Chapter 301 - The Evil Under the Sand Layer
Chapter 301: The Evil Under the Sand Layer
The sun was blazing, but it was already noon.
The frozen sand layer evaporated under the heat, turning into curling mist that rose like a gentle mist. It made the surrounding desert faintly distort, but it was quickly evaporated into nothing by the suppressed heat.
At noon, the Nahrin Desert was at its hottest, which was also the time when the positive energy was at its hottest.
The dark clouds and thick fog formed by the negative energy were unable to stop it.
The ice melted.
The undead retreated without a trace.
Kant rode his horse and stood where he was. In less than half an hour, it was as if a long time had passed.
He turned his head slightly and saw that the traces of the campsite were still there. The bonfire had not even been completely extinguished. Smoke was released from the layers of sand, bringing a different color to the space.
Looking up ahead, the endless sea of sand was still the same yellow and desolate appearance.
It looked the same as before.
But Kant knew that he could no longer return to the past.
The sand around him was full of broken bones, scattered all over the ground. There were also tattered halberds and chain armor, as well as the torn linen cloth that was slowly moving in the gentle breeze between the layers of sand.
Those were the legacies left behind by the undead skeletons!
“My Lord.”
The mage apprentice opened his mouth and reported in a deep voice, “The negative energy belonging to the undead has dissipated.”
“Very good.”, Kant nodded.
However, his tone was slightly hesitant. He raised his head and looked forward, saying in a deep voice, “Continue to move forward!”
“Yes!”
The knights behind immediately responded.
The warhorse stepped forward. Its hooves stepped on the broken bones on the ground, sinking into the sand and leaving a mark.
Danger ahead.
However, Kant still did not want to stop moving forward. Now, it was not as simple as completing the system quest. At the same time, he also wanted to investigate what was in the depths of the desert and how many terrifying undead were there!
This was the depths of the Nahrin Desert.
The location was four days away from the salt mine and seven days away from the salt mine posthouse.
It was also eight days away from the Oasis Lookout.
If the undead here began to expand, then the “Drondheim” Castle located in the Oasis Lookout was also located on the route of the undead’s expansion. Or rather, directly facing the expansion of the undead!
The Sky Veil of Death that seemed to cover the sky would spread.
Just like last night.
When Kant was camping, he was at the edge of the Sky Veil of Death.
But when he woke up this morning, he found that he was already in the Sky Veil of Death, and he didn’t know where he was!
Only at noon, when the sun was at its brightest, did the positive energy gather its terrifying power and disperse the Sky Veil of Death, allowing Kant and the others to regain their light.
If this terrifying Sky Veil of Death showed up at the Oasis Lookout.
Kant wasn’t sure what kind of danger his ‘Drondheim’ Castle would face?!
Even if it spread to the salt mines, the losses it would bring would be huge.
The salt mines that controlled by Kant would be gone. The golden eagles that were plundered every week due to the table salt trade would be cut off from their source, and there would even be a chain reaction, causing his ‘Drondheim’ Castle to fall into a death cycle.
If he could not resolve the Sky Veil of Death, he would not be able to obtain the golden eagles to exchange for denar, and he would not be able to maintain his army.
And if he could not maintain his army, he would not be able to get rid the Sky Veil of Death!
Back and forth.
The death loop made Kant feel like he was being strangled by the death loop!
He absolutely could not allow his development to be directly interrupted by the sudden arrival of the undead, and he could not allow his castle to become a bridgehead that would be in vain to resist the invasion of the undead. Furthermore, the human noble behind him would secretly dig a hole and bury him!
The nobles of the Dukedom of Leo, who only cared about the interests at hand, really dared to do such a thing.
Kant was certain!
As long as Kant was killed, then the desert salt mine would fall into the hands of the noble of the Dukedom of Leo. As for the undead? This group of noble, who cared nothing about the big picture, did not think that they would not be able to resist the undead.
After all, these undead once existed in some deep and ancient tombs on this road.
The noble families were not unfamiliar with undead.
Especially in the North County, tombs that could breed undead could be seen everywhere. Almost every knight’s territory or noble’s land would have a few places where undead could be found.
Even if it was not an ancient tomb, in a cemetery that had been around for decades, there might still be undead.
After all, negative energy converged with the resentment of the undead, so it was normal for undead to appear.
However, the number of the undead was not many. The peasants could form an organization to recruit volunteer and armed militia, and then sent a team of long lance footmen would be enough to deal with the undead. The level of danger was almost as weak as the demonized creatures in the Senwaya Range.
How could it be compared to the undead army in this Sky Veil of Death just now?
These undead had already formed a terrifying Sky Veil of Death.
Other than the knights who possessed extraordinary powers that could be ignored the effect of the veil, but the normal elites who entered the veil would have their combat strength weakened.
If it was an ordinary person or a thin peasant, it was estimated that it would not be long before the negative energy mixed with the resentment would corrode their minds and bodies, causing them to die in sickness and panic. Their corpses would even be corroded by the negative energy of the veil and become undead once again, with extreme fear and resentment, as well as hatred towards the living, they would turn into undead zombies!
