110: Fierce fighting by the water

Chapter 109: Fierce Battle by the Water

The sun had already set.

The mist lingering over the swamp was slowly dissipating, as if its only purpose was to obscure the daylight.

The surroundings were still shrouded in a hazy gloom.

A hidden path connected the swamp to the moonshiners' camp.

They found this path because of the scattered debris at its entrance—empty wine bottles, small wooden boxes, and some everyday tools.

Arthur signaled everyone to be vigilant, then led the team onto the path.

Drax drew his axe and took the lead, while Flora brought up the rear.

Above them, intertwined branches wove a dense, impenetrable canopy.

As they went deeper, the sound of flowing water became clearer.

There was nothing else on the path except for scattered wine bottles.

Before long, the group arrived at a gently flowing stream.

Using a light spell, they saw a makeshift shack standing by the riverbank, covered with leaves and other still-green plants.

The orc twitched his nose a few times and said, "I smell alcohol."

Old Joe nodded, "Yes, if I'm not mistaken, this should be an illegal brewing den."

He pointed to the wooden barrels in front of the shack, and the equipment for boiling and fermenting ingredients scattered on the ground.

"Be careful, let's go take a look," Arthur said.

"Perhaps we should light a campfire," Flora suggested.

In the clearing in front of the shack, there was a pile of campfire remnants and some broken tents.

Numerous mud crabs were crawling around in this abandoned camp—these crabs, no bigger than half a palm, were the most common creatures in the swamp.

According to Airo, they ate almost anything, even carrion.

Arthur nodded, signaling Flora to light the fire.

The campfire was rekindled, and the entire camp immediately became much brighter.

The mud crabs scrambled to escape the light, many burrowing into the nearby reeds.

Like most monsters in Qingfeng Valley, they disliked light and preferred to be active in the dark.

At this moment, frog croaks rose and fell, and foraging bats swarmed out, circling and flying in the night sky.

Old Joe took out a small box of ointment from his backpack, applied it to himself, and said to the others, "This is a good place to camp."

"We can move the carriage over here."

Arthur shook his head, "We're not camping here, it's too dangerous."

"Search carefully, we might find something useful. Remember, be very careful, especially mindful of the water."

Old Joe shrugged and handed the ointment to Flora beside him, "Rub some on your exposed skin. This is an insect repellent I formulated, it prevents poisonous insect bites."

Although everyone didn't understand why Arthur brought them here, they obediently began to search the abandoned camp.

The camp was full of traces, clearly indicating that a battle had taken place.

Footprints of large monsters were everywhere, and Arthur immediately recognized them as belonging to giant toads.

"Hey, guys, look what I found!"

Old Joe shouted to the others, holding a lantern he found in a tent.

No sooner had he spoken than a rustling sound came from the surrounding reeds.

The frog croaks became increasingly shrill, like an alarm, then suddenly ceased.

The orc narrowed his eyes and scanned his surroundings. With his dark vision, he saw many zombies emerging from the reeds and underwater.

They were groaning and shambling towards the four.

Using the light, Arthur judged that these people had not been dead long.

Their bodies had not fully decomposed, and the mud crabs hadn't had time to devour them completely.

The four immediately took up their stances, ready to face the enemy.

Although Old Joe claimed to be scared, he didn't flinch when things actually happened.

He opened the lantern cover and pulled a bomb from his backpack.

Just as the zombies crawled ashore, a huge commotion came from the water.

Immediately after, a zombie was suddenly pulled backward and quickly disappeared underwater.

"What the hell was that!" Old Joe stared intently at the water.

More and more zombies were dragged into the water one after another.

"It's giant toads!" Arthur answered, "Watch out for their tongues."

A thick, dark red tongue shot out from under the water, striking directly.

The orc spun to avoid it, then swung his axe, severing the sticky tongue.

Immediately after, giant toads leaped out from the reeds and the stream, one after another.

Although named "giant," these creatures were actually only about the size of a horse.

For ordinary people, they were deadly enough, but in front of Arthur and his companions, these attackers were clearly not enough.

The orc charged first, rushing towards the toad closest to him.

He didn't charge blindly but cleverly positioned himself between the toad and his companions, protecting those behind him.

Flora was responsible for dealing with enemies emerging from the reeds.

She deftly dodged a toad's spitting tongue and kicked its flank with a flying kick.

Old Joe lit the bomb's fuse and, before the enemy could get close, threw it forcefully towards the stream.

"Bomb!" He shouted to the orc.

Two seconds later, an explosion roared.

Flying fragments cut the backs and bellies of two toads, making them bleed profusely.

At the same time, the orc had already dealt with the first enemy.

Just as he was about to slay the second toad, the stream suddenly surged violently.

A toad much larger than its kin leaped out from under the water and jumped directly onto the bank.

The ground trembled slightly the moment it landed.

Is this the big toad mentioned in the intelligence?

Arthur looked at the monster in front of him, secretly surprised.

This creature was as big as a packhorse, its mouth full of fine teeth.

It stared intently at the glowing staff in Arthur's hand, clearly disgusted by the light.

It opened its mouth, its tongue poised within.

Just then, the water surface surged again, and an even larger figure rushed onto the bank.

Before anyone could see what it was, the large toad from before was bitten and dragged into the water.

The successive changes stunned everyone.

The giant toads also seemed to sense the danger, croaking and retreating into the water.

The four quickly gathered together, each on high alert.

"Did you see that thing?" Old Joe asked.

The orc exhaled and replied, "It's an alligator, bigger than an ox."

Old Joe gasped, "By the Binder, I actually wanted to camp in this cursed place just now."

A moment later, a series of low roars came from the stream.

The four saw a small alligator crawl out of the water onto the bank.

It stared at Arthur and his companions, constantly emitting low growls.

Drax recognized it as the one they had saved not long ago.

He immediately said angrily, "This ungrateful bastard, it led that big one here."

The small alligator approached closer. Drax raised his axe, but Arthur put a hand on his arm.

Arthur quickly stepped forward, ignoring his companions' warnings, and slowly approached the alligator, asking, "You want us to follow you?"

The small alligator seemed to understand him and nodded.

Arthur moved a bit closer, then saw the huge alligator lurking in the stream.

Its yellowish-orange eye was staring at him.

At this distance, it could swallow him in one rush.

Arthur calmly asked his companions, "I remember there's a raft in the camp, right?"

Flora replied, "That's right, it's behind us."

"Good, we'll follow them," Arthur ordered.