Kinda boring chapter so don’t sleep :3
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Eileen realized that fighting barehanded wasn’t an option now, so she summoned her bloody greatsword. Strangely, perhaps it was just her perception, but Eileen felt that her severe stomach pain had somewhat eased as she entered combat mode.
This sensation became even more pronounced as she started to eliminate the monsters. It was as if her previous stomach cramps, which had weakened, were now transforming into a source of power that gradually infused her entire body, making her tired body feel more and more energetic.
As for the changes happening within her body, there was also something happening in reality.
Buzz!*
The sword hummed, and Eileen couldn’t believe her eyes as she saw that a single swing of her sword had effortlessly slain two mutated monsters. Her strength hadn’t visibly increased, but her control and mastery over her body and her weapon had seemingly improved, as if her skills had taken a significant step forward.
With a sense of pleasant surprise, Eileen fought even more vigorously. The seven or eight advanced swamp monsters couldn’t last more than two minutes each in her hands before they turned into lifeless bodies.
“Wow! Sister Nana, I’ve really improved! I never thought that getting beaten up could be this effective! And that thing you made me eat, even though it tasted awful and looked weird, it actually works. I feel like I have no fatigue at all!”
“Now that I’ve completed these three steps, can I…?”
Eileen couldn’t wait to try using a tree branch as a sword; it seemed incredibly cool to her.
“Yes, you can give it a try,” Nova nodded.
Filled with joy, Eileen quickly grabbed a tree branch and confidently approached one of the unfortunate monsters nearby to test her new skills.
However, the result came swiftly with a resounding “snap.” Eileen was sent flying by a swipe from the monster, and as for the tree branch, it didn’t even get a chance to harm the creature before it was broken by the force of the attack. 𝘪𝑎.𝘤𝑜𝘮
“Ugh! Why?”
“Because a simple tree branch was never going to cut it.”
“Huh!?”
“Are you referring to something like this?”
Nova casually flicked her wrist, conjuring another “tree branch” in front of Eileen. However, upon closer look, Eileen realized that this was no tree branch at all; it was a visual illusion created by Nova’s Distorted Reality power.
“You, you!” Eileen’s eyes widened in anger as she pointed at Nova, struggling to find words. The thought of enduring so much pain only to receive this kind of deceitful answer made her chest heaving with anger.
Especially when Nova calmly added, “It’s what you wanted to learn.” 𝘪𝘳.𝒸𝘰𝑚
“Nana! I challenge you!”
Nova:”…”
Nova replied with a nonchalant expression, “I’ve been waiting for you to say that for a long time.”
Eileen activated her “Great Annihilation” mode, her eyes filled with fury. She wielded her peak form bloody greatsword without hesitation and charged towards Nova. After the hardships she had endured, Eileen was now extremely confident in her abilities. She was determined to make this peculiar dragon woman taste the same bitter medicine she had forced upon her—those disgusting mutant plants!
With fierce determination.
Three minutes later.
The girl who had discarded her armor was lying on all fours with her head down, half of her face tilted close to the ground, and her buttocks raised high.
The bloody sword beside her was also half-cut into the ground, and the red light on the blade became trembling. Like its mistress, it lived up to its former arrogance and majesty. Especially when the Dragon Lady came closer, it trembled with fear. it drilled directly back into Eileen’s body.
In the wild and Savage Swamp, on the border of the Tribal Forest, it was a rare sight to see six “Watchers” clans, including the centaur “Thousand Bows tribe”, leaving their guarded territories to convene in front of this vast clearing.
Now, the Demi-Human members of all clans were uniformly fixated on the gigantic creature in the clearing.
Originally resembling a dragon species, it had undergone mutations; its wings devolved into bat-like claws, tightly gripping the ground. It moved on all fours, its length a terrifying twenty meters. Devoid of fur, it was covered in thick skin and tough, sturdy scales. Through the large gaps in its upper and lower jaws, rows of sharp, conical teeth were visible.
Surrounded by many clans, it appeared agitated. With a powerful push from its hind legs and its forelimbs lifting its upper body, it raised its long neck to a height of over seven meters. Its large, orange-yellow, vertically slit dragon eyes, like copper bells, disdainfully and contemptuously surveyed the Demi-Humans below, exuding the oppression and fear of a top predator.
Indeed, there could be no mistake.
The centaur Daggo’s hooves nervously shuffled back and forth beneath him. To all the Watchers clans, this mutated dragon was not unfamiliar; they knew it well.
The Calamity Dragon, existing only in the deepest parts of the wild Swamp, was at the very top of the monster hierarchy – the absolute ruler of the swamp and the chief monster they had always wanted to vanquish. They believed that a series of anomalies in the Swamp, including the filthy black mud, originated from this creature contaminating their lands.
