I laconically walk off the platform, not bothering to continue fighting even as organizers and my teammates shout at me. It's all meaningless if I can't protect my friends and family.
I catch a flight to the Ancient Capital.
The Ancient Capital of Xi'an possesses its historic city walls. Within these old city walls lies the city center, while districts such as Yanta and Beilin are situated outside them. The locations within the old city walls primarily serve as attractions for tourists.
At present, construction is underway for a larger outer wall beyond the old city walls. This outer wall's coverage is five times larger than that of the inner wall, accommodating many who have moved there from the outskirts, and it encircles a circular area with a diameter of 15 km.
The entrance to the city is guarded by Magic Association personnel, while Battlemages oversee checkpoints. Inspections during the day are relatively lenient, but as evening descends, the military prohibits anyone from leaving the city, as those outside the wall are vulnerable to the undead.
Upon crossing the heavily fortified outer wall, the scene within appears rather typical. It resembles any other city, albeit with vibrant and bustling streets as people from the outskirts migrate here. Perhaps they have grown accustomed to the undead, focusing instead on their lives.
…
…
I head directly for the Bell Tower Hunter Union.
The Clock Tower Magic Association and the Bell Tower Hunter Union stand resolute at the city's center, even during turbulent times. While I initially intended to gather information from Zhang Xiaohou's headquarters, I decided to consult the person who conveyed the news of Zhang Xiaohou's demise to Lingling. He informs me that Zhang Xiaohou went missing during a rescue operation. His body has yet to be located, as no further personnel were dispatched. However, the incident is believed to have occurred between Sunny Goat Village and Hua Village.
[I'll find a few seasoned Hunters to accompany me to Sunny Goat Village.]
I'm unfamiliar with the location, and more often than not, the undead prove more formidable adversaries than demon beasts. Therefore, a dependable team is indispensable.
Fearless Hunters are easily found in the bustling lobby of the Bell Tower Hunter Union. Dangerous locales invariably attract Hunters, as greater peril tends to yield greater treasures. The Ancient Capital's Hunter Union is quite active, as the undead have more valuable loot than other demon creatures on average.
My gaze traverses the scrolling quest list, revealing numerous quests categorized as 'rescue'.
Since the onset of turmoil among the undead, many individuals remain imperiled outside the walls. Consequently, those who are secure within the walls submit rescue requests for their loved ones.
"More accurately, it's corpse retrieval," corrects a raspy voice.
I pivot to discover a daring-looking man with a goatee nearby. Throat cleared, the short figure asserts firmly, "Quest submitters simply hope to prevent their loved ones from devolving into those repugnant entities beyond the walls. Hence, our Ancient Capital Hunter Union is swiftly transforming into a Corpse Retrieval Union!"
"So you're saying that my friend is definitely dead because he was trapped outside the city for a few nights?"
"It's very likely."
"How much do you charge to retrieve someone?"
"10 million yuan, and you join our team. I'm bringing some others along as well. You'll have to protect yourself; my brother and I are excellent guides and can prevent hordes of undead from surrounding you at night, but there's no guarantee some won't attack you."
"I'll be back if no one else is up for the job, but I've got no qualms about looking after myself."
He laughs. "Sure! That means you'll be back."
…
…
Well, he's right. No one wanted to go to Sunny Goat Village or Hua Village, and they muttered something about the Dark Abyss appearing. I've read about it: the Dark Abyss is essentially a hellhole of countless undead that teleports randomly. Its creator, the Ancient King, was incredibly accomplished in the Earth, Undead, Space, and Chaos Elements, though his purpose for constructing the Dark Abyss other than a tool of fear is still unknown.
"Fine, you've got me. Take 10 million yuan out of this debit card."
He gleefully completes the transaction and shoos me away, telling me to meet him at the south gate tomorrow morning after his clients are ready.
The next day, I arrive at the designated location and barely spot the shorty amongst the crowd. The people surrounding him are nondescript, the notable exception being the woman with a black veil, green eyes, and long, luscious black hair. She boasts a glamorous figure underneath a silk dress embroidered with colorful peacocks, and I'm certain she's covering her face to avoid attracting more attention than she already is.
Our group has six people in total: Shorty, his muscular brother, the lady, her two servants, and me. We exit the south gate and begin walking to Sunny Goat Village.
…
…
Night quickly falls. The muscular man takes out 6 things that look like gray garlic cloves and offers one to each of us. I don't recall reading about this food item.
