Black Hearted Mage

Chapter 134 Hot Spring

Along the way, they encountered many white crocodiles, but none of them attacked the raft, merely scanning it with their eyes. After stepping onto the muddy swamp, Rodman immediately retracted the raft.

"Luckily we came here in winter, otherwise we wouldn't have been so successful!"

"Why?" Caesar asked.

Rodman explained: "It's not the spawning season for white alligators, so the females are less aggressive. However, once they enter the spawning season, the situation is completely reversed. The females will become extremely aggressive and will attack even if they are full!"

Kaisas nodded slightly in agreement. You know, to protect their young, female Warcraft not only have an extremely strong desire to attack, but their attack power also skyrocketed. They even fought to the death with male white-skinned crocodiles that approached their young, never retreating a single step until their death. This is a great maternal brilliance, stemming entirely from their innate instinct.

Just then, Rodman pulled two pairs of white boots from his space ring. They were clearly made of crocodile leather. The soles of these boots were exceptionally large, clearly crafted specifically for this swampy landscape. After the two put on their boots, they carefully sprinkled the repellent evenly on the outside of the boots and on themselves. With everything ready, they finally donned their protective masks.

The muddy swamp wasn't particularly dangerous, but the environment was truly disgusting. The ground was covered in foul-smelling mud, which was truly unbearable. Hidden beneath the mud were numerous worms, covered in a thick layer of slime that was truly disgusting to look at.

The two trudged through a vast, muddy swamp. The soil beneath their feet seemed to possess life, constantly sucking at their boots. Looking south, they could see towering volcanoes rising up ahead, billowing thick smoke. A rough estimate of their distance was about twenty miles.

Rodman, clad in leather armor and holding a spear, walked cautiously ahead. His expression was focused, and he periodically plunged his spear into the mud, testing the depth of the path ahead. The swamp had a complex terrain, with some areas barely above the instep, while others were incredibly deep.

Caesars followed Rodman, holding his spear. The muddy road was very slippery, and one could fall if they were not careful.

To make matters worse, beneath the mud lay a multitude of wriggling worms. These worms were flat, slender, and slimy, making the sight of them repulsive. Fortunately, they had prepared repellent potions beforehand, which prevented the disgusting creatures from crawling up their boots and onto their bodies.

In this way, the two of them walked slowly forward, one foot deep and one foot shallow. Twenty miles might not seem far to ordinary people, but walking in this muddy swamp seemed unusually long.

Time passed minute by minute, the sun gradually set, and the sky gradually darkened. After more than five hours of hard work, they finally set foot on the solid volcanic ash ground.

Caesars and Rodman were already exhausted, their clothes drenched in sweat, their legs feeling heavy as lead. Walking through the swamp was too strenuous; the sticky mud had a strong adhesive force, requiring more energy to lift a foot.

"Kaisas, look at all the clean water we've brought along. You thought it was too much before, but now you think so, don't you? Remember, don't waste drinkable water! Just wash yourself briefly before bed, and put away your dirty clothes for now. Because according to our current itinerary and route, it will take at least three days before we can enjoy a warm and comfortable bath and wash our clothes in the hot springs!"

As Rodman spoke, he quickly pulled out a durable, hard-shelled leather tent. He quickly stripped off his heavy leather armor and tossed it inside. Then, like a nimble squirrel, he slithered into the tent. A faint, rapid rustling could be heard from within, evidently as he busily washed himself.

Just a few minutes later, Rodman had changed his clothes and emerged from the tent, looking remarkably fresh and sharp. However, he didn't stop there. Instead, he squatted down and began carefully cleaning his muddy boots. He first used a tool to remove large chunks of mud, then took a damp cloth dipped in a little water and carefully wiped away the stubborn residue.

After some effort, Rodman finally managed to restore his boots to some of their original shape. Meanwhile, after a short rest, Caesars began to set up his armored leather tent...

The next morning, the sun had just risen, and soft sunlight sprinkled on the volcanic ash ground. Caesar stretched, then walked out of the tent in high spirits, and saw Rodman busy preparing breakfast.

The black snake, its belly bulging, lay lazily coiled at the entrance of the tent. It looked quite content, clearly having found last night's vigil quite relaxing. However, looking at its bulging belly, Caesars couldn't help but frown and shouted at Rodman, "Rodman, how much did you feed this thing? How come it ate so much!"

Hearing what Caesars said, Rodman smiled and shook his head and said, "I didn't feed it. It went hunting for moles on its own. It went into the hole over there and almost couldn't get out!" After that, Rodman stretched out his hand and pointed at several small holes not far from the tent.

Following Rodman's finger, Caesars discovered several small burrows. These were the entrances and exits to the demon rats' lairs. Compared to ordinary demon rats, demon rats were significantly smaller. Furthermore, they typically built their lairs more than two meters underground, with burrows stretching over ten meters in length, and four or five exits and entrances for escape.

Thinking of this, Caesars asked with some concern: "Could it have eaten all the demon rats in that nest?"

He quickly walked to Rodman's side. The black snake seemed to sense its master's approach and immediately twisted its huge body to follow closely behind Caesar.

Rodman explained, "No, demon rats are good at escaping. There are usually 20 to 30 of them in a nest. The black demon snake only ate about 10 at most!"

"This guy is too greedy! By the way, where are we going today?"

