Eastmarsh Swamp: The Water Rhinoceros King

Ji Ning’s party rode their three Blackjaguars as they burst out from the edge of the forest.

“Look.” Uncle Dala pointed ahead. “That’s Eastmarsh Swamp up ahead.”

“Eastmarsh Swamp.”

Ji Ning gazed into the distance.

He could see an endless, vast swamp spreading out before him, shimmering with beautiful colors under the spring sunlight. He could even see waterfowl occasionally diving down to snatch up fish, and the massive tails of giant aquatic beasts that could be glimpsed swaying within the thick water grass. Sometimes, a huge head would emerge from the water. This was a world of monsters!

“Eastmarsh Swamp.” Ji Ning murmured to himself. “Finally here!”

Eastmarsh Swamp was located between the Ji Clan and the Ironwood Clan. The Ironwood Clan was a dominant power of equal strength to the Ji Clan, and they were hostile to each other!

Eastmarsh Swamp spanned a thousand li in breadth, enough to rival the territory of a small province on Earth. Such a vast swamp naturally attracted countless monsters. Just the ones the Ji Clan knew of numbered over a dozen ferocious great demons!

Ever since he had left the Western Prefecture city to adventure, Ji Ning had wanted to test himself against a Xiantian (early) great demon. But great demons lurked deep in remote mountains and vast swamps—how easy was it to find them? He had tried staking out one location before, spending nearly a month waiting without success. In a fit of frustration, Ji Ning had decisively changed his plans and headed straight for Eastmarsh Swamp!

“Eastmarsh Swamp has a lot of monsters, and most of them are at the Xiantian (early) stage. There’s no way I won’t run into at least one.” Ji Ning was a fearless young calf who didn’t fear tigers, but he didn’t dare to be careless either. Many members of the Ji Clan had died in Eastmarsh Swamp. His own grandfather, for instance, had met his end here!

…

“Mowu, Qiuye.” Ji Ning dismounted from his Blackjaguar and gave his orders. “Eastmarsh Swamp is far too dangerous, full of hidden perils. These Blackjaguars are useless in Eastmarsh Swamp. You two take the three beasts and head to the Ironstone Tribe. Wait for me there!”

Mowu and Qiuye exchanged a glance, then could only bow respectfully. “Yes, young master.”

“Uncle.” Ji Ning looked at the tall, dark-skinned man beside him. “You’ll come into the swamp with me. Let me get familiar with the main locations, then I’ll return with you to the Ironstone Tribe to rest.”

“Yes, young master.” Uncle Dala replied respectfully.

“Let’s go.”

Ji Ning walked forward directly, and Uncle Dala, carrying his massive axe, followed. Qiuye and Mowu watched their young master stride into the distant Eastmarsh Swamp. Though they were anxious, there was nothing they could do. One was a maidservant, the other a guide who taught Ji Ning wilderness skills. In terms of actual strength, they were far inferior to Ji Ning.

The vast swamp was beautiful and varied.

“Inside the swamp, there are muddy flats and grassy wetlands,” Dala said with a smile. “There are even some small wooded hills. But of course, most of it is marshland that sinks as soon as you step on it… and then there are the huge, unfathomably deep lakes. The paths through this swamp are the hardest to walk. One careless step and you might sink into a bog.”

Ji Ning walked at his side.

“Our Ironstone Tribe has lived in the forests beside this swamp for centuries. We come here to fish all the time. We know exactly which paths are safe and which aren’t.” Uncle Dala was very confident.

Slosh! Slosh!

Stepping through the muddy water, Ji Ning followed the tribesman into Eastmarsh Swamp.

“Take a look.” A rolled-up beast-hide map appeared in Ji Ning’s hand, and he handed it over. “This is a map of Eastmarsh Swamp. Take me to the places I’ve circled.”

“Ah.” Uncle Dala was startled just looking at it. “These… these are all places where great demons lurk. The most dangerous spots. We never dare to go near them.”

“You don’t have to get close,” Ji Ning shook his head. “Just take me there and point them out from a distance. That’s all.”

Uncle Dala wiped the sweat from his brow and nodded. “Alright. I’ll take you there, young master.”

Eastmarsh Swamp was too vast. Traveling on foot was incredibly slow, and the places Ji Ning needed to visit were scattered all over. The winding route they took covered several thousand li. Fortunately, with Uncle Dala’s guidance on the hidden back paths, they were able to move through the swamp with relative ease.

Over a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Ji Ning carried all his food and drink in his dimensional jade. He also roasted and ate the meat of some demon beasts he encountered. When it was time to sleep, he would simply make do on a hillock or in a patch of tall grass. Ji Ning wasn’t in a hurry to provoke the lurking great demons. He was just confirming their locations first. From now on, when he traveled alone, relying on his ‘Unity of Man and Heaven’ footwork, he would be able to walk on water and cover a thousand li in a single day.

“That’s the last one.” Uncle Dala pointed into the distance. The lush stalks of water-grass, a full zhang in height, rustled in the wind. “Deep in that thickest patch of water-grass, that’s where a great demon is hiding. I’ve heard it’s a huge rhinoceros, a massive Water Rhinoceros as big as a small mountain.”

“Good. Let’s head back. When we return to the Ironstone Tribe, I will reward you handsomely,” Ji Ning said from the side.

“Young master has already given me more than enough.” Uncle Dala hurriedly demurred.

