Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Following the metallic stench of blood and the footprints, Yang Ling discovered even more corpses. There were knights, archers and Spellcasters from the Church, as well as monsters with human bodies and heads of beasts.
Could these monsters be the aborigines of the Black Forest and were forced back by the army of the Church?
The doubt in Yang Ling’s heart grew after he examined the corpse of the monsters closely.
Most of the monsters suffered from a fatal attack on their backs. They were either hit from behind by arrows, or were severely injured by the Wind Dagger or fire element magic. Judging from the number of corpses and the wounds, it seemed as though they fell for the surprise attack from the Church!
However, he had not heard any news about the Black Forest having aborigines. Even though Elder Klive had not fully scouted the Black Forest, he did possess a substantial amount of intelligence from various sources. He would definitely have told him if there was a large number of monsters or aborigines within the Black Forest.
In his doubt, Yang Ling summoned the Unicorn and Flying Dragon King as a precaution. With this two high-level Magical Beasts protecting him, coupled with the warning and obstruction of the many Horned Bee Beasts and Vampire Bats, he believed that he would not be caught off guard even if he were to suddenly come across a sage level fighter.
The closer he got to the center of the forest, the narrower his senses became. In the end, he could only forcefully detect movement in a five meter radius around him. He could only sense the situation within a hundred meter radius even after sending a team of Horned Bee Beasts to scout the path.
A hundred meters might not be short in the eyes of an average person, but many high-level Magical Beasts could travel that distance within the blink of an eye.
Yang Ling became more cautious as his sensing radius decreased, closely examining the signs and corpses along the way to judge the time in which the battles occurred, as well as the power level of the two parties.
Most of the monsters suffered from fatal attacks from the backs. On the contrary, most of the people from the Church suffered from a great trauma from the front. Some bled from the heads, their brains bashed in by heavy weapon; Some had their chests pressed inward, dying from their ruptured internal organs; Yang Ling could not find complete limbs for some of them, as if they had been decapitated, or torn to pieces while they were alive.
The closer he got to the middle of the forest, the more corpses of the two parties he found. Some had not stopped breathing yet, convulsing on the ground in pain, unconscious.
The number of corpses of the monsters was large, but the Church seemed to have also suffered heavy casualties. In just a mile, Yang Ling had discovered the corpses of fifty knights, thirty-two archers and a dozen Spellcasters. Judging from the scale of a standard exploration team of the Church, they seemed to have lost a third of their forces.
Could there be a treasure in the Black Forest, or was the so-called relic of the giant dragon was situation in the deepest regions of the forest?
Yang Ling became increasingly cautious as he discovered more and more corpses, trying his best to increase the radius of his senses. The monsters and the Church did not seem to be benevolent factions, he might accidentally fall for their ambushes.
Rumble…
Yang Ling suddenly heard a faint wave of strange cries after making his way over a sinister-looking hill. At the same time, the metallic stench of blood in the air became thicker and thicker. He cautiously rushed over to take a look, then could not help but be alarmed!
Gruesome corpses lined the floor on a vast plain. There were dismembered limbs everywhere, blood flowing into rivers. A group of vulture-like creatures were flying around, shouting as they tore on the corpses on the ground.
Heavy casualties on both sides?
After instructing his Horned Bee Beasts to make their way around the area and ascertaining that there were no ambushes, Yang Ling led his Magical Beast army carefully forward, closely examining the bloody battlefield. He sometimes stepped accidentally on a gut, and at others, touched a human head with an unjust look on its face. He would even unintentionally step on an eyeball that was soaked in blood.
Gruesome, this was exceptionally gruesome!
Even though he was accustomed to seeing these bloody scenes, Yang Ling still subconsciously clenched the sharp Blood Elf Dagger in his hand tightly and swallowed with difficulty when he saw this hellish scene. The corpses of the monsters were not too frightening, but the corpses of the Church’s men were horrible to look at. It seemed like there were no complete corpses amongst them.
Other than the corpses of the two parties, there were also the dead bodies of several Magical Beasts. There were gold-colored Gryphons, calf-sized wolves; In fact, there was also a monster with four pairs of wings on its back, with the body of a snake and the head of a bull…
After instructing his Magical Beast army to fight off the vultures that were picking on the corpses, Yang Ling cleaned up the scene at his fastest speed. The monsters did not possess any good gear, but the Church was different. They had premium gear. This was especially so for the magical staffs of the various Spellcasters. He would be able to sell them for quite a sum of crystal coins after processing it and removing the insignia of the Church.
Furthermore, even though they were already dead, the Magical Beast Essence Crystals of the various Magical Beasts were not to be missed. Yang Ling decided that he could not pass up on these treasures and directly stuffed the corpses of these Magical Beasts into his Space Ring. All he had to do was to take them out at the Wissen Castle and someone would naturally attend to them.
