Ark Undead

"Old Yu, go and intercept him from the side."

"Leader!"

Amidst the flashing neon lights, a man dressed in ordinary clothes scurried through the streets and alleys at a speed incomprehensible to ordinary people.

His eyes turned an eerie crimson, and his running posture gradually changed from standing upright on both feet to using all four limbs.

Amidst the interplay of countless signs and streetlights, its limbs gradually grew larger, and even the crimson in its eyes appeared more somber.

The heavy breathing turned into meaningless growls. But the way he was running in a panic still betrayed the fact that he was in dire straits.

And this was simply because three soldiers were chasing him.

If they were just ordinary people, that would be fine. But with this superhuman strength, I have enough confidence to torture and kill these ordinary soldiers in a matter of seconds.

That power comes from a mysterious adult, enabling one to respond to one's desires and become the person one wants to be.

But he couldn't even last a single round against these people before a huge gash was slashed across his chest.

What terrified him even more was that the wound, which would have healed quickly in the past, was bleeding profusely and showed no signs of healing at all.

All of this was telling him a chilling truth.

He will die.

He frantically pushed aside the passersby in front of him, eager to shake off his pursuers, completely unaware that his limbs were now abnormal. He turned into a small alley leading to the main road.

Right at the alley entrance, two dark figures drifted in like ghosts.

Under the neon lights that illuminated the entire street, the iridescent black of the fish-scale armor and the long sword with its intricate patterns were instantly reflected.

The man ran blindly down one road into the darkness, his reason fading away as his blood continued to overflow and the strange power rapidly replenished his blood.

Power, after all, comes at a price; that great man had reminded him of this when he bestowed these things upon him.

Don't overestimate your frail health; everything comes at a price. Even the forces that can create miracles are no exception.

When life is hanging by a thread and you are in danger, it may give you a chance to survive, but it may also make you no longer who you were.

But after tasting the sweetness of power time and time again, he could no longer control himself and just kept activating the power that he seemed to have gained without paying anything.

Until all reason was shrouded in the black mist, the light before my eyes gradually expanded.

The road is right in front of us.

Cing!

It was the sound of a long sword being drawn.

A heavy broadsword slammed down from above, striking the man who had mutated into a monster and embedding itself deep into the ground.

The dark shadow fell silently, like clothes falling to the ground.

"You beast! Go back!"

boom!

The dark figure raised its foot and slammed it into the face of the man whose head had already mutated.

His strangely swollen and grotesque body took the brunt of the powerful kick, but he was also forced to remain rooted to the spot.

"Roar!"

It was a meaningless roar, devoid of joy or sorrow, merely a final burst of light fueled by the instinct for survival.

The monster raised its mutated, animal-like limbs, its nails extending like sharp knives, as if to tear the thing blocking its way in two.

But his claws did not tear the flesh apart; instead, they were cleaved in two by the sharp blade.

The soldier nimbly drew his longsword and slashed upwards, severing the limb in two with the sharp blade. The monster's severed limb rapidly shrank, eventually returning to the size of a normal human hand, leaving behind a pool of blood.

Before the monster could react, he only heard the clang of a long sword being drawn from its sheath behind him.

The next moment, his gaze flew into the air, and his eyes turned to see a headless body that looked like a wild beast, as well as a bright silver longsword.

What kind of monster is this?

His last moment of clarity left him with only one question to ponder on his way to the underworld before he was cleaved in two by another blade of light.

Three long swords hung down, and the black mist emanating from the dead monster's body was absorbed by the three people surrounding it, gathering on their long swords, armor, and visor.

Only when the mask shone a white light in the black mist did the black mist let out a resentful hiss and was absorbed by the longswords in their hands.

At this point, looking at the monster's body again, all that could be seen was the corpse of a normal human, dressed in tattered clothes.

His clothes were completely torn apart during the mutation, leaving only some fragments sandwiched between swollen flesh and blood.

With their long swords sheathed, the three Imperial Guards removed their face shields, revealing faces that appeared surprisingly youthful. Yet, there were also several prominent wrinkles; this strange coexistence of youth and old age in them was utterly distorted.

"How many monsters are there now?"

"The third one."

One of the Imperial Guards answered.

"This is the third one in the last two days. I wonder how much the brothers in the other teams have gained."

