"Do you know where you are going?" Drakira asked.

They were all in the Abyssal land, all the masters and the Stronghide chief. And they were fairly deep within it. They all followed behind Karathra dutifully, but they had been walking for a while, and she couldn't hold herself back anymore.

Karathra turned to glare at Drakira. "Of course! Out of everyone, I was the only one that followed the chief and all the other banner lords the day we all came here to mark down the area."

She had already told Galthor about it. Although there was no territory or official splitting of the Abyssal land, they had all tacitly agreed to each banner hunting at certain areas.

The area they were moving through right now belongs to the Stronghide.

"I only think we should start from this place is all," Karathra said as she continued to lead them. This far into the Abyssal land, there wasn't any stray monsters to be found. Any monsters here should be strong to hold its territory, or enough to be able to make a quick escape as need be.

But even then, they had to be careful of the natural traps that the Abyssal land set itself. For example, the trees around them, some of them only use blood and flesh to nourish themselves and so anytime a creature nears them, they would suddenly come alive, bristling with fangs and sharpened roots that felt like iron.

Luckily, such trees aren't strong enough to cause serious harm to the masters. They are more like annoyance. At least, at this level of the Abyssal land.

Galthor watched everything with impassive eyes and let his warriors deal with all the annoyance. Even when they encountered an evil spirit that sung so beautifully that Ashclaw and most of the males almost ran to it before Hrothgar punched all of them in the head hard enough for them to feel dizzy.

Of course, such seductive illusion did not work on Galthor and the evil spirit fled.

"We are here!" Karathra declared and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The deeper they went, the more they felt on edge as if there were dangers they were getting closer to that they absolutely did not want to meet.

"Where is here?" Galthor asked. He looked around and the area he found himself was still relatively the same as everywhere else in the Abyssal land so far.

Karathra grinned and then walked a few steps forward, she then pointed. "We are here at the swamp!"

Galthor stepped forward to have a look and indeed, he could see a swamp of muddy ground covered in thin layers of fog spread for at least one hundred meters.

Looking at the swamp looked innocent but some kind of dangerous aura covered it that instantly put everyone on edge.

"What exactly is in that swamp?" Ashclaw asked. "I can feel something strange about it. Is this the place with the cursed monster?"

Everyone had already adjusted themselves and held their weapons at the ready.

Karathra nodded, her own axe at the ready. "Yes. Under this swamp is a monster. I don't know the type of monster though but I know it's a cursed one."

There was no reason to add the last bit, they all could feel the powers of the cursed monster seeping out from the swamp like some kind of toxin and although it did not harm them, it burned the throat as they breathed.

Galthor frowned. "Let's take a few steps back and strategize on how to take it on."

Currently, there are eight of them, seven masters and Galthor.

"Let's split into two. Karathra will lead the first and I'll handle the second team."

No one disagrees with that and they silently rearranged themselves.

Galthor gestured to Karathra's team. "Bait the monster out and we'll hit it unaware. You guys are to keep its attention on yourself."

Karathra nodded as she took Drakira, Hrothgar and two other masters with her.

Galthor was left with Ashclaw and Brakthar.

Karathra and her team made their way to the edge of the swamp while Galthor retreated to take cover from one of the trees.

They spread themselves around the edge of the swamp and Karathra, with her war axe covered in red light, swung it as if she was swinging a dried tree branch.

What followed was an oppressive wave of hurricane as an axe energy leaped forward in vivid arc. The surface of the swamp shivered, then trembled as the axe arc blasted past to strike the middle of the swamp.

A massive explosion went off, as a chunk of the swamp was parted by the energy as if a giant hand was taken to it to clear it. And in that brief moment that the swamp parted, they saw a monster of rolling ugly flesh and yellow eyes turn towards them.

Mud and stinky water rained down with splatters as the swamp returned to a disfigured shape of its former self.

Karathra and her team already began to retreat the instant she made her attack. The swamp shivered and then with a wet, sucky sound, it exploded once more but this time it came from the inside.

Something leaped out from the swamp. Four limbs, rough wrinkled skin and mouth that took up most of the head.

Galthor was stunned when he saw it. "A toad? This is a fucking toad!"

But not at this size, he had never heard of one this big before. It must be at least twenty meters big and its flesh was a dull brown filled with large warts that bled yellow blood.

With a thud that shook the ground, the toad landed, then it croaked angrily, sounding like twenty angry bulls shouting as one. Yellow eyes turned towards Karathra and her team as they ran and it jumped after them without hesitation.

For something so large and bulky it was fast and strong. Unlike the running barbarians, the toad did little to avoid the trees as it smashed through most of them, only taking great pains to avoid the truly older trees.

Galthor came out from his hiding place and gestured.

The hunt has begun.

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