Land of the Dead

The old soldier stood on the observation tower at the entrance of the town, his eyes as sharp as an eagle. When he was young, he was the best scout in the team. Now that he has a broken leg, his eyes are still sharp.

Compared to others, he prefers to stay high up and gaze at the rolling black fog at the edge of the horizon. There, his wife, son, comrades and parents were swallowed up, leaving only the old soldier standing alone on the observation tower, waiting to be the next person to be swallowed by the black fog.

Today is a special day. The nobles from the central region came to the surrounding towns, but unfortunately their town was not selected.

It's great to have a town with bloodline people. The old soldier smacked his lips, missing the time when he was in the army. With the bloodline people here, many monsters are no longer so scary.

They could occasionally smoke cigarettes, which were a rare novelty in the West, where supplies were entirely supplied from other regions. Even if they were low-quality tobacco leaves, they were still tasty enough for the veterans to savor.

It would be great if they had bloodline people in their town. Even the lowest level F-level bloodline people are stronger than ordinary people.

The old soldier scratched his itchy thigh. Suddenly, he saw something slowly walking out of the black fog. Like a tiny army of ants, it rushed towards them with a clear purpose.

His eyes suddenly widened, and he rushed to the alarm bell with a strength that was not in line with his age, and pulled the bell rope hard.

“Ding-ding-ding—”

The warning bells echoed in the town of Nail, and the townspeople, who were busy with their affairs, responded quickly. The elderly and children grabbed the drying food and ran into the house. The men picked up spears and the women carried longbows and built a line of defense behind the wall.

The whole process was orderly and disciplined, and everyone was calm and not panicking at all. Only the sweat on their palms showed their nervousness.

As the footsteps gradually approached, the whole team finally appeared in front of everyone. Children who looked to be only 11 or 12 years old surrounded the carriage, their faces painted red, and their bright smiles were creepy.

The mud horse pulled the wooden cart forward with a clattering sound. A "person" wrapped in a black robe drove the cart, and when he looked up, a strand of black hair appeared from his hood.

"......"

The townspeople exchanged uneasy glances, alert to the movements of this group of "monsters". The man in black robes got off the carriage and greeted them politely.

"Hello everyone, we are a wandering caravan, is there anything you want to trade?"

How could a wandering caravan appear in the dark fog?

The townspeople had never seen such a situation before, and the two sides were in a stalemate for a while. It was not until the black-robed merchant took out a family certificate and saw the familiar family crest that they finally chose to believe: "What do you have?"

Thanks to the help of the Portlem family, the twelve round table families, who are also old noble families, have received additional certificates. This is more useful than material resources in Nail Town.

“You can find anything you want to buy here.”

The little people unloaded boxes from the car and showed the townspeople countless goods: soft and silky fabrics, tobacco, delicious food, children's favorite snacks...

They were tempted and asked, "How do we sell these? We don't have much money."

The profiteer replied kindly: "I want the intelligence you have collected more than Robbie."

The townspeople discussed in low voices for a while. Those who had lived on the border for generations were very familiar with the border conditions; this was the foundation of their roots.

The appearance of the merchants was different from others, and there was evidence of the Portram family. Putting all these signs together, they naturally thought of those noble families.

Who wouldn't covet those chosen ones?

Even if they become pawns in the game, they can not only get the protection of the bloodline, but also go further and repair the basic measures with the resources provided by them.

Everyone knew the basic intelligence, but different towns were located in different places and often explored different areas. They all had some secrets that other towns didn't know. They hesitated for a while and finally softened their attitude.

"No weapons allowed, trade on this open space."

"Of course, I come to visit you sincerely."

The profiteer put his hands in his sleeves and answered fluently. The little people quickly set up the stalls. Although they looked a little scary at first glance, the goods on the stalls were very attractive to the townspeople.

A woman stroked the smooth fabric: "My daughter's birthday is coming soon. She is the most beautiful girl in the nearby town of Nail. She has wanted a new dress for a long time."

