97. New Team (III)

Heather showed Zachary the locations she had with potential adept rank Ensouled within a day or two of travel from Rowan Oak Village. Her thinking was similar to him. She had already ruled out areas with large groups of wild Ensouled as well as ones she suspected were even stronger than the adept rank.

He also showed her his own map. Some of the spots overlapped. However, he didn’t know too much about them whereas Heather had far more detail which was exactly what he wanted.

“I am looking for a long-range type of Ensouled with a strong offensive, sort of like those porcupines that the Dark Star Gang had. Is there one like that?” He asked.

He already had Archer but it wasn’t enough. Arrow would have been a perfect partner. It was regrettable that he wasn’t able to save it during that battle. He still thought about it often.

“There is,” Heather pointed to a spot about a day’s distance from the village, “There is a large swamp here with a lot of dangerous creatures. Among them is a giant worm that spits poison. It’s very strong and can be considered the lord of that place.”

“Spits poison? Sounds pretty good!” He said excitedly.

She looked at him with a serious face, “The worm is very difficult to deal with. It can swim like a fish in water. It can also hide in the mud like a hunter. Its poison spit attack has a very long range and the poison is deadly. We even lost an adept rank summon to its poison. And when we were finally about to catch it, it spat out a thick cloud of poison and escaped.”

He patted his chest, “You have me now. My summons can deal with poison without problems.”

“Your turtle’s shield is good but it can’t protect you completely. If you breathe in some of that poison fog, you’ll still die.”

“My turtle can heal poison; did you already forget?” He gave her a winning smile.

She shrugged, “Alright, alright. It’s your call. If you want to catch that worm, then we’ll go catch that worm. If it was me, I wouldn’t want such a thing if it was the strongest Ensouled in the world. It’s too ugly.”

“What? You don’t like big worms that spit poison?”

“Ah!” She gasped in surprise, “No you didn’t… ahahaha! You… Hahaha!”

She slapped his arm playfully as payback. Then she hugged it against her while leaning against him, still giggling.

“I didn’t think you were so daring, hehe!”

Her voice was like crystal chimes in the wind. She reminded him of home, of Warton by the sea. He suddenly yearned to return, to see his parents again and return the happy moments of the past.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

“You know,” She said, looking up at him with a wide smile, “I don’t hate all worms. It really depends… on its owner. You know what I mean?”

She wagged her eyebrows at him.

He finally couldn’t help it and burst out laughing.

---

Beneath the twisted roots of massive mangrove trees, four figures moved slowly through the shallow waters. Each person wore strange outfits made of tall grass and swamp reeds, making them almost blend into their surroundings. With each step, their feet sank into the mud all the way to their knees.

The surrounding air was thick and damp. Countless insects flitted to and fro. From time to time, strange shadows would glide above their heads. Or, they might be startled by spooky cries that sounded like ghosts laughing.

This swamp was a dangerous area. Entering it meant there was a chance to never leave. One had to be brave or foolish or… full of confidence.

Zachary stopped to adjust his hat made of reeds. He looked around at the inhospitable land with a serious expression, studying every detail. In front of him, Carlos and Nellie led the way. Behind, Heather acted as the rear guard.

This was the team Heather and he decided on. She had wanted to bring everyone she could but he insisted they didn’t need so many as it would be a waste. In the end, they compromised on a team of four. But they weren’t the only ones.

They were surrounded by a wide circle of summons. Each member of Heather’s group had a giant swamp rat. They were hardy creatures and this swamp was no problem for them. Above their head, there was Blue joined by two more flying creatures, a giant mosquito and a small black bat.

Aside from the scouts, his new teammates had varying numbers of adept rank summons. Heather was the strongest with four while both Carlos and Nellie had three each. This was somewhat surprising as he expected them to have a lot more after surviving so many months. However, recalling the battle between them and the Dark Star Gang, those numbers were probably accurate.

Adept rank Ensouled were not easy to obtain and those that could be were weak. He was reminded of powerhouses such as the forest elephants and that wolf pack leader. If Heather’s concern was anything to go by, this poison worm could also be strong enough to contend with those creatures.

There was also the fact that battles were dangerous to both humans and their summons. If a summon suffered severe injuries, they wouldn’t be able to recover, no matter how much time they spent inside the summoner’s soul sea or how many anima crystals were used. Here in the New World, there were no hospitals and pharmacies. Without a summon like Wander, he would be in the same boat as everyone else.

“We’re here,” Nellie whispered.

Carlos and her both stopped in an area that overlooked an open area. But due to the heavy fog, the still waters around them were dim and murky. There was no danger from giant seagulls overhead but that was the least of their worries.

Zachary caught up to them and peered into the swamp. Nothing moved and it was calm.

“We can set up here.” Heather said softly behind his shoulder, “This is within the worm’s territory. With the proper bait, it will come.”

“Are you sure your bait is effective?” Carlos asked gruffly, “If it doesn’t, then this will be a total waste of time.”

“Don’t worry, I got it,” Zachary replied.

At his instance, they had skipped the usual bait of fresh meat and animal carcasses. This saved them time and effort as such things would surely attract stray beasts. However, Carlos still didn’t trust him and raised a lot of objections along the way.

“It’s your battle.” Heather said, “We’re here to support you.”

“Thanks,” He gave her a thankful smile and turned to the others, “Alright, here’s the plan…”