Praise the Orc! Chapter 193:

Chapter 193 – The Swamp (2)

The snake that was hit by Zankus’ arrow disappeared into the swamp forest . Only a red blood stain remained where the snake was .  Crockta’s group gazed at the place where the snake disappeared and then looked at each other . It was a humid place that gave off an eerie feeling .

“Should we continue dot?”

“Where else should we go?”

“Call back the thunderbird…”

‘Chirpppppppp…!’

“……”

Crockta cleared his throat and stepped forward first .  He realized it when he took the first step . His boots sank down a little bit . It was slippery mud, but not enough to stop them from walking .

“We can walk . ” He stepped into the forest with all his weight .  “It feels bad . ”

The air was humid . It felt like poisonous insects would appear out of nowhere .  Crockta walked a few steps and waved his hand .  He watched the place where the snake was hiding . The serpent’s blood remained and the bark and vegetation that it touched was being corroded away .  It was an awful poison .

“The serpent . ” Crockta looked back at the party and said, “Let’s pass through it quickly . Be careful . ”

However, their expressions weren’t bright . Rather, they seemed surprised . Tiyo pointed to Crockta with his mouth open .  Crockta shrugged and said, “What? Is everybody scared? Only this much…”

Dduk .

Suddenly, something fell on his shoulders .  Crockta raised his head .

Shaaaah-!

A giant snake’s mouth was wide up open towards Crockta . Venom was dripping from the sharp fangs .  Crockta was so surprised that he couldn’t make a sound . The snake gradually approached . Poison dripped from its fangs .  Crockta couldn’t express his surprise but instinctively swung his sword .

“Waaahhhhhhhh!”

The moment he wielded New Slayer,

Shaaaah!

The snake was frightened and twisted its head but it ended up slashed in half .  Crockta hurriedly avoided it, but it was inevitable that some blood touched his body . Pain radiated from where the poisonous blood had hit .

Crockta hurriedly rushed away from the radius of the dying snake .  He touched his shoulder . The skin was melted due to the poisonous liquid . The poison continued to cause pain . His face distorted .

“Kuk, this snake bastard…”

Pain and anger jumbled together . He lifted New Slayer and slashed the snake again and again .  The snake was eventually cut into dozens of pieces .

“Pant, pant . ”

Crockta took deep breaths .  Tiyo carefully approached and asked, “A-are you okay dot…?”

“The place where the poison touched it a little painful . ”

“Poison? I have no knowledge about poison dot . ”

Zankus spoke, “Show me your shoulders . ”

A hunter probably knew about different types of serpents . He looked at both the snake’s body and Crockta’s shoulder before pulling something out .

“Oh, is there an antidote dot?”

“It isn’t an antidote but any experienced hunter would know…”

It was a potion .

“Potions are the best . ”

Zankus sprinkled the potion on Crockta’s shoulder . Then the pain began . Potions were truly the best against poison .

“Indeed, potions are the best . ”

“It is a good idea to buy a lot when there is a discount . ’

“I will remember that . ”

Crockta sprinkled potions on every painful spot on his body .

“Anyway, it isn’t easy . ” Zankus looked at the forest and said .  There were two huge snakes from the beginning . In addition, they had terrible poison . It would be dangerous .  However, nobody said to go back .

“Break through the front . That is our way dot . ”

Tiyo lifted General in a ready stance and moved forward .  Crockta, Zankus, and Anor followed .  After entering the swamp, the ecology had completely changed .  The animals and creatures had disappeared, leaving only strange insects and plants that they saw for the first time .

“This is a more dangerous place than the ogres’ habitat in the great forest . ”

The dangers in this swamp went beyond the level of being threatened by ogres .  It wasn’t a physical threat, but the insects and unknown ecology weren’t something Crockta’s group had experienced before .  A snake biting them out of nowhere was scarier than a dozen ogres .

“Be careful…”

Tiyo and Crockta took the lead, Anor was in the middle and Zankus followed in the rear .  Crockta gazed at the shaded forest and walked carefully . The mud of the swamp grabbed at their feet with every step .

“Crockta, to the right!”

All of a sudden, Zankus shouted .  Crockta immediately pulled out his greatsword and swung it to the right .

“Kuaaaang!”

This time, it was a leopard . Patterns covered its entire body . Once the surprise attack failed, the leopard landed on the ground and gazed at Crockta .

“A leopard is attacking me . ”

Crockta laughed .  He was a friend of the great tiger Simba, the king of the forest .

“Get lost . Then I will spare your life . ”

Perhaps it felt the terrible pressure coming from Crockta, but the leopard started to flee .  It was at that moment .  On the floor where nothing seemed to be present, something bit the leopard . The long and fat body entwined around the leopard in a flash .

It was a snake .  The leopard was unable to resist and became the snake’s prey . The snake bit the leopard and then looked at Crockta’s group .  Crockta’s mouth twisted as he lifted New Slayer .  The snake realized it couldn’t afford to go against them and turned away . The leopard’s dead body disappeared somewhere along with the snake .

“This is a really dangerous place . ”

A place where camouflaged enemies awaited their prey .  That was this place, the swamp .

“Wait a minute . ” Anor said, telling them to shut up .  “From the snake who just left…”

Before Anor could finish speaking, the sparrow on his head flew to a certain place .  It was the direction that the snake had disappeared in .

