Chapter 91
The red tint of the marsh continued to deepen, which I now understood came from the blood magic. As we pushed deeper into the blood marsh, the air became heavy as mist rose from the water, concealing the surroundings.
The creatures that inhabited this area were far more aggressive. A swarm of hand-sized mosquitoes descended upon us at one point. They came down so fast they almost took out Maxwell and Raven along with their mounts before Id fallen back to them.
Whenever they drank Tuffys blood though, they died. Maxwell and Raven were not so lucky. Raven did her best to stay ahead of them, swatting dozens out of the air, but Maxwell was not nearly as fast. The best he could do was release discordant sounds that shook the air, driving them back, but still the insects were stronger than was reasonable.
When I finally reached them, I released a pulse of death magic that rippled through the air. Though the creatures were numerous and had powerful attacks, they had very little in the way of health. The death magic washed over them and moments later they fell from the sky in piles.
Maxwell and the two horses were in rough shape. We fed potions to the horses and continued on, but we kept closer together. Singular powerful creatures were far less dangerous than swarms like that.
We came to a grove of trees growing out of a slightly raised island in the middle of the marsh. We decided to rest there, despite the dangers the grove harbored. No one wanted to rest out along the winding paths of the marsh where creatures could spring from the water at a moment's notice.
Raven scaled a tree to get above the mist so she could get us a better heading. Maxwells expensive map didnt show anything other than this area was a marsh, and some of the larger paths, but those faded the deeper you went.
The two still living horses, Granite and River, were spooked. Their ears were laid back flat against their head, and even when I got them to eat some of the grass growing nearby, their eyes watched everything warily. I expected them to take issue with Shadows new form, but they appeared to rely on Shadow now more than they had before. Seeing him as a protector.
Shadow and Tuffy patrolled where we set up, both on edge. Neither of them were comfortable in this place. Fortunately, most of the creatures we had encountered appeared to use poison attacks. That sucked for the regular living members of our party, but meant that I, along with Shadow and Tuffy, were all but immune. Raven had some resistance to the poisons, but they would still cause her harm if she was dosed too heavily.
I headed toward the center of the grove, determined to find whatever creature called this place its home. I pulled off the illusion ring as I did, letting my body return to the Lich I was. I wasnt foolish enough to think there wasnt something else on this island. The larger creatures that had been stalking us in the water had pulled back, as if afraid of the island.
Maxwell walked along beside me. We had left our horses in a clearing, trusting in Shadow and Tuffy to hold the fort. The trees of this grove had smooth, dark red bark, and the canopy above was full of vines and dark green leaves. Very little grew on the ground other than short stubborn grass and bushes covered in thorns.
Should we wait for Raven? Maxwell asked.
No, I shook my head. She will likely follow from the canopy anyways.
A flock of something took flight up in the trees, all but confirming my words. In the last few canopies, Raven had climbed up there and had encountered nothing that could threaten her. I trusted her and her ability to make an escape if that ever changed.
We made it to the center of the grove, or at least what I assumed was the center. It was a bog, thick mud sucked at my feet as I strode forward. I stopped when the mud got up to my knees and eyed a pool of still water in the middle. It was dark under the canopy. But as I peered through the darkness, I saw an area where a stream trickled out, joining back into the marsh. In the section of trees around the stream I saw that theyd been scraped and torn by something large, but saw no fresh tracks to indicate what it would be.
One thing was clear, this wasnt just a stream, it was some kind of trail. Whatever lived in here had either not left in a while, or not come back in a while.
Deciding that whatever called this its home must go dormant for long periods, I was just about to turn to leave when a vision of a large head with a hooked, beaklike mouth shooting out of the mud and biting me flashed through my mind. I reacted without thought, throwing myself to the side. A moment later the image came true, except I wasnt there anymore.
The head of the creature slammed the mud with impressive force. As I came to my feet, I whirled and saw a snapper turtle surging toward us. The turtle was massive, twice the size of Tuffy. Its shell was black and dark red and formed into a pattern of rough ridges. Its eyes were beady and pitch-black, its powerful beaklike mouth snapping the air.
Legs that seemed too short for a creature its size were each at least a meter in diameter and had long black claws on the end of the toes. The legs moved surprisingly fast as they thrust the whole of the creature forward. It didnt matter that I was immune to poison, if that monster caught me in those powerful jaws I was as good as dead. I scrambled back as a song from Maxwell spread over the bog and sped me up.
When I looked for Maxwell, I didnt see him, and guessed he must be hiding behind a tree. I didnt blame him. The best way he could assist me was by being able to play his guitar to enhance my strength. The snapper turtle hissed at me as I backed away from it. The mud, while annoying, didnt slow me down. My strength rendered the muds pull inconsequential, like stomping through freshly fallen powder.
I discovered that while the creature struck quickly, I my reaction time was faster. It telegraphed attacks, especially when it retracted its head like it was trying to pull it into the shell, before shooting forward. In the water, no doubt this creature would be truly terrifying, but it had made the mistake of pursuing me out of the terrain that gave it the most advantage. The attack I had to watch out the most for was when it swiped its tail around trying to trip me up, but the trees made it hard for it to use it. The tail often banged against them and got tangled before reaching me.
It was fixated on me, and I used that to my advantage to pull it farther away from the deep bog itd been sleeping in. The farther we got, the less mud there was and the more the turtle slowed down. It wasnt smart enough to realize what I was doing, which I didnt mind. Especially once I got a read for it.
Giant Blood Snapper
Level: 71
This is a giant snapper turtle that has made its life in a blood marsh. Already named for their impressive size, the vital magic of the blood marsh has further enhanced the physical attributes of this turtle.
