Chapter 98

On the vast land, where deep ravines, like wrinkles etched upon the earth, fanned out, lay a colossal wetland, as if the deep darkness of the night sky had been pulled down to rest there. Jun-sang and Heness stood atop a towering cliff at the edge of the canyon, silently gazing at the boundless, barren expanse named the Silent Wetlands.

Heness dismounted from Jun-sang’s back and murmured, “This is the Silent Wetlands…” It was a place famous for being a hidden wonder, yet so perilous that most people wouldn’t even dream of seeing it in person.

Jun-sang asked Heness, who was quietly looking at the wetlands spread out below, “Do you know anything about it?”

“A little.” Heness struggled to recall the contents of a book she had once read. “It’s almost as vast as the Forbidden Forest, and a poisonous energy, a ‘jang-gi’ (malefic aura), rises from beneath the ground. If you enter without preparation, you’ll lose consciousness and collapse. It has a higher proportion of swamps than normal wetlands, and there are many venomous insects and snakes…” Although her words were a bit rambling, Jun-sang roughly understood the meaning of the word ‘silent’ in the wetland’s name.

“I see. Thanks for the explanation.”

“Don’t mention it.” Heness said that, then with a slightly downcast face, added, “I’ll go back inside now. Sorry for being stubborn.”

“It’s alright.” Jun-sang gently stroked Heness’s head and then unsummoned her.

“Poison, huh…” Had she said a poisonous energy rises from the wetlands? Thinking logically, this poisonous energy was likely a type of gas produced by decaying organic matter in the water. For someone without knowledge of harmful gases, recognizing it as a ‘poisonous energy’ wouldn’t be strange. Other possibilities included endemic diseases transmitted by insects or water. Jun-sang had a fairly high level of poison resistance thanks to various seeds he had equipped, but given the situation, he couldn’t be sure if poison resistance alone would be enough to safely endure the wetland environment.

Jun-sang first summoned his spirits to protect him. The gentle breeze and headwinds could prevent small insects or harmful gases from approaching, and the will-o’-the-wisps were also quite suitable for burning such things.

Having prepared for the dangers of the wetland, Jun-sang now began to look for a way to descend the cliff. Phase shifting was out of the question from the start, given the cliff’s height of several tens of meters, and using the ropes he carried felt somewhat insecure. Moreover, if the enemy’s main force had advanced through here, he might find their tracks, killing two birds with one stone. Jun-sang kept this in mind and quietly scanned his surroundings.

As a result, he found something like a path leading down to the wetlands, quite a distance from the canyon. As he moved directly towards it, Jun-sang suddenly noticed something peculiar.

“This is…” From a distance, it had looked as if a part of the cliff had collapsed due to erosion, but upon closer inspection, it looked as if some gigantic tidal wave had swept through the cliff. “Hmm…”

Naturally, a tidal wave couldn’t have reached this far, to the edge of this vast, dark wetland. It would be more accurate to assume it was a trace left by the enemy’s main force that had moved through here. Jun-sang briefly inspected the collapsed section, then quietly concealed himself with his Grunwald’s Cloak and headed towards the path leading to the wetlands.

Upon reaching the entrance of the passage, he noticed nearby weeds trampled and broken. Even without tracking skills, such traces made it easy to see that a considerable number of people had passed through. Jun-sang cautiously descended the passage towards the wetlands. After tumbling down the winding slope for a considerable time, a smell similar to mildew began to assault his nostrils. Even with the spirits blocking the surrounding air, it was this strong… If he had entered unprepared, he probably would have been poisoned by gas and lost consciousness without even knowing what happened. Jun-sang first took out a cabinet at a suitable spot, put on a mask he had prepared for emergencies, and continued to move downwards.

After descending for a long time, he finally reached the wetlands. Looking at the ground, he could see footprints, wet and clearly left by a large number of people. It was difficult to distinguish between swamp and mud just by looking, but with these faint footprints remaining, there was no problem. All he had to do was follow the tracks left by their army. Jun-sang reactivated his invisibility, which had somehow worn off during his descent, and quietly followed the footprints.

Soon after, he reached the rear of the enemy forces.

“…”

His vision was obscured by brushwood and reeds, making it difficult to ascertain the exact numbers, but from a rough estimate, it seemed similar to or greater than the enemy forces he had defeated in the epic quest before. Zombies were floundering ahead, clearing a path, and when the undead found firm ground, the main force followed behind. However, the problem was that the one presumed to be their leader was not visible.

As he quietly observed them, the quest information in the corner of his vision flashed, indicating it had been updated.

(Hidden) Obtain the enemy’s operational plan from Garland and deliver it to the central army. (Solo) -> The deciphered operational plan from Garland revealed that the pursuit force targeting the Heavenly Bridge was merely a decoy to attract the central army’s attention from the start. Track the enemy’s main force, which is secretly moving through the Silent Wetlands by bypassing the Anjermang Grand Canyon, and confirm their location.

