Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 273 Desecrating Steel and Corrupting Flesh

Ash Valley is very large.

Xia Nan had already learned about this from the village chief, Klapam, before he arrived.

However, because of the monotonous gray rocks and uniform terrain, even during the safe period when the axe-beaked birds have not yet appeared, few villagers have the leisure to explore further inside.

Right now, it seems like I've been following the adventurer's party for quite some time.

However, because the team ahead needed to be wary of potential enemies, their progress slowed down, and they estimated they hadn't even reached halfway through the valley.

As they ventured deeper, the fog in the air visibly thickened.

Although it does not contain magical particles, it is very similar to the environment inside the Misty Forest.

Moreover, compared to the latter, these fogs, which seem to be just normal natural phenomena, have a more deceptive effect once their density reaches a certain critical point.

Xia Nan observed very carefully. The gray-white mist that permeated every corner of his vision not only slowed down and faded the sound, but also seemed to have a slight ability to distort the sense of direction and distance.

Even the most observant person, who knows their way around perfectly, would be completely lost if they walked around here a couple of times.

It is only because of one's outstanding perception that one appears to be able to handle things with ease.

The adventurers ahead were nowhere to be seen, and even their pace had slowed considerably since they first entered the valley.

It's quite a coincidence that, through this back and forth, the fog has become Xia Nan's natural camouflage in this place.

He no longer needed to stay far behind as before. Even if he got a little closer, his slightly clumsy stealth skills would prevent the others from noticing him at all.

"Laluf (orc swear word), this place is like the Misty Forest, Gorg can't even see the road."

Walking at the very front of the procession, the orc Gorg muttered to himself.

As the front-line "meat shield" of the squad, and a "consumable" in the eyes of Captain Marcus, it had long become his habit to walk at the forefront and scout ahead in such a dangerous environment.

There were objections within the tribe, but frankly, the only way to get a professional adventurer team to accept a teammate with such a volatile, foolish, extremely irritable, and unstable personality was through this method.

This is the fate of most orcs who are unwilling to live a life of poverty in grassland tribes.

Perhaps in some unlikely future, once Gorger develops a habit of saving money or his intelligence improves, he will choose to leave his current dangerous lifestyle and live a different life.

But for now, he could only cautiously move forward in a direction he had no sense of, under the command of the humans behind him.

Among the team members, those with outstanding perception abilities are the team leader "Bloodblade" Marcus and the ranger archer Celie.

The former stood close behind Gorg, guiding the orcs; the latter was protected in the middle of the group, intently watching for any potential dangers around them.

As for the mountain dwarf named "Stone Belly," he carried his double-edged giant axe, the end of which almost dragged on the ground, and walked at the very back of the group.

He looked a little scratching his head.

After Marcus deduced that an ancient ruin might be hidden in the valley, the dwarves' spirits became noticeably more active.

If he weren't worried about the enemies lurking in the fog, he probably would have loved to lick every inch of the ground from the entrance to Ashenvale, not missing a single copper coin.

Right now, all he could do was stare at the thick fog on both sides, his greedy eyes gleaming with a burning desire.

And it was in his heart that he was regretting that he might have missed the fifth high-quality enchanted equipment in the fog.

The longbow in the hands of the ranger ahead, which had been undulating slightly with his movements, suddenly stopped.

A cold glint flashed before my eyes, and an arrow with a black feather at the end was already nocked on the bowstring.

"what's the situation?"

Realizing something was wrong, he quickly gripped the handle of the giant axe and strode forward to ask the two men at the front of the group.

"Shh!"

His response was met with a warning and unusually serious look from Captain Marcus, and the stiff, motionless back of the orc Gorg, who lay prostrate on the ground.

Following the direction the two were looking, what came into view was a small square that seemed to give people a suffocating feeling.

Yes, a small square.

Most of the time, these two words are not suitable to be put together, but in Shi Fu's eyes right now, they are extremely appropriate to describe the open space in front of him.

