Forest of Undead

"Hello, Miss Priest. You wouldn't mind if I sat down and warmed myself by the fire, would you?" Punk said as politely as possible.

"If a lost lamb wishes to bask in the Lord of Dawn's radiance, then that is naturally the lamb's honor. But what do I see now? A mage unworthy of redemption. I truly hope the dawn's radiance can cleanse this stain of filth." The demure priest spoke a string of words that thoroughly irritated Punk, all while wearing an expression of sorrowful compassion.

These religious lunatics really are all the same. Though inwardly furious, Punk was not surprised in the least. Ever since the Netherese Civilization's destruction, deities and mages had remained locked in a long cold war. Arrogant gods had become increasingly unable to tolerate mages spreading the philosophy of seeking truth, because that would undoubtedly cause them to lose vast numbers of followers—the foundation of their power. True mages, meanwhile, were mostly adherents of materialism. They loathed the deities' endless lies and brainwashing, and were even less likely to worship them. True mages did not even spare Mystra, the Goddess of Magic, a second glance!

The female priest before Punk was one of those brainwashed "devout lambs," and one of the Lord of Dawn's most deranged devout lambs at that. Punk could sense that her disgust toward mages came straight from her heart, as though she were looking at flies or cockroaches. This was also how most priests treated mages.

As it happened, Punk also despised this fool who had been completely brainwashed without realizing it. Still, although the priest's words displeased him, he had no intention of starting a major fight with a third-level priest apprentice over a few verbal jabs. He merely gave a low, cold chuckle and lit his own campfire some distance away.

With magic to assist him, the campfire was quickly burning. Punk heated his dry rations beside the crackling flames while warily watching the priest, who was still praying nearby.

Punk was almost certain that this female priest had also come in search of the Forest of Undead. Otherwise, it was difficult to explain why a divine office holder who would rather worship in a church every day had appeared in this desolate, barren wasteland at such a "coincidental" time. Coupled with news of undead—things that, in a priest's eyes, "must be purified"—her purpose in coming to the Aegma Wasteland was obvious!

Punk also guessed that Mage Menesif, the only Formal Level professional in Konola City, definitely had a Church of Dawn spy near him. Otherwise, how could the church have obtained information about the Forest of Undead, information that required Formal Level spells to acquire? Could it have been a Formal Level priest from Bidland City, far away in the Central Kamos Kingdom and separated from Konola City by the area of two provinces, casually performing divination out of boredom? The Kamos Empire had only this one Formal Level priest stationed there.

Punk had no interest in Mage Menesif's "private affairs." He only wanted to find the Forest of Undead as quickly as possible, determine a spatial coordinate from afar, and call it done. As for whatever covert struggle existed between the Church of Dawn and the Mage Guild... that was not something the current Punk could meddle in.

Sitting beside the warm campfire, Punk watched dry logs turn crimson in the flames, then gradually crumble into ash and scatter with the wind. After careful consideration, he decided to follow this priest closely. As a priest who received the Lord of Dawn's light-aspected divine power and aspired to "purify everything" for him, she was undoubtedly more sensitive to dark energies like undead auras. Her search for the Forest of Undead would certainly be more efficient than Punk's almost aimless wandering. Besides, although mages and priests disliked each other to the point of mutual disgust, they at least kept out of each other's way openly. And considering the foolishly "upright and honorable" nature of most followers of lawful deities... Punk tilted his head and glanced sideways at the "holy priest." This is quite a "generous" pathfinder. Punk took a small bite of his rough, unpleasant dry ration. This kind of fool is far easier to use than that fox Kane...

What a pity. For all the old mage's precautions, he still failed to guard against the church's "dog noses"! Punk was greatly displeased by the Mage Guild's "leak of information," because it was completely irresponsible toward members carrying out missions. Although the Mage Guild's membership selection process was "easy and enjoyable," failing to even protect information about an "Apprentice Level mission" truly did not fit the mages' usual image of rigor and discipline.

Punk decided that once he found a mentor, he would throw away this useless Mage Guild membership as far as possible. But that was a matter for the future. For now, he needed to focus on solving the task before him!

Although Punk did not know whether following this priest would truly be more efficient than wandering around on his own, after trailing her across the wasteland for five days, he had indeed found the Forest of Undead. If he ignored the way the young priest had looked at him like he was a pervert throughout the journey, this mission had been fairly "satisfactory for everyone."

Punk had originally planned to locate the Forest of Undead, set a coordinate, and immediately leave. But now...

The "small" Forest of Undead covered roughly two or three square kilometers—about the size of two basketball courts. Only a few small trees, twisted and gray from corruption by undead aura, "stood" upon equally sparse and gray grassland, barely giving this "undead wasteland" the feeling of being a forest.

The young priest had already begun shouting loudly as if no one else were around. "In the name of the supreme Lord of Dawn, I—priest apprentice Nimiya Jelaelin—will purify this unclean land!"

Yet Punk spotted many puzzling details from afar. This Forest of Undead possessed nearly all the traits shared by undead deathlands: gray, withered earth, pervasive Death Qi, wandering undead creatures...

But according to Punk's deductions, skeletons transformed from human corpses should have been a minority in the Forest of Undead. There should only have been that reckless merchant and his small caravan at most. Most of the undead ought to have been animals transformed from beast corpses—zombie dogs, ghostly rabbits, and the like. In reality, however, there was scarcely even a single animal undead. Instead, at least one and a half reinforced platoons' worth of skeletons wandered about everywhere. Without question, they had all been "purebred" humans in life. Their tattered, gray armor and clothing vaguely revealed that they had once been soldiers. Some undead still gripped the weapons they had used in life with hands already reduced to dry bone. Mottled skeletons emanating gray Death Qi held steel sabers identical in shape, size, and design. Even corroded by rust, the blades still gave off a chilling edge beneath the gloomy sky!

Having gathered plenty of information in Konola City, Punk recognized them almost at a glance. These undead, which occasionally opened mouths still hung with scraps of rotting flesh in silent howls, carried the standard sabers of the Kingdom of Kamos and wore its standard armor. On the right breastplates of some damaged, filthy suits of armor, the traces of the Kingdom of Kamos' Griffin Inscription could even faintly be seen.

Punk's eyes narrowed slightly. These undead were almost certainly soldiers of the Kingdom of Kamos!

Another battle is coming! Please add this to your collection, and recommendation votes would be even better! (づ●─●)づ