply, Gu Xiaowei swiftly channeled her Lightning Star Track. Crackling arcs of brilliant violet lightning danced across her five fingertips, humming with crisp, snapping static.
“Lightning Ray – Sweeping Thunder Silk!”
Gu Xiaowei pressed her palm firmly against the vine bridge. Dozens of slender violet lightning filaments, fine as spider silk, shot outward, skimming across the surface of the surrounding mire in a wide fan-like arc before sinking deep into the dark waters to detect life vibrations.
CRACKLE! SNAP! SIZZLE!
The magical current rippled through the muddy water, feeding sensory feedback directly to the young lightning mage. Yet barely three seconds later, the playful smile vanished from Gu Xiaowei’s doll-like face. Her delicate brows furrowed sharply, and her expression shifted into sudden gravity:
“Wait... there’s something extremely strange under the mud!”
“What is it, Xiaowei?” Ye Qingwan stepped immediately to her friend’s side, scanning the mist-shrouded surroundings with heightened alertness.
Gu Xiaowei swallowed hard, lowering her voice to a tense whisper: “My Lightning Silk just probed about a meter beneath the surface... It’s not empty down there. There are dozens of subterranean thermal signatures moving at an agonizingly sluggish pace! They’re scattered everywhere, a massive cluster of heat every few dozen meters... Their heartbeats are incredibly slow, and they radiate powerful electrical-resistance energy pulses!”
Hearing this, Lin Feng stepped to the edge of the bridge and crouched low, his gaze piercing through the gloomy expanse of the swamp.
His obsidian eyes narrowed, drinking in every minute detail. Enhanced by the razor-sharp vision forged through life-or-death battles, Lin Feng discerned rough, reddish-brown mounds protruding from the black mire roughly thirty meters away.
At a casual glance, they looked indistinguishable from rotting driftwood encrusted with moss and dried sludge. But upon closer inspection, the surfaces of those “logs” featured symmetrical, overlapping horn-scaled ridges, and at the tip of each mound, twin nostril slits no larger than a thumb gently dilated and contracted to the rhythmic breathing of a dormant living predator!
“Those aren’t rotten logs.” Lin Feng’s voice was low, yet heavy as lead: “Those are Crimson-Armored Crocodile Demons. They have buried themselves beneath the mire to hibernate and ambush prey. This entire swamp is their hunting ground.”
“What?!” Xie Zhaoyuan’s knees buckled, nearly sending him sprawling: “An entire pack of predatory crocodiles is sleeping right beneath our feet?!”
“Quiet!” Lin Feng hissed in warning, glaring at Xie Zhaoyuan: “These reptiles possess acute hearing and tactile sensitivity to magical vibrations in the water. As long as we don’t disturb them, we can slip past unharmed. Entire squad: suppress your mana completely and tread as lightly as possible.”
Standing at the back, Bai Wei stared at the mounds poking through the sludge. His heart skipped a beat, but his face maintained a haughty sneer: “Hmph, making a mountain out of a molehill! At most, they’re just a bunch of Servant-class beasts. You’re acting like the sky is falling.” Though his mouth stayed stubborn, his boots consciously slowed, not daring to make a careless sound.
Holding their breath, the squad advanced along the vine bridge with the stealth of stalking panthers, following the cerulean mist straight toward the marsh’s center.
After marching for another fifteen minutes and passing through a towering curtain of aerial mangrove roots, a wide, open clearing suddenly unfolded before them.
It was a vast, sunken circular lagoon spanning over two hundred meters in diameter. The silence here was suffocating; the dark, muddy water lay as flat and motionless as an immense black mirror, devoid of even a ripple.
At the exact center of this sunken lagoon rose an earthen knoll three meters above the water line, standing like a solitary islet amidst the sea of mire.
Atop this knoll stood a solitary, bizarre ancient tree. Its massive trunk was thick enough to require three men to encircle, its dark violet bark cracked and scored like ancient dragon scales. Its sprawling canopy shaded the water’s edge, radiating a pure, intoxicating fragrance laced with the cool sweetness of spiritual fruit.
Most striking of all, dangling from the gnarled branches stretching over the water were five plump, fist-sized fruits!
Their rinds were as translucent as azure jade, within which coiled brilliant arcs of cerulean lightning that crackled and pulsed with luminous arcs, casting ethereal halos of static into the swirling mist!