First of all, it is indeed a plaza without a doubt. The brick and stone textures that are faintly visible under the stone powder covering the ground, and the open area that can accommodate hundreds of people, are truly present before our eyes.

In the center of the square, there was even a small, dried-up fountain pool.

However, at the same time, the open space is surrounded by densely packed buildings.

Towers, residences, and even small churches... some have collapsed, leaving only a few dilapidated walls, while others are shrouded in mist, revealing only blurry silhouettes.

It seems as if there was no planning at all during the design process; these architectural remains were violently piled together in an extremely dense manner.

Complex and chaotic.

Huge stones, broken beams, twisted metal supports... the construction debris piled up around the square like the remains of a giant beast, forming a dilapidated high wall that looks like it's about to collapse.

Along with the gaps between the buildings, the brick and stone roads that should have led deeper into Ash Valley were squeezed into narrow paths by the ruins on both sides.

The sky obscured by gray fog and stone dust, the crumbling brick and stone walls hanging precariously, the shadows spreading silently across the ground, and the mournful wind howling eerily in the deathly silence, twisting and turning among the ruins...

This makes the small square resemble a dead town corpse with its throat being strangled.

Everywhere you look, there is an atmosphere of suffocation and decay.

The bizarre and abrupt environment is only one aspect.

The real reason the Bloodblade Squad stopped was the enormous, twisted figure in the center of the plaza, a sight that inspired fear in anyone who looked at it, composed of desecrated steel and decaying flesh.

A knight.

A knight fully armed and clad in heavy armor.

Perhaps during his lifetime, he made outstanding contributions to himself, to his lord, and to the common people in his territory. He was rewarded with this expensive and sturdy armor for his great achievements and was a great figure whom countless people in the lower classes looked up to and revered.

But now, he has become a corpse.

A completely deformed corpse, unrecognizable from its original form. The knight's plate armor, a symbol of honor and loyalty, was forcibly stretched open in its twisted state, like a moldy, swollen dough, with layers of pale, rotting flesh squeezing out from the gaps in the iron plate amidst a nauseating, dark yellow grease.

The armor, barely restrained by chains and cracked rivets and deeply embedded in the folds of flesh, resembled the segments of a maggot, encased in that massive, greasy, and ugly body.

The obese abdomen, piled up in layers, almost reached the ground, and the rotting flesh covered with purplish-blue blood vessels writhed like waves, emitting a foul stench.

The fountain pool that once provided refreshing water vapor for the townspeople has now become the pale throne of this rotting corpse, crushed and shattered by grease and rust.

Stone Belly couldn't estimate the exact size of the corpse, but even in its current sitting position in the pool, it was still a head taller than the most burly orc in the group.

If it stood upright, its height would probably be close to three meters.

It was something that neither I nor anyone else in the team could easily handle.

Fortunately, the enemy was already dead, so they didn't need to fight him.

What the Bloodblade Squad really needs to be wary of are the six mummies in the square, who are positioned in unsettling ways—kneeling, standing, or leaning against each other.

Their clothing was different from that of the desiccated corpse whose skull had been smashed by the orcs. Some wore simple leather armor like soldiers, while others looked like civilians in town wearing only linen shirts, and some were completely naked.

But what they have in common is their seemingly weak and powerless, yet extremely resilient, withered bodies possessing very high physical resistance.

"What should we do? Should we force our way through?"

Glancing at the path leading deeper into Ashenvale on the other side of the plaza, the mountain dwarf Stonebelly asked their captain.

Marcus was pondering this when Gorg, the orc who had been lying prone on the ground with a stiff body since the beginning, spoke in a low, muffled voice that none of them had ever heard before:

"Gorg doesn't want to be at the front."

The orc blood flowing through his veins may have made him intellectually deficient and irritable, but it also endowed him with a far greater sense of danger than ordinary people.

A pair of beastly eyes stared blankly at the massive, obese body in the center of the distant plaza. The instinctive sense of danger and resistance that surged within the half-orc caused his fingers, which were pressed tightly against the ground, to tremble.

