Chapter 2302: The Thing Under the Mud
Translated by XephiZ
Edited by Aelryinth
The large swarm of flies got their wish, and eagerly split into two clouds. One of them dove into the mud to feast on the dead body.
The other cloud lunged at the head and circled the stump like a gathering around a bonfire.
The head had retained the soldier’s terrified, wide-eyed expression.
He thought he was saved when the Hippopotamus Beast pulled him out of the mud, but he did not expect it to tear off his neck.
The noise of the flies was utterly annoying, even amid the loud rain.
Mo Fan, Mu Bai, and Zhao Manyan went over to the dead body. Their hearts sank when they saw what had happened.
“Is there really no way we can save them?” Lt. Colonel Mason asked in disbelief.
The lieutenants shook their heads.
The regiment had over a thousand people, and many of them had fallen into the mud. The same tragedy that happened to the first soldier was happening to other soldiers in the swamps.
The mud only covered the ankles of some of the soldiers, yet they still were struggling to pull their feet out.
They were basically dead once their legs sank into the mud!
More Life-Hanging Flies came over to feast on the corpses. They were able to dive into the mud and fly out of it after they were done eating. They would then look for a tree hole in the woods to lay their eggs.
It was true that the Life-Hanging Flies were able to predict one’s death!
“Old Zhao, even you can’t dig them out?” Mo Fan asked quietly.
Zhao Manyan shook his head.
He was already a Super Earth Mage, yet he was still having trouble altering the structure of the swamp.
Those with half their bodies under the mud felt like their bodies had become one with the swamp. Trying to drag them out of the swamp with force was only going to tear them in half!
“If I freeze the whole swamp, it’s basically telling the Brown Rebels where we are,” Mu Bai said helplessly.
——–
Time gradually pa.s.sed. The gra.s.s patches that were safe to walk on were slowly covered by mud as the water level rose.
The mud was in patches at first, like a wet field with walkable ridges between the sections.
However, the patches joined together as the rain kept falling. The walkable ridges were soon drowned under the mud.
They had no chance of crossing the swamp, and they would be in trouble if they stayed still for too long.
If they moved, they might step into the deadly mud by accident. If they did not move, they were waiting for the mud to devour them!
“Mo Fan, what are you doing? Are you going to bury the head so it can find its peace? I think it would rather want you to dry it out on a tree than be buried under the ground here,” Zhao Manyan scoffed.
Mo Fan lifted the torn head and inspected it carefully, ignoring him.
Mo Fan pointed at the stump of the neck and said, “The head still has a part of its neck under it. There’s some mud here.”
“d.a.m.n it, they say those who handle cinnabar are stained red, while those who work with ink are stained black. Don’t you be like Mu Bai!” Zhao Manyan immediately looked away.
“They are struggling to pull their legs out after stepping into the mud, but look at this part of his neck. It was already under the mud, but the Hippopotamus Beast tore him in half because of its outstanding strength,” Mo Fan pointed out.
“Can you please take my feelings into consideration? I have no interest in dead bodies!” Zhao Manyan swore impatiently, not looking.
Mu Bai, however, stuck his face in and inspected the dead body closely.
“The mud is sticky, but it doesn’t make sense that it has such a strong pulling force,” Mu Bai muttered.
“Take a look at this.” Mo Fan turned the head around.
Zhao Manyan went to the side and vomited.
Mu Bai looked closer and noticed something unusual. “Fingerprints?” he exclaimed.
“Claw marks,” Mo Fan corrected. He wiped the mud off the neck and revealed a faint claw mark on it.
“Something is grabbing them from under the mud!” Mu Bai exclaimed.
Mo Fan nodded.
The soil was fine. Mo Fan was also an Earth Mage, and had checked the mud thoroughly.
The mud might be sticky, but there was no way it was strong enough to resist Mo Fan’s Telekinesis or a Summoned Beast’s strength. Therefore, Mo Fan was suspecting that either the Curse Magic was in play, or there was something unusual under the mud.
“Yeah, but I have no clue what it is for now,” Mo Fan said.
“If there’s really something down there, the Life-Hanging Flies might be able to outline it for us,” Mu Bai said.
Mo Fan did not understand.
Mu Bai opened his hand. He was holding a dark blue powder that looked like some Demon-Tracking Powder. It began floating toward the Life-Hanging Flies instead of disappearing in the rain.
“I’ve applied this Blue Fluorescence Bone Powder to the Life-Hanging Flies that are diving into the mud,” Mu Bai told him.
“Smart!” Mo Fan raised his thumb at Mu Bai.
“We should see something soon.” Mu Bai stared at the swamp.
The Blue Fluorescence Bone Powder was a kind of colorful powder that would attach to demon creatures and could not be removed easily. It was an advanced magic powder designed to track down demon creatures. Only skilled herbalists knew how to mix the powder. It was a hot-seller among the Hunters.
Mu Bai was indeed getting better at being a herbalist.
The Blue Fluorescent Bone Powder was effective against spirits, phantoms, and invisible creatures. The powder would make them glow with fluorescence.
They would be able to see the light of the Blue Fluorescent Bone Powder through the mud, unless the creatures were deep in the mud.
“Sir, there’s something in the mud. Ask the soldiers to keep an eye on the dark blue glow,” Mo Fan warned Lt. Colonel Mason.
“What is it?” Mason asked quickly.
“We don’t know, we are still looking for it,” Mo Fan said.
The swamp was as calm as a black lake. There were no strange bubbles or movement on it.
The Black Fluorescent Bone Powder was stuck to the Life-Hanging Flies.
The soldiers could see a faint blue light, which was like glowing sand in the mud. It was the Life-Hanging Flies, feeding on the corpses.
The blue light soon outlined human figures in the mud. The mages above were disgusted by the sight.
However, the soldiers were dumbfounded after seeing the changes made visible by the Blue Fluorescent Bone Powder!
The human figures were moving! They were moving toward the soldiers who had just fallen into the mud!
They had already died of suffocation, yet they were reaching out their arms to grab the ankles of the soldiers who were still alive.
They were like fiends from h.e.l.l who were dragging living humans into the mud!
The soldiers were staring at the outlines of the human figures, but their scalps had gone numb just watching them.
It was not some other creatures that were dragging the soldiers into the mud.
It was the dead soldiers, who were dragging down their own friendlies!