Mount and Blade System: Start from Pioneer Lords.

Chapter 431 Soul Eater

"Let me lead the way," the lord said succinctly, leading his barbarians to stand in front of Ansuna. "You just follow behind me and show me the way."

As a professional brute, one must know one's own limitations; there is no reason to let a fragile mage go first.

“Okay.” Looking at the other person’s broad back, Ansuna’s eyes gleamed with a strange light. She didn’t refuse and nodded.

Looking at the black mist so close at hand, Li Wei reached out to test it, only to find that he couldn't touch it at all. He simply passed right through it, and when he pulled his hand back, there was no change.

“We put a goat in with a rope and then pulled it out after a while. The goat didn’t change anything,” Ansuna explained. “Although we don’t know what this black fog is, it’s not harmful at the moment, and it should be a two-way passage.”

Li Wei nodded, but instead of rushing in, he pondered for a moment and said, "Someone, bring me an iron chain."

So the entire group stopped again for the time being. The barbarians quickly brought over an iron chain as thick as an arm, and then, at the lord's command, they hammered a wooden stake into the ground with a few blows, tied the chain to it, and then threw the other end into the thick fog.

"Now everything's complete." Li Wei nodded in satisfaction.

Everyone was puzzled as to why the Dragon Knight was doing this.

"What if this so-called two-way passage requires a tow rope to pass through?" The lord snapped his fingers. "Otherwise, it's completely inexplicable why none of the people who went in came out. I think no matter how many demons there are, the Sith Kingdom has over a hundred thousand living people. It's impossible that not a single one of them could come out, right?"

"I think the only reasonable explanation is that two-way traffic requires a certain condition: there must be a material link between the two sides. My guess may not be correct, but it is an extra insurance."

After he finished speaking, everyone looked at him with admiration.

The lowly soldiers went in with a death-defying attitude and had no extra energy to think about such trivial matters. Meanwhile, everyone else was thinking about how to solve the problem of the black mist, which is why the lord noticed this detail.

"Let's go." He strode inside.

At this moment, Lord Li only wanted to quickly find out what was going on in Wirtz, then capture a few lowly demons for interrogation to find out whether the demons only appeared in Wirtz, or whether demons were everywhere in the Persian Gulf Empire.

His wife, whom he had taken for granted, had returned to her hometown in the northern province. Although he didn't say it aloud, the lord was still somewhat worried.

If Gaoyabao hadn't still been there, he would have gone to find the other party alone long ago.

The moment I stepped into the black fog, it felt as if I had passed through a layer of icy mist.

The light was instantly stripped away to its limit. Even with Li Wei's eyesight, he could only barely see a few meters around him. Further away was an impenetrable, constantly twisting and writhing darkness.

Looking up, the sky was completely obscured, replaced by a thick black fog. The towering walls of Wirtz in the distance appeared like giants peering into the darkness, their forms appearing and disappearing indistinctly.

The sound was extremely suppressed, and even the breathing of his companion, who was so close at hand, became indistinct.

The air was as heavy as lead, each breath carrying a chilling cold and a sense of filth, accompanied by a mournful sound that echoed continuously.

"It's so dark."

“It’s so dark…”

"It's so dark..."

"what!"

The sudden screams sent chills down the spines of even the aura knights and magic swordsmen in this environment and atmosphere.

"Zat, you little bear, what are you pretending to be an undead for!" The lord slapped the green-skinned barbarian next to him across the neck and glared at him.

"Boss, I was just trying to lighten the mood because it was too heavy." Zha Manzi covered the back of his head, looking aggrieved.

In this environment, it's pitch black.

The lord directly mobilized the holy light within his body, and the black mist surged outwards in fear, like mice encountering a cat.

The area within several dozen meters of Li Wei became clearly visible instantly.

Ansuna and the others' resentful gazes were clearly visible under the holy light.

Although they couldn't see very clearly just now, they heard the conversation perfectly.

"Where should we go now?" To avoid incurring public anger, Li Wei immediately changed the subject.

