Curse Frog, Curse Frog, Curse Frog!

It changed again.

In just one night, Sain Underground City had undergone another mutation!

Such a rate of change was unheard of!

A bad feeling rose in Sithran's heart. She wanted to turn around and leave immediately, to get as far away from this cursed underground city as possible and never come back for the rest of her life!

But she couldn't.

They had accepted the City Lord's commission. Leaving now would deal a devastating blow to their team's reputation.

At the very least, half the team would have to die before the City Lord understood how serious the situation was.

Sithran gave Shuen a look. He immediately understood and nodded in agreement.

"Why aren't we leaving yet? This place reeks!"

A flamboyantly dressed young man stepped forward, covering his nose with a handkerchief as he complained incessantly.

"Please, go ahead. If Mr. Verde wishes to leave, he is free to do so."

Verde, Count Bed's Second Son, possessed practically no combat ability. His only praiseworthy trait was his remarkable talent for appraising ores, rivaling that of seasoned experts.

"That won't do. I promised my ladies I'd bring back trophies for them."

Verde put on a brave and fearless expression, but when he saw his exquisite boots soaking in the swamp, his face became quite a sight.

"Enough, Verde. Stop complaining. You were the one who insisted on coming along."

A tall, powerfully built man whose physique rivaled Shuen's pressed a hand onto Verde's shoulder. Verde immediately wilted and awkwardly called out, "Big Brother Charon."

Charon clapped his hands and smiled brightly at Sithran. "We'll be relying on you for this journey, beautiful lady. If danger arises, please prioritize protecting the experts at the rear. I possess upper-tier strength, enough to protect myself."

Charon, Count Bed's eldest son, was practically considered the future head of House of Bede. Unlike his family's business traditions, he preferred force. Rumor had it that he had once joined a Gold Adventurer team, only to be kicked out because his strength was lacking.

Besides Sithran's four-person team and the two young masters of House of Bede, the rest of the group consisted of people from various professions, including an Ore Expert, a Map Expert, and a Medicine Expert. Their goal was to quickly determine the value of Sain Underground City after its mutation.

"I hope you'll still be careful," Sithran muttered before saying to Aili, the team's mage, "Cast [Intermediate Poison Resistance] on us. This swamp is highly toxic."

"Mm." Having done this before, Aili skillfully cast the spell. However, applying buffs to ten people at once was truly a test of her stamina.

Sithran pointed into the distance, where a pitch-black fortress stood deep within the swamp. "Let's head toward that structure."

Thus, Shuen, the strongest, took the lead. Danya, who could briefly slip into shadows, served as the scout up front. Aili and Sithran guarded the rear, forming a formation that protected the experts in the middle.

The muddy swamp made movement extremely inconvenient. Everyone's speed had dropped by at least half, and they had to watch out constantly for deep pits.

With every step, they could hear the squelching sound of their shoes sinking into the slick, thick swamp. When they lifted their feet, they brought up not only splashing mud but all manner of disgusting, unidentified objects.

And filthy, writhing maggots!

Every step was a harsh trial for everyone's nerves. In this short span alone, several people in the party had already vomited.

This was also Gong Qiying's handiwork. He used revolting scenes to stimulate the adventurers' senses, causing intense psychological fluctuations and increasing the total amount of Mental Power they released!

Even with poison resistance magic, toxins in the swamp were still slowly accumulating. They had to take antidote potions from time to time. It was the ultimate torment.

Yet the greatest reason for their slow progress was not the swamp, but Sithran's team.

"There are no monsters lying in ambush within fifty meters ahead. Move forward without worry."

"There are no Goblins hiding in the trees."

"Who wants to investigate that boulder? Huh, such a perfect spot, yet no Skeleton Monster launched a Sneak Attack. Strange."

Sithran and the others perfectly embodied the phrase, "Once bitten by a snake, afraid of ropes for ten years."

They checked both sides with every step, terrified that monsters might suddenly leap out. Whenever they saw rocks, trees, or anything else that could block their vision, they treated it like a great enemy and insisted on inspecting it carefully.

They had no choice. Their experience during the last expedition had been far too painful.

Yet events stubbornly went against their approach. All along the way, the monsters had charged at them openly and been easily killed. Not a single one attempted a Sneak Attack. Their behavior was completely different from before.

Naturally, some of the experts were dissatisfied with their overly cautious actions.

"At this turtle's pace, we probably won't even explore half the place today. Can't you move faster?" Verde said darkly. "I need to see Blood Crystals today at the very least. If not, then any kind of ore will do. Don't tell me you can't even meet that simple request."

"This place is really dangerous. The last time we came—" Aili tried to explain.

"That's why we hired you. Your job is to eliminate danger, isn't it? What's wrong with demanding that you work more efficiently? You were all nervous for so long just now, and the monsters still charged at us like idiots. If that isn't wasting time, what is?"

