Chapter 0022: Shedding the Shell Like a Golden Cicada

As a monster that had survived for centuries, the Witch Hag had long lost her heart, throat, chest, and other vital organs. Yet the brain, serving as the vessel for her fractured soul, remained her last vulnerability; if destroyed by an enemy, her soul faced extinction.

Sensing the emptiness and weakness within her chest cavity, the Witch Hag leader, Sinba, let a hateful, venomous glare flicker across her grotesque face, her twisted features contorting into a more savage and sinister expression.

As the mistress of this muddy swamp, Sinba relied on her tough hide, razor-sharp toxic claws, and the support of her many minions to even stand against the giant swamp crocodiles. Her deadly teeth and claws could tear through half an inch of armor, while the venom hidden between her blackened fingers could paralyze opponents upon contact with flesh.

Unfortunately, like most swamp monsters, Sinba lacked effective ranged attack abilities. Her feeble ray and sleep spells, restricted to close range, could barely penetrate basic magical defenses. Thus, when faced with Alice—a flying adversary with potent ranged attacks—Sinba's superior physical strength was rendered moot; her lack of offensive options left her unable to retaliate and forced to endure Alice's assault.

Fearing Alice's elusive sorcery, Sinba stomped her foot, causing the giant lizard beneath her to silently sink into the pool. Only her head remained above water, glaring venomously at Alice, showing no sign of retreat.

Alice, enraged, launched attack after attack, but Sinba, with most of her body submerged, evaded them all. Alice's signature attack movements were far too conspicuous; with a touch of caution and timely repositioning, Sinba could easily avoid her spatial assaults.

Frustrated by repeated failures, Alice only managed to summon foul, reeking water, fueling her agitation. In a fit of fury, she extracted the putrid brains of seven or eight Witch Hags from the field, scaring the remaining creatures into burrowing frantically into the mud, vanishing from sight. Only Alice and Sinba remained, locked in a tense standoff across the swamp.

After venting her anger, Alice realized her own shortcomings. Her spatial sorcery was indeed sharp and mysterious, but it was primarily suited for single-target attacks, lacking the vast destructive power of elemental spells. This made her formidable against fellow apprentice sorcerers, yet in the current situation, she found herself powerless.

If she had mastered the Lava Fireball spell, a few volleys would have turned the foul pool beneath her into a boiling cauldron, cooking every wretched creature within. Alas, her obsession and confidence in spatial sorcery made her disdain the study of simpler elemental magic.

Thus, faced with today's predicament, she found herself at a loss, unable to overcome the stubborn Witch Hag leader who refused to engage.

Had her burly companion, the giant sword-wielder, been present, he might have relied on brute strength to force his way into the Witch Hag's lair. But Alice was a fragile, long-range sorceress; if forced into close combat with numerous Witch Hags in the mire, she couldn't guarantee her own escape.

Yet Alice was determined to capture or kill Grim today. After a brief hesitation in midair, she raised her full-coverage spatial barrier and plunged meteor-like into the swamp.

Sinba clearly hadn't anticipated such reckless violence from the one-eyed human girl. Hastily, she commanded her lizard to dive deeper into the murky water, emitting a series of high-frequency, eerie sound waves to summon her minions.

The mud churned and the water roiled; the once peaceful swamp boiled like hot water. Streams surged toward Alice's entry point—giant lizards nurtured by the Witch Hags, each over five meters long, armored with tough scales, armed with sharp claws and limited-range petrifying rays. The Witch Hags themselves floated and submerged in the filthy water, desperately besieging the intruder who dared invade their home.

In the foul, murky depths beyond sight, Alice was encased in an impenetrable spatial barrier. Her lone eye blazed with hatred as she wielded her unique sorcery to slay every enemy that appeared before her.

Her right eye, ravaged by scorpion insects, could be regenerated with any number of spells, yet the humiliation lingered. Though the culprit was the hateful pest controller, the root cause was this peculiar, low-level apprentice.

His ability to sense spatial power—whether innate or magical—must never be exposed. Should it fall into enemy hands, Alice's long-established reputation for terror would be at risk.

As the battle raged beneath the pool, the entire muddy swamp became a savage battlefield. Meanwhile, the instigator of this conflict, the apprentice Grim, was being carried stiffly by four Witch Hags into their lair.

