Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 132 Swamp 2

Night had not yet completely enveloped the earth. Caesars and Rodman remained quietly on guard, their eyes scanning their surroundings warily. Just then, a terrified scream suddenly erupted from not far away, shattering the previously tranquil atmosphere.

Their gazes were instantly drawn to the scene where a figure in leather armor fell like a meteor from a towering, lush, intertwined tree. Along with the figure, numerous broken twigs and fallen leaves fell, scattering across the ground like raindrops.

This sudden change startled Caesar, and even the usually calm Rodman was shaken. Just moments earlier, Caesar had carefully surveyed the surroundings with his magical powers, but hadn't noticed anyone hiding in the tree.

The man in leather armor quickly stood up after landing, but surprisingly, he did not turn around and flee the scene. Instead, he frantically pulled out a bottle of potion from his storage ring. He uncorked the bottle without hesitation, put the bottle mouth to his mouth, and drank it all in one gulp.

Seeing this, Rodman reacted quickly, sprinting towards the figure. Clearly, he intended to capture the man alive and interrogate him thoroughly. But to be honest, Rodman didn't hold out much hope of obtaining any valuable information from this interrogation.

The leather-armored figure seemed to have foreseen Rodman's intentions. Just as Rodman approached, he swiftly pulled out several flashbangs and hurled them forcefully in Rodman's direction. In an instant, several dazzling beams of light suddenly lit up, like brilliant fireworks blooming in the night sky.

The intense light temporarily blinded Rodman, leaving him with only a vast expanse of white. When he finally opened his eyes, he was surprised to find a thick cloud of smoke rising in front of him, completely obscuring the figure of the leather-armored man.

As the breeze blew, by the time the smoke cleared, the leather-armored man had disappeared.

Caesars heard a subtle and strange hissing sound, the call of the black snake. He walked quickly in the direction of the sound and soon arrived at the foot of the tall, huge ancient tree.

Looking up, I saw a pitch-black, golden-eyed black snake, slowly crawling down the cracked, rough bark of the tree trunk. Its golden eyes flashed a cold light, and from time to time, it spitted out a pitch-black tongue, catching the scent of its prey.

"Rodman, don't worry, that man will never escape!" Caesar said confidently.

However, Rodman on the side seemed a little anxious: "But the people have already run away without a trace!"

Caesars's lips curled up slightly, revealing a sly smile. "Don't worry, Rodman. He was just bitten by a black snake. Even if we can't catch him alive now, his body will appear in front of us sooner or later." As he spoke, he pointed at the black snake that was still slowly descending the tree and added, "Look at this guy, he seems to be a little afraid of heights, moving so slowly."

Rodman frowned and said worriedly, "Kaisas, that person has already activated his sprint skill. I'm afraid he's already run away."

Caesars shook his head slightly and replied confidently, "Don't worry, Rodman. Don't forget that the black snake has a unique ability to track its prey. Once it bites, its unique scent will remain on the prey. The spy only has two minutes left to live. He can't escape very far."

Caesars looked ahead firmly, as if he had already seen victory in sight.

"Saint Paul, go find him!"

As the pitch-black demon snake slithered down to the ground, Caesars, standing nearby, gave a command. Rodman watched intently as the snake, as thick as a forearm, darted forward at astonishing speed. Its speed was like an arrow shot from a bow, disappearing from everyone's sight in an instant.

Following the path the black demon snake had taken, one could only see the dense weeds trembling violently in a perfectly straight line, as if struck by a powerful force. Meanwhile, the advancing "arrow" swooped down at lightning speed, appearing twenty or thirty meters away in the blink of an eye.

"This...this black demon snake moves so fast!"

Rodman, witnessing this scene, was filled with astonishment, his mouth wide open, almost enough to fit an egg. You know, the speed displayed by this black snake at this moment was almost comparable to his speed at full speed.

"Rodman, stop being dazed and catch up! This guy is usually lazy, but when he's hunting, he bursts into this amazing speed!"

Caesars shouted as he quickly cast the Flash spell. The distance between them and the black snake was too great, and if they didn't take immediate action to catch up, they would probably lose sight of it in no time.

After hearing Caesar's urging, Rodman came back to his senses as if awakened from a dream, and hurriedly took a step and followed closely.

While Rodman may appear to be just an ordinary archer, he, like Liv, is in reality a skilled archer. Besides possessing incredibly accurate archery skills, a qualified archer must also possess exceptional running ability. Whether it's a short, swift sprint or a long, sustained endurance run, Rodman is no problem.

Long-distance raiding is an essential skill for magic archers, and it is also one of the important means for them to survive in a dangerous environment.

In less than two minutes, Caesar saw the black snake standing upright, like a stick standing in the weeds, guiding Caesar to come.

In the thicket beneath the dense forest, a middle-aged man in black leather armor lay twitching on the ground, foaming at the mouth. His bluish skin showed the intense poison had already taken effect, and even the antidote would be of no use.

A leather mask was thrown aside, next to which were two empty crystal bottles.

"There's no hope. The Golden-Eyed Black Devil Snake injected too much venom into him!"

Caesars squatted down and took off the man's storage ring, then took off two daggers, and then began to peel off the man's leather armor.

Rodman also joined in and stripped the man of all his clothes.

"Rodman, why did you strip him?" Caesar asked in surprise.

"Find the fatal wound. The Church of Saint Laurent has a potion that can cause a person to appear dead. I need to search carefully this time!"

