EFB Chapter 182 Deep Within the Meteorite
Chapter 182 Deep Within the Meteorite
At the entrance to the Meteorite Mountains, the trees still retained a faint grayish-green hue. Less than a mile deeper, the bark began to peel away in large patches, revealing the blackish-gray wood fibers beneath, crisscrossed with whitish, dry cracks. The further in one went, the foliage thinned, until only bare trunks remained, leaning against the hillside, their roots upturned from the soil, loose earth sliding down the slope and accumulating thicker and thicker. The foul air, like sewage soaking into cloth, grew stronger with each step, inhaling it causing a dull, aching pain in the lungs, like tiny needles gently pricking the lung walls.
Scattered among the withered grass by the roadside were the skeletons of ferocious beasts, their surfaces covered with a layer of grayish-green moss. Neatly arranged, each skeleton maintained a complete posture, as if struck down by something before it could even struggle. A few steps further on, one could occasionally see the remains of human warriors; the fabric of their robes had long since rotted away, leaving only a layer of lint-like residue clinging to the ground, with a few rusted pieces of iron, their original shape unrecognizable, lying nearby. No one stopped to look further, but the footsteps of the group softened as they passed.
Lin Chen led the way, following the trail left by the evil race. The tracks were fresh; the broken ends of the withered branches still showed their white stubble, and the footprints on the ground were tightly packed, their edges not yet worn smooth by the wind and sand. They had been in the mountains for quite some time, but their direction hadn't deviated; their destination was the area marked as forbidden territory deep within the mountains. Su Muyue walked slightly behind Lin Chen, holding a small detection array in her hand. The pointer on the array swayed slightly in her palm, pointing forward while occasionally trembling, as if interfered with by something. "The evil power at the edge of the forbidden territory doesn't seem to have formed naturally," she whispered, "Someone inside is continuously exerting force, and the array patterns are being directly impacted."
Chu Fan strode forward from the middle of the group, carrying a detection array disc. The pointer on the disc spun rapidly, stopping in a certain direction after several rotations. "There are demonic sentries about ten miles ahead. There aren't many of them, but their positions don't seem to indicate they're on the move. They've stopped at several forks in the ridge." He put away the disc and scanned the surrounding terrain. "Their main force should still be ahead; the sentries are scouting."
Lin Chen raised his hand, signaling the team to stop. He turned to Leng Feng and said, "Take fifty men and go around to the east side of the valley, cutting behind the sentry's post. Take care of the sentries first, but don't alert the main force." Leng Feng didn't ask any questions. He selected fifty men and silently slipped into the forest along the low-lying terrain on the east side of the ridge. The team continued to advance slowly. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, several short screams echoed from ahead, reverberating in the open valley for a few breaths before being dispersed by the wind. Leng Feng leaned out from above the ridge and gestured in Lin Chen's direction, indicating that the area had been cleared.
The group ventured deeper, the stench growing ever stronger. The humus beneath their feet was thick and damp; black liquid seeped from the cracks as they stepped on it, leaving fleeting imprints on the ground. The surrounding trees were completely dead, their greyish-white trunks standing side-by-side like charred fences. There were no insects chirping, no birdsong; even the wind whistling through the withered branches sounded muffled.
Su Muyue suddenly stopped. She crouched down, her fingers sweeping across the ground among the withered branches. Her fingertips touched a slightly sunken layer of soil, beneath which was a faint, broken groove. A wisp of extremely faint spiritual energy lingered at the edge of the broken surface, indicating its antiquity, almost blending into the soil. "Remnants of a restriction. A very ancient method, not the style of the evil race, but the method of an ancient array setter. This place is already close to the edge of the forbidden area; the entire ridge is covered with similar defensive patterns." She stood up, her gaze piercing through the layers of withered trees ahead, her expression more grave than before. "Some of the restrictions have already been destroyed by the evil race from the outside; they've gotten very close."