"Hey!" Bai Ye was thinking when Ziyuan suddenly lowered her voice and said, "We're here."
Bai Ye snapped back to attention, shook his head, and cleared his thoughts. He could think about how to get stronger later; the most important thing right now was the hidden quest in the Monster Country.
Bai Ye quickly crouched down and moved beside Ziyuan, looking ahead.
As the name suggested, the swampy wetlands were indeed a wetland, filled with large puddles and some treacherous, muddy bogs. Falling into one would be troublesome.
Of course, the Lizardmen were the long-time residents of this land and wouldn't be fooled by the swamps. They even used the swampy terrain as a defensive barrier to ward off monsters that tried to invade their territory.
However, facing the Pigman army, the swamp barrier seemed to have been ineffective, or rather, it had been effective but hadn't managed to stop the Pigmen.
At this moment, the puddles and swamps ahead were littered with Pigman corpses. The sheer accumulation of bodies had actually created a path through the swamps, allowing the Pigmen to cross this area.
Ziyuan said, "Keep going. There are some wetland caves, which are the Lizardmen's dwellings. As for this area..."
Ziyuan reached out, pointing to a broken stick next to a lizardman's skull.
"That's the Lizardmen's battle standard," Ziyuan said. "As long as the standard stands, the soldiers don't retreat. This area must have been breached... Hmm... Why are you looking at me like that? Like I'm an idiot?"
"Even an idiot would be smarter than you," Bai Ye said. "With this many corpses, even an idiot would know this place has been overrun."
Ziyuan gritted her teeth. "Do you want a beating?"
"Save your strength to beat the Pigmen!"
Bai Ye said, nudging his chin forward.
Although the outer swampy wetlands had been breached, there were still over a dozen Pigmen lingering, possibly acting as guards. For Bai Ye and Ziyuan to pass through this area, they would first have to eliminate this group of Pigmen.
Ziyuan took a deep breath. "That's quite a few. They'll be tough to handle."
"It's fine," Bai Ye said, patting his chest. "I'll handle them."
As Bai Ye spoke, he leaped out of the bushes.
"Hey, wait, Bai Ye..." Ziyuan said urgently, "Come back quickly."
Ziyuan admitted that Bai Ye was a bit stronger than her, but even so, dealing with over a dozen Pigmen at once was still quite difficult, especially since these guys could get stronger by eating the corpses of their comrades.
But Bai Ye acted as if he hadn't heard her and walked forward. The Pigmen lurking in the swampy wetlands twitched their noses and immediately smelled Bai Ye's scent, turning around and looking in his direction.
Bai Ye sneered, then spread his arms, and soon...
Purple venom continuously seeped out of Bai Ye's pores, covering his entire body.
"Damn it, this ability..." Bai Ye looked at his palms speechlessly. "Am I like Goodra now, a juicy Beast Tamer... No... a juicy Beast Tamer? With built-in lubricant?"
Roar!
As Bai Ye was complaining about the powers of the Poison-Poison Fruit, a Pigman roared, brandishing a giant axe, and charged towards Bai Ye.
Bai Ye looked up sharply, then grinned ferociously and punched forward!
"Poison Dragon!"
As Bai Ye's fist moved forward, a large amount of venom was splashed out, condensing in the air and forming a dragon shape, heading straight for the Pigman and swallowing it with its gaping maw.
Instantly...
Sizzle, sizzle!
The Pigman's body was enveloped by the venom, and it began to roar continuously. Then, its flesh and blood began to corrode, fester, and even gradually dissolve.
In an instant, the Pigman turned into a pool of blood, leaving only a skeleton floating on the puddle.
Bai Ye looked at his fist. As expected of a red-quality ability, it was so powerful!
And...
Bai Ye found this ability to be very suitable for dealing with Pigmen!
A major characteristic of Pigmen was their ability to grow stronger by consuming. By using venom to corrode the Pigmen's flesh and blood, Bai Ye wondered how the other Pigmen would eat!
Bai Ye thought this, licked his lips, and quickly ran forward.
Splashing through puddles, water scattered!
Two Pigmen met Bai Ye, raising their axes and swinging them at him.
Bang!
Feeling the strong wind, Bai Ye leaped directly over their heads. In mid-air, the purple venom on Bai Ye's body dispersed and landed on the Pigmen.
Hiss, hiss, hiss...
Upon contact with the Pigmen's bodies, the venom immediately made a burning sound on their skin, and wisps of black smoke continuously rose.
In just an instant, the flesh and blood on the Pigmen's bodies disappeared, leaving gaping wounds that exposed bone!
After landing, Bai Ye quickly threw a punch, and the Poison Dragon reappeared, engulfing the two Pigmen. In a short moment, the two Pigmen turned into bare skeletons.
The next instant, Bai Ye heard the shouts from behind and quickly turned around. The remaining Pigmen had already raised their weapons and charged towards Bai Ye together.
"Poison Cloud!"
Bai Ye took a deep breath and blew forward. Immediately, purple poisonous gas appeared and drifted forward, enveloping the surroundings.
The charging Pigmen suddenly stopped, appearing extremely agitated, and swung their weapons wildly around them.
Thwack, thwack, thwack...
The Pigmen went mad, their weapons continuously striking their companions, hacking at each other.
This was not the Pigmen's own will, but rather...
Sense Deprivation!
The poisonous gas from the Poison Cloud, upon entering the body, would cause the target to gradually lose their five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste!
With all senses gone, only panic remained, and then...
They began to attack wildly and erratically!
Watching the Pigmen fall into a frenzy, the rest was naturally much simpler. All that was needed was to finish them off.
Bai Ye continuously condensed venom and splashed it forward, corroding the Pigmen's bodies until they all fell, their bodies riddled with holes, crashing into the puddles or sinking into the mud, completely lifeless.
Looking at the surrounding corpses and then at the venom on his body.
After the brief exchange, Bai Ye had a general understanding of the Poison-Poison Fruit's abilities.
After some thought, Bai Ye came to a very practical conclusion: this was a very troublesome and disgusting ability!
...