Shakti thought to herself.
At least until the next generation capable of taking on the role of captain is trained, my life belongs to Orario.
But A Di is different; this innocent and kind child, she believes that no matter how desperate the situation, only Rhode can forever protect her overly pure heart.
"Alright, it's settled then."
Lidali, who had slowly regained consciousness from his coma, heard the entire story, then slumped against the wall, a complex, bitter smile appearing on his face, finally turning into a sigh.
"We guys... are just boring noise."
Riveria was extremely efficient and quickly arranged for a custom-made, extra-large luxury carriage that the Loki Familia had once commissioned.
Its size was practically a small mobile villa. Rhode and his group, along with Vera who insisted on squeezing in, all sat down, and there was still plenty of space.
Uskali had originally wanted to offer their carriage, but then he saw that Rhode seemed to have already prepared for a long journey.
He exchanged a helpless look with the knights behind him, and they all sighed.
It was only then that he belatedly realized that he had long been completely manipulated by that man, all his value squeezed dry.
He had truly lived for hundreds of years in vain.....
Goddess Astrea chose to stay in Orario. She smiled and waved, her walnut-colored long hair fluttering in the wind, her gentle eyes full of anticipation for their triumphant return.
Because this journey was primarily for training, Alfia seemed to be in a rare good mood, and she could also guide them in their cultivation along the way, so Rhode didn't teleport directly.
Of course, Rhode also needed to cultivate.
He rested his head on Hestia's soft and elastic lap, her black twin tails occasionally playfully brushing his cheek.
Vera's slender fingers picked up a translucent grape, occasionally bringing it to his mouth.
He chatted with the Elf Royalty about the wonders of the Elf Kingdom, occasionally reaching out to accurately ruffle the little heads of Ais and A Di, eliciting their shy or curious adorable reactions.
This corrupt and decadent life was truly too much of a challenge!
He was too exhausted! Let him suffer more!
The journey probably took two or three days.
During this time, Ais, Ryu, and A Di all received guidance from Alfia.
To some extent, the Empress was right.
Alfia was not suitable to be an instructor.
But if the students were a group of talented individuals, then the outcome would be different.
Metria also learned some hand-to-hand combat, and although it still felt a bit like a 'thug's excited punch,' she was visibly getting stronger at a rapid pace.
Riveria's wise, emerald eyes seemed to have long since seen through Alfia's true identity.
She looked at Alfia several times, her beautiful brows slightly furrowed, but in the end, she chose not to expose her.
"Mr. Rhode, Big Sisters, God, we've arrived at Belden."
Taruvi's voice held a trace of imperceptible trembling as she pulled back the curtain, guiding everyone with a complex expression.
Riveria was the first to step out of the carriage, and when the apocalyptic scene came into view, even she, with all her experience, couldn't help but gasp.
"It's actually... this bad."
The entire land was swallowed by an ominous purple swamp, emitting a nauseating stench.
All the buildings were built on high stilts, as if in escape, deliberately designed to prevent contact with the swamp.
Alfia walked expressionlessly to the swamp, which was bubbling with purple poison, and, under A Di's terrified gaze, unexpectedly extended her fair hand into it.
Sizzle—
A faint sound, like cooking meat, accompanied by a wisp of white smoke, rose.
"Eh! Wait, if you put your hand in...!" A Di shrieked, her face paling, like a startled small animal.
Alfia, however, calmly withdrew her hand, its surface showing only a slight trace of corrosion.
This scene made A Di's eyes widen in surprise.
"This... just how high is her abnormal resistance?"
"It seems different from ordinary poison," Alfia shook her hand, her tone as flat as if she were evaluating a bad-tasting juice, "but it's still better not to touch it."
"Hmm... to understand the situation of the swamp, she risked herself, but it was still a bit reckless."
"It's just faster this way."
"Please let me see!"
Amid's small face was serious, and she ran over quickly like a dutiful little rabbit.
She put on special gloves and carefully held Alfia's hand, her purple eyes gleaming with professional light as she meticulously examined it.
"This toxicity is almost as strong as the poison of Beruda on the 37th Floor; getting it on you in battle would definitely be life-threatening... No wonder Brother Rhode insisted I come along."
Although Alfia didn't care, Amid still insisted on using her versatile magic to eliminate the residual toxins.
Clink.
A light clang of armor, and Ryu, wearing a set of crimson light armor specially made for this operation, walked over.
Her sharp gaze swept around like a hawk, and from the swamp, distorted, roaring monsters slowly emerged, surrounding them.