-> As per the plan, the enemy’s main force is currently traversing the Silent Wetlands. If they continue to move at this speed, they will surely cross the wetlands soon. You must immediately return to the bridge and inform the marching central army of this fact.

-> Uncompleted.

“…” Jun-sang frowned. He thought it might be better to simply crush the enemy forces right now. Based on his past experiences, it wouldn’t be too difficult to defeat this many troops with a proper surprise attack. But Jun-sang soon shook his head. Was there a need to invite danger for something with no reward? Moreover, the absence of the presumed enemy leader also bothered him. If there was a quest marker, he’d know immediately, but that wasn’t the case. If he launched a surprise attack to take out the mere soldiers and was then ambushed by the hidden monster leaders, a battle in this unfamiliar wetland would likely bring more loss than gain. His ultimate goal was survival, after all. There was no reason to risk his life for something without reward. Jun-sang reminded himself of this fact and silently retreated, heading back the way he came.

Having left the wetlands and quickly ascended the slope, Jun-sang changed his combo card as soon as he reached the top of the canyon.

“Courier.”

As the single word left his lips, the previously equipped cards were immediately replaced with new ones in the slots.

Dash,

Leap,

Instant Acceleration,

Instant Acceleration (R).

With these four cards equipped, the combo card ‘Deandallas’ Courier’ was completed. As his movement speed was amplified by fifty percent due to the combo card’s effect, Jun-sang took a deep breath.

“Hoooh…” He gathered all his strength and burst forth, kicking off the ground.

Kwagwagwagwaga!

Each time his foot touched the ground, it left deep indentations as if bombed. The wind in front of him was torn to shreds and scattered. The suddenly afflicted wind left a sorrowful scream in Jun-sang’s ears, but his incredibly fast body had already outpaced the sound before it could even reach him.

Before he knew it, a faint heat haze began to incessantly emanate from Jun-sang’s body. This was proof that he was pushing his physical limits to the extreme. At first, it was a negligible level that disappeared before the eye could even see it, but with each stride, its density began to thicken, and before long, Jun-sang’s body was spewing white smoke like a rocket. It was truly a sprint befitting the description of a rocket car, fueled by burning his own body! Was it simply due to the Courier’s effect? Or was it thanks to his body’s abilities having evolved further? He himself didn’t know the exact reason, but what was clear was that he was traversing the path that had taken hours by Humvee in the blink of an eye.

As Jun-sang sprinted across the wilderness at a frantic pace, the Heavenly Bridge, his destination, finally came into view. Jun-sang, seeing the bridge rapidly expanding before his eyes, abruptly came to a halt.

Kwagagagagak!

His firm legs left deep marks as if a giant beast had clawed its way past.

“Hoo… hoo…” Finally coming to a complete stop, Jun-sang continued to breathe heavily for a long time, emitting white smoke from his body. As his overloaded body began to stabilize, he finally stood up and looked around.

“They haven’t arrived yet, have they?” According to the quest information, there were still about 20 hours left until the central army arrived. Jun-sang briefly debated what to do, then decided to search for the central army directly. Although there were various reasons, leaving the enemy right in front of him had left a lingering sense of unease in his heart.

Jun-sang slowly walked across the swaying bridge. And once he had fully crossed the bridge, he searched for traces of the refugees or the prince’s party that had passed by earlier. The tracks were not difficult to find. Jun-sang, having confirmed the general direction, began his sprint once again. While his speed was somewhat reduced compared to before due to tracking the prince’s party’s traces, it wasn’t long before Jun-sang could confirm the quest marker on his minimap. Once the exact location was identified, Jun-sang immediately increased his speed.

Boom!

As his foot powerfully pushed off the ground, the soft earth once again shattered with a thunderous roar, as if a bomb had exploded. That sound reached Errol’s ears, who was leading the vanguard of the knights.

“What was that sound?”

Errol asked. Tamarel, the commander of the Iron-Blooded Silver Knights, frowned and immediately turned to his knights, ordering, “Everyone! To alert posture!” But before his command could even be fully relayed to all the knights, something rushing towards them with a huge cloud of dust appeared in their sight. The moment Errol saw that something hurtling towards them, she instinctively drew the sword from her waist.

Clang!

Her sensitive instincts were warning her that she was in danger if she didn’t draw her sword immediately. Tamarel, who had been turning to give orders, was startled when Errol suddenly drew her sword and quickly turned back.

For a moment. He saw it. The figure of a single person, eyes glowing with an eerie light, charging towards them. That very person, Jun-sang, seeing the knight’s formation, abruptly stopped.

Kwagagagagak!

Leaving another massive scar on the soft earth, Jun-sang stood tall amidst the dust he had created, glanced at the knights with a majestic expression, and then quietly said, “Eshtalen’s central army, correct?”