The legendary warrior

"Oh? With that mysterious look, you are making me curious. Tell me the details of the mission," Ricky asked, his eyes lighting up.

"There is an area called the Black Marsh. A gang named the Rats has recently appeared and is growing rapidly. It's likely, warriors who go to the Black Marsh for toughening and improvement would be their targets. Going by their aggressive activities, they would fancy taking over the area, and they would kill with abandon anyone who ventures into their territory. Besides, the mob also preys upon organizations and ransack their treasures, resources - whatever they have," Kristen started to elaborate the mission.

"A few groups of warriors have combined force and gone to the Sky Manor, requesting for the destruction of this mob and hoping the Sky Manor would help. Our Chief was glad to accept their request. Now the second phase of the plan has been assigned to Tyson and me. The purpose of the mission is to exterminate the Rats within half a month.

Now that you are a member of this team, the task ahead lies on our shoulders. Of course, this is a rewarding mission. The bonus is one-tenth of the treasures of the mob, and each of us will receive two thousand gold coins from the Chief!" Her excitement was palpable as she spoke of the reward part.

"You said that this gang killed lots of warriors and robbed quite a few many organizations of their resources. Oh, there must be tons of treasures in their hands. One-tenth of the treasures, and two thousand gold coins… Hmmm, that's quite a generous offer! I'm in, guys!" Ricky replied, doing a quick math of the benefits in his head.

If the Rats was some kind of righteous faction, probably Ricky would think twice about the offer. But after hearing what they had done, he inferred that it was a wicked gang of robbers. In that case, he would show no mercy. Besides, the task was a great deal. He could not only improve his skills by fighting against them, but also harvest a great deal of wealth.

"You are right, buddy! They have amassed quite a fortune! You know what? Even if the Chief would only give us one-tenth of those treasures without the gold coins, I'd still gladly join this mission!"

Tyson was itching to have a go.

"That's cool! So do you have any idea about the gang's strength? Like how many people they have?" asked Ricky with a serious look.

"Sure. Our men have already dug out some crucial information about the group. The leader is a guy at the sixth grade of Bone Reinforcement, and has two assistants to deputize him. One is at the fifth grade of Bone Reinforcement, while the other is at the fourth grade. We take down the three guys, we take down the Rats. We have three, and they have three; perfect matches! What's your thought?" Kristen explained in details.

"So I'm going to deal with the one at the fourth grade of Bone Reinforcement, right?" Ricky inquired, delighted at the prospect. "Hope he is strong enough and won't disappoint me!"

"I'm glad to hear such confident words, Russell! I know you must be eager for a fighting chance against a strong, established warrior to reinforce your skill! I can assure you that this particular deputy at the fourth grade would not disappoint you. As far as I know, he is stronger than Rupert, the man you defeated in the Water Fire City," said Tyson, beaming a delighted smile.

"If you are disappointed at him and feel that he's not enough of a challenge to improve your skills, then my opponent, the deputy leader at the fifth grade, is yours!" he promised.

"You can also choose to fight against the ultimate opponent, the leader at the sixth grade!" Kristen chimed in with laughter.

grade as scheduled. I won't feel disappointed whether he is strong or not. Both of you are so kind to me!" Ricky replied, feeling touched by their generous offers. He understood how

us, and stop working in isolation.

on the shoulder. Then he

team of three then set off for the Black Marsh, chatting and laughing heartily as they went.

place this side. It was a perfect place for warriors at the inferior stage of Bone Reinforcement to improve their abilities. Organizations of warriors at the intermediate stage of Bone Reinforcement also

the Rats in the area was now increasingly becoming a threat to those organizations. The mob conducted itself with impunity, killing and maiming at will, while on their never-ending looting spree. Gradually, all the organizations had weakened, losing more and more ground

of the battle. Some of the organization leaders died in the process. Because the leader of the Rats was at

anymore, the surviving leaders in the area had turned to the Sky

...

slightly over half an hour's distance, and soon enough, they were in

dark and moist atmosphere, a typical characteristic of

the moisture in the air, the spiritual energy in this area was relatively thicker than it was in most

suitable place for Treasures from Heaven and Earth to grow, which attracted warriors

hive of activities before the gang

other day, would have seen several new arrivals as well as departures. However, what greeted Ricky and his team now was a far cry from the former glory. Far worse than Ricky had expected. If anyone ventured here,

Marsh, sat huge forest, sealing off the rest of the marsh. Until they entered the forest, Ricky

them was a sprawling wetland covered

few hills, or giant black trees scattered here and there littered the landscape. Some of the trees were so massive that they

colorless but highly poisonous gas into the air. To keep safe, you have to stay at least a hundred meters away from them. Even a warrior at the advanced stage of Bone Reinforcement can hardly last fifteen minutes

Didn't know some trees can be so

of this place, stealthily lurking in the shadows. You lose concentration or wander off only once and the next thing you know, you'll be anxious, face to face with the

many unmarked black spots, which are not easily noticeable in the marsh. These are known to suck people in. Once engulfed, you may end up there, dying a slow, painful death.

the Rats, our target. We are kind of at a disadvantage for the

seems that this is by no means an easy job! We are going to have a serious fight to claim the bonus,"

not have suffered crushing defeats, one after another. Otherwise, they wouldn't seek help from the Sky Manor, and we wouldn't have come here for