Wilderness

The familiar voice of the Chip in his mind was still echoing.

Listening to this voice, Arthur subconsciously looked at the Crystal he was holding in his hand.

The black Crystal looked crystal clear, emitting a deep and mysterious light under Arthur's gaze.

A faint warm current slowly spread from his hand, moving towards all parts of his body. Under the Chip's examination, Arthur's physical fitness continued to improve. Although it was very slow, it hadn't stopped this time. It seemed like it could last for a long time.

"The unknown energy will be depleted in three days!"

As if sensing Arthur's question, the Chip's voice in his mind sounded again.

Arthur put away the black Crystal core in his hand, then stood up, looking back with some exhaustion.

There, three natives of this world were looking at Arthur with excited eyes. Even though Arthur couldn't communicate with them, he could easily tell the fervor in their gazes.

Arthur had no interest in dealing with them. After a fierce battle, he felt exhausted all over. He walked to a corner and sat down, preparing to rest well.

Seeing this, the three dared to step forward, cautiously looking at the Corpse Spirit on the ground.

It was midnight, and the light wasn't very good. What they could see from their hiding spot in the corner was limited. Now, they "curiously" walked forward, wanting to see the true face of this Corpse Spirit.

However, besides curiosity, they still harbored a trace of fear towards this kind of anomaly. Thus, they walked slowly, occasionally glancing back at Arthur, afraid that the Corpse Spirit on the ground would suddenly get up.

They reached a few meters away from the Corpse Spirit before they noticed something was wrong.

The originally pale woman's corpse had now become a bare skeleton. All the flesh was gone, as if it had been directly annihilated by some power.

"This must be an anomaly..."

The middle-aged man at the head of the group forced his expression to remain calm and said, "This Corpse Spirit was just an ordinary person when she was alive. If she hadn't become an anomaly, it wouldn't be strange for her to end up like this now."

After saying this, he couldn't help but turn back and look at Arthur, who was sitting in a corner.

This was the first time he had witnessed the scene of an anomaly dying, and it was a shock to his previous understanding.

Before today, he had never heard of anyone being able to fight anomalies, let alone witness an anomaly's end with his own eyes.

Since the world's great upheaval, the countless deaths had forged the fearsome reputation of anomalies. Let alone confronting them head-on, even merely surviving an anomaly incident was enough to bring great fame to the survivor.

Warriors like Arthur were unheard of in the memories of these three people. To them, he was like someone who had popped out from another world.

The next day, after dawn, the group finally left the room and went outside the building.

At the entrance of the building, a pile of dried corpses lay quietly on the ground, unchanged.

Arthur looked into the distance. At the location of the Insect Beast from yesterday, there was only a pile of black bodily fluids and remains. More than half of its body was gone, likely killed by other beasts.

He looked further into the distance and saw a relatively fresh corpse. By now, it had also become a pile of broken flesh and bones, with dried red blood.

Looking at this scene, he couldn't help but shake his head, gaining a further understanding of the world's situation.

Behind him, the three also walked out of the building. Upon seeing the corpse with only a few bones left in the distance, their faces turned pale.

Last night, if Arthur hadn't lent a hand, their fate would likely have been the same, torn to shreds by the various terrifying beasts in the wild, with no chance of survival.

Arthur stood there quietly. Behind him, the middle-aged man walked up.

After last night's events, they had become slightly familiar with Arthur. Now, emboldened, he stepped forward and gestured repeatedly, hoping Arthur would leave with them.

Although they couldn't communicate verbally, Arthur understood the other party's intention and nodded.

The three on the opposite side were overjoyed.

The journey from the city to the nearby settlement was fraught with danger. With Arthur present, it would undoubtedly be much safer.

They tidied up some things nearby, especially from the remains of the Insect Beast. Even after being gnawed by wild beasts, there were still many usable materials. They carefully collected everything, preparing to take it with them.

Watching their actions, Arthur stood there and thought for a moment before going up and chopping off a few claws from the Insect Beast, carefully collecting them.

These insect claws were extremely hard and sharp. Even compared to materials like Black Rui Steel, they were not much inferior. For Arthur, they had some value for collection.

"Erui, we should go," the youth said, looking at the middle-aged man in front of him.

The middle-aged man named Erui nodded. He looked at Arthur, who was standing still, then respectfully stepped forward and made a gesture before leading his people away.

This world didn't know what had happened in the past. Whether in the cities or the wilderness, it was filled with dangerous creatures everywhere.

They walked cautiously through the city. Although they encountered some dangers, they carefully avoided them.

However, when they reached the wilderness, the situation was different.

Dangerous beasts were almost everywhere in the wild. After walking only a few miles, Arthur saw several Insect Beasts, each roaming in the wilderness.

Thus, three days later.

On a plain, Arthur walked forward slowly. The black longsword at his waist had already been drawn.

His expression was calm, but his eyes were cold as he quietly looked ahead.

There, two Insect Beasts, each over two meters tall and with sharp horns, were hissing, their black bodily fluids slowly dripping onto the ground.

They had human faces on their backs, and viscous fluid flowed continuously on their bodies, looking somewhat terrifying and disgusting.

This was an Insect Beast nest they encountered in the wild, directly blocking their path. To avoid trouble, Arthur had personally taken action.

He quickly strode forward, his extreme speed stirring up a gust of strong wind. In the blink of an eye, he covered seven or eight meters, charging in front of the two Insect Beasts and slashing fiercely forward with his longsword.

A black sword energy flashed, and the two Insect Beasts had their heads severed almost simultaneously. Black bodily fluids splattered everywhere, falling directly onto the ground.

Given the Insect Beasts' vitality, this wasn't enough to kill them quickly. So Arthur stepped forward and delivered a few more sword strikes, finally causing them to cease moving.

"Main body's physical fitness is improving due to an unknown power's influence." The mechanical voice sounded in his mind again the moment the two Insect Beasts stopped moving completely.

A familiar warm current flowed rapidly through his body, then disappeared just as quickly, so briefly it was almost unnoticeable.

A cheer erupted from behind him, far exceeding the scale of just three people.

Not far away, Erui, leading seven or eight people, looked at Arthur and the corpses of the two Insect Beasts with excitement on their faces.

"Even though it's not the first time I've seen it, each time it makes one marvel at what an amazing Knight he is."

Beside Erui, a middle-aged man wearing armor gazed at the distant scene, his eyes burning with fervor.

This was someone Arthur and the others had met on the road. He was said to be a true Knight who had even held a noble title before the world's drastic changes. After being rescued by Arthur on the way, he had been traveling with them.

Besides this man, most of the others were similar. They were either rescued on the road or had actively joined to seek protection after witnessing Arthur's terrifying combat prowess.

The identities of these people were either Knights or descendants of nobles. Erui and the other two commoners dared not refuse their joining.

Although the world had undergone drastic changes, and several massive kingdoms had collapsed in an instant, it didn't mean the royalty and nobility were all dead.

Because they possessed armies, those nobles, though in dire straits now with vast territories occupied by strange creatures from the wilderness, could still maintain the safety of some of their lands.

As noble order had not completely collapsed, everyone in this world, including Erui and the other two, lived within noble territories. Naturally, they held reverence for these people.

In fact, as the number of people increased, the dangers in the wilderness also increased significantly. Therefore, besides these people, those of lower status were basically abandoned.