"What is this useful for?"
Shorty answers me. "It's Ash Garlic, and eating it makes the undead think your living breath is actually undead breath. This item is the sole reason I'm confident in guiding clients to their desired locations; without it, we'd be devoured by the undead by the first night."
Everyone grimaces after they pop it into their mouths. I keep a straight face, but I can see why: it doesn't taste much better than feces, and I've sampled those once when I believed they were some brown fruits. The girl looks intrigued at my lack of reaction.
"Are your taste buds defective?"
"No, it's nearly as bad as eating shit."
She smirks, amused. "How would you know?"
"I ate shit accidentally once, believing it was brown fruit."
"Hahahaha, who makes that kind of mistake? You're jesting, surely."
"It was quite hard on the outside and did not smell like feces at all, and I lacked visual feedback because it was night. Plus, I was desperate for food. I hadn't eaten for a whole day."
"Hadn't eaten for a whole day?" she inquisitively tilts her head, then grows quiet, perhaps realizing that a sensitive past might lurk underneath these statements.
…
…
There's empty land where Sunny Goat Village used to be: the odd wooden plank is the only evidence of its existence. Scorch marks indicate burned corpses; at least the villagers weren't turned into undead.
Shorty wears an ugly expression. "We were supposed to rest here for the night, saving the use of Ash Garlic. Now we might not have enough to get to Hua Village and back to the Ancient Capital."
The foreign woman suggests, "We can skip the Ash Garlic in areas where undead are less crowded. I certainly have no issue fighting small groups of them."
I concur, nodding my head.
Night falls. We continue walking cautiously to Hua Village when an enormous undead crawls up from the ground, provoking us into battle-ready stances.
It's at least 5 meters tall and each of its limbs are half a meter wide. Its four hands each contain hatchets with dried bloodstains. A Giant Corpse General, a variant carrying hatchets.
Arrows immediately pierce into its arms, legs, head, and torso as it rises from the ground, but they have little effect. Of course. It's an undead that doesn't rely on blood circulation to stay alive, and superficial injuries will not weaken it at all.
The Hatchet Corpse General blurs toward us, swinging its hatchets wildly at me and the foreign girl, who introduced herself as Ye Meng'e. Her veil falls off as she escapes the blow with Shadow Evade: Flight, turning herself into a shadow and leaving the vicinity of the creature. I opt to turn to the side, avoiding a hatchet swiping straight at me, then lay flat on the ground as two more arms sweep the air above me. After I push myself up, I've finished aligning my Light stars. Light Blessing: Juggernaut!
Dazzling yellow armor envelops my body, and the undead warily backs away. I'm approaching it now with Blood Tabi active. I twirl, jump, duck, and jump again. The first three motions allowed me to evade swipes of its hatchet while the final motion propelled me to its head. I face its enormous skull, clobbering it with my leg covered in Light armor. It staggers back, but there's a smoking hole in its head where my leg made contact. I continue engaging it in melee, my limbs searing through its flesh like butter. It eventually cries out, calling all the zombies within a kilometer of us for assistance. However, I finally locate its undead crystal in the right side of its chest, opposite where its still heart is. I pull it out and it immediately collapses to the ground. Such a high quality crystal would be a shame to crush; I'll sell it.
Suddenly, my eyes involuntarily widen. A shining Soul Essence on its body floats towards the necklace on my chest. I allow myself to inwardly scream for joy.
"I don't want to find out whether the undead can locate us after a single call. Let's keep going," I firmly state.
They offer no reply, and I turn around to see absolutely flabbergasted expressions on their faces. Shorty is the first to recover slightly.
"While I agree to continue walking, we can't just move on from what just happened! You soloed a Giant Corpse General, with a single Intermediate Light spell, no less."
We all start striding towards Hua Village, though they direct dumbfounded gazes at me. Ye Meng'e asks, "Is this kind of thing normal for you? Having no fear of facing monsters in close combat instead of keeping your distance like most Mages?"
I indulge her intrigue. "It is. Why else would I approach them? To commit suicide? I'm merely surprised more Mages don't spend time practicing melee battles before they awaken, at least the ones from renowned families that are certain to become Mages. It's an incredibly useful skill: it saves mana, preserves your life when evasion and defensive spells are on cooldown, and gives you more opportunities to kill your opponent."
