"We're... fighting Poisonous Sting Bees?"
Back at the camp, Sergash clutched her freshly maintained oak club, the tip of her tail trembling slightly. Her nervousness was plain to see.
The mere thought of a magical creature like the Poisonous Sting Bee was enough to make a Lizardman's scales crawl.
Even a single, lone Poisonous Sting Bee could make a strong Lizardman roll on the ground in agony.
If you were unlucky, you might even have to amputate a limb to survive.
And if you ran into a whole swarm, even the larger beasts of the swamp would be doomed. The tribe's most elite hunting party would have to turn tail and run at the sight of them.
'Her, going to fight Poisonous Sting Bees... Am I just serving myself up as a meal for them?'
"Are you afraid?"
Sergash nodded, then shook her head, looking apprehensive.
"I... I should be able to help a little."
"I can use Natural Magic."
She brandished the oak club in her hand, striking a spellcasting pose as if to give herself a bit of confidence.
Huh?
'Wait, wasn't this oak club, which could easily double as a Wolf Fang Club, a melee weapon for physically dispatching the Poisonous Sting Bees?'
Chen Yu felt like he must have misunderstood something.
He had helped her pick out this very oak branch three days ago... The reason for choosing it was simple: it was thick, straight, and heavy. When swung, it cut through the air with a menacing WHOOSH, guaranteed to clear out a patch of Poisonous Sting Bees with a single strike.
If he had hands, he would have wanted one for himself.
He never would have imagined that Sergash was using it as a Magic Staff.
No wonder she'd been treating this piece of oak like a precious treasure these past few days, stripping its bark, sanding it smooth, and meticulously maintaining it. She had poured her heart into it.
'Still, a club and a staff look pretty similar...'
'They're both sticks. Using it as a Magic Staff should be... fine, right?'
Chen Yu suddenly felt a little unconfident, but on the surface, he maintained the calm composure expected of an emissary.
Sergash, completely oblivious to his thoughts, was still immersed in her joy. She showed off the Magic Staff in her arms, clearly treating it like the most precious thing in the world.
"I lost my old black willow Magic Staff when I was escaping. Without a staff, casting Magic always felt awkward."
"But this one is so much better!"
"It's made of Iron Oak! It's hard and heavy, symbolizing strength and resilience. When I use it to cast, my Magic is harder to interrupt."
"You can't find oak of this quality out in the wild."
'As long as it works.'
"As long as you like it."
In truth, Iron Oak like this was everywhere in the depths of the swamp; it wasn't rare at all.
But seeing how much she adored it, Chen Yu decisively swallowed the truth that was on the tip of his tongue.
'Oh well. It's her new Magic Staff, after all. Let her be happy.'
"What kind of Magic can you use?"
Chen Yu decided to do a pre-battle assessment so he'd know how to deal with the Poisonous Sting Bees.
"Magic... I only know two spells."
According to Sergash, she knew a spell called "Swamp-walk." After casting, it increased the Spellcaster's speed while moving stealthily through the swamp and left no footprints. When cast on someone else, the effect was halved.
No wonder he'd never seen any Lizardman tracks in the swamp. So such a wondrous spell existed.
If Sergash hadn't lost her Magic Staff, that pack of Jackal Wolfmen would have had a hard time finding her even if they'd turned the entire Swamp Forest upside down.
"And the other one?"
"Vine Entanglement. After casting, I can control the vines growing in the Swamp Forest to wrap around prey."
"When I went hunting Hard-shelled Water Lizards with the hunting party, I used vines to catch them."
"As for using it to catch Poisonous Sting Bees... I've never tried."
Sergash had held her head high when talking about hunting, but at the mention of the Poisonous Sting Bees, she lowered it again, her confidence wavering.
"Don't worry. You just hide in the back and watch me work."
Knowing about the vine spell, Chen Yu felt even more confident.
After all, for him, the most annoying part wasn't the Poisonous Sting Bees themselves, but that tall oak tree.
The tree was so tall, probably about ten meters. He could squirm for half a day and still not reach the top, and he'd be harassed by Poisonous Sting Bees along the way. It would be incredibly difficult to reach their main hive.
If they could use the vines to knock down the Poisonous Sting Bee hive first, dealing with the bees would be much simpler.
"Let's go."
Sergash carried Chen Yu out of the camp, and they came face to face with the tall oak tree.
"Let's move out! Objective: annihilate the Poisonous Sting Bees!"
"Right, let's go!"
Sergash was infected by his passionate declaration, and much of her nervousness washed away.
In a daze, she felt as if she had returned to the grand departure of the hunting parties after the annual Ice-Breaking Festival.
Their tribesfolk would see them off, praying for them, blessing them... They would enter the Swamp Forest carrying the hopes of the tribe, to pioneer new grounds and hunt.
But now, the tribe was a home she could never return to. Yet here, it seemed she had found a small piece of that lost past...
Chen Yu and Sergash slipped into the swamp, quietly poking their heads out of the water.
It was early morning. The Poisonous Sting Bees were still resting in their hive, and the usually boisterous Beetles were also hidden under the tree roots, sleeping motionlessly. If you weren't paying attention, they looked just like black stones.
"Lord Emissary, what do we do now?"
"Stick to the plan. First, we knock down the hive."
"Huh? Oh."
'We had a plan?'
'I didn't know about it.'
'Whatever. I'll just follow the Emissary's orders.'
Standing in the swamp, she raised the Oak Staff with both hands and began chanting in a strange, rhythmic language.
Chen Yu watched the Oak Staff with great interest. This was his first time witnessing so-called Magic, and he watched intently.
Under Sergash's chant, the Oak Staff began to flow with a green light, like moving swamp water. Then, the light scattered, turning into motes of light that drifted toward the oak tree.
When the motes of light touched the swamp vines hanging from the oak tree, the vines, to Chen Yu's slight surprise, seemed to come alive. They climbed up the oak branches, snaking their way toward the Poisonous Sting Bee hive.
"BUZZ—!"
The Poisonous Sting Bees in the tree had clearly noticed the strange scene. The cacophonous buzzing of their wings shattered the morning tranquility as they swarmed out of the hive, attacking any vine that came near.
But it was too late. One vine had already reached the carrion hive, twisting and tearing at the point where it was attached to the oak tree.
Just a few seconds later, a huge, dark mass plummeted from the top of the tree, landing with a heavy THUD.
The Poisonous Sting Bee hive had fallen.
"It worked."
Sergash gripped her Magic Staff, cheering inwardly.
"Excellent. Let's hide for now."
Hearing the buzzing coming from within the hive, Sergash obediently submerged herself in the swamp and asked curiously in her thoughts.
'What now?'
Lizardmen live by the swampy riverbanks year-round, so holding their breath underwater was second nature.
Diving was nothing for Sergash. As long as she didn't move too strenuously, she could stay underwater for half an hour.
"Silly girl. Aren't there plenty of Beetles on the bank?"
"Let them fight for a while. Then we'll make our move."
"Oh, oh, I get it."
Sergash hurriedly checked the Magic Staff in her hands, afraid it would fail her at a critical moment.