The Era of Gods

Chapter 56: Early Reconnaissance

Translator: 549690339

The young Frog People inherited the strong constitution and strength of their frog ancestors, displaying a combat power clearly superior to that of the Fishman. In terms of constitution and strength, they were no weaker than an adult man; often a single blow from their hammer could smash a Fishman to the ground, leaving them unable to rise again. Even though the Fish people might have been more numerous, they still couldn’t match the fewer Frog People.

In just a few minutes, the Fish people were defeated and were killed one by one by the pursuing Frog People; their bodies were taken as spoils of war and carried back to the swamp.

It wasn’t until the Frog People were out of sight that Lin Xiao, looking grave, led the Naga away.

The battle had revealed that although the individual strength of the Frog People was still not on par with the Naga, it was far stronger than that of the Fish people, and the difference in strength between the Frog People and the Naga was limited. In an overall assessment, without any promotions, three Frog People could pose a threat to one Naga.

The mission required the extermination of five Frogman Tribes, each numbering between five thousand and eight thousand members. In total, that meant at least twenty-five thousand Frog People, potentially up to forty thousand.

Fortunately, these five tribal groups were scattered, and the threat posed by each was less than that of a tribe of twenty thousand Fish people. This was the primary reason the task was rated at eighty points, like the previous one—it was possible to tackle them one at a time. Dealing with them individually naturally reduced the difficulty.

However, for Lin Xiao, exterminating the Frog People was much more difficult than exterminating the Fish people. With the Fish people, one could take advantage of kinship to gain some benefits, but there was no such advantage with the Frog People; it had to be done by genuine, hard fighting.

After returning to the gathering point, days of diligent work by the industrious Fish people had resulted in the construction of several simple tents, and large quantities of wood and stone were stockpiled like mountains.

Under the direction of a few Naga Supervisors, swaths of Fish people used these materials to build Fishman huts by the beach.

Lin Xiao was someone who couldn’t sit still. After spending a day at the gathering point, he was on the move again, this time not to the sea or the swamp, but along the northern bank of the Blackwater River upstream, casually surveying the depth to which the Black Water Swamp penetrated the continent.

This time, he took fifty Naga and two hundred Fish people, walking directly along the riverbank.

Without modern industry, the river had retained its most primitive ecosystem. The riverbank was everywhere covered with plants like sweet flag, bulrush, scallions, and reeds—some growing in the water, others along the riverbank, making it necessary to wade through to clear a path.

Near the bank, there were many floating aquatic plants, such as water chestnuts and water caltrops, drifting on the water’s surface.

Beneath the water, there were submerged plants such as water lilies, eelgrass, and water hibiscus.

Many aquatic insects and small fish swam among the aquatic plants, nibbling on them.

The Fish people clearing the path in front occasionally snapped off a piece of green leaf to stuff into their mouths, or fished a river snail from the bottom to crack open and devour its flesh.

Fish people are omnivorous creatures that eat nearly anything—grass roots, green leaves, insects, fish, and even rotting carcasses. They are very easy to nourish.

The river teemed with many large freshwater fish, and occasionally large dark shapes could be seen sweeping past. Lin Xiao’s vision was excellent; he could clearly see that those were huge carnivorous fish, or perhaps alligators and pythons, but they did not dare approach his large group.

Traveling up the river, they spent much of the day and covered a distance of about thirty to forty kilometers before arriving at a vast lake.

This was a large deep-water area within the swampy region near the river, devoid of small swamp islands and continuous with the Blackwater River, which made it appear like a boundlessly wide lake.

Here, Lin Xiao ordered the team to stop and observe for a while before instructing everyone to go ashore.

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Because he just observed the deep river water ahead and faintly sensed a subtle threat within, he was sure that something big was lurking in such a vast lake.

It was more difficult to walk on the shore than in the water, with too much wild grass, and from time to time, they would encounter poisonous snakes or other venomous creatures hidden in the grass. On the way around this large lake of more than a dozen kilometers, more than a dozen Fishmen at the front died from snakebites and venomous creatures.

Fortunately, after crossing this large lake, they could continue to move down by the river. After nearly four days, having encountered dozens of bold predators’ attacks and traveling almost two hundred kilometers, they finally reached the end of the swamp.

After staying nearby for half a day, he directly retraced his steps. He did not dare to circle around the swamp or directly cut through it, for that was far too dangerous.

Four days later, upon returning to the lake’s mouth, he saw a large group of Swamp Frog People, or Frogmen, fishing by the lake—a sight he had not seen before. He estimated that their tribe was located in the nearby swamps.

After considering for a moment, Lin Xiao waved his hand and led his subordinates to slowly approach from behind, prepared to test the mettle of these Frog People.

Just as he was about to get close, his eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of the lake water and saw a huge shadow slowly approaching the fishing Frog People. He immediately waved his hand to signal his subordinates to retreat.

Seconds later, with a massive burst of splashing water, a vast black shadow surged out from the lake, seizing two Frog People in its jaws and dragging them back into the depths.

In that lightning-fast moment, Lin Xiao got a clear view of the massive shadow—it was an enormous crocodile, or rather, an Imperial Crocodile, also known as a Ferocious Alligator.

It looked like an ordinary crocodile but was much larger. The fleeting glimpse he caught revealed it to be over fourteen or fifteen meters long, with a body covered in horny bumps and extremely ugly.

This Ferocious Alligator was extremely brutal and fierce, as well as highly formidable. Its massive jaws could drag an elephant underwater and swallow a horse whole; in water, its combat power was exceptionally strong. Lin Xiao estimated that if their troop encountered it, they would not be able to handle it without losing a bunch of Cannon Fodder.

And that was if they could count on the burst power of the Salted Fish Charge. Without that, the casualties would be even greater.

This creature’s alligator skin was thicker and tougher than those of ordinary crocodiles, and its Constitution was even higher and more durable, enabling it to survive high bursts of damage without dying.

After hunting and killing two more Frog People, the Ferocious Alligator finally left, and the other Frog People dared not enter the water to save their companions.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao made his move again, quietly approaching in the water. Seizing the opportunity when the Frog People were still in shock, he suddenly burst forward. He was the first to emerge, piercing one Frog Person through with his weapon and tossing them into the water. With a backhand strike, he sent another flying, and with a swift tail swipe, he sent yet another Frog Person flying, weapon and all. With a clean and efficient sequence, he eliminated three Frog People.

The actions of the other Naga were not as spectacular as his, but still impressive. After all, the Naga he kept by his side were at least Level 2, and there were more than a dozen Level 3—far stronger than the Frog People.

By the time the Fishmen charged in, the battle was already over, leaving only the mopping up.

They left the Frog People’s corpses untouched and quickly departed.

To Lin Xiao, the Frog People race had neither the Talent nor the Skills of any use to him; they were not worth refining.

A few days later, upon returning to the gathering point, his tribe had already taken initial shape. Lin Xiao sent a small team of Naga and Fishmen back to the original tribe, instructing them to prepare for relocation. He was getting ready to make his move against the Frog People Tribe..