Chương 85: Leading the Way

Zelier canceled his charge-up, but Vaelis's arrow remained trained on the young man's head. Marcus stepped forward, blocking half of Zelier's body with his own. His deep voice carried a heavy pressure.

"Who are you, and why are you alone out here?" With Vaelis's arrow locked onto him, the young man shakily raised both hands. Even his voice became a stammer.

"I-I-I-I'm Caden... I'm an adventurer... but we... we..."

"But your party failed the mission, and some of your teammates died to a monster, right?" Grey picked up where he left off. Those words shattered the last bit of composure Caden had been desperately holding onto. His lips trembled, and the next moment, he burst into tears like a child. The sight made even Vaelis feel awkward about keeping an arrow aimed at his head. He lowered his bow with an embarrassed expression.

"What's with this guy..." Zelier's expression became complicated. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that a grown man could cry this miserably.

"Alright, alright, easy there..." Grey quickly walked over to Caden and patted him on the shoulder.

"What's with a grown man crying like this? Tell us what happened. What exactly did you run into?" After sobbing for quite a while, Caden finally managed to calm himself down. His voice was hoarse as he spoke.

"We accepted a quest to clear out an Earth Lizard... We originally thought it was just... just a slightly stronger monster. But we never expected it to be that terrifying..."

"Doug took a hit from it by accident. His chest was crushed instantly... And then Amy..." The moment he mentioned Amy, the grief on Caden's face deepened.

"Amy tried to save him, but she got swept away by the Earth Lizard's tail... It can also spit acid. Robin's face was melted away instantly... My teammates... all of them..." Caden's voice broke.

"They're all dead... Waaaaah..."

"An Earth Lizard?" Marcus frowned slightly.

"Do you have the commission document?" Caden searched through his battered leather armor for a long while before finally pulling out a wrinkled sheet of paper. Marcus took it, and the others gathered around to look. It was indeed a commission issued by the Blackstone Adventurer's Guild. The objective was to clear out an Earth Lizard in the Muddy Marshlands, with the difficulty rating listed as Low-Tier One Star. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

That was enough to confirm that Caden was most likely telling the truth. He really was just an unfortunate adventurer whose party had failed and whose companions had been slaughtered.

"You... you're heading back to Blackstone Town, right?" Caden looked at the group in front of him with a miserable expression.

"Can I travel back with you? I really can't make it on my own..." The party members exchanged glances, then turned away to discuss privately.

"Let him come with us. It's not like it'll cause much trouble," Vaelis said.

"Yeah, bring him along," Grey agreed. Marcus nodded as well.

"I think..." Zelier suddenly spoke up.

"Since we're already here, we might as well deal with that Earth Lizard too."

"Huh? Are you serious?" Grey looked at him in surprise.

"Of course. It's only one Earth Lizard. A Difficult-rated monster, but nothing we can't handle." A hint of admiration appeared in Gark's eyes. He liked young men with this kind of drive.

"However, we just finished a battle..." Marcus thought for a moment, still concerned.

"Zelier, do you have enough mana left? Fighting another battle right after this might exhaust you."

"I'm fine. I still have plenty." Zelier smiled confidently. Even if something unexpected happened, he still had the Source Power Crystal given to him by Mentor Marven and Lante. It could restore his mana quickly. Since the suggestion had come from Zelier himself, and everyone had already witnessed his strength, Marcus, Vaelis, and Grey didn't object any further. Everyone agreed. Zelier walked over to Caden.

"You're safe now. We can take you back with us."

"Thank you so much!" Caden looked overjoyed.

"But before that, you'll have to lead us there."

"Lead you?" Caden asked in confusion.

"We're going to kill that Earth Lizard." Zelier's words left him speechless.... Even though Caden was extremely unwilling, he had no choice but to lead Marcus's party toward the location of the failed quest. If he refused, he would have to walk back alone. And in his current condition, if he encountered another monster on the way... The outcome would probably not be pretty. Under Caden's guidance, the party left the relatively dry forest area and headed toward the low-lying Muddy Marshlands.

The environment here was much wetter, carrying a suffocating heat. The ground beneath their feet had turned into thick mud, like a heavy carpet soaked through with water. The towering trees disappeared, replaced by large patches of bizarre, withered wood. Their twisted roots sank deep into the black water of the marsh. Not long after, an open stretch of swamp appeared before them. At the center of the marsh was a massive pool of murky water. Lying lazily in the mud was a huge, ugly, and vicious-looking creature.

It occasionally rolled over in the sludge, looking completely comfortable. The first thought that came to Zelier's mind when he saw it was— A Komodo dragon. 《Adventurer's Guild Universal Monster Guide》 【Sequence 30】: Earth Lizard Individual Threat Rating: 【Difficult】 Appearance: A massive reptilian monster, usually exceeding four meters in length. Its body is covered in dark brown scales as rough and hard as stone. It possesses powerful jaws and razor-sharp claws.

Habits: A wetland predator that usually appears in swamps, mud pits, or damp river valleys. Special Abilities: Earth Lizards enjoy rolling around in mud. Once the mud, sand, and gravel mix with their scales, their defensive capabilities increase dramatically. They can also spray highly corrosive acid. The substance causes severe damage to living creatures and can rapidly corrode metal. Core Weakness: No particularly obvious weakness has been discovered.

To kill an Earth Lizard, one must destroy its scales layer by layer before damaging its actual body. Guild Notes: Do not underestimate an Earth Lizard because of its short legs. In reality, its explosive speed is extremely high. Maintain a safe distance at all times. Challenging an Earth Lizard without a powerful ranged combatant is not recommended.

"An Earth Lizard actually looks like this..." Gark muttered in surprise. This Earth Lizard was even larger than the one described in the guide. Its body was probably close to five meters long, thick and heavily built. Its head was broad, and its long, forked tongue flicked out from between its rows of jagged teeth.

"Your teammates all..." Vaelis glanced hesitantly at Caden.

"Yeah..." Grey pointed toward the Earth Lizard's swollen belly from a distance.

"They're probably all inside there."