Just now, there was quite a commotion among the monsters paying tribute to their mountain. When Connor, who was scouting ahead, returned to the caravan, Cole Garrison kept asking him questions.
"What's up ahead?"
"How is the situation?"
"Is it serious?"
Connor pondered for a moment before answering. "I'm afraid things aren't looking good, Lord Garrison."
Although the fierce beasts in front of them were allies and the pursuers behind them were also their own people, they couldn't let their guard down. Connor was certain that there were others watching them.
He pointed ahead to a not-so-small swamp obscured by a thick white mist. "This is Despair Swamp, the center of this forest and the territory that different monster tribes are fighting over. On one side are the petrified lizard caves, and on the other side are the jade frogmen's lair. The cacophony you heard earlier was from combat between these two tribes. So it's best not to make any rash moves and get caught up in it."
"But we can't retreat either," said Cole Garrison with concern. "The Shadowfang Wolf tribe is fast on our heels and might suddenly appear at any time without warning."
"That's right. So we can't retreat," confirmed Connor confidently, reassuringly.
"What do we do then?" asked Cole Garrison anxiously.
"Keep moving forward."
"I just scouted ahead and discovered a narrow stretch of wetland within the swamp that's deep enough for boats to pass through despite being only around ten feet deep or so," explained Connor calmly. "As long as we can quickly build simple boats..."
Cole Garrison agreed but voiced his worry: "That's one solution, but while our army has no shortage of skilled boat builders, I'm afraid finding suitable building materials might be difficult."
"No need," said Connor shaking his head with conviction.
"Cut down trees on-site? That doesn't seem wise because I fear any noise generated might alert nearby monsters," objected Cole Garrison worriedly as he looked up at tall towering trees around them.
"Nope. I meant over there." Connor pointed behind him at ten boxes floating in mid-air thanks to Lilith's magic spell [Traveling With The Wind], which were slowly moving towards their direction automatically.
"Do you mean...?" asked Cole Garrison incredulously.
Connor pointed at one of them: "Aren't those wooden exterior packaging boxes as well?"
"These boxes contain 'Sky Silkworm Soft Armor'. Although this armor is lightweight enough for every soldier to wear several pieces close-fittingly without issue, there are still thousands of pieces remaining untransported..." fretted Cole Garrison.
Connor waved his hand and opened his spatial bracelet.
Sky Silkworm Soft Armor was made from Sky Silkworm Silk that had extremely high defensive properties yet felt silky smooth like satin when touched by hand.
All he had to do was pour some clear water out from his bracelet onto each box until they completely filled up with water along with all those soft armors inside them disappearing into nowhere seen by anyone around except himself doing so silently without making any sound whatsoever when he did it!
Cole Garrison quickly pulled Connor aside, surprised. "What was that? Spatial magic?"
"Just a delivery skill that comes with my courier profession," replied Connor nonchalantly.
"Although I'm not a mage, I at least know the basic seven magical elements: wind, fire, water, earth, light, dark and thunder. Other attributes are rare and unique. The spatial magic you just displayed is something many people have never heard of or seen before," explained Cole Garrison in disbelief.
Connor was also surprised. "Really? Then what about spatial tools like rings, necklaces, belts or bracelets? Aren't they common items that almost everyone can get their hands on or at least buy after making some money?"
Cole Garrison shook his head. "Your imagination is quite rich. If those things really became ubiquitous, there would be no need for delivery or logistics in this world anymore."
Speaking to this point, Cole Garrison's gentle smile disappeared as he put on a serious expression. "After spending so many days together, all the clues have been revealed clearly. At this point, there's no reason to hide our true intentions from each other anymore. If I still couldn't discover the truth by now then I wouldn't deserve to be called the tough detective of the logistics department under Marshal's first Bloodhound!"
"Ha! Mr.Connor," Cole Garrison continued confidently while looking straight into Connor's eyes. "If my guess is correct then you...you must be..."
Connor took a few steps back. Inertia thinking could be deadly. Even during his days as a delivery man in his past life, he enjoyed reading online novels with settings that described spatial tools as common items in other worlds. Little did he know the reality of the situation.
He knew Cole Garrison admired him greatly, but he was still a logistics officer and ultimately sided with the human kingdom. Good and evil have never been able to coexist; there was nothing else he could do.
Just as Connor was about to speak, Cole Garrison displayed his phantom step technique and appeared before him with several quick movements. He extended his palm, sending a powerful gust of wind towards him.
Suddenly stopping right next to his mouth, Cole Garrison raised his index finger and made a gesture for silence before saying in a deep voice, "You must be the legendary dual-system potential genius, Mr. Connor!"
"Oh this?" replied Connor.
Cole Garrison's smile reappeared along with some mystery. "No need to pretend anymore, Mr. Connor. I can tell from your extensive knowledge and formidable skills that you are not an ordinary courier. I read in ancient records that there are only a few geniuses who can simultaneously master powerful combat potential and efficient living potential, achieving an effect greater than one plus one."
He thought for a moment and remembered when Connor pledged to challenge Nexus Overlord.
Cole Garrison quickly made further deductions. "Did I guess it right? You deliberately hid your true strength for the upcoming Hero Selection Convention."
"I trust that since you want to have an ace up your sleeve more than others, I won't casually reveal your secret to others," continued Cole Garrison confidently while looking straight into Connor's eyes again. "And I firmly believe that you are truly worthy of being called a hero and will surely succeed!"
His reasoning was sharp as ever, causing Connor to nod repeatedly.
"Thank you so much, Lord Garrison," said Connor gratefully.
"Not at all," replied Cole Garrison humbly."It should be me thanking you for saving me and our deployments from Lan Yalang's hands. About the matter concerning spatial magic, I'll cover it up for you. Now hurry up and find a way out of here."
...
The outer packaging box was quickly transformed by the logistics department's engineers into a simple raft that could carry dozens of people. Everyone boarded and floated downstream along the waterway.
Connor stood at the bow of the boat, looking towards the distance and reminding everyone to stay vigilant and beware of aquatic monsters in the water. The old expert responsible for shipbuilding nodded in agreement and added, "Mr. Connor is absolutely right. I once followed an adventurer's guild and accidentally stumbled upon Desperate Swamp. It's extremely dangerous here, with a large number of benthic monster fish lurking in deep waters.
These creatures are extremely dangerous; if humans are not careful, they can be mesmerized and trapped in illusions created by these creatures. They may see peerless beauties or gain endless wealth or supreme power due to their inner desires, walking into the swamp willingly before gradually sinking, unable to resist until they turn into corpses at the bottom of the lake."
After hearing this, everyone shuddered with fear. Some new soldiers even had trembling legs.