Chapter 009 – Warlock Camp
...
"Rapid Growth?"
Matthew's face lit up.
This is also a signature spell of the Druids.
The "Growth Potion" he used to plant trees earlier was a potion of this spell.
Because it has been potionized,
the effect will also be discounted.
If he can master this spell proficiently,
his ability in tree planting will be comparable to that of a genuine Druid!
...
"Wild Transformation and Rapid Growth are both signature spells of the Druids. It seems that the rewards provided by the 'Maintenance is also important' task are all Druid abilities?"
"No, maybe it's not related to the task, but to the means of completing the task—whether it's dealing with Arsonists or the deeper Cataclysmic Cult, bloodshed is inevitable."
"In that case, is the reward system operating in reverse? Planting trees, a peaceful act of love for nature, rewards the Undead Bone Dragon, while rewards for killing and fighting turn into Druid abilities?"
...
Matthew pondered with interest.
There are currently few samples, not enough to draw conclusions.
But that doesn't prevent him from making bold assumptions.
He glanced at the bottom of the task bar.
The Tai Chi symbol has changed again—
The green dot on the left has completely exceeded 2/3.
It's not far from being full.
Just don't know what will happen when it's full.
It's worth mentioning the right side.
Although the gray dot is still very light,
it has improved significantly compared to the previous stagnant state.
Matthew's sharp eyes
could see the gray dot at the bottom striving to surge upward.
Whoosh!
The dot rushed to the 1/3 position in one breath.
...
"The Heart of Nature and the Path of the Undead."
Matthew guessed.
The rapid increase in the gray dot should be related to tonight's battle.
The underlying mechanism behind it still needs to be explored.
But not now.
Near the farm,
someone has already discovered the disaster here.
People are coming from the direction of the town and the outskirts.
Matthew led the team back to the oak forest.
He sent the skeletons back to their burrows.
Then he said to Peggy:
"You'll have to walk back by yourself."
Peggy exclaimed:
"You want me to walk alone on such a dark night? I'll be scared!"
Matthew coughed:
"Then should I summon another skeleton to accompany you?"
Peggy said resentfully:
"You don't even pay overtime and you want me to walk home by myself. The conscience of you Necromancers is truly corroded by negative energy!"
Matthew shrugged:
"The time for reverse summoning has passed, and I'm not a very capable person. You have to understand, Peggy."
Peggy softened a bit:
"Okay, okay, I'll go back alone, but next time, I'll at least need a 'Soul Crystal' from you. You promised something amazing when we signed the contract..."
After seeing off the chattering Minotaur skeleton,
Matthew looked north.
The ghost merchant mentioned the chaos in the Witch Hut.
Combined with the contents of the secret letter,
the stronghold of the Cataclysmic Cult should be nearby, even if it's not inside the Witch Hut.
Time is running out.
Matthew plans to eliminate the threat as soon as possible.
So he leaped forward.
Whoosh!
A raven flew over the branches under the moonlit night.
Heading northeast.
...
"The divination results are out, the enemy's position has been determined, it's in a valley near the Witch Hut."
In the Lord's Hall,
a fully armed, thin-faced middle-aged man calmly surveyed the surroundings.
Some of the people present were stung by his scorching gaze and instinctively turned their heads away.
Some others raised their heads excitedly to meet his gaze.
They longed for an opportunity to gain the approval of the Blood Flag Lord.
"Blade and An, each of you lead a team from the southwest to flank them. Be fast and be careful of ambushes!"
"Mr. Zeller, please continue to contact the senior mages of Baiyan City or Swiftstream City. If anyone is willing to help, regardless of the conditions, agree to them!"
"As I expected, our enemies are not just bandits and robbers blinded by money. They are a group of lunatics, scum, and cultists!
As I said before, the Blood Flag Family will never compromise with such evil scum. Your task is to kill every evil person you see.
That's all."
In the quiet hall,
the voice of the Blood Flag Lord resounded.
One by one, strict and firm orders were given.
The people who received specific tasks were delighted.
But gradually,
doubts appeared on some people's faces.
"My Lord, will our aggressive actions provoke the other side? After all, Miss Sif is indeed in their hands."
A young man dressed in a robe, exceptionally handsome, spoke up.
This also voiced the doubts of others present.
The Blood Flag Family is indeed known for its tough attitude towards enemies.
But the problem now is.
Miss Sif is in the hands of those villains!
According to the Blood Flag Lord's approach,
Sif's chances of survival are probably extremely low.
Everyone stared at the Blood Flag Lord in confusion.
He said coldly:
"It is precisely because Sif is in their hands that we must do this."
He didn't explain much,
but said to the handsome man:
"Mr. Zeller, besides contacting the senior mages, please also pay attention to the clues we found earlier. Sif couldn't have been kidnapped out of thin air—you should understand what I mean."
Zeller nodded solemnly.
"Everyone, please take action. With your fastest speed and your strongest power, I'm counting on you!"
The Blood Flag Lord waved his hand.
The people in the Lord's Hall gradually dispersed.
In the end,
only the Blood Flag Lord remained alone.
He walked to a window.
Before long,
an owl flew in.
"To be honest, I don't quite understand you men of the Blood Flag Family. You're so worried about your daughter, yet you make decisions that could harm her."
The owl spoke with confusion.
The Blood Flag Lord took a deep breath:"In front of everyone, my identity will always be the head of the Blood Flag family, not anything else.
Every word I say represents the family.
And the Blood Flag family will never compromise with evil.
