Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 272 Strange and Resilient, Knowing What's Going On
"Ok?"

The scorching heat surging through Xia Nan's neck and back made him pause for a moment, almost thinking he was being attacked by an enemy.

Then it dawned on me in an instant.

"【Green Pine】?"

Emerging from the Serpent's Lair, his first rare "blue-tier" equipment after his transmigration was a wooden sword possessing classical Eastern aesthetics, and its effects were undeniably powerful:

+15% damage to undead (Sunfire)

+20% damage to snakes and scorpions (Sunfire)

He provided considerable assistance before his fighting style was fully developed.

Unfortunately, since the group led by Kalanfor, Xia Nan has not encountered any enemies that could trigger the [Green Pine] additional damage effect. As a result, although he always carries this weapon on his back, he uses it far less frequently than the other pieces of equipment he carries.

It is only used in confined spaces, or as a backup weapon after the decapitation sword has been discarded.

Although he had no intention of selling it, he often felt it was a pity, thinking that the effectiveness of this one-handed sword was being wasted.

After obtaining the professional level and ascending to the second floor of the association, Xia Nan even went so far as to seek out several commissions that might trigger the wooden sword's effect.

After careful consideration, it was decided that there was no need to unnecessarily increase the difficulty of the mission just to make the wooden sword seem useful, so the matter was dropped.

Two or three hundred days have passed since Caranfor's group arrived, and the sudden movement of [Green Pine] is truly unexpected.

His mind raced. The inexplicable effect of the wooden sword on the scene before him was clearly related to the mummified corpse kneeling devoutly praying beneath the broken statue.

However, if the other party's body doesn't harbor any scorpions or insects, it won't inexplicably turn into a long snake.

That would most likely mean it is the "undead creature" mentioned in the weapon description.

but……

Xia Nan's expression suddenly looked a little strange.

Although they were quite a distance apart, he couldn't detect even the slightest trace of the negative necromantic energy or other magical particles that an undead creature of this world should possess.

This phenomenon violates the natural laws of the continent of Aifara.

However, it shares common characteristics with the giant snake remains, the gravity core, and the sheep-deer human figure that he had encountered before.

Xia Nan's eyes flickered, and thinking of the fragmented ruins that seemed to have fallen from the sky, he became even more convinced that Gray Valley might be connected to the entrance to a secret realm.

Meanwhile, several adventurers on the field ahead were cautiously probing the "uninvited guest" they had encountered in the fog.

"Hey! Can you understand me?"

With his two curved swords already drawn, Marcus raised his voice slightly and cautiously called out to the desiccated figure in front of him.

Seeing that there was no response, they even changed their greeting to other languages ​​such as Elvish, Orcish, and Dwarven.

He was certainly not a gifted language master, but a few simple greetings were among the few words he, as an adventurer, knew besides swear words.

Still no response.

At this moment, the eerie figure shrouded in the tattered cloak resembled a most devout fanatic, bowing his head in prayer, oblivious to everything happening in the outside world.

"Roar... Damn it!"

The orc Gorg growled, barely able to contain himself. His thick neck, as thick as a normal person's thigh, twisted uncomfortably, as if he were not used to the strange and oppressive atmosphere.

I took a step forward instinctively, leaving a footprint on the dusty ground.

Out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but glance at the squad leader, Marcus, who didn't react to his abrupt action.

The tacit understanding developed through numerous missions made Gorger realize that he had already received the captain's tacit approval.

He roared and charged straight toward the mummified corpse.

Admittedly, although Gorger looked a bit stunned, his racial talent gave him a height of over two meters, coupled with his bulging muscles that looked like they were about to burst, and the metal armor he wore on top of that.

From a distance, it looks like a small tank. Even before any battle has taken place on the battlefield, it would be enough to make some small and timid soldiers fear and surrender, and dare not fight it.

The mummified corpse remained completely still.

He simply clasped his hands together, hiding his withered and shriveled face in the shadow of his cloak, and made unintelligible "hoho" sounds.

boom--

It was like a blunt instrument striking tree bark.

A dull, slow sound suddenly burst forth in the air, only to quickly dissipate into the surrounding mist.

