Real Mount and Blade Game

Thirty days and nights have passed since that pyrrhic victory at the Heart of the Forest.

The scorched earth at the edge of the Wood Elf Forest was slowly covered by newly sprouted vines, as if the earth was licking the wounds left by the abyss at a visible speed.

Beside the fallen remains of the sacred tree "Elune's Throat," a simple monument made of broken spears and blood-stained ribbons stands solemnly in the wind—an eternal flame lit by the Allied forces for the fallen Knights of the Sacred Tree and the rearguard ballista squad.

Inside the makeshift command tent, Shen Mu slowly opened his eyes. His body, now free of bandages, was still covered in spiderweb-like dark purple cracks—the backlash from forcibly absorbing fragments of Yenogu's divinity. However, his shattered bones and depleted spiritual energy had been rebuilt by the Wood Elf Elder's "Natural Healing Technique," performed at the cost of his life essence. He ran his fingertips across his palm—where a scorching indentation remained, the mark of the resonance between the curse and divinity. With a slight thought, a wisp of thin ash power seeped from his fingertips, less than a ten-thousandth of its peak, yet it indicated that the authority of the Annihilation Tomb's core had not yet completely subsided.

"My lord, you're awake!" The tent curtain was lifted, and the Kujit leader, Altan Khan, strode in. Several new claw marks appeared on the leather armor of this steppe eagle, but the scimitar "Kiss of the Gray Wolf" at his waist gleamed even brighter, faintly glowing with the residual light of the rules' amplification. "Uxhauer's reinforcements have been reorganized according to your orders and are ready for inspection at any time."

Shen Mu nodded and stood up. As he draped his black battle robe over his shoulders, the slight stinging from the fabric rubbing against the scratches made his pupils shrink. He pushed open the tent flap, and the midday sun pierced through the forest mist, shining on the newly renovated wood elf stronghold—no, it should now be called "Elune's Fortress."

The heart of the forest, once driven to the brink of destruction by the Corpse-Infested Sands, has now been transformed into a formidable fortress.

The Swadian heavy infantry's "Oath of the Ruins" phalanx has been expanded to three hundred men, and the newly added leather-covered great shields are branded with the "Thorn Rune" hastily engraved by the artisans of Uxhul, which can deflect low-level undead erosion.

Rhodok's veteran spearmen reinforced the fortress with remnants of the sacred tree mixed with obsidian. Behind them, the array of "Unyielding Type II" ballistae gleamed coldly, and the ballistae slots were filled with armor-piercing arrows polished from the black crystal of the ancestral tomb.
The Khergit scouts have expanded to fifteen squads, and each of their mounts has an enchanted copper bell hanging from its saddle. The sound of the bell can disrupt the gathering of vengeful spirits.

Twenty newly arrived Holy Tree Knights enveloped the camp with a purifying aura. Although the aura was not as magnificent as that of the Caranzo era, it was enough to stop the black blood from seeping from the festering wounds of the seriously wounded.

Shen Mu moved among the formations, his fingertips tracing the patterns on the shields.

Most of the newly arrived reinforcements had youthful faces, but their eyes burned with a fighting spirit unbroken by the prophecy of the "Descendants of the Spirit Realm"—clearly, Uxhauer had sent not a ragtag army, but the elite private troops of various families. As he stopped before a ballista, Ralph's son, the newly appointed crossbow captain of Rhodok, knelt: "My lord, the black crystal of the 'Final Wound' is harder than we imagined! We sacrificed three drills to grind these arrows… but it was worth it!"

Alatan Khan added in a low voice, "There have been no howls of the undead from the direction of Longcheng for seven days. Scouts report that even ravens are flying around the ruins. That deathly silence... is more unsettling than a horde of corpses."

Shen Mu's gaze swept across the edge of the forest. Dark purple crystals, like the scales of a colossal beast, had solidified on the scorched earth—remnants of the collapsed Corpse Demon Sand Sea. Further away, the gray-white vortex tearing the sky above the Longcheng Ancestral Mausoleum continued to slowly rotate, like an evil eye that would never close.

Inside the command post, pine resin torches cast the generals' shadows onto animal hide maps marking the battle situation.

Alatan Khan pointed to the ruins of Longcheng: "Silence is not the end. When the Blasphemous Devourer collapsed, half of the skeletal wizards on the altar turned into black smoke and disappeared into the 'wound,' they are surely gathering power!"

The Vigia archer captain, Aria, unfurled a scorched-edge secret letter: "Urgent report from Uxhauer spies: Three days ago, a black cloud resembling that of Long City rose from the 'Rotting Swamp' on the eastern border of the kingdom... The spirit world's corruption is spreading!"

