Chapter 286 - 166: Death Mist (2)
There was no need to infest all the porcupines blocking the road. Simply disrupting their formation and making them clear a path would suffice.
Just then, a commotion broke out in the main army to the rear.
Ah Pu was startled, thinking the Sniper Corps had arrived. He quickly led some men up a nearby mountain, preparing to direct the battle from a higher vantage point.
But instead, he saw a truly terrifying sight.
...
In the center of the Northern Expedition Legion’s main army, amidst a patch of grass, the ground suddenly began to glow. The lights linked together, forming a peculiar Rune Array.
The surrounding soldiers noticed this and quickly backed away. However, some curious soldiers soon discovered that although the patterns were glowing, that was all they did. They were completely harmless.
A nearby commander dispatched a soldier to deliver a report, while the rest moved off the glowing ground and waited quietly for orders.
A sudden mountain gust swept through. The surrounding soldiers quickly clutched at the hems of their clothes, waiting for the wind to die down.
But the wind didn’t die down. Instead, it grew stronger.
A tornado suddenly formed over the glowing ground, expanding with incredible speed.
"Ah—"
"Help!"
"Everyone, fall back immediately!"
The soldiers descended into chaos, each one scrambling to escape the tornado’s reach.
But the tornado’s expansion was unnaturally, abnormally fast. The rapidly growing vortex swept the surrounding soldiers directly into its grasp.
As the tornado grew, it flung out a dense barrage of Wind Blades. Soldiers were constantly being struck, their movements slowing before the tornado pulled them in.
Most critically, flames erupted from within the vortex, and just like that, a Fire Dragon Tornado materialized in the center of the Northern Expedition Legion’s army.
By the time Ah Pu reached the mountaintop, he saw the Fire Dragon Tornado take its final form.
The massive Fire Dragon Tornado, a pillar of flame connecting heaven and earth, rampaged through the army. Its powerful suction uprooted all the surrounding flora, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake as it continuously devoured more soldiers.
Any soldier swept inside was battered by the random debris swirling within the vortex and constantly slashed by Wind Blades.
Even more lethal was the extreme heat inside the Fire Dragon Tornado. Whether they were injured or not, any soldier pulled in was roasted to death in moments, their bodies burned to cinders.
After circling through the army two or three times, the Fire Dragon Tornado instantly split into several smaller ones that shot off in different directions, leaving only a trail of agonized screams in their wake.
"It’s finally over!!!"
Seeing the Fire Dragon Tornadoes recede into the distance, Ah Pu let out a sigh of relief. He dredged up a memory of this skill—it was the handiwork of the Mage Corps under that Human Race Lord, Lin Yu.
’It seems the ones blocking the road ahead are all subordinates of that Human Race Lord—Lin Yu.’
’I think we should avoid a direct confrontation for now.’
’Have everyone clear a path quickly. We’ll go through the forests on either side.’
After witnessing the display from those two troop types, Ah Pu had to admit the soldiers under his command were of too low a quality. Though the force blocking their path wasn’t large, the porcupines had the distinct characteristics of Low-tier Killers. His army simply couldn’t break through.
At the same time, since Lin Yu hadn’t sent a large force, they could choose to go around. If you can’t win, don’t fight.
More soldiers from the Northern Expedition Legion poured into the surrounding forests. Hidden within the woods, the plant-people had at first happily feasted on some of the scouts. But as the number of soldiers grew, they were forced to retreat under the cover of night.
Thanks to their plant-like appearance, even if they made some noise and were spotted by soldiers, no one grew suspicious as long as they remained still afterward. Their retreat was surprisingly easy, and they fell back to the part of the forest where the Death Devourers lay hidden.
The Death Devourers were scattered and hidden throughout the forest. When they saw the Northern Expedition Legion’s vanguard approaching, they collectively released the deathly energy from their bodies. Silently, the Death Mist began to spread through the woods.
The "Death Qi Diffusion" skill of an ordinary Death Devourer could spread the deadly energy in a 500-meter radius around them, creating a circular area 1,000 meters in diameter.
