"Headless Army?" Li Wen frowned slightly, "What is that?"
This guinea pig waved its short front paws exaggeratedly, its scarf floating in the fluorescent light. "They are the oldest existence in the gathering place. It is said that they were already wandering here when Gray Mist first enveloped this land."
Guinea Pig Lord suddenly lowered his voice and approached mysteriously. "They were a group of headless knights, wearing rusty armor and holding broken weapons. No one knew where they came from, but there was a theory circulating in the gathering place - they were once the guards of a certain great king, and were executed for committing unforgivable crimes. But death did not end their mission, they are still performing some unfinished duties here..."
Clustered Headless Knight? Interesting.
Li Wen looked thoughtfully into the depths of the ruins. Those glowing vines swayed in the darkness, like some kind of guide.
"Where are they?"
"It's right in the square in the center of the gathering place!" Sir Grendel suddenly jumped up excitedly, "They never leave there, patrolling and standing guard day after day, just like a real army. Sometimes they will accept the requests of the residents of the gathering place, but the price is..."
It rubbed its paws, "It's always expensive."
Li Wen suddenly reached out and grabbed Guinea Pig Lord's neck, lifting it to the level of his own eyes. Guinea Pig Lord's short limbs kicked in the air, and his purple eyes bulged out of fear.
"You, what are you doing-"
"Test what you said." Li Wen said calmly, pulling out the dagger in his right hand.
A cold light flashed, and Guinea Pig Lord's head separated from the body and rolled to the ground. No blood spattered, only wisps of Gray Mist seeped out from the incision. The decapitated body was still struggling, and its claws scratched the air unconsciously.
Li Wen let go of his hand and took a step back to observe.
Guinea Pig Lord's head rolled on the ground a few times and then stopped, its purple eyes rolling around and its mouth opening and closing.
"Rude! So rude!" the head screamed angrily, "I knew you damn human beings didn't have good intentions..."
At the same time, the headless body stood up staggeringly, fumbled to pick up its own head, and pressed it back on the neck skillfully. Gray Mist was wrapped around the incision. After a while, it returned to its original state without leaving even a trace of scar.
"Did you see that?" Guinea Pig Lord adjusted his scarf, his beard trembling with anger, "This is the rule of the gathering place - we will not really die, but the pain will not be less!"
Li Wen nodded thoughtfully. It seemed that this strange giant guinea pig was indeed not lying. There were indeed some rules beyond common sense in this area. She put away the dagger and spoke calmly, as if nothing had happened just now. "Take me to see Headless Army."
Guinea Pig Lord widened his eyes. "What? You just made me——"
"Or I'll kill you again." Li Wen interrupted, "Choose one."
Sir Grendel's beard trembled violently, and finally drooped down in despair. "Come with me... human beings are really barbaric..."
It led Li Wen through the ruins. As it went deeper, the surrounding buildings gradually became complete, and the luminous vines became more dense, illuminating the road. Occasionally, other strange-looking creatures can be seen - elves with fish gills, translucent ghosts, dwarves with cracked skin like bark... They cast curious eyes on Li Wen, a strange visitor, but they all kept a distance.
"Are these residents of the gathering place?" Li Wen asked.
"Most of them are." Guinea Pig Lord didn't look back, "Some are unlucky guys who were involved by Gray Mist, some appeared here inexplicably, and some..."
It suddenly lowered its voice, "It's the existence lost in Gray Mist. They have forgotten who they are."
"When did you come here?" Li Wen suddenly asked.
Guinea Pig Lord's steps obviously paused. It raised its paws and scratched its beard. Its purple eyes kept rolling. "Well... Uh-huh, let me think about it... It was probably more than a thousand years ago? Or it could be longer... Time always flies very fast here."
It suddenly turned around and twisted its short front paws nervously. "Speaking of which, my dear human friend, can you tell me how Gray Mountain Kingdom is doing now? Are my lovely people okay? Are the amethyst veins of Lafatia still being mined?"
Li Wen glanced at Guinea Pig Lord's expectant face, but did not answer this question. She turned to point to the glowing vines. "What are the origins of these plants? Why are they everywhere here."
What she didn't tell the guinea pig was that the so-called "Gray Mountain Kingdom Lafatia" in its mouth had perished more than three thousand years ago due to the exhaustion of the mineral veins it relied on for survival.
Guinea Pig Lord's beard drooped in disappointment, but it quickly cheered up again. "Ah! Are you talking about these cute Fluorescent Vine? They are the guardians of the gathering place!"
It jumped to a vine and opened its arms exaggeratedly. "See these beautiful veins? They can absorb the energy in Gray Mist and convert it into light. It is precisely because of their existence that the gathering place can remain safe in this lost place."
"Lost place?"
"It's the Gray Mist area outside the gathering place!" Guinea Pig Lord lowered his voice and approached mysteriously, "It's not a good place there. It's full of all kinds of indescribable dangers and terrors, especially those Gray Mist. They can confuse your mind and make you fall into madness and despair! If you still don't want to abandon your weak reason and humanity, then it's best not to go outside."
"Do they attack living creatures?"
"Attack? Oh no no no!" Guinea Pig Lord waved his claws exaggeratedly, "These cute little things are very docile! Of course... provided you won't hurt them, otherwise, otherwise... uh uh, who knows."
At this moment, a neat sound of metal collision came from the front, and Guinea Pig Lord's beard suddenly stood up. "We are here!"
When one person and one mouse turned the last corner, an open square appeared in front of them. A broken fountain stood in the center of the square. The dry pool was filled with rusted weapons. Around the fountain, twelve Headless Knight were patrolling in perfect formation.
They wear armor of ancient styles, and every metal plate is covered with rust and dents. Broken weapons are hung on the waist or held in the hands. The most chilling thing is that the shoulders of these knights are empty - no helmets, no heads, only a ball of Gray Mist hovering around the neck.
"That's Headless Army." Guinea Pig Lord's voice was filled with awe and some extraordinarily subtle and trance-like emotions, "The current manager and ruler of the gathering place."