Book 11: Chapter 20: Deep into the Forbidden Zone

Before the sky was fully bright, Qin Lun brought Mastashia back to their previous campsite. Their companions at the camp had already packed their belongings and were quietly waiting for his return.

When they saw him, their expressions did not change. However, they frequently glanced at the tall beauty behind him, which made Qin Lun a little annoyed. After all, he had gone out alone to pursue the enemy. Upon asking Rand, he learned that this was actually Hill’s doing.

The three serial killers were an Apostle team. As long as a member’s codename didn’t disappear, they naturally knew Qin Lun was fine. The Old Charlatan used this to tell Rick and the others that he had a mental connection with Qin Lun and knew he was not in danger. Since Hill, as a companion, said so, Rick and the others, who had originally planned to go search for Qin Lun, gave up the search.

“Qin Lun, so this is the result of your pursuit? You brought another one back!” Rand winked at Qin Lun.

“What do you mean, ‘brought another one back’…” Qin Lun was caught between laughter and tears. Seeing that Rick and the others also looked puzzled, he had to explain Mastashia’s background in detail.

Of course, he left out the part about him being the prince of Seopia, only saying that the Highland Elf was here to investigate the disappearance of the expedition team.

He thought Rick and the others would surely have doubts about Mastashia joining them. Surprisingly, the Thornblood Mercenary Corps warmly welcomed the Highland Elf’s arrival. They didn’t even question Qin Lun’s flimsy excuse.

Qin Lun later found out that this was the shrewdness of the three Thornblood Mercenaries. The Harpers Alliance was a very special presence on the Faerûn continent. On one hand, high-ranking officials of various countries feared them because they did not follow established rules. On the other hand, mercenary corps and merchant caravans in various regions greatly welcomed them to join their adventure teams.

This was because most Harpers roamed across the entire continent. Each was a knowledgeable and experienced adventurer. As long as the purpose of their adventure did not conflict with the team’s objectives, Harpers were the best guides for adventurer teams.

“Your companions are quite interesting!” Mastashia glanced at Hill and Rand a few times, a hint of wariness in her eyes.

As a sharp-eyed Harper Master, Mastashia could sense the true strength of Hill and the other, which did not surprise Qin Lun. However, the look Mastashia gave Rick and the other three always seemed a bit meaningful to him, further confirming that the origins of those three guys were not simple.

“Alright, since you are all prepared, let’s set off. We shouldn’t delay the rescue of the victims any longer.” Mastashia looked at the neatly prepared team, clapped her hands, and naturally took over the leadership of the group.

Regarding this, the three serial killers looked at each other and did not voice any futile objections. Having a guide familiar with the terrain command the team was fine with Rick and the other three. Only a certain employer, forgotten by everyone, was silently drawing circles in a corner.

As they had reached the outer edge of the Death Lands, the zebras and the wagon were left in a spacious fenced enclosure with plenty of fodder.

These gentle hoofed creatures were very clever. As long as there were no wild beasts disturbing them, they would stay until the fodder was finished. If Qin Lun and the others did not return on time, hunger would drive them to jump over the fence and run back to Baldur’s Gate on their own.

Everyone carried dry rations, water, and some necessary tools as they headed into the heart of the Death Lands. For them, the real adventure was just beginning.

Throughout the morning, Qin Lun and the others followed Mastashia deep into the swamp without stopping. The Highland Elf had searched here for a considerable time before and was already very familiar with the entire periphery.

The Death Lands were very vast, roughly a square area. Qin Lun estimated it covered at least hundreds of thousands of square kilometers. In other words, the shortest distance to cross the swamp was several hundred kilometers. Even if they walked in a straight line without any obstacles, it would take over ten days.

As the team ventured deeper into the Death Lands, the swamp’s geographical features became more pronounced. If the place where they had camped before still showed some signs of activity by sapient races, this area was completely pristine land.

Compared to the outer edges of the region, the swamp banyan trees here were thicker and taller. Their fuzzy branches hung down like willow catkins. The ground became increasingly muddy, with murky puddles everywhere. Worm-like soft-bodied creatures would wiggle out of the soil when stepped on, then burrow into the nearby mud.

“Be careful, these are swamp bloodsucking loaches. Don’t let them crawl onto you. If they get under your skin, it will be troublesome. If they break off inside your body, it will definitely rot.” Mastashia’s warning made everyone’s faces turn even grimmer.

The other female magician, Winnie, was even more exaggerated. Already wearing many layers, she immediately added a woolen cloak upon hearing this, wrapping herself up tightly. She looked like a plump doll, both cute and ridiculous.

The tall trees in the swamp were not very dense, quite different from a typical forest. At least they didn’t block out the sunlight.

However, the swamp was still not very bright. Thick fog filled the air, making things beyond a hundred meters basically unclear. The fog lay over everyone like a heavy quilt, making them feel short of breath and extremely stifled.

