Chapter 88: The Black Obelisk

In the blink of an eye, it was already noon the next day.

Your uncle is still your uncle!

The blizzard that had raged so arrogantly the night before became meek as soon as the sun rose, surrendering within half an hour.

Having started their journey at dawn, Mo Fangyuan and his companions now arrived at their final transfer point—the Zombie Village.

This Zombie Village was a sizable, medium-sized settlement. Rumor had it that ten years ago, it was a key transportation hub in the region, with many block people passing through daily.

Now, however, it was utterly lifeless.

The entire village resembled a ghost town.

“Hmph!” Mo Fangyuan sneered, as if to say, “Do you think I don’t know you’re here just because you keep quiet?”

“What a lovely day—sunny skies, not a cloud in sight...”

He announced to the group, pulling out a flint, and grinned.

“…A perfect day for arson!”

The brat: Me too!

With those words, he set fire to the outermost wooden hut of the village.

“Begin the operation!” Mo Fangyuan had no intention of playing fair.

The process didn’t matter; he only wanted to witness the destruction of this wicked Zombie Village.

“Roar! Roar! Roar!” The first wooden hut erupted with the snarls of zombies—the frequency suggested there were quite a few inside.

No matter; Mo Fangyuan had already ordered the doors to be barricaded, trapping the monsters within.

Gradually, the zombies’ howls faded as the wooden hut was reduced to ashes.

“Next one!” he called, waving his hand for the field army soldiers to split up.

Mo Fangyuan scanned the area, randomly picking his next “lucky audience.”

“Ah! You’re up,” he laughed as he spotted a two-story wooden house standing tall among the smaller huts.

He approached it, not rushing to set it alight, but first welding shut all doors and windows.

The zombies inside seemed to sense their fate, banging furiously against the barriers, desperate to escape—but it was too late; everything was welded tight.

Mo Fangyuan struck the flint and moved on, not looking back.

Behind him, the wooden house burned fiercely, the zombies within raging helplessly.

Since it was still daylight, the sun hung high, and the zombies in the village, fearing death, dared not step outside the shadows—most hid indoors.

The few lurking under the eaves were swiftly shot down by block warriors from a distance.

After dispatching several zombies who foolishly stared at him from under the eaves, Old Li quickly blocked up the doors and windows, then set the hut ablaze.

“Roar! Roar!” As he listened to the agonized howls inside, Old Li felt years of pent-up resentment melt away.

From afar, the ancient village was engulfed in a towering inferno.

Flames, howls, the sound of collapsing buildings, and the laughter of block people echoed amid this hellish blaze.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!” One house after another cried out in agony as it burned, zombies being picked off with crossbow bolts.

The zombies’ territory shrank by the minute.

Mo Fangyuan, hacking down the nearest zombie with an axe, felt a surge of satisfaction.

Who would have thought these monsters could know fear?

“Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—” Suddenly, a gale swept through, whipping the flames even higher.

At last, the fear of death overcame the instinct to avoid sunlight.

Some zombies, braving the burning sun, launched an assault on the field army soldiers.

But it was futile resistance; the daylight, under the sun’s gaze, was the absolute domain of the block warriors.

Every zombie that dared approach was obliterated by sunlight and crossbow bolts, their souls scattered, leaving behind only experience orbs.

“Bang!” With the collapse of the last wooden house, the wicked Zombie Village was finally destroyed.

“Let’s go!” Mo Fangyuan signaled the field army to withdraw.

Though a few scattered zombies still survived amid the ruins, they would not last long under the relentless sun by day and the bitter cold by night. Mo Fangyuan had no intention of bothering with them.

This Zombie Village was the last named location en route to the survivor village.

Soon, they would reach that low hill.

The land was so pure and white; countless creatures, known and unknown, strong and weak, had spilled their blood upon this snowy world.

Meanwhile, Zhang Lingyun, the central figure of “Operation Break the Lock,” was encountering trouble in the Black Forest.

Since the first month of winter, she had been tasked with scouting and mapping the Black Forest; it had already been three months.

Her reconnaissance had greatly increased the kingdom’s understanding of the forest.

The situation inside the endless Black Forest was far worse than anyone expected.

The deeper one ventured, the denser the monsters became!

“This isn’t a monster nursery—more like a monster spawning ground!” Lin Ye remarked at the time. Though Zhang Lingyun felt little fondness for her, she agreed with the assessment.

There were simply too many monsters within—her crude mathematics couldn’t even begin to count them!

Not only that, she spotted numerous elite monsters: creepers, skeletons… and others she couldn’t identify.

“What on earth is that thing!” Zhang Lingyun looked ahead at the enormous floating obelisk, her eyes wide in amazement.

The floating obelisk’s material resembled obsidian as described in books, but its central portion was as deep and mysterious as the void itself, as if another world lay hidden within...

It hung motionless in the air, as though it had always been there.

Around it, trees, earth, sky—everything it touched was stained black!

Far more sinister and terrifying than the dark pole she had previously encountered underground!

“What on earth is that thing?” Zhang Lingyun felt both frightened and curious.

“This must be another great horror!”

“This is too important—I’d better report back!”

She prepared to leave.

She was grateful, too, for this eerie obelisk was far from the area “Operation Break the Lock” needed to investigate in the Black Forest.

In other words, the Block Kingdom would not soon come into conflict with it.

[A dense fog materializes, shadows flickering within!]

Suddenly, as Zhang Lingyun readied herself to depart, thick gray mist appeared nearby.

Within the haze, black shadows seemed to constantly shift.

She thought she heard twisted sounds from beyond the fabric of space...

“What’s happening?!”

Her passive skill, “Blessing of Fire,” automatically activated.

Zhang Lingyun was alarmed—never in all her battles had she encountered something so bizarre.

“This is nothing to trifle with!”

Although not the sharpest, she knew this absolutely had something to do with that strange obelisk!

“Shun’an!”

An irregular sphere, radiating black particles, shot from the mist towards her.

“Fire Step!”

Frightened, Zhang Lingyun quickly triggered her active skill.

Crimson flame particles appeared, wrapping her delicate, black-stocking-clad feet.

With the temporary flight and speed granted by “Fire Step,” she fled in the opposite direction from the black obelisk.

Left, right, left, right—Zhang Lingyun dodged and weaved, using agile movements to evade many black attacks.

“Ah, uh—” Just as she thought she might escape, a searing pain struck her body.

“What’s happening… ah!” Zhang Lingyun noticed her red health bar had turned black, and her health began to drain.

Though the effect only lasted a moment, she still felt an indescribable discomfort in her mind.

As if… she’d been twisted?

“What kind of monster is this!” Enduring the throbbing pain in her head, Zhang Lingyun activated “Fire Step” once more.