landbeastnovel Chapter 426 A sudden plague of undead, the Queen pleads for help!
Chapter 426 A sudden plague of undead, the Queen pleads for help!
Chapter 426 A sudden plague of undead, the Queen pleads for help!
At dusk, after eliminating another group of chaotic giant horned beasts, guided by Willow Butterfly's contracted flower spirit Milio, the Ark and the others traveled eastward along the muddy path for about two kilometers.
A murky stream flows across a simple wooden bridge, and looking upstream, the silhouettes of several tents can be vaguely seen.
The flower fairy guide, Milio, hovered around Willow Butterfly, excitedly pointing ahead and saying, "That's right, the terrain here hasn't changed much."
The tribe ahead is the camp of our allies, the forest centaurs.
They were also the Queen's most loyal protectors.
A hint of joy couldn't help but show on Fangzhou's face.
For them, who had been trekking through the forest for days and nights, seeing signs of human habitation was indeed an exciting thing.
"Shall we go over there now?" Zhang Wu suggested.
Gu Yueyuan glanced towards the camp a few times, then turned around with some suspicion and said, "Something seems wrong. Why can't we see the light of the campfire?"
Don't they feel cold?
"Perhaps it's not the right time yet."
Milio, somewhat impatiently, flew out from behind the Ark's mount. "Big humans, let's hurry over there."
There must be steaming hot flower soup and big loaves of bread waiting for us there.
Now that we've reached a point not far from the camp, it's impossible not to go and take a look.
So the members of the Disaster Squad walked upstream along the stream.
Perhaps due to the abundance of water here, the low bushes and thorns are particularly lush.
Gu Yueyuan had only taken a few steps when he had to ask Liu Diewu to use her magic to drive away the entangled thorns and vines.
"Wait a minute!"
Fangzhou suddenly called out in a low voice.
He took out the necromancer orb, which shimmered with a cold light in the setting sun.
Milio shuddered and asked softly, "Lord Ark, have you discovered something?"
Fangzhou did not answer her, but a glint of light flashed in his eyes.
In the vision of the Soul Eagle Eye, the camp not far away was just a dark expanse.
This is the biggest problem.
If a forest tribe is indeed stationed here, how could there not be a single point of light representing life?
Fangzhou waved the necromancy orb, and a skeletal bat took to the air.
Through the skeletal bats' vision, Ark observed the situation in the camp with a serious expression.
"Very well-behaved," he said, turning to the crowd. "It seems the situation inside the camp is dire; perhaps everyone is dead."
And judging by its appearance, this isn't something an ordinary monster could do.
"How is that possible? Marco the Forestman is the best running creature in nature."
In the forest, even if they couldn't defeat the enemy, they could still escape unscathed. How could they have been completely wiped out?
Milio said in a low, urgent voice.
"Now that we're here, let's find out exactly what happened at the camp."
Fangzhou took a deep breath and signaled to everyone to prepare for battle.
Under the protection of zombies and skeleton warriors, the Scourge squad cautiously approached the deathly quiet camp.
The clearing by the stream, suitable for camping, wasn't very big and was completely filled with several tents.
In the middle of the tent, there was a pile of embers from a campfire lying on the ground, already soaked by rainwater, indicating that quite some time had passed.
A forest centaur clad in hard leather armor sat leaning against a large rock, a longsword lying unsheathed beside it, its head bowed as if it were asleep.
Not far from him, two other forest centaurs, dressed similarly, lay motionless on their sides on the ground.
They're all dead—
The living centaurs wouldn't lie there so peacefully.
"I'm just saying this," Liu Diewu murmured.
"O pure and immaculate Moon Spring, have mercy!"
Milio whispered a prayer, then said in a trembling voice, "What kind of enemy could kill these centaurs so easily without any resistance?"
Zhang Wu looked around and said with a serious expression, "Given its size, this forest centaur camp couldn't possibly only have three people."
They should just be guards on duty.
"Captain, we'd better check the tents carefully to see if there are any survivors."
Fangzhou nodded and directed several skeletons to explore the tent.
A skeleton warrior carrying a longsword walked up to a tent, then raised the sword and lightly touched the tent, instantly cutting a charred gash in it.
