Man, this sucks.
I can’t believe Mom forced all of us out of the swamp and stayed behind, does she want to die or something? I mean, I have an entire army, we could probably take that Sasobek guy down, right?
[[Answer. No.]]
"Oh shut it!" I yelled back at the Grand System.
"Lord?" Questioned the turtle beneath me.
Oh, right, I forgot these guys couldn’t hear the Spiritus Mundi except for me.
Currently, my army and I are leaving the marshlands while I lie on turtle’s back. Mom forced us out of this place and told us to head somewhere north. We were supposed to keep traveling until we came across a desert region, where there was supposedly some Holy City of Bubastis where a bunch of cats like me lived.
If that’s true, then I can’t wait to see what they have to offer!
But... despite my excitement, will Mom be okay? She was strong, yeah, I get that, but I could tell she was nervous when she talked about Sasobek. That guy must seriously be a monster.
"Haaaah, man." I sighed, sitting like a loaf of bread, staring up into the sky. "It’s nothing, turtle, just keep moving along." I finally replied to him, wanting to scream in frustration.
"Lord, we Dragonfly scouts have discovered a new biome ten kilometers ahead!" One dragonfly said, flying right next to my ear.
"Huh? What kind of biome?" I asked.
"It appears to be a forest."
Oh, a forest, that’s much better than a dirty swamp. Hell yeah! I grew tired of this murky, stinky place, it’s about time I get to have a real adventure.
"Sounds good!" I said with a smile, containing my excitement.
Currently, Anurael, my brothers, and sisters were all with me; each riding on a separate turtle that had a makeshift nest on their back. It was gonna be a long and dangerous journey, but I was strong enough to protect them, not to mention, I had an entire army with me thanks to my King of the Swamp title.
[Wait a second... oh crap! What’s gonna happen when we leave the swamp?! Will my Ruler effects go away or something?!]
[[Answer. Benefits of your title will vanish once you leave the swamp, including all swamp creatures recognizing you as their superior.]]
[Yo, what the hell, bruh?! Why didn’t you tell me this sooner!? This is important stuff!]
[[Because—despite the swamp creatures being influenced by the principle of your title, they will still serve you even after its effects wear off.]]
[Ehh? Seriously?]
[[Yes. They have taken a liking to you, for your merciless, quirky nature.]]
[Just because I have good ethics and a nice personality? That totally can’t be it. If only that worked back in my world!]
Man, what the hell, and here I thought I was gonna be mincemeat, but these guys love me either way; title or not.
Honestly, that made me feel a whole lot better, and more proud to be around these guys.
"Lord!" A frog soldier called out, hopping beside the turtle. "We should reach the forest within the hour. The terrain’s getting drier."
"Got it!" I shouted back. "Keep your eyes open for ambushes, just in case!"
The frog saluted before leaping off to alert the others.
I steadily watched the sky as it slowly turned orange. And you know the best part? The air felt lighter compared to the swamp’s humidity.
When I was living there, it smelled like rot and mud, every freaking day, but now it was fading from my nose.
"Finally..." I muttered. "That place was getting on my nerves."
Everything felt so peaceful right now—almost too peaceful.
The turtles ambled forward in unison while the frogs kept a lookout, the dragonflies flew in patterns that almost looked like constellations, and the snakes slithered quietly in grass and leaves. But as you may know, all good things must come to an end.
[[Alert. Multiple mana signatures detected ahead. Distance—eight kilometers.]]
[Mana signatures? From who?]
[[Answer. Beasts that are native to the swamp biome. But it isn’t my job to give you an exact answer. Just know that caution is advised.]]
"Oh, great..." I muttered, sitting upright. "We didn’t even make it out of the swamp yet and trouble’s already waiting."
"Lord?" The turtle beneath me asked, questioning what I was talking about.
"Just keep going." I said, stern in my expression. "We got people waiting on us up ahead, but if they wanna pick a fight, we’ll deal with it. If not, we’ll pass through quietly."
