Book 11: Chapter 22: Water Wraith

As the Dragonfly nest was a dangerous place, Qin Lun and his team of seven moved in combat formation.

At the very front were the Rogues Lago and Mastashia, though Mastashia only guided them. Lago, with his swift movements, scouted ahead. Behind them were Hill and Sif. Hill possessed healing and support abilities and could help any Rogue in danger.

Further back were the two ranged attackers: the female Mage Winnie and Qin Lun, the team’s primary damage dealers. Bringing up the rear was the heavily armored Knight, Rick, who would cover their retreat if the Dragonfly nest was alerted.

Winnie was not far behind Qin Lun when she was in trouble.

“Swift Wind Step!” Qin Lun’s expression darkened. Reacting almost without thought, he darted forward like a whirlwind, reaching out and grabbing Winnie’s wrist, then pulling back hard.

“So heavy!” Yet, Qin Lun immediately felt a flicker of surprise. Despite his current Explosive Power attribute, he hadn’t managed to budge her. One of the female Mage’s feet had slipped beneath the water’s surface, her entire body leaning at nearly a 45-degree angle towards the lake.

“Whoosh…” Something even more astonishing happened next. Qin Lun quickly realized it was him being pulled towards the lake by Winnie.

“Ah!” Winnie, who had been exceptionally calm moments before, suddenly screamed loudly.

“How is this possible? Is this woman an elephant? How heavy is she… Hmm? Something’s in the water?” Qin Lun’s mind worked swiftly. He quickly guessed the truth. The Yin-Yang Fish Pattern appeared in his left eye as he focused his gaze under the lake surface.

“What is that?” Taking a look, Qin Lun raised an eyebrow in astonishment.

The images from Staring Aura were always outlines in black and white, but it was enough to see the strange thing in the swamp lake.

Wrapped tightly around Winnie’s slender calf submerged in the water, a pair of transparent arms gripped her ankle. Following the transparent arms down, Qin Lun saw they belonged to a young woman.

Her hair drifted in the water. She was barefoot and wore a torn, floating dress, her lovely chest half-exposed above its ragged collar. Of course, like her transparent arms, everything about her was transparent. Her hair and dress undulating with the currents made her look like a humanoid jellyfish.

If it were only this, it might not have terrified Winnie, a seasoned mercenary. But the face of this underwater woman was horrifying. Though there was no blood or wounds, her plastic-mask-like face held two colorless, transparent pupils staring fixedly at the female Mage.

Winnie felt like she was suffocating. She swore she wasn’t afraid of ghosts. Yet, being locked in that dead stare by the transparent woman, feeling the icy chill creeping up from her ankle, and the forgotten nightmares surfacing from the depths of her mind made her feel like she was falling into an ice cave. She only wanted to escape as far as possible.

Qin Lun behind Winnie could see even more with Staring Aura. He saw the underwater Ghost and also observed other ghosts emerging from the bases of the fig tree’s submerged aerial roots, slowly closing in. Their sheer number made his scalp prickle.

“Up!” Qin Lun felt tremendous force pulling on his left arm; Rick, bringing up the rear, had rushed over. Together, they finally managed to pull Winnie back from the water’s edge.

It might have been an illusion, but at the exact moment Winnie’s leg left the water, Qin Lun thought he faintly heard a sigh of disappointment.

“Winnie!” The Rogues Lago and Mastashia, scouting ahead, had heard the female Mage’s scream. But by the time they rushed back, the immediate danger had passed.

“What was that?” Qin Lun looked at the still-shaken female Mage and then described the underwater ghost he encountered to the Highland Elf.

“It’s a Water Wraith. Didn’t any of you ask about the most famous dangers in the Death Lands before coming here?” Mastashia’s expression was strange. She couldn’t believe none of them had inquired about the Water Wraiths of the Death Lands; otherwise, she would have warned them earlier.

“Ahem, our departure was very rushed!” Qin Lun chuckled with slight embarrassment. The Thornblood Trio had found them, and the party had set off almost immediately. He had assumed the mercenaries knew a bit about the area.

“What is a Water Wraith? A kind of Ghost?” Lago asked curiously.

“No. Ghosts are undead beings, their core is a Soul Fire. Strictly speaking, high-level undead belong to Sapient Races,” Mastashia explained seriously. “But Water Wraiths are different. They have no Soul Fire. They are merely fragments of consciousness bound by intense, specific emotions from their past lives. Affected by the environment of the Death Lands, they’ve become like this.”