Her words were echoed by everyone around her: "Yes, yes, my little son has reached age. If he had a sharp weapon, I would feel at ease when he goes out with my family in the future."

"I ate one of these candies when I was a kid. I never thought I'd see them again. I'm going to buy some for my wife to try."

People are crowding the empty spaces, and all the food, clothing, and other things are popular and cheap: all that is needed is valuable information.

The young and strong people in the family who had no intelligence were extremely jealous. The profiteer appeared again: "It doesn't matter if you don't have intelligence. We are from the nearby town of Ding. It is now controlled by the Luo family. These goods are provided by them. People are welcome to work there. The salary is good. You can come back after this period of time."

The townspeople were talking about it. They knew that the town was not far from here. These families were generous and the time was no more than one month. Those who had the money were immediately tempted. At the very least, it would be much safer to have the weapons issued by these bloodline people than to stay in the village in fear.

When the fairgrounds were closed, a few others who wished to leave took the same path they had come from, heading for the town of Nail where the Luo family lived. They would stay there until the competition was over, and return with the nobles' rewards.

"I'll come back later."

The profiteer said goodbye to the townspeople. The small caravan set out on the road to the next town. Before long, their figures disappeared at the end of the road. The veteran stared at the pile of supplies on the ground, and it took him a while to make sure that this was not an illusion.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Murmurs echoed around him, expressing everyone's true feelings.

......

The profiteer was humming happily. This small caravan seemed to be moving slowly, but in fact it was moving very quickly towards the next town.

Beanmen and Mud Horses are inferior imitations of Alchemy Golems, and their effects only last for a few days, so they are affordable and sufficient to support current needs.

The next town was under the charge of a small family. Their approach immediately aroused the vigilance of the bloodline people. These bloodline people had been to the camp of the Kingdom of God, and they were stunned when they saw who the person was: "Mr. profiteer?"

"Hello again." The black-robed merchant greeted them with a smile. "I know you brought a lot of supplies. Would you like to buy some intelligence from me?"

The two bloodline members looked at each other and said cautiously, "I need to contact the person in charge."

The profiteer readily agreed: "Of course, no problem. You know I always keep my word."

A bloodline turned and ran deep into the town. Not long after, he came out with the person in charge of the family's trip. The profiteer shook the other's hand enthusiastically: "Hello, hello, what do you want to buy?"

"We need intelligence on the hills to the east."

The profiteer thought for a moment and said, "No problem. You need to pay some supplies in exchange. Food, weapons, medicine, and supplies are all fine."

"As long as your information is accurate, our family has prepared a lot of medicine."

Everyone knows the importance of intelligence, but not all families have the capital to do it. It is even more risky for profiteers to organize a caravan.

Each family brings limited manpower and resources. Building a base, getting familiar with the townspeople, exploring the surroundings... this will take a lot of energy.

The arrival of profiteers was undoubtedly a blessing in disguise for them, and the supplies they provided were fed back to the surrounding ownerless towns in exchange for information.

The caravans of unscrupulous merchants moved from one town to another, growing bigger and bigger like a snowball. Even if a family was aware of the conspiracy behind it, they could do nothing about it. If they did not join in and missed the intelligence, it meant that they were one step slower than others.

Buy low and sell high, accumulate wealth.

The benefits to unscrupulous businessmen go far beyond this.

The essence of a commodity is the exchange of supply and demand, and the most well-informed people in the world are merchants. Even if these families do not reveal the intelligence they know, profiteers analyze and extract the information of all buyers and obtain countless secrets.

This time, the Hart family sent the head of the family's daughter here. It seems that this young lady has great ambitions.

The Garcia family is collecting a large amount of intelligence from the west, which should be considered a mutation zone.

The two western coastal families, Siren and Infinite Sky, are neighbors again this time, and have cooperated with three local families in the west.

Western families such as Portram have the fastest development due to their geographical advantages and have already annexed the surrounding towns.