This seemingly delicate youth was truly terrifying. Over the past month, they had been attacked by demon beasts many times in Eastmarsh Swamp, but those beasts all died in a single sword-stroke before this youth. Ji Ning didn’t care about the corpses of those demon beasts, but Uncle Dala felt a pang of regret. This was all demon-beast meat! Selling the meat would have done his tribe a lot of good, but he couldn’t carry it all himself. He could only cut away the most valuable parts.

“Hm?” Ji Ning and Uncle Dala both suddenly looked into the distance.

On a distant hillock, they could faintly make out a large number of figures.

Deep within the swamp, there were muddy flats, marshes, and even mountain ranges. There was even a single tall mountain, which was called East Mountain–hence the name ‘Eastmarsh Swamp.’

There had to be several hundred people gathered on the distant hillock beside a lake. Suddenly, ten figures came running swiftly toward Ji Ning and Uncle Dala.

“What’s going on?” Ji Ning frowned, watching.

“Run!” Uncle Dala, however, was terrified and immediately turned to flee.

Whoosh!

One of the ten running figures, a man in green armor, shot forward with astonishing speed, directly blocking Uncle Dala’s escape route.

“You two.” The green-armored man swept them with a cold, indifferent gaze. His eyes lingered briefly on the finely crafted beast-hide clothes Ji Ning was wearing, then dismissed him. “Come with us!”

“Might I ask what you want us for?” Uncle Dala saw the man’s armor and immediately bowed respectfully.

The other nine had also arrived. All of them were clad in armor.

“Hurry up. I said come with us, so come with us. Or else, die right here!” These armored guards all held their weapons with cold, impassive expressions. They were clearly well-trained.

Uncle Dala looked at Ji Ning.

“Let’s go take a look first.” Ji Ning spoke calmly. These armored guards in front of him were extraordinary, but to him, they were nothing more than clay dogs and straw horses… Still, why were these armored guards trying to take him away? Unless it was absolutely necessary, Ji Ning wasn’t eager to start a slaughter.

“Move.”

“Hurry it up.”

Under the watchful eyes of the ten armored guards, Ji Ning and Uncle Dala walked toward the hillock.

The hillock was covered with weeds. Several hundred people were gathered there, most of them lying bound hand and foot. About a hundred armored guards stood around them. In the very center was a stone chair, upon which sat a burly, towering man. He was a full zhang tall, clad in thick, heavy armor, and his gaze was domineering and fierce.

Ji Ning’s heart tightened as he looked at the heavily-armored giant sitting in the center. The ‘demon-essence stone’ he carried in his bosom had begun to heat up, clearly detecting demonic aura. Ji Ning could also vaguely sense that the aura of this towering, heavily-armored man surrounded by guards was out of the ordinary.

“A great demon.” Ji Ning immediately swept his gaze around more carefully.

Everyone here was human. A creature capable of taking human form was undoubtedly a great demon!

He had brought many items with him on this trip, and the demon-essence stone was one of them. A demon-essence stone was a naturally occurring special rock that would heat up and glow upon sensing demonic aura. In cities larger than the Western Prefecture, demon-revealing mirrors were hung at the city gates. These mirrors were polished from demon-essence stones; if a demon approached, the mirror would emit light.

Humans had human aura, and demons naturally had demonic aura. Here, ‘aura’ simply referred to one’s life energy.

“Da!”

“Uncle Dala!”

Suddenly, several shouts rang out.

Uncle Dala, who was walking beside Ji Ning, immediately turned his head. Among the bound prisoners, a dozen or so people were lying there, calling out to him. A look of alarm appeared on Uncle Dala’s face. “Blacktiger? Why are you tied up here?” Those dozen or so people were all from his own tribe.

“Uncle Da, why did you come here too? That giant is a great demon! It’s going to eat us all, one by one!” one of the bound tribesmen shouted anxiously.

“A great demon?” Uncle Dala was greatly shocked.

Ji Ning, however, was looking at the heavily-armored giant sitting in the center, surrounded by guards. If he looked closely, he could see blood at the corner of the giant’s mouth. The giant was chewing with great satisfaction, and a killing intent began to rise in Ji Ning’s heart. “So the great demon my demon-essence stone detected is him. Eastmarsh Swamp has twelve great demons. I wonder which one he is.”

“Shut up!” An armored guard walked over and kicked the bound prisoners, kicking them savagely. “All of you, shut the fuck up!”

“Working for a great demon to harm your own kind, and you tell us to shut up?”

“You disgrace the Ironwood Clan with your ‘Green Armor Guards’!”

“Kick us! Go on, kick us to death!”

The people being kicked shouted wildly.

“Stop.” The heavily-armored giant seated on the spacious stone chair spoke, his voice low and rumbling, like the deep sound of a horn. “If you kick them to death, I’ll eat you.”

The armored guard glanced at the heavily-armored giant, then could only back down resentfully.

“Water Rhinoceros King!” The bald-headed armored guard who seemed to be the leader of these Green Armor Guards said in a low voice, “We’ve already caught over five hundred people for you. Our brothers have scattered to capture them, and we’ve done our utmost. Return our young master to us, and our Ironwood Clan will pretend this never happened. If things really go sour, Water Rhinoceros King… you should know that you cannot withstand the wrath of our Ironwood Clan.”

Ji Ning, who was being watched by two Green Armor Guards in the distance, had a flash of insight.

Water Rhinoceros King?

Of the twelve great demons in Eastmarsh Swamp, there was only one that was a Water Rhinoceros. It was a Xiantian (early) great demon!

“Xiantian (early)?” A murderous light flickered in Ji Ning’s eyes. “I’ve been searching for a great demon of this level for ages. I’ve worn out my iron shoes on a fruitless search, and now I find it without any effort at all!”