Chapter 171: You Can Walk Without Three-Stage Sliding Slashes? (1/2)

When Mufasa and the children were still running around the hunting grounds, the other Players led by Marni had already arrived at the Seira Marshes.

Occupying a major chunk of the Valla Empire’s territories, the Seira Marshes were uninhabited like the Trinia Forest up north, being an inhospitable place for humans that was overflowing with beasts and magical beasts. In fact, whenever Valla’s Emperor bore ill will towards any noble, the most common solution was to award them a piece of land out of those two regions while urging them to hurry towards their fief with all pomp and ceremony…

Of course, such a solution was just useless to important nobles like Duke Horan who already owned vast tracts of land.

And just as its name suggests, the Seira Marshes was a wetland that would not freeze or catch snow even during winter, and the marshes within stretched on infinitely. As such, any inexperienced person would never be able to tell what was in front of them: whether it was a dry, firm piece of moss or floating algae over endlessly deep waters.

Aside from magical creatures and all manner of vicious beasts, it was said that there were witches living within the marches. Either way, it was a place of danger and no one should approach it.

In contrast, the Trinia Forest was much safer despite being another notably dangerous location—humans at least wouldn’t have to worry about tumbling and drowning in the marshes just for missing a step.

As a matter of fact, the Seira Marshes were not friendly towards the Players either.

While resurrection spells could save them, a Player who had dropped beneath the surface was no different to having no corpse to revive them with—all they could do is wait in confinement at the little black hut for three days before being brought back to life.

That being said, the Players were a more adventurous bunch than most.

Although normal humans might never successfully map a corner of the marshes even after sacrificing thousands, the Players were different—they did not have to die that many times to feel out a path.

Because none of them were actually doing any walking.

***

Marni was issuing orders in an orderly manner.

“Right flank, hit the ground with mountain strikes, and don’t spare even an inch of ground. Relax, the Seafood Clerics would drag you out. Left flank, cast three stage slashes—remember to slash backwards on the third step, and run as soon as you lit up the map, and be careful not to fall. Leave mid to my Divine Earthsplit Blade, and all of you keep an eye out for where the water is!”

“Hey! Care to mention who the Seafood Clerics are again?” Some of the Aquatic Angels were protesting angrily.

At the same time, the minimap was almost fully explored.

After all, the Players had been rampantly laying waste to the ecosystem and landscape of the marshes while steadily—or indeed rapidly—pushing inward.

Their progress would leave every past expedition here sighing in awe.

However, the Players were left baffled because they had been wrecking a sizeable portion of the marshes. Logically speaking, some magical creature like the Rutiodon should be showing up right now, but all they had faced so far were swamp fishmen, swamp fishmen, and more swamp fishmen.

Therefore, almost every Player participating in the operation had the same question in mind: could it be that there were only swamp fishmen in these marshes?

But their hunches were proved wrong soon enough: aside from swamp fishmen, there were human-faced fish monsters.

Having seen and learned much as a former travelling merchant, Marni had initially assumed that those grotesque monsters he never heard of before were not natives to these marshes. After all, their sizes did not appear to agree with life in these wetlands, and their bodies closely resembled saltwater fish species…