Cthulhu Gonfalon

Even for adventurers, the Wild Marsh of Ancient Woods was the most dangerous place on the whole continent.

Here, there were many scary beasts and monsters, as well as countless snakes and poisonous insects. In addition, the natural environment here was truly terrible. Solid, dry ground was a rare sight. Small puddles covered with duckweed or algae were everywhere, and making your way through them was virtually impossible. Even an advanced adventurer like Ray was not sure what he would step into, a comparatively solid yet muddy patch of ground, or a deep mud pit.

Moreover, the swampy air was very humid. Shrubs and vines grew everywhere, as well as numerous drooping tree branches that intertwined with each other. When Ray was walking, he had to cut down these branches with his ax to clear a path.

Often times, the unpleasant surprise of snakes or beasts waited behind these branches. More than once, when Ray cut off a branch, a viper slithered out, ready to attack.

Luckily, Ray was strong and clever, and he’d received many warnings from other adventurers. From the moment he set foot in the marsh, he had been very careful and alert, so he managed to stay out of harm’s way.

The branches were a real nuisance and as a result, Ray’s progress was slow, especially when he came close to the brink of the swamp where the soil was a bit harder. There it was more difficult for him to proceed.

Ray easily overcame most of these obstacles, but he didn’t know how to react to the dangers hidden under the mud. Ray was indeed powerful, but no matter how powerful he was, he had to stand on solid ground. One minute, taking a wary step, he’d step on mud mixed with some flexible weeds, but then with his next step, the mud and weeds would break and he’d be stuck in a mud pit.

Since the trees here were very dense, the canopy overhead blocked the sunlight, so even at midday, it was rather dim. Otherwise, it was completely dark, and Ray couldn’t see anything at all.

After Ray had gotten stuck in a mud pit a few times, Sui Xiong used a spell to make an invisible floating plate one meter off the ground and asked Ray to stand on it. This floating plate spell was a simple, entry-level bit of magic, and it could bear things that weren’t too heavy. For new and young wizards, this was an easy spell to practice. It allowed them to cross muddy, rough roads or perhaps easily transport their luggage. The spell could last quite some time; even a wizard like Palin could make it last for four to five hours, and as for Sui Xiong…

Normally, a spell could last at least a day, and when a wizard had slept enough, he could practice the same spell again. So basically, the duration of a spell should be one day. Most of the time, to make a spell last the whole day, a wizard had to practice the skill called “prolonging the time of a spell”, which would keep the spell active the entire day. .

But Sui Xiong could easily make the floating plate spell last for over a day. When Steele asked how long this spell could last, to find out its exact duration, Sui Xiong created another floating spell. Surprisingly, this floating plate didn’t disappear until the third day’s morning, and no one even realized it had disappeared. When they finally noticed it was gone, it was already night.

“That is really very impressive!” Steele praised him. “Your Majesty, you are a real god! I have never heard of a wizard that can make a spell last for this long without the help of other spells!”

Ray was counting how long the spell had lasted in his mind, and was also very impressed by its duration. I never thought the jellyfish that I wore as a hat was such a powerful wizard!

Ray and Steele were not satisfied with their inexact measurement of the spell’s length, so Sui Xiong practiced another spell and decided to count the exact time, even if it meant that he had to stay up all night.

“Yes, I am also very curious about how long this spell will last,” Ray said.

“Me too!”

However, things never happen exactly according to plan. The next day, they ran into some unexpected issues.

After lunch, they set off. Because of the King of Sex and Lust, Sui Xiong now had a different view on being apotheosized. So he focused on reading the materials from the God of Redemption, comparing the contents he read with what he’d learned about the King of Sex and Lust, trying to figure something out.

He was focused on reading, so he did not realize something was staring at Ray in a very hostile way. In fact, he was not to blame for his carelessness this time, since there was no need for him to be at full attention after Ray and Steele had gotten used to the environment in the dense forest.

