The most dangerous place in the entire southern plain is the Great Marsh, no doubt about it. The mosquitoes the size of palms, the sandflies with sharp mouthparts, and some kind of worm that partly emerges from the mud and then disappears again – if it weren't for our high-quality boots, I wouldn't willingly enter this area that can be translated as the Great Marsh. It's a bit contrary to geographical knowledge that the southern plain would have this kind of rainforest climate.

No, you can't think about it using geographical knowledge. Monsters can change the environment, just like Saprovore, for example. But Saprovore's territory is very quiet, with no signs of life and relatively dry air. Walking in the Great Marsh feels like having a hot towel pressed against your face, even breathing takes effort. You sink deep with every step, and carrying the beef, it's been half an hour and we haven't gone far.

"Let's take a rest for a while," Simmon ordered. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and found their own spot to rest. The beef was piled up against the trees. My wife and I also found a place to rest. Both the snake tail and human legs have their advantages – snake tail can't climb stairs, but it can move at high speed through the muddy and swampy areas. After walking for half a day, she didn't seem tired at all.

"Are you thirsty, dear?"

"No, I'm not thirsty."

"If you get thirsty, I have water."

"Okay. Are you tired, my husband?"

"Not too much, it's just... oh no, there's a snake!"

I was about to take a sip from my water bottle when I noticed a large python on my shoulder. It was a patterned python, as thick as my wrist, with a tongue that had faint blue veins. I thought I wouldn't be afraid of snakes anymore after living with Medusa for so long, but I still got startled unexpectedly.

"Oh, dear, look how beautiful it is."

"Yes, yes, it's quite beautiful."

Dear wife, this snake is different from Medusa, can you ask your little sisters to get off my shoulder first?

"What about your sisters?"

Medusa was communicating with the snake inside her hair. I wasn't sure if she was intentionally playing with me or if she could actually communicate. I held my breath and watched as the patterned python crawled from my shoulder to my wife's arm. Medusa herself is a kind of half-human, half-snake monster, and when she entwines with a real snake, the eerie and fascinating beauty makes my hair stand on end. What am I amazed at? I don't know, just simply astonished by the mysteries created by the creator of this world.

Imagine if she and I were intertwined with two snakes while in bed...

Stop thinking about it! I'm almost considering myself a snake.

"Dear husband, are you afraid?"

"No, I'm not afraid..."

When Medusa asked me if I was afraid of snakes, it was like asking if I was afraid of her. I didn't think a python could strangle me in front of Medusa. Then, everything I saw gave me a new understanding of my beloved wife. Medusa's iconic "hiss" sounded like joyful drumbeats, and one python after another emerged from the trees. The pythons rhythmically slithered, slowly surrounding my wife. If a musician could play Lenka's "The Show" as background music, it would be an interesting and magical scene. Leaning against the tree, I couldn't help but sway my head to the beat.

This reminded me of the snake charmers who play the flute, even though the principle of snake charming is not music, but vibration. But isn't music also a form of vibration transmitted through the air?

Medusa must really like music. It's been a long time since I sang to her. My wife closed her eyes, and the pythons spread out from her as if radiating from a center, like they were being lifted by strings, perfectly synchronizing their movements with a cobra-like head raise. Goddess, that's the only word that comes to mind, and it suits her perfectly.

Snakes are beautiful yet deadly creatures, and Medusa has brought these two aspects to the extreme.

My wife lowered her head and lightly clapped her hands. The pythons received the signal and disappeared in the blink of an eye. At that moment, not only me, but even Wolfrang and Simmon were left dumbfounded, not knowing how to express their admiration for Medusa's spirituality.

Looking up again, my wife smiled.

"What's wrong? Why is everyone looking at me?""Wife, are those snakes your sisters?"

"No, no, I just passed by here and wanted to say hello to them."

This doesn't look like saying hello at all. It's clearly a bunch of pythons bowing down to you. The relationship between Medusa and regular snakes is worth further research. It might even become a significant discovery in the history of biology.

"Everyone, let's continue on... shall we."

Simmon hasn't recovered from the scene just now, asking me with his eyes what's going on. I shrugged, indicating that I also have no idea. I looked at my wife, but there didn't seem to be any noticeable physical changes or traces of magic. Maybe it really was just a greeting.

As the team delved deeper into the rainforest, the danger level of the marshland beneath our feet increased. Wolfrang had to leave the ground and jump through the trees because as a werewolf, he could easily sink into the muddy ground. The vine-like plants became denser, and it seemed like even our thoughts were entwined with those green ropes. The complex and angular roots of the trees were wrapped in wild green moss, and every plant here was gradually intensifying the sense of distortion along this journey.

Even my wife started to show a disgusted expression. The swaying of the snake tails would pile up the mud on their scales, and our boots were starting to struggle to resist the depth of the mud. If we don't make at least five hundred gold coins from selling the beef, it wouldn't be worth the suffering.

"We're here, we're here. Let's push forward!"

Simmon whispered to us, the disgusting muddy road finally started to improve, but this improvement made us even more cautious. Because we were standing on... a stone.

Not that there were gravel paths beneath our feet, but that we were all standing on a single piece of stone.

It was an island made of stone in the mud sea!

The stone island was semi-circular, devoid of any plants, about four hundred square meters, with a flat surface covered in a layer of mud. From a distance, it looked more like the kind of mud pond where saprovores resided. There were a few pieces of limestone-like material covered in moss in the distance, and the sound of flowing water could be heard, but no obvious water flow could be seen.

