Extraordinary Perception

It's spring again.

On the path where the snow had not yet melted.

A convoy was moving forward, covered in dust.

The carriage's massive wheels left a deep rut in the snow.

The roadside was covered in a vast expanse of white snow.

On the carriage at the very front, an elderly necromancer watched the scene ahead with alertness.

Every now and then.

He would stop the convoy and take turns using "Detect Life" and "Scrying" on the vast snowfield.

Until the spell's effect showed no abnormalities.

Only then would he instruct the convoy to continue moving forward.

And so, one carriage after another rumbled and drove over the thick snowdrifts.

When passing by an ordinary snowfield.

"Alas! Whoa!"

The bone horses suddenly stopped and began to wander around, the Ghostfire in their eyes flickering unpredictably.

"Something's not right, let's retreat!"

The necromancer on the front carriage pulled on the skeletal horse and turned to leave.

It was at this moment.

Large amounts of snow were thrown out from the snowfield he had detected with magic on both sides of the road!

One after another, bottomless holes were exposed from the snowdrifts.

One after another, Quasi-Horned Demon leaped out and roared towards the carriage! They swept past the caravan like a whirlwind.

A moment later.

All that remained was a scene of utter devastation.

"You have killed 1 necromancer, bringing your total number of necromancer kills to 189. Your milestone - Necro-Nemesis- has set a new record."

"You have gained 6 XP points and 17 Xia Yin Value points."

You have gained 1 Honor Points.

"You have obtained Perception Shard *2"

"Cumulative Perception Shard: 103 (400 already redeemed)"

He swiftly converted the Perception Shard into attributes.

In this way...

Roger's perception level rose to 19 points, just one step away from becoming extraordinary! But there was no trace of relief on his face.

He skillfully directed his underlings to collect the spoils of war.

Roger's gaze turned north, his thoughts drifting:

This is already the sixth month since the Campaign Mode was launched.

After the onset of winter last year.

Greyrock City then retreated to a defensive position, using the Southern Four Towns as a base and employing the cover of Cold Winter to wage a protracted war.

Logically, winter should have a far less impact on the undead than on humans.

Roger and Alan both anticipated that the enemy would launch a strong attack during the coldest period of the year.

But the other party did not do that.

They were simply sending out undead armies to harass the border in a mechanical manner.

The necromancers leading the charge were increasingly lazy, practically making dawdling their way into the official tactics.

This severely impacted Roger's monster-killing efficiency.

Therefore, he had to risk heading west and lead his men to wage tunnel warfare behind enemy lines.

By intercepting supply convoys traveling between Greyrock City and the Southern Four Towns, Roger's Perception Shard increased rapidly.

However, the Honor Points were not so optimistic, barely breaking 70,000 points after a whole winter.

Considering Greyrock City's increasingly weak performance.

He was genuinely afraid that he might have gone too far and caused these skeletons to surrender.

The Campaign Mode will end automatically at that time.

He had nowhere to cry.

While pondering.

The gargoyle's figure slowly appeared.

"A secret letter from Alan?"

Roger was somewhat surprised.

Counting the days, it's not yet time for regular communication.

He quickly tore open the letter.

The contents of the document caused his expression to change.

"Confirmed emergency news: Two months ago, Greyrock City was destroyed by a mysterious force, and now only ruins remain."

Two months ago?

Roger felt a slight ache in his teeth; the spring breeze brushed against his face, yet the chill still seeped into his bones.

He turned to look at the rows of horse-drawn carriages.

A sudden chill ran down my spine. "What if this news is true?"

"Where did these convoys come from?"

One day later.

Autumn Wind Woods.

Like a Chow Chow, they lurked in the center of the bunker complex on the snow.

Three people were sitting in a spacious basement.

Alan sat upright in the main seat as always.

To his left was a fully armed Gray Dwarf woman with a long beard and sharp, clear eyes.

According to Alan.

This is General Mogley, the leader of the Gray Dwarf of Band City.

These bunkers in Autumn Wind Woods were built by Mogley and her people.

It played a very good role in fighting against the undead army.

Roger sat opposite them, his expression unreadable.

"Let's get down to business."

Alan said in a serious tone, "The news of Greyrock City's destruction has been confirmed. This happened two or two and a half months ago."

"But in the past two months, we have still been harassed by the undead; Roger has also intercepted many supply convoys disguised as those from Greyrock City."

"This doesn't make sense."

Roger calmly stated, "It was abnormal from the very beginning."

Alan nodded in agreement.

The southward invasion of Greyrock City felt like it started strong but ended weakly.

The undead army came with great force, but they fought without any strategy, and many of their decisions were completely incomprehensible.

If we insist on finding some pattern to follow...

That means Wellington was deliberately feeding kills to his opponents.

"The destruction of Greyrock City, the anomalies in Wellington, combined with the ' Bone Tax '..."

"I already had a guess in my mind."

Alan looked up at Roger: "Do you remember the intelligence I gave you about the Serra River?"

Roger nodded.

Alan didn't need to remind me.

He had long anticipated that intelligence report, which contained many studies and investigations conducted by Alan regarding the Serra River, as well as numerous unverified legends.

One of the ancient legends mentions this.

The Serra River is no ordinary river.