Truth was, I didn’t wanna start any fights, not yet anyway. Mom told me to head north, not start a war halfway there. But for some reason... a part of me kinda hoped they’d try something.
It’d be a good warm-up before whatever desert nonsense awaited us—nah, what am I kidding? I just wanna see my swamp army in action! Am I getting a little too prideful?
"Hey, Anurael!" I shouted, glancing at the frog beside me, or in other words, heir of the former swamp king.
It slowly woke up on the turtle’s back, sleeping on the makeshift nest.
"Ribbit!"
[Huh, I never noticed. He can’t understand me, despite my title, that’s pretty weird. Aren’t all swamp creatures supposed to know what I’m saying?]
"Be on the lookout, dude, I’m counting on you too! Who knows if we’ll be ambushed or not? I need you armed and ready just in case."
"RIBIT!"
I don’t know if he was talking back, or agreeing with me, but in any case, I was freaking ready.
My brothers and sisters still couldn’t open their eyes, so it was up to me to protect them. Mom put her faith in me, and I won’t let her down. No way in hell!
There’s so much to this world that I don’t know, like its history, mythical creatures, and why I was reincarnated here, but there is one thing that remains, and that’s will. As long as I had my will, I could get through anything, no matter how hard it may be.
+
And so, a few hours have passed, and we walked over eight kilometers where the supposed swamp beasts were waiting for us. We just had two kilometers left before we entered the forest, but now we had to freaking fight our way through; at least, that’s what I’m assuming.
"Be on your best lookout." I ordered my army, and they all listened respectfully.
All of a sudden, my keen senses started to sense something. That peaceful atmosphere that I was feeling all this time had suddenly vanished and was replaced by a suffocating heaviness that made the frogs croak in unease and the turtles slow their pace.
Even the dragonflies froze midair with their wings trembling as the ground beneath us started to rumble.
Wait, no, it wasn’t only the ground, but also a large patch of water beside us as well. It started bubbling, sending mud and muck splashing into the air.
I could see small ripples spread out in every direction before a deep vibrating sound came from the swamp water.
"Oh, that’s not good!" I shouted as my tail puffed up instinctively. "Not good at all!"
I could hear the rumbling grow louder until the surface exploded. A massive serpent head shot out of the swampwater with dark green scales. A second followed, then a third, each with golden slit eyes that glared right at me. It was three enormous serpents with their bodies intertwined and rising high above the treeline, hissing at me.
[[Attention. Hydra Serpent Guardians have awakened. Boss-Class beast.]]
I stared up at them with my jaw hanging open.
"Those are the border guardians? Mom didn’t tell me about these guys!"
The turtle beneath me was shaken up in fear.
"It’s the Swamp Guardians!!" Shouted one frog in fear.
"Oh no, they’re tasked with protecting the marsh border from intruders! They’re just as strong, if not, stronger than Croak’mar!" Said one snake.
"L-Lord... permission to retreat?" Asked the turtle beneath me.
"Denied!" I said instantly, gaining all of their attention. "We’re not running! If we do, they’ll chase us anyway, and besides..." I smirked, swaying my tail. "We could use a warm-up!"
The serpents hissed louder with their combined roars shaking the ground.
Water sprayed off their bodies as they slithered fully out of the swamp, each one easily the size of a fortress tower.
[Any tips, Spiritus?]
[[Caution. Each head possesses a unique affinity; Acid, Toxin, and Corrosion.]]
"Great, even better!" I muttered with a smile. "Alright everyone, let’s make a battle formation! Frogs, spread out and form a perimeter defense! Dragonflies, airborne support, make sure to harass their eyes! Snakes, stay low and strike if they breach the perimeter!"
"YES, LORD!" The frogs croaked in unison.
[Shit, I have no idea if what I’m doing is gonna work or not, I just read a lot of battle mangas growing up and I’m going by their ideas. Let’s just hope for the best, Keiko!]
"Alright stank-breath, you’re about to see what a kitty cat like me can do!"