Mountain of Corpses

After entering the Otherworldly Rift, the temporary combined battalion split up and rushed toward several marked resource points, as planned.

Rex's squad was headed for resource point three, an area near the edge of the rift space, close to several low, weathered rocks, where faint ripples of arcane energy emanated. According to the scouting report,

it might have been an abandoned ancient energy node, with some recoverable energy crystals remaining, but it might also have been home to native creatures or otherworldly monsters that depended on the energy to survive.

Along the way, they saw plenty of signs of battle. The advance party had clearly cleared the area already.

Dozens of Deep-Dweller Murloc corpses lay scattered across the fungal mat or wedged into cracks in the rocks.

The murlocs had died grisly deaths. Most had been cut in two or even more pieces by sharp blades, heavy weapons, or powerful energy attacks. Their innards and blue blood were scattered everywhere and had begun to stink of rot.

Dark purple fungal threads spreading from the mat on the ground clung to their scales. They seemed almost alive as they slowly writhed, trying to envelop the corpses and penetrate them.

"The advance party did this."

Alina prodded a Fishman's corpse, which had been severed in two, with an arrowhead. The fungal threads immediately recoiled like startled tentacles, but soon began spreading again.

"These fungal threads... look a little disgusting, but they probably aren't much of a threat, right? They're just ordinary otherworldly fungi that decompose corpses."

Rex took a look as well and frowned. "Be careful. Don't touch those threads.

"This damned place has all kinds of weird things in it. Pick up the pace and head for the energy node."

The group paid little attention to the thoroughly dead corpses or the fungal threads, which looked like nothing more than decomposers. Such sights were not uncommon in an Otherworldly Rift.

They soon reached the supposed abandoned energy node.

It was a slightly sunken area, with a thick, broken stone pillar covered in moss and cracks at its center. Irregular crystal fragments glowing faint blue were scattered around the pillar's base.

The air was thick with arcane energy, denser than elsewhere, but it was also tainted with that sweet, bloody stench of decay.

The surroundings were quiet, with only the faint sounds of fighting and shouting from other squads in the distance.

"Split up and collect the energy fragments. Keep watch around you," Rex ordered. "Su Ran, sense the energy fluctuations and see if there's anything unusual."

Su Ran nodded, holding his staff as he activated Knowledge Insight at full power and sensed the flow of energy around him.

He did indeed sense relatively stable arcane energy remaining at the base of the stone pillar, as well as the faint energy contained in the broken crystals.

At the same time, however, he also had a faint feeling that the sweet, bloody stench of decay seemed to come from more than just the Fishman corpses...

The collection went fairly smoothly. They found more than a dozen energy fragments of varying sizes.

Their quality was ordinary, but they could still be exchanged for quite a few contribution points at the guild.

During that time, they encountered only four or five scattered Deep-Dweller Murlocs, between Lv.3 and Lv.4, which seemed to have slipped through the net or wandered over later. The squad dealt with them easily.

When Karl carefully pried the last, somewhat larger energy fragment out of a crack in the rock with an ice spike, Rex breathed a sigh of relief. "All right, we've collected just about everything. Get ready to withdraw and head for the rendezvous point..."

He had not finished speaking.

Su Ran suddenly felt a strong sense of unease!

He whipped his head around and looked in the direction they had come from, toward the area scattered with dozens of Fishman corpses!

"Something's wrong!" Su Ran called out in a low voice, pointing his staff in that direction. "Those corpses... moved!"

Startled, the others immediately looked where he was pointing.

The fungal mat, which had been deathly still, was now undergoing a bizarre transformation!

The dark purple mat on the ground writhed and churned violently, as if it had come alive!

The fungal threads clinging to the Fishman corpses had grown thick and menacing. Like countless dark purple blood vessels and tentacles, they frantically tugged the severed and even shattered corpses together!

Bound by the fungal threads and pushed along by the mat, the chunks of corpses rolled, piled up, and joined together in defiance of the laws of physics!

Fungal threads forcibly bound broken bones together, while more threads filled and covered wounds of mangled flesh...

In just over ten seconds!

A terrifying mountain of corpses appeared before them, forcibly mashed together from the remains of dozens of murlocs. Over four meters tall, it was twisted and bloated, constantly dripping mucus and blue blood!

It had no fixed shape, resembling a huge, writhing tumor covered in fish heads, fins, claws, and bone spikes!

Countless fish eyes, some whole and some damaged, opened across the tumor's surface, flashing with a crazed, chaotic, eerie light! Fungal threads ran through its body like nerves and blood vessels, driving the loathsome conglomeration!

"Fuck! What is that?!" Rex swore, his expression changing abruptly.

"It's those fungal threads! They've taken control of the corpses and formed an aggregate monster!" Su Ran analyzed rapidly, his voice grave. "It's coming!"

The mountain of corpses let out a scalp-numbing hiss, a mixture of countless dying murlocs' wails and the rasp of fungal threads. Writhing and rolling, it charged at the squad with a speed that belied its bloated size!

The fungal mat along its path seemed to pave the way and propel it forward!

"Battle formation! Focus fire! Don't let it get close!" Rex roared, instantly entering battle mode and slamming his tower shield into the ground!

Alina's arrows and Karl's ice spikes were already flying. They struck the Corpse Mountain, blasting off chunks of rotten flesh and severed fungal threads, but against its enormous bulk, the damage seemed insignificant!

More fungal threads surged up from underground to mend the wounds, even enveloping and devouring the arrows and ice shards embedded in it!

Xiaoguang's Holy Light landed on it with a sizzling sound, shriveling some of the fungal threads, but doing limited damage to the main body.

The mountain of corpses had already charged into close range. Several thick tentacles formed from murloc arms and claws smashed fiercely into Rex's shield, bringing a bloody gale and tremendous force!

Boom!!

Rex grunted as a terrifying force struck his tower shield, driving his feet nearly half a foot into the fungal mat! Fine cracks even appeared on the shield's surface!

"Su Ran! Area attack! Break up its structure!" Rex roared.

Su Ran needed no reminder; he had long been preparing. He stepped back several paces to open up a safe distance and raised the Mithril Staff high, the Mithril at its tip shining with brilliant starlight!

He discarded Energy Missile, whose power was concentrated but whose range was smaller. Pouring in his mental power, he followed the model for Arcane Explosion and locked onto the front of the Corpse Mountain, where the flailing tentacles connected to it...

"Arcane Explosion!"

A highly compressed, unstable mass of arcane energy shot from the tip of the staff and struck its target with precision!

Bang...!!!

A violent blast of arcane energy exploded in front of the Corpse Mountain! The blast, over three meters in diameter, completely engulfed the bases of several tentacles!