NOVPUBChapter 1111: 352. Spider Mother Monks
The process through the first checkpoint was smooth and unobstructed, with no mishaps occurring.
After passing through the checkpoint, ghostly green street lamps started to line both sides of the riverside, extending continuously forward into the abyss of darkness ahead.
Noland Lee boarded a more spacious and swift medium-sized bone boat.
The bone boat hovered ten centimeters above the water’s surface, swiftly gliding through the air at speeds of several tens of kilometers per hour, heading towards the trade location arranged by the Undead Cult.
The other sellers did likewise, each boarding their respective medium-sized bone boats.
Keeping a hundred meters apart from one another, they formed a fleet that sailed down the river.
...
After about an hour of this journey, an underground structure ablaze with light appeared ahead.
It was a necropolis resembling a human port city, illuminated by ubiquitous green phantom candlelight, with the to-and-fro motion of lifeless undead creatures, and occasionally, gargantuan, obese undead constructs could be seen.
Here, the air was filled with an undead poisonous fog that was extremely toxic to ordinary people.
If a human soldier did not wear a gas mask, just inhaling a small whiff of the gray mist would lead to immediate poisoning and death, becoming magical material for the Undead Cult.
Noland Lee was all too familiar with this type of mist.
The night he escaped from the Korabo Corps Fortress a year ago, it was a poisonous fog that surged from the sewer pipes that initiated the devastating battle that demolished the fortress.
Noland Lee had now activated “Breath of the Dead,” transforming into a skeleton that did not need to breathe. 𝔫𝖔𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝔬𝔪
Unafraid of the poisonous fog, he followed the Low-Rank Acolyte through the morbid streets, bathing in the light of the green phantom candlelight.
The passing undead creatures seemed to have lost all presence of mind.
Numbly, they were led by chains, following their masters with slow steps, scraping the ground with the shackles tied around their ankles, making a clattering noise.
Noland Lee observed his surroundings inconspicuously, his gaze sweeping over the low-level undead creatures and the Undead Acolytes controlling them, and then glanced at the half-transparent magic eyeballs floating above the rooftops, overseeing everything below.
Without a doubt, this was a forbidden zone for the living, a slave camp for the dead.
Only undead of the Undead Acolytes’ level could have some degree of autonomy within the city.
Otherwise, they could only become tireless slaves like those chained undead creatures.
Noland Lee deliberately observed the other sellers accompanying him.
Including Noland himself, there were a total of five “people.”
To be precise, apart from him and the Pure Light Secret Investigator, the remaining three were not “humans.”
One was a member of the Demon Brain Race that had parasitized a human host.
It had infected a Death Clan Wizard with only a Three-circled strength, intending merely to use the body as a medium for trade, not desiring a long-term coexistence.
Another non-human was an Advanced Grave Robber.
This extraordinary creature could obtain a portion of a deceased’s memories and some of their abilities by consuming corpses.
Ordinary grave robbers only knew to indulge in eating and drinking, while it was only those evolved into higher beings like Advanced Grave Robbers that could communicate normally with people and control their eating impulses.
Because they could gain secrets of the dead by feasting on corpses, Advanced Grave Robbers generally assumed roles akin to detectives or skilled tomb raiders.
The third non-human seller was something Noland had not expected; it was actually a Siren.
Yes, a Siren from the Isidora Mermaid Kingdom, and moreover, a Sea Monster Emissary.
Even though this Siren had used magic to alter its form, Noland could still detect a faint sea scent emanating from it.
One Pure Light Secret Investigator, one Demon Brain Clan member, one Advanced Grave Robber, one Sea Monster Emissary, plus Noland Lee, the Silent Enforcer.
Such five “people” formed a team of sellers, linked together by the Undead Cult’s demand for Soul Energy.
Noland Lee applied the Deconstruction Technique to each one, obtaining a Memory Fragment of the last month from each of the four.
How to put it…
Each had their own agenda.
Every “person” who came for the trade had secretive intentions beyond the content of the trade itself.
The Pure Light Secret Investigator was there to receive instructions and monitor the Undead Cult.
The Demon Brain Race sought an opportunity to infect a mid-level member of the Undead Cult, aiming to infiltrate this national-level extraordinary phenomenon.
The Advanced Grave Robbers intended to use the trade to determine the location of the Undead Cult’s treasure, and then lead their gang to commit the perfect crime.
The Sea Monster Emissary’s purpose was comparatively “direct.”
During the trade, on behalf of Queen Isidora, it would propose an alliance with the Undead Cult to confront the colossal Ulnas Magic Ring.
Having surveyed everyone, Noland Lee seemed to be the simplest of them all…
He was merely seeking the precise time of appearance of the “Steel Forest of Mortal World.”
“Your Excellency, we have arrived,” the Low-Rank Acolyte whispered.
The group stopped in front of a dilapidated building covered with black moss, with decaying leaves that reeked of rot and the foul stench of unidentifiable animal corpses at their feet.
Noland Lee snapped back to reality and looked at the building in front of him.
It was a city hall with a bell tower, featuring classic pointed architecture, with severely damaged doors and windows, covered in cobwebs as thick as the mouth of a bowl.
The Low-Rank Acolyte spoke in a hushed tone:
“To prevent any accidents, please let me introduce you to the monk responsible for the trade. That is Friar Lophi from the Resentment Faction, a High-level Practitioner who can meet with the Tunneler Spider Mother. Her temperament is as peculiar as the Tunneler Spider Mother herself. Please be cautious.”
Noland Lee nodded slightly.