......

A huge amount of information gathered in his mind, forming a complete intelligence network. If these families knew the intelligence held by the profiteers, they would probably gather together to resist immediately.

This smart and talented businessman saw through the plots of many families just by talking and dealing with goods. And all this benefited another vest, providing him with a direction for action.

Thank God, there is no need to pay for the information on consciousness. Otherwise, he would have to go bankrupt. Mason complained in his heart and naturally controlled Oreius on the other side.

A low flat land near the Luo family's [Ningzhen].

A huge monster shaped like a hare with dagger-like front teeth fell to the ground. The red-haired young man pulled the sword out of it, and the sticky blood blended into the soil, showing a dirty reddish brown color. Dan cut off the front teeth from another polluted rabbit and skillfully stuffed them into his bag.

The concentration of black fog in the western region is too high. Even in habitable areas, there will still be sudden monsters appearing, and they must be cleaned up regularly.

The red-haired young man wiped the slime off the sword and suddenly asked, "After entering the black fog, go east for three miles and there is a hill. What is that place?"

The local guide was standing nearby holding a torch, and a look of fear appeared on his face when he heard this.

"That's where we first discovered the anomaly. It was originally a wasteland, but now..." He paused, "We call it the Land of Death."

The Land of Death, this ominous name is enough to reveal its bloody connotation. Oreius sheathed his sword and said, "We will go there tomorrow to have a look."

Dan took the torch and burned the monster's corpse. "I've been tired of staying here for a long time. We need manpower to build the town. The two of us can lead the way."

They talked as they walked, and soon they saw a familiar building.

This nail town is close to the edge of the black fog but not too dangerous. It is at a moderate distance from the surrounding families, with several ownerless nail towns in between serving as buffers. It is quite standard.

The nearby families were not very powerful, so the chairman of the parliament separated the big families when issuing tokens to avoid fierce conflicts at the beginning.

The town has changed since I first saw it.

The wall was raised and thickened twice, leaving holes for aiming. The outermost layer was covered with dense spiked wire mesh. A protective fence was installed on the observation tower, so that even if a monster attacked, the people inside could have a chance to breathe.

The guard team was on 24-hour surveillance and patrol. When they saw the three people, the militiaman in charge of alert loudly ordered them to stop and only allowed them to enter after confirming their identities.

This is a simple fortress built at the suggestion of Oreius, combining the memory of a lifetime. Walking into the town of Nail, the interior is completely different: piles of supplies and busy people can be seen everywhere.

The indigenous people were receiving training in the square with the weapons they were given. On the other side, a craftsman was reinforcing the mud house, with sweat dripping from his dark face as he carefully applied a transparent dye on the roof.

This liquid from a certain monster has been processed to remove the smell of humans. If a monster invades, it will not be attracted by the smell of humans.

The blood members of the Luo family were all very busy, and this was based on the labor attracted by the profiteers. The three found the blood member of the family in charge of personnel allocation and told him that they would go to the black mist tomorrow.

The baby-faced young man was so busy that he was dizzy. When he heard the request, he wailed: "Please spare me, ancestor. I really don't have anyone else."

The corner of Oleus' mouth twitched slightly. Although everyone in the Luo family knew his identity, few people would openly call him ancestor outside.

The baby-faced man knew he was wrong, so he swallowed the rest of his words. With a bitter face, he squeezed people and forcibly transferred a good worker to accompany the two of them.

The red-haired young man took advantage of his height to pat him on the head and said, "Thank you."

The baby-faced man was stunned, watching the other person leaving with Dan, and couldn't help but touch his head. After a while, he suddenly laughed and threw himself into work with great energy.

"The ancestor touched my hair, I must show off when I go back. Apart from Shaken and the others, I must be the first one in the family to have my ancestor touch my hair."

The happy psychological fluctuations spread along the consciousness network and were captured by the souls living in the blood. They were silent for a while, and an old man was filled with righteous indignation: "He was not like this when I was alive. He was so confused that he was unworthy of being my grandson!"