But now,
just as the Calamity Dragon was about to roar at the Demi-Humans below, it lifted its neck halfway and then…
Bang!*
A figure emerged on its back, lifting a foot and stomping down on the dragon’s head.
The once fearsome Calamity Dragon, its menacing aura now gone, quickly retracted its neck and lay prostrate on the ground, its head pressed against the earth.
After the two figures on its back, no, the two members of the revolutionary army who had set out to “end” the Wild Swamp, leaped down, Daggo saw clearly who they were.
‘Just how long had it been since they departed? And they already defatted it…?’ Shock quickly turned into deep respect. Daggo might not know how they did it, but just thinking about it made it clear that the process was extremely dangerous and arduous. This was evident from the appearance of the human girl.
Many of the Watchers’ clans turned their eyes to the limping Eileen, observing her battered and torn body, her clothes covered in the marks of various beasts’ claws and tails. These battle scars alone told of the cruel fights she must have endured to defeat, or even conquer, the Swamp King.
Daggo wasn’t sure if “conquer” was the right word, as the incarnate of Calamity, the terrifying dragon species, began to nuzzle towards another Dragon Woman as it followed its human companions off its back. When the Dragon Women ignored it, the dragon even stretched out its tongue into the air, almost like a… longing puppy wanting to lick? After being kicked away by the impatient Dragon Lady, Daggo wondered if he was seeing things. Yet, on the face of the Calamity Dragon, which should have been ferocious, there appeared a look of enjoyment?
With the taming of the Calamity Dragon, for the Watchers’ clans, it meant the end of the Wild Swamp’s expansion and truly signified the end of their generations-long duty to guard the southern borders.
Nova silently watched many of the Demi-Humans embracing and crying, not disturbing the celebration. Later, when she regrouped with Renji, she shook her head in response to his questioning gaze.
She told Renji that the source of the Swamp’s pollution was not this Earth Dragon. Rather, it was also a victim. The real source of pollution came from a certain ritual secretly conducted by the “High Priest” of the ancient Wolf Clan on the Orc Plains. The Wild Swamp was just a byproduct of this massive pollution.
“Radiation alone transformed the entire swamp into an expanding mass of filthy black mud?” Renji frowned, finding it hard to believe the immense power of Miasma.
Miasma doesn’t just appear out of nowhere, especially after its supposed destruction. Theoretically, it could only be generated from negative emotions, like the bloodshed caused by the feudal system of the Jackal-wolf people under Roca.
‘But what did the ancient Wolf Clan’s High Priest use to accumulate such terrifying Miasma?’
Suddenly,
Renji seemed to have a realization, his frown deepening.
At first, he wondered where in the Dragon Nation such a vast source of negative emotions could be. But soon, Renji realized it wasn’t about where in the Dragon Nation, but that the entire Nation had become the perfect collection ground for negative emotion.
The strictly hierarchical system, oppressive to the point of suffocation, and the Demi-Human slaves burdened with collars, subjected to constant oppression – these alone made this Nation the most fertile ground for Miasma among the five powers.
‘Could this be why Charl of the Old Alliance and the hidden hands behind him…’
Renji didn’t share these thoughts with Nova. Now, it seemed, the answer lay solely with one person – the High Priest of the ancient Wolf Clan.
“By the way, Master Renji, I found these in the depths of the Wild Swamp. They must be relics left by Karl.”
Nova said, pulling out several rune-like stones from her bosom and handing them to Renji.
The stones, etched with complex and incomprehensible symbols, were immediately recognized by Nova as tools often used by her Emperor from five hundred years ago. Although she didn’t know how to use them, she knew they were valuable and brought them back for Renji.
‘Professional Heritage Stones!?’
Taking the stones, Renji’s vision was immediately filled with related prompts window. These stones were special professions unique to the Demi-Human lineage.
After quickly going through them, Renji’s eyes lit up as he pulled out one stone, its rune language more elaborate than the others, almost double in quantity.
This was the Heritage Stone of the profession [Shaman]!
Demi-Humans typically gravitated towards professions like Vanguard and Archer, with the Guardian class also being common. Unfortunately, these combat professions didn’t benefit the current Demi-Human much, as they required numerical support for significant impact.
However, the [Shaman] profession was different. It was a rare “Special Ability” class among Demi-Human, not combat-oriented but more supportive. Having a “Shaman” could be of great help to a clan, including but not limited to healing diseases, summoning wind and rain, and even directly promoting the growth of natural vegetation.
Updated from 𝑖𝘦.𝒸𝘰𝘮