"It's a good thing we've already prepared anti-poison armor and weapons in advance, so we're not afraid to fight them."
Taruvi was a little nervous, but glancing at Rhode, who looked lazy beside her, the unease in her heart miraculously calmed down.
"The situation of the Spring of Life is very bad right now; apart from us and the monsters who are protected, all other creatures in the entire country have died."
Before her words finished—
—"Then let's kill them all first!"
A golden flash tore through the dim air!
Ais's petite figure had already transformed into a whirlwind, charging without hesitation into the roaring horde of monsters surrounding them!
A Di and Ryu followed closely, the three of them like three sharp scalpels, instantly cutting into the monster formation, taking on the heavy responsibility of pioneering the vanguard.
Uskali and the others also wanted to go forward to help, but Rhode's disdainful look forced them back.
"You guys cover the rear, don't steal experience."
Pfft!
A Di's longsword drew a graceful arc, cleanly severing the head of a magic wolf.
She wrinkled her cute little nose, muttering with some frustration, "These monsters coming out of the swamp... what are they?"
"They stink, they're dirty, they're disgusting... a triple attack of discomfort."
Ryu's figure darted nimbly back and forth among the tree trunks in the forest; each movement was accompanied by a flash of sword light, precisely harvesting one charging magic wolf after another.
"These monsters' strength doesn't exceed the scope of outside monsters; they're not as strong as individuals in the Dungeon, but their durability is very high."
Ais's pretty face was stern, and she swung her sword, splitting a goblin and the swamp mud beneath it in half.
"If they were ordinary monsters... one hit would be fatal, but they require two or three."
Ais and Ryu cooperated with each another, advancing quickly, and soon opened a path forward for everyone.
"Is it because of the Spring of Life? This vitality is indeed abnormal."
The number of swamp monsters far exceeded imagination; looking around, there were tens of thousands, densely packed!
And as they approached the source of the Spring of Life, the monster attacks became more frequent and frantic.
"As expected of Orario's powerhouses."
Vera watched from the side with interest, like an irresponsible commentator, adding with a smile.
"But these are just appetizers, at most, they are a few fingers extended by the Swamp King."
"Didn't you ever think of issuing a request to Orario?" Riveria asked the question she had long wanted to ask, while vigilantly maintaining her defensive magic.
Uskali, who was following behind, heard this, and his voice instantly sank, filled with suppressed pain.
"Two hundred years ago, the people of Belden gathered all the rewards they could, and issued a request to Orario."
"As a result, everyone they sent was wiped out!"
"After that, we were not reconciled and issued another request! We asked for the strongest Zeus Familia and Hera Familia at the time to help us!"
Uskali showed a tragic smile, his fists clenched white from effort.
"But do you know how the Guild answered us at that time?"
—"Abandoning the country is what smart people do."
"They actually answered us like that!"
Alfia's eyelids twitched violently, forcing down the displeasure in her heart.
"That Guild pig... sometimes I really want to just butcher him."
No wonder Rhode said he had some connection with Belden; she thought it merely referred to the citizens' illnesses, but there was also this layer of connection.
If the Guild had allowed the two great Familias to act back then, this trivial matter would not have dragged on until today.
Feeling Uskali's impotent anger, Rhode scoffed and asked.
"Stop complaining uselessly. Did you tell them the importance of the Spring of Life to you then? Did you tell them you would die if you left here?"
"If you had explained it that way, and that pig still answered you like that, I would go back to Orario right now, chop off his head, and give it to you to kick around like a ball."
Uskali was speechless, his face flushed.
"...I."
"Heh." Rhode sneered disdainfully, "It's because you were worried about exposing the Spring of Life, or some other bullshit reason, right... Stupid riddle-teller, you brought this upon yourself."
Although he also utterly detested that fat pig, he had to admit that the other party was indeed dedicated to managing Orario.
Moreover, any normal person hearing their plea would surely think, since this land is full of toxins, why not just move away?
Alfia also looked down on these people, and spoke with annoyance.
"It's infuriating, whether it's the expressions on your faces or your complaints, it's all just indecisiveness and bothersome procrastination."
"You clearly don't want Taruvi to die, yet you're hesitant and indecisive."
"Neither arrogant nor crude, nor do you have the ambition to seize a woman's destiny."
"Forget about being warriors, you're not even men, stop making us laugh to death!"
Let alone compared to the domineering and greedy Rhode beside her, these guys were not even as good as the lowest-ranking members of the former Zeus Familia.
Uskali neither admitted nor denied, merely remaining silent.