Another one sneered disdainfully: "You are not as good as him if you go up there. Who was the one who was punished by the teacher to stand when you were twelve years old for secretly copying Roland Agger I's pornographic book?"

The old man coughed, but fortunately his soul didn't blush: "How can it be the same? That's my respect for my ancestors. I like to be divided into many categories, and what's wrong with wanting to create some classics for my ancestors to pass down?"

He then went on to say something like "I have read it in detail", "This is called letting future generations admire it", "You don't understand that this is called faith", etc., which caused a burst of merciless laughter.

The living had no idea what the dead were discussing. The next morning, Oleus and his companions were fully equipped and began to go deeper into the black fog under the guidance of the guide.

Once they got past the outermost defenses, they entered a region covered in black fog. The rolling mist drifted over the reddish-brown soil, and the vegetation was varied. The occasional animal that darted by had a different tendency. The guide led them through a path, warning in a low voice: "Don't startle these things. It will draw the attention of more powerful creatures."

He was just an ordinary man, but he managed to bypass many thorny monsters and lead the two men deeper into the black fog. As the fog density gradually increased, they came to a low hill and the guide waved. Mason looked down and slightly widened his eyes.

The uneven land stretches as far as the eye can see, with countless tangled plants growing on it. The twisted branches reveal a shocking vitality. Some pollution beasts gnawed at the plants, but were bitten in the throat by the predators that had been waiting nearby.

What's worse, some of them unknowingly walked to the areas with the most luxuriant vegetation, where the wriggling vines approached silently, strangled their prey and dragged it under the branches and leaves. The huge root system would transform the flesh and blood into new nutrients.

In a place where humans cannot enter, polluted plants and animals have developed a system that does not require human intervention at all. The guide pointed to one of the directions: "The anomaly we found is here."

Oleus squinted and saw a sudden depression in the vegetation, which was sliding towards the direction of the human defense line. The vitality of these plants had not yet recovered, and it was so fresh that it seemed as if something had just passed through it.

"This place was originally a plain, but it suddenly became like this about a month ago. We reported it to the family in charge, and they went in and looked around, but found nothing. But people who came here would go missing again, so we stopped going near this place."

The guide's voice was filled with fear: "If you plan to go in, please be prepared. This place is very...weird."

Dan rubbed his hands together, but before he could utter "Isn't this better?", Orelius grabbed his head.

"You are here to protect him."

"I want to go in too!"

"If someone from another family comes, you can still take him and hide him."

Dan had no choice but to compromise and agreed in a gloomy tone. After all, it was dark here, so any accidents were possible. He could only watch helplessly as the other party slid down the hill and walked towards the lush grass.

As he approached the foot of the mountain, Oreius smelled a faint sweet scent on the wind.

He drew out the black-marked long sword, ignored the temptation of the will-o'-the-wisp, and stepped cautiously into this land of death.

The deeper you go, the more you can feel the extraordinary vitality. The leaves of plants are emerald green, the flowers are brightly colored, and the animals are overly lively.

The monsters living on this land have an extremely shocking appearance. In the process of biological evolution, this usually represents a meaning.

danger.

Orelius casually cut off a vine that was about to launch a sneak attack. Juice spurted out from the broken end. The cut half fell to the ground and struggled like a snake, and was crushed by the young man's foot.

The green liquid gave off a strange fragrance. But in the blink of an eye, the vine had grown back, as if it knew he was not easy to mess with, and it retreated in a very humane way.

Going further, a mouse with its head bitten off rolled on the ground, its pink and white flesh squirming, and a new head actually grew out of it. A deformed bird with its right wing injured fell into the grass, stumbled and struggled for a while, and its wing stained with grass juice quickly healed. It leaped up and flew high into the sky.

He stopped moving forward without realizing it, and a fear that came from nowhere gripped his heart. He didn't even know where this fear came from, an ominous premonition came over him, whispering to him that he shouldn't stay here for long.

