Ark Undead

"Teacher, please teach me!"

"One's vision should not be short-sighted."

The immortal sighed softly, as if trying to travel through distant time to see the phantoms of the past.

"You shall shine upon all things."

"You must become the sun."

...

Volume Two: The Sun Knight of Casimir.

Volume Two: The Sun Knight of Kazimierz

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19. Artworks of Casimir

Colombia, officially the Federation of Colombia.

As one of the few young nations on the continent of Terra, it is a multi-ethnic country that brings together immigrant groups from various countries.

This indirectly led to the collision and interaction of various civilizations here, ultimately forming a completely new culture.

Meanwhile, in the mountains and forests of eastern Colombia, a group of young explorers were making their way forward.

They were young people from Colombia who, on vacation, planned to seek thrills in the mountains near the Commonwealth of Colombia.

For them, the greater the danger, the more exciting it is.

Although this place had just recently been hit by a minor natural disaster.

"I said, are we really going to continue? Didn't we hear about a minor natural disaster that happened here recently?"

The young girl was somewhat isolated. She wasn't infected, and the threat of the natural disaster made her try to persuade her companions to stop.

"That was several months ago, Vico."

"It is the leader, who is also the strongest of the Liberians among them," said the leader.

"Besides, aren't you curious why a natural disaster would happen in such a desolate place?"

The young people of the Liboli ethnic group are full of vigor and have a curiosity about new things.

But the Filin girl was still worried, having heard that there had been an infected riot in Victoria's largest mobile city last year.

One of her friends became infected after the riots and is now experiencing physical discomfort, remaining in the intensive care unit.

"But...Jon..."

Vico wanted to say something more, but when she thought about the purpose of their trip, she hesitated slightly.

It is said that someone saw a human-shaped shadow in this area. It seems that when a farmer from the nearby area went hunting in the mountains, near dusk, he saw a creature completely black staring at him.

The farmers were terrified and quickly ran down the mountain.

Afterwards, he recounted this incident in a tavern, and people frequently went to the mountains afterward, but they couldn't find it even after searching for a long time.

Although their main objective this time wasn't the dark figure, if they happened to run into him, it would still be a topic of conversation for casual chatter.

“Okay, I know what you’re worried about,” Jon reassured Viktor. “We won’t go into the epicenter of the disaster, we’ll just walk around and see what’s happening, okay? If we see any wild Originium, we’ll leave immediately.”

"I'll listen to you!" Vico felt a little relieved upon hearing this.

After all, deep down, she is a girl who is curious about the unknown.

After walking through the mountains for a long time, the group finally saw signs of the devastation caused by the natural disaster.

A giant tree, about ten meters tall, was snapped in half by some unknown force, its crown completely collapsed, and broken branches and leaves were scattered all over the ground.

Even so, surprisingly, a new trunk was growing upwards from what should have been a dry tree trunk, and new branches were also growing on the outside of the trunk.

The emerald green leaves speak of the resilience of life.

"Wow! I want to take a picture of this!"

Vico looked excitedly at the tree trunk that still stood tall after the disaster, raised her camera, and captured the scene.

Jon and the other members lingered on the tree for a long time before continuing their journey.

The further you go, the more obvious the scenes of destruction caused by natural disasters become.

The ground was torn up, and there were sand, gravel, and broken plants everywhere.

Surprisingly, even though these plants had suffered wounds that should have been fatal, they are now thriving outwards from the broken edges.

Time is still short. Compared to giving these plants ample time, they can return to their former state in this free world.

"Has this place really experienced a natural disaster?"

One of the team members was holding a portable Originium composition detection device. Under his monitoring, the amount of Originium in the air was nothing like that of a site that had experienced a natural disaster.

"The amount of Originium here is pitifully small, and we haven't seen a single large Originium crystal."

It was yet another member who spoke up, which was somewhat puzzling.

"In any case, let's go further inside and see what happens."

Jon led his team further in, hoping to find other traces in the heart of the disaster.

After all, if there are no Originium crystals or anything like that here, it can only mean that no natural disaster has occurred here.

Throughout history, all recorded instances show that areas affected by natural disasters are uninhabitable for a long period, and even the nature of the land may be altered.

But here, there was no sign of any natural disaster; all that could be seen were the marks of destruction on the giant trees and plants.

It's as if a ghost is battling something here, and then all traces have been buried.

"So, there really aren't any natural disasters here?"

The member responsible for detecting the composition of Originium put away his detector. He breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little regretful.

"Maybe it's just some mercenary, or some infected person who went crazy here and destroyed this place."

"Were those giant trees something that could have been created by human hands?"

Vico asked curiously.

"Of course, those powerful sorcerers can even summon meteors from the sky!"

Jon gestured with his hands, as if trying to recreate the shock of the heavenly fire descending.

Unfortunately, Jon's gestures only produced a few minor comical moments.

"In short, there shouldn't have been any natural disasters here." Jon shook his head. "Otherwise, the sudden disappearance of the giant Originium crystal would be inexplicable."

"Then we've made a wasted trip, haven't we?"

Some members muttered softly, expressing their disappointment.

Jon also felt a little regretful that he hadn't been able to see the post-disaster environment. For him, it was an incomplete part of his explorer career.

Just as Jon was about to lead everyone forward, they heard a rustling sound of grass and trees behind them.

And a panicked female voice screamed.

"what!!"

Everyone turned around and realized that one person was missing.

"Vico!?"

Someone saw Viktor roll down the road next to her.

The path, made of leaves and branches, was hollow underneath, so much so that Vico accidentally rolled down the slope as soon as she stepped on it.

The Filin girl rolled around on the slope for a long time. Fortunately, her protective suit was sturdy enough. However, her exposed hands already had some abrasions.

She groggily opened her eyes, propped herself up with her right hand, sat on the ground, and shook her head.

"Vico! Are you alright?"

Jon looked down through the gap and saw Viktor sitting on the ground.

Vico checked herself and found that apart from the scrapes on her hands, the rest of her body was only a little sore from the impact with the ground, and there was no injury to her bones or muscles.

She spoke up and shouted towards the top.

"I'm okay! I just accidentally rolled down! It's just my hand...!!! Ahhh!!"

As Vico was speaking, she suddenly screamed and crawled backward, as if she had seen something frightening.

Jon quickly jumped down from the gap and staggered down the slope to Viktor's side. He lifted Viktor up from under his arms and then carried her up the slope.

Before leaving, Jon looked back, but it was all dark inside and he couldn't see anything.

After the two climbed up, Jon and Viktor were panting, with Viktor still feeling a bit shaken.

"There's a figure down below!"

A figure?

Jon and the other members exchanged glances, their eyes filled with disbelief and barely perceptible excitement.

Could it be that what the farmer said is true?

"Let's go down and take a look! Anyone want to come with me?"

Several explorers immediately raised their hands and came to Jon's side.

The group then gradually shrunk down the slope.

Jon led the way, asking his companion behind him for a flashlight.

The light disappeared halfway down the slope. Once Jon and his group reached flat ground, Jon immediately turned on his flashlight and shone it into the area further in.

At first, nothing was illuminated. But as the light gradually shone from right to left, a dark figure finally appeared!

"Wow! What's that?!"

One of his companions took a step back in fear.

Jon lowered his body, wanting to get closer when he saw the black figure.