Chapter 17 – The Forest of the Undead

“Hello, Miss Priest. Would you mind if I sit by the fire to warm up?” Punk spoke with the most courteous demeanor he could muster.

“If a lost lamb wishes to experience the radiance of the Lord of Dawn, it would naturally be the lamb’s honor. But what do I see now? A mage unworthy of redemption. How I wish the Dawn’s brilliance could help me purify this stain.” The quiet priest spoke these infuriating words with an expression of pious compassion.

“These religious fanatics are all the same,” Punk fumed internally, though he wasn’t surprised in the least. Ever since the fall of Netherese Civilization, deities and mages had been locked in a prolonged cold war. Arrogant gods grew increasingly intolerant of mages “spreading” their truth-seeking ideologies, as this undoubtedly eroded the foundation of divine power—their followers. Most genuine mages were proponents of materialism, harboring utmost disgust for the deceptive brainwashing of deities and refusing to worship them (true mages wouldn’t even spare a glance at the Goddess of Magic, Mystra¹)!

The female priest before Punk was precisely such a brainwashed “devout lamb”—and what’s more, she was a devout lamb of the most pathological Lord of Dawn. Punk could sense her disgust for mages was genuine, as if she were looking at flies or vermin, which reflected the attitude most priests held toward mages.

Coincidentally, Punk also felt utter contempt for this fool who was completely brainwashed yet unaware. Although the priest’s words irritated him, he had no intention of starting a fight with this third-level priest apprentice over mere verbal sparring. So Punk merely responded with a low, cold laugh and built his own campfire at a distance.

With the aid of magic, the campfire was quickly lit. As Punk warmed his rations by the crackling flames, he kept a cold, vigilant eye on the female priest still praying not far away.

Punk was almost certain this priest had also come in search of the Undead Forest. Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why a clergy member—who would typically spend every day worshiping in church—would appear in this desolate, barren wasteland at such a “coincidental” time. Combined with the emergence of news about undead that priests viewed as “must be purified”… the female priest’s purpose for coming to the Aegma Barren Wasteland became obvious!

Furthermore, Punk speculated that there must be spies from the Church of Dawn around Mage Mainaixi, Konola City’s only Formal-Level professional. Otherwise, how could the Church have obtained information about the “Undead Forest,” which required Formal-Level magic to acquire? It couldn’t possibly be that the Formal-Level priest stationed in Bidlan City—located in central Kamos Kingdom, two provinces away from Konola City—had nothing better to do than perform divinations (the Kamos Empire had only this one Formal-Level priest “stationed” there).

Punk had no interest in meddling with Mage Mainaixi’s “private affairs.” He only wanted to quickly locate that Undead Forest and mark a spatial coordinate from a distance before considering his task complete. As for any hidden conflicts between the Church and the Mage Guild… that was something far beyond Punk’s current capacity to get involved with.Sitting by the warm campfire, watching dry logs turn crimson in the flames before gradually crumbling to ashes carried away by the wind, Punk carefully considered his options and decided to follow this priest. As a cleric who received the Dawn-aligned divine power from the Lord of the Dawn and vowed to “purify all things” for her deity, she would undoubtedly be more sensitive to dark energies like undead aura. Her search through the Undead Forest would certainly be more efficient than Punk’s nearly aimless wandering. Moreover, although mages and priests tended to “despise each other’s guts” to the point of mutual disgust, they generally maintained superficial civility. Combined with the foolishly “righteous and honorable” nature of most Lawful divinity’s clergy… Punk tilted his head slightly to glance at the “holy priest”… “What a ‘generous’ pathfinder indeed!” He took a small bite of the coarse, unpalatable ration while thinking to himself: “Such fools are far easier to manipulate than that fox Kane…”

“The only pity is that despite all the Old Mage’s precautions, he ultimately failed to guard against the Church’s ‘bloodhounds’!” Punk felt deeply annoyed by the Mage Guild’s “intelligence leak,” seeing it as utterly irresponsible toward mission operatives. Although the Mage Guild’s membership screening process was “casual and effortless,” failing to protect even an “Apprentice Rank mission” intelligence hardly aligned with mages’ typically rigorous image and practices.

Punk resolved to discard this useless Mage Guild membership as soon as he found a mentor, but that was a concern for later. For now, he needed to focus on completing the current mission!

——————Break——————

Though uncertain whether following the priest would prove more efficient than random exploration, after five days of trailing her across the Wasteland, Punk had indeed located this Undead Forest. If one ignored the “pervert-staring” looks the priest had been giving him throughout the journey, this mission could be considered “satisfactory for all.”

Originally, Punk planned to simply locate the Undead Forest, mark its coordinates, and leave immediately. But now…

The so-called “small” Undead Forest spanned approximately 2-3 square kilometers—about the size of two basketball courts. Only a few small trees twisted and grayed by undead aura stood sparsely across the similarly desolate prairie, barely justifying the “forest” designation.

The priest girl had already begun chanting loudly as if nobody else was present: “In the name of the supreme Lord of the Dawn, I—acolyte Nimia Jelaelin—shall purify this unholy land!”

But from a distance, Punk noticed several puzzling aspects. This Undead Forest possessed nearly all characteristics typical of undead-infested lands: grayish soil, permeating death energy, wandering undead creatures…However, according to Punk’s deduction, the skeletons transformed from human corpses should be a minority in the Undead Forest—perhaps only the foolhardy merchant and his small caravan. The majority should be undead transformed from animal carcasses, such as zombie dogs or ghostly rabbits. Yet, in reality, there was hardly a single animal-type undead here. Instead, at least one and a half reinforced platoons of skeletons were wandering aimlessly. There was no doubt that these beings had been “purebred” humans in life. Their tattered, grayish armor and clothing faintly revealed that they had once been soldiers. Some of the undead still clutched the weapons they had wielded in life, their skeletal hands gripping uniformly shaped, sized, and styled steel blades. Even though these blades were corroded by rust, they still emitted a chilling coldness in the gloomy weather.

Having gathered considerable information in Konoen City, Punk recognized them almost instantly. These undead, whose gaping mouths occasionally hung with rotting flesh as they silently howled, were carrying the standard-issue military sabers of the Kamos Kingdom and wearing its standard-issue armor. Even on the right breastplates of some damaged and soiled armors, the faint traces of the Kamos Kingdom’s griffin insignia could still be discerned.

Puck narrowed his eyes slightly. These undead were almost certainly the army of the Kamos Kingdom!

(End of Chapter)