Chapter 277 – Serpentfolk and Foreign Powerhouses

Within the Gloomy Forest, the light was dim, and the branches and leaves of the giant trees were extremely lush. A faint white mist drifted, covering the forest of colossal trees.

In theory, explorers would have limited visibility in such an environment. Yet Mu Yuan, who was dozens of kilometers away, could still clearly see the inverted city projection, like a mirage hanging in the sky.

The city projection had a strong presence and was expanding as the Border Zone grew.

It was like an hourglass, counting down to the final judgment.

“Has such a situation ever occurred in previous Border Zones?”

Not only the city projection but also the expansion of the Border Zone’s boundaries was concerning. At the very least, he had never encountered anything like this before.

Mu Yuan looked at Sophia.

Sophia had spent a considerable amount of time on Blue Star, especially in the last month or two. With various incidents frequently occurring on Blue Star, Sophia had likely heard about more events than he had.

“It seems… there really has been one!”

After a moment of thought, Sophia replied with certainty.

She wasn’t particularly focused on these matters, given her busy work schedule. However, as a Fourth-Order Expert, her Mental Energy was powerful. Recalling things she had glanced at a few times was not difficult when she put her mind to it.

“About a month and a half ago, a clear reflection of another world appeared in the sky above the Interdimensional Zone of a small nation.”

As Sophia spoke, Lord Mu’s true self, who was within the territory, immediately returned to Blue Star through a medium, sat in front of a computer, and logged into the Taixuan Players forum to investigate.

His forum privileges were quite high, allowing him access to various sections and learn about many secrets unknown to ordinary players.

「The Interdimensional Zone that appeared in the nation of Bralia is still expanding. It is said that the space in this Interdimensional Zone is unique, connecting to multiple regions of the Eternal World simultaneously.」

「In the Yali Sea region of the Starshine Federation, a reflection of the Eternal World once appeared. The reflection faded after three hours.」

「In the Luoxia Prefecture of the Xuan Nation, an inverted scene of the Eternal World once appeared. The reflection dissipated after six hours. During this time, Advanced players ventured deep into this Interdimensional Zone and obtained various Treasures such as the Lord’s Heart and Hero’s Token.」

The information about this world reflection within the Xuan Nation was more detailed.

Mu Yuan clicked to view it and took the opportunity to check the gains explorers had made within the Border Zone.

Naturally, most explorers kept their discoveries to themselves, but there were also players who loved to boast extravagantly on the forum. Among them, Advanced players who boasted under real-name systems were quite credible.

There were also Treasures discovered by multiple individuals or teams simultaneously, with ownership ultimately decided through negotiation or duels.

These gains were mostly semi-public.

Some enthusiastic players collected and organized this information for others to read.

“Without looking, I wouldn’t have known that the development of a new Border Zone yields such significant rewards.”

This was different from when Blue Star fell into the Eternal World.

When Blue Star fell, the individuals and structures within the Xuan Nation mostly landed within the territory of the Taixuan Alliance. Incidents like White River No. 2 Middle School falling to the outermost regions of the Taixuan Alliance were already rare and rather unfortunate occurrences.

Conversely, when fragments of the Eternal World embedded into Blue Star, they mostly appeared in undeveloped Wilderness areas.This has led to the border zones overlapping into Blue Star being filled with numerous monsters, accompanied by many undeveloped and unexplored treasure lands.

Apart from Interdimensional Treasures, explorers also have a chance to discover rare treasures and special structures.

Among these, the Hero’s Token is considered a top-tier find, something even a Great Lord would delight in obtaining.

“Of course, compared to those ‘conventional treasures,’ the time-sensitive and unique ‘Interdimensional Treasures’ are far more enticing.”

Mu Yuan researched the types of Interdimensional Treasures.

Treasures come in a wide variety, with new ones constantly emerging, being identified, and recorded over time.

Leveling, Enhancement, Domain, Skill, and so on.

Leveling Treasures, like the one he obtained, treat all beings below the Legendary Realm equally—whoever uses it gains 2 levels.

“The strongest Leveling Treasure revealed so far directly increases one’s Rank by eight levels, and using these Leveling Treasures has no side effects or resistance. If one could collect enough Leveling Treasures, wouldn’t they instantly reach the Peak of the Fourth Order?”

Of course, that’s just a thought.

Interdimensional Treasures are rare, difficult to discover, and time-sensitive. This time limitation prevents top-tier heirs or Great Lords from simply purchasing them in bulk to train their subordinates.

They want to buy, and ordinary players want to sell, but by the time the treasure is transported, it may have degraded or even vanished.

The best way to use Interdimensional Treasures is to discover and use them immediately.

