The Wilderness

The Chip's familiar voice was still ringing in his mind.

Hearing it, Arthur instinctively looked down at the crystal in his hand.

The black crystal looked clear and translucent, and under Arthur's gaze, it gave off a deep, mysterious glow.

A faint warmth slowly spread from his hand throughout his body. Under the Chip's examination, Arthur's physical attributes continued to improve. The process was slow, but this time it hadn't stopped at all, and it looked like it could continue for quite a while.

"Unknown energy will be depleted in three days!"

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

Arthur put away the black Crystal Core in his hand, then stood up and wearily looked behind him.

There, three natives of this world were watching Arthur with excited expressions. The fervor in their eyes was easy to see, even though they couldn't communicate with him.

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 by himself, ready to get some rest.

Seeing this, the three finally dared to approach, cautiously looking at the corpse on the ground.

It was the middle of the night, and the lighting wasn't very good. From where they'd hidden in the corner, they'd actually been able to see very little. Only now did they "curiously" walk forward, wanting to see the true appearance of this Corpse Spirit.

But even as they looked on with curiosity, they still felt a trace of fear toward this strange creature. They walked very slowly, glancing over at Arthur from time to time, afraid the corpse on the ground might suddenly get up.

They were still several meters from the corpse when they realized something was wrong.

The corpse of the pale woman had been reduced to nothing but bare bones. All the flesh on her body was gone, as if some force had directly annihilated it.

"So this is what the strange creatures are like..."

The middle-aged man at the head of the group managed to keep his face calm as he stood there and said, "When it was alive, this Corpse Spirit was actually just an ordinary person. If it hadn't turned into one of these strange creatures, it wouldn't be surprising for it to have ended up like this by now."

After saying this, he couldn't help turning around to look at Arthur, who was sitting in a corner.

This was the first time he'd seen what happened after a strange creature died, and it shook everything he'd previously believed.

Before today, he'd never heard of anyone being able to fight against these creatures, much less witnessed one being brought to an end with his own eyes.

Since the world had changed, countless deaths had given these creatures their fearsome reputation. Forget fighting them head-on—even surviving an encounter with one was enough to earn a survivor considerable renown.

The likes of Arthur, a warrior such as this, were unheard of in the memories of these three. To them, he seemed almost as if he'd appeared from another world.

............

The next day, once dawn had broken, the group finally left the room and stepped outside the building.

A pile of dried corpses lay motionless at the entrance, unchanged.

Arthur looked into the distance. Where the insect beast had been the day before, only a pool of black bodily fluids and some remains were left. Most of its body was gone, probably eaten by other beasts.

He looked farther away and spotted another relatively fresh corpse in the distance. By now, it too had been reduced to scattered flesh and bones, along with dried red blood.

Seeing this, he couldn't help shaking his head. He'd gained an even clearer understanding of the state of this world.

The three men behind him also walked out of the building. When they saw the distant corpse, reduced to little more than bones, their faces turned pale.

If Arthur hadn't happened to help them last night, they would probably have ended up the same way—torn to pieces by the terrifying beasts in the wilderness, with no chance of survival.

Arthur stood there quietly. Behind him, the middle-aged man came forward.

After what had happened the night before, they'd grown somewhat familiar with Arthur. Mustering their courage, they approached and gestured at him, hoping he would leave with them.

Although they didn't share a language, Arthur understood what they meant and nodded.

The three men were overjoyed.

The journey from the city to the nearby settlement was full of danger. With Arthur along, they'd undoubtedly be much safer.

They gathered some things nearby, especially from the remains of the insect beast from earlier. Even after the beasts had eaten their fill, plenty of useful materials remained, and the men carefully collected them all, preparing to take them along.

Watching them, Arthur stood where he was for a moment, then went over and cut off a few of the insect beast's claws, carefully collecting them.

The insect claws were extremely hard and sharp. They were only slightly inferior to Black Rui Steel, so Arthur considered them worth collecting.

"Erui, we should get going." The young man looked around and called to the middle-aged man in front of him.

The middle-aged man named Erui nodded. He looked at Arthur, who was standing still in front of him, then respectfully approached and gestured before leading the others away.

............

No one knew what had happened to this world in the past. Both cities and the wilderness were teeming with all kinds of dangerous creatures.

They proceeded carefully through the city. Although they encountered some dangers along the way, they managed to avoid them cautiously.

But once they reached the wilderness, things changed.

Dangerous beasts were everywhere. After traveling just a few miles, Arthur had already seen several insect beasts roaming around.

And so, three days passed.

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

His expression was calm, but his gaze was cold as he watched the scene ahead.

Two insect beasts stood there, each over two meters tall with a sharp horn on its head. They shrieked as black bodily fluids slowly dripped to the ground.

A human face grew on each one's back, and viscous liquid flowed over their bodies. They looked terrifying and disgusting.

They had come across an insect beast nest in the wilderness, right in their path. To avoid trouble, Arthur had decided to handle it himself.

He rushed forward, his incredible speed stirring up a strong gust of wind. In the blink of an eye, he covered seven or eight meters and reached the two insect beasts, swinging his sword fiercely.

A streak of black sword light flashed. Both insect beasts were decapitated almost simultaneously, black bodily fluids spraying everywhere and splattering onto the ground.

The insect beasts were resilient enough that this wasn't sufficient to kill them right away. Arthur moved in and struck them several more times before they finally stopped moving.

"The host's physical attributes are beginning to improve due to the influence of an unknown force." The mechanical voice sounded in his mind again the moment the two insect beasts stopped moving completely.

A familiar warmth flowed swiftly through his body, then soon disappeared—so briefly that it was almost impossible to notice.

A chorus of cheers rose behind him, from far more than just three people.

Nearby, Erui and seven or eight others watched Arthur and the two insect beasts' corpses with excitement.

"It's not the first time I've seen it, but every time, I can't help marveling. What an astonishing knight he is."

Beside Erui, a middle-aged man wearing armor gazed at the scene in the distance, his eyes burning with excitement.

He was someone Arthur and the others had met on the road. He was said to be a true knight, and before the world changed, he'd even held a title. Arthur had rescued him along the way, and afterward, he'd traveled with them.

The others were much the same: either Arthur had rescued them on the road, or they had joined of their own accord to seek his protection after witnessing his terrifying combat strength.

These people were either knights or descendants of nobles. Erui and the other two commoners didn't dare refuse to let them join.

The world had changed, and several mighty kingdoms had collapsed in an instant, but that didn't mean the royal families and nobles had all perished.

Since they had armies, those nobles, though faring poorly, still managed to keep some of their lands safe. Much of their territory had been occupied by all kinds of strange creatures from the wilderness.

The noble order hadn't completely collapsed. Everyone in this world, including Erui and his two companions, lived on noble lands, so they naturally felt a sense of awe toward these people.

In fact, as their numbers grew, the dangers in the wilderness increased as well. As a result, everyone of low status had been left behind.