In the cavern where rotting wood met a swamp of sludge, the mire was thick and black as ink, swallowing up the faint glow of the firefly grass above.
A cluster of sludge monsters wallowed in it, basking in its warmth like a comfortable bed.
Compared to the other cave-dwelling creatures—beetles, swamp boas, or mist frogs—the sludge monsters had multiplied like weeds.
Yet only days ago, their numbers had barely reached twenty.
This explosive population boom all stemmed from a “feast.” The dead Pujis, brimming with mana, could each be broken down to fuel three rounds of sludge monster division.
Their rapid reproduction had nothing to do with ability—only abundant resources.
One sludge monster floated lazily near the swamp’s surface, digesting the last third of a Puji within its body.
Suddenly, its form quivered, releasing a string of bubbles that popped softly with a “bloop.”
Along with them surfaced a new creature, barely half its size.
The newborn, still muddle-minded, seized a twig and stuffed it inside itself. The Pujis had long since been devoured by its elders; it would have to settle for wood.The parent, now diminished from division, rolled along the swamp’s bottom to soak up more muck, replenishing itself.
But when it surfaced again, the newborn was gone—only a twig broken into three pieces drifted nearby.
Its simple mind had no time to piece together what had happened before a mana cannon shot struck it dead-on.
Crack—!
Its body burst apart, but it didn’t die immediately. Sludge monsters had no vital core. Wounded, they simply lost HP, their remains writhing to reform…
A heavy foot came crashing down!
The remnants splattered apart, killing it completely.
Louisa, half-submerged in the mire, pushed on with a grim expression.
Cave Eight hadn’t been occupied for long. Aside from the sludge monsters, few other creatures were inside.
But the place stank and squelched, utterly revolting. She had no choice but to wade through, ensuring no slime was left alive.
Even the blood here reeked—so foul she couldn’t stomach it.
She’d already suffered through this once before, the first time they cleared Cave Eight. To return again was pure torment.
The Pujis, however, adapted well. Quick on their legs, some even ran across the swamp’s surface.
Most of the sludge monsters were newly divided, weak and untrained.
In less than half a day, the cave was cleared, fit for Pujis to inhabit.
Since the invaders hadn’t destroyed all of the mycelium, Louisa didn’t have to wait for regrowth this time. She headed straight for the next target—the serpent lair they’d failed to take before.
It would be grueling, she expected to spend days there.
Yet as soon as she stepped inside, she noticed something wrong.
The deep hiss of scales sliding, the constant shuffling that once filled the den—it was gone.
The walls still teemed with serpent burrows, but no slithering life moved within them.
Louisa frowned, advancing deeper with the Pujis.
The entire den was drenched in silence, suffocating and unnatural, as though every serpent had vanished overnight.
At the very heart lay a massive pit, filled with layers upon layers of shriveled, ashen snake-skins.
With her night vision, Louisa also spotted crushed serpent eggs buried beneath.
Not eggs hatched by newborns, but smashed flat underfoot.
On the ground lay drag marks—straight and brutal, not the winding S-trails of serpents, but as though something heavy had been scraped away.
The faint scent of snake blood lingered. Barely there—only her vampire senses could detect it.
“Something… wiped them out?” Louisa muttered.
Predation?
But what could do this?
The intruder hadn’t left a single serpent corpse—only skins and fading blood scent. They’d eaten everything.
Even the Elder’s mycelium always left some hard bones behind. Ordinary monsters never devoured so cleanly.
Yet if it were slimes, they wouldn’t have spared the snake-skins either.
Louisa couldn’t match the scene to any known monster.
This den had taken snakes countless years to carve out. Their long dominance proved no natural predator capable of exterminating them existed nearby.
Which meant it must have come from a Rift.
Louisa scanned the pit, then smirked. “So I get to claim this place ready-made?”
No need to wear herself down purging snakes. That was at least good news.
She sniffed—
And froze. A familiar scent reached her.
Her finger rose. A small blood sphere gathered at the tip.
Instead of weaving threads, she flicked it forward.
The crimson drop struck earth—
And from the ground burst a razor-thin arc of scarlet, slashing outward like lightning!
Instantly, the air split with sharp cracks.
Twisting light fractured—hidden forms were revealed.
Carapaced beetle corpses shimmered into sight, their purple ichor spraying as the blood-blade carved a corridor of gore.
Silence lasted a heartbeat.
Then came the sound—skittering, countless legs, flooding in from every direction!
The outermost Puji screamed as massive pincers sheared off its legs before a tide of beetles swallowed it whole.
It detonated.
The blast hurled insects aside—but more surged forth.
Louisa transformed into a bat, bolting outward. She had a deep-set fear of fighting swarms.
At the same time, her will stirred. The Pujis who couldn’t outrun the swarm all turned and leapt into the mass, blossoming into explosions.
“Boss! It’s the ones you’re looking for!”
The ones I’m looking for?
Lin Jun, in the middle of upgrading Norris’s skills, shifted some focus back to the front line.
【Mana Sense LV7】
【Sonic Detection LV6】
The enemy Louisa faced appeared in his perception:
【Race: Chiss–Pincer Beetle】
【Level: LV9】
【Racial Trait: Mindless】
【Passive Effect: Mental Control】
【Skills: Cold Resistance LV5, Refractive Stealth LV4, Pincer Strike LV3, Chitin Shell LV3…】
And beyond the swarm, Lin Jun sensed something Louisa had missed—
【Race: Chiss–Eye Bug】
【Level: LV31】
【Racial Traits: Mindless, Floating】
【Passive Effects: Mental Control, Psychic Node】
【Skills: Night Vision LV7, Refractive Stealth LV6, Acceleration LV6, Cold Resistance LV6…】
So this was the “eye” Norris had seen?