"We... we're going to fight Poison-stinger Wasps?"
In the camp, Sekashi hugged her freshly maintained oak club tightly, her tail tip trembling slightly, visibly nervous.
Just the thought of Poison-stinger Wasps, these magical creatures, was enough to frighten the lizardfolk.
Even a lone Poison-stinger Wasp could make a strong lizardfolk writhe in pain on the ground.
With worse luck, amputation might be necessary to save one's life.
If they encountered the wasps swarming out in full force, even the larger beasts in the swamp would suffer, and the tribe's most elite hunting team would turn and flee upon seeing them.
Was she going to fight Poison-stinger Wasps... or was she just delivering herself as food for them?
"Are you scared?"
Sekashi nodded, then shook her head, looking somewhat guilty.
"I know natural magic."
She waved the oak club in her hands, making a spellcasting gesture as if this could give her some confidence.
Huh?
So this oak club that could be used as a spiked mace wasn't actually a melee weapon for physically sending Poison-stinger Wasps to the afterlife?
Chen Yu felt he might have misunderstood something.
This was the oak branch he had personally helped select three days ago... The reason for choosing it was simple - it was thick, straight, had substantial weight, and when swung would create a whooshing sound, guaranteeing it could clear out a swarm of Poison-stinger Wasps with one sweep.
If only he had hands, he would have wanted one for himself too.
He never expected that Sekashi was using it as a staff.
No wonder she had been treating this oak branch like a treasure these past few days, carefully peeling its bark, polishing it, and maintaining it with great care.
But clubs and staffs looked quite similar...
They were both sticks, so using it as a staff should be... fine, right?
Chen Yu suddenly felt somewhat guilty, though he maintained the composure expected of an Envoy on the surface.
Sekashi remained completely unaware of his thoughts, still immersed in joy as she displayed the staff in her arms, clearly treating it as her precious treasure.
"My original black willow staff was lost during the escape. Without a staff, spellcasting always felt somewhat awkward."
"But this one is much better!"
"It's made of iron oak, hard and heavy, symbolizing strength and resilience. Using it for spellcasting makes spells less likely to be interrupted."
"You can't find oak of such quality out here."
As long as it works.
"As long as you like it."
Actually, iron oak like this could be found everywhere deep in the swamp, nothing special at all.
But seeing how much she adored it, Chen Yu decisively swallowed the truth that rose to the tip of his tongue.
Forget it, it's a new staff after all, let her enjoy it.
"What spells do you know?"
Chen Yu planned to conduct a thorough pre-battle assessment to better deal with the Poison-stinger Wasps later.
"Spells... I only know two types."
According to Sekashi's introduction, she knew a spell called "Swamp Stealth" that, when cast, could increase the caster's movement speed in swamps while leaving no footprints. When cast on others, the effect was halved.
No wonder he had never seen lizardfolk footprints in the swamp - there was actually such a magical spell.
If Sekashi hadn't lost her staff, those gnolls could have turned the swamp forest upside down and still had difficulty finding her.
"What about the other one?"
"Vine Entanglement. After casting, it can control vines growing in the swamp forest to entangle prey."
"When I went with the hunting team to capture hard-shelled water lizards, I used vines to catch them."
"As for using it against Poison-stinger Wasps... I haven't tried that yet."
When speaking about hunting, Sekashi had initially held her head slightly higher, but when Poison-stinger Wasps were mentioned, she lowered her head again with diminished confidence.
"It's fine, you stay behind and hide, watch me handle this."
Learning about the vine spell increased Chen Yu's confidence.
After all, his main concern wasn't the Poison-stinger Wasps themselves, but that tall oak tree.
Such a tall tree, must be over ten meters high. It would take him forever to crawl to the top, and he'd be harassed by Poison-stinger Wasps along the way, making it difficult to reach the Poison-stinger Wasp headquarters.
If he could use the vines to knock down the Poison-stinger Wasp nest first, dealing with the wasps would become much easier.
"Let's go."
Chen Yu was carried by Sekashi out of the camp, facing the tall oak tree directly.
"Let's move out, our target is to exterminate the Poison-stinger Wasps!"
"Yes, let's go!"
Sekashi was infected by this fervent emotion, her tension dissipating somewhat.
For a moment, she felt as if she had returned to those solemn moments after the Ice-Breaking Festival concluded, when hunting teams would depart.
Tribe members would see them off, praying for them, offering blessings... entering the swamp forest carrying the tribe's hopes, pioneering and hunting.
Now, the tribe was a homeland she could never return to, but here she seemed to have recovered some of what she had lost...
Chen Yu and Sekashi slipped into the swamp, quietly emerging from the water.
It was early morning, and the Poison-stinger Wasps were still resting in their nest, while the usually noisy beetles hid sleeping under tree roots, motionless. If one didn't pay attention, they looked like black stones.
"Envoy, what should we do now?"
"Proceed according to plan, first knock down the Poison-stinger Wasp nest."
"Ah? Oh."
They had a plan?
She didn't know about that.
Never mind, just follow the Envoy's directions.
She raised the oak staff with both hands in the swamp, chanting strange yet rhythmic words.
Chen Yu watched the oak staff with great interest - this was his first time encountering so-called magic, and he observed very carefully.
As Sekashi chanted, the oak staff gradually flowed with green light, like moving swamp water, then dispersed into light spots that floated toward the surroundings of the oak tree.
When the light spots encountered the swamp vines hanging on the oak tree, those vines, to Chen Yu's slight surprise, seemed to come alive, climbing along the oak branches, winding toward the Poison-stinger Wasp nest.
"Buzz—!"
The Poison-stinger Wasps in the tree clearly noticed this eerie phenomenon too. The noisy buzzing of their wings broke the morning tranquility as they swarmed out of their nest, attacking any approaching vines.
But it was already too late - one vine had already climbed to the position of the rotten meat nest, entangling and stirring the area where the rotten meat nest adhered to the oak tree.
After just a few seconds, a large black shadow fell from the treetop to the ground with a "thud."
The Poison-stinger Wasp nest had fallen.
"Success."
Sekashi gripped her staff tightly, cheering internally.
"Good, let's hide first."
Hearing the buzzing from inside the nest, Sekashi prudently submerged into the swamp, asking curiously in her mind.
"What now?"
Lizardfolk inhabit riverbanks and swamps year-round, so holding their breath underwater was commonplace.
Diving was nothing to Sekashi - as long as she didn't engage in strenuous activity, she could stay underwater for half an hour.
"Silly, aren't there plenty of beetles on shore?"
"Let them fight for a while first, then we'll make our move."
"Oh oh, understood."
Sekashi quickly checked the staff in her hands, afraid it might fail at this critical moment.