The moment I sensed them—
my instincts screamed.
Don't go closer.
A dart suddenly shot past my face.
I tilted my head slightly and barely avoided it.
Only then did I fully realize it.
I was surrounded.
Several lizardmen had already repositioned themselves around the swamp edge without me noticing.
I clicked my tongue internally.
My mistake.
I had focused too much on maintaining Beast Breathing and neglected my sensory field for a moment.
A dangerous mistake.
But at least one thing favored me now.
We were no longer deep inside the swamp.
The ground here was firmer.
Better footing.
Better movement.
I quickly observed their formation.
Five total.
The swordsman from earlier was nowhere to be seen.
Instead—
a massive lizardman stood at the front.
Far larger than the others.
Its entire body looked thick with muscle and scarred scales.
In its hands was a huge circular shield-like object made from hardened bark and bone.
Behind it stood two lizardmen carrying long wooden spears.
And at the very back—
two more held blow darts already aimed toward me.
Not random positioning.
Not chaotic monster behavior.
A formation.
Like trained soldiers.
That realization made my expression harden.
A monster acting on instinct was dangerous.
But monsters fighting with coordination?
That was far worse.
Someone—or something—was leading them.
Rusty stood beside me silently.
I mounted him slowly while gripping my spear tightly.
The swamp wind passed between us.
No one moved.
A complete stalemate.
Both sides watching carefully for the first opening.
I stopped using my sensory field entirely.
Right now, all my concentration went toward combat itself.
Dark aura covered my body.
Beast Breathing accelerated.
Then—
I pulled the reins sharply.
Rusty exploded forward instantly.
Fast enough to rival the wind itself.
The massive lizardman reacted immediately.
It planted its feet and raised the shield-like object with both hands.
The two spear users behind it lowered their weapons simultaneously.
Ready to strike Rusty the moment we entered range.
But this time—
I attacked first.
My spear slammed directly into the shield.
The impact exploded outward violently.
Cracks spread instantly across the surface before the entire shield shattered apart.
The massive lizardman was forced backward from the pressure and crashed into the two spear users behind him.
At the same moment—
the blow dart users fired.
Not at me.
At Rusty.
Their target was his neck.
I reacted instantly and twisted my spear.
The axe blade attached near the shaft deflected both darts away midair.
The massive lizardman recovered surprisingly quickly despite the impact.
It suddenly grabbed my spear tightly with both hands.
Trying to pull me off Rusty.
My instincts screamed immediately.
Not because of danger to myself—
but because forcing Rusty into a strength contest against that monster could injure him.
So I let go.
The massive lizardman thought it had successfully thrown me.
But while falling backward through the air, I unsheathed my sword.
At the same time—
I saw both spear users thrust toward me.
And behind them—
the dart users were already loading another volley.
I twisted my body midair and landed several steps away instead of directly beside them.
The moment I hit the ground, I landed on one knee.
Mud splashed outward from the impact.
Before I could rise fully—
the massive lizardman stomped downward toward my head with crushing force.
But Rusty intercepted first.
With terrifying momentum, Rusty rammed his horns directly into the creature's side.
The impact stopped the stomp midway.
The massive lizardman crossed both arms defensively, yet its entire body was still shoved backward several steps through the mud.
I didn't waste the opening.
The instant my bent knee pushed against the ground—
I exploded forward.
The dart users released another volley.
One aimed for my head.
The other for my chest.
I dodged sideways smoothly and closed the distance instantly.
The spear users tried intercepting me.
Too slow.
I slipped past them and reached the dart users directly.
One lizardman had just loaded another dart into its mouth.
It looked up—
and froze.
My sword pierced straight through its shoulder and chest before it could even react.
Blood sprayed across the swamp water.
The second dart user panicked and stumbled backward—
but I could already hear movement behind me.
The others were coming again.