Burning the Corpse Horde

The horde of Strange Poison Corpses trampled across the barren fields, a putrid stench spreading through the air.

The evil creature at the forefront suddenly stopped. The corners of its split mouth curved upward at an unnatural angle, as though it were smiling.

Its head slowly turned toward the village, and the eerie light in its hollow eye sockets flared.

It can scan that far? Lin Xu was startled. The Strange Poison Corpses were a full hundred zhang away from here, yet they could sense the village?

A low roar rasped from the Strange Poison Corpse's severed throat and spread through the night wind like a curse, stirring the horde into agitation.

The wandering horde immediately changed direction and surged toward the village like a tide. Desiccated fingers slashed through the air, leaving faint trails of pale gray smoke.

"Get ready!" Lin Xu shouted in a low voice. The Bright Light Lamp in his hand ignited of its own accord, its flame flickering as a line of fire lashed toward the leading Strange Poison Corpse like a tongue of flame.

"Woo~"

Seemingly sensing danger, the Strange Poison Corpse whimpered and spat out a thick cloud of gray fog that collided with the oncoming tongue of flame in midair.

"Whoosh~"

The tongue of flame struck the gray fog with a sizzling sound. The fog churned like boiling water, actually holding the flames at bay.

Lin Xu's gaze sharpened. The wick in his hand trembled slightly as he abruptly activated the Fire-Igniting Spell, and the tongue of flame suddenly swelled.

The flames ignited the gray fog, which burst into a sea of scarlet fire in an instant, engulfing the leading Strange Poison Corpse.

The sea of fire churned as the Strange Poison Corpse let out a piercing roar. Its limbs twisted and blackened in the raging flames, while eerie green corpse fire flickered.

Lin Xu watched the Strange Poison Corpse struggle in the sea of fire. This eerie creature was clearly vulnerable to fire. It soon turned to charcoal in the raging flames and fell to the ground; the instant it shattered into pieces, it turned to black-gray dust and scattered on the wind.

"Use fire!" he ordered gravely. "Quick! Everyone, get torches and tung oil ready."

There was not much tung oil in the village. The villagers usually used it for lighting and repelling insects, and now they brought it all out.

Torches were lit one after another, their flames forming a line like points of starlight at the village entrance.

By now, the horde of Strange Poison Corpses had drawn within ten zhang. Their putrid, poisonous breath condensed into a band of pale green fog that slowly pressed toward the village like a poisonous miasma.

The poisonous fog was exceedingly dangerous. Grass and trees it touched withered and yellowed at a visible rate, while insects died in the space of a breath.

This is trouble... Lin Xu's heart sank as he watched the green fog slowly approach. With a thought, he activated the Bright Light Lamp. As its flame flared, the Wind-Dispelling Spell stirred the air and blew the green fog away from the village.

But maintaining the Wind-Dispelling Spell over such a wide area left Lin Xu unable to spare a hand to intercept the horde of Strange Poison Corpses.

"Loose!" At the old hunter's command, the village archers fired a volley from the shadows. Arrows soaked in tung oil streaked through the air wreathed in flame, shooting into the horde like meteors.

With muffled thuds, the arrows buried themselves in rotting flesh. Flames quickly consumed the desiccated bodies, drawing wave after wave of piercing shrieks.

Fire talismans shot down from the watchtower, tracing scarlet paths through the air before erupting in flames the instant they struck the horde.

The Daoists formed hand seals and chanted spells. Yellow talismans flew from their sleeves, turning into streams of fire that rained down upon the horde.

The flames interwove into a net. Several Strange Poison Corpses caught fire and rolled and wailed in the blaze, filling the air with a charred stench.

Lin Xu seized the chance to widen the range of the Wind-Dispelling Spell, pushing both the burning green fog and the flames toward the rear of the horde. As waves of fire rolled forth, the rotting corpses caught alight one after another, their wails rising and falling.

More Strange Poison Corpses approached the village's outer wall, swinging their claws at the wooden barrier. Their sharp nails scraped against the planks with a piercing screech.

