IMC Chapter 35

Upon realizing what that dense, dark mass was, Nan Ming immediately gave the order to gather the essentials. Fortunately, Nan Ming had a magic ring, which made storing items quite quick and convenient.

As those dark shadows approached, Fu Qing watched with wide eyes as the expression on his beautiful friend’s face slowly changed from surprise to disappointment, and then back to surprise again.

Fu Qing looked at the large mass of dark shadows descending. At the forefront were a group of small birds, about the size of a palm, covered with faint electric sparks. They were not very large, but they moved quickly and were electrically charged, making them dangerous to touch.

Behind these birds were large numbers of flying creatures: bats, owls, and eagles with wingspans of five or six meters. Following these creatures were swarms of insects—though slow-moving, they were numerous.

Fu Qing didn’t understand what his beautiful friend found surprising. This dense mass of shadows was indeed troublesome; he couldn’t see anything particularly surprising about it.

As thunderbirds swooped down, Nan Ming’s calm voice rang out, “Follow me!”

As soon as the words were spoken, several brilliant orbs of light shot from his wand, heading in different directions.

In an instant, the dark mass of nocturnal creatures in the sky scattered into several groups, pursuing the brighter lights. Meanwhile, Nan Ming’s team below seized the opportunity to sprint after him. His wand continued to shine, guiding their way, though the light was intentionally dimmed.

“Captain, ahead is the territory of the Black Marsh Crocodiles!” Zhou Yi reminded as they ran.

“I know,” Nan Ming’s voice was calm and unruffled. “The Empire’s people are doing this deliberately. Their flashy actions are meant to attract large numbers of nocturnal creatures. Some creatures that can’t catch up with the Empire’s flying troops will be drawn to the light sources below. The Empire is clearing out its opponents.”

What’s worse, the Empire’s actions might be just a casual move for them. But for the unprepared team in the swamp, it could spell disaster.

“There are too many nocturnal creatures. We can’t confront them head-on. Instead, let’s use this chance to lure them all into the Black Marsh Crocodile’s territory and create chaos. We can then use the opportunity to cross through the Marsh Crocodile’s domain.”

After laying out his plan, Nan Ming turned to the team behind him and asked, “What? Are you afraid?”

Zhou Yi laughed heartily while running, “Afraid? If you’re afraid, you don’t deserve to live!”

“Great! I love this feeling of disrupting the norm. Let’s charge!” Ning Zhi shouted excitedly, seemingly forgetting that she was a young lady.

“Charge, Captain. We’ll follow you!”

The members of Nan Ming’s legion expressed their agreement eagerly. None of them thought the action was crazy. Instead, they were all getting excited. They were a group of fearless madmen. More importantly, they were a group of capable madmen.

As the members of Nan Ming’s legion looked back at Shu Bao and Fu Qing, about to say they would try to protect them, they suddenly saw the rarely speaking Fu Qing’s cloak suddenly spread out. A pair of magnificent, enormous, deep blue butterfly wings lifted him into the air, away from the muddy swamp, and swiftly caught up with the front leader. Without missing a beat, he lightly tossed back, “I’ve been meaning to say, you all are really too slow!”

The members of Nan Ming’s legion: “…” You, a mutated ability user with wings, have the nerve to say that?

Seeing this, Shu Bao quickly comforted the agitated crowd, “It’s okay, it’s okay. At least I can’t fly.”

As soon as the words were spoken, the small kitten on Shu Bao’s shoulder leaped down defiantly. In the process of jumping, it transformed into a huge white cat the size of a floor.

“Lord-level!”

“Lord-level magical beast!”

“Heavens!”

“Ahhh! Shu Bao, you really are a beast tamer!”

The appearance of this gigantic creature instantly stunned everyone. Under the gaze of the crowd, the cat, with remarkable dexterity, grabbed Shu Bao by the back of his collar with its mouth and flung him onto its back. The lord-level white cat then accelerated, quickly overtaking them and catching up with the front leader and Fu Qing.

