Bending down and carefully advancing another dozen meters, the smell of blood became thick and pungent. Sekashi pushed aside the damp fan-leaf bushes, revealing a shocking scene before her eyes.
Dozens of human corpses lay scattered haphazardly on the ground. Judging from the broken emblems, they appeared to be adventurers hired by some merchant caravan.
Notched greatswords, broken spear shafts, and round wooden shields covered with cheap cowhide... the equipment scattered across the ground confirmed their identities as adventurers.
Their worn and tattered chainmail was now completely torn apart by inhuman claws, twisted metal rings hanging from the corpses like shredded fishing nets, revealing the equally torn leather armor lining and flesh beneath.
Further away, faint sounds of fighting and cursing seemed to be coming through.
"These kinds of wounds were made by those Corrupted Lizardfolk."
Having grown up with the swamp forest and accustomed to bloody scenes, Sekashi didn't panic, though she felt somewhat concerned.
"They're chasing something."
"Let's sneak over and take a look."
As Sekashi carried him past, he curiously examined the human corpses on the ground—chestnut-brown curly hair, high-bridged noses, freckled faces, full of exotic charm.
These were indeed humans, even more human-like than he had imagined.
They had heads and faces, two eyes, noses and mouths, all in the right places—that was just so human.
This reassured him; at least Zeyarila wasn't some bizarre world.
Sekashi tightened her grip on the Slime in her arms, cautiously sneaking forward until she found a high ground with good visibility that offered a clear view of what was happening ahead.
...
In the ancient banyan forest deep in the swamp, thick mist spread everywhere, the smell of rotting wood mixed with the scent of blood. Massive buttress roots twisted like walls, dividing the battlefield.
In the battle against the Corrupted Lizardfolk over food supplies, the Rotten Moss Tribe's hunting team was steadily losing ground.
Their plan to rescue the human merchant caravan had failed; they had been ambushed.
"Hold the line! For the Ancestral Spirits! For the tribe!" an experienced warrior roared, swinging his Bone Blade at a charging Scale Claw warrior.
"Clang!"
Sparks flew everywhere! The Bone Blade left only a shallow white mark on the opponent's thick gray-scaled shoulder.
The Corrupted Lizardfolk grinned viciously, backhanding with a claw that tore through the air with a whistling sound, easily knocking away the Rotten Moss warrior's weapon, then immediately driving another sharp claw hard into his abdomen!
"Thud!"
The sharp claw pierced flesh, blood gushing wildly.
The Rotten Moss warrior's eyes widened, pain and despair overwhelming him as his body was thrown back by the tremendous force, slamming against the slippery banyan root before falling silent.
The Scale Claw Tribe's hunting team surged forward like a gray tide of death.
This was a force they simply couldn't withstand.
The Corrupted Lizardfolk were generally a full size larger than the Rotten Moss warriors, with bulging muscles and dull scales that reflected metallic cold light in the dim lighting.
Their claws were exceptionally sharp, easily tearing through the Rotten Moss warriors' leather armor and relatively soft green scales. Every pounce carried frenzied power, every bite accompanied by companions' agonized screams.
"Retreat! Fall back to the stone pillar area!"
The Rotten Moss Tribe's captain, an old warrior with vicious claw marks on his face, commanded in a hoarse voice.
But the retreat path was already blocked by two Corrupted Lizardfolk, their eyes burning with turbid, ominous dark red light—the mad power granted by the Corruption Morgul.
Despair enveloped the surviving Rotten Moss warriors, but the fighting spirit in their eyes hadn't faded, as if waiting for something to appear.
On the high ground.
"Envoy, should we intervene?"
Sekashi gripped her staff tightly, staring intently at the battlefield.
This battle had been going on for quite some time before they arrived.
She recognized the identity of the Corrupted Lizardfolk's opponents—they were Lizardfolk from the Rotten Moss Tribe further north.
"These Rotten Moss Lizardfolk still have a trump card up their sleeve."