"Sizzle~"

The poisonous gas corroded the wooden wall, sending up wisps of green smoke. The wood crackled faintly, and shallow black marks appeared, like brands left by fire.

The villagers standing atop the wooden wall hurled their lit torches at the climbing Strange Poison Corpses. Flames spread rapidly across the corpses, and a charred stench rose into the sky with green smoke. The air currents Lin Xu stirred swept them high overhead, forming a swirling barrier of heat.

The Wind-Dispelling Spell fed the fire until it grew fiercer, forming a long, winding wall of flame that swallowed the entire approaching horde.

The Strange Poison Corpses lunged forward with eerie laughter, only to be set alight, twisting and struggling in the fire.

The villagers atop the wooden wall had thrown all their torches. They raised rakes, hoes, and other farming tools and smashed them down viciously at the living corpses still struggling below.

"Bang, bang~"

The wooden wall swayed slightly under the horde's assault, the sound of rotting claws tearing through the air mingling with the roar of bursting flames.

"Whoosh~"

The howling wind slowly died away. Looking weary, Lin Xu stopped casting, and the Bright Light Lamp in his hand dimmed, nearly going out.

He took out a Spirit Stone and drew out its Spiritual Qi to quickly replenish what he had spent. Looking beyond the wooden wall, he saw that the sea of fire was gradually dying down. Charred corpses lay in heaps, thin wisps of green smoke rose into the air, and the remaining poisonous fog slowly dispersed in the morning breeze.

Shadows stirred in the distance, and scattered Strange Poison Corpses still crawled out of the darkness, but they no longer formed a sizable horde.

"Attack!"

At Lin Xu's command, the able-bodied men of the village took up their weapons, opened the wooden gate, and charged out in formation.

Several Daoists hurried down from the watchtower and advanced in formation alongside the hunters.

The few remaining Strange Poison Corpses had lost the ability to produce poisonous fog. Fire talismans set them alight, and rakes and hoes smashed their heads. They were soon reduced to charred limbs.

When the last Strange Poison Corpse crashed to the ground, Lin Xu slowly put away the Bright Light Lamp, weariness from the fierce battle still showing on his face. "Clean up the battlefield and count the losses!"

Fortunately, they had repaired the wooden wall early, allowing it to hold back this wave of the corpse tide.

At the thought of the village's former low earthen wall, Lin Xu could not help feeling a lingering dread.

Strange Poison Corpses were not weak. In large numbers especially, the poisonous fog they produced could corrode flesh and numb the mind. A moment's carelessness could bring disaster upon the entire village.

Without the time bought by the wooden wall, which had allowed the villagers to set the Strange Poison Corpses alight one by one with fire attacks, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Morning light pierced the gloom and fell upon the scorched earth. Green smoke rose from the embers and dissipated into the sky like departed souls.

Lin Xu bent down and picked up a wooden chest. This was one of only two spoils of the battle: the Source Fire Fragments released by the deaths of a great many Strange Poison Corpses had extended his safe stay by three days.

He opened the chest. A money pouch and a silver ingot lay quietly inside.

His gaze immediately fell on the silver ingot:

Item: Low-Grade Incense-Offering Heaven Silver

Grade: cyan rare

Type: consumable

Effect: can quickly restore mana, or be used in sacrificial spirit-communication arts

Mana: 100/100

Description: formed from incense offerings refined and condensed by mages and deities. It contains the power of faith and wishes, and is rumored to draw the favor of deities in the unseen realm. It can be used to nourish magic artifacts or set up spirit-communication arrays

Heaven Silver was a currency one level above Dharma Coins, usually refined by mages of profound cultivation or by deities. The power it contained was equivalent to that of Spirit Stones.

One tael of Low-Grade Incense-Offering Heaven Silver contained as much Spiritual Qi as a low-grade Spirit Stone and could be exchanged for one string of Dharma Coins.

In fact, one Spirit Stone or one tael of Heaven Silver could be refined into fifteen hundred Dharma Coins or even more, but that was the premium brought about by a monopoly on the technique.