A massive wooden club, inlaid with iron, struck the mummified corpse's fragile, emaciated back with exaggerated force, whipping up a gale and thick fog.

If you watch the replay in slow motion, you can see that the mummified corpse's frail body was bent into a right angle almost instantly by this violent blow.

Then, thanks to the elasticity of the flesh, it slightly returned to its original state, but the entire body was sent flying.

But strangely, it appears incredibly fragile, with skin as thin as paper, as if it could be easily broken with a fingernail; its bones are even thinner than the broken branches found everywhere in the forest, and would break on their own if one were to fall carelessly.

The orc Gorg's terrifying swing, powerful enough to smash an adult male in two, failed to produce the expected effect on the mummified corpse.

He felt that beneath the iron rod was not a fragile, thin, powerless mummy, but some kind of cloth bag filled with viscous fluid, unusually heavy, as if his strength had been absorbed by the other's withered skin.

It didn't even fly very far, only circling halfway in the air before crashing heavily to the ground.
"Watch out, something's wrong with this!"

Behind him, he heard the alert voices of his teammates.

Gorger remained in the same position, swinging his wooden stick, his beastly eyes fixed intently ahead.

There, the withered figure who had just taken a hard blow from him was struggling to get up, his hands on the ground.

It looked as if a gust of wind could blow it over, but there was no sign of injury on its body, only some stone dust from the ground.

call out--

A sharp, piercing sound suddenly rang in my ears, and a sharp, blurry figure flashed past my peripheral vision with a speed far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Behind her, the ranged archer "Ciri" from the Bloodblade Squad had her fair fingertips hovering in mid-air, the slender bowstring vibrating rapidly due to the force of the bowstring.

A long arrow with dark green fletching left a long trail in the mist before piercing the mummified corpse's chest in an instant.

It failed to penetrate!

The body's strength far exceeded expectations; even a full-force shot from a professional-level archer failed to pierce it as the arrow had anticipated.

The arrowhead was lodged deep in the chest, leaving only the fletching at the end and most of the shaft trembling in the air with the remaining force.

Fortunately, before the mummified corpse could even stand up straight, it was struck so hard that it stiffened and fell backward.

"Roar!!!"

The roars of the grassland tribes echoed through the mist.

The failed swing felt like an unbearable insult to Gorg; his muscles bulged and engorged with blood, his skin turned a furious red, and his already imposing body swelled even larger.

The leather boots cracked instantly; the powerful muscles of those feet could practically create cracks in the ground.

A flash of red and green light streaked through the air and arrived in front of the mummified corpse in an instant.

The thick arms, as strong as an adult's waist, were raised high, bringing with them an equally thick iron-inlaid wooden stick, which slammed down repeatedly with terrifying force and exaggerated frequency.

"Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!" Five blows were delivered to the mummified corpse's head.

It finally stopped with a crisp sound like an eggshell cracking.

"Huh...huh..."

The orc Gorg was panting heavily, and the anger on his pale green, foolish face was rapidly fading as the red glow on his body faded.

Instead, there was a strange sense of bewilderment.

Looking at the corpse on the ground whose head he had finally managed to smash, Gorger felt a strange sense of powerlessness.

Why?
Why should I have to go through so much effort to smash this shrunken, dried-up corpse that no one would even care about in the cemetery?

"Snapped."

A calloused hand gently patted the orc's shoulder.

"Well done."

Marcus stepped over Gorger's body and casually offered encouragement.

His gaze, however, unconsciously drifted toward the corpse on the ground.

His expression was slightly gloomy.

He had considerable experience in adventures, and while he was asking questions and carefully approaching to observe, he had already made some guesses about the identity of the mummified corpse.

It should be a spirit creature naturally conceived in this place.

After all, the other party's appearance and behavior matched his impression of this type of creature.

This is precisely why he agreed to let Gorger take the initiative to probe, since that's exactly what he was supposed to do when he brought Gorger into the team.

Unexpectedly, the mummified corpse displayed a strange resilience that was quite different from its fragile appearance when faced with Gorger's relentless attacks.

