NOVEL NEXT Chapter 441: Strike While the Iron is Hot
"Hei Lang, check all the equipment, and also, do you have gear for the Swamp?"
"This, big brother..."
At this point, Hei Lang seemed suddenly at a loss.
He had anticipated various road conditions before, including some very complex situations.
But the one thing he hadn't considered was the Swamp.
"Alright, alright, enough of that, let's go. We'll talk about it when we get there. Maybe we won't need to get close to the Swamp to find these things?"
With these words, everyone nodded, and after that, they finally followed the hunter and headed deeper into the area.
Sure enough, the path they chose now was relatively smooth.
Although there were some uneven spots along the way, on the whole, they didn't encounter any significant dangers.
After about an hour of hard travel, Lin Yi already felt as if he couldn't keep up physically.
He turned his head to look at Ling'er; if he was struggling with his strength, how would Ling'er, just a girl, cope with all this?
Sure enough, he saw that Ling'er's face was somewhat pale, and her breathing was noticeably labored as she walked.
"Big brother, can we stop for a bit? I really can't keep up," she said
As she spoke, she ran up to the front where the hunter was.
But when he thought about it, the hunter still seemed quite energetic, his expression unfazed and his heart steady.
"What did I tell you? Your physical strength is a burden, and we haven't been walking for long. Are you already unable to persist?"
"You know we usually travel by car and rarely go hiking, and we've been trudging for over an hour now."
"No wonder. Alright, then let's take a brief rest, but we absolutely can't rest for too long—ten minutes at most."
"Okay, okay, ten minutes it is," she agreed.
The thought of even a single minute of rest was welcome, not to mention ten minutes.
And everybody was well aware that right now they might be able to take a short break.
But if it were to get late, then resting for even an extra minute could invite danger.
"I'll make it clear to you now, we're not leaving this place today. So no matter how late it gets, no matter what happens, and no matter how tired you are, we must keep going. If we stop, danger could come at any moment."
Sure enough, just after thinking about it, the hunter immediately shared this with them.
"Okay, I got it. And I've brought plenty of tents, so we should be able to set them up without a problem."
"We'll see how it goes. If we find a suitable place, we may be able to use the tents. But with the current conditions, putting up tents here would be like walking into a trap. Got it?"
As he spoke, the hunter looked nervously around the environment.
Lin Yi looked up and around; although there were trees all around, it was clear that setting up a tent here would make the place very conspicuous.
He nodded silently. In this complex wilderness, he had to be cautious and careful.
Fortunately, he felt that his decision to bring someone very familiar with the environment was very wise; otherwise, they might have found it very difficult to navigate this place.
"Alright, I'm good to go. Let's hurry up. Big brother, how much longer will it take?"
Ling'er knew that she probably had the least endurance of anyone there, so as soon as she felt it was about time, she quickly stood up and spoke to the hunter proactively.
"Hold on, let me check the map. Hm, we're at this spot right now, and then if we circle around this mountain range... right, behind these mountains, yes, here. It should take about 20 more minutes to get there."
"Twenty minutes? Then let's make one push and head straight there. You mean beyond that range, right?"
"Yes, didn't I tell you? The hardest environment of the Swamp, and moreover, it thrives in shade."
Lin Yi nodded and they all got to their feet and resumed their tough journey.
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Hei Lang, on the other hand, was used to exercising regularly, and honestly, such a distance wasn't much for him at all.
Overall, he felt relaxed, especially since he was also carrying a large bag on his back, the weight of which no one knew.
Finally, they saw a very peculiar hill in front of them, the landscape rolling and undulating, not looking very treacherous.
"Sigh, this place. Now we'll go around from the side over there to its back, then we should reach the Swamp," he explained.
"Do I feel a dampness on me right now?"
"Yes, we're approaching a water source now, including the Swamp, which is why the air around here is humid," the hunter confirmed.
While talking, they continued following the guide, circling from the other side of that hill, passing straight through.
"This... this doesn't look like a Swamp. Have we gone the wrong way?"
After turning around, what he saw was simply an expanse of grassland.
Lin Yi thought they had taken a wrong turn. If that were the case, wouldn't this hour and a half of travel have been a complete waste?
As he spoke, he walked forward, but at that moment, the hunter suddenly reached out and pulled him back.
At that moment, Lin Yi had already extended one leg. If he hadn't been pulled back in time, he would have likely stepped onto that grassland.
"What is it, big brother? Is there a problem?"
He noticed that the hunter had pulled him back very forcefully,
making it clear that the hunter had sensed some danger.
So Lin Yi tensed up and looked ahead.
Beyond the grassland, he saw no signs of an unusual environment, which should have meant the area was safe. So why was he being so cautious?
"Are you all clueless? What you see is not grassland; it's the Swamp."