Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 215 The Bone Wave

It was evening on the third day, and the setting sun painted the base's outer armor with a poignant hue.

The duty officer at the command center is conducting a routine check on the communication status of each outpost.

Suddenly, the instrument monitoring the communication channels in the eastern part of Ash Plains emitted a sharp, intermittent static sound, followed by an extremely weak and interference-laden distress signal that forced its way in!

"————This is————Anvil Outpost————under————attack————Pale————Giant————Skeleton————Corruption————Tide————Requesting————Emergency Support————"

The signal was intermittent, interspersed with intense explosions, the sound of metal twisting, and muffled screams, lasting for less than ten seconds before being completely replaced by a deathly silence.

"The anvil outpost has lost contact!" The duty officer's expression changed drastically, and he immediately reported the situation.

Almost at the same time the distress signal was cut off, the alarm at the base’s main energy monitoring station also sounded shrilly. On the monitoring screen, the energy reading curve representing the eastern region of Ash Plains soared upwards as if it were insane!

Death energy, corruption fluctuations, and—a faint but exceptionally clear pale blue line of ordered energy—appeared simultaneously once again!

The interplay and collision of the three energies caused an energy shockwave of far greater intensity than the previous eruption detected in the Bone-Eroding Hills!

Its impact area is also wider, covering almost half of the eastern part of the Ash Plains!

The atmosphere in the command center instantly plummeted to freezing point.

General Hossman strode in, his face taut as iron.

He quickly scanned the monitoring data and the location of the outpost that had lost contact.

"Anvil Outpost, an observation post established by the Empire on the eastern edge of the Ash Plains, is manned by a small squad. They are generally well-equipped and primarily used to monitor energy activity and the movements of low-level monsters in the surrounding area," an intelligence officer quickly reported.

"It is about eighty miles away from the core area of ​​the Bone-Eroding Hills."

"Logically speaking, we shouldn't be directly attacked by the main force of the Pale Hand —"

"Giant skeleton? Corruption wave?" General Hossman repeated the keywords from the distress signal, his gaze fixed on the three intertwined and rising energy curves on the monitoring screen.

"It seems we underestimated the speed and scale of the Pale Hand's actions."

"They also underestimated—the power they might possess."

He turned to Blake, Rollin, and the others who were waiting: "Scorching Flame Patrol Team, cancel rest! How is Lehman's injury?"

A medical officer who rushed over whispered, "Wizard Rayman's arm injury is stable, but he still cannot cast spells with his right arm, and his left arm can perform limited movements. It is not recommended for him to participate in high-intensity combat."

General Hossman frowned and looked at Blake: "Captain Blake, your squad currently has four combat-ready men."

"The base will immediately assign a reinforced Imperial Forge Guard squad to you temporarily, and you will be in command of them."

"Mission Objective: Reinforce the Anvil Outpost area as quickly as possible, ascertain the situation, rescue survivors if possible, and assess the threat level and scale."

"In the event of force majeure, the priority should be to protect oneself and bring back the intelligence."

"Understood!" Blake replied in a deep voice.

"Ella, Liana, go to the armory immediately to collect replenishment supplies, especially protective and purifying items against undead and corrupted energy," Blake quickly ordered.

"Rolin, check the detection instruments and communication equipment to ensure they can maintain basic functionality in environments with strong interference."

"Meet at the third departure gate in twenty minutes!"

Once the order was given, everyone immediately sprang into action.

Back in his dormitory, Rolin quickly checked the items in his dimensional bag and replenished his potions and energy crystals.

The joint detector and several portable detection devices underwent an emergency calibration.

After thinking for a moment, he picked up the pot of silver flower seedlings from the worktable and carefully placed them into a soft, relatively stable inner lining of the dimensional bag.

Twenty minutes later, the third departure lane.

Besides Blake, Ella, Liana, and Rolin, there were six fully armed and imposing Imperial Forge Guards, led by a burly man with a scar on his face named Kruger, one of Blake's old subordinates.

"The situation is urgent, so let's not waste any more words." Blake's gaze swept over everyone.

"The Anvil Outpost has lost contact and may be under attack by a large number of undead and corrupted creatures, including possibly giant units."

"Our mission is rescue and reconnaissance, not a direct confrontation."

"Maintain formation, follow instructions, and proceed!"

The heavy gates rose, letting in the scorching night wind. Outside, it was a sweltering, hellish night, with extremely dim light, provided only by a few exceptionally bright stars.

The team of ten quickly disappeared into the dark wasteland, heading towards the eastern part of the Ash Plains.

This time, there was no time for slow reconnaissance and stealth.

Blake chose a relatively direct route, avoiding as many known large danger zones as possible, and proceeded at full speed.

The scorching hell at night is even more dangerous.

Some nocturnal native monsters began to stir, and rustling sounds and low roars came from the shadows.

The squad had no time to linger. Led by Kruger, the forge guards cleared the way, swiftly eliminating any monsters that blocked their path with lightning speed and without hesitation.

The detector in Rolin's hand remained on, continuously scanning the surrounding energy environment and the path ahead.

As they approached the Anvil Outpost, the stench of death and decay in the air grew stronger, and even through the protective cloaks issued by the base, they could feel the chill and restlessness.

After traveling for about an hour and a half, when they were less than twenty miles from the target area, the detector readings began to fluctuate wildly.

The chaos of the energy background ahead increased dramatically, and fine, decaying gray-black dust began to drift in the air.

"Slow down, be on guard." Blake raised his fist.

The squad slowed down, spread out in a fan shape, and advanced covertly using the terrain.

After crossing a low, ash-covered hill, the sight ahead made everyone gasp.

What should have been a relatively flat edge of wasteland now seemed like an extension of hell.

The earth was covered with cracks, from which gushed out a thick, foul-smelling, dark green mud.

A thick, grayish-black fog hung in the air, reducing visibility to almost nothing. Within the fog, countless figures could be vaguely seen moving unsteadily.

It consists of skeletons, zombies, and various other low-level undead creatures in twisted forms!

They wandered aimlessly, their numbers as vast as the tide.

Further away, deep in the fog, the outline of a colossal creature could be vaguely seen!

The silhouette was extremely tall, seemingly pieced together from countless enormous bones, and moved slowly, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Surrounding the colossal creature was an even denser, almost solidified, gray-black death energy, interspersed with flickering dark purple specks of light.

"The Corruption Wave—Giant Skeletons—" Ella whispered, gripping her longbow tightly.

The detector was pointed in that direction, and the reading on the screen had already exceeded the limit.

The death energy and corruption fluctuations reached alarming concentrations.

Meanwhile, the pale blue line representing the energy of order was also faintly visible somewhere deep within the fog.

"Anvil Outpost—it should be in that direction, behind the giant skeleton."

Blake looked at the location on the tactical board, his voice heavy. The outpost was situated right in the path of the undead horde and the giant skeletons, or rather—it had already been submerged.

"Captain, what do we do?" Kruger asked in a deep voice.

"Forcing our way through to save them would be—" He looked at the boundless tide of the dead and the terrifying, enormous silhouette in the mist, leaving his words unfinished, but the meaning was clear.

Blake remained silent for a few seconds.

Reason told him that with the strength of a small team, charging head-on into such a horde of undead would be tantamount to suicide.

Not to mention the unknown giant skeleton. But his duty as a soldier and the possibility of survivors made it difficult for him to give up easily.

"Rolin, can you find a relatively weak path, or go around it?" Blake asked.