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.

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 precious the chance was for a warrior to fight against someone at the equivalent level, yet they still made such

is that you come closer to us, and stop working in isolation. We are a team now. Team

patting Ricky on the shoulder. Then he turned to Kristen and

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

a relatively large and dangerous place this side. It was a perfect place for warriors at the inferior stage of Bone

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

of the organization leaders died in the process. Because the leader of the Rats was at the peak of the sixth grade of Bone Reinforcement, there never was anyone in the

to the Sky Manor, hoping that the Royal Sky Guards could wipe out

...

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

area, Ricky felt a dark and moist atmosphere, a typical characteristic

the spiritual energy in this area was relatively

to grow, which attracted warriors

of activities before

today, like any 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, the gang would

the marsh. Until they entered the forest, Ricky and his team did not know what to

thing coming to welcome them was a sprawling wetland covered with

black trees scattered here and there littered the landscape. Some of the trees were

They emit a certain odorless, colorless but highly poisonous gas into the air. To keep safe, you have to stay at least a hundred meters away from them.

Didn't know some trees can be so highly poisonous!" Ricky nodded

there are two more natural dangers here. Dangerous animals roam the expanse 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,

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. Only

last threat is the Rats, our target. We are kind of at a disadvantage for the time being

to have a serious fight to claim the bonus," Ricky warned, his face turning more somber

another. Otherwise, they wouldn't seek help from the Sky Manor, and we wouldn't have come