"On the contrary, some do. Usually the ones from clans that focus on a weapon, like a sword or spear. But they're nothing like you. Their 'sword arts' are mountebankish. Your every move secures your advantage, either debilitating the enemy or preparing to do that with an evasion. I've traveled all over the world, but your existence has broadened my horizons. I'm confident in saying you're unique on Earth."
"I suppose it's probable. To achieve my heights in close combat, one would have to experience what I went through. Ye Meng'e, what you see now is a culmination of both skill and luck. I nearly died several times, and I would have died without certain fortuitous circumstances, before skill started to gradually replace luck. A natural talent for perception and decision-making during battle didn't hurt. I suspect many years might pass before someone else with the talent is forced into similar circumstances, with the necessary fortune to ensure they survive."
"Indeed. I've also been wondering, why do you find it necessary to close in? Why not use your superior prediction and aim to demolish your opponents from afar?"
"That's how I fight Mages, with this bow. However, against demon creatures, the bow results in drawn-out battles of kiting and bleeding if I lack the strength to fire arrows fast enough to pierce their skulls or some vital organ. This is exactly the case for Great and Advancing Warriors. At least my swords can cut through muscle, and if I avoid the bones, crippling and then killing is far easier up close than from a distance. My lack of offensive Elements means I must take this option; I have no other way of inflicting injuries upon my targets."
"And you had to close in with that Light spell here because the Giant Corpse General would barely notice anything even if you fired a hundred arrows at it. I see."
"Not quite. My swords would have proven sufficient, albeit taking a bit longer. However, I make it a habit of shrouding myself with some defensive protection before engaging in a melee with a creature I've never fought before, even if I've read up on it."
Shorty chimes in. "You did well to be cautious. The Giant Corpse Generals are menaces. The bloodthirsty and hardy nature of the undead means that it could take on Advancing Warriors, despite it 'merely' being a Great Warrior. Add the ability of summoning thousands of undead in a kilometer radius, and you'll understand why teams will add obscenely large amounts of time to their journey just to avoid them."
…
…
"Why are you here?"
Ye Meng'e blinks. "We've got an uncooperative associate here, so we're here to talk some sense into him."
"An associate. From what organization?"
"Parthenon."
"Are you a Muse? Saintess? Although I've never heard of a Saintess called Ye Meng'e, that might just be your Chinese name. You don't really act as stuck-up as I would expect from people in authoritative positions."
"Saintess, and my western name is Asha'ruiya. Your presumptions are mostly correct, the rest of the Muses and Saintesses have their noses in the air."
…
…
Unlike Sunny Goat Village, Hua Village at least has the structures one would expect: a wall, cottages, dirt paths. Unfortunately, they appear to share the characteristic of being completely empty.
There's some bloodstains, rundown huts, and grass strewn everywhere, indicating a recent battle.
"I'm so thirsty. I hope the well water is clean." Shorty heads toward the well in the center of the village. When he peers into the hole, his face pales and he stumbles back.
The muscular man runs up, pulling a man in the well out. "Hong Jun, is that you?"
"Who? Oh, you're Fang Youmiao from the other village," Hong Jun replies.
"What happened here? Where's the rest of the villagers? Do you know why Sunny Goat Village has been wiped from the face of the Earth?"
"We were attacked by zombies and hid here. I've got no idea about that disappearance, but I can ask our chief."
Around a hundred villagers climb out of the well. The last ones are a man and a woman.
My jaw drops.
[No. Way.]
I rush at the man and fiercely hug him, startling the young lady beside him.
"XIAOHOU! You're alive! I thought you were gone, that I was too late. Thank goodness! Let's get out of here, I'm not losing you to the undead again."
I hold onto him for another second before noticing the lack of reciprocation. I pull out of the hug and stare at him. He looks back at me, displaying a puzzled countenance.
"Who are you?"
[Oh, for fuck's sake.]
"Fu Da, oh sorry, Xiaohou, this is great! Someone who knows you! I thought you might be a log for the rest of your life after I treated your head wound, but someone's here to bring you back." the young woman exclaims, her face lighting up in joy.
"I'm not leaving," Zhang Xiaohou blurts out, glancing at the girl.
"Why? Your friend looks capable. Maybe he'll have a way to cure your amnesia if you go with him."
"I…" Zhang Xiaohou trails off, still looking at her, a little lost.
He seems reliant on her.
"May I know your name? I'm Yang Jianyu. It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for taking care of Xiaohou, he must have troubled you."
"I'm Su Xiaoluo, and it was no trouble at all! He even saved us from the zombies by casting an Intermediate Wind spell!"