Even though life was flourishing everywhere, death stopped here. But long-lasting prosperity is something unusual. Oreius chose another way back, and as he walked, he suddenly kicked something.

The red-haired young man looked down, brushed aside the overly lush grass, and when he saw what it was, his expression froze for a moment. His temples began to throb slightly.

That was a person, or rather, he had been a person.

The red flesh covering the bones grows uncontrollably, breaking through the skin and flowing on the ground. The roots of plants penetrate deeply into it, nourishing beautiful flowers.

This scene was so blasphemous that it made him feel dizzy. His hands trembled and he covered the grass again. The air with a faint sweetness rushed into his lungs. For a moment, the red-haired young man's eyes flashed with confusion, but he reacted quickly and checked along the way he came.

Beneath those overly vibrant plants, there are all kinds of...creatures buried without exception.

Yes, he could only call it a creature.

Humans, animals, plants. All kinds of things that were difficult to identify were dead, but their bodies remained alive. The red-haired young man completely forgot how he walked out of this grassland. When he stopped again, he was already at the intersection where he came from. Looking back,

The plants are swaying carefree in the wind.

......

Dan squatted on the hill, looking at the lush plain in the distance, feeling an unbearable pain in his heart as if a hundred claws were tugging at him.

Except for being patient during battles, he was usually a restless person, and he kept talking to the guide: "This is just the edge of the area, right? Has the black fog spread here?"

The guide smiled bitterly: "The speed at which the black fog spreads is getting faster and faster. Two hundred years ago, this was a human village, but now it has become a paradise for monsters. If the black fog spreads further, all the nearby towns will have to move."

Human territory is constantly shrinking in such struggles and compromises. Ordinary people will be at risk of mutation if they stay in the black fog for a long time. Only bloodline people can go deep into it. This is also the reason why many western nobles set up black fog expedition teams.

Dan sighed, "I'll come when the time comes. Many of my companions died in the dark fog when I came here to train before. They only had time to build a cenotaph. I'll take them all away when the time comes."

"...You're a good person."

"If I were a really good person, I would have taken them away from here long ago. But even if they are bloodline people or nobles, there is nothing I can do. I can save one person. But if I save them, others will die. The black fog is a cave that swallows up life. Even if a person is thrown into it, there will be no response."

"Yes, this is the norm in the Black Mist Line."

No one knows the horror of the Black Mist better than the people who live here. In the Guide's memory, their children are divided into three types at birth: mutant, Black Mist cursed, and normal. Only the last type can survive, and the others will be dealt with.

The people who live here are tough and miserable. They have built a wall here with their lives. The West gave birth to them and also defined their fate.

"It is said that people in the central region don't have to worry about their children being born mutated, nor do they have to eat the meat of contaminated beasts. If there is a chance, I would like to send my child there."

Dan asked back, “What about you?”

The man was stunned for a moment, then he was silent for a while and whispered, "Someone has to stay here."

The two were speechless for a moment. Dan patted the other on the shoulder and said, "It will be soon. The Noble Association has been preparing a counterattack plan against the black fog for the past few years."

"Black Mist Counterattack Plan? There was similar news several years ago."

"Yes, it didn't work at the time. In order to save people, the Speaker of the Parliament left Partington City for the first time and went to the Black Mist. Fortunately, everyone was successfully rescued."

This is a not-so-small dark history of the Noble Association. Dan touched his nose and said, "Although I can't say much, I think it's quite reliable this time—"

The blond noble suddenly stopped talking, turned over and fell to the ground with his companion on top of him.

The golden snowflake pendants on their waists flickered slightly, and a layer of transparent film covered the two people, blending with the surrounding environment.

Almost at the same time as they disappeared, two people walked up the hill. They were wearing black robes and their faces were blurred. After confirming that there was no one around, they walked down the hill.

Dan and the guide looked at each other and both felt something was wrong.

Aurelius is still there!