This point was also recorded in some ancient books in this world. In the books in the academy, there were even examples of large-scale undead moving out, gathering negative energy, and turning the entire village’s residents into zombies with resentment.
However, such examples had been around for a long time.
But in front of such examples, it still showed how terrifying the undead were!
Kant himself might be able to resist the invasion of the undead, but he definitely could not take care of the Dukedom of Leo’s secret assault at the same time!
“I have to deal with one first.”
Grinding his teeth slightly, Kant had already decided in his heart.
First, he had to scout the undead, first suppress their desire to expand, ensure the safety of the salt mines, quickly develop his own forces in a short period of time, and then suppress the noble families of the Dukedom of Leo. This was the best plan.
There was definitely a reason for the appearance of the undead.
At that time, in the Underground City of the karst cave at the end of the ancient passage, the Old Lich had predicted this.
“I’m so stupid.”
Kant grinded his teeth and steered his horse forward with a gloomy expression.
Since everyone knew that even the Pope of the so-called Sun God Sect had become a Lich, how could the lost city, which had suffered a great disaster, which was also the Golden Holy City where the Sun God’s descendants lived, did not have accidents happen?
According to the bits and pieces of information given by the demons and god’s descendants, the gods and demons had fought until they were at the end of their rope.
It was just like the Third World War between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Both sides threw nuclear warheads at each other.
In the end, both sides suffered irreparable losses in the war.
In order to win the final victory, gods and demons used whatever means they could. Now, it seemed that they had even used the means of the undead. They did not care at all, just to kill each other.
It was a war of genocide.
But in the end, both sides suffered heavy losses. The remaining power still had an impact.
While Kant’s mind was running wild, the mage apprentices next to him became more and more serious. They spurred their horses forward, stepping on the sand layer and facing the scorching sun as they continued to approach the depths of the Nahrin Desert. Finally, they seemed to have discovered something.
“My Lord!”
The mage apprentices suddenly opened their mouths.
Kant instantly came back to his senses and turned his head. “What’s wrong?”
Although the apprentice mages from the Enfath Empire did not master powerful spells, they could still bring a lot of beneficial effects in terms of sensing spiritual power and magic knowledge.
For example, sensing and analyzing various energy elements were very useful.
“We know where the undead have gone.”
The mage apprentices opened their mouths, and their expressions became even more serious. “There are also the dark clouds and thick fog that form the Sky Veil of Death.”
“Where?”, Kant frowned.
“It’s… under the sand layer, under our feet!”, the mage apprentice said in a deep voice.
He paused slightly.
The knights at the side subconsciously slowed down the galloping speed of their warhorse.
They all turned their heads to look at Kant and the mage apprentices.
Their expressions were solemn.
“This is not good news.”
Kant could not help but mutter to himself.
His brows were already tightly furrowed. He turned to look at the mage apprentice. “Are you sure about this news?”
“Yes!”
The mage apprentice nodded. “Very sure!”
At the same time, they gave their own guess. “We went deep into the Nahrin Desert. Although the temperature of the scorching sun above our heads was still unbearable, there was a chill coming from below us. It was different from usual. This chill was neutralized by the temperature of the scorching sun. It just so happened that we could barely march at noon so that we would not suffer from heat stroke.”
“That’s true.”, Kant nodded.
The knights beside him also noticed this subtle difference.
Because of the Sky Veil of Death, they didn’t think about how they could still run under the scorching sun at noon. If it was before, they would have set up camp and hide in tents to rest.
However, this time was different. They were still marching, and there was not much heat.
There was definitely a problem!
The mage apprentices continued, “The problem is very serious! We carefully sensed the bottom of the sand layer and found that there were many ancient river channels under the sand layer. At the same time, there were also many underground rivers. It was these underground rivers that absorbed the dark clouds and thick fog, and even absorbed all the negative energy.”
After a pause, Kant continued, “Including the undead skeletons. The soft sand layer can form quicksand, causing the undead to sink into the sand. When the Sky Veil of Death appears again, they will be able to push away the quicksand and enter the world.”
“Ha.”, Kant laughed softly, but his eyes were solemn.
This problem.
Was really troublesome!
It even gave Kant the feeling that these undead were intentionally avoiding the scorching sun.
Or rather, someone was controlling all of this from behind!
At this moment, a dialog box popped up on Kant’s retina, listing a series of data.
[ Ding… After your tireless efforts, the temporary side quest has been completed. ]
[ Temporary Side Quest: ‘Last Wish’ completed. ]
[ Reward: Spring Eye X 1]
[ Introduction: You followed the spirit’s guidance to the depths of the Nahrin Desert, only to discover that this place had long since fallen into the world of the undead. The glory of the past was no longer there. Time had wiped out everything, leaving behind only the evil that appeared due to obsession. ]
Side Quest completed.
However, a new quest appeared on his retina.
It was a very special selective quest.
[ Ding… Special Quest released… ]