Just moments ago, Sekashi had experienced something utterly absurd.
As a Scale-claw Shaman of the lizardfolk, she had always believed herself to be worldly-wise, thinking there was nothing left in the swamp that could surprise her.
But today she realized how wrong that notion had been.
A slime speaking was something she had genuinely never witnessed before.
The moment she heard the slime in her palm speak, Sekashi's mind went completely blank. Several seconds passed before she seemed to grasp something.
"Messenger of Putu, please accept my gratitude."
Chen Yu heard the female lizardfolk before him uttering completely unfamiliar syllables. Though he didn't understand the language she spoke, he could comprehend the meaning she intended to convey.
Putu?
Could this be some kind of belief system among the lizardfolk?
"Sekashi."
"A Scale-claw Shaman."
Sekashi noticed that the messenger before her seemed to have difficulty understanding the demi-human language, so she specifically emphasized.
"The name means 'swamp water'."
Huh?
So he had picked up a lizardfolk shaman.
"Where did you all come from?"
"Ah?"
Sekashi was taken aback.
Did the messenger not know about the world beyond the swamp?
"The riverbank outside the swamp... we live there... far from this place."
There's a river beyond the swamp forest?
"What's beyond the river?"
"That's human territory. I've heard there's an adventurer town on the opposite shore, but Sekashi has never been there, only heard about it..."
Sekashi's voice grew progressively weaker as she spoke, feeling ashamed of her own ignorance.
There are humans and adventurer towns too?
So that means there might be human-established kingdoms across the riverbank.
No wonder he hadn't encountered any humans since being born here - the demi-human tribes along the riverbank must be blocking the adventurers' progress.
"Why were those lizardfolk and those dog-like creatures chasing you?"
Chen Yu's description caused Sekashi's mouth corners to twitch upward almost imperceptibly, revealing her amusement. But she immediately caught this subtle expression change, quickly composing herself as she realized her disrespect, hastily explaining.
"Honorable Messenger, I was merely pleased by your description of gnolls as dogs, not intending any offense toward you."
Without Chen Yu needing to ask further, she proceeded to clearly explain the entire story from beginning to end.
Chen Yu learned much from her account.
The lizardfolk believe in Three Spirits, considering that every lizardfolk possesses three souls within them: the Scale-claw Spirit representing power, the Flesh-blood Spirit representing life, and the Swamp Spirit representing nature.
"The Coiler" Yesara, master of life and black scales, is the ancestral spirit regarded as unattainable in lizardfolk eyes, having ascended to divinity since ancient times. This was once the most widespread faith among lizardfolk, but as divine miracles ceased to manifest and the Flesh-blood Spirit's rituals lost effectiveness, it has gradually been forgotten by the lizardfolk.
Meanwhile, the Bog Spirit Putu symbolizes nature, serving as the ancient swamp guardian. Its form is said to be a shapeless mass of swamp mud, very similar to a slime, which is why slimes are often considered descendants of Putu by the lizardfolk.
Sekashi is the last remaining natural faith follower in her lizardfolk tribe, which explains why she holds such reverence for slimes.
"Our tribe has dwelled along the Reed River for generations, united together against the cold, deadly Winter Years."
"If not for the corruption of Morgul's faith..."
Chen Yu learned that winters in Zeyarila seem far from simple, sometimes lasting an entire year.
For the lizardfolk tribes along the riverbank, nothing matters more than having enough to eat and wear during Winter Years, and keeping companions alive.
The previous Winter Year had just ended, and both the lizardfolk and gnoll tribes had starved throughout the year, leaving them with no food reserves, forcing them to risk venturing deep into the swamp to search for sustenance.
During the prolonged winter, the corrupted faith of Morgul had somehow gained popularity within both major tribes.
These demi-humans became obsessively devoted to pursuing the manifestation of the Scale-claw Spirit, deeply ensnared by the deceptive power of corrupted Morgul, gradually sinking into dark abysses.
They reveled in power's intoxication, forgetting the strength of both the Flesh-blood Spirit and Swamp Spirit, willingly becoming accomplices with the gnolls.
Even the faith of the Bog Spirit Putu had been branded as heresy by most corrupted lizardfolk within the tribe, making natural faith followers become the exiled ones.
"Priest Zulok, he's the one manipulating everything from behind the scenes, the very murderer who killed my father with his own hands."
"I must, I must..."
Halfway through her sentence, Sekashi despondently lowered her head.
She realized she could do nothing, completely incapable of opposing the corrupted believers who had taken over her tribe.
"Don't you want to go back?"
"I do."
"But I have no home to return to now..."
"That's fine, you can follow me for now."
Having finally acquired a helper with actual hands and feet, Chen Yu certainly wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away.
Seriously, having hands and feet counted as rare skills in the swamp - they could accomplish so many things.
Moreover, his current body was so short that if he truly tried to leave the swamp forest, he might jump for three days and nights without necessarily getting out.
He'd probably get eaten by some predator along the way.
Having Sekashi explore the outside world on his behalf sounded perfect.
"Is that really alright? I wouldn't want to trouble you..."
"More than that, if that group of demi-humans comes back here, it might cause me some trouble."
Sekashi breathed a sigh of relief, carefully cradling the slime wearing dark carapace armor in her arms.
"Don't worry, Honorable One, there are many dangerous magical creatures along this path. They only managed to penetrate this deep and linger nearby because they were chasing after me these past few days."
"Without natural faith, the swamp becomes a death trap from which there's no return for them."
Faith has that kind of effect?
Chen Yu gained further understanding about this world's wonders.
"Speaking of which, since you escaped from such a distant place, you must be hungry."
"Would you like to try some local specialties?"
Considering himself the host here, how could he not offer hospitality to his guest?
"Local specialties?"
"Indeed, delicious food."
"It can help you recover from your injuries."
Before Sekashi could fully comprehend the meaning of "local specialties," the slime in her arms leaped out, squelching its way into the Poison-stinger Wasp territory.
"Bzzzz—!"
Sekashi initially felt some concern, but then she saw the wasps' poisonous stingers clinking harmlessly against the dark carapace, unable to injure Chen Yu in the slightest.
Then she witnessed a scene that made her brain short-circuit.
A slime actually shooting poisonous stingers from within its body, sweeping through the moss monster farm beneath the tree, infuriating the Poison-stinger Wasps who circled helplessly in the air.
A slime... firing poisonous stingers...
She felt like she was losing her understanding of what a slime actually was.
Then again, normal slimes probably wouldn't appear wearing their natural predators' carapace armor either.
Right.
...Truly worthy of being Putu's messenger.
When Chen Yu returned, he spat out the moss monsters concealed within his gel, looking at Sekashi with expectant, round eyes.
"Eat up, no need to stand on ceremony with me."
Sekashi snapped out of her daze, instinctively picking up a moss monster.
This particular moss monster appeared unexpectedly plump and tender to her eyes, seemingly much more delicious than those found in the swamp forest's outer regions.
Having survived in the swamp forest outskirts for so long, the lizardfolk had naturally eaten everything, moss monsters being no exception.
During her childhood, whenever the Harvest Moon arrived, her father would follow the hunting party into the swamp, returning with baskets full of moss monsters to make into salad for her - her most cherished food.
But now her father was gone...
With faint melancholy, Sekashi bit into the moss monster in her hand.