Rodman searched very carefully and found two tiny holes on the man's buttocks, with black blood oozing out.

"Saint Laurent, you really know how to choose your attack position!"

"Kaisas, that man was sitting on a tree. When he stood, the leather armor could protect his hips, and the black snake couldn't attack that part!"

"Sit down. There's not a tree house in that tree, is there?"

"Just go back and take a look!"

Caesar's words reminded Rodman that the enemy had numerous spies. They had tracked Rodman twice, so it was entirely possible they had established fixed surveillance points. The volcanic region south of the Great Swamp held staggering wealth, a temptation no force could resist.

A few minutes later, the two returned to the giant tree with lush branches and leaves. When they looked up, they could only see dense branches and leaves, but no tree house.

"Kaisas, wait here, I'll go up and take a look!"

Rodman looked around and looked at the hard and cracked bark. It would not be difficult for him to climb such a tree.

Rodman changed into a pair of soft leather gloves, made from some kind of beast hide, with densely packed spikes on the surface, providing excellent anti-slip properties. He clung to the thick tree trunk and began to climb upward, looking like a gecko.

In just a few moments, Rodman swiftly slipped into the densely lush canopy of leaves, nearly obscuring all light. In the blink of an eye, his figure vanished behind the layers of green leaves, leaving Caesars, standing below, completely unable to track him.

After a few minutes, a slight noise was heard from above. Then, a rope slowly descended, and Rodman slid down nimbly. An excited smile filled his face, as if he had discovered some incredible treasure.

"Kaesus, there is indeed a tree house hidden up there. And the outside is painted with a layer of green alchemical dye. You can't find it unless you look carefully." Rodman said with a smile, reaching out and taking out a few things from his arms.

Caesars took a closer look and saw a massive magical telescope, a staggering three meters long. Its appearance was exquisite, with magical energy flowing through its surface, clearly no ordinary item.

"This magic periscope is obviously a military device. It can usually only be seen in heavily guarded war fortresses on the border. Due to its high cost and special use, even if it is sold on the market, few people are willing to buy such a big thing!" Rodman commented on the magic periscope.

"Rodman, that tree house should be quite big, right?" asked Caesars.

"Yes, there are comfortable beds, tables and chairs, and this magic telescope. This is a high-end product from the Saint Laurent Empire. Their craftsmen like to use cross patterns for decoration." Rodman pointed at the cross pattern and introduced it enthusiastically, his eyes full of excitement.

"It's the Saint Laurent Empire again. They only do such dirty things!"

Caesars pulled out the spy's storage ring from his pocket. With a light click, a flash of light, and the ring's space slowly opened. He then dumped everything inside onto the ground.

A pile of items lay scattered on the ground, the most conspicuous of which was a neatly stacked pile of spare leather armor. The armor was a deep brown, tough, and finely grained, evidently having been carefully tanned. Also lying there were several animal hide ropes of varying thickness and length. They looked a little rough, but were incredibly strong and durable.

Next to the leather armor and ropes, there were several bottles of alchemical potions of various colors. They were contained in clear crystal bottles, some even shimmering faintly. Looking to the side, two whetstones lay quietly, their surfaces dented, clearly evidence of frequent use.

Besides these items, there was a small, exquisite purse on the ground. It was bulging with gold coins, and it was unknown how many coins were inside. There was also some food wrapped in cloth and several jugs filled with water.

After carefully examining these things, Caesars frowned and said to Rodman beside him, "Rodman, if you don't have a telescope, you really can't find out the other party's identity. There are no marks or markings on these things!"

Rodman nodded in agreement. "Well, that's how cunning they are. To avoid revealing their origins, they deliberately erased all traces that might leave any clues."

Rodman looked up at the sky. Night had already fallen, the sky was dotted with stars, and a crescent moon hung high in the sky.

"It's getting dark. We can't waste any more time. We must set off as soon as possible!" Rodman said as he walked towards the swamp not far away.

The Great Swamp was only thirty meters away, a gentle breeze blowing through, bringing a slight coolness. Unlike the typical swamp, this one lacked dense aquatic vegetation and stagnant mud. From afar, it looked more like a vast, shimmering lake, with no visible shore at all.

Rodman stopped at the edge of the marsh and pulled out a hide raft from his space ring. The raft was pristine white inside and out, appearing exceptionally clean and tidy. It was approximately four meters long and two meters wide, a perfect size for several people.

"Is this the leather of a white crocodile?" asked Caesars.

"Yes, only half a piece of leather was used for the raft. The beasts and fish in the Great Swamp are all afraid of the white-skinned crocodile, provided that they have eliminated its kind!"

Rodman pushed the raft into the swamp and then jumped on it. Caesars followed closely behind, holding the black snake. Rodman took out his spear and pushed hard towards the shore. The raft slipped across the water like a leaf.

"Rodman, you can row with the oars!"

"Kaisas, anyone who dares to use a paddle in the Great Swamp will, without exception, be buried here. As soon as there's a major disturbance on the water, all sorts of carnivorous fish will follow the raft, and it won't be long before schools of white alligators appear. The alligators won't necessarily attack the raft, but they'll prey on the fish. In the process of chasing the fish, the raft is likely to be overturned!"

Rodman imparted knowledge of the Great Swamp, and Caesars listened attentively. If it weren't for these ferocious species, the volcanic area would have long since become a wasteland.