“There are a few Leveling Treasures that can increase Ranks beyond the Legendary Realm. There are also Domain Types that can expand a strong individual’s Domain, though they’re useless for Deadbone and Dolai. Their Domains have already expanded to the limit, restricted by the rules of heaven and earth; only by stepping into the Legendary Realm can they expand further.”

Just like Leveling Treasures, no matter how many levels they grant at once, they cannot break through the Peak of the Fourth Order barrier.

In essence, these Domain-expanding Treasures are also a type of Leveling Treasure, just for leveling Domains.

“Enhancement Treasures can directly boost an individual’s physique, spirit, or energy. This enhancement increases one’s upper limits and is the type of treasure most coveted by the strong.”

“After all, for those who have reached the Fourth Order Peak, even the slightest enhancement can aid in breaking through to the Legendary Realm.”

“Looking at it this way, most Interdimensional Treasures are Leveling or Enhancement types? But there are a few exceptions, such as… the Lord’s Heart!”

He looked it up.

This treasure isn’t actually called the Lord’s Heart, but in the hands of players (the Chosen), it functions similarly to a Lord’s Heart, allowing the construction of a Lord Altar and the initiation of territory development and trials.

However, it seems that in the hands of intelligent monsters, it can also serve a special purpose.

For example, creating a unique monster nest.

…

Mu Yuan had already informed the Taixuan authorities about the appearance of a large Interdimensional Zone in the northeastern outskirts of the Gloomy Forest.

This was no secret.

The other side of the Interdimensional Zone was likely adjacent to some area along the Xuan Nation Border, where reflections of the Eternal World were probably appearing around the same time.

Seventeen, the Polar Star Arrow stationed at Stone Ridge Town, also sent a message via a communication device.

Seventeen stated: The Stone Ridge Town Association recently issued a notice mentioning potential unknown risks in the Gloomy Forest and surrounding areas, advising Lords in nearby regions to heighten their vigilance.

“Does this ‘unknown risk’ refer to the Snakefolk Tribe?”It seems not yet.

Such an announcement might pique the curiosity of many players, but it wouldn’t necessarily drive them to march into danger. Experienced veterans understand that life is precious, and cautious exploration is paramount.

Perhaps a handful couldn’t resist their curiosity or believed themselves exceptional enough to seize the treasure—their fate would then be left to chance.

“Anyway, be careful.”

Mu Yuan said, “Our goal is indeed the Interdimensional Treasure, but understanding the depth of this area and gathering intelligence on our enemies is even more critical. After all, this place is too close to our territory.”

“Understood, caw~!”

The Undead General had already ventured deep into the Interdimensional Zone alone.

He said, “There is indeed a Serpentfolk Tribe entrenched within that city, but I couldn’t locate the tribe’s core area. The environment here seems… no, it has definitely changed. The space has shifted.”

After extracting memories from several raiding players, Red Robe transmitted them to the Undead General.

The memory extraction wasn’t complete, with fragmented and discontinuous scenes, but it still provided a rough view of the small city’s environment and the scenes when the raiders departed.

However, after entering the Interdimensional Zone, the Undead General traveled a long distance before spotting the city—far longer than the route the raiders had taken when leaving.

Of course, as the Interdimensional Zone expands, the increased distance seems reasonable.

But the Undead General also mentioned spatial dislocations inside, somewhat similar to the Chaos Forest, possibly involving multiple regions embedding simultaneously.

“With the current unclear situation in the Interdimensional Zone, it’s unwise to advance too quickly.”

Thus, Mu Yuan, along with Sophia and several other commanders, ceased moving straight ahead and began exploring the left and right sides of the Border Zone.

Boom—

An explosion suddenly erupted several hundred meters away.

Mu Yuan snapped his fingers, and fragments of black feathers coalesced into a Black Crow, vanishing into the shadows.

Moments later, the distant scene appeared before his eyes.

Players were engaged in combat with monsters.

The team commanded by the players consisted of hundreds of elite troops, some recognizable as the more prestigious Imperial Guards and Sisters.

These troops moved in orderly formations with seamless coordination, while the most elite forces remained inactive, steadfastly guarding a young man and vigilantly watching their surroundings.

It appeared this wasn’t a joint force of multiple players but a corps led by a Lord.

And this was most likely a City-level Lord.

The young man’s face looked somewhat familiar, seemingly one of the members from the team that had recently assaulted the Foul Nest.

“Probably after the Crimson Mist disaster month ended, some veteran Lords chose not to return but to explore the surroundings.”

After all, they were already here.

The round trip would take considerable time.

The monsters battling this veteran Lord were the Snakemen Mu Yuan had glimpsed in the memory fragments.

These Snakemen differed slightly from those he had seen before.