Ysera, the acting Grand Master of the Holy Tree Knights, held a flickering holy flame in her palm: "The Knights' inherited memories contain a warning—when the rules of the Abyss Necromancer appear, the 'Shadow of the Corruption' will inevitably descend. The fusion rules demonstrated by Yenogu have likely already been targeted by a higher being!"

Shen Mu's fingertip touched the emblem of Deherim, a city in the center of the map—a totem of a stag and a longsword intertwined. This core fortress in the eastern border of the Kingdom of Swadia was not only the headquarters of the allied forces but also housed forbidden documents from the royal treasury concerning the "Obliteration Tomb." His gaze swept over the crowd: "The Wood Elf Forest needs rest, but calamity will not wait. We must..."

Before the words were even finished, the earth suddenly trembled! The crystalline sand dunes at the edge of the forest exploded with a deafening roar, and a bone claw shrouded in black smoke reached out, only to be shredded by the last green light erupting from the remaining roots of the sacred tree. After the tremors subsided, the command post fell into dead silence, with only the cursed mark on Shen Mu's palm emitting wisps of blue smoke.

"Did you see that?" Shen Mu's voice was as cold as ice. "The curse of Yenogu is like a malignant tumor clinging to the bone. The longer we stay here, the deeper the 'wound' will devour our life force. Tomorrow at dawn, the entire army will set off—target: Deherim!"

As dawn pierced the clouds, a low horn sounded from the Elune Fortress. The remnants of the allied forces, mixed with reinforcements, formed the "Ash Brigade," with Swadian heavy infantry as the vanguard, Tree Knights protecting the flanks, and Khergit horse archers scouting like peregrine falcons. As the column reached the edge of the forest, Shen Mule looked back.

Beside the charred stump of the sacred tree, a tender green sapling sprouted from the crystalline layer—a "heart seed" planted by the wood elf elder before his death. Alatan Khan followed his gaze and suddenly raised his scimitar. All the warriors simultaneously struck their shields with their weapons, the metallic clang startling the birds roosting in the forest, as if proclaiming to the sleeping spirits: the flame has not been extinguished!

The journey back east was fraught with peril. Streams once contaminated by the undead floated with bloated, pale sacs of corpses; spiderwebs, stained with brain matter, hung from the twisted branches of ancient trees; and the Khergit scouts repeatedly encountered "humanoid watchers" formed from sand—they crumbled at the slightest touch, yet remained ever-present. Shen Mu's spiritual power spread like a fine net, constantly sensing the resonance between the Yenogu curse and the wounds of the ancestral tomb. Whenever the fluctuations intensified, he would use the power of ash to pierce the brand in his palm, the excruciating pain bringing a moment of peace.

Seven days later, as the iconic twin towers of Deherim appeared on the horizon, a swift horse broke through the morning mist. The messenger dismounted and knelt, presenting a secret edict branded with royal sealing wax: "Urgent report to the Governor! The black clouds of the Corruption Swamp have materialized into the 'Gateway to the Realm of Corruption,' and the Royal Capital's Mage Corps has detected a fluctuation of power within the gate resembling that of the 'Desecrator'... and it originates from the same source as the curse upon you!"

Shen Mu gripped the reins tightly, gazing eastward at the majestic city built of massive stones. In the cold light reflected from the city walls and battlements, he seemed to see the rules of the abyss's necromancy transforming into a giant net that enveloped Calradia, while Yenogu's frenzied curses still echoed deep within his soul—"The spirit world will perish, all spirits will be reduced to firewood!"

"Speed ​​up the march!" He cracked his whip and pointed forward, his warhorses neighing as they charged toward the wide-open cast-iron gates of Deherme. "The real war... has only just begun."

The silhouette of Deherim loomed against the gray horizon, standing silently like a weathered giant. Shen Mu, mounted on his warhorse, gazed through the air thick with the scent of scorched earth and new vines, fixing his gaze on the royal city—a symbol of brief respite and unknown hope. The bells of the Khergit cavalry jingled at the outer edge of the procession; each crisp clink briefly dispelled the approaching, invisible, chilling resentment, yet also felt like drumbeats pounding on taut nerves.

Thirty days have passed since the pyrrhic victory at Elune's Fortress. With reinforcements and reorganization from Uxhauer, the remnants of the allied forces have barely managed to rebuild some of their skeletons, but the deep, bone-revealing wounds have not healed. Shen Mu felt the surging "Ash Power" within him; it was like lava flowing beneath a dormant volcano, powerful yet carrying a tearing pain. Those dark purple cracks deep within his bones and spiritual sea were cursed marks left from the forced fusion with the fragments of Yenogu's divinity. Now, as they ventured deeper into the land ravaged by the fragments of the spirit world, they faintly resonated with a chilling intensity.