Once the fight began, four Witch Hags dragged the fully petrified Grim to the bottom of the swamp, prying open a hole in the foul, smelly mud and pulling Grim inside. The tunnel was filled with sticky, fetid sludge, yet it didn't hinder their swift passage.

First, they swam horizontally for over ten meters, then angled upward. With a soft pop, they emerged from the omnipresent mud and water into a damp tunnel. As they crawled forward in the dark, moist passage, a muffled, raspy roar echoed from the distant swamp—Sinba's battle cry.

The urgency of battle drove Sinba to roar continually, rallying the Witch Hags throughout the swamp. Even the tunnel walls trembled from the force. The Witch Hags, volatile and dim-witted, grew restless; two behind Grim hissed a few times and dove back into the mud, clearly answering their leader's call to join the fight. The remaining two, though angry and eager for combat, suppressed their urge and continued dragging Grim forward.

The muddy swamp was the Witch Hags' home; they could lurk in the sludge and water for years, awaiting prey. Yet inevitably, they needed a place to store their so-called treasures—rotting, malodorous meat, damaged and tattered armor, rusted weapons lacking maintenance, various collected plant roots...

Left in water, these items would quickly decay. Thus, Sinba dug a parallel underground tunnel beneath the tribe's swamp residence, establishing a relatively dry lair away from the wetlands.

Now, the petrified Grim was being delivered there. Though his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth were blocked by foul, viscous mud, and his body turned to stone, Grim's consciousness remained unclouded, fully aware of his surroundings.

At last, the battle outside had begun!

Through the subtle tremors of the earth, Grim could imagine the intensity and bloodshed of the swamp fight. Though Sinba's Witch Hag tribe held overwhelming numbers and fought on their home turf, Grim doubted they could best the terrifying little sorceress.

Lacking elemental magic, relying solely on brute strength, their supposed combat advantage was laughable before Alice's paper-thin spatial barrier. Unless they found the hidden "trapdoor" on her barrier, exhausting themselves would never breach its legendary invulnerability.

Only if they could drain Alice's mental energy with sheer numbers might they stand a chance, but otherwise, defeat was inevitable. Thus, while she and the hags were distracted, it was the best time for Grim to escape.

Though petrified and immobile, Grim's spiritual power remained unimpeded. Guided by his mental touch, a hidden vial in his mouth released a pungent, acrid liquid down his numb throat and into his stomach.

Having patrolled the outskirts of the swamp tower for years, Grim was well acquainted with the local monsters' abilities and had prepared accordingly. This "Freedom of Movement" potion, purchased at great cost from another apprentice, was highly effective against petrification and paralysis.

As the potion circulated within him, Grim's rigid body began to itch and tingle, sensation gradually returning to his control.

After traversing a hundred meters, they reached a relatively flat, dry cavern. The cramped twenty-meter space reeked of mold, and the foul air threatened to suffocate. The two Witch Hags tossed Grim onto a heap of junk in the center, then argued loudly, debating whether to join the battle or stay to guard their "food." While they quarreled, two soft hisses sounded, and fist-sized elemental flames ignited in the darkness.

The Witch Hags hesitated, finally noticing that the petrified human had somehow stood up, both hands cradling flickering flames.

With only rudimentary intelligence, the Witch Hags couldn't comprehend the situation. Sensing Grim's vibrant blood and flesh, they roared and lunged.

The small flames erupted into streams of searing fire, burning toward them. As they crossed paths, Grim collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath, his clothes torn and four deep wounds slashed across his chest and ribs.

The Witch Hags crashed into the rear mud wall, their emaciated bodies collapsing limply. Grim's controlled flames entered their open mouths, incinerating everything within their skulls; the Witch Hags died instantly.

The cavern's air, already scarce, grew thinner after the elemental flames burned. Grim gulped desperately until he finally caught his breath.

His vision swam, his body ached in countless ways. The blood-soaked wounds from the Witch Hags' filthy claws didn't hurt, but itched maddeningly, darkening Grim's mood. Damn it, their attacks were all laced with poison!

Struggling, he swallowed an antidote, his mind settling somewhat.

Listening intently to the violent tremors echoing through the tunnel, confirming the battle still raged in the swamp, Grim realized he still had a chance to escape. Relieved, he began to boldly examine the Witch Hag's lair before him.