Chapter 404: A Chapter Title with a Quirky Number
Chapter 404: A Chapter Title with a Quirky Number
After poking his head out of the reed marsh, Lyon nodded in satisfaction as he surveyed the expanse of pristine white reeds before him.
Although the view wasn't as good as flying, it was still decent. At the very least, he had no significant issues observing the surroundings.
"Stand up straight!"
Lyon patted the top of Snow Maiden's head, unconsciously ruffling her cool, slippery hair, and instructed her, "Stop wobbling! Steady yourself! And... turn half a circle to the left, so I can see what's over there!"
"..."
Damn human! Snow Maiden's face turned red with anger after hearing the command from above. She tightly gripped Lyon's two mud-covered thighs and struggled to turn half a circle to the left.
Damn you, riding on my head... Curse you to fall and break your neck when you get off me!
Lyon, having found a more useful mount than the unnecessary reed shoes, rode on the fuming Snow Maiden's shoulders and began observing the desolate reed land with his naked eye.
In this boundless, desolate marshland, apart from the black mud and pale reeds, no other colors could be found. Even the occasional small ponds were painted in the purest black and white.
Still, he couldn't see anything...
After guiding the Snow Maiden under him to turn a full circle without finding any anomalies, Lyon's brows furrowed again.
It seemed that the scope of this black and white marshland was much larger than he had anticipated. Forget about finding the Scorpio Director; even determining his location was an extremely challenging task... What should he do now?
Just as Lyon was feeling helpless, a damp and chilly wind from the desolate reed land, carrying the scent of soil and flying reeds, swiftly and delicately brushed past the reeds above and passed by his side.
Sensing something slightly amiss, Lyon's nose wrinkled slightly, and he inhaled deeply.
This wind... seemed to carry a hint of an unusual scent? Relying on the enhanced senses from his 8-point Contamination Value, far sharper than an ordinary human's, Lyon detected the anomaly in the wind and reached out to touch his sleeve, summoning the puppy from the Mirror World.
"You're a dog, right?"
"Woof?"
"Come, use your dog nose to sniff this wind and tell me what you smell."
"Woof..."
After Lyon patted the puppy's tiny head, the puppy, held up by Lyon, twitched its pink nose, sniffed the wind, and then sneezed several times, irritated by the reeds carried by the wind.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
The smell of charring? And a faint trace of blood? Understanding the puppy's barks with the help of the Master Badge, Lyon narrowed his eyes slightly. He discerned the direction of the wind and spoke to the Snow Maiden beneath him:
"Go to the right; there seems to be something over there."
To the right...
Following Lyon's instructions, Snow Maiden, filled with resentment, turned to the right. Drenched in sweat from the exertion, she couldn't help but ask between breaths, "How... how far do we have to go?"
"With this wind speed, the scent won't spread too far... So... about two or three kilometers?"
What? Two to three kilometers?!
After being pulled out of the Snow Mountain Nightmare by Lyon and then having her Nightmare Core crushed, losing the dual boost, Snow Maiden's strength was even weaker than an average human's. If Lyon weren't so sturdy, he might not even be able to carry her.
Hearing that she had to carry him for two to three kilometers, Snow Maiden, who had been dismissed by the Nightmare King and demoted to a mount, felt her legs go weak, almost collapsing to the ground.
Please, just kill me! You damn pervert! I don't know what else you'll put me through if I keep living!
"..."
It did seem a bit inappropriate... After feeling the rather petty stride of the Snow Maiden and her lack of stability, Lyon hesitated for a moment, then climbed down from her slender shoulders and reached for her skirt.
"You! What are you doing?!"
"Nothing."
As Snow Maiden desperately resisted, Lyon tore off two strips of fabric from the hem of her white skirt and wrapped them around his shoes, then tested the swamp beneath his feet by stepping on it.
He didn't sink.
Just as he had suspected, Snow Maiden in the stories always wore white, so this skirt she had on was likely a part of the "Nightmare Messenger," possessing the ability to resist the rules of the Nightmare World.
After confirming his hypothesis, Lyon immediately turned around, crouched slightly, and with his back to Snow Maiden, who was retreating in panic, he gave a direct command:
"Get on!"
"...?"
"Hurry up! No dawdling! I'm in a rush!"
"...?"
Damn human!
First riding on my neck, then tearing my skirt, and now throwing mud at my face! You're despicable!
After cursing him with the foulest language she knew, Snow Maiden, with a face slightly smudged with black mud, reluctantly climbed onto Lyon's back, her slender legs tightly wrapping around his waist.
I'll strangle you!
"Move a little higher!"
Lyon adjusted the Snow Maiden on his back to a position that wouldn't hinder his running, then sprinted in the direction the puppy had come from.
The situation that followed was much better than Lyon had anticipated. After running less than 800 meters, a deep and seemingly bottomless passageway emerged from the tall reeds, slanting towards the depths of the swamp.
This seems to be... a path created by some giant creature? After observing the scale-like scratches on the "ground" of the passageway, Lyon narrowed his eyes, realizing that these were likely traces left by the Swamp King Snake.
Indeed, since it was a giant snake, the swamp couldn't bear its weight, so most of the Swamp King Snake's activities were likely underground. If the Scorpion Director had clashed with it, the battle would have taken place underground as well.
Standing beside the passageway, Lyon examined the ground, which had been scorched by high temperatures to the point of crystallization, and still retained some residual heat. He also sniffed the relatively "fresh" bloody scent and immediately made a judgment.
The Scorpion Director had likely been here not long ago, engaging in a fierce battle with the Swamp King Snake underground.
However, with no sounds of fighting now, and since Lyon had "invaded" the Reed Swamp, the Swamp King Snake, which couldn't bear the weight of the swamp, was probably no longer here. They had most likely moved on to another dream after their battle.
"I have a question for you."
As Lyon patted Snow Maiden's tense thigh, he asked:
"How are these six layers of dreams distributed? Are they stacked one on top of the other, and then connected end to end?"
"Hmph!"
"If I hear another 'hmph' from you, you'll be the one riding, and I'll be the rider!"
"...?"
Damn human!
Snow Maiden, faced with the prospect of becoming a human's mount once again, clenched her teeth in frustration. With a cold and frosty expression, she reluctantly replied:
"Yes, and the person you're looking for has likely already defeated the Swamp King Snake. He's in the dream below!"
"...?"
(End of Chapter)
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