Steele, a holy spirit, was flying high above. She could even change between her virtual and physical forms at her will. From time to time, she would change into virtual form, and the dense branches, vines, snakes and ferocious beasts could no longer hurt her. She could easily glide through the forest in the marsh and see if there was any danger awaiting them up ahead. If there was, she would come back and report to Sui Xiong.

Ray, who was riding the floating plate, no longer worried whether he would get stuck in a mud pit. Since he was also very good at riding a horse, he adapted quickly to riding the floating plate. While proceeding, he used his ax to cut down any vines or branches impeding his path. Occasionally, some snakes or poisonous insects would attack him, but he managed to get rid of them.

Apart from the inherent dangers and the dimness, the severe environment of the marsh was already not a big deal for him anymore.

Then, right at this moment, something happened!

Steele was flying above the canopy to find a perfect spot to camp—in a place like this, it was always wise to scout ahead for a campsite, even if it was only midday. Ray was still making his way on the floating plate, cutting down branches so he could continue, and everything looked perfectly normal.

However, as he cut off a vine the size of his arm, from the muddy water nearby, a huge black figure rushed towards him and attacked. Ray wasn’t prepared for this at all. He instantly retaliated with his ax and cut the black figure. But the sharp ax was useless, since this black figure was smooth, soft and pliable.

Still, this strike had an effect: the black figure changed its direction and brushed past Ray. He immediately pulled out his sword.

This sword was not only well-made but was also sharpened by enchantments from advanced wizards. Clearly, this sword was high-quality, even among all other magical weapons. With his sword in hand, Ray wasn’t afraid of anything, not even a huge dragon. This black figure couldn’t be stronger than a dragon, right?

Ray shouted and jumped, but he immediately sensed that he was in great danger, so he jumped backwards instead.

The black figure skimmed over him again, and at the same time, a strong wind with the stinking smell of rotten fish blew toward him. He felt as if a huge tree had fallen or a mountain had collapsed in front of him. In fact, Ray had only brushed the black figure, but the floating plate shattered into pieces. The pieces fell into the muddy water, which rose all around Ray as high as a wall on each side.

Ray was falling and there was no solid ground for him to stand on, but he wasn’t afraid. He was so angry that his eyes grew wide. Holding his long sword and seeing that he was about to be bumped into the muddy wall of water, he cut the water with his sword. Immediately he heard the sound of an ax cutting a tree.

He’d managed to make a crack in the water wall, and before he could even take a breath, a large, fierce mouth was approaching him.

At this moment, Ray finally saw what this black figure really was: a huge, terrifying snake. Its body was flat and even wider than he was tall, and it looked to be at least ten meters long. Each of its gray scales was larger than his palm. It had a triangular head, with red, scary eyes and a mouth so big that it seemed like it could devour an ox in one bite. At the same time, the rotten fish smell was coming from its mouth, which made Ray feel dizzy. Ray couldn’t see its teeth and tongue, which made him even more terrified.

“What in god’s name is this!” he cursed, pulling out a long spear and stabbing the snake.

Ray was good with both spear and a sword, so he landed a direct hit, right on the inside of the snake’s mouth. Since there were no scales in its mouth, the spear did its job, and he successfully saved himself from being eaten.

But for the snake, this hit wasn’t fatal at all. In fact, the snake didn’t even feel any pain. Instead it just backed away and began to coil up.

As it coiled itself, its head began to shake, and it stuck out its tongue from time to time, just like a normal snake. The only difference was that this snake was as big as a small hill.

Ray turned over and steadied himself on a thick branch, with a spear in his left hand and a sword in his right.

If he were honest with himself, even Ray wasn’t so sure he could defeat this snake. He was quite confident with his kung fu, but he had never fought a snake and he didn’t know how to approach this battle.

He’d never had time before to learn this from someone else—and besides, who in the world could teach him how to fight a snake anyways? All he could do now was try his best to defeat this awful creature.

Luckily, he had a powerful backup, since he knew Steele would come back soon.

If things get out of control, I can just throw the jellyfish into its mouth…and it’ll definitely be stuffed to death then!

With this plan in mind, Ray raised his sword and spear and prepared to fight.