Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 469 - 469 326

469: 326.

Mother of the Old Swamp 469: 326.

Mother of the Old Swamp “I can’t understand.”

Lu Li furrowed his brow, silently observing the silhouette of the dark robe, as if piercing through the fabric to glimpse the truth beneath.

The truth revealed by the silhouette of the dark robe was chilling.

It meant that all along, the entity they had been communicating, trading, and cooperating with was never the Mother of the Marsh, but that unknown Evil God.

But there were doubts.

Why would the Shadow Figures and Six-legged Monsters, servants of the Mother of the Marsh, become servants of the “unknown Evil God”?

“The ignorant, chaotic Mother of the Old Swamp was replaced by my lord, and her believers, unwilling to accept this, vainly tried to awaken the old Mother of the Swamp.” The voice came from beneath the silhouette of the dark robe.

“Who is your lord?”

“The current Mother of the Marsh, the deity who called for your arrival.”

“Who was the Mother of the Marsh when I entered the swamp a month ago?”

“It was the Mother of the Old Swamp.”

“So, the one conducting sacrifices in Shadow Town and trying to take over this place is your lord?”

“It was the Mother of the Old Swamp.”

The silhouette in the dark robe continued to answer.

Lu Li could not comprehend the logic, but the silhouette in the dark robe did not intend to let him continue in ignorant bewilderment.

The mixed voices from the silhouette of the dark robe suddenly faded, replaced by an aged voice, accompanied by countless echoes, speaking slowly: “May I narrate the past of my lord to the guest?”

“If there is enough time,” Lu Li didn’t mind understanding more about this place.

From beneath the dark robe, the aged voice slowly rose: “Long, long ago, the Mother of the Old Swamp was the ruler of this half of the swamp…”

The existence of the Mother of the Marsh dated back so far that even before people explored and colonized the Ailen Peninsula, she already dwelled within the Southern Shadow Swamp.

People did not know why she came to be, whether she was an Evil God born from the beliefs of the indigenous tribes or a primordial Evil God.

They only remembered that the earliest Pioneers who entered the Ailen Peninsula encountered strange and mysterious events in the Shadow Swamp.

Many died, and the Pioneers could only stay as far away from the Shadow Swamp as possible to avoid trouble.

But as they gained a better understanding of the land, they discovered that many indigenous villages lived in the swamp, coexisting peacefully, and not afflicted by the strangeness.

The leader of the Pioneers of Shadow Town believed that the indigenous people had a way to avoid trouble.

They attempted to communicate with them and thus learned of the Mother of the Old Swamp—the ruler here.

The indigenous people worshiped and offered tribute to the Mother of the Old Swamp, and the leader of the Pioneers believed they had found a way to survive in the swamp—by worshipping the Mother of the Old Swamp.

They toiled during the day, building houses and fields, and at night they prayed, hoping the Mother of the Marsh would protect their safety and keep them from the strange afflictions.

Because the statue of the Mother of the Old Swamp possessed mysterious power, the Pioneers dared not create or display it, but could only visualize her in their minds: a creature resembling a beetle, with countless spikes on its back.

Their faith in the Mother of the Old Swamp was completely different from the past.

The indigenous villages around the swamp were mostly barbaric and wild, with some having degenerated to the point where it was difficult to communicate with language.

Their beliefs were just as barbaric and bloody, with cruel sacrifices occurring from time to time.

No matter what the original Mother of the Old Swamp was like, under such filthy and vile beliefs, it was the same as most Evil Gods in the world, cold-blooded, wicked, and truly deserving of the name of Evil God.

The Pioneers, on the other hand, were the exact opposite.

They no longer had bloody sacrifices, and their prayers were no longer about killing the leaders of rival tribes or spreading plague in enemy villages.

They prayed for the safety and health of everyone, for a bountiful harvest in autumn, for the happiness of relatives inland, and…for wealth.

Perhaps there were dark thoughts among them, but they were mere sparks in front of a roaring bonfire, so trivial that they vanished in an instant.

These unexpected actions of the humans endowed the Mother of the Old Swamp with something it had never had before…

humanity.

“My Lord thus came into being.”

Beneath the ancient words of the figure in the black robe, a devoted murmur of prayer emerged from the mixed voices of men, women, old, and young.

The born Mother of the Marsh did not possess a separate consciousness; the Mother of the Old Swamp was still the Mother of the Old Swamp.

It was more like a child who knew nothing, having read a fairytale book it had never seen, and no matter where the child’s life trajectory went thereafter, that fairytale book would always remain deep in the heart of the Mother of the Marsh.

In any case, because of the prayers and beliefs of the Pioneers, the Mother of the Old Swamp had accepted these new Believers.

As a result, Shadow Swamp no longer became a place fraught with peril, as long as they didn’t venture too deep into the marsh, the oddities wouldn’t attack them.

As time went by, the town was officially established, and trading caravans and opportunistic youths could now enter the Ailen Peninsula with ease via the completed Marsh Road.

Shadow Town became prosperous, and at this time, a church had already been established.

The Pioneers, who were preparing to make a Divine Statue of the Mother of the Old Swamp, were thwarted by the Exorcists and Demon Slayers employed by the kingdom.

They investigated Shadow Swamp and told the people that the Mother of the Old Swamp here was an Evil God, and that if they continued to believe in it, their souls would not find peace after death.

“The beast cannot conceal its true nature,” they said.

Thus, the Pioneers stopped worshipping the Mother of the Old Swamp, and the newly built church became one without a Divine Statue.

Under the guidance of the Demon Slayers, the Pioneers began trading with the natives living in the swamp, learning their language, and eventually merging with them.

The villages in the swamp also disappeared one by one, and as a consequence, fewer and fewer people believed in the Mother of the Old Swamp, which gradually became a legendary tale.

As time passed, generations of townspeople aged, and fewer knew of the Mother of the Old Swamp.

The Mother of the Old Swamp also remained deep within the Southern Shadow Swamp.

After a peaceful century, the almost-forgotten Mother of the Marsh was noticed by certain entities.

The ancient voice of the figure in the black robe quickened its pace, “A great existence, unfathomable as the stars, bestowed a sliver of consciousness.

That mere sliver made the Mother of the Old Swamp tremble like an ant!

The unfathomable existence told the Mother of the Old Swamp that its masters were about to descend, submit or die!

The Mother of the Marsh chose to submit, it…became the servant of that whisp of consciousness.

The hint of vile and terrifying aura leaked by the consciousness was so frightening that one who heard but a word of it would scream and go mad!!!”

The hurried voice of the ancient figure suddenly turned into a scream, and then it vanished in an instant.

After a few seconds of silence, a new, low voice surrounded by an audience emerged, this time it was that of a middle-aged woman.

“The Mother of the Old Swamp had forsaken everything it had been.

At this moment, my Lord, who inherited the faith and duty, awakened.

It was separated from the consciousness of the Mother of the Old Swamp, no longer relying on the consciousness of the Mother of the Old Swamp, which knew nothing of my Lord’s awakening…and you.”

The hood of the black-robed figure lifted slightly as if gazing at Lu Li, the tone carrying a meaningful implication, “You entered during the storm a few days later, without reason, inexplicably treated as a guest by the Mother of the Old Swamp who by then had become a servant of an existence as great as the stars…”