With 7,000 Death Devourers positioned apart, they could theoretically create a death line 7,000 kilometers long and 1 kilometer wide.
Of course, they weren’t doing that now, but it was still enough to create a deathly line that stretched as far as the eye could see.
The Northern Expedition Legion soldiers in the forest had no idea that their clear path had transformed into a death trap.
They continued to rapidly hack away at the vegetation, clearing a path for the legion behind them.
"COUGH COUGH! Why is it getting foggy here?" a soldier from the Northern Expedition Legion asked as he walked into the mist. He felt a bit unwell and struck up a conversation with his companion.
"Isn’t it normal for it to get foggy in the mountains at night? It happens all the time around our territory. What? You didn’t know?"
"My home territory is on the plains. We don’t really get fog."
"Heh, what’s there to be afraid of? Look at this stuff. It’s just normal fog. It’s not even a thick fog bank. Visibility is still pretty high."
(In the darkness, the soldier failed to notice the difference in color between the Death Mist and ordinary fog.)
"COUGH COUGH! Is this really normal fog? Why does it feel a bit... suffocating?"
The soldier who spoke was coughing. He felt weak, as if he were coming down with a cold.
"Probably allergies. Plant spores, pollen, that kind of stuff in the forest can cause them," another soldier nearby chimed in, eager to show off a tidbit of knowledge he’d picked up from his lord.
...
The small group of soldiers continued hacking through the vegetation in the mist. The coughing soldier gradually felt his strength failing him.
"I can’t go on. I think I’m really sick. I’m getting dizzy. I’m going to rest for a bit."
As he spoke, he found a spot to sit down. The ground was flat and clear of weeds. Above him, a large flower provided shelter from the elements, making it a good place to rest.
"Should you head back first?"
"No, don’t worry about it. We’re in the middle of a retreat. What’s the point of me running back? If the enemy gives chase, I’d just be running into trouble. Don’t mind me. I’ll be fine after a little rest. You guys go on."
"Alright then. We’re moving on."
After the others had gone, the soldier rested for a moment. He felt his condition wasn’t improving; in fact, it was getting worse. His head spun, and an overwhelming sense of fatigue washed over him.
"So tired... I just want to sleep~"
The soldier slowly closed his eyes. Behind him, the plant’s petals slowly unfurled, revealing a pair of large, surprisingly beautiful eyes. It glanced down at the soldier, and then, in a flash, it swallowed him whole.
The soldiers who had left him weren’t faring any better. As they walked, they realized they seemed to be sick, too. Their bodies felt weak, and their heads were pounding.
"This is bad! This isn’t fog—it’s a miasma!" It was the "knowledgeable" soldier who spoke.
"Miasma? What’s a miasma?" his companion asked, not quite understanding.
"It’s a kind of poisonous gas that makes you sick, just like us. We have to get out of it, quickly. If we stay here any longer, I’m afraid we’ll be stuck here for good."
"Go, go, go! Let’s move, while we’re not too sick yet."
The soldiers quickly turned back. At first, they still had some energy, but it soon faded, forcing them to support one another as they staggered onward.
On the way, they passed the spot from before and saw that the soldier who had stayed behind to rest was gone.
"Huh? Why isn’t he here? I was just thinking we should have taken him with us!"
"He probably sensed something was wrong and went back on his own."
"Forget about him. We need to hurry. I feel like if I stay here any longer, I won’t be able to walk at all."
Supporting one another, they finally ran into other soldiers just before their strength gave out. With help, they managed to escape the Death Mist.
They were then rushed to the rear of the column to be treated by the legion’s professional healers.
However, not everyone was so quick to notice that something was amiss. Many soldiers who had ventured deep into the Death Mist were already too weak to turn back by the time they realized the danger, ultimately perishing in the thick fog.
The frequent disappearances, coupled with the numerous reports of soldiers feeling unwell in the fog, finally caught the attention of the commander in charge of clearing the forest. After gathering all the information, he hurriedly reported the anomalies to his superior.