Qin Lun happened to glance at his Death Notice and was surprised to find a new abnormal status called “Marsh Gas Erosion.” All his major physical attributes were reduced by 10% to 15%, almost canceling out the attribute boost he got from the Iron Cross Medal.

“This place is indeed strange!” After warning Hill and the other, Qin Lun sighed to himself. This was the first time he encountered attribute suppression caused by a geographical environment.

“Put this over your faces, it will make you feel better.” Mastashia timely handed each person a wet cloth to use as a mask.

“What a pungent smell…” Winnie couldn’t help but raise her hand to rub her eyes, wiping away the tears caused by the irritation.

As soon as Mastashia’s wet cloth covered his face, Qin Lun immediately smelled a very pungent odor. However, after his respiratory tract got somewhat used to the smell, the abnormal status on the Death Notice seemed to disappear.

“What is this?” the rogue Lago asked in surprise.

“A wakefulness potion I mixed myself. Pretty good, right?” Mastashia was a little proud. “After my last visit to the Death Lands, I went back and specially concocted this potion.”

The Highland Elf said this, then rolled her eyes and turned to mock Qin Lun, “You’re such a failure as a hunter. Apart from your passable combat ability, you’re pretty much a novice when it comes to adapting to the environment. How can that count as a High-Rank hunter?”

Hearing this, Qin Lun smiled wryly. For the first time, he had to admit that his mastery of the Hunter Profession was not thorough enough. This was also where he lagged most behind those High-Rank Apostles. Rapid promotion only increased his combat strength, but he still lacked accumulation in other areas.

They chatted as they walked, and the first day passed peacefully without incident.

The sky in the swamp darkened faster than outside. As soon as Mastashia noticed the light fading, she immediately stopped their advance. She led everyone to a giant banyan tree, had them clear the top canopy a bit, and they rested there for the night.

When they got up on the second day, the Apostles like Qin Lun were fine, but Rick and the other three looked weary. They hadn’t slept well at all. It wasn’t that the swamp nights were full of dangers. On the contrary, it was very quiet all night, even deathly silent. Not a single insect chirp or bird call could be heard; it was like a terrifying graveyard.

The only ones who seemed accustomed to all this were Mastashia and Sif. Sif had been here several times before, though only circling the outskirts, so he was mentally prepared for this environment.

As for Mastashia, she seemed naturally immune to this environment. According to her, this was called adaptability, but Qin Lun thought it was just because the Highland Elf was thick-skinned, her brain automatically filtering out many frightening associations.

This somewhat boring exploration situation finally began to change on the afternoon of the third day. To be precise, they had finally completely passed through the swamp’s outer region and entered the true Death Zone.

From this point on, the puddles on the ground began to connect into larger areas. Many places turned into ponds, even lakes. The ground became increasingly slippery. Looking into the distance, surrounded by stretches of lakes, the black soil looked like isolated log bridges deep within the lakes. Some even concealed mud pits.

Lago, who was scouting ahead, accidentally stepped into a mud pit. His entire lower leg sank in. When he pulled it out, over a dozen bloodsucking loaches were stuck to his leggings.

However, the expedition team had prepared for this situation in advance. Rick took out several pairs of specially made wide-plank straw shoes from his backpack and gave them to everyone.

These straw shoes had wide soles that could be worn over their leather boots. They had an anti-slip effect and could even allow standing on mud pits.

Mastashia was tall; among the group, only Rick could match her height. The knight gave her one of his spare pairs of straw shoes.

Additionally, everyone found it strange that Rick, wearing a full suit of steel armor, never sank into the soft ground.

According to his vague explanation, his armor was engraved with constant magical runes inside. Their effect was similar to a mage’s Light Body Technique and could be activated by embedding Magic Crystals. This way, the armor’s weight was reduced, allowing him to wear it under any condition.

Hearing Rick’s explanation, everyone’s doubts were resolved, but they all looked at him with odd expressions. After all, such armor was no ordinary item. Qin Lun guessed it must be at least High-Rank Dark Gold grade, possibly even Legendary Equipment level.

Mastashia, who had already been paying a lot of attention to Rick, now glanced at him even more frequently, giving him fiery looks. This provoked Winnie to glare at her angrily several times. If not for Lago stopping her in secret, the hot-tempered female mage would probably have tried to hit the Highland Elf with her staff.

Qin Lun and the others knew Mastashia wasn’t actually interested in Rick. They figured she probably knew a bit about the knight’s identity and origins, which explained her strange behavior.

“It would be great if we could get some Plot Mission clues from these two.” Qin Lun and Hill began exchanging glances secretly, their smiles as ambiguous as could be.

“Wait!” Just as everyone thought the day would pass like this again, Mastashia, finally snapping out of it, suddenly frowned and stopped the team. “Not good, I think I took the wrong path. There might be big trouble ahead.”