A cloud of foul-smelling air rushed out.
The members of the Disaster Squad were prepared and ignored the nauseating stench thanks to the natural purification skill released by Willow Butterfly Dance.
Gu Yueyuan frowned and said, "Captain, there might still be dead people in here."
Fangzhou walked over and carefully observed the inside of the tent.
Although the sun was already setting and the surrounding woods were gradually darkening, the situation inside the tent was still clearly visible.
Inside the tent lay three dead forest centaurs side by side.
Two of them were curled up, while only one was covered with rough leather armor.
In addition, there were various boxes filled with food, which filled the rest of the tent.
It was clear that death had come upon these forest centaurs without warning.
This group of forest warriors is not well-supplied.
Both their clothing and food exuded a sense of poverty.
"They're all dead! Everyone here is dead!"
Just then, Milio flew in from outside the tent, his face pale, shouting.
"What did you see?"
Fangzhou turned around and asked.
"The other tents were also filled with dead forest centaurs; not a single one was alive, and some of the dead even had eerie smiles on their faces."
Milio said urgently, "All the supplies are left where they are, untouched."
"The guards on guard duty died beside the campfire, and there was no sign that the goods had been touched."
It doesn't seem like they were attacked by monsters that worship destruction and devastation. So what could have killed them?
Gu Yueyuan frowned in thought.
"It's okay, even corpses can talk."
Ark commanded the undead creatures, preparing to move the corpses away one by one, and put on a good show of the necromancer's specialty.
However, as soon as the corpses of these forest centaurs were turned over, they revealed a horrifying sight: they were covered in red and black scars.
"oops!"
Milio screamed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
"Get out of there quickly! These people are dying of the plague!"
The terrifying word "plague" struck the minds of every member of the Disaster Squad like lightning.
Despite the protection provided by the nature druid Willow Dance's abilities, they couldn't resist the urge to leave the camp.
A plague capable of poisoning all the forest centaurs, from apprentices to lower-ranking Dark Iron warriors, must be incredibly terrifying.
However, Gu Yueyuan suddenly noticed Fang Zhou's expression and involuntarily stopped in his tracks.
"This is not a plague."
Fang Zhou's voice was frighteningly soft, with a strange tone that revealed a predatory excitement.
"It was necromancy that killed these people!"
To actually run into a fellow traveler in the Forest of Nature, this is truly...
"What? A necromancer?"
Gu Yueyuan's eyes flickered.
Fangzhou took out body bags and had the undead creatures collect all the corpses of the dead forest centaurs, then put them into his spatial storage capsule.
After doing all this, he gestured for the members of the Disaster Squad to come out of the tent.
Then he looked at the three corpses lying outside the tent and commanded a skeleton warrior to walk over and slash one of the corpses in the shoulder with his sword.
Thanks to the sharpness of the skeletal armor itself, it easily sliced through the leather armor on the corpse's shoulder, revealing the skin underneath.
The corpse's shoulders were covered with black pustules and red scars, which were intertwined and obscured its normal skin color.
Liu Diewu felt her mouth was dry and couldn't help but look away from the horrifying corpse.
"After the onset of the disease, the body temperature rises rapidly, the skin is covered with black pustules and red scars, and death is very rapid."
This is the innate skill of the zombie race, the manifestation of the putrefactive poison on a living being!
"If I hadn't seen the condition of these corpses with my own eyes, I would never have imagined that this putrefactive poison, transformed from the death energy of the undead, would have such an effect."
Fang Zhou said in a heavy voice.
At this moment, the flower fairy guide Milio, whom Willow Butterfly had contracted, also regained his composure.
She looked sadly at the hideous corpses of the forest centaurs, then pleaded, "Lord Ark, how could necromancers appear in our Forest of Nature?"
Although the monsters that invaded before all possessed chaotic and evil powers, there were always clues to their existence.
Our natural allies also have a wealth of experience in fighting evil.
But if they acquire necromancy as powerful as yours, the consequences would be truly terrifying.
For the past two weeks, the two flower fairies that Liu Diewu and Zhang Wu had formed a contract with had been fighting alongside the Disaster Squad.