This is the deepest region of the Black Forest?
After making his way around the area a few times and observing the surroundings from above a tall tree, Yang Ling shook his head in confusion as he confirmed that this was the deepest region of the Black Forest. Originally, he had thought that there would be a cave or a secret piece of land at the deepest region of the Black Forest. He did not expect it to be an empty piece of land littered with corpses.
Around the empty piece of land were nine tall black trees with trunks so thick that it would take a dozen people to hug it. Even the leaves of the trees were as black as ink. Other than these trees, there was nothing strange in the surroundings.
Yang Ling did not understand why the monsters and the Church would fall out and risk suffering heavy casualties on both sides; He did not understand why there was a deathly aura within the forest, and why his mental energy would be this severely limited. Originally, he had thought that there would be a strange Magical Spell Formation deep within the forest, but it seems like that was not the case!
Could it be that this forest had been subjected to a mysterious curse just like the legends had said?
Looking at the sky turning darker and darker, looking at the deathly Black Forest around him, Yang Ling shook his head and prepared to leave toward the next perilous land. Unexpectedly, just as he was about to jump off the towering tree, he suddenly senses a strange fragrance in the air. His body faltered after taking a few breaths, almost falling from the tree.
Not good, there’s poison!
The strange fragrance got thicker in the blink of an eye. The Magical Beast army that was on alert around him became dizzy, and even the Unicorn and Flying Dragon King were no exception. In his alarm, Yang Ling quickly recalled his Magical Beast army into the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda and consumed a Poison Dispelling Pill that Alice had given him before he left. He then put all his effort into circulating the Wizard Power in his body and silently recited the Poison Technique Wizard Mantra.
The Poison Technique Wizard Mantra within the Wizard’s Pagoda could create a Wizard Core with the toxins that entered his body. Even though he was still far away from becoming an exceptional Poison Wizard, Yang Ling had developed a preliminary resistance to poisons after having trained for some time. Yang Ling soon slowly recovered under the effects of the Poison Dispelling Pill and the Wizard Mantra.
After calming himself down, Yang Ling soon realized that the source of the poisonous gas game from the towering tree under him. The nine large trees had released waves of a strange fragrance at the same time, gradually spreading outward and enveloping the entire Black Forest.
Furthermore, with the strange fragrance getting thicker, the radius of his senses contracted once again. The five meter radius he could sense at the beginning had now strunk to one meter, and this radius was still shrinking continuously.
Strange trees that could release poison?
Yang Ling had an epiphany after confirming the source of the poison and feeling the transformation in is body. As it turns out, these nine strange black trees were responsible for the phenomenon within the Black Forest.
Leaving the area was currently the best strategy!
Patting on the strange tree below him, Yang Ling had wanted to transport the tree into the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda to learn more about it, but abandoned this alluring thought after thinking about it for a moment. After all, he still did not know the dangers and uses of the tree for the time being. It would be disastrous if transporting the tree into the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda would affect the place for rest of the Magical Beast army!
“Ah… Save me, save…”
Just as Yang Ling had climbed down the towering tree and was prepared to leave quickly, a faint plea for help came from within the mass of corpses. Cautiously walking over to take a look, all Yang Ling saw was a monster with the head of a bull crawling out from within the piles of corpses with only a breath left.
The back of the monster was covered in blood, with many sharp arrows poking out of it; His chest was a bloody pulp and his ribs were exposed, as if he had been pierced by the sharp lance of a knight from the Church.
Furthermore, unlike the rest of the human-bodied monsters, this monster had a striking tattoo of a wolf’s head on his forehead and was wearing a long, gray robe. Even though he only had a breath left, he still clutched tightly on a snake-shaped magical staff. It seems like he had been a priest of a Spellcaster that had followed his army here.
The magical staff of the monster was strange. It was not only a rarely seen snake shape, there was also no Magical Beast Essence Crystal on its tip. All there was on the tip was a strange crystal skull. The crystal skull released a faint ring of silver light in the night, and Yang Ling could seen the empty eye sockets of the skull no matter which angle he looked at it from. It was incredibly mysterious, completely unlike an ordinary magical staff.
The only way to save him?
Looking at the monster at its dying breath, then seeing the strange magical staff in his hand, Yang Ling had a thought. He bit open his index finger and pressed it tightly onto the other party’s head, silently reciting the Wizard Mantra.
Even though the rate of success for taming humanoid intelligent beings was not high, Yang Ling was still prepared to give it a try. As long as he could tame this unique monster before him, he would naturally be able to obtain his memories and quickly understand what had happened here.
