Land of Silent Death

"Honestly, I don't think this is a good idea."

Driving the carriage along a desolate, remote path, the Elf Scout's voice was full of helplessness. They were currently traveling through a wilderness, and as far as the eye could see, there was no sign of life anywhere. The woods in the distance had long since withered, while the land that had once been farmland had been reduced to a bleak, barren wasteland.

This was the Land of Silent Death.

Long ago, this place had been the fief of a nobleman. At the time, the count was facing a succession crisis. He had only one daughter and no sons, while his brothers were eyeing his title and lands hungrily. It was then that a young, handsome man took the initiative to approach the count. He claimed to be a noble from a distant land and hoped to marry the count's daughter.

Perhaps acting on the principle of "better to give to a friendly foreign power than to a domestic slave," the old count agreed to the young man's request. The man married the count's daughter and smoothly inherited the count's title, while the old count passed away soon afterward.

In truth, however, the young man was no nobleman. He was a Vampire. After that, the other members of the count's family either died or disappeared in "accidents," or became servants of the Vampire. Before long, the Vampire had taken control of the land and become a terrifying force of great power.

At the time, the Empire was in the midst of a civil war. Simply put, history was repeating itself: the Emperor had died, everyone was fighting over who would become the next Emperor, and three princes had decided to declare themselves kings. Clearly, history hadn't changed in the slightest.

Seizing this opportunity, the Vampire finally bared his fangs. On a dark and stormy night, he killed every subject in his territory, transformed them all into Undead under his control, formed an Undead Army, and launched an attack on the Empire.

Faced with the attack of the Vampire army, the Empire, still embroiled in civil war, finally set aside its grudges and united against an outside threat. After all, they only wanted to become Emperor, not become the Vampire's slaves. Under the premise of a united front, the Empire began resisting the Vampire's assault.

That Vampire was truly formidable. With the power of some magical ring, he was completely immune to all harm. Whether he was beheaded or had his heart blown apart, the Vampire could revive within a short time and counterkill his attacker. Yep, he had a lock-health revival cheat.

And so, the Vampire army swept forward in triumph until it reached the capital city beneath the Emperor's walls.

However, fate was unpredictable. Just as the Vampire was about to seize the capital in one fell swoop, his magical ring suddenly "mysteriously" disappeared. Furious at losing his lock-health revival trinket, the Vampire launched another attack on the capital. This time, however, he failed. The Empire defeated him completely, and then he was utterly finished.

With the commander-in-chief dead, the Vampire army immediately fell apart, and the victorious Empire pursued them until they beat them so badly they could no longer tell up from down. After this war, the Empire's civil war also came to an end. Everyone selected the strongest prince, who had contributed the most during the Vampire Wars, to become the next Emperor.

To end the Empire's civil war, a Vampire had traveled thousands of miles to deliver his own head. What an admirable spirit of self-sacrifice.

After that, this territory became the cursed Land of Silent Death. At first, some fearless nobles stubbornly tried to inherit the fief, but after several nobles died horribly here in sudden, violent deaths, everyone began keeping their distance.

From then on, this became a realm of death. Rumors claimed that the beings once killed by the Vampire and transformed into Undead were still wandering across the land, slaughtering anyone who dared invade it.

Hmm... judging from the scene before them, it couldn't be said that the rumor had come from nowhere.

It was worth mentioning that the undead and Vampires were actually different races. Even in the Soul Card, undead and Vampires were separate. The wraiths and ghosts Duanmu Huai had summoned before belonged to the undead, while Vampires were undead creatures. To put it simply, Vampires were more like a species that "didn't die naturally." After all, they still needed to feed on blood to sustain themselves. Although Vampires resembled corpses on the surface, the fact that they needed blood to maintain and strengthen themselves was itself a form of living activity.

Therefore, when facing the God of Filth, Vampires weren't as "immune to all poisons" as undead. They could only be considered highly resistant.

Conversely, when facing undead, the followers of the God of Filth were somewhat helpless. Viruses and diseases couldn't infect bones or ghosts.

Likewise, because of their hatred of life, the dead and the undead would frenziedly attack any living creature that dared step into their territory.

That's right. Although the followers of the God of Filth were swollen all over, covered in pustules oozing thick fluids, and constantly exuded a rotten, nauseating stench, with parasites crawling through their bodies as happily as rats swimming through cheese, they still belonged to the "living," the "fresh," the "living creatures."

