Chapter 349 - 349: Kill and Harvest, Troll, Deceiver (2)
More than 1500 Dragon Blood Crystals, enough to further enhance the Dragon Blood concentration of the Dragon Blood Murlocs.
With over 8000 pieces of Dragon Scales, more than 700 Dragon Teeth, and some units of Dragon Meat.
These secondary gains could be handed over to Raymond for processing when they return, bringing in a significant profit.
The Dragon Blood Crystals, Dragon Scales, and Dragon Teeth, relatively precious items, were stored in the backpack, while the Dragon Meat was temporarily left in place. They would come back for it once they found more Marshland Dragons.
Ji Chen looked at the map and the surroundings. They were currently in the inner part of the swamp, and the core area deeper inside hadn’t been explored yet.
The remaining Marshland Dragons might be in the core area of the swamp. This time, they must capture all the remaining ones in one fell swoop. Thinking of this, he didn’t waste any more time and waved his hand, leading the army deeper into the swamp.
As Ji Chen and his team ventured further into the swamp, in a distant sea area, they were greeted by some unexpected visitors.
In the midst of howling winds and pouring rain, a fully armed ironclad fleet was cutting through the waves.
The flags hanging on the metal antennas revealed their identity – the fleet of the Kingdom of Bass.
They had one main battleship, four escort ships, and one supply ship, totaling six warships, making up this small fleet.
Though their numbers were not many, their firepower was quite formidable, enough to make the ordinary forces on the ocean tremble.
On the main battleship.
“How far are we from that suspicious sea area?”
“Reporting, Commander, it will take us about three more days to sail.”
“Very well… Last time, I thought that bitch Monica had been buried in the sea under our bombardment, but I didn’t expect her to be so lucky, she actually made it back to the Lienhardt Grand Duchy alive.
She even exposed our plans internationally, putting our Kingdom of Bass in an extremely passive position. Not only that, but I also received a reprimand from His Majesty the King. I almost lost my title. It’s really infuriating!”
The fleet commander slammed the table with anger, his face turning red. “Even so, Commander, you’ve done a great job. No one expected that after entering the Stormy Sea, Monica would actually be able to come out of it… We obtained information from our spies in the Lienhardt Grand Duchy that Monica didn’t return alone. She came back on an unidentified ship…”
Hearing this, the Chief of Staff quickly realized, “So, you mean Monica was rescued and then sent back?”
“That’s right! My spy used a Lost Soul technique to forcibly probe the soul and memories of a sailor on the Radiant Envoy. We learned some information… Inside the Stormy Sea, there’s an archipelago with a territory belonging to a Lord of Glory, and it’s that Lord of Glory who sent Monica back!
That’s why I volunteered to lead the fleet. This time, we must destroy that territory and kill that Lord of Glory!
Only then can I wash away my disgrace!”
At this point, the fleet commander’s face was filled with murderous intent, and his gaze seemed to pierce through the endless sea, projecting into the Stormy Sea.
In contrast to the commander, who wanted to kill the Lord of Glory and cleanse his disgrace, the Chief of Staff thought about the archipelago.
If there was indeed such an archipelago within the Stormy Sea, with an area large enough to support the development of a territory, then if they could occupy it, it would undoubtedly bring great benefits to the Kingdom of Bass. This was much more important than killing the Lord of Glory himself.
As the unfamiliar fleet approached with rolling malice, the residents of the Crown of the Ocean knew nothing about it and remained in a state of harmony, unaware of the impending danger.
Watching the scene before him, Ji Chen raised his hand to stop the army.
In a swampy area, there were a series of large footprints.
They were unmistakably the footprints of Marshland Dragons.
Judging by the number of footprints, there were probably the remaining ten or so Marshland Dragons. For some reason, they had gathered in the depths of the swamp.
With a brief pause, he continued forward with the army.
Regardless, after dealing with the remaining ten or so, they could return.
They followed the footprints slowly.
The footprints ended at the entrance of a cave.
Looking at the pitch-black cave entrance, Ji Chen didn’t hesitate much and led the army inside.
Through a passage of dozens of meters, they suddenly emerged into an underground hall.
This underground hall appeared to have been dug out by the Marshland Dragons. It was exceptionally spacious, roughly the size of four or five football fields. In the center of the hall, there was a prototype skylight, allowing rays of sunlight to provide illumination.
The swamp was naturally quite cool, and being underground made it even colder, sending chills down their spines.
Ji Chen scanned the area and was quickly drawn to something.
On the inside of the entire hall, a particularly massive skeleton lay sprawled.
It looked like the skeleton of a Marshland Dragon, but its size was extremely abnormal.
Ordinary Marshland Dragons, even with their bones and flesh intact, are only about the size of a large truck. However, this skeleton, just the bones alone, is as big as a small hill, comparable to a two-masted merchant ship.
Judging by the vegetation and moss that have grown on its bones, it had been dead for who knows how many years. Some of the bones have even developed cracks and fractures.
“Lord, look over there.”
Ji Chen followed Alice’s pointing finger and quickly saw on the other side in a dark area more than a dozen bodies of Marshland Dragons lying prone on the ground.
What surprised him, though, was that these Marshland Dragons looked very languid, gasping for breath, and even when they saw him, they could only emit weak roars.
What had happened to these Marshland Dragons?
Ji Chen furrowed his brow slightly and led the army a bit closer, squinting to get a better look.
[Marshland Dragon (Near-death State)]
[Suffered a powerful curse, soul weakened]
A curse?
Before he could fully grasp the situation, a chaotic noise came from outside, so loud that even the muck of the swamp couldn’t muffle it.
Thump, thump…
Ji Chen’s expression changed.
Those were the sounds of numerous footsteps!
Although he didn’t know why there had suddenly been a large number of unidentified creatures, he knew that they might be coming for him.
As he led the army out of the cave, he saw trolls surrounding them from all directions, numbering in the thousands. Most of them were clad in crude animal hide clothing and wielded a variety of rudimentary weapons.
However, these trolls, compared to the Shallow Sea Trolls he had encountered on the New Moon Islands, were taller and stronger, their muscles appearing as if they were about to burst through their clothing.
[Mountain Trolls]
[Race]: Trolls
[Tier]: Tier 4, 4 Stars
[Level]: 33
[Abilities]: Berserk, Resilience, Regeneration
[Unit Trait]: Troll Bloodline (Fearless of pain when entering a berserk state, subordinates gain a 50% boost)
[Mountain Trolls of the Alvin Mountains]
At this moment, Ji Chen finally recalled the unusual behavior of trolls in this area that Kris had mentioned before he left.
At that time, he hadn’t taken it seriously, but he couldn’t believe these trolls had actually come here.
With a quick scan, there were at least five thousand trolls in this area.
It seemed like most of the trolls in this region were gathered here.
What puzzled him was, if their intention was just plunder and killing, why would they actively provoke him?
Just as Ji Chen was racking his brain for answers, about a hundred figures slowly walked out from among the trolls.
They were dressed in identical uniforms, their bodies completely concealed by loose gray robes, and they wore iron masks on their faces.
On the forehead of each mask, there was an eerie and elongated eye pattern, as if it were staring at him.
Ji Chen’s heart sank.
If he guessed correctly, these people were using the trolls to surround him. [Deceiver. Enchanter]
[Race]: Human
[Faction]: Deceivers
[Tier]: Tier 4,1 Star
[Level]: 35
[Abilities]: Brief
[Unit Trait]: Eye of Deception (Able to see through illusions)
[Key Figures among the Deceivers]