This is our motto."
The owl was even more confused:
"Then why did you call me here?"
The Lord of the Blood Flag said:
"I know you can transform into a giant eagle."
The owl nodded:
"Yes."
"Take me to the Witch Hut. You owe me a favor from before, and now it's settled."
The Lord of the Blood Flag said decisively.
The owl thought for a moment.
Nodded:
"Alright."
"But the head of the Blood Flag family shouldn't put himself in danger."
The Lord of the Blood Flag tightened his grip on the sword at his waist:
"Now, I am Sif's father."
...
One hour later.
A raven flew over the moonlit barren hills.
Occasionally, there were one or two eerie cries in the distance.
The Witch Hut stood on the high point of the barren hills.
The mist around it never dissipated all year round.
Even on this night with a high moon, Matthew could only vaguely see the outline of the castle.
Staring at the mountain mist.
He had a bad feeling.
As if there were always a pair of eerie eyes staring at him from within the mist.
...
"It is said that before the castle was abandoned, it was the residence of a hero of the human kingdom. It was once prosperous and bustling, but unfortunately, after a strange disaster, many people living in the castle died, and the survivors fled in a hurry. No one knows what happened."
"There have been people who tried to explore it later, but adventurers who dared to enter the castle gate never came out. They seemed to have been swallowed by the mist."
"The last person to explore the castle was a famous Necromancer from Baiyan City. He didn't know where he got the news, but he publicly claimed that the 'Eternal Life Spell' was hidden in the castle and insisted on entering it."
"But even that Necromancer couldn't be an exception."
"And when he was exploring the castle, he had a fierce battle with a group of monsters called 'Witch' from the lower world outside the gate, so the castle was also called 'Witch Hut'."
...
He recalled the conversation he had with Blade.
Matthew suddenly had a chilling feeling.
His perception told him.
This castle was not something he could explore at the moment.
Fortunately, his destination tonight was not the Witch Hut.
Avoiding that eerie mist.
The raven tilted its body to the west.
Before long.
There were sporadic fires in the foothills of the barren mountains ahead.
It was a treacherous valley.
There were guards at the entrance.
But their attitude seemed lax.
Naturally, Matthew lowered his altitude.
He took a glance at the mission bar.
...
"Mission progress updated: You have discovered the 'Warlock Camp'!"
...
Matthew didn't rush in.
The mission objective was a warlock.
This profession usually had a high perception.
A suddenly appearing raven would easily alert them.
He flew low around the entrance of the valley, cleverly stopping in the bushes by the mountain road.
"There has been a battle here, more than one."
There were piles of bones on the mountain road.
Some were human, and some were smaller humanoid creatures.
- Lizardmen!
Matthew made a judgment based on his knowledge.
"The wilderness is convenient. For an Necromancer, unclaimed corpses naturally belong to the virtuous..."
He decisively transformed back into human form and started summoning skeletons.
The chanting and Matthew's mana injected a mysterious color into the chaotic pile of corpses under the moonlit night.
Skeletons stood up from the pool of blood.
Their condition was average - the soul fire in their skulls flickered, and their bones were scattered. Some were even a mixture of lizardmen and humans, looking strange and terrifying.
These were the lowest-level cannon fodder skeletons.
They couldn't compare to the elite group that Matthew had hidden in the cellar.
But they were enough to scare off the amateurs.
...
The obvious magical fluctuations of the undead summoning quickly attracted the attention of the camp.
A fat man over two meters tall moved over with a group of lackeys.
He was wearing heavy armor.
Behind him, two teams of people were holding a huge battle axe and a meteor hammer respectively.
"Hey! Necromancer? What are you doing?"
The fat man looked at Matthew with fear.
Matthew continued to summon skeletons without paying attention to him:
"Don't you have eyes? I am giving these lost souls a new life."
The fat man angrily said:
"They are mine! Even if they are dead, they are still my corpses!"
Matthew arrogantly said:
"Not anymore."
Bang!
The fat man stomped his foot in anger.
The already loose mountain road seemed to shake.
"Are you going against me?"
Matthew stared at him with a smile that wasn't a smile:
"You can refine a lot of corpse oil with all that fat on you, but I won't consider making you my servant because your skeleton must have been excessively worn out to support your body. I don't like defective products."
"Kill him!"
Seeing that the fat man was about to attack, a majestic voice suddenly came from the camp:
"Enough!"
The fat man trembled with anger:
"Fain, you let me kill him! He dared to mock my figure! No one dares to do that!"
However, the lackeys beside him quickly dispersed.
A man in a silver robe appeared in front of Matthew.
He looked to be in his thirties, with blond hair and blue eyes, and a handsome appearance. He seemed like a righteous person.
"State your purpose, Necromancer, or else don't blame us for taking action."
Fain looked down at Matthew.
"So you're Fain?"
Matthew also scrutinized him.
"I killed an arsonist and found this. I am interested in what you told me, so I found my way here."
He threw the sealed letter over.
Fain glanced at the letter.
Suddenly, he laughed:
"You killed my friend and dare to come to me?"His originally dignified and imposing face became somewhat enchanting with that smile.
"If you can call that waste a friend, then I would be greatly disappointed."
Matthew said bluntly.
Upon hearing this, Fain laughed heartily:
"He once was, but not anymore."
"You killed him, so it's only fair that you take his place in our cause."
"Come in, my friend. As long as you're interested in the great cause of the Scourge Sect, we'll definitely get along."
......