Alatan Khan rode closer, the Khergit's hawk-like eyes scanning the desolate land: "My lord, scouts report that the 'Valley of Weeping Blood' ten miles ahead... something is amiss. The mist in the valley carries a sweet, fishy smell; birds and beasts have vanished, and the ground bears... traces of crawling, like giant slugs, but the slime they left behind is dark purple, emitting a faint fluctuation similar to the mark on your body." Shen Mu frowned. The Valley of Weeping Blood, originally a relatively gentle shortcut to Deherim, was now occupied by unknown filth. "Detour?" Alatan Khan suggested.

“No,” Shen Mu’s voice was low and firm, “Time is not on our side. The ‘Gate of Corruption’ in the Corruption Swamp will not wait. Arya, your archers, imbue your arrows with the highest concentration of ‘Breath of Ice Wind’ to suppress any disturbances in the valley. Ralph, advance the ‘Unyielding Type II’ ballistae to the valley entrance and conduct probing coverage fire with Black Crystal Armor-Piercing Arrows. Swadian phalanx, advance slowly with shields raised, be wary of attacks from underground and in the mist. Holy Tree Knights, activate your Purification Aura to suppress the evil aura!”

The order was swiftly relayed. Like a cautiously drawn blade, the allied forces slowly pierced the eerie mist of Bloodshed Valley. The mist coiled around them like a living thing, carrying a nauseating sweetness and a slight, soul-stirring pull. The Vaegir archers held their breath, their arrows, imbued with icy blue magic, aimed at the most violently churning areas of the mist. The Rhodok ballistae emitted a dull thud, their specially crafted black crystal bolts tearing through the air, whistling sharply as they plunged into the depths of the dense fog.

"Pfft——!"

"His-!"

Several muffled explosions and inhuman, piercing screams rang out simultaneously! The thick fog was abruptly blasted open, revealing a horrifying sight beneath: several thick, bucket-sized "tentacles" made of viscous, dark purple sludge had been severed by black crystal arrows, spraying out the same color of pungent, smoky mucus from their ends. Their bodies seemed to be buried deep underground, convulsing violently after being attacked, with new flesh sprouting from their severed limbs at a visible rate.

"Fire! Suppress!" Arya commanded sharply. A rain of icy arrows poured down, striking the severed ends of the regenerating tentacles. The extreme cold instantly froze the writhing flesh and mucus, slowing the regeneration. The ballistae fired a second volley, blasting and freezing even more tentacles.

"Keep pushing! Don't stop!" Shen Mu raised his sword high. The Swadian heavy infantry's massive, leather-bound shields linked together, forming a moving metal barrier as they stepped over the frozen, still slightly twitching purple debris. With each step, the ground trembled slightly, as if treading on the skin of a gigantic creature. The Holy Tree Knights' purifying aura was like a scorching hot iron; wherever it passed, the mist hissed and melted, the sweet, pungent smell temporarily suppressed by the holy aura.

However, just as the group was about to pass through the narrowest part of the valley, a sudden change occurred!
"Boom--!"

The entire valley trembled violently! The cliffs on both sides crumbled, and countless rocks tumbled down. Even more terrifying, the ground beneath their feet suddenly arched upwards and cracked open! No longer just scattered tentacles, the entire "ground" was coming alive!
"Scatter! It's a trap! This thing is alive!" Altan Khan's roar was drowned out by the enormous roar.

The arched ground resembled the spine of a colossal beast, from which a dark purple, viscous substance, like blood, gushed forth, rapidly coalescing and shaping. Silt, rocks, decaying plant roots, and even ancient animal bones buried deep underground were forcibly mixed together under the contamination of the residual dark purple divine power, forming a grotesque and terrifying "Sludge Colossus," tens of meters tall! It had no defined head, only a massive fissure at the top of its torso, flowing with purple pus, emitting a silent, soul-piercing shriek! The shriek, though invisible, struck the front-line Swadian heavy infantry like a hammer blow, their eyes instantly glazing, their massive shields slipping from their grasp, their bodies collapsing, their life force seemingly drained in an instant!

"It's a 'Corruption Golem'!" a pale-faced scholar from Deherim screamed. "A monster born from the earth deeply corrupted by spirit corpses and curses! Its core is... a product of the crystallization of sand!" He pointed to a fist-sized crystal on the golem's chest, which was faintly visible and emitted a dim purplish-black light.