Experiencing riding a cat for the first time, Shu Bao felt a bit nervous and then a touch of embarrassment. He quickly waved to the legion members behind and shouted, “I really can’t fly; I just have a cat!”

The members of Nan Ming’s legion that was left behind: “…” Why do we suddenly feel like punching something?

Despite their inner grumblings, they gritted their teeth and sped up again to avoid falling too far behind.

When the group ran into the dark, murky swamp ahead, the nocturnal creatures that had been scattered by the light orbs had already caught up again, following the sounds and scents.

The black swamp ahead was eerily silent, like an unblemished black mirror. Nan Ming waved his wand, slowly casting the light orbs attached to it. The orbs gradually floated up above the black swamp, quietly hovering there like small suns.

Just as Nan Ming was about to step in to try and find a path to lead everyone through the swamp, he saw that the large white cat had already jumped and performed a series of agile movements, plunging into the black swamp.

Nan Ming was momentarily stunned, then realized that the large white cat was guiding them. Animals’ senses are naturally much stronger than those of humans.

The area of the black swamp was vast. The large white cat leaped rapidly for over ten minutes and still hadn’t reached the edge of the swamp. No wonder it was said that it was impossible to bypass it. Shu Bao, sitting on the large white cat, enjoyed the sensation of being swept through the air by a natural enemy. Occasionally, he would reach out to stroke the fluffy fur, feeling immensely satisfied.

Suddenly, the white cat’s movements halted. It stopped in a shallow water area and began making warning sounds, meowing and growling towards the front.

Shu Bao, puzzled, stood up on the white cat’s back to observe the front. He saw nothing particularly unusual; it was still a stagnant pool of water. However, the white cat seemed to sense a tremendous threat. It refused to advance, even slowly lowering itself and preparing to attack.

The nocturnal creatures behind them had caught up. Time was of the essence. Fu Qing, who was floating in mid-air, quickly flew out. He elevated his position, briefly closed his deep blue wings, and then suddenly unfurled them. A flurry of light blades shot out rapidly, cutting through the black swamp below.

Finally, the disturbed water revealed the true situation below. Pairs of cold, orange-yellow vertical eyes slowly emerged from the water, and huge marsh crocodiles watched Nan Ming and his group with cold, emotionless stares. Some marsh crocodiles, injured by Fu Qing’s light blades, focused their gaze on Fu Qing above.

No wonder the white cat refused to move forward. Looking around, the swamp ahead was filled with crocodiles. Each crocodile was seven to eight meters long. Some even stretched over ten meters. They were packed closely together, leaving no place to step.

“Be careful!” Nan Ming warned.

As soon as the words were out, dark red tongues shot out like arrows, moving so fast they were nearly impossible to catch. The tongues aimed directly at Fu Qing above, clearly displeased with his recent actions.

Shu Bao was astonished. Were these tongues from frogs, lizards, or crocodiles? How could they be so long?

Considering that this bizarre world defied common sense, Shu Bao didn’t dwell on it and focused anxiously on Fu Qing.

The marsh crocodiles’ tongues were incredibly fast, but Fu Qing’s movements were even quicker. His figure left afterimages in mid-air, effortlessly dodging several attacks. He then rose higher and took out a small violin, starting to play.

Shu Bao???

But soon, Shu Bao realized that his beautiful friend wasn’t just striking a pose. As the sound of the violin enveloped him, Shu Bao suddenly felt an increase in his own strength and speed. Meanwhile, the crocodiles below began to grow restless, some even opening their massive jaws wide towards their nearby kin.

Nan Ming had indeed planned to incite a chaotic battle, but he didn’t expect that the chaos would start from within the marsh crocodiles themselves. At this moment, the dense army of nocturnal creatures from behind had already arrived.

Taking advantage of the boost in speed and strength, Nan Ming and his team did not hesitate to charge into the midst of the crocodile herd. Most of the crocodiles were now mesmerized by Fu Qing’s violin music. Under the elegant melody, the black swamp below gradually turned a dark red.