Here it came, the classic case of an amateur directing professionals.

Sithran shot him a glance. "Mr. Verde, you can take the lead. Walk as fast as you like."

She did not need to be overly respectful toward this spoiled rich kid, because Count Bed was the one paying for the commission.

"Heh, do you take me for an idiot? I'm not going up front."

Verde chuckled and walked straight to the back of the group, standing shoulder to shoulder with Sithran as he looked at her smugly.

"This is the safest place."

Swish!

The next moment, mud erupted as a Skeleton Monster covered in filth suddenly leaped out of the swamp and pulled Verde into its embrace!

Not only did the toxic filth smear all over him, quite a bit of it went into his mouth as well!

Maggots danced wildly through his carefully groomed brown hair, burrowing about happily.

"Ah! Save me!"

Verde screamed.

Whoosh—

An arrow pierced through the Skeleton Monster's skull. Shuen then swung his heavy blade, smashing the skeleton apart.

"Damn it, damn it!" Verde panted heavily, glaring at the adventurers. "You did that on purpose!?"

"My apologies. That was my negligence."

Honest-looking Shuen apologized with great sincerity. "I didn't expect a monster to be hiding there."

"Don't think I'll believe you just because you look as honest as a potato!"

Verde was so furious his hair nearly stood on end, but Charon patted him on the head.

"Stop making trouble, little brother. You're the one delaying the journey now."

"But—"

"Keep it up, and don't blame me for telling Father when we get back."

Verde instantly froze. After a moment, he spat resentfully and silently returned to the middle of the group.

"Please forgive him. He's been spoiled since childhood." Charon spread his hands.

Sithran nodded but said nothing.

Charon seemed to believe that they had deliberately left the Skeleton Monster behind to shut Verde up.

In reality—

I actually failed to notice that a monster was hiding there. How embarrassing! Sithran's face secretly reddened, but fortunately, it was pitch-black here, and no one noticed.

"I found this inside the skull," the chubby Map Expert suddenly said, taking out a filthy strip of cloth. "It says, 'To enter the fortress, three Beacon Towers must be lit.'"

"Let me see." Sithran took it and looked. "There's a map here too. This is way too abstract. Who can understand it?"

"I can," the Map Expert raised his hand.

"Seriously?" Sithran was stunned.

The Map Expert pointed at the abstract map on the cloth. "Look, this spot is the path we came in through. These uneven boulders are very conspicuous. This irregular pattern should refer to that small hill nearby, and the dark area is probably the fortress."

He went on and on without pausing.

"As expected of an expert..." Aili stared in amazement.

"Heh, that's the caliber of the people my family hired." Verde regained his haughty demeanor.

After some discussion, everyone followed the Map Expert's guidance through the muddy swamp and arrived at a raised patch of high ground.

A pitch-black Beacon Tower stood at the summit, and a winding path circling the high ground led toward it.

"I'll go first." Shuen raised his shield. The path was narrow, so they could only proceed in single file.

Sure enough, after he had taken only a few steps, a spear struck the shield with a bang, sending sparks flying.

Shuen grabbed the spear and yanked it back. Taking advantage of the attacker's panic as it was pulled over, he swung his sword, and a scream pierced the sky.

Looking closely, it was a Large Goblin. This type of monster was larger than ordinary Goblins, with limbs closer to those of humans, making it stronger in every aspect.

[Large Goblin (Spear)]

[Mental Power Required per Unit: 10]

[Life: E, Strength: E+, Intelligence: F+, Endurance: D, Speed: E, Combat Power: E]

The instant the Large Goblin was slain, two more spears stabbed at Shuen from the front and above. Several clumps of grass attached to the rock wall quivered slightly, and in the blink of an eye, four short monsters made of vines sprang out!

[Grass Man]

[Mental Power Required per Unit: 6]

[Life: F, Strength: F+, Intelligence: F+, Endurance: F, Speed: E, Combat Power: F+]

[Low-Tier Fireball Spell]!

The scorching Fireball blasted the monsters apart just in time. Arrows that followed pierced through the Goblins' heads, and Shuen charged onto the high ground. Danya appeared from nowhere and leaped onto his shoulder.

After a burst of fighting, the high ground fell silent.

Then orange Flame rose up, and thick smoke drifted into the sky.

"Nice!"

Sithran could not help but smile.

But suddenly, she felt something strange, as if some evil presence were watching her.

She whipped her head around and found the source.

Not far away, a pair of enormous eyeballs emerged from the swamp, staring at her eerily.

It was a monster she had never seen before, so she could not understand its terror.

[Curse Frog]

[Mental Power Required per Unit: 25]

[Life: E, Strength: E, Intelligence: E, Endurance: E, Speed: D, Combat Power: E]

Low Combat Power did not mean the Curse Frog was weak.