It was a full eleven levels higher than me, but as I watched the creature I smiled. Normally I was overly cautious, as you no doubt could tell by this point, I could have been taking a lot more risks in my fights. But since I only had this one life, I wasnt about to risk it in a fight that I didnt think I could win easily, unless I could avoid it somehow.
Raven smiled wildly at me. The turtle didnt seem to have even noticed her up there. Judging I was far enough away so the turtle couldnt retreat easily I changed my tactic.
Glancing around, I spotted Maxwell sitting on a low branch of a tree strumming away happily, completely unconcerned. I appreciated his faith in me. I shaped Mercy into a razor-sharp spear. There was no way I could easily penetrate the shell. But the snapper turtle had thick leathery skin around its neck and legs. There was a reason the other creatures of the marsh left this place alone. I doubted very many things would even be able to penetrate that thick hide.
The creature, dim as it was, did not pick up on the change in tempo of the fight. I gave it an opening, and it launched its head forward. I sidestepped it, the mud now only coming up to my ankles. I drove Mercy into the side of its neck, pouring death magic through the blade.
This was not my regular spell. It was one focused on dealing damage and leaving behind poisons. In many ways this was the better spell to use with Mercy since it further amplified the festering wounds my weapon naturally left. I wasnt able to leave the blade in long before I had to rip it free to escape a slashing foot.
A fight began with a thousand small cuts by both me and Raven, who struck from above. The thick hide often prevented our blades from sinking into the soft flesh underneath, and the turtle would whirl and snap. One of its attacks missed me and hit a tree. The beaklike jaw snapped the tree like a twig.
The canopy above held the tree in place, but the display of power made me question the wisdom of continuing this fight. Except at that point, the amount of necrotic poison and malignant power I had pumped into the creature was beginning to show its effect.
Even as I dodged, one of its red legs buckled and gave out. One side of the creature dropped to the ground. Though its legs were incredibly powerful, and the other three compensated by sliding the crippled side around.
I focused my attention on building up poison on another leg. Given time, the poison would spread throughout the entire creature. Before long, the other rear leg gave out, and still the turtle pulled its heft, further impressing me with the power of its front legs. Then it used its tail to try and propel it in the opposite directionit was trying to retreat.
No, you dont get to leave, I said. The vicious snappers even back on Earth were problematic and generally hated, and one the size of an SUV was something I decided I needed.
I was out of the snappers line of sight, so it could not strike at me with its tail, even if it wasnt preoccupied using it to push itself forward. I reshaped Mercy into a needlelike tip with wicked sharp barbs along either side and put all my strength behind the attack.
I drove Mercy through a larger wound left open at the rear right leg, pushing with all my might until it pierced the main body of the turtle nestled inside the shell.
A screech of pain came from the turtle, and my precognition warned me of an incoming attack. I gripped Mercy and accepted the blow as inevitable. I poured death energy and magic down the shaft, flooding it out of the tip.
The tail sent me spinning away to slam against a nearby tree. But Id completed my attack. The snapper had powerful defenses, but if you could get inside its shell there was very little to resist you. The combination of death energy and death magic eviscerated the insides of the snapper.
I sat up against the tree, already circling death energy through my body to repair the damage. I reached for Mercy and pulled it toward me, twisting it so that it spun at weird angles as it ripped free. Mercy snagged on the thick skin, and when it ripped free, a putrefied black liquid oozed.
The snapper shuddered, then collapsed. It wasnt fully dead, but it would be soon. However, I wasnt done. Id used surprisingly little magic in the fight. None of my magical attacks wouldve done much against its heavy shell and body, and I only needed one spell once Mercy got past its defenses. That meant I had plenty of energy to spare.
I built magic around me and infused it with death energy, casting the same spell I used to create Tuffy. Raven came up beside me, watching the outflow of magic. Are you creating another new pet?
I suppose youre going to call it Snappy? I chuckled.
Of course. She gave me a confused look. What other name would I give it?
***
The control I felt over the former giant blood snapper was far greater than I felt over the Morsursa, likely this was because the creature was not nearly as intelligent as the bear had been. I wrote a top it with Maxwell and Raven as it pushed its way through the trees towards our camp. Now named Snappy, the creature was impressive. I opened the description.
Giant Kurmor
Level: 63
Kurmors are a death biome giant turtle that, while a fearsome predator, spends most of their time sleeping in hibernation. When they do go out and hunt, not much can escape their powerful jaws once they have clamped on. Their shells have absorbed massive amounts of death energy and where they hunker down for their long sleeps will often become sought after territory by other lesser creatures. They can even transform small areas of non-death biome biomes into a death biome.
You know at this rate, wherever we end up, Im going to have to create you some kind of sanctuary or zoo for all of your pets, I said to Raven.
That would be amazing! She smiled up at me. Hey, youre not wearing the illusion ring.
Oh, sorry. I reached for my bag to retrieve it. The ring was powerful, but I didnt want to become reliant on it. This was my body now, and if I was constantly trying to hide it even from myself, that could only lead to bad things.
No, its fine, Raven assured me. I prefer you to look like you should, though it is a little bit scary sometimes, but youre getting more and more fleshy bits all the time.
I gave her what I hoped was a thankful smile. Maxwell grunted beside me, once again plugging away on his guitar. The song he was working on was getting closer and closer to being done.
When we made it back to camp there was a tense moment as Tuffy challenged Snappy, clearly someone had to be in charge. Shadow didnt seem to follow the hierarchy, but the confrontation quickly faded as Snappy withdrew his head into his shell. For whatever reason, though it was stronger, it had no wish to challenge Tuffy.
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