The large white cat navigated the crocodile bodies, evading the huge jaws that snapped all around and the rapidly attacking crocodile tongues.

Behind it, Nan Ming and his team fought their way through the crocodiles, while the nocturnal creatures engaged in a fierce battle with the crocodiles. Whether actively or passively, the nocturnal creatures began their struggle against the marsh crocodiles.

Shu Bao had never imagined witnessing such a scene. Crocodiles fought with grasshoppers, giant eagles were dragged into the swamp by several crocodiles and torn apart, thunderbirds fell into the water amidst the chaos, causing blue sparks of electricity to flare up briefly before dying…

In mid-air, Fu Qing continued to play. The initial gentle bewitchment had ended. Now, the rhythm had picked up, resembling the maddening whispers of a demon. Most of the marsh crocodiles below had their eyes turned crimson, attacking everything around them in a frenzy.

Under the lead of the large white cat, Nan Ming and his team safely passed through the most chaotic central area. The black swamp now resembled a boiling cauldron. The recent bloodstains from the previous battle had not yet dissipated, and the scene was now further painted with layers of crimson blood.

After the battle began, Shu Bao had already jumped off the large white cat. Surrounded by animal corpses, he was busy collecting the carcasses of crocodiles into his system bracelet.

He wasn’t the only one doing this; Nan Ming was also collecting animal corpses. These bodies could be exchanged for gold coins, so collecting them was a must.

Shu Bao even took the opportunity to shout up to Fu Qing, who was playing the violin in mid-air, “Beautiful friend, do you need anything?”

Fu Qing, gracefully playing the violin: “…” He almost lost his composure and forgot his actions.

However, seeing Shu Bao’s sincere eyes, Fu Qing ultimately didn’t refuse and said, “Do as you see fit.”

Shu Bao immediately got to work. The bodies of the creatures that had been pierced by crocodile tongues fell from the sky with a thud. Shu Bao, quick on his feet, saved a grasshopper and then continued running with the large white cat.

After the group had left the battlefield and walked a considerable distance, Fu Qing’s violin music ceased. He flapped his enormous, deep blue wings and quickly caught up with the team.

The group dared not pause. The black swamp was dominated by marsh crocodiles. Beneath the swamp, there were many more crocodiles that hadn’t joined the battle.

Fortunately, the team was quite strong. They had managed to get through the densely packed crocodile habitat. Most of the scattered crocodiles had been collected into storage devices.

With the large white cat leading the way, the group finally left the black swamp area after more than half an hour of frantic running. Exhausted from the desperate sprint, they were all quite tired.

Nan Ming found a place to set up camp again. Luckily, they had spare tents; otherwise, they would have had to rest outdoors, which was a bit dangerous in the chaotic world.

A large magical tent was set up, and everyone went inside. The internal space, clearly expanded by magic, was much larger than it appeared from the outside. The large white cat had transformed back into a small kitten and was now grooming its fur.

Shu Bao was checking the bound grasshopper, ensuring that the one he had saved in haste was not missing any limbs.

Fu Qing walked over and asked curiously, “What are you doing with the mutated grasshoppers?”

Shu Bao responded seriously, “I caught one before and it was female. You can understand.”

Fu Qing: “???” No, I don’t understand.

Shu Bao held up the grasshopper for Fu Qing to see. “Look, this male one looks quite handsome, right? It should be good for a matchmaking attempt.” After saying this, Shu Bao glanced at Fu Qing’s mustache and cloak. “Your mustache and cloak look really nice.”

Feeling that Shu Bao seemed to be thinking about something significant, Fu Qing, usually wise, chose not to continue the topic. “By the way, what about the things you said you’d bring me?”

“Here!” Shu Bao immediately took out a pile of mutated grasshopper corpses from his bracelet and placed them in front of Fu Qing. “These are all for you. Aren’t you touched?”

These were only half of what Shu Bao had just collected! Aside from the ten marsh crocodiles needed for the task, the rest were all grasshoppers!

Fu Qing: “???”

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