“The city gate is just a few hundred steps ahead. You can find it by following these wheel tracks left by carriages,” Ansuna said.

The group walked a little further when suddenly a startled voice rang out from a warrior.

What's this under your feet?

Everyone looked down and, with the help of the light from Levi's Holy Light and Ansuna's Illumination, could see the ground clearly.

It wasn't soil or stone slabs at all, but a thick, sticky, foul-smelling dark red mud.

Upon closer inspection, the mud was mixed with broken armor plates, fragments of broken weapons, and unidentifiable pieces of human limbs; the strong smell of blood was emanating from this.

“It seems that not everyone escaped here.” Li Wei sighed, scanning the land of death soaked in blood and flesh. “It just seems that because they couldn’t get out, they were all left here.”

They were standing beneath a massive city gate, which, in the black mist, resembled the gaping maw of a ferocious beast.

Without any hesitation, Li Wei acted as a guiding light and went straight in.

The group had just passed through the long, dark passageway and entered the city of Wirtz when, before they had taken two steps, something strange happened.

suddenly!

A soft but clear tapping sound came from the depths of the thick fog ahead, growing louder as it approached.

The squad instantly went into battle mode.

The barbarians, each wielding a sharp axe, stared intently at the dark figures writhing in the thick fog ahead.

With one hand in his pocket, Li Wei's other hand suddenly erupted with brilliant holy light, like a lighthouse in the darkness, instantly illuminating what was rushing towards him.

"What kind of demon is this?"

The dozen or so demons that gathered together had sharp teeth in their mouths, thin figures, and a pair of bat wings extending from their scaly backs.

These demons have purple skin, devilish faces, long, thin arms, and claws that seem capable of cracking open a person's skull.

“These are Soul Eaters. Each one is a mid-level demon. Creatures whose souls are devoured by a Soul Eater will be turned into ghouls and controlled by it.” The knowledgeable Fane was clearly well-versed in demons.

"So..." The lord looked behind the Soul Eaters. "That's right, the appearance of more than a dozen Soul Eaters means we are surrounded by at least a hundred ghouls." Farn's words had barely finished when...

A dense swarm of dark figures surged forward, hundreds of twisted humanoid figures.

They could still be vaguely discerned to be wearing the armor of soldiers from the Persian Gulf Empire, but their bodies had undergone horrific deformities.

Their skin was gray and festering, their joints were twisted at bizarre angles, some arms had mutated into sharp bone blades, and some skulls had split open, revealing mouths full of sharp teeth.

Two eerie green flames burned within its empty eye sockets, locking onto the intruder. It let out a silent howl, its endless thirst for the flesh and blood of the living driving it staggering yet swiftly forward.

"Lord Li Wei, we'll deal with these guys. You and your men will watch..."

Before one of the demon swordsman officers could finish speaking, Zart had already led his barbarians charging forward with howls. Dozens of spearheads flew out of his hands in an instant, each one hitting its mark, piercing through the Soul Eater demon that was grinning and watching the show from above. The demon spun around in astonishment and crashed to the ground.

In that single, breathtaking moment, the barbarians collided with the ghouls. Blood blades swept across, flesh and blood flew everywhere, and the ghouls were sliced ​​off like wheat.

The rest were easily chopped up by the barbarians.

"Boss, these guys are much tougher than ordinary people, but they have absolutely no intelligence. They're just sitting ducks. Even if there were thousands of them, we wouldn't have enough to kill." That's how the barbarians concluded afterwards.

The demon swordsmen remained silent, secretly assessing the difference in strength between the two sides, and finally concluded that if they were to fight against this group of fierce barbarians, they probably wouldn't fare any better.

"Won't all the million soldiers and civilians in Wirtz City turn into this thing?" The lord felt a sharp pain in his teeth just thinking about it.

“It’s unlikely. There are more than just Soul Eaters among demons. Some demons also like to devour flesh and blood, so it’s impossible for them all to become ghouls.” Farn said, then changed the subject: “But there could very well be that many demons. In the worst case, there might even be a portal to the abyss here.”

"Holy crap!" Li Wei exclaimed.

