Chapter 44: Logging Camp (2)

"What does this magical plant do?" Phield asked curiously. Remembering his earlier mistake, he didn’t reach out to touch it. "Ashina, do you know?"

Ashina hurriedly placed the magical plant into a jar. "You can’t just smell it, and you definitely can’t stare at it randomly. What if it’s poisonous?"

"You’re being a bit overly cautious," Phield said awkwardly. His previous reckless behavior had clearly left Ashina with a lasting impression.

"I don’t know its exact effects. If we had an alchemist, that would help. For now, we’ll take it back and keep it alive."

With that, Ashina placed the jar onto the handcart.

Meanwhile, the slaves stepped forward on their own initiative and began carving up the crocodile’s corpse.

"Help! Save me!"

From within the mist came a hysterical female voice, like the desperate wail of someone struggling in a raging fire, a final cry before death. Ashina’s wolf ears twitched twice. She turned toward the direction of the Logging Camp, her nose subtly flaring. "I hear someone calling for help too. It’s coming from the Logging Camp... but there’s no living person’s scent."

"Exactly. This is the Northern Frontier Province—there’s almost no chance it’s a human. Everyone stay alert," Phield said calmly, drawing his longsword instead. His expression was tense. "Anyone who can keep screaming for help this long, with that much strength, is either not in danger at all—or it’s a monster imitating a human voice."

"I’ll be careful!"

Gripping her spear tightly, Ashina charged straight into the gray mist. After running toward the Logging Camp for a dozen seconds, the corpse tide entered her field of vision. They were packed together, twitching from time to time, mindlessly pressing toward the interior of the Logging Camp.

"Creak—"

The thick walls of the Logging Camp groaned under the strain. Corrupted corpses were extremely sensitive to sound, and the cries for help from inside caused them to gather endlessly.

"Help! Save me!"

The eerie voice rang out again, louder than before, abruptly echoing from within the Logging Camp.

"The source of the sound is inside the building. Phield was right—there are no living people among corpse piles." Ashina urged the giant wolf up onto higher ground and scanned the area.

Then her lips curled upward in delight. "There’s a lot of timber here. We won’t need to worry about building materials for the domain."

Several open areas around the Logging Camp were piled with small mountains of logs. Most of the wood was intact; some had rotted or grown mushrooms and moss. But compared to trees that had turned into monsters, this timber was an extremely precious resource.

This Logging Camp of the Grand Estate didn’t just supply the estate itself—it also supplied Starnight City, with exceptionally high output.

Because of the river, once the timber was cut, it could simply be thrown into the water and floated downstream straight into Starnight City, where it would be retrieved for use. This saved massive amounts of manpower and resources, greatly reducing transport costs.

"Whoosh—"

A long, slender tail covered in barbs suddenly shot out from Ashina’s side, carrying razor-sharp force as it stabbed toward her without warning. An ordinary person—even a knight—could have been killed by such a sudden attack.

Ashina, however, was alert at all times. She frowned slightly and merely tilted her head to the side. The tail spike brushed past her hair.

The attacker’s strike missed. Ashina’s spear followed the direction of the attack, thrusting forward in one smooth motion and piercing straight through the attacker’s throat. She then twisted the spear.

The rotating spear tore out thick streams of blood. The attacker was a first-tier corrupted corpse. Its eyes bulged wide, its neck almost completely shredded. It didn’t even manage to scream before collapsing to the ground.

As if nothing had happened, Ashina muttered to herself, "I can’t use fire-based skills here. If all the timber burns down, Phield would be furious. But there are too many corrupted corpses to count—if I don’t use area attacks, it’d take at least a full day to kill them all."

"Oh—got it. That’ll work."

Ashina came up with a plan.

"Awooo—wooo—wooo!"

Drakewolf let out a wild howl.

Rough translation: I’m going to fight ten thousand of them!!!!!

The moment that howl rang out, it was like a dinner bell. Every corrupted corpse in the Logging Camp was activated, twisting their grotesque bodies as they turned to look over.

"Roar!"

The corpses surged forward like a black tide, faces filled with murderous intent.

"Run them over!"

Ashina patted Drakewolf’s head. Blue light suddenly flared around its limbs as its massive body tensed. With a violent roar of torn air, it charged straight into the corpse horde like an unstoppable high-speed train.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Every corrupted corpse in a straight line was smashed into clouds of blood and flesh. Anything grazed or struck was reduced to flying gore.

Without stopping, Drakewolf gathered strength and charged again. Ashina made a face at the corpse tide, constantly provoking them. The fearless horde howled and shrieked, stumbling after her in chaotic pursuit. Ashina led them to gather in another direction.

Relying on Drakewolf’s terrifying mobility, Ashina lured the corpses to a distant open area, then turned around and treated them to dragonfire. Once the flames burned out, she patiently drew in the next wave of corrupted corpses.

By the time the slaves had finished skinning the crocodile and removing its claws, Ashina had already finished the battle.

"My lord, the corrupted corpses at the Logging Camp are taken care of. Most of the timber is still intact—we should get a decent haul."

Phield pumped his fist excitedly. "Excellent work! Much obliged."

"Wait—I need your help with something." Seeing Phield about to head out, Ashina’s cheeks flushed faintly. She pointed at her head and puffed out her cheeks. "I fought for too long. My head feels dizzy. I need head pats to feel better."

She had simply grown used to it—every time she finished wiping out enemies, Phield would pat her head as encouragement. It had become a conditioned reflex.

Phield had no resistance to that at all and quickly placed his hand on Ashina’s head, rubbing it gently.

"Alright, alright. Don’t be dizzy anymore."

Ashina: extremely happy! Happy, happy!

After clearing all the obstacles along the way, the group entered the Logging Camp.

Looking around, Phield saw three buildings: a lumber processing workshop, a timber storage warehouse, and the loggers’ living quarters.

"Help! Save me!"

Before they could even take stock of the supplies, the eerie cry for help echoed once more from inside the house.

Everyone jumped in fright.

Following the sound, they saw the door wide open. Inside, aside from collapsed furniture and scattered severed limbs, there was nothing that could move. The interior was dark and oppressive, with only a faint, cold draft drifting through.

"By the Goddess... this must be demonic mischief!"

The guards who had been about to investigate exchanged uneasy glances and stopped in their tracks, hesitantly raising their halberds. Being willing to fight corrupted corpses didn’t mean they felt no fear. The slaves were even worse—some nearly wet themselves. If Phield hadn’t been there, they would have scattered in panic long ago.