“Thunder-Crystalline Sea Azure Fruits!” Gu Xiaowei gasped, quickly covering her mouth as her eyes sparkled with wonder: “It really is them! Exactly five flawless, ripe fruits!”
Xie Zhaoyuan stared fixedly at the five glowing fruits, his breathing turning ragged: “Heavens above... five top-grade spiritual fruits! If we bring all five back, Squad Nine will unquestionably lock in a perfect score for this assessment! No other squad could hope to catch us!”
Glimpsing the fruits heavy upon the bough, Lin Feng’s chest stirred. Deep within his summoning dimension, the lightning-chrysalis encasing the Abyssal Thunder Wolf seemed to resonate with this source of pure, concentrated lightning mana. It trembled faintly, transmitting an intense, primal hunger to devour it!
He knew with absolute certainty: with these five Thunder-Crystalline Sea Azure Fruits acting as an alchemical catalyst, not only could the Abyssal Thunder Wolf successfully break free from its chrysalis, but it could also channel the oceanic lightning to shatter its racial shackles and officially ascend into a true Warrior-class beast!
Yet Lin Feng did not act rashly. His sharp eyes pulled away from the spirit fruit, scanning slowly across the water encircling the central knoll.
The more he looked, the colder and graver his expression became.
Floating across the mirror-flat black mud around the knoll were more than thirty reddish-brown “driftwood logs”! They formed concentric, layered rings encircling the islet in an unbroken perimeter, leaving not a single gap in their blockade.
“This terrain... is a natural trap,” Ye Qingwan murmured softly beside Lin Feng. “These Crimson-Armored Crocodile Demons deliberately refrain from eating the fruits. They are using the lightning glow and scent of ripe fruit as bait to lure other monsters and mages to their deaths.”
“Indeed,” Lin Feng agreed, his tone crisp and decisive. “We cannot charge in blindly. Here is the plan: Zhaoyuan and Xiaowei, remain here on these ancient mangrove limbs and prepare Radiant Shield and Lightning strikes for long-range covering fire. Qingwan, hold position at the head of the bridge and extend your wooden vines across the air, reaching for the branches to harvest the fruits from above. Under no circumstances should anyone touch the water or release excessive mana.”
Hearing Lin Feng lay out the meticulous plan, Gu Xiaowei and Xie Zhaoyuan nodded in unison. Ye Qingwan also reached into her silk pouch, readying her Wood seeds.
However, lingering behind them, the flames of jealousy and raw ambition within Bai Wei’s chest roared to an uncontrollable inferno!
Staring at the five radiant Thunder-Crystalline Sea Azure Fruits, Bai Wei’s eyes turned bloodshot like those of a rabid beast. Only one thought dominated his mind: A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rewrite my standing and wash away my humiliation!
If Ye Qingwan harvested the fruits with her vines under Lin Feng’s orders, the primary credit for this assignment would inevitably fall squarely on that country bumpkin Lin! The entire academy would sing Lin Feng’s praises as a brilliant squad leader, while he—the second young master of the noble Bai Clan—would remain nothing more than a pathetic background clown!
But if... if he personally seized all five fruits and sped back to the command outpost alone, the top assessment honors, the awe of the instructors, and the adulation of the entire student body would belong to him and him alone! The humiliation of having his ribs crushed in the arena would be utterly wiped clean!
Besides, the distance from the bridgehead to the knoll was a mere thirty meters! With the speed granted by the Wind-Rushing Boots on his feet, it would take him less than three seconds to cross the gap and pluck every last fruit!
“A bunch of gutless rabbits! Pissing your pants over a few rotten logs! The top score belongs to the Bai Clan!”
A guttural growl rose in Bai Wei’s throat. Without a single word of warning, without an instant’s hesitation, he channeled every drop of his Wind mana straight into the tactical boots beneath his feet!
WHOOSH!!
A gale of silver wind exploded violently beneath Bai Wei’s soles!
“Bai Wei! What are you doing?! Stop right now!!” Ye Qingwan cried out in terror, her hand lashing out to grab his coat, but it was already too late.
Bai Wei shot off the vine bridge like a loosed arrow, rocketing through the air across the muddy lagoon toward the central knoll!