"Attack the core!" Shen Mu endured the excruciating pain caused by the intense resonance between the curse mark within his body and the core crystal, and his mental field erupted instantly. "Aria, use Ice Wind Arrows to suppress its movements! Ralph, all Black Crystal Arrows, aim at the core! Holy Tree Knights, concentrate your auras to weaken its corrupted field! Khergit Archers, disrupt its perception!"

The mud colossi, though heavy, possessed immense strength. Their enormous arms, constructed of rock and mud, swept across, sending a stench through the air. Under Al-Alatan Khan's command, the Swadian phalanx hastily changed formation, stacking massive shields upon shields. "Bang!" A muffled thud echoed as the shields at the front rank dented instantly, sending several soldiers flying, coughing up blood. But the formation remained intact, buying precious time for the ballistae and archers.

Arya's icy arrow struck the colossus's waving arm joint and supporting leg with pinpoint accuracy, the extreme cold spreading rapidly and slowing its movements. The Holy Tree Knights' purifying aura focused like a searchlight on the crystal on the colossus's chest, the holy light clashing violently with the dark purple filth, producing a piercing hissing sound, and the fluctuations emanating from the crystal noticeably weakened.

"Now! Release him!" Ralph roared.

The "Unyielding Type II" ballista roared deafeningly! Three armor-piercing arrows, infused with the painstaking efforts of Rhodok craftsmen, with arrowheads meticulously polished from ancestral tomb black crystal and engraved with anti-magic runes, transformed into three black lightning bolts that tore through space, shooting in a triangular formation toward the chest of the Corruption Golem!
"Pfft! Pfft! Boom—!"

Two crossbow bolts struck the edge of the core crystal precisely, the immense impact causing the crystal to shake violently, its purplish-black light flickering erratically. The third bolt, however, struck the crystal itself directly!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a crisp sound like shattered glass. The core crystal was instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks, and then it exploded with a deafening roar! Dark purple energy, like an out-of-control torrent, gushed out from the shattered core, forming a powerful energy turbulence!

"Ugh—!" Shen Mu was struck hard, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His body swayed on the horse, his face ashen. The curse mark within him resonated destructively with the exploding core, as if his soul were being ripped apart by an invisible giant hand. Ash power instinctively surged out to protect him, barely managing to steady himself.

The core explosion was fatal to the decaying golem. Its massive body trembled violently, and the silt, rock, and bones that made it up lost their binding evil power, beginning to crumble and collapse on a massive scale, like a melting wax figure. The filthy aura rapidly dissipated, eventually turning into a huge, smoldering, foul-smelling swamp.

A brief silence enveloped the Valley of Weeping Blood. Only the groans of the wounded and the heavy breathing of the soldiers could be heard. The air was thick with the smells of gunpowder, blood, burnt flesh, and an overwhelmingly foul stench.

"Losses?" Shen Mu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his voice hoarse.

"Seventeen dead, more than thirty seriously wounded...mostly Swadian brothers." Altan Khan's voice was heavy with grief. "Crossbows...only three ordinary arrows left, black crystal arrows...all gone." Ralph added, his face grim.

Shen Mu stared at the massive, still slightly writhing mass of sludge, then looked up towards Deherim, his gaze as heavy as iron. This was just the beginning. The appearance of the Corrupted Golem confirmed Ysera's warning—after the full manifestation of the Abyss Necromancer's rules, the material world was deeply corrupted and distorted, beginning to spontaneously generate terrifying creations conforming to the Abyss's rules. This "corruption" was far more despairing than organized undead legions; it meant that the very earth beneath their feet was becoming the enemy.

"Accelerate! Target: Deherim!" Shen Mu suppressed the churning blood and the excruciating pain deep within his soul, tightening the reins. "We have no time to lick our wounds! Aria, send the fastest messenger to report the information on the 'Corrupted Golem' and its core crystal, as well as the situation of our depleted Black Crystal Arrows, to Uxhauer immediately. Request... no, demand that they, at all costs, immediately send all their stockpiled Black Crystal ore and mages or priests skilled in purification and sealing to Deherim! Tell them that the 'Gate of Corruption' is spreading its contamination, and the earth is...mutating!" His voice carried an undeniable urgency.

The group, burdened by deeper weariness and a heavier shadow, set off once more. The towering walls of Deherme lay in sight; the outline that had once symbolized protection now appeared to Shen Mu as a vast, silent cage. He recalled Ysera's final warning: "The rules of fusion of Yenogu… have attracted the attention of higher beings." (End of Chapter)