"Glad to hear it."
Hong Jun asks, "If you have the goal of taking him back to the Ancient Capital, do you mind bringing us with you? This village is no longer safe, we just suffered a brutal attack."
"I've got no problem, as long as you have Ash Garlic for yourselves." It's the least I can do for the girl, since she saved Xiaohou's life by helping him heal after he received that nasty injury on his head.
Su Xiaoluo reassures me they do. "Xiaohou, why don't we go together with him?"
He blankly nods.
…
…
The chief, Xie Sang, is trying to encourage the villagers to leave, but most of them shake their heads.
"The journey to Ancient Capital would take at least two to three days, which means we'll need to spend at least two nights out in the wild. That's pretty much suicide," a woman says.
"Zhang Xiaohou's friends will escort us to the Ancient Capital. We'll be safe once we reach the outer walls," Su Xiaoluo tries to persuade them.
"How could a few kids possibly handle those creatures out there? We won't be leaving!"
"We're running out of time. If you guys are leaving, you should go ahead, wasting more time here would make the journey more dangerous…" an old man advises.
Su Xiaoluo appears frustrated, and bites her lip. I sympathize. Those who stay will die; undead have completely ignored the village's barrier made of Ash Wood. Hiding inside the well is only a temporary solution, delaying the inevitable.
"It's useless trying to convince them, since they have made their decision. Those who are leaving should gather at the entrance. We'll leave in ten minutes. Make sure you bring enough Ash Garlic with you!" Chief Xie Sang decisively announces.
Around 30 people choose to come with us, mostly young ones. Ye Meng'e and her subordinates, uninterested in escorting us all, bid us farewells and head off on their own.
The day gradually turns dark as we walk to the Ancient Capital. The villagers obviously trust Chief Xie Sang and Hong Jun, sticking closer to them. Su Xiaoluo is surrounded by a few people, too, partly because of Zhang Xiaohou walking next to her, as they've witnessed his strength.
As night falls, the desperate cries of the undead resonate from all directions.
"Um, Yang Jianyu," Shorty approaches me in a hushed tone, "if the undead attack us, we won't be able to protect so many people."
I silently agree.
"It seems like... they're not focused on us," Shorty observes the first awakened undead.
The group continues. Typically, a gathering of this size would surely attract the attention of the undead, yet even after covering a kilometer, the undead show no signs of reacting. It appears the Ash Garlic is still effective.
Upon seeing the undead ignore them as usual, the villagers breathe sighs of relief. Their pace becomes more relaxed. Otherwise, every step would feel like walking on nails.
"Strange... if we're still protected, why would the zombies attack our village?" Su Xiaoluo expresses her confusion.
"This suggests those zombies have mutated. It feels like moving away from the village might be pointless," Hong Jun admits.
"That's enough. Either way, we'll be safe once we reach the Ancient Capital," Chief Xie Sang asserts, determined to move away.
I glance at Chief Xie Sang. A village chief would usually adhere strictly to village rules, so it's odd that he was the one convincing others to escape. His strength is nothing to worry about, though: a mere Intermediate Water Mage won't bother me, even with trickery.
…
…
The night passes without incident. As everyone breathes sighs of relief that the undead haven't attacked during the night, they're even more puzzled about the village attack. The next day dawns without threats, and the clouds clear away. After a short rest, we continue our journey to the Ancient Capital.
Another night passes, and the undead still don't attack us. We'll arrive at the Ancient Capital within a few hours.
Shorty never stops talking, boasting about his achievements constantly and engaging in conversation with everyone.
"Which city did you find after those 7 years in the wild?"
"Bo City."
"So you're from Bo City! I do know a few friends from there," exclaims Shorty, surprised.
"How do you know people from Bo City?"
"Oh, I talked to them a lot. They were brought here to stay in the Ancient Capital after the calamity. They were told to live in the outskirts in the past, but a rich young man called Mu Bai bought a street to sell magic stones, so the refugees from Bo City ended up working for him."
Mu Bai? After considering for a few moments, it does make sense. The refugees of Bo City were arranged in batches. The first batch was allocated to the outskirts of Shanghai, while the second batch was sent to the Ancient Capital. Mu Bai must have been a part of the second batch. I'll have to pay him a visit.
"I would also sell magic stones to their stores sometimes…"
While he's in the middle of talking, my senses flare. I immediately equip my bow and nock an arrow, whirling around and firing at a villager who screams in shock. The arrow flies through the head of a zombie about to rip out his throat. It immediately collapses.