“You all know the Death Lands were an ancient battlefield long ago?” Mastashia continued. “Countless people died here. Though they didn’t become undead, the sheer number created a bizarre aura effect. It allows fragments of the dead’s most intense emotional memories to linger. After the Death Lands became a swamp, these memory fragments merged with all the marsh lakes. Legend says that beneath every aerial root of every fig tree in the Death Lands, a Water Wraith is bound. If most Water Wraiths couldn’t leave the water, the Sword Coast would likely face an unimaginable calamity.”

“One under every root?!” The group stared at the thick aerial roots exposed above the water’s surface and collectively drew a sharp breath.

The fig trees in the Death Marsh were mostly enormous, each with hundreds of roots submerged underwater. Though the vegetation wasn’t as dense as a typical forest, the marsh’s vast area meant there were easily thousands of fig trees. Converting this to Water Wraith numbers was terrifying; it almost equated to the entire population of a medium-sized nation.

“Hey, Winnie, just some ghost-like things, no need to be this terrified, right?” Lago waved his hand in front of the dazed female Mage’s face, hoping to snap her out of it.

“Don’t bother her,” Mastashia gently pulled the Rogue away. “Water Wraiths have a level of mental intimidation to varying degrees for all living things. It’s said their eyes reflect what the viewer fears most deeply within. We don’t know what she saw, but it definitely wasn’t the Water Wraith itself.”

“That scary!” Lago gave a dry chuckle and mumbled, moving away.

“Hey, guys, I think we need to get going… That way seems… active?” While they whispered, Sif’s timid voice sounded just in time.

“Dragonflies! Damn it, I forgot about them!” Rick glanced back and his face paled instantly. He cursed under his breath and urgently signaled everyone to move out quickly.

Winnie’s scream earlier had alerted the Dragonfly nest only tens of meters away. Though the disturbance wasn’t huge, over a dozen Dragonflies active outside the nest headed towards them.

“We’re too close to the nest. We can’t fight here. Stay protected, put distance between us and the nest before we deal with these pursuers,” Mastashia remained calm. Supporting Winnie with one arm, she began dragging her forward.

“Protect Hill!” Qin Lun nodded to Rand, then grabbed Sif beside him and followed Mastashia.

Spellcasters couldn’t use magic now; they had little choice but to be carried along. Only Rick remained far behind, acting as a living target to distract the Dragonflies. After all, he was fully armored; a few stings wouldn’t significantly hurt him.

The sudden increase in speed drew the Dragonflies’ attention. These large insectoid beasts were agile, but their flight wasn’t particularly fast. Nevertheless, the distance shrank over time. Rick, hanging back, was soon surrounded by several Dragonflies.

Once enclosed, the Knight received multiple rapid jabs aimed at his helmeted head. Alas, though their stingers were sharp, they proved ineffective against the metal ‘tin can’.

Wary of disturbing the massive swarm at the nest, Rick dared not fight back much. He merely kept waving his arms in front of his face for visibility. His companions ahead, watching him closely, could clearly see how Rick’s running pace slowed down significantly, likely affected by the Dragonflies’ innate magic.

“We should count ourselves lucky only a dozen or so Dragonflies came after us. Any more, and Rick wouldn’t be moving now,” Mastashia remarked with relief as she glanced back, increasing her pace.

After sprinting over a hundred meters, the nest behind them became obscured by the fog, just a fuzzy dark shadow.

“Look. They’re coming this way,” Sif, being dragged by Qin Lun, said in a low voice.

The group looked back. Indeed, several Dragonflies previously harassing the Knight now peeled away and flew towards those running ahead. These large insects weren’t entirely mindless. Tackling the tough metal tin can? Much easier to pursue the other prey.

“Is this far enough?” Cold gleamed in Qin Lun’s eyes as he asked Mastashia.

“Almost. We haven’t completely left the Dragonfly territory, but it shouldn’t stop us leaving now,” Mastashia understood his meaning. Nodding, she slung her longbow off her shoulder.

“Unnecessary. Let me handle it. It’ll be faster!” Just then, Rand stepped forward and gestured for Mastashia to stop.

“Are you sure? Remote attacks are safer against Dragonflies!” Mastashia looked at Rand with puzzlement.

“Leave it to him. Killing them one by one wastes too much time!” Qin Lun and Rand exchanged a knowing smile. “Firecracker, show me your progress!”

“Won’t disappoint!” Rand shrugged, then extended both hands. Floating above each palm was a shimmering orb of heat.

These orbs differed from a Magician’s fireball. They resembled spheres of molten rock. Hot magma seeped through their cracks, dripping onto the damp ground where it instantly vaporized with hisses of steam.