Demons nearby have noticed the situation and are constantly arriving. Their figures are indistinct in the thick fog, making it impossible to determine their exact number.

However, it is certain that until they entered the city and walked into the streets, they did not find a single living person other than themselves, and the Sith army was nowhere to be found.

Deep down, everyone was skeptical about whether the other side could hold out until reinforcements arrived.

"A million demons? A portal to the abyss?" The lord kept muttering these words to himself.

"What's wrong, Your Majesty Li Wei? Are you scared?" The usually calm and collected old man, Farn, rarely cracked a joke.

"Scared?" The lord grinned. "I just think it's wonderful!"

Since almost all the soldiers of the High Cliff Fortress Brigade had been promoted to high-tier units, the experience required for leveling up was enormous. At that time, he was worried about where to find experience boosters for the soldiers once the war was over and peace was restored.

But now there is no such worry at all.

"Great?" Master Farn was taken aback by Levi's out-of-the-box declaration of ecstasy, and even Ansuna and the others cast puzzled glances at him.

Millions of demons, the gates of the abyss—this looks like a demonic catastrophe.

"Actually, if you do the math, it's not so bad. The entire city of Wirtz has a million demons at most, while our expeditionary force has 500,000. Each person only needs to kill two demons." The lord said as he walked, as if he were on vacation.

In truth, at the level the lord has reached, these demons are less than ants on the roadside to him, and are not worth his worry at all.

What truly concerned him were the powerful lords within the abyss; these were the real tough guys, worthy of his attention.

"Your Majesty Li Wei, your confidence inspires us all." Ansuna smiled slightly, and with a gentle wave of her staff, she bestowed various spells upon everyone.

"Ansuna, your sweet words make me feel good." The lord winked at the beautiful mage.

If it were a naive young girl here, she would only secretly criticize him for being arrogant, illiterate, and unable to even do basic arithmetic.

"It's not just empty talk. In fact, we are all very worried about the appearance of demons, but you are the only one who still maintains this optimistic attitude."

“Indeed.” The lord laughed heartily. “Miss Ansuna, if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. You don’t need to worry too much.”

"My lord, I have captured two escaped demons." Swain stepped forward at the right moment, this legendary powerhouse holding a Soul Eater in each hand as if it were a dead dog.

The barbarians' javelins didn't take down all of them, and Swain seized the opportunity to kill the rest and capture two alive.

“Tell me,” Levi said with a smile, “Where are the remaining survivors in Wirtz City? Where did you come from? How many of you are there in total? Where is your demon lord?”

"Whoever tells me first, I'll spare its life; whoever tells me later, sir, I'll kill it."

Faced with such blatant malice, the two demons' previous sneers were gone, replaced by terror.

Although demons are brutal and bloodthirsty, they are also intelligent and can feel fear; otherwise, they would not be able to be controlled by their demon lords.

"Start answering now!"

"Are there any survivors in Wirtz? Where are they now?"

The two demons immediately began to speak, one after the other.

"Sir, there's more! In the West District, most of us are there right now!"

"You're a step too late. Your chances are numbered." The lord smiled at the Soul Eater who hadn't had a chance to speak, whose face visibly darkened.

"Where are you from?"

"Sir, we've been disguised all the way from the north!"

"You're talking nonsense! It clearly came through a portal! My lord, I'm reporting it for lying! It's dishonest, it's too cunning! I beg you to burn it alive! Kill it!"

The two demons began to slander and hurl insults at each other, and all sorts of demonic slang started to circulate widely.

If Swain hadn't been holding one of them in each hand, the two would definitely have started fighting on the spot.

Demons are the most extreme egoists; they have no moral bottom line and do not know what loyalty or love for family and friends means.

They only know that they will do anything as long as they can survive.

You could say that you don't even need to use torture instruments when interrogating them; a little intimidation is all it takes for them to reveal everything.

Before long, everyone received a lot of information, which boosted their spirits but also increased their pressure.

“Your Majesty, what should we do? Save them first?” Ansuna asked.

(End of this chapter)