Book 8: Chapter 59: Valley of the Undead

Qin Lun quietly glanced at the Death Notice and saw a hidden scenario called “Purge the Undead” had been added. The difficulty of this mission was unknown, but given the Shattered Starry Sky’s Exploration Rate of the Toril World, this was to be expected. Clearly, they did not have detailed information on this regional mission yet.

The Apostles felt quite relaxed about this mission because the basic reward offered by the Shattered Starry Sky for it was very low—only ten thousand Shattered Crystals, a few hundred Exchange Vouchers, and very few Contribution Points, similar to the Guidance Mission the Fortress Team initially undertook.

After receiving Stark’s reply, Knight Bonnie left two cavalrymen to continue on to the nearby garrison, while the rest of the cavalry still followed the mercenary group and headed again for the Valley of the Undead. From this point of view, the garrison cavalry led by Bonnie were still very brave; at least they did not fear or retreat because of their previous failure.

“Mage Angelo, you are not a member of our mercenary group. Why are you taking such a big risk to come along?” Philip moved closer to the Red Robe Mage and asked softly.

“Hehe, we mages cannot advance just by studying behind closed doors. Practical battles like this make it easier to get familiar with the spells we usually master. Moreover, I do not think a mere hundred or so undead could break through your defense line and threaten my safety!” Angelo chuckled softly, reached out, and patted his apprentice Elr’s short hair. “Besides, this child has been learning magic with me all along, and this is also a rare chance for real combat.”

“That makes sense, but please be extra careful later, after all, the members of our group have never coordinated with you before.” Philip nodded understandingly and added a reminder.

“Mage Philip, please don’t worry. I am not the kind of frail, academic mage.” Angelo politely bowed slightly, then glanced into the distance. “That novice knight of Goddess Loviatar seems to be determined to advance and retreat with us too?”

“Yes, we tried to persuade Miss Idria, but followers of the Maiden of Pain seem even harder to convince than you!” Philip replied with a bitter smile.

“Hmm, that’s to be expected. If this Miss Idria is firm enough in her faith, she probably already considers hunting the undead as a test.” Angelo shook his head faintly. “Even in divine wars, the tyrannical goddess Loviatar is aggressive, bold, and fearless. Her knights naturally would not shrink back in the face of danger.”

…

“Warm Lake is here!” Everyone looked at the sparkling lake surface before them, and they all felt a faint excitement before battle.

Since the Apostles left Ironstar Fortress, they hadn’t encountered any decent fights. The bandit groups on the eastern border of Tethyr and Amn were too weak; besides their annoying harassment, they posed no real threat at all.

Among the many inland lakes of Faerûn, Warm Lake was not very large, roughly only a quarter the size of Lake Esmel and a third of Naga Lake. It couldn’t even be compared to a great inland sea like Steam Lake, which was as large as a kingdom.

Of course, for a meltwater lake sourced from the Cloud Peaks, this scale was already quite good. The two east-west flowing rivers formed by Warm Lake and Lake Esmel constituted the most prosperous Two Rivers Region of Amn.

Because its source was the Cloud Peaks, Warm Lake lay right at the foot of the mountains, very close to the location of the Twin Towers. This place was once the site of the Battleaxe Bridge, one of the two great bridges built by the Sannata Dwarves.

In the depths of Warm Lake, shadows of bridge piers remaining from thousands of years ago could still be seen in some places. These stone piers, as large as windmills, crouched at the bottom of the lake like giant beasts, inspiring awe in those who saw them.

“That small valley where the undead appeared is not far now. Once we go around the eastern end of Warm Lake, we will be able to see the entrance.” Once they arrived here, the Amn cavalrymen, including Knight Bonnie, grew somewhat tense. Even though they had received strong support, the shadow of their previous failure still weighed on their hearts like a heavy rock.

“Let me scout ahead!” Upon hearing Bonnie’s words, Iristin volunteered to go explore the path.

“Don’t send a Druid. The air above that valley is full of poisonous miasma; you can’t see the situation inside at all. We can only enter from the ground.” Bonnie waved his hand to stop the eager Iristin. He didn’t want to lose people before the battle even started.

“Miasma? Will it affect the upcoming fight?” Stark frowned, looking somewhat displeased at Bonnie. The heavily armored knight hadn’t mentioned this situation before.

“No effect. That miasma is lighter than air; it all floats above the valley. Inside the valley, apart from poor lighting, it doesn’t affect our fight with the undead.” Bonnie shook his head cautiously. “However, you must be careful. The terrain in this small valley is very complex, winding around with rocks several people high everywhere—it’s practically a stone maze. You must always be aware of your surroundings and avoid being ambushed by the undead.”

“Knight Bonnie, when you came here before, did you go all the way to the innermost part of the valley?” Stark asked cautiously.

“No. I had some cavalrymen leave their horses at the valley entrance and enter on foot as the vanguard. We hadn’t gone far before we were surrounded by the undead. But fortunately, not all the horses were lost, so we managed to break out in the end.” Angelo sighed, his face grim, probably recalling the comrades who had fallen in the valley.