Clearly, this orc, who was always impulsive and easily angered and knew no fear... was afraid.

Marcus was equally nervous.

Based on the combat strength of the previous mummified corpse, the six mummified corpses in the square might not be too easy for their adventure team, whose members were all professionals, to deal with, but they shouldn't cause too much trouble either.

What truly alarmed him was the enormous, obese knight slumped in the fountain pool.

Having already determined that it was a ruin left by a necromancer, how could he be sure that the other party was truly dead, and why wouldn't he suddenly get up and attack them while they were passing by?

But now that we've come this far, turning back empty-handed would be something neither I nor my teammates would agree to, let alone myself.

Coveting the potential treasures deep within the ruins, Marcus's eyes flickered. After a moment's thought, under the watchful eyes of three pairs of people, he finally gritted his teeth and whispered:
"keep going!"

"But don't go through the middle, let's go around from the side."

"Be careful, everyone, and absolutely do not make a sound!"

They are all experienced professional adventurers, and the number of times they have encountered various dangerous situations is immeasurable.

After receiving Marcus's instructions, the group displayed a level of discipline and order that contrasted sharply with the chaotic impression of their own ranks.

The orc Gorg was still walking at the front, but his movements were no longer as arrogant and unrestrained as before. He moved like a young lady at a noble ball, his two thick legs moving carefully step by step, his two arms exerting power silently, his muscles swelling to maintain his balance and center of gravity.

His massive, mountain-like body, combined with his awkward movements, created a striking contrast, making him appear particularly comical.

Marcus and Stonebelly behind him were equally cautious, showing no shame or embarrassment whatsoever.

At this critical moment, nobody cares about these things anymore.

Of the entire Bloodblade Squad, only the ranger archer, Celie, remained largely unchanged.

Her professional skill, "Silent Movement," allows her to walk without making a sound, even when her feet are on a ground covered with fallen leaves. Concealing her movements while walking has long been an instinct for her.

Compared to the people in front and behind, they even had the mind to carefully observe the huge figure deep in the pool.

The plate armor, stretched and deformed, seemed to have some kind of pattern printed on it, possibly the emblem of the family the other party was loyal to, but the specific details were not very clear due to the gray and white stone powder covering it; the person wore a rusty barrel helmet, with black gaps in the visor, and the head was the size of a normal person, but it seemed disproportionately small compared to the fat piled up on the neck below.

The massive arm was deeply embedded in the silt of the pool beside it, and a glint of metallic luster could be seen within.

"Is this its weapon?" Celie wondered to herself. "Unfortunately, the situation isn't right now. If we can get that thing out of the mud later, it might be worth some money."

At that moment, for some reason, she suddenly felt her right foot become incredibly heavy.

It was just a fleeting moment, like an illusion.

An invisible force of unknown origin landed quietly on her foot at a perfectly timed and subtle moment—when her left foot was on the ground and her right foot was just about to lift off the ground.

It's like when you're going up a flight of stairs and your toes accidentally bump into something.

He lost his balance and swayed, then suddenly leaned forward.

For an ordinary person, such a fall, if unlucky, would result in a bloody face.

Fortunately, Celie was quick and agile, and soon regained her balance, preventing her from falling.

Even so, in order to maintain his balance, his right foot, which should have landed gently, still slammed heavily onto the ground.

"Clap."

Abrupt footsteps suddenly broke the silence of the square.

The entire Bloodblade Squad froze on the spot.

As their teammates looked on with surprise from behind and behind, in an instant, six pairs of empty eye sockets turned to look at them.

Tremor.

Stone dust rustled off the greasy, foul-smelling body, and a thick arm slowly emerged from the mud, gradually revealing a dangerous-looking metal flail.

Two murky yet intense yellow lights suddenly burst forth from the depths of the mask, which had been filled with emptiness and darkness, amidst the sudden sound of heavy breathing!

"Ready to fight!!!"

(End of this chapter)