They were now at the edge of a large volcano, with steam and smoke rising from the volcano. They definitely couldn't go through there, as only the east and west directions had no toxic smoke.

"We went west. I have walked to the east side three times and there are very few fire flowers. The fire crystals are too close to the lava river, and it is very dangerous to dig them." Rodman said.

Caesars nodded, took his breakfast, and began to eat. Rodman had extensive adventure experience, having visited the volcanic region many times and was familiar with it.

After a simple breakfast, the two packed up their tents and set off. Rodman told Caesars that heading east would most likely lead to encountering other mercenaries, while heading west would be slightly better.

Mercenaries who could reach the volcanic region possessed formidable strength. While a lone mercenary posed little threat, a mercenary group was extremely dangerous. The volcanic region was a lawless, unclaimed land, where murder and robbery were commonplace.

Around the smoking volcano grew numerous unknown and exotic flowers and plants. Compared to the flowers and plants found elsewhere on Roland Continent, they stood out from the crowd. These plants were relatively low, as if bound by the earth. Upon closer inspection, their leaves were barely discernible, and all that came into view were the vibrant, diversely shaped blossoms.

These plants have large bulbs at their roots, like buried treasures. These bulbs contain trace amounts of toxins, making them a good substitute for hunger when food is scarce. However, eating these bulbs for extended periods of time can lead to toxin accumulation in the body.

The temperature here is significantly higher than in the Everglades. After only an hour or so of walking, the heat becomes unbearable. If you don't stop and rest for a while, you will soon sweat profusely, soaking your clothes and giving off an unpleasant sour odor.

At this moment, two people were sitting side by side, cushioned by soft animal skins, drinking water from their canteens and enjoying this brief rest time.

One of them suddenly asked, "Rodman, are there any snakes here?"

Upon hearing this, Rodman pulled out an old, yellowed animal hide map from his space ring. This map, which he had drawn himself, detailed the locations of dozens of volcanoes and the main areas where ground dragons frequently moved.

Rodman replied, "Yes, there are, but the snakes here are generally smaller. They're not as thick as a mature black snake, let alone a golden-eyed black snake."

Rodman pointed at the map, then at the nearby volcano, and continued, "We're currently at this location. If we continue west for two days, we'll encounter two dormant volcanoes. The hot springs are located between them. The water there is only good for bathing, not drinking. We'll have to walk for at least ten days to reach a source of drinkable water!"

Caesar nodded slightly. Rodman's map marked it very clearly. A large number of trees and herbs had grown on several dormant volcanoes in the westernmost part of the volcanic area, but the varieties were very simple.

The two of them walked and stopped, and arrived at the hot spring two days later. Along the way, the black magic snake caught its own food and did not need Caesars to feed it at all.

Two dormant volcanoes stand side by side, and the hot spring pool is located at the junction of the two volcanoes, more than 30 meters above the ground. The pools are arranged in a terraced pattern. The top pool is filled with boiling water, while the two lower pools are extremely hot, leaving only one pool for bathing. The water in all three pools is crystal clear, with the walls and bottoms a milky white with a slight yellowish tint.

There are flame flowers and flame mushrooms growing around the hot spring, but not in large numbers.

"Caesars, quickly take out the clothes that need to be washed!" Rodman said.

Hearing Rodman's words, Caesars frowned and responded: "Rodman, I can wash my clothes myself, I don't need your help!"

Rodman laughed disapprovingly, waved his hand and said, "Hey, brother Caesar, I won't do your laundry! Just throw the clothes you want to wash into the boiling pool. You don't even have to scrub them yourself. In ten minutes or so, the clothes will be spotless!"

After hearing this, Caesars widened his eyes and asked in disbelief, "Is there really such a magical thing?"

Seeing Caesar's skeptical look, Rodman nodded complacently and replied affirmatively: "Of course, if you don't believe me, just try it!"

After a moment's hesitation, Caesars quickly stripped off his stained clothing and tossed it into the steaming, gurgling hot spring. He then pulled a pile of dirty clothes from his interspatial ring and tossed them all in. After doing all this, he breathed a sigh of relief, then walked into the hot spring pool below and slowly sat down.

The warm spring water gently enveloped Kaisas's body, instantly giving him an indescribable feeling of comfort and relaxation. He closed his eyes and quietly immersed himself in the peaceful atmosphere, savoring this rare and pleasant moment.

Rodman, holding a small hoe, searched for high-quality herbs. He bent over and carefully dug out a flame mushroom. Since he had visited this place once before, the number of herbs that met the requirements was limited, only a few dozen. Even so, Rodman remained focused and diligent in his search...

Ten minutes later, Caesars had changed into dry clothes and walked to the edge of the steaming hot spring pool. He used a wooden-handled spear to fish out the soaked clothes. He then took out a magic steel giant blade spear and plunged it into the volcanic ash. He took out a piece of animal hide rope and tied it to the two spears, using it as a clothesline.

After steaming, the dirty clothes have become really clean. You just need to wring out some water and hang them up to dry.

When Caesars was hanging out his clothes to dry, the hot spring pool at the bottom was occupied by a black magic snake, which floated on the water with its belly turned up.

Rodman went south, while Caesars reached the highest point and took out his trophy—a magic telescope. He carefully examined the south side of the dormant volcano and saw a red strip in the distance.