Chapter 82: A New World (2)
When Kestrel reached the edge of Erdtree’s Polluted Zone, she was struck by the hive of activity. Numerous alphas gathered before the bold red warning sign. Several groups even crossed the warning signs, venturing into the Polluted Zone.
Kestrel, a lone beta, attracted surprised looks from the alphas at her arrival.
Accustomed to such reactions, Kestrel aimed to dodge any annoying questions. Silently, she inspected her equipment and crossed the warning line into the Polluted Zone.
As she moved across the unseen border, another alpha almost simultaneously joined her.
Half of the alpha’s body was already vanishing as he turned to look at her. His mouth fell open, showing a stunned expression. "Ah, where did this beta come from..." Mid-sentence, he disappeared entirely.
Kestrel perceived countless golden threads, akin to tree roots, forming a vast grid in the infinite space. One of these golden threads spotted her and quickly slithered over, its end making contact with her body.
Kestrel’s vision blurred momentarily. When she opened her eyes, she found herself within the Polluted Zone.
Numerous alphas were present as she entered. These individuals had merely arrived a bit earlier than she had, with one even entering at the same moment as her. But once Kestrel composed herself, she discovered she was standing on a desolate street, stretching into a long, empty intersection.
She unfurled her tendrils, scanning the nearby vicinity. She found no signs of human emotions.
No one was here. No animals. No living beings at all.
Kestrel surmised that this Polluted Zone in the Erdtree was different from others. No matter the size of the entering group, everyone ended up scattered throughout different locations within the Polluted Zone. Perhaps this was why the alphas, despite their numbers, had failed to seize this Polluted Zone, resulting in its untouched state for many years.
According to a map Kestrel had covertly acquired, before the pollution, Zone 77 had been a bustling small town. Many people lived here, with lookout posts and stationed armies. She didn’t understand why, but suddenly, this place had turned into a ruin, transforming into this strange area that had claimed countless lives.
At the moment, it was "daytime" in the Polluted Zone.
The abandoned town was eerily silent, with dried leaves rustling across the cobblestone streets in the gentle breeze. Sturdy houses made of white stone and red brick flanked both sides of the road. Many of the dark windows of these houses were adorned with lovely flowers, a testament to the former vibrant lives led by the residents before the area fell into ruin.
As Kestrel paced down the silent street, only her soft footsteps echoed back. The world was terrifyingly quiet, as if she was the only person walking in the whole town.
Suddenly, an odd sound of footsteps echoed. It resembled the heavy clopping of animal hooves on the brick road.
The sound was sudden, so much so that Kestrel’s tendrils failed to pick up any emotional shifts or movements in advance. It was as if something had just materialized around the corner of the intersection.
Kestrel pressed herself against a roadside house, her back against the cold red brick wall, remaining perfectly still.
A group of peculiar "cows," each carrying a long, sharp knife, rounded the corner of the street in a disciplined line, walking on two feet.
Yes, "cows"—the typically gentle, white and black-spotted creatures commonly seen on farms.
In this strange land, these creatures stood upright, their eyes a fiery red, and long knives hanging over their shoulders. They moved in an organized way, creating heavy thudding sounds, and came into view one by one around the corner. Hanging from the knife of the last cow was an alpha, torn open.
The dead alpha dangled lifelessly, his body skewered on the blade, his vacant eyes gazing directly at Kestrel as if shocked by his own end.
Kestrel recognized him. He was the alpha who had entered the Polluted Zone with her.
This short-haired alpha had looked at her with surprise, only getting out half a sentence, "Ah, where did this beta come from..." Maybe he planned to dig deeper into this mysterious girl after entering the Polluted Zone, but sadly, his unfinished sentence became his final words.
Giant tendrils showed up, wrapping around Kestrel, enveloping her within their thick, soft mass.
Encased in these tendrils, Kestrel remained still against the wall.
The strange cows, marching in a line, carrying the dead alpha, walked by Kestrel. Surprisingly, they didn’t seem to notice the tendrils and Kestrel within them.
Thump, thump, thump...
The footfall sounds slowly faded, leaving a streak of blood on the greenish cobblestones. Then, as if absorbed by something underneath, the warm blood quickly soaked into the stones and disappeared.
The street was as clean as before. A gust of wind kicked up some dried flower petals. There was no trace of the vibrant life that had been taken.
The tendrils slowly let go of Kestrel.
Kestrel stared at the spotless ground for a moment before continuing her journey.
Before coming here, she had carefully studied information about the dangers of Polluted Zone 77. She knew one of the threats was the sudden appearance of strange creatures, even during the relatively safer "daytime".
These monsters could show up anywhere, powerful, savage, and emotionless. They didn’t rely on sight to find humans, but hunted them based on their emotional changes.
Most alphas, even though they tried their best to hide, struggled to completely mask their mental waves, leading to their capture and sad death in the Polluted Zone.
Kestrel, a person with few emotional changes, and with the ability of the tendrils to effectively block human emotions, was able to enter this place alone in search of what she wanted.
The tendrils spread out a bit, surrounding Kestrel, carefully moving forward over the greenish cobblestones.
Soon, there was the sound of dragging chains close by.
Just as Kestrel stopped and blended into the tendrils, a huge pig head creature, with a bloody butcher knife hanging over its shoulder, rounded the corner.
The big, fat pig, with folds of fat on its face and a scary look, was walking on two legs. It wore human braces and in one hand held a blood-soaked butcher’s knife, and in the other, it led a human. The man, maybe an alpha, was crying and sniffling as he was dragged by the "pig man", completely naked, with a chain around his neck, crawling painfully on the street.
Kestrel stayed against the wall, unmoving.
The pig didn’t notice Kestrel, who was wrapped in tendrils, but the man being dragged on the ground instantly saw Kestrel by the road. He immediately screamed in fear, "Help! Save me! Please, save me!"