"A trump card?"
The confusion on Sekashi's face didn't last long before she saw a figure slowly emerging from the thick mist.
Her eyes widened, filled with surprise and joy.
Just as the Corrupted Lizardfolk grinned viciously, preparing to launch the final strike to completely crush the remaining Rotten Moss fighters—
"Whoosh—!!!"
An ear-piercing shriek tore through the thick fog! The sound was as shrill as the whistle of death itself!
A crude yet terrifyingly powerful spear transformed into a blurred black shadow, shooting with perfect accuracy from the battlefield's flank!
"Thud!"
The Corrupted Lizardfolk at the forefront, about to tear apart a wounded Rotten Moss warrior, suddenly froze mid-action.
That wooden spear pierced through his proud thick gray scales like a hot knife through butter, deeply embedding itself in his chest!
The tremendous impact force even made his burly body stagger backward two steps before he collapsed heavily, leaving only a horrifying hole in his chest that continuously gushed foul blood.
The battlefield fell deathly silent instantly! Both the despairing Rotten Moss warriors and the frenzied Scale Claw hunters stared in shock toward the direction the spear had come from.
From the edge of shadows and thick fog, a towering, heart-stopping figure slowly emerged.
Semiaya.
Her deep olive scale armor seemed forged from cold iron, tightly fitting her explosive physique. Several Bone Blades hung at her waist, gleaming with pale cold light, while a blow dart tube was slung across her shoulder.
She still held a bloody head in her hand.
She didn't utter any battle cry, simply stepping silently onto the battlefield. Each step seemed to fall in rhythm with heartbeats, heavy and deadly.
Her amber vertical pupils coldly swept across the battlefield. When her gaze passed over the shocked and uncertain Corrupted Lizardfolk, the soul-freezing pure killing intent almost became tangible, making even the fiercest Scale Claw warriors feel chills down their spines.
"Lady Semiaya!"
"Our Valkyrie has arrived!"
She ignored the fearful yet hopeful gazes of the Rotten Moss warriors. She had only one goal—to crush the corrupted beings before her.
"It's that monster!"
"Kill her!"
A Corrupted Lizardfolk recovered from the shock first, roaring as he swung his claws to charge, attempting to suppress this sudden threat with brute force.
Semiaya didn't even draw her blade.
She slightly sidestepped, avoiding the sharp edge of the claw strike, her strong powerful tail sweeping out like a steel whip!
"Thump!"
A dull impact sound rang out! The Corrupted warrior was solidly struck in the ribs, his thick gray scales shattering and denting as his entire body flew sideways like a broken kite, crashing through a low branch before collapsing to the ground, blood trickling from his nose and mouth, unable to rise again.
Semiaya moved!
Her movements were swift as lightning, precise as a venomous snake!
The Bone Blade left its sheath, tracing a cold arc that instantly slit the throat of another Corrupted Lizardfolk attempting to sneak attack. Her movements were clean and efficient, without the slightest hesitation.
Then she drew a short spear with a backhand motion, accurately throwing it to pin a distant Corrupted archer who was drawing his bow against a tree trunk.
She operated like an efficiently running killing machine, advancing against the gray tide.
The powerful Corrupted warriors appeared clumsy before her, their proud gray scales like paper under her strength and the Bone Blade's precise strikes.
With her entry into the battle, the tide began to turn! The Rotten Moss warriors' eyes reignited with flames of hope as they launched a counterattack.
"Sekashi, you said this is your sister?"
Chen Yu's voice carried suspicion.
This female Lizardfolk's combat power was simply off the charts.
No wonder she was an elite Lizardfolk with a Reputation Title.
But he found it hard to connect such a powerful female Lizardfolk warrior with the clumsy shaman carrying him.
Forget being sisters—they didn't even seem like the same species.
Sekashi blushed, understanding what Chen Yu meant.
"I, I'm still quite powerful."
She tried waving her staff to demonstrate her strength, but her slender arms didn't look very convincing.