Instead, it is a "Boundary River"! All creatures north of the Boundary River are descendants of sinners! If these people want to "cross the boundary," they must either possess power beyond the Boundary River itself, or they can only pass the trials of the "Guardian of the Boundary."

In this legend...

There used to be "Guardian of the Boundary" on the Serra River Bridge.

Any Adventurers who passes the Guardian of the Boundary's trial can safely travel between the two banks of the Serra River.

Instead of the current situation where there is only a chance to travel during the coldest days of winter.

Even in the past few years.

Even during the coldest days of winter, the Serra River did not freeze.

The two banks of the Serra River have been completely cut off from each other.

Without its Guardian of the Boundary, the Serra River is like a sealed prison.

It firmly locks the creatures on the north bank to this land.

They must never leave.

"If this legend is true."

"So all of Wellington's actions were aimed at breaking through the Boundary River."

"The question is, why now, and why last year?"

Roger offered this analysis.

But he did have a suspicion in his heart, only that suspicion was too heavy, and he wouldn't say anything without concrete evidence.

"Because of the ' Extinguishing Cloud '."

The one who answered was the Gray Dwarf general.

Her voice was full of energy:

"In our tribe's legends, the appearance of the Extinguishing Cloud signifies absolute destruction. No city can escape its demise."

"And in recent years, the Extinguishing Cloud has appeared more and more frequently."

"We observed it three times."

Roger pursed his lips. "Three times?"

The Gray Dwarf general nodded and said:

"The first time was twelve years ago, when it appeared above an Underground City near Band City; not long after, that city was reduced to ruins."

"The second time it appeared was two years ago, near a small town in the north. That time, we later found a survivor in a cellar in the town, but her condition was very bad..."

"The third time is this one in Greyrock City."

Roger frowned.

He was about to ask for more details.

Alan spoke first, "Although Greyrock City is destroyed, Wellington is definitely not dead."

"He made advance arrangements in the Southern Four Towns and other strongholds, and continued to deploy troops to distract us—just to prevent us from realizing his true purpose."

"On the one hand, we must stop him—his actions, whether successful or not, will attract the attention of the Extinguishing Cloud; on the other hand, we must also be prepared to face the Extinguishing Cloud."

"So."

At this point, his gaze slowly swept over the two people present, before he said firmly:

"I plan to leave for a while."

Roger was not surprised.

Alan had long expressed his intention to travel to the source of the Bondrey River. If the legend of the Extinguishing Cloud was true, he would have even less reason to waste time here with Wellington.

"You can leave this to me."

Roger did not refuse.

"Band City is your most loyal ally."

Mogley showed great respect for Alan.

Alan nodded slightly, but a worried look still lingered on his brow.

The three of them discussed for a while longer.

Alan and Mogley were having a lively conversation.

Until the very end.

Roger finally managed to seize an opportunity.

He asked the Gray Dwarf female general in the calmest tone he could muster, "May I meet the survivor you spoke of?"

On the other side of the bunker complex.

In a small but cozy bunker.

Roger asked the girl who was sewing in the gentlest tone, "Do you remember me?"

"I am Roger."

The girl's expression was blank, but her hands moved quickly, as if she couldn't hear his voice at all.

Roger glanced at her maid outfit, which had faded somewhat from excessive washing, and then asked a few more questions.

But just like Mogley said.

The other party completely ignored him and just kept working.

"May I ask, is she with you now...?"

Roger carefully considered his words.

Mogley seemed to see through his thoughts and shouted:

"I won't mistreat her."

"She's the best tailor and cook in Band City. Although she's aloof, no one dares to bully her!"

Roger looked into her eyes, and after a long while, he finally took her hand with a sigh of relief and said thank you.

Mogley was taken aback.

Open your palms.

The dozen or so Silver Horn gleamed brightly.

Roger gave the girl a deep look, then quickly left.

Do you know her name?

Mogley chased after them and asked loudly:

"We haven't named her yet!"

"Talia".

Roger's voice drifted from afar:

"That's her name."

Return to your bunker as quickly as possible.

He sat on the bed.

Wearing White Raven's Crown and holding Crescent Jade Pendant.

Not long after.

My mind returned to tranquility.

The next moment.

He took a deep breath.

"Should I allocate 1 free Attribute Points to 'Perception'?"

"Your perception has increased to 20 points; you have gained Extraordinary Perception."

"You have acquired Transcendent Feat: Complete Sixth Sense."

"Hint: Upon first gaining ' Complete Sixth Sense,' you will have the opportunity to ' Overlooking the Universe.'"

The scene before my eyes began to blur.

Roger seemed to ascend to a height beyond reach, looking down from an unreachable vantage point.

That moment.

The view north of the Serra River stretched out before him! He heard various indescribable whispers in his ears.

Before his eyes appeared many chaotic and terrifying scenes.

Amidst this chaos...

He tried hard to distinguish them.

His gaze pierced through all the barriers of pretense.

Finally, we saw a gigantic ship! The entire ship was made from human skulls.

The mast and deck were made by binding together thick thigh bones.

That was a veritable Skeletal Behemoth Boat!

And that was the moment Roger saw it.

Human faces appeared on all the skulls on the ship.

And she stared at him coldly.