Undead Soldier

"You're here." Anna looked up and saw Jialan, immediately putting down the work in her hands. "I heard you were leaving tonight? As she spoke, she handed Jialan a small cloth bag. "These are some special healing potions I prepared overnight; they're much more effective than ordinary ones."

Jialan took the potions and, feeling the residual warmth from the bag, said gratefully, "Thank you. I'll be careful."

The two were silent for a moment. Anna suddenly lowered her voice, "Jialan, I've been looking through some ancient texts... There's very little information about the Sun Fruit, but one thing is clear: it's not for defense at all, but to 'stimulate' the bloodline of certain animals..."

Jialan's heart leaped. This coincided with Argyle's warning. He wanted to ask more, but Anna stopped him.

At sunset, the five Mages participating in the mission gathered at the west gate. Argyle, leading more than ten elite soldiers, was ready to go. Everyone was wearing light leather armor and carrying specially made silver weapons at their waists.

"Remember," Argyle reminded them one last time before departing, "our goal is to gather materials, not to fight. Prioritize retreat if you encounter danger, and keep your Communication Crystals clear."

As the last ray of sunlight disappeared below the horizon, this special team quietly left the fortress and melted into the shadows of the Misty Forest. Jialan looked back at the receding silhouette of the fortress, a sense of inexplicable unease welling up in his heart...

Two days later, the group was approaching the vicinity of Shadow Valley. The forest at night was exceptionally dark, with only the faint light from the Magic Lamps carried by a few soldiers. The team moved in silence, vigilantly observing their surroundings. Jialan could feel that the deeper they went into the forest, the more chaotic the Mana in the air became, as if something was interfering with the natural flow of magic. His Mental Power was also severely suppressed; even with his Mental Power, which was not inferior to that of an intermediate Spellcaster, he could only sense about thirty to forty meters around him at full strength.

Suddenly, the scout at the front raised his fist, signaling the team to stop. Argyle quickly moved forward and quietly asked for the situation.

"There's movement ahead," the scout reported nervously. "Not Magic Beasts... sounds like footsteps."

Everyone's nerves immediately tensed. This was the first time their small team had encountered humans since entering the depths of the forest. In this dangerous, deep forest, encountering humans could be even more deadly than encountering Magic Beasts, as it likely meant enemy scouts, or something worse...

Argyle made a few hand gestures, and the soldiers immediately dispersed, silently concealing themselves in the surrounding bushes. Jialan and the other Mages were arranged in a slightly sunken area, which offered both cover and convenience for casting spells.

The waiting time seemed to stretch infinitely. Jialan held his breath, extending his Mental Power to its limit. At the edge of his perception, he did indeed catch something: faint footsteps, and... the subtle sound of metal clashing?

Just then, a dark figure slowly emerged from the mist. It was a humanoid figure draped in a ragged cloak, holding some kind of weapon. As it drew closer, Jialan saw its face clearly and gasped.

It wasn't a living person at all. Its rotting face had hollow eyes that glowed with an eerie green light. In its hand, it held a rusty longsword, entwined with nauseating Dark Energy.

"Undead!" Argyle warned sharply. "Prepare to fight!"

Even more terrifyingly, behind the walking corpse, more dark figures were emerging from the mist...

On the tattered clothing of the Undead, the emblem of the Aus Empire was clearly embroidered. The dark red thorny flower pattern was still clearly visible even though it was covered in filth.

"Aus Empire soldiers?" Albert, standing beside him, exclaimed in a low voice. "How did they become Undead and appear here?" The mist in the forest seemed to solidify as the Undead Soldiers, clad in Aus Empire uniforms, slowly approached. Their rotting faces had hollow eye sockets where green flames flickered, and their rusted weapons dragged on the ground, emitting a grating sound.

Argyle's hand rested on his sword hilt, but he didn't draw it immediately. Jialan could see that this high-ranking Light Knight was suppressing his power with all his might, trying to avoid attracting more dangerous entities with the powerful Battle Qi fluctuations.

"Mages," Argyle commanded in a low voice, "deal with them using the minimum amount of magic. Don't cause too much of a commotion."

Jialan immediately understood. He quickly formed hand seals and cast a small-area Ice Seal Trap. A pale blue halo spread silently, freezing the first few Undead in place. The other Mages also took action—Fireball Spell, Wind Blade, Earth Spike... all basic spells, but with the coordination of the five Mages, the effect was surprisingly good.

Argyle seized the opportunity, flashing out like a phantom. His sword never left its scabbard; instead, he used the scabbard to strike the Undead at their vital points. Each precise blow caused an Undead to fall completely, turning into foul-smelling corpses and lying still.

The battle ended quickly, and silence returned to the forest. But Jialan's heart could not be calmed. Although the Aus Empire uniforms on these Undead were worn, they were clearly recent models. Even more unsettling was that he sensed a familiar aura on several of the Undead.

"Dark Council..." Jialan whispered unconsciously. Besides the aura of the Dark Council, he also sensed some strange energies on these Undead.

Argyle suddenly turned to look at him, a flicker of surprise in his eyes, which then turned into deep worry. Clearly, this Light Knight had reached the same conclusion.

"Check their equipment," Argyle ordered the soldiers. "See if there are any clues."

Jialan crouched down, forcing himself to endure the stench as he examined an Undead. When he opened the tattered uniform, a strange discovery made him gasp—on the Undead's chest, a dark rune was slowly dissipating.

"Control Mark..." Albert appeared behind him at some point, his voice as an old Mage unusually solemn. "These are not naturally formed Undead; they were forcibly transformed by Dark Magic."

Argyle's expression became even more serious. "Pack up, we need to speed things up. Shadow Valley is not far ahead."

The team continued to move forward, but the atmosphere had clearly become more tense. Jialan walked beside Argyle and couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "These Undead... are they related to that Necromancer from last time?"

Argyle's gaze constantly scanned their surroundings vigilantly. "Very likely. The Dark Council has been active on the border recently, and this is not a good omen."