Hiding in the swamp, Chen Yu watched Sergash take cover in the water as well. He silently shifted deeper into the mire, then cautiously poked his head out to keep watching.
He had to admit, this Lizardman's vitality was truly impressive. She could still move after all that, and even dared to let her wounds come into contact with the filthy swamp water. It was as if she had no fear of infection whatsoever.
A moment ago, while hiding behind a rock, he had watched the entire confrontation between the two groups of Sub-humans. However, he quickly ran into a problem.
He'd listened to the Sub-humans jabbering away for ages, but couldn't understand a single word. Their conflict was a complete mystery to him.
Therefore, he had no intention of helping either the female Lizardman or the hunting party.
But as luck would have it—whether because the female Lizardman was not fated to die or simply because of a stroke of fortune—the previous Little Arrow Skill had just provoked a new round of conflict between the Poisonous Sting Bees and the Beetles.
The moment the group of Sub-humans arrived, they instantly enraged the Poisonous Sting Bees, which treated them as invaders. Poisonous Stings filled the air like a shower of stars.
At first, Chen Yu had thought he couldn't handle the Poisonous Sting Bees because Slimes were too weak. But now he saw that even these Sub-humans were getting hammered by the bees' Poisonous Stings.
'It seems there's a good reason the Poisonous Sting Bees can occupy this tall Twisted Oak Tree.'
The hunting party scattered in chaos, with the three Sub-humans fleeing for their lives. The buzzing gradually subsided, and the forest returned to its tranquil state.
Not everyone had left, though. The female Lizardman was still hiding in the water.
This was Chen Yu's first time facing such an Alien Race. He didn't dare to approach her recklessly, so he remained hidden in the swamp, watching and observing.
...
Sergash lay hidden in the muddy pool. Only when she saw the Poisonous Sting Bees above had quieted down did she slowly let out a breath of relief.
After recovering a bit of her strength, she exhaustedly swam to the opposite bank, dragged herself ashore, and lay on the ground, gasping for breath.
"It must be Putu protecting me."
Having survived a life-and-death crisis, she was completely drained, but she still forced herself to rise. She carefully knelt by the bank and prayed devoutly, chanting an obscure and unintelligible prayer.
The prayer was in the ancient Sub-human tongue, taught to her personally by her father. Though the prayer's meaning had been lost to the mists of time, her father had once told her that prayer was merely a formality. As long as one maintained a heart full of reverence and worship for Putu, the gateway to the swamp would forever remain open to the Lizardmen.
After her prayer, Sergash slowly opened her eyes, her expression filled with sorrow. "Father was right. Putu is watching over and favoring us. But from now on, those Lizardmen obsessed with the power of the Spirit of Scale and Claw will be forever lost in the lies of power woven by the corrupting Morgul."
"Once I return to Putu's embrace, there will be no Lizardmen left on the riverbanks who believe in nature..."
At this thought, Sergash unconsciously clenched her fists. Her mind replayed that blood-soaked night—she couldn't forget the blood gushing from her father's chest, or the ruthless, cold expression on the Priest's face.
She knelt on the ground, unable to find peace for a long while. But her attention was soon captured by green bubbles rising in the water.
The sun climbed higher in the sky. Morning light filtered down into the gloomy forest, barely managing to dispel the pervasive toxic mist. Rays of light pierced the canopy, creating dappled patches on the swamp and ground, one of which fell upon Sergash.
Her body grew warmer, and even her cold blood seemed to gradually heat up.
In the swamp, Slimes began to surface from the water one after another, lazily basking in the sun and beginning their daily feeding.
These Slimes seemed to have no fear of Sergash. They were actually quite friendly, even boldly hopping into her lap to vie for a spot in the sun.
The sight brought a warmth to her heart, slightly dispelling the dark memories that clouded her mind.
Sergash cupped a Slime in her hands and kissed it gratefully.
"Descendants of Putu, thank you. Your prayers on my behalf have drawn Putu's attention."
Chen Yu, still hidden in the swamp, witnessed this. He was surprised to see that the Slimes weren't afraid of the female Lizardman. A flicker of astonishment showed in his perfectly round eyes.
As a Slime himself, he knew just how timid these creatures were. They would tremble in fear at the sight of a slightly larger Beetle, frozen to the spot.
'Are they friendly with this female Lizardman because she's not a threat?'
'Or do Slimes have some kind of symbiotic relationship with certain Lizardmen?'
'Everything in Zeyarira is a mystery to me. It's hard to understand this world through guesswork alone.'
After some thought, seeing as his own Slime instincts weren't raising any alarms, Chen Yu decided to reveal himself and try to make contact with the female Lizardman.
Of course, he wasn't going in completely defenseless...
On the bank of the swamp, Sergash was still stroking the Slime in her lap when she suddenly noticed the other Slimes in the water scattering as if they'd seen a predator. They swam frantically toward the bank, leaving a clear patch of water in the middle of the pool.
'A predator?'
With a wary expression, Sergash pulled the Dog Tooth Necklace from her neck and stared intently at the water.
Ripples spread across the surface of the water, and a dark black carapace slowly emerged. She recognized it at first glance as a Beetle's shell, and a hint of disgust was added to her wary expression.
As one of Putu's Believers, she hated what Slimes hated—especially the predators that hunted them.
She tightened her grip on the dog tooth, her nerves taut, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
But to her surprise, the next second, a Sl... Slime slowly emerged from beneath the black carapace?
Huh?
A Slime?
Sergash's expression instantly turned to one of utter bewilderment.
'What was she seeing?'
A Slime wearing a Beetle shell.
'Is Lord Putu playing a joke on me?'
Her brain couldn't quite process it. She was at a complete loss as the shell-wearing Slime swam toward her.
Staring at this perception-shattering sight, she was stunned for a long moment. For some reason, she connected it to the earlier scene where the Poisonous Sting Bees had suddenly attacked and driven off the hunting party.
'Could it be...'
A realization dawned on Sergash.
'This Slime... saved me?'
The moment this thought occurred to her, her amber, vertical pupils trembled and brightened. She couldn't help but extend her hands and devoutly lift the shell-wearing Slime, once again muttering incomprehensible words.
What she didn't know was that the moment she lifted Chen Yu, he had almost attacked. He only stopped when he saw she was just mumbling strange words he couldn't understand.
'What is she babbling about?'
Chen Yu was puzzled. Since he couldn't understand her, he decided to ask her himself.
Fortunately, he had long suspected he would eventually encounter intelligent life in Zeyarira, so he had practiced the Sound Transmission Skill in advance. Now it would come in handy.
The "sound" of the Sound Transmission Skill was not an audible noise, but the voice of the Divine Soul. It was similar in principle to transmitting messages with Divine Sense, but it required physical contact to work.
The voice of the Divine Soul acts upon the soul and the mind; it is the primordial, universal language of all living things. Any creature, regardless of their spoken language, could understand it.
It could even receive the other party's Divine Soul voice in return, making it practically an automatic translator.
These days, the Devils in the Void Profound Heaven were incredibly competitive; they all started practicing reading and writing long before they had even taken on a humanoid form. The Sound Transmission Skill was completely useless there.
But here in Zeyarira, with its language barriers, it was perfect.
'Just what should I ask, though?'
Chen Yu thought for a few seconds and decided to start with the simplest of greetings.
He focused his mind, his Divine Soul stirred, and he sent out a faint ripple of energy.
"Hello, Miss Lizardman."
Sergash, who was still in the middle of her prayer, froze when she heard the voice in her head. Then, her eyes widened in shock.
"The Sl... The Slime spoke?!"