The environment in this area is significantly worse than that of Qingluo Plain. The ground is covered with bare, grayish-white rock layers, and sparse, withered grass grows out from the cracks in the rocks, as if it has been repeatedly crushed by something.
Occasionally, you can see a few crooked, withered trees, their branches cracked, and most of the bark peeled ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) off, revealing grayish-white wood.
There's hardly anything alive around here anymore.
Jiang Zhaoyue's voice came from behind her. She raised her hand and pointed forward, "I didn't even see a single bird."
Lin Feng glanced in the direction she pointed, and all that remained at the bottom of the valley were cracked mud and a few grayish-white withered branches.
"The orcs have traveled along this route several times, taking away everything edible and usable."
The damage of this magnitude will take several years to recover from.
Jiang Yelan's gaze swept around: "Not even a decent Nightmare Beast can be seen... It has indeed been cleaned up too thoroughly."
After running about 500 kilometers, the changes in the ground became more obvious.
This area was originally supposed to be a habitat for nightmare creatures. According to previous intelligence, it used to be home to many low- and mid-level nightmare creature groups, but now there is nothing left.
Dead bushes are scattered at irregular intervals on both sides of the road, their branches displaying an unnatural grayish-black color.
The water in the stream had a dark color, not the murky kind of mud, but a semi-transparent, almost inky color, and was slower and more viscous than normal water.
Scattered along the shore were the remains of some animals, their bones intact but blackened, as if something had drained them of everything inside.
Lin Feng squatted down, reached out and picked up a bit of soil from the stream, smelled it, and frowned: "Traces of the undead passing by."
Jiang Yelan also stopped and looked down at the blackened soil: "Where the undead race passes, plants wither and water sources become polluted."
“Yes.” Lin Feng stood up and patted the dirt off his hands.
"When the undead army marches, it releases an aura of death. Although it does not kill people directly, it slowly seeps into the land and water. Plants that absorb it will wither and rot, and animals that drink it will gradually weaken."
Jiang Zhaoyue frowned, pushed off with her feet, and soared into the air, rising hundreds of meters into the sky. She glanced around at her surroundings.
She hovered in the air for about half a minute before falling back to the ground, her expression darkening: "The area of destruction is too large. I look to the north, and there is this black land for at least dozens of miles, stretching to the horizon without stopping."
Based on this scale... the number of skeletons passing through here should exceed one million.
Lin Feng nodded: "The intelligence from Europe says that the undead army that invaded the Eastern Extreme Region this time consists of about 300,000 undead and more than 1 million skeletons."
However, the undead will continuously hunt and transform nightmare creatures along the way, and by the time they reach the Eastern Territory, the skeleton army should have reached nearly two million.
He paused, glancing down at the black soil beneath his feet: "Moreover, they have no physical limitations and don't need supplies, so their marching speed is much faster than that of humans. They march day and night without stopping, and the destructive power of the undead race... to be honest, is not much less than that of the Nightmare race."
He squatted down, brushed away the top layer of black soil with his fingers to reveal the deeper soil underneath, examined it carefully for a few moments, and then shook his head: "But there are still some differences."
Jiang Zhaoyue also squatted down: "What's the difference?"
"The destruction caused by the undead will slowly recover over time. If these lands, which are soaked in the aura of death, are left untouched for several years, plants will grow back and the streams will gradually become clear again."
Lin Feng stood up and brushed the dirt off his hands. "But the Nightmare Clan is different. The damage caused by the Nightmare Clan is of a different nature. That kind of thing cannot be repaired by time."
He didn't say anything more, but looked up at the sky and said, "Let's go, we still have a long way to go."
The three of them started walking again and continued running eastward at a steady and even pace.
Night slowly rose from the east, gradually swallowing the surrounding scenery into darkness.
When it was 11 p.m., Lin Feng stopped in front of a sheltered rock wall.
It was a naturally formed shallow cave with a small entrance. The inside was just big enough for three people to stand on. The ground was covered with a layer of dry sand, which was cleaner than the ground outside.
"We'll rest here tonight," Lin Feng said. "You two rest first. I don't need to sleep; I'll keep watch."
Jiang Zhaoyue did not refuse. She went into the cave, sat down in a spot near the back, leaned against the rock wall, closed her eyes, and her breathing quickly became even and long.
Jiang Yelan sat down inside the cave entrance, leaning against the stone wall, with the Shadow Moon Blade across his knees, and closed his eyes.
Lin Feng walked out of the cave, stood on the open ground outside the cave entrance, and looked up at the night sky.
The moon was mostly obscured by a thin layer of clouds, revealing only a blurry, silvery-white halo that shone on the twisted, withered branches, casting skewed shadows on the ground.
He recalled some intelligence he had read about these areas before. Before the arrival of the undead army, there were many groups of nightmare creatures that lived here. Like the animals on Earth, they had their own territories, habits, and activity patterns.
If human territories are built on their habitats, it will trigger beast tides. These tides are unpredictable; a village-level territory might attract a level 20+ Earth Bear, while other times it might remain peaceful for months.
In addition, after establishing a territory, each country has to face a fixed nightmare tide every month. Therefore, the development of the nightmare world by various countries has always been kept at a relatively restrained scale, and no one dares to push too deep into it easily.
Now, after the undead army passed by, all of this has vanished. Those former tribes, territories, hunting routes, and activity patterns have all been flattened beneath this black soil.
Lin Feng withdrew his gaze, turned around and walked back to the cave entrance, where he sat down against the rock wall.
The cave was quiet, with only two even breaths rising and falling gently in the darkness.
...
The three traveled for another two days, and by the time they crossed the western border of the Eastern Extremity Region, it was noon on the third day.
The stench of rotting dust in the air was masked by a fainter smell of burning.
On the distant horizon, the outline of a gray-black city was faintly visible, but the flags flying atop the city walls had been replaced with gray-white undead banners, their edges tattered and fluttering silently in the wind.
Jiang Zhaoyue glanced at it from afar and said, "That's Iron Wolf Fortress, a county-level territory. It has already been captured by the undead race. Graystone City is about two hundred kilometers to its east."
Lin Feng glanced in the direction of Iron Wolf Fortress. There were indeed skeleton soldiers wandering on the city wall. There were not many of them. They patrolled the collapsed sections of the wall in a scattered manner, moving slowly and without a unified formation.
"Iron Wolf Fortress has already fallen, and Graystone City probably won't hold out for much longer either. Let's bypass it and head straight for White Tower City."
Jiang Zhaoyue and Jiang Yelan nodded at the same time.
The three then accelerated, soaring high above the north side of Iron Wolf Fortress, maintaining their distance and avoiding the skeleton soldiers patrolling around the city walls.
Occasionally, you can see several squads of skeleton soldiers patrolling below, some carrying broken weapons, others dragging something and leaving a long trail on the road.
They didn't look up or make any attempt to give chase, as if they hadn't realized that three people had flown over their heads.