The speed of the Wind-Rushing magic boots was truly blinding. In the blink of an eye, Bai Wei cleared the thirty-meter span and reached the edge of the knoll. However, his leap fell just slightly short of the overhead branches.
To propel himself upward toward the first Thunder-Crystalline Fruit, Bai Wei didn’t bother looking down. He slammed his heel forcefully onto a massive “driftwood log” floating right by the water’s edge!
Worse still, eager to display his superior magical prowess, his Fire mana surged violently, and crimson Blazing Flames erupted from the soles of his boots to generate a second explosive propulsion!
BOOM!!
The tremendous kinetic force combined with scorching magical flames hammered directly into the “driftwood log”!
And that was the single most catastrophic act of sheer stupidity in the young noble’s entire life!
CRACKLE... SNAP!
The log beneath his foot did not splinter as he had expected. Instead, its coarse, jagged surface convulsed, revealing thick plates of horn-armor as dark crimson as cooled magma!
A massive, spiked tail thick as a pillar lashed across the water, hurling tons of rancid black sludge into the air!
ROARRRRRRRRRR——!!
A guttural, deafening, savage roar tore through the dead silence of Xunmo Marsh! Carrying the brutal, suffocating aura of an apex predator, the sonic shockwave rattled their eardrums violently!
Bai Wei’s stomp and flames had not merely awakened one beast—they had triggered the dormant bloodlust of the entire crocodile nest buried beneath the mire!
GLOOP... GURGLE... KABOOM!
The mirror-flat swamp water erupted into a violently boiling cauldron! Gigantic methane gas bubbles burst in rapid succession, spraying dark mire and noxious sulfur into the sky.
Beneath the dense black sludge, over thirty “driftwood logs” stirred and rose in unison!
Massive crocodile heads plated in crimson horn-armor, as large as armored personnel carriers, breached the surface one after another. Diamond-shaped reptilian eyes, bloodshot and overflowing with homicidal fury, locked onto the intruder!
Their jagged crimson scales gleamed with a metallic sheen, radiating wisps of thermal vapor that declared their total immunity to fire magic! Each beast spanned four to six meters in length, weighing tons, resembling armored battering rams carved of living stone!
Over thirty savage Crimson-Armored Crocodile Demons awakened simultaneously!
The swamp churned with violent surges. Hideous, elongated maws gaped wide, revealing staggered rows of razor-sharp fangs like crushing steel grinders. Rancid saliva mixed with caustic digestive fluid dripped from their jaws, hissing and smoking as it dissolved the mangrove roots below!
“AAAAAAAGH!!”
Clinging desperately to a tree branch, his fingers having just grazed a Thunder-Crystalline Sea Azure Fruit, Bai Wei looked down.
The terrifying sight froze the blood in his veins! Every drop of color drained from his face, his teeth chattering uncontrollably as his trembling hand let the Blazing Flame Magic Sword slip from his grasp, splashing uselessly into the mire below!
Directly beneath the branch he clung to, the gaping maws of the four largest crocodile demons waited hungrily. If his grip slipped by even half a meter, he would be torn into shreds within seconds!
Worse yet, the scent of human mana and the violent commotion had alerted the entire marsh!
ROARRRR!!
Five colossal crocodile demons over seven meters long, their bodies covered in jagged, crimson horn spikes—the pack alphas possessing Half-step Warrior-class strength—slammed their tails against the mire, hurtling forward across the mud like armored tanks!
They did not charge toward Bai Wei. Instead, they charged directly toward the living vine bridge connecting to the outer bank!
CRACK! TEAR!
The colossal jaws of the lead crocodile demon snapped shut onto the vine bridge, grinding the enchanted wood and roots into splinters! The other four surged upward, their massive bodies completely severing the squad’s sole retreat route to the safety zone!
Squad Nine’s path of escape was completely cut off!
“Dammit all... we’re surrounded!” Xie Zhaoyuan collapsed onto the ancient mangrove branch, his voice trembling and cracked with despair.
Towering murderous intent filled the air as black mud rained down. From every direction, over thirty pairs of blood-red, predatory eyes locked onto the five solitary humans trapped in the deadly marsh!
Standing at the trembling edge of the shattered vine bridge, facing the roaring horde of fire-resistant behemoths charging toward them, Lin Feng’s right hand slowly clenched into an iron fist...