They were predominantly female, with only some snake scales and no serpent tails, appearing almost human at first glance.

The veteran Lord Li Yao was also staring at these Snakemen, frowning. “Something’s off. It seems they’ve all developed intelligence? Their skills are also more numerous than monsters of the same Rank.”

Although his elites quickly killed or repelled this group of Snakemen, Li Yao remained cautious.”Dealing with just one squad of Snakemen isn’t easy. If we encounter their main force, we could easily suffer casualties.”

“But this Interdimensional Zone has only recently formed, so there must be many fresh Interdimensional Treasures around. Since I happen to be nearby, it would be a shame to miss this opportunity.”

He took a deep breath. “Let’s explore a bit longer and see how things go.”

…

Mu Yuan withdrew his gaze.

Since it was the Taixuan Lord, he didn’t pay much attention and had no intention of greeting him.

They relied on the Black Crow’s reconnaissance to avoid group after group of monsters, gathering considerable information along the way.

However, merely existing meant leaving traces behind.

Rustle—

The wind blew through the leaves, producing a clear, cold sound.

Under the canopy of the giant trees in the Gloomy Forest, darkness surged from all directions like a tide.

“Make it quick, and don’t cause any major commotion,” he said calmly.

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

“Got it, caw~!”

Lord Mu didn’t have many officers with him—only Sophia, Bone Four, and Uta.

But it was enough.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Hidden arrows shot toward them, but Bone Four pressed its hands to the ground, erecting walls of bone forged from hundreds and thousands of skeletons around them, blocking all the arrows.

At the same time, Black Crows descended from the dense forest, their bodies exploding and stirring up shadowy winds that marked the enemies one by one.

In the next instant, Uta vanished from his spot.

He was still in his “training state,” his Physical Body restrained by countless shackles, his strength and speed significantly weaker than usual.

But punching out one small Snakeman after another wasn’t a problem.

Thud—

A Snakeman standing on a branch had its head explode like a watermelon.

Thud—

A Snakeman holding a curved Saber slid limply to the ground.

Bone Four’s killing speed surpassed even Uta’s. It performed a dance of bones—piercing, slitting throats, firing bone arrows… With its Peak-level skill, it swiftly eliminated the Snakemen.

From its movements, one could faintly glimpse the shadow of the Undead Emperor in its early years.

After all, Bone Four was the skeleton most capable of inheriting Deadbone’s spirit.

“Twenty-two in total. It seems this is an elite squad of Snakemen who detected our presence through some means and launched an attack?” Mu Yuan pondered.

In just a few dozen seconds, only one Snakeman remained in the squad.

It was a brown-skinned Snakewoman, her upper body nearly naked and covered with countless patterns that seemed to serve as her clothing.

At this moment, the Snakewoman’s hair defied gravity, floating up and writhing like countless tiny snakes.

Her pupils suddenly lit up with a dark yellow glow.

The dark yellow light enveloped the area ahead.

Bone Four’s instincts screamed danger.

Fortunately, it had inherited its elder brother’s cautious spirit, having held back seventy percent of its strength and eighty percent of its focus during the fight.

It reacted swiftly.

Using Bonesorrow, it erected layer upon layer of bone walls in front of itself.

It then opened its Undead Territory and, as quickly as possible, tossed out several non-military, burly undead creatures.

The next moment, the colors in the area ahead faded, turning gray and dull.

The grass, trees, and fallen leaves in the vicinity petrified instantly, including the bone walls Bone Four had constructed.

The petrifying force penetrated three layers of bone walls in succession and petrified most of a giant Jiangshi blocking behind them before the eerie and terrifying power was finally exhausted.

Looking further ahead, the brown Snakewoman’s entire body had also turned into a stone statue, now cracking apart with a series of crisp sounds.

“Dangerous! So dangerous!”Bone Four looked at the remaining Abomination, Skeleton Knight, and Giant Bone Spider before it, patting its chest plate and letting out a long sigh.

This petrification ability is indeed quite bizarre!

An advanced life-burning skill?

“Boss, I’ve made another discovery over here!”

Sophia spoke up at this moment, “It’s a foreign player. I’ll transfer the footage to you.”

The Black Crow’s vision couldn’t be shared with outsiders, but since both of them shared the same origin and frequency of power, transferring some footage through the shared Black Crow was naturally not a problem.

Within the forest, a lavishly equipped military corps was advancing with overwhelming force, crushing the wandering monsters and Snakemen that attacked them.

Mu Yuan’s focus was on the young man at the center of the corps.

He had distinctive crimson eyes and silver hair, with a bold and unrestrained smile on his face.

It’s… someone from the Eternal Star Empire!

(End of Chapter)