Chen Yu's gaze followed Semiya's swiftly weaving figure deep into the banyan grove. Wherever the female Lizardfolk passed, blood splashed and severed limbs littered the ground.
The lines of her muscles were sleek and beautiful, every burst of strength carrying tremendous visual impact. Yet her hunting methods were precise and concise, like a hunting warrior dancing upon the edge of a blade.
Her prey was the Corrupted Lizardfolk.
"Seja, it's time for you to go back."
"With your sister here, even a fool like you can put people at ease."
Chen Yu withdrew his gaze, jumped from Seja's arms, and landed on the damp mossy ground.
"Mm..."
Though she had long prepared herself for this, the joy in Seja's heart was still greatly diluted by the coming separation.
She knelt on the ground, crossing her hands over her chest as she carried out her final prayer before parting.
But as always, Chen Yu could not understand a word.
Compared to the strange syllables of the Demihuman language, this prayer sounded more like sleep-talking from a dream.
Even the Lizardfolk probably could not understand it.
Wasn't this thing really just something her father had used to fool her back then?
"Lord Envoy, when I have the time, I'll come back again."
"I'll bring lots and lots of Gray Grit Crystals to see you."
"And the beetles you like to eat, Moss Monsters..."
Standing atop the high ground, Chen Yu imagined himself with his hands clasped behind his back like an unrivaled master, leaving behind only a lofty... round little silhouette.
Even upon hearing about his favorite beetles, he could still put on an indifferent expression.
"Go."
He said no more.
Such was the bearing of an expert. Even in a sorrowful farewell, he could speak only the briefest words.
After saying goodbye, Seja finally left the high ground.
Within the green jungle, several figures vaulted over rotten logs and massive boulders, moving through the terrain as though walking on level ground.
"Lady Semiya, spare us!"
The Corrupted Lizardfolk clutched their wounded shoulders as they staggered ahead in flight, their agitated vertical pupils filled with unease and terror.
A green shadow like death sped after them. Semiya stared coldly at the fleeing Corrupted Lizardfolk, with not a trace of emotion in her eyes, as though she were looking at several corpses.
She drew a short spear from behind her back and aimed it at the fleeing figures. Her icy gaze was like frost piercing straight into their hearts.
In the end, one Lizardfolk could no longer endure the terror of death following at his heels. He broke down, stopped, and screamed madly.
"Come on, kill m—"
A cold glint tore through the dimness. Blood blurred the curtain of rain, pattering onto the mossy ground and staining it crimson.
The terrified Lizardfolk clutched the Bone Blade that had pierced through his neck and crashed to the ground.
The fleeing Corrupted Lizardfolk were terrified to the extreme, as though the darkness of despair had swallowed all their strength and senses. They could not run any farther. Even breathing became agonizing, as though every breath had to squeeze out every last scrap of strength from their bodies.
They watched as Semiya raised her short spear and approached step by step, carrying the aura of death.
The Corrupted Lizardfolk cursed, shouting fiercely while their hearts quailed.
"Stop! Stop right there!"
"Don't you want to know where Seja is?!"
At those words, a faint change finally appeared in Semiya's icy eyes. For the first time, she stopped.
"Where is she?"
"One wrong word, and you die."
The three Corrupted Lizardfolk exchanged glances.
"She's right... Go to hell!"
They suddenly sprang up, their blades piercing the air and howling as they stirred a sharp, bloody wind.
Grayish scales swelled in Semiya's amber vertical pupils. Her expression did not change in the slightest. She merely stepped half a pace back, drew her Bone Blade, and was about to strike.
"Vine Entanglement!"
At that moment, a clear yet powerful female voice rang out from high behind Semiya's side!
Semiya's pupils suddenly contracted! That voice!
"Rustle—!"
Countless tough vines shot wildly from the branches of an ancient banyan like living creatures, instantly wrapping around the Corrupted Lizardfolk's bodies—especially binding the claws they had just exerted force with! Their forward momentum abruptly stalled!
Without mercy, Semiya swept her Bone Blade across the Corrupted Lizardfolk's throats. Lines of blood appeared, and three heads fell at once.
But she had no mind left to care about those filthy heretics. She instantly turned around, her gaze passing over the arriving rotten-moss hunting party and accurately catching the familiar figure hiding beneath a fallen rotten log!
Dark green scales, a shaman's bone ornaments, and those eyes filled with concern and anxiety!
"Seja!"
The frozen killing intent on Semiya's cold face melted away in an instant like spring ice, replaced by immense, unimaginable joy!
Her little sister!
She was alive! Right before her eyes!
"Big Sister!"
Seja waved happily and ran over while hugging her staff.
Even when Seja reached her, Semiya still found it hard to believe.
"I heard those traitors say that you wandered into the Swamp Forest by mistake. How did you end up here...?"
"Hehe, I'm Putu's most devout believer. Lord Putu couldn't bear to watch me get eaten by Demonic Beasts."
In the end, Seja did not mention the Puto Envoy's existence. It was not only because of the rotten-moss warriors around them; she simply felt that the Envoy did not seem to like being disturbed.
"It's good that you're back."
"Come. Leave this place with me."
In the gloomy swamp, Chen Yu watched Seja leave with the group of Lizardfolk before gradually withdrawing his gaze.
For now, he had no plans to approach the Lizardfolk tribe.
Only that foolish shaman would believe he was Putu's Envoy.
Other Lizardfolk were not so easily persuaded, especially when the one in question was a Demonic Beast.
"Corrupted Lizardfolk are running all over the edge of this swamp. This is way too unsafe."
For a Demonic Beast like him, the swamp suited him better.
At least there were not so many intelligent beings there, nor so much scheming and intrigue. There was only pure strength.
Fighting really was the best.
He planned to first head to the abandoned Shelter Seja had mentioned, let the bee soldiers take refuge from the rain, and return to Oak Territory after the torrential rain had passed.
But without Seja carrying him, his travel speed could only be described as turtle-slow. He walked for half the day before finally finding the Shelter.
Chen Yu hid inside a dry, concealed stone cave. The remaining eight Stinger Bee Soldiers rested on rocks nearby, cleaning the heavy droplets of water from their wings.
He looked thoughtful, his gaze sweeping through the dim forest swamp.
When the Lizardfolk had been fighting, the Queen Bee had told him that something was hiding nearby. It seemed to be a surviving human.
"The torrential rain is coming. If that poor fellow doesn't leave the swamp, he probably won't survive the night."
"Forget it. None of my business."
That night, thunder tore through the silence of the Swamp Forest. The rain fell harder and harder, and the roars of wild beasts could occasionally be heard from within the forest.
It was terrifying as hell.
That human was probably completely done for.
By the next day, the heavy rain was still falling.
Chen Yu did not step outside at all. He simply practiced with the Talisman Scrolls in the Shelter, and only when the rain gradually weakened on the third day did he return to the territory along the newly opened Swift Bee Forest Path.
Still, there was no hoping for much speed on this journey. He could only study talisman drawing as he traveled to pass the time.
Before you continue