Even the ranger Celine could only barely break through the defenses, failing to inflict enough damage to render the opponent incapable of fighting.

"has a problem."

This mummified corpse, or rather, this valley filled with mist and gray rocks... is problematic.

Marcus was on guard.

On that hideous face crisscrossed by scars, an indescribable excitement could not be concealed.

Because he knew clearly.

For adventurers like them, most of the time...

Danger and reward are not synonymous.

If he didn't encounter any enemies along the way in the valley, he might feel uneasy and suspect that some high-level monster was hiding in the fog behind him, or that it was some kind of trap deliberately designed to lure them in.

Right now, the enemy might be a bit troublesome, but since they have already been exposed to the team, they are mentally prepared for what they are about to encounter.

"A relic left by an ancient necromancer, or an ancient civilization skilled in using the power of the undead?"

Marcus pondered this with a sense of anticipation.

"It looks like it might be related to the spellcaster."

If things really turn out as he thinks, then "Bloodblade Marcus" will truly be a hit!
On the other side, the battle with Gorg ended.

Stonebelly, the mountain dwarf in the group, also sprang into action.

Like a specially trained hunting dog, its short, stocky body crawled on the ground, meticulously and efficiently searching the entire area where the altar had been removed.

He even carefully touched the cloak on the mummified corpse, checking for hidden pockets, and without any disgust, pieced its smashed head back together, searching for any possible finds inside its mouth.

All I can say is that the dwarfs meticulously searched every possible hole on the corpse that could be used to hide something.

The result... naturally, was nothing.

Shaking his head at Marcus and the others, Stone Belly didn't show much frustration on his face. Instead, he glanced eagerly into the depths of the fog.

There's nothing of value here.

"But my gut feeling told me that going further in might bring unexpected rewards."

Although they said it, the entire squad, including Gorger, knew perfectly well what was going on.

There is actually one more location in their area that hasn't been inspected yet.

However, due to some unspoken rule among adventurers, it was tacitly ignored by the four of them, who didn't even mention it.

where?

Naturally, the most eye-catching is the goddess statue, which is broken and only half remains.

In this fantastical world where gods truly exist, and there are numerous sightings of divine incarnations every year, it's possible for your soul to be sent to a divine kingdom to enjoy bliss after death, or to a hellish realm of endless torment.

Even the most dull-witted homeless person knows that one should have a basic sense of awe for certain things.

Adventurers who spend years walking on tightropes, risking their lives, are especially sensitive to such things.

Unless one has truly lost their mind and gone mad, they would never dare to touch such taboos.

After a brief regrouping, the Bloodblade Squad tacitly bypassed the statue and continued their advance into the depths of the fog.

The group had just left not long ago.

As the mist silently swirled, a dark figure appeared on the field.

Xia Nan witnessed everything that had just happened.

This includes, but is not limited to, the strangely resilient mummified corpse, the strength of Gorger's swing of the wooden stick, and the fact that the last few people found nothing while cleaning up the battlefield.

While pondering this, he suddenly took two steps forward, and the [Green Pine] sword behind him was already unsheathed.

As Xia Nan gradually approached the mummified corpse, he could feel the temperature at the hilt of the sword in his palm becoming increasingly intense, and a faint crimson flame appeared on the edge of the sword, scorching the surrounding air and even stirring the white mist.

With a flick of the wrist, without using any force, the edge of the wooden sword was gently placed on the body of the mummified corpse.

The next second, the seemingly thin but incredibly tough dark purple skin, which even professional arrows could not penetrate and which the orcs, who were known for their exceptional strength, had to expend a great deal of effort to finally break through, was revealed.

It softens instantly amidst the sizzling sound of the flames, truly like butter being silkily sliced ​​by a hot knife.

Xia Nan didn't exert much force; he simply gripped the hilt of his sword and swung it gently, severing half of the mummified corpse's arm.

He nodded to himself, already understanding the situation.

Sheath the sword.

My gaze drifted upwards, lingering for a moment on the dilapidated statue atop its heavy base.

Then he abruptly looked away.

The figure disappeared into the depths of the fog.

(End of this chapter)