Huo Xiuxiu nodded slightly, her expression grave: "Very likely. But I wonder why he wanted to snatch the crystal ball. Does he know it has some other, more crucial use?"
Zhang Shi clenched his fist, his gaze fixed firmly on the direction where the shadow had disappeared: "No matter who he is or what his purpose is, our most important goal right now is to leave this foggy area. Time is running out, let's hurry up and get moving."
Everyone nodded, understanding the importance and urgency of the situation. After several consecutive battles, they were all somewhat exhausted and unwilling to take the initiative to fight again.
The journey was relatively smooth. The few monsters they encountered along the way were all quite weak and were easily dealt with by Zhang Shi with a single strike. After spending most of the day, the group finally arrived at the center of the red zone.
Huo Xiuxiu stopped the group from moving forward. The bell rang silently, and the mist slowly dissipated, revealing the scene that had been obscured ahead. In the distance, on an open ground, lay the skeleton of a gigantic creature. The creature was enormous; its skeletal remains alone were as tall as a seven- or eight-story building. It had wings on its back, and its thick shinbones stretched across the ground like bridges.
Surprisingly, most of its skeletons showed signs of petrification, with parts of its body standing tall in the wilderness like stone sculptures, both eerie and solemn.
Huo Xiuxiu frowned slightly and led the group slowly closer to the giant beast's skeleton. She then increased the frequency of ringing the bell, and the mist covering the sky dispersed more quickly, finally revealing the full appearance of this towering beast.
When everyone saw the giant beast's appearance, they were all amazed and could hardly believe their eyes. Zhao Feng looked back and forth between his companions and the giant beast to make sure that he had not entered an illusion.
"Holy crap, am I seeing things? That's a giant dragon?"
Zhao Feng carefully touched the dragon's skeleton and felt that it was no different from stone.
"This thing must have been petrified by Medusa, otherwise how could it have turned into this state?"
After recovering from his surprise, Ge Dalong recalled some legends and then answered Zhao Feng's question.
"According to some Western myths and legends, after a dragon dies, its bones turn to stone. This is probably the case with the one in front of us."
Huo Xiuxiu also came to her senses and carefully examined the dragon's skeleton. The petrified bones had a slope, like a series of steps leading straight to the dragon's spine, while the mark she had left on the three-headed monster was on the other side of the dragon's body.
"The three-headed monster is on the other side. Let's go, be careful."
Zhang Shi and the other two looked at each other, but in the end they followed Huo Xiuxiu and stepped onto the shinbone, slowly climbing up the dragon's body as if climbing a mountain.
Suddenly, two tall figures emerged from the gap in the dragon bones, blocking everyone's path with long-handled weapons. Zhang Shi glanced at them and realized that they were two centaurs. He immediately thought of the centaur girl he had met in the City of Mist, and these two might be her people.
Just as Zhang Shi was about to go up and negotiate, the two centaur warriors charged forward with bloodshot eyes, their spears aimed straight at Zhang Shi's vitals. If it weren't for the power of his black light armor, he might have already been taken down by them.
"Damn it, he won't listen to reason, so let's go and kill him!"
Enraged by the two centaurs, Zhao Feng charged forward, swinging his axe.
Without hesitation, Ge Dalong swiftly formed hand seals, unleashing a surge of magic that sent ice spikes raining down on the centaur warrior. The centaur warrior, agile and nimble, dodged the ice spikes while simultaneously wielding his spear, shattering any that approached, sending shards of ice flying.
Seeing this, Huo Xiuxiu shook the bell in her hand even more rapidly, the sound waves creating invisible ripples in the air, disrupting the centaur warriors' movements and attack rhythm. However, the two centaurs seemed to be driven by some force, remaining unmoved and continuing their frenzied attack on the group.
While wielding Lao Duan to fend off the centaurs' attacks, Zhang Shi shouted, "Everyone be careful! They might be under control! Don't kill them, try to capture them alive!" He knew that these centaurs might have some connection with the centaur girl from Mist City, and he didn't want to harm them unless absolutely necessary.
Although Zhao Feng had a fiery temper, he understood Zhang Shi's intentions. So he held back some of his strength when attacking, only using the back of his axe to strike the centaur's weapon, trying to knock it away and incapacitate it.
However, the centaur warriors were extremely powerful and coordinated well, with one attacking and the other defending, making it difficult for Zhang Shi and his men to find a weakness.
In the midst of the fierce battle, Zhang Shi suddenly noticed a faintly glowing pendant hanging around the neck of one of the centaurs. The pendant's light was somewhat unusual, seemingly out of place with its surroundings. A thought struck him: could this be the key to controlling them?
"Old Ge, attack the neck of the centaur on the left. There's a pendant there, it might be something that controls them!" Zhang Shi shouted.
Upon hearing this, Ge Dalong immediately adjusted his attack direction, conjuring a thick ice shard and shooting it towards the target. The ice shard was extremely fast, and the centaur warrior couldn't dodge in time, being struck by the pendant around his neck. The pendant shattered instantly, emitting a blinding light.
The centaur's eyes instantly regained their clarity, and he looked at the scene before him with a hint of confusion and fear. Seeing his companion return to normal, the other centaur also slowed its attack.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhang Shi rushed forward and struck another centaur on the head with the back of his sword, knocking it unconscious.
The crowd gathered around, and seeing the two centaurs, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
The conscious centaur looked at Zhang Shi and the others and said, "Who are you? Why are you here? How did I get here..."
Zhang Shi stepped forward and said, "We mean no harm; we're just passing through. Are you being controlled by something?"
The centaur frowned, trying hard to recall: "I only remember that when we were patrolling the city, we suddenly encountered a black mist, and then I lost consciousness until just now..."
Huo Xiuxiu examined the centaur's body and said, "There are traces of dark magic remaining on their bodies. They must have been controlled by someone using dark magic."
Ge Dalong asked.
Do you remember how you got here?
The centaur pondered for a while, then shook his head.
Zhang Shi didn't believe in superstitions, and after a moment he asked again, "Have you seen someone carrying a crystal ball pass by here?"
The centaur shook his head: "I don't remember."
Zhang Shi sighed, knowing he couldn't get more information from these two people, so he decided to recruit them into the team, since more people meant more safety. He immediately asked them.
"This place is extremely dangerous, we are planning to..."
Before Zhang Shi could finish speaking, the two men trembled as if they had been electrocuted. In an instant, their eyes turned bloodshot again, and their weapons were once again pointed at Zhang Shi.
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