He knew only one thing: reason might be important in this world, but fists were the most important.
Now that these people could defeat the Swamp King, their reasoning was naturally the most correct truth.
After walking for a whole morning and slaying countless monsters, everyone finally arrived near the source of the Spring of Life.
The three-person vanguard group was leaning on their knees, panting heavily.
Their equipment was already dilapidated from the corrosion of the venom, emitting wisps of white smoke.
Metria and Hestia timely handed them potions and checked and maintained their equipment.
A Di took the potion, drank it in large gulps, and a tired smile appeared on her pale face.
"Mmm... This is the first time I've felt that fighting people is easier than fighting monsters."
These swamp creatures were not only ridiculously strong in vitality but also fearless of death.
More importantly, the corrosive poison made them hesitant and unable to exert their full strength.
If Riveria hadn't later used Spirit Dream to give them defensive buffs, they probably wouldn't have been able to hold on.
After all, at this time, the few of them were still only Level 3.
However, Rhode could see Ryu's experience bar; from the sparring with Che Huiyi to the continuous battles until now, as long as she successfully defeats the Swamp King, she will be able to successfully advance to Level 4!
"The most important part is next; how are we going to defeat the Swamp King?"
Ais answered as a matter of course.
"No matter how strong, a monster is a monster; as long as its Magic Stone is shattered, it will die."
"I'm afraid not," Vera shook her finger, showing a mischievous smile.
"The Swamp King has no Magic Stone, or rather, you won't be able to find it at all. Because the entire swamp is its body itself!"
"You're only trying to defeat a part of its main body, but even if you cut off countless fingers, you won't dig out a Magic Stone."
The girls' expressions all became serious.
Ryu adjusted her breathing, her will firm.
"Then what about a method to reduce the enemy's vitality until it's exhausted? Even a giant's finger will disappear if continuously cut."
"Wow~" Vera clapped exaggeratedly, "As expected of Orario's adventurers, truly excellent muscle-heads! So, it's impossible."
"Because the Swamp King is connected to the Spring of Life, it's like being able to infinitely absorb gushing recovery potions, constantly healing wounds and proliferating."
The girls' expressions were all a bit grim.
At this moment, the girls truly understood that Rhode's previous words were by no means alarmist!
If the Black Dragon found this place and gained infinite recovery ability, it would definitely be a desperate apocalypse that could not be resisted.
"And even if you find a vital point, what if it's in an unattackable position, like hidden underground?"
"You can't just uproot the entire land and blow the whole swamp to the sky, that's really not realistic."
Riveria, hearing this, subconsciously turned her gaze to Alfia beside her.
Vera noticed Riveria's gaze and followed it to the ordinary woman who spoke very impolitely, but whose appearance was not particularly outstanding.
"Uh... don't tell me, this person can really do something like that?"
Alfia glanced at Riveria, then she calmly swept her gaze over the vast swamp not far away, and then shook her head.
Vera had just let out a sigh of relief when she heard her say in an even flatter tone.
"We are here to take the Spring of Life; unless absolutely necessary, we won't blow it up."
!!!
The few girls who didn't know Alfia's true identity instantly widened their eyes, their mouths forming an "O" shape.
"No way... Can Sister Alfia really do something so outrageous? What level is she, anyway?"
Uskali and the others were even more terrified, their scalps tingling, cold sweat instantly soaking their backs, and their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
If it was true, they were incredibly lucky to have survived their previous confrontation with these people...
For a moment, everyone turned their gaze to Rhode.
Everyone believed that if it were him, he would surely come up with a solution.
Rhode stroked his chin, lost in thought.
The solution in the original work utilized Taruvi's magic called [Belden's Song of Dreams].
This magic was essentially a magical poison mist, with a pitifully small range, almost only able to cover her immediate surroundings.
The so-called sacrifice involves the Swamp King devouring the witch who casts this magic, allowing the poison to spread throughout the Swamp King's body and severely injuring him.
However, a negative skill inherent to this magic means its wielder cannot strengthen it through training or leveling up.
But... don't forget, this world just so happens to have Chun Ji, a cheat that can forcibly level up!
After being forcibly leveled up to Lv.2, Taruvi can cast this magic, and its range will expand to the entire Spring of Life, forcibly severing the connection between the Swamp King and the Spring of Life!
The Swamp King, reverted to his original form, is a mere shell, at most on par with a Floor Boss.
Although summoning Chun Ji now is an option, Brother Rhode wants to see if these women, who are arguably Orario's strongest, can break through the situation by force.