Therefore, they witnessed firsthand the terrifying combat power of Fang Zhou, the necromancer, and felt both respect and fear for those with necromancy attributes.
With Fangzhou as their teammate, they naturally felt extremely at ease.
But now, if a necromancer as terrifying as the Ark were to become their mortal enemy, that would be far too terrifying.
Fangzhou patted the flower fairy's head reassuringly and said, "Don't worry, I'm here, everything will be alright."
He swung the necromancer orb, the eerie blue light within it drawing a graceful arc across the night sky before rapidly spreading outwards.
This beam of light, like a clear spring, dispelled the lingering death energy in the camp.
The stench that permeated the air gradually dissipated, replaced by the fresh scent of the forest.
At the same time, Ark also tried to use his profound expertise in the Corruption skill tree to dispel all the Corruption curses that lingered on the surface of the forest centaur corpses.
He drew intricate runes in the air with his hands, and streams of green light flowed from his fingertips, covering each corpse.
These rays of light, like purifying holy water, gradually seeped into every corner of the corpse, completely eradicating the putrid curse.
As the light faded, the signs of decay on the corpse began to gradually heal.
Although it cannot be completely restored to its original state, at least it no longer emits a nauseating stench.
After doing all this, the members of the Disaster Squad clearly felt that the dying force that had been weighing on their hearts had finally receded.
The team members' expressions also relaxed considerably.
Ark dispersed the summoned undead cannon fodder and said, "The problem here is solved, but there is still a lot to do."
The appearance of a monster wielding necromancy so close to the Queen's tribe is not a good thing.
We need to find the Queen's tribe as soon as possible, make contact with them, and find out what has happened during this time.
O
Liu Diewu nodded and said, "No problem, Ark."
I have just reported the situation here to the military academy.
They also fully authorized us to help our flower fairy allies resolve the anomalies here.
Fangzhou said, "Let's not delay, let's set off as soon as possible."
We may have to travel through the night tonight.
After leaving the camp that had been corrupted by necromancy, the Scourge team decided to race against time to cross the forest as quickly as possible.
They were willing to risk encountering even more nocturnal monsters at night.
Fangzhou rode ahead on a mutated swamp frog.
Perhaps due to concerns about the safety of the Queen's tribe and the threat posed by the undead monsters, Milio's face remained gloomy, and his usually talkative mouth was tightly shut.
The forest appears even more eerie and terrifying at night.
The branches that stretched diagonally from the roadside resembled the arms of a demon, trembling up and down in the cold wind.
The howls of unknown monsters never ceased, and occasionally, the sounds of things fighting and biting each other could be heard from both sides of the path.
However, these are not problems for the powerful members of the Disaster Squad.
They spurred their mounts forward without stopping, leaving all those sounds behind in the blink of an eye.
As dawn broke in the east, the trees on both sides gradually thinned out.
Low, dense shrubs and evergreen forests gradually increased, replacing the towering oaks and cedars that pierced the sky like spears.
The path gradually widened, and the broken stone slabs paving it became larger and larger, with some places even showing signs of maintenance.
The scenery before my eyes suddenly changed.
The Disaster Squad emerged from the vast forest, as the dawn cast its golden rays upon the earth.
The flat, green wilderness stretches endlessly, making one feel relaxed and happy.
Just then, the [Dance of the Flower Fairy] token that Fangzhou had pinned to his heart lit up with a green light.
It seems to have sensed the life force of a large number of flower fairies.
Fangzhou let out a long breath and gradually slowed down his mount.
Milio, however, rallied his spirits and looked around.
Liu Diewu raised her hand and released a signal firework, which was the agreed-upon rendezvous signal between Haicheng Military Academy and the Flower Fairy allies.
Soon, several cautious moon deer, carrying a few flower fairies, leaped out from the nearby grass.
Upon seeing his familiar tribesmen, Milio quickly went to greet them and began chatting animatedly.
With the Flower Fairy Dance tokens worn on Fangzhou and Zhang Wu's chests as proof, the Flower Fairy who came to greet them quickly confirmed the Cataclysmic Squad's allies status.
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