That was why Duanmu Huai had chosen this route.

If the followers of corruption really intended to continue tracking them with human-wave tactics, they could only risk entering this territory and fight the undead here. After all, they weren't skilled at covert infiltration, and if their numbers weren't large enough, they couldn't pose a threat to Duanmu Huai and the others.

By comparison, Duanmu Huai's group was small and presented a smaller target. If they were cautious enough and lucky enough, they might actually be able to sneak through.

Under the satellite scans of the Command Room, Duanmu Huai was practically looking at a full map. He could clearly see which areas were dangerous and which were safe. Thus, with him leading the way, the group made fairly smooth progress.

Only...

"I really can't get used to this place."

Sitting in the carriage and staring at the surroundings, the Elf Scout complained unhappily. Everything here gave off an aura of deathly silence. Even the air they breathed seemed to contain icy crystals that pierced to the bone, and every breath made their entire bodies tremble. Even the two horses pulling the carriage were listless. They could barely find any decent fodder and could only chew on the withered weeds by the roadside...

"All right. Instead of wasting time complaining, we might as well think about how to leave this place as quickly as possible."

Duanmu Huai didn't care much. This place was simply like this. He opened the map and glanced at it, while Knight Kado and the Elf Scout leaned over as well.

To be honest, the outside world was already in complete chaos.

All three princes had declared themselves kings and started Civil War 2.0 in the Empire. Unfortunately, there was no Vampire traveling thousands of miles to deliver his head and unite them again. Silver City had ultimately fallen. The entire territory had become a playground for viruses, plagues, and the followers of corruption, and the infection was spreading outward. Large numbers of refugees had flooded into nearby territories, most of which were already suffering the impact of the civil war.

The route provided by the Elf Scout was to pass through Weissen Land, which had already become a dead wilderness, then find a way across the Gray Mountain Range in the south to reach Bartonia. It was a relatively small but comparatively peaceful country. At least there, people could live in peace.

Well, provided they didn't become farmers.

Of course, no country in this world was perfect. Bartonia had all kinds of problems too. But compared with Civil War 2.0, where the Empire's people were beating each other's brains out, and the brutal and corrupt followers rampaging across Imperial territory, Bartonia was already a pretty good choice.

Or rather, there was no better choice. If they didn't go to Bartonia, they could only either pass through the Ogre Kingdoms and travel all the way to Zhendan, or head south across the desert to Araby...

By comparison, going to Bartonia only required crossing the Gray Mountain Range. As long as they didn't clash with the dwarves, there shouldn't be any major problems.

At least it was better than crossing the Ogre Kingdoms or going to die in the desert.

"Let's keep moving. At least, it looks like there shouldn't be anyone ahead."

In the Land of Silent Death, the most dangerous places weren't the wilderness but the villages, towns, and even castles. Because that Vampire lord had once ruled with extreme cruelty, nearly all the inhabitants of this territory, from farmers to nobles, had been killed and transformed into undead. As a result, the places where they had lived in life were also highly likely to be occupied by hordes of undead creatures.

Thus, everyone spent this entire journey in the wilderness, detouring around any human settlements they encountered.

Otherwise, they might very well end up in a horror-game scenario featuring Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and whatever else.

Duanmu Huai himself didn't really care. After all, the Sleeping Maiden mission he had received earlier required him to visit five undead-fragment dungeons. However, with a large group of people around him, he had no intention of taking risks. If something went wrong, it would only cause trouble. It was better to finish the main quest first, then come back and deal with those undead fragments afterward.

After complaining for a while, the group continued onward. The Elf Scout drove the carriage, while the Old Knight sat at the front. Duanmu Huai followed behind with his warhammer in hand. At first, the Elf Scout had deliberately slowed down so that Duanmu Huai could keep up. Later, she discovered that although the large man looked as if he were wearing heavy armor, he wasn't slow at all. Even walking on his own two legs, he could match the carriage's speed...

The weather in the Land of Silent Death was perpetually gloomy and dim. Thick black clouds covered the sky, nearly blotting out the sunlight. Cold winds howled across the wilderness, bringing with them a low moan like the wailing of resentful spirits.

The horses pulling the carriage didn't last long either. In the end, they whinnied and died. With no other choice, Duanmu Huai volunteered to pull the carriage forward, while the Elf Scout and the Old Knight butchered and processed the two horses into dried rations. After all, there was hardly any food in this land, and the provisions they had taken when escaping the castle were almost gone.