“What dot? Did you send it?”

“No . It is moving at will . ”

“What dot?”

“Well, I can feel something from the direction that the snake left in . ” Anor looked in that direction with a determined face .  “There is something there . I don’t know exactly what . ”

“It is something related to a necromancer, perhaps a dungeon or artifact . ”

Zankus nodded . Tiyo shouted .

“Okay, then we should go there dot!”

“I wonder what will happen . ”

“Kulkulkul, it is a new adventure . ”

Anor was baffled, “No, I mean, it will be dangerous…”

“Anor! Let’s go dot! Lead the way!”

“I was saying be careful and don’t go…”

“Guide us dot!”

 

***

They went through the swamp for a while .  Zankus examined the tracks on the ground; his hunter’s eyes found signs of snakes in many places .  The snakes were heading in the direction that Anor felt the power .

“What will it be dot? Perhaps you are just imagining it?”

“No . There is definitely something . ”

Crockta looked around .  In fact, he also felt something .  The Demon’s Mouth around his waist was rattling .  It hadn’t woken up in a while . The guy inside was still asleep, but the belt was dragging him in the same direction as Anor’s feeling . It felt like he was being pulled .  There was a feeling that something might be on the other end .

“There . ”

And there really was something .

A stone pyramid greeted them . It was covered with moss and bushes, but it was definitely a pyramid . The scale was greater than they imagined .  The snake they pursued was also near the pyramid . In addition to that, there were several snakes crawling around the pyramid .

“There must be something in that pyramid . ” Zankus was already giving an interested smiled .  “The entrance is there . Is it locked?”

There was a doorway under the pyramid, but it was firmly closed .  Crockta’s companions exchanged glances and approached .  The snakes realized there were intruders and raised their heads . Their forked tongues hissed at Crockta’s group .

Crockta pulled out New Slayer . The snakes’ heads reared back .  As Crockta pointed the big sword at them, the snakes couldn’t get closer .

“Smart guys . ”

The serpents stared at them as they stood at the entrance .  Zankus grabbed the door handle and pulled .  It was firmly locked .

“It won’t open . ”

Tiyo and Anor also pulled once, but it didn’t open . Zankus examined the door . It was built firmly and no gaps could be seen .  Crockta went forward .

“I’ll open it . ”

Tiyo shook his head .

“It is a locked door . You can’t open this…”

Sururung!

Crockta moved his hand and the door opened with a grinding sound .  Everyone was surprised when it opened so easily .

“How…?”

“No way . ”

Zankus nodded .

“The door seems to have magic that judges people based on whether they are qualified or not . ”

“Qualified?”

“It might be a place for Crockta . ”

They all looked at Crockta .  His companions always forgot, but Crockta was a fearsome warrior who won against the great chieftain in the north and defeated the empire’s large army alone . He wasn’t an ordinary orc .  The pyramid acknowledged Crockta .

Crockta coughed .

“Hmm, let’s enter . ”

The admiration of the party continued .

“Truly Crockta…my companion dot!”

“Amazing . ”

“Kulkul, this child has become like this…”

Crockta ignored them, moving forward while muttering, “If pulling doesn’t work, push the door…”

 

***

The pyramid was in the center of a humid swamp, but the interior was completely dry . It was rather dry .  What was this place? The snakes had hovered around, as if they were guarding the pyramid . They had to be guarding something .

“Do you still feel it?”

Crockta asked Anor .  Anor nodded . He looked around the pyramid, as if he were trying to pick up that energy .  Crockta also felt the Demon’s Mouth responding at his waist .  Something existed here that had to do with both necromancy and the Demon’s Mouth .

“There doesn’t seem to be anything dangerous . ”

Crockta placed New Slayer back on his back .  There were no snakes or insects inside the pyramid . The monsters guarding dungeons couldn’t be seen . They kept moving forward .

Suddenly, Zankus said, “Strange . ”

“What are you saying dot?”

“We’ve been walking for a long time . ”

“That’s right dot . ”

“Was the pyramid that big?”

“……!”

They had walked in a straight line from the entrance .  The pyramid wasn’t small, but they shouldn’t have been walking so long .  However, they had already been walking for a long time .  Zankus placed the light he was holding on to the ground and measured something .

“Is it going downhill?”

Crockta asked? As he said, the ground was at a slight **** that was leading underground . If so, it was possible for them to walk that long .

Zankus shook his head .  “It doesn’t seem like it . ”

“Then…”

“Something is going on . ”

Crockta looked at the end of the passage . The Demon’s Mouth at his waist kept pulling him .  There was something at the end of this path .

“Keep going . What will be in here?”

“Go dot!”

They kept walking .  At the end of the passage, a large space appeared . The ceiling was high and something unknown was emitting a light .  However, the glow wasn’t blinding .  The light source illuminated the inside of the space so that they could see clearly, but it was calm enough that they could open their eyes .

At that moment, “Who are you?”

Crockta’s group turned towards the voice .  A man was looking at them . The man was impeccably dressed and didn’t seem to suit the pyramid .  

“An orc and gnome . A dark elf…”

But Crockta could see it .  There was a tail coming from the back of the man’s suit .  The tail resembled a scorpion’s and the tip was sharp .

“I will start the introductions . My name is Abaddon . You are uninvited guests, but I would like to welcome you to this place . ”