After rounding the eastern end of Warm Lake, everyone saw the Valley of the Undead that Bonnie had described. The valley entrance was very small, large enough for only about three horses to enter side by side. Just as the heavily armored knight had said, the terrain inside the valley was complex; after just over ten meters, the view was blocked by rocks, making it impossible to see the interior.

The entire valley was eerily silent, without even the sound of insects or birds, like a lifeless grave.

Staring at the valley, Qin Lun frowned slightly. His “Ganitus Left Eye” had failed for the first time; he couldn’t see through to the inside of the valley. In his black-and-white retina, there was only a layer of gray mist.

“Longer, it’s up to you and Barth!” Stark glanced at Robin and waved to the two Rogues. Barth was a Novice Apostle from Lost. Since the two major teams started cooperating, ground reconnaissance had basically been completed by these two.

Longer grinned, exchanged a look with the other Rogue, flung his black cloak behind him, and vanished from everyone’s sight.

A while later, the Apostles waiting outside the valley all suddenly changed their expressions and rushed from their horses toward the valley entrance.

“What’s wrong?” Bonnie was startled. He jumped off his horse and ran after Stark ahead.

“Explain later!” Stark had no time to explain. He sprinted into the valley, but as the MT of the team, he wasn’t very fast—at least, Kelly had already dashed into the valley first.

“What happened to them?” Iristin and Milleras standing beside Qin Lun looked bewildered.

“The Rogues from the mercenary group have a special way to communicate with Leader Robin and the others. It seems Longer and Barth have run into trouble!” Qin Lun’s eyes flickered, and he smiled reassuringly. “But don’t worry, they aren’t in immediate danger.”

“Then should we go in now too…?” Milleras asked with some concern. The Elf Prince wasn’t afraid of death, but he bore heavy responsibilities; for him, death was a luxury.

“It’s fine. You know their strength. As long as there aren’t two or more Legendary Professions, these undead can’t harm us!” Qin Lun said with a calm smile.

Both Fortress and Lost were combination-type teams that Sacrifice individual performance in favor of group combat. Apart from Kelly, whose strength was too far above the others to coordinate, after such a long time, the coordination between the others had become increasingly skilled.

In Qin Lun’s eyes, without the overwhelming strength of a Legendary Profession, these Novice Apostles, when paired up and fighting many against few, could completely hold their own against a Second-Order Apostle for a short time. If they also had a second-order MT like Stark, they could even handle a High-Rank Apostle.

After going around the rocks at the valley entrance, the Apostles and the Amn cavalry finally saw the fight not far from the entrance. About twenty-some Skeletons and Zombies were battling the two Rogues.

Longer and the Rogue named Barth were in a somewhat sorry state, standing back-to-back and barely resisting the undead attacks. From the looks of it, both had actually been injured within this short span of over ten minutes, greatly surprising the Apostles who knew them well.

“Everyone, attack together! Resolve this quickly!” Robin frowned delicately, feeling a strong sense of unease. She decisively waved her hand and took over the leadership originally given to Stark.

Over ten Apostles against twenty-some low-level undead—this battle had no suspense at all; there wasn’t even a need for the Elves and Dwarves to intervene. Qin Lun, Milleras, and the others only symbolically shot a few arrows before the last Skeleton was smashed apart by Stark’s axe.

“What happened to you two?” Nicole checked the two Rogues’ wounds, found they had already dispelled the zombie poison themselves, and immediately relaxed, giving them an annoyed glare.

“Leader Stark, your mercenary group is indeed strong. I didn’t expect two Rogues to hold out for so long under the attack of over twenty undead!” Compared to the Apostles’ disdainful looks at their two Rogue companions, Knight Bonnie seemed quite happy.

The two Rogues smiled wryly at each other. Bonnie’s admiration not only failed to please them but made them feel as if they had stepped in something nasty.

“These undead are strange; they actually saw through Barth’s and my stealth. We were surrounded shortly after entering the valley. Moreover, their attacks were well-organized and methodical; we couldn’t even use our movement skills properly.”

Longer looked at the wound on his arm and said with lingering fear, “If there had been one or two high-level undead among them, we might not have held out until you arrived. If they were story Rogues from this world, even with our strength, they’d probably have died from the zombie poison infection.”

“It wasn’t these Skeletons that saw through your stealth, but that thing!” Angelo, who had been quietly listening, suddenly sneered. He raised his staff, and a sparkling ice arrow shot straight toward a certain corner of the sky.

“Smack!” As Angelo struck, a previously invisible spherical object suddenly appeared in midair and fell to the ground, hit by the ice arrow.

“What is this thing?”

Stark’s eyes lit up. He rushed forward and stepped on it. Looking closely, he couldn’t help but click his tongue in wonder. It was a black eyeball about the size of a child’s fist, but with a pair of bat wings, struggling incessantly under his foot.

“An imitation of a Beholder, a type of alchemical creature. However, ordinary mages don’t really use these things; those who use them are usually Necromancers and Liches!” Angelo said flatly. “It seems Knight Bonnie’s guess was correct; the undead here are indeed being controlled by someone.”