However, as night fell, a strange object appeared before them.

"If my eyes aren't deceiving me, is that an inn?"

Looking at the building by the roadside, Duanmu Huai voiced his comment, and the Elf Scout nodded.

"The door's even open."

Indeed, just as the Elf Scout said, not only was the inn's door open, but it was also brightly lit. It looked like a lively roadside inn... well, if it hadn't appeared in this desolate, uninhabited Land of Silent Death, it would have seemed perfectly normal.

"Let's go."

Duanmu Huai naturally wasn't stupid enough to fall for it. He had heard countless similar ghost stories in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, so he simply grabbed the carriage and continued forward. At the same time, Duanmu Huai glanced at the quest before him.

Trigger Quest: "Midnight Inn"

Quest Objective: Escape the predicament

Why did an unoccupied inn appear in the wilderness at midnight?

If Duanmu Huai had been alone, he would definitely have gone inside. But considering the group of old and weak people behind him, he decided to leave it alone for now.

Then they walked on, and walked on, and walked on...

"To be honest, I'm not surprised at all."

Looking at the inn that had appeared before him once again, Duanmu Huai remained completely unmoved.

"What do we do now?"

The Elf Scout was speechless as well. Even Elisa and the others were curiously peering out the windows. It was no wonder they were so calm. After all, ever since entering the Land of Silent Death, they had experienced ghosts, spirits, screams, and sobbing... After seeing so much, they had become numb.

"We don't have a Priest or a Bishop to exorcise evil, you know."

Old Knight Kado stroked his beard and spoke with a bitter smile, but Duanmu Huai waved his hand.

"Let me try."

As he spoke, Duanmu Huai faced the inn and took a deep breath.

Then...

"F**k your mother, you son of a—!!!"

Duanmu Huai unleashed a stream of vicious abuse at the inn, then grabbed the carriage again and walked onward.

Faced with Duanmu Huai's vulgar tirade, everyone else was stunned.

"What does that mean?"

The Elf Scout looked at Duanmu Huai in confusion and asked.

"Oh, it's a custom from my hometown. When you encounter a ghost, you curse at it, because ghosts fear evil people. As long as you act fierce and terrifying enough, the ghost will run away on its own..."

"There's actually such a saying?"

Everyone was speechless at Duanmu Huai's answer. However... facts proved that superstition was still superstition.

"Looks like it didn't work."

The same road, the same inn, in the same location.

"I refuse to believe this. You really want to die, don't you?"

Duanmu Huai was now enraged, and recklessness welled up within him. He tore off his helmet and strode toward the inn.

"I want to see what kind of trick this piece of junk is playing!"

However, just as Duanmu Huai reached out to pull open the inn's door, something suddenly changed.

The inn before him abruptly began to twist and deform. Then, accompanied by a heart-rending scream, the building transformed into countless snow-white vengeful spirits, which flew away and vanished into the night.

"..."

"..."

The cold wind rustled.

Everyone stared at one another, looking at the now-empty wilderness and having no idea what had just happened.

Only Duanmu Huai looked at the System Prompt before him with a speechless expression.

You used Intimidation on the Ghost Inn

The Ghost Inn attempted to resist... Resistance failed

The Ghost Inn entered a state of panic

The Ghost Inn dissipated

Quest "Midnight Inn" completed

Quest Evaluation: Unbelievable

The best of the best is to subdue the enemy without fighting

Obtained 1,000 experience and an additional 700 experience. Advanced to Level 21. Obtained an additional 2 Soul Cards.

Intimidation increased to LV3. "Sleeping Maiden" progress +1

Inn's Ghost Hound (Bronze)

Cost: 1

Attack: 1

Defense: 1

Certain Kill (Entrance Song): If "Burial" has been activated, draw one card

Poltergeist Phenomenon (Silver)

Cost: 3

Summon 2 Wraiths (Spirit Burst Enhancement: 4). Grant all your cards the effect: "When this Follower disappears, transform it into Destroyed."

Damn, was this thing messing with me?!

Duanmu Huai wore a speechless expression. He turned around, put his helmet back on, and returned to the carriage. The Elf Scout was grinning at him.

"I say, why don't you just stop wearing that helmet? Then no ghosts would dare come near us."

"..."

Hearing that, Duanmu Huai silently raised his middle finger at the Elf Scout.

Aside from saying "MMP," he didn't want to say anything at all.