[So the crystals of these ones are located in their skulls.]
Dozens more begin to surround us, and several villagers are annoyingly running around like headless chickens, some of them getting dangerously close to the undead. I keep twisting and firing, ensuring I kill any that are in strike range of a villager.
"YOU IDIOTS! GATHER AROUND ME AND STOP RUNNING EVERYWHERE! I CAN'T PROTECT ALL OF YOU IF YOU DON'T MAKE IT EASY!" I bellow at the top of my lungs.
Most of them do come back, and Zhang Xiaohou has enough presence of mind to clear out huge bunches of them with some well-timed Fiery Fists. Meanwhile, I snipe the undead around the straggler villagers. While I run towards them, I switch to my swords, dodging and weaving the zombies' clumsy lunges and bites and subsequently stabbing the crystals in their heads. In a few moments, I clear a path for the villagers to reach the main group. I pause my slaughter and ferry them the rest of the way with Shadow Evade: Traverse.
Thankfully, Chief Xie Sang takes the words right out of my mouth. "You're lucky. Anyone else who didn't care would have left you to be torn to pieces. Next time, stick together, and do not run off on your own: that's a one-way ticket to death."
I continue demolishing the undead, using Gleamstrike to burn holes in the undeads' heads and firing arrows during its short cooldown. Violent Waves: Flooding finally comes in handy, forcing the undead back from the group and disorienting them, making them easy targets. Zhang Xiaohou handles the other side with Wind and Fire spells that cut apart and burn the zombies. Luckily, they're all Soldiers, so hordes of them are manageable. He runs out of energy, though, and Chief Xie Sang takes over until the waves of zombies run out.
It appears Soul Essences drop at a higher rate here: 1 in 210 instead of 1 in 350. It takes fewer Soul Remnants for Nyx to refine a Soul Essence as well: around 30 remnants for 1 essence. I killed around 150 over the course of around 10 minutes and received 1 Soldier Soul Essence naturally, while Nyx produced 5 Soldier Soul Essences. Together with the Hatchet Corpse General's Soul Essence and undead crystal, my winnings from this single excursion are incredible. Perhaps I'll stay awhile after meeting Mu Bai.
…
…
The rest of the path to the Ancient Capital yields no threats. We arrive at the entrance, where a group of Battlemages is on duty.
"Are you all from Hua Village?" a Battlemage looks at us, amazed.
"Yeah, that's right. I'm the chief," Xie Sang takes out a stamp symbolizing his identity as the village's leader.
"The whole city has been discussing the villages outside the city," another young Battlemage speaks up.
"Discussing us? Why's that?" Hong Jun glances at them, a mix of confusion and curiosity on his face.
The Battlemage smacks his lips and hands a newspaper to the chief, who reads the headline.
"Six villages in the Xianchi area have been wiped out by the undead. There are almost no survivors!"
I become even more perplexed after learning the news, as if I have failed to come up with an explanation for something. Something's off.
"We'll be going. You all should settle down yourselves," I say, feeling more suspicious as I observe the chief's reaction. I don't want to be dragged into this mess.
"Thank you. You're already such a strong Magician, considering your age is just about the same as Hong Jun's," a woman says to me excitedly.
Su Xiaoluo has recovered from her astonishment after learning the news about other villages. She quickly comes up and expresses her gratitude to me. "Without your help, we might have ended up the same as the other villages. Thank you so much."
As I'm about to leave, a sudden realization strikes me.
Zhang Xiaohou only knows Su Xiaoluo. I was planning on bringing him to Xinxia and letting her try to heal him, but the idiot doesn't want to go anywhere. He only wants to stay with Su Xiaoluo, acting like an unreasonable kid.
I'm left with no choice. I say in a helpless tone, "I'll inform the military about his condition. For now, I'll let him stay with you."
Since we've made it to the Ancient Capital, Zhang Xiaohou should be fine for the time being. It's also a good place to leave him with Su Xiaoluo, who can take care of his injuries.
The people from Hua Village leave with Hong Jun. The Magic Association will likely arrange a place for them to stay. It's something I don't need to worry about.
On my way to the street Shorty told me Mu Bai resides in, I try to contact Zhang Xiaohou's instructor, Fei Jiao, but I'm told that Fei Jiao is on a mission. It will take at least a few days for him to return. I give up and keep going; I'll grab Zhang Xiaohou another time.