Calmly observing the surroundings, I discovered that the mud beneath our feet was slowly flowing towards the back. Boldly guessing, it's possible that the mudwater of the entire marshland spread out from here.

Both my wife and I took out our weapons, but Simmon gestured for us to put them away. He simply said that the two of us were no match for them.

"Sir, who are we doing business with here?"

"Akanthisna, you should have read about it in the books."

"Akan-what-sna?"

"The original meaning of this word is 'beautiful girl in the mud', it is an ancient type of monster."

"So is this monster a singular entity or multiple entities?"

"It should be one, I've only seen it once when I was seventeen. It's hard to explain, but once you see it, you won't forget it. It's been thirty years now, I don't know if that fellow has turned into two..."

"Um... sir, why is it called a beautiful girl? Is it because it looks pretty?"

"If you think Medusa is pretty, then you might think it's pretty too..."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see it soon enough, you'll understand."

Ten pieces of beef were already piled up about five meters away from us. If this monster is really a girl, then she definitely has a soft spot for food. Simmon signaled us not to talk from now on, and he would handle the negotiations.

I wanted to smoke because I started to get anxious.

"Akanthisna, beautiful and great one, we have brought you some delicious food~"

Simmon sang this sentence, and it was quite funny. An old man nearing fifty, holding the emblem of the black market, sang with perfect rhymes. It's hard to believe that someone actually came up with these lyrics. Later, Simmon told me that these words were traditional and didn't have any practical meaning. It was just a way to draw the other party out with the sound. It's the same as shouting, "Damn you women, I'm here to deliver food, hurry up and come out!" The effect is the same...

After a while, the "girl" actually arrived, but this "girl" had a bit of a sturdy physique.

What the hell, how can she be called a girl? Isn't this the multi-headed dragon that was drawn in the book!

The visual impact of such a monstrous creature was too strong for me, so I had to take a few steps back. On the other hand, my wife, curious, took a step forward. Simmon asked me to pull my wife back and not to make any dangerous moves.The height of the Hydra is about twice my height, which is about 3.6 meters. This data doesn't sound impressive, not very tall. But when this monster stands in front of you, you understand that the reason why it is called a monster is not only because of its height, but also its volume and various body structures that go beyond my knowledge.

I counted, this guy has seven heads, with four in front and three in the back, arranged in an alternating pattern. Okay, now I understand what Simmon meant when he said Medusa has many heads. This creature also has many heads, so I might also think it looks beautiful...

Nonsense! Can this thing be compared to Medusa? Its four short legs are thicker than an elephant's, like genuine dinosaur legs. Its whole body is grayish-green, with rough and hard skin on its back, and it has protuberances. The head is covered with a deep purple horny layer, with backward-facing spikes, similar to a lizard's head. You call this thing a girl? Does that mean it's female?

Hmm... there's a strong smell of rust in the air, and it tickles my throat. I'm afraid this gas is poisonous, so I quickly looked at Simmon. Seeing that he didn't cover his nose, I endured it as well.

The Hydra sniffed the beef and started salivating, and even drooled...

Girl, with so many people here, at least pay attention to your image.

...

Uh, calling you a girl is really overestimating you. Each of the seven heads ate one piece of beef, leaving no bones behind. The creature held the beef, chomping a few times, then tilted its neck back and the beef went down into its belly. After finishing, it stomped its feet, as if indicating that it was very delicious and happy. There were still three pieces left. The Hydra thought for a moment, picked them up and swung its neck, taking little leaps and ran away with them.

"Simmon, is this considered a delivery?"

"Yes."

"And then? What's our reward?"

"Just wait, it will come back soon."

"Are you sure it will come back?"

"Of course, you have to believe me."

Then I lit two cigarettes, but the Hydra still didn't come back.

Are they trying to deceive us?

"Uncle, are you really sure it will come back?"

"It should... I haven't seen this monster for thirty years either."

"How about we call it a few more times?"

"You shout?"

"I won't shout."

I looked at Wolfrang. The tall werewolf shook his head like a wave drum...

Then I looked at Park, who was whistling and looking around.

Where's my wife? Well, she was tilting her head and looking at me with a silly smile.

Alright, when it's a critical moment and no one dares to do it, I'll shout! We black market traders can't afford a loss-making deal.

The problem is, what should I shout? I can't shout "I have brought you delicious food" again. We don't have any food left. Shouting "Please come out to chat" isn't quite right either. It also has to rhyme with each line, and I haven't fully understood the language of this world yet, let alone knowing how to rhyme in lyrics.

Let me think, um...

"Dear fellow villagers~ Please listen to what I have to say. I, a humble citizen of Night Fall Town, have travelled 80 miles to make a living, just to earn three meals a day transporting beef through muddy roads. Brothers and sisters, we worked hard together. But who knew this monster would be unreasonable, swallowing the beef and running away, leaving us waiting and searching in vain. Everyone's hearts are anxious and worried. I have no other choice but to sing two lines to express our feelings. I apologize for disturbing you. Small business is not easy. Kind lady, please be generous and come out to have a chat, have a chat~~~"

As soon as I started singing, everyone was stunned and didn't know what I was singing, but it rhymed nicely.

Hey, wait a minute, someone's applauding. Hey! Let me show you what I got, and let you all know the profundity of this language...

Uh... something's not right. Why is the ground shaking along with the applause?!!