Maggots, Maggots, Maggots (Trypophobia Warning)

The Living Dead, the most basic type of monster, are basically the first enemies that every novice adventurer faces.

Because these monsters are easy to form, they can be born anywhere, and they appear in large numbers, making them more resilient than Goblin.

Moreover, it's very easy to modify, making it a favorite among necromancers. They can add whatever Living Dead they want to create, such as ice or fire, and if it's not suitable, the Living Dead will die on its own.

In general, just think of the Living Dead as a magical version of zombies. They are basically not contagious, and the probability of being infected by Living Dead and turning into Living Dead is probably less than the probability of poisoning yourself by throwing Dung Pie.

Although people always felt that the Living Dead of Sion were different from those in the outside world, seemingly more intelligent? But they were still just as weak, the kind of creatures that could easily ambush someone around a corner without causing serious injury. The person ambushed would just have to laugh and silently mutter:

"Thank you, kind Saine."

After saying this, the bearded man severed the thigh of the Living Dead in front of him with a single stroke. As the Living Dead fell to the ground, he also crushed its head. The movement was so fluid that anyone who didn't know better would think he had studied on the Stone Village.

"Good, these guys aren't strong. If we hold our ground, we can wipe them all out. Ugh, I mean, wipe them all out." The bearded man stumbled over his words, realizing that what he had just said might have been a bit ominous.

The deathly pale Living Dead noticed the commotion and staggered toward the Guzha Squad. These Living Dead were thin and weak, and they would stagger after taking a few steps. Even a child could probably defeat them. Their only advantage was that they perfectly matched the terrifying atmosphere of the cemetery and could bring psychological pressure to people.

The cemetery is filled with numerous tombstones, each one extremely hard and indestructible. These tombstones, when combined, divide the cemetery into narrow paths, through which the Living Dead slowly wander. Adventurers who are not careful may accidentally cut into the tombstones. Deflecting their attacks is secondary; the damage to their weapons is what's truly heartbreaking.

The Guzha Squad adjusted their formation based on Fingel's suggestion, but the bearded man stepped forward to show his activeness, wielding a large knife to kill the Living Dead, looking quite imposing.

There were many weak Living Dead, and the ranger's arrows could easily pierce through two of them. Everyone looked like they were having a good time killing. One assassin's dagger even broke when it hit the blade.

The blade chipped? Doesn't that mean it was overused?

At this moment, someone finally noticed something was wrong and turned to the bearded man, saying:

"Boss Tus, something's wrong here! It seems like we can't kill all the monsters!"

They can't kill them all, they simply can't kill them all. Every time they kill Living Dead, a new one will crawl out from under some of the tombstones.

Even though these Living Dead are weak and haven't been able to break through the adventurers' defenses so far, this dragging on can't go on.

"Use magic, a scattering type of magic," said Bearded Tus.

"Good!"

The mage in the group immediately began chanting. In this state, he could only walk slowly. At the same time, his companions spontaneously attracted the Living Dead to the surrounding area, causing them to gather together.

A dense ball of blue magic shot into the sky as the mage released it, then dispersed into a rain of magical droplets that shot towards the horde of Living Dead.

This is a magic spell from the Caria Royal Family called "Magic Descent".

"I haven't used this spell much since I got it. The range is too big, but the damage is limited," the mage muttered to himself. "I didn't expect it to be so useful here."

Although the destructive power of the Magic Descent is limited, it is sufficient to deal with the more fragile Living Dead.

After clearing away the Living Dead that had gathered around them in one go, the Guzha Squad charged in before any new Living Dead could rise from their coffins, all while maintaining their formation.

"Not bad," Fingel smiled as he observed from outside the cemetery, and said to his companions, "Doesn't it remind you of our past selves?"

"Let's go quickly." With each step Matilda took, the armor made a heavy clanging sound from its joints. The armor gleamed as if it were brand new, showing how much she cherished it and how well she maintained it.

She looked down at the newly appeared Living Dead, grabbed one at random and smashed it around, treating it like a weapon, and killed many Living Dead in the blink of an eye.

Why are these low-level monsters appearing in the Zane Dungeon?

Judging from her voice, Matilda was probably unhappy. She held the Living Dead's head close to her face, wanting to observe what was so special about this weak monster that it was worth creating.

She had encountered many monsters that "bring surprises" in the Zane Dungeon these past few days, so it was perfectly normal and natural for her to have high expectations for the new monsters in the Cathedral of the Deep.

But besides their rapid production rate, what other highlights do these Living Dead have?

"Wait a moment."

She intended to crush the Living Dead's head, but then she suddenly saw something.

The Living Dead's jaw was smashed open, revealing Black Hole in its throat, where something seemed to be wriggling.

Peristalsis?

Her adventurous instincts made her quickly throw the Living Dead out, but it was too late.

The motto of the Zane Dungeon is: if you see something that's not right, don't hide, because if you can see it, it means you've already been tricked.

"Cough!"

The Living Dead violently retched, bursting out a stream of filthy yellow smoke and yellowish-green pus. The stench was overwhelming, and at the same time, a deadly poison was seeping into the gaps in the armor!

That's not all; Matilda's armor is infused with wind magic and a magical barrier, capable of purifying the air and blocking poisonous gases, but—

Several white maggots writhed around the peephole of her helmet, as restless as children suddenly thrown out of their homes by their parents.

A sticky substance of unknown composition dripped from the insect, leaving several bright "water streaks" on the helmet in the blink of an eye.

Not only her helmet, but also her body was covered in it.