"Although this is a war achievement, before that, they were just ordinary people of the Great Yan. We can't call it a harvest."

The more mature member of the Imperial Guard spoke up to reprimand him.

“It is pitiful that the people of my Great Yan have been bewitched by this demonic seed. You must not regard them as monsters; it is all the fault of this demonic seed.”

"That's right."

The other two Imperial Guards nodded in agreement and quickly admitted their mistakes.

The captain straddled his longsword, took out a round coin from his belt, pressed the sensor in the middle of the coin, squatted down, lifted the monster's body, and pressed it under his stomach.

This is a marker used by the Imperial Guards when enforcing the law in the city.

This was used to mark the monsters they had defeated and to notify special logistics units to clean up the scene. In this way, the frontline Imperial Guards could mark their prey and provide detailed accounts of the battle situation in their subsequent written reports.

At the same time, it can also save time for the Imperial Guards.

"Alright, let's call it a day. The work these next few days isn't the main focus; the important thing is the meeting with that important person in a couple of days."

The captain stood up and clapped his hands. His gauntlets were made of a special material. Even the strangely viscous blood couldn't stick to them, as if they were naturally blood-resistant.

"You mean, that sir?"

One of the team members couldn't help but sound excited as he spoke.

"I heard he's in Shangshu?"

"Small in stature but big in wisdom, he's actually listening to gossip."

The captain chuckled and playfully patted the teammate on the head before nodding and speaking.

"But your information is correct. Our Great Yan's divine general is in Shang Shu."

...

Two days have passed since the conversation with W and Greyhound, and there has been no news from Nian and Ling.

Onstan and the Undead have been staying in the hotel for the past few days and haven't gone anywhere.

Lord Liang Xun's trusted confidant, Yan Di, has been stationed at the hotel for the past few days, ready to respond to the needs of the Undead at any time.

The fact that the immortal remained silent was rather strange to Yan Di and Liang Xun.

Logically speaking, given the Undead's previous aversion to the Demon Seeds, they shouldn't have suddenly stopped.

It wasn't until people arrived from the capital that Liang Xun was too busy to think about the plan to kill the dead.

Yes, a group of people from the capital have arrived and begun a large-scale search operation in Shangshu.

Even Si Suitai stopped contacting Liang Xun.

The past few days have been uneventful, as if nothing had happened, which has left even the immortals feeling rather bored.

It wasn't until Chen's arrival last night that the Undead began to focus on another matter.

That was the establishment of the Southern Expeditionary Army.

When Chen came to the hotel looking for the Undying Person, she was carrying a strange bag of things, which, according to Chen, was a gift from an elder.

Meanwhile, the elder also asked Chen to hand a token to the immortal. After Chen explained, the immortal realized that the elder was none other than the old Celestial Master who was hiding in Shang Shu.

In other words, Chen went to see the old Celestial Master whose talismans had been burned by the Undead.

To be honest, the Undying Man really wanted to meet that old Celestial Master in person and see what kind of power he possessed, and whether it matched his own guesses.

The answer to the question about the token given by the Celestial Master was found in Liang Xun.

“My Lord, this is a tiger tally that is currently useless.”

"Tiger tally?"

The immortals saw Liang Xun's respectful demeanor but couldn't understand what he was talking about.

Chen leaned close to the Undead's ear and whispered his explanation.

"Yes, it's a token that can be used to command soldiers."

"Oh, I see."

The Undead nodded and looked down at the tiger tally in his hand.

Liang Xun said that the tiger tally was not yet useful, meaning that it would be useful later.

Liang Xun continued speaking.

"In the past two days, people from the capital have come to assist our local soldiers and civilians in arresting and killing dozens of demons. They have achieved great feats and have also greatly relieved the pressure on the local area. However, they did not come simply to help."

He waved to Yan Di beside him.

Yan Di immediately stepped forward with a roll of cloth in his hand and handed it to Liang Xun.

Liang Xun unfolded the cloth in his hand and began to speak.

"This is the Emperor's secret order. I hope you will receive the decree, General."

Immediately, Yan Di and the soldiers responsible for security all faced Liang Xun and knelt on the ground.

Chen was stunned for a moment, but still hesitated before kneeling on the ground.

Only Ornstein and the Undead were still standing... no, Ornstein was sitting on the ground.