The Era of Gods

After taking his subordinates on a tour around the river mouth where it flowed into the sea, Lin Xiao ultimately decided to situate his new home on the beach about a mile to the north of the river’s bank, directly across from Black Water Swamp located on the southern bank of the river.

According to the shared map on the Divine Artifact Platform, about forty kilometers towards the east and a bit further down from the river’s estuary, there lay a vast Mermaid City, which was the core area governed by the Merfolk Empire in the neighboring seas.

As for Black Water Swamp, there was no need to mention it specifically; it was home to Frog People, Snake People, and Fishmen, along with a massive array of swamp creatures, including predators like the Ferocious Alligator, a medley of dragons and snakes. He wouldn’t dare settle his home there.

Compared to the last mission, the situation at Black Water Swamp was much more complicated. Even though he now had more Cannon Fodder at his disposal, he didn’t act recklessly and instead ordered the Fishman slaves he brought along to chop down trees and transport stones to build nests while he took a few dozen Naga out for a stroll.

First, he headed towards the nearby delta islands at the river’s mouth, and lo and behold, as they approached that area, a plump Blue Fin Shark with a round belly came charging at them with its mouth wide open.

This fellow was extremely well-fed, its plump body rolling as it charged with its mouth open. Yet, for some reason, the sight reminded Lin Xiao of a meme, eliciting a sense of inexplicable amusement.

But amusing as it was, he didn’t hold back when he struck.

With a wave of his hand, dozens of Naga rushed forward, stabbing wildly, and naturally, the corpse was treated as their snack and consumed on the spot.

After they left, leaving behind a pile of scraps they didn’t eat, a large swarm of small fish came to fight over the remnants.

They then circled around the small delta islands, encountering no fewer than thirty battles. The number of predators in this sea area was surprisingly high.

Luckily, their current strength was quite formidable. With Level 2 and Level 3 capabilities, they counted as upper-mid-level combat prowess in the shallow sea areas. Groups of dozens moving together meant that not many sea beasts nearby could outmatch them.

Circling the small delta islands and heading southward along the boundary where Black Water Swamp meshed with the sea, Black Water Swamp was right on the coast, without any separation line, allowing direct entry from the sea to the swamp.

Of course, even though there wasn’t an actual dividing line between Black Water Swamp and the sea, there was a clear boundary; the water in Black Water Swamp was exceptionally black. From the border area, one could see a distinct demarcation of black and white colors, marking the boundary between the two.

He didn’t enter Black Water Swamp, but continued south along the black-and-white boundary, swimming for almost a day and estimating a distance of about sixty to seventy kilometers before seeing the end of Black Water Swamp.

“This swamp is pretty large!”

He remembered the Black Water Swamp on the map was marked in a rectangular shape. The side next to the sea was the width, while the part extending inland was the length, which appeared to be between twice and three times the width. This meant Black Water Swamp was about sixty to seventy kilometers wide and nearly two hundred kilometers long, the largest swamp in this plane, and even on the continent, it covered a sizable area.

Having reached the edge of the swamp, Lin Xiao didn’t go further. Just as he was about to turn around, he suddenly noticed a large group of Kobolds emerging at the fringe of the swamp on the seaside.

It wasn’t odd to find Kobolds in this plane, but this group of Kobolds was well-disciplined and equipped with small shields and weapons. Clearly, they weren’t natives of this plane but rather belonged to a student.

His interest piqued immediately, and he swam over.

As he emerged from the sea onto the shore, the Kobolds positioned on the shore’s barren slope also noticed him. After observing for a while, the Kobold formation parted and a group of fully-armed Kobolds surrounded a particularly tall Kobold as they approached. From a distance, they gestured with their hands, calling out in the common language:

“Which classmate might you be?”

Lin Xiao responded in the common language as well:

“Year one, class three, Lin Xiao!”

The other party seemed taken aback, their dog faces showing surprise as they said:

“I’m Meng Hui!”

Lin Xiao wasn’t surprised because as soon as he saw the fully-armed Kobolds, he had a slight hunch. After all, there were only one or two people in the school who chose Kobolds as their initial Clan and developed them to this extent, and Meng Hui from his class was one of them.

“Your task is also here?”

“Yes, yours as well?”

“That’s right, 1 have two tasks in Black Water Swamp.”

“Well, isn’t that a coincidence.”

“Yeah.”

The two spoke in a casual tone, exchanging banter void of substance. During the conversation, Meng Hui’s gaze kept darting to the Naga behind Lin Xiao, his demeanor suggested he was itching to ask something but felt too embarrassed to do so.

After a while, he finally couldn’t resist asking:

“Your race, is it the Naga?”

Lin Xiao shook his head with a smile:

“No, they aren’t Naga. 1 created a new race that resembles the Naga.”

Meng Hui’s eyes immediately widened in astonishment, his face unable to hide his surprise:

“You created a new race?”

“That’s right, it’s a Level 2 species.”

“Then…”

“Yes, I have already condensed the Creationist Godhood in advance, just waiting to become a Demigod to obtain it.”

Meng Hui:…

Shock and envy were nearly spilling from his face, and after a long pause, he managed to squeeze out two words:

“Congratulations!”

“Hehe, just lucky.”

That day, the conversation couldn’t continue.

It wasn’t long before Meng Hui found an excuse to leave, fearing that if he stayed longer, he might not be able to suppress his envy any longer.

Watching him leave, Lin Xiao simply smiled.

Although they had been classmates for a year, they hardly spoke to each other. Before, Meng Hui, who used to be in the top five of the class, looked down on him. Now it was his turn to look up at Lin Xiao, who had superior strength and potential.

Lin Xiao quickly put this little interlude behind him. After all, their tasks did not conflict.

Returning the way he came, Lin Xiao went back to the Blackwater River Mouth, ready to cross the valley, when he suddenly saw a small group of Frog People hunting a much larger group of Merfolk at the junction of the swamp and the sea.

Despite being outnumbered by the Merfolk, the Frog People had the upper hand.

The Frog People, also known as Swamp Frog People, resembled humanoid frogs or toads, with fat, bulky bodies, webbed hands and feet, large eyes, and very wide mouths. They possessed long, flexible tongues, similar to those of Green Snakes, capable of sticking out to catch their targets.

Frog People liked to settle down by rivers or in swamps, building small villages and laying eggs in breeding pools on riverbanks or Swamp Floating Islands. The tadpoles would not come onto land until they grew limbs and reached about one meter in length.

Young Frog People had to successfully kill prey to be accepted by their clan. Those who failed were exiled and not acknowledged by their clan.

This group of young Frog People hunting the Merfolk was likely undergoing their coming-of-age ritual.

Lin Xiao did not interfere with their ritual but observed their combat methods from the outside. This was a good opportunity to study the abilities of the Frog People and be better prepared to deal with them in the future.

The combat methods of Frog People were primitive; they generally used bone clubs or wooden sticks, even stone clubs or rocks as weapons. They spoke the simple Marsh Mire Language and typically liked to move in groups ranging from three to twelve..