"."

The air fell silent. The pretty face under the helmet froze, her gaze meeting that of the maggots crawling on the helmet.

The latter used all his strength to spray a mouthful of viscous liquid into her eyes.

"Ahh!"

How can one describe the extent of Matilda's anger?

Let's look at the tombstone instead.

The tombstones here are as hard as those on the Great Tomb's Shooting Avenue; ordinary people can't damage them. But now, under Matilda's almost frenzied actions, all the surrounding tombstones have been shattered. The last person to achieve this level of damage was Jia Paer.

"Hey, calm down, don't scare the younger generation!" Fingel said, but he didn't dare to go over and mediate. Instead, he smiled and turned to look at Aleya, who gave him a thumbs up.

The two men's meaning was clear: Sion was still the same disgusting Sion.

Several Living Dead had not been completely cleared away. Just as Fingel was about to make his move, he drew his knife and walked over, only to see the Living Dead suddenly bend over in pain.

The maggots mixed with venom that Fingeri had just spat at Matilda seemed to be a signal gun, as the Living Dead facing Fingel suddenly raised their heads and instantly spewed out a cloud of yellow mist and maggots.

"Tsk, I don't want to get involved."

Fingel's twin blades danced with a dazzling light, blocking the maggots while retreating rapidly, appearing flawless.

However, the unbearable stench still managed to enter the nasal cavity. It's hard to describe exactly what kind of smell it was, but it gave the feeling that the Farron Keep was a paradise compared to this place.

His brain suddenly felt like it was being jostled by dozens of burly men. For a moment, his eyes almost rolled back. His hands slowed down, and maggots swarmed onto his body.

Adventurers of their caliber have honed their physical strength and resistance to various abnormal states to levels far exceeding those of ordinary people. For example, the poisonous mist from the Living Dead earlier was basically ineffective against them, but...

Surely no one would intentionally train their tolerance for bad smells, right?

"Cough cough cough, Aleya, hurry up, fresh air!" Fingel gagged immediately. He wanted fresh air more than the bugs on his body.

A series of gloating laughs came from inside the Straw Man. Several strange plants grew from the Straw Man's left arm, expanded, and exploded, instantly refreshing the air. Hundreds of straws extended from its right arm and instantly swept away the maggots on Fingel's body.

"Phew, I'm finally alive."

Fingel took deep breaths of the fresh air, his complexion gradually improving. He was so moved, as if he had received a divine blessing, but soon he burst into laughter again.

"As expected, it has to be the dungeon. I haven't been this disheveled since I was adventuring on the surface. Right now, I feel like I've gone back to when I first became an adventurer."

"You've come here to Remembrance your childhood?" Aleya withdrew her arm, then suddenly exclaimed "Huh?" and pointed at Fingel, saying:

You have wounds.

"Wounds are a man's glory."

"Pah, who's going to talk nonsense with you? Just look down and you'll see."

Fingel looked down, his previously cheerful expression gradually darkening. Then, with a painful "groan," he closed his eyes and cried out, "Help me! I don't want to see!"

He was injured, and not just any ordinary injury.

The exposed arms, chest, and a series of places where maggots had just been nesting now had tiny holes.

The hole was very small, and it looked like a bite from a maggot. For some reason, it was bleeding profusely. Such an injury would not normally attract anyone's attention.

Unless there are too many of them.

It was densely packed, this time it was really densely packed, his body was covered with blood holes that would kill anyone with trypophobia just by looking at him!

Even though Fingel isn't trypophobia, he was so disgusted at that moment that he couldn't open his eyes.

"Okay, then I'll use magic to heal you?" Aleya drawled.

Fingel shuddered and took a step back. "Wait, I suddenly remembered I have Healing Potion on me. I can apply it myself. Don't bother me."

"Hmph." Aleya snorted in dissatisfaction.

The small, densely packed blood holes felt physically unpleasant to the touch. After so many years of adventures, Fingel hadn't felt this disgusted in a long time. Besides wanting to vomit, he also felt a bit excited.

"Etc."

As he was applying the paint, he suddenly remembered something, shouted "Oh no!" and strode past Matilda, who was vandalizing everything, and ran towards the depths of the cemetery.

These maggots are clearly not ordinary insects. They drink human blood, eat human flesh, and cause wounds that bleed profusely. These Living Dead are not as harmless as they thought!

Therefore, the Guzha Squad is in danger!

Just as he had circled around a cluster of tombstones and climbed to the upper level of the cemetery, Fingel's movements suddenly stopped.

There was no other reason than that the scene before him was so artistic that he was so overwhelmed by its beauty that he stopped.

The Guzha Squad is fighting three Grave Keeper, monsters other than the Living Dead. Their agile mobility and merciless dual blades indicate that they are quite formidable enemies.

But Fingel's focus wasn't on that; it was on "Bearded" Tus.

He was confronting a Living Dead, or rather, embracing it.

Hundreds of maggots crawled out of the Living Dead's belly. The white maggots wriggled and surged, and under the manipulation of a mysterious force, they formed a human-shaped body with only the upper body on the Living Dead's abdomen, which looked particularly bizarre.

Now, Tus, covered in insects, is being held tightly by the twisted humanoid figure, unable to do anything but tremble.

From Fingel's perspective, it looks like a couple deeply in love embracing and kissing passionately, oblivious to societal norms.

At that moment, Fingel understood.

He understood why the Zane Dungeon had placed these Living Dead in the cemetery.

"So this was just a prank to disgust people."

Fingel's scattered Spirit Power has doubled.