Overlord: Start from the Goblin Lair.

Chapter 40: Swampmaw's Lair

"My friend, don't listen to the nonsense of these monsters!" The spellcaster among the bandits said hurriedly, "We are all human, aren't we? We are natural allies, and you should protect us!"

"I'm a human, no problem, but I can't say I can protect you," Ron didn't look at him, but continued to question the butler, "Since you said they stole your god's treasure, do you know what that treasure looks like?"

"A blue-purple stone ball, shining brightly, is stuck on the eye stalk of the god." The butler said quickly.

"Nonsense, we've never seen any stone balls!" The humans flatly denied it.

"Okay, let me ask you one more thing," Ron turned around, "Are you... a wizard?"

"Warlock." The caster nodded to Ron.

"Oh, I've heard a lot about you. May I ask what your bloodline inheritance is..."

"My power comes from an ancestor," the warlock said bluntly. "She once traveled in the chaotic elemental sea and formed a relationship beyond friendship with a powerful fire elemental lord. The power of fire magic also appears in her descendants from time to time."

In this world, there is nothing to be ashamed of. Playing poker with the Lord of Fire Elementals and passing down the blood of warlocks to future generations, how many people would want to do this?

Therefore, when the warlock introduced his family background in this way, even Sera looked at him with envy.

"So, have you ever tried to explore some powers other than blood?"

"Why would I do that?" The warlock looked at Ron in confusion. "I haven't even explored all the power in my blood yet, why would I pursue something else?"

Ron nodded: "So, are there any other spellcasters among you?"

"No more! There is no other spellcaster within the range of about two taverns where we are operating." The warlock puffed out his chest proudly.

That's strange. The butler said that the Swampmaw was killed by lightning, but how could a warlock who inherited the element of fire use lightning, even the electric claw in a magic trick?

Moreover, the Swampmaw was a genuine giant monster, and it was definitely not something that a group of robbers could deal with - not to mention taking the treasure from its eye stalks and then killing it while it was immune to electric shock.

This is not something that ordinary people can do.

"Would it be convenient for us to go see the victim, I mean the victimized 'God'?" Ron turned to the butler again.

"Oh, of course! Please follow me - you thieves and murderers can't get away!"

Following the Madwug butler, Ron and the others entered a half-submerged cave. After wading through the knee-deep, murky, dark water for a long time, they finally saw a huge nest that was decorated very luxuriously under the light of the fire.

"Be careful!" Behind Ron, the robber who had tried to escape earlier quickly pulled him, "There's a pit underneath here."

"Thank you." Ron paused, but just expressed his gratitude without saying much.

"This is it." The butler wailed as he walked to the front of the nest and held up the torch to illuminate it.

The corpse of a huge monster fell on the nest. As Ron knew, it was a fully grown Swampmaw.

However, this monster was a charcoal version, and it did not emit the aroma of barbecue. Instead, the pungent stench of decay permeated its body. It seemed that just as the book said, this creature was not a product of the ordinary world, but came from another world.

"Yuck! I don't want to eat this creature even if you give it to me!" Sera pinched her nose and used her other hand to fan in front of her face vigorously, trying to get rid of the stench on her face.

"The body of the god is not for you to enjoy," the Madwug butler said sternly (Ron could tell by his tone of voice that he had an expression on his face), "the only one who is qualified to enjoy it is... another god."

Perhaps sensing the movement outside, another monster stretched out its eyestalks from under the body of the swampmaw monster.

This is also a swampmaw monster, but it is still young. Although it looks almost a replica of the big one, its size has shrunk several times.

"A Swampmaw can lay a fertilized egg without mating, and the young can grow to adult size within a month through its hungry hunting..." Ivy murmured.

It was hard to imagine that in a month, they would have to live next to such a monster? This was too dangerous!
"I suggest that we wipe these two groups of creatures out of here," Victoria looked at Ron seriously, "stop judging right and wrong. Leaving them here is irresponsible to everyone else."

As if sensing the priest's hostility, the little swampmaw let out a hissing sound and showed its mouthparts threateningly at Victoria.

"What a disgusting monster, disgusting and powerful," the bandit warlock frowned as he looked at the nest, "Even if I knew there were treasures here, I would never set foot here - it's really too dangerous!"

The other bandits also echoed this, saying that they would never come to such a place even if they were beaten to death.

"By the way," Ron seemed to have just remembered a question, "you came here with Mindatis, right?"

"Mindatis, you mean the wealthy elf, right?" The sorcerer thought for a moment, "Yes! We came with him - didn't he go to get help and invite you here?"

"No," Ron shook his head. "To be honest, we are actually competitors. We have a grudge against that guy."

"Tsk!" The warlock looked around worriedly, and it was unclear whether he was preparing for a life-and-death fight or looking for a way out for himself.

"It seems that guy has abandoned you and run away," Ivy said with a sneer, "Don't worry, this is the second or third time we have seen him do this kind of thing, that villain."

"Four times!" Driver corrected.

"It seems we have found a good employer!" The warlock said these words while gritting his teeth. "Guess what? I quit my job!"

"Let me tell you the truth! Our so-called capture was planned by him. He said that the Bullywugs would not kill us immediately, so we had to pretend to be captured and find their camp. Then we would be responsible for attracting their attention, and he would be responsible for stealing something - but the original plan was that he would come to us and retreat after the task was completed!"

"And now? He ran away, leaving us here to take the blame! That's what happened!"

"So, you're saying that the elf defeated the god alone?!" The butler was horrified, "That's impossible!"

"No, it's possible," Ron suddenly interrupted the butler, "as long as he gets the treasure first."

"And he didn't leave. He was mixed in with the crowd. Whether you were fighting or working together to find him, he could have taken the opportunity to slip away. It's just that our sudden appearance disrupted his plan. In a panic, he made a stupid move, and just now he exposed himself."

"Am I right, Mindatis? It's fun to hide behind us a second time, isn't it?"

(End of this chapter)