Chapter 2596 Suspicious
The communication system in the death realm was far more complex than that of the Human World. Often, the empires that controlled the death realm couldn’t transmit information over long distances, and many regions had to rely on point-to-point communication, which was very troublesome.
Rio was well aware of the importance of the Dragon Grave Mountain range. Leading a team composed of high-tier undead warriors, undead chant masters, and other high-tier undead, he rode through the night on his undead warhorse, heading straight for the Dragon Grave Mountain Range.
Even so, it was already the next day by the time they arrived at the Dragon Grave Mountain range.
Upon entering the Dragon Grave Mountain range, Rio looked up into the sky from a distance, his eyes narrowing as he noticed something unusual.
That was…
The undead Bone Dragon!
But it was different from usual.
Through the white mist, Rio saw more than a dozen Bone Dragons circling outside the Dragon Grave Mountain Range, constantly patrolling.
What was going on?
Why were these Bone Dragons roaming the periphery?
Rio’s heart sank, and he suddenly had an unsettling premonition.
“Slow down and be careful. Let’s approach cautiously.”
“Yes, Sir!”
The team continued to advance.
Soon, they entered the periphery of the Dragon Grave Mountain range.
Rio took a closer look at the battle unfolding in the white mist, his eyes widening in surprise.
In the sky above, more than twenty Bone Dragons were engaged in fierce combat!
No, wait!
Upon closer inspection, Rio realized that most of the Bone Dragons involved in the battle were being controlled!
Someone had left soul imprints on them!
As Rio was stunned by this realization, not far away, Kotal noticed the reinforcements from the Clayton Empire and immediately led his clan’s guardians to meet them.
“General Rio.”
“What’s going on? What happened here?”
Kotal’s lips curled into a bitter smile as he replied, “It’s a human. He entered the Dragon Grave Mountain range earlier, used a special technique to recruit the Bone Dragons, and he hasn’t stopped. He’s continued to use the controlled Bone Dragons to recruit even more Bone Dragons from the mountains.”
Upon hearing this, Rio’s brow furrowed tightly.
“Where is he?”
“He’s in that cluster of trees over there.”
“Mm. Take me to him.”
At that moment, Fang Heng was hidden among the trees.
After another sleepless night, Fang Heng had gained +13 Bone Dragons.
Watching as his army of Bone Dragons continued to grow, Fang Heng figured that staying outside the Dragon Grave Mountain range might no longer be the most efficient option. He was considering whether to move deeper into the range.
Suddenly, he sensed a large number of undead forces approaching. Fang Heng looked up and cast his gaze toward the edge of the forest.
Rio, seeing the large number of zombie creatures within the forest, was somewhat surprised.
He was puzzled.
How could such low-level undead creatures imprint soul brands onto Bone Dragons?
This didn’t make sense.
Rio slowly turned his gaze toward the young man.
In the death realm, humans were extremely rare, and he had never really encountered one before.
“I am Rio, Commander of the Clayton Empire. What should I call you?”
Fang Heng looked at Rio, but he couldn’t understand the language the man was speaking.
Kotal stepped forward to act as a translator.
“This is Rio, the Commander of the Clayton Empire. The Dragon Grave Mountain range and my clan are both under the Empire’s control. Commander Rio is asking for your name.”
“Fang Heng.”
Fang Heng replied, then turned his gaze to Sirius, standing beside him.
Sirius straightened up, looked at Rio, and sighed softly, “I never imagined that after all these years, the Clayton Empire would have developed to this point.”
Rio frowned upon hearing this, “Who are you?”
“We are former subordinates of Empress Persephone,” Sirius said, turning his eyes back to Rio. “Her Majesty was merciful and never attacked the Clayton Clan. She even granted you a region to live in and marked the boundaries.”
To think they were claiming to be former subordinates of Empress Persephone!
Rio’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing this.
There was indeed such a history in the Clayton Empire.
Thinking back to the explosion at Empress Persephone’s mausoleum and the outbreak of the Insect Plague not long ago…
“You claim to be former subordinates of the Empress. Do you have any proof?”
Sirius shook his head.
Fang Heng listened to Kotal’s translation and gazed at Rio, saying, “Whether we are former subordinates of the Empress has nothing to do with you, and we don’t need to prove anything to you.”
Upon hearing the translation, Rio furrowed his brow even deeper.
“The Empress’s mausoleum exploded recently. Were you inside at that time? What happened inside the mausoleum?”
“The mausoleum was attacked by the Hani tribe,” Sirius explained, clearly not wanting to provoke further conflict. “The Empress’s will was shattered. We came to the Dragon Grave Mountain range to search for the fragments of the Empress’s will.”
Rio frowned even more deeply upon hearing this.
At first glance, their story seemed free of any obvious flaws.
The appearance of the Disaster might indeed be linked to the explosion at the Empress’s mausoleum.
Kotal quickly pressed, “Then what about the Bone Dragons? What’s going on with them?”
Fang Heng turned his gaze to Kotal and replied indifferently, “The Empress’s will is still lingering deep within the mountain range. Once we enter, we will inevitably be attacked by the Bone Dragons. With our current strength, we can’t go in directly, so we have no choice but to recruit them with the help of the power of the Bones Dragons. Is there a problem with that?”
Kotal was momentarily speechless, feeling unable to refute the explanation.
Rio thought for a moment before asking in a low voice, “Is the revival of the Disaster connected to the shattering of the Empress’s will?”
Upon hearing the word Disaster, Sirius’s expression changed noticeably, and with a hint of surprise, he asked, “The Disaster? Wasn’t it completely destroyed by Her Majesty, the Empress? Has it been revived? When did this happen?”
“Yes, just a few days ago. The Disaster reappeared deep within the Vanni Empire.”
“I’ve never heard of any Vanni Empire.”
Kotal added from the side, “It’s in the Nether River periphery.”
Sirius’s eyes grew more serious, “Her Majesty fought the Disaster there long ago. The timing of the Disaster’s resurgence coincides exactly with the shattering of Her Majesty’s will. I don’t think this is just a coincidence.”
Rio’s brow furrowed even more, “So you don’t know anything about it either?”
At this point, Kotal hadn’t translated, and Fang Heng was feeling somewhat confused.
Suddenly, a game prompt appeared in Fang Heng’s vision.
[Hint: The player’s guidance mission triggered-Unknown Disaster.]
Optional guidance mission: Explore the Nether River.
Not interested!
Fang Heng glanced at the mission prompt and quickly looked away.
Disaster? He didn’t understand any of it.
At the moment, there were too many things to handle, and it was impossible to juggle everything at once. Fang Heng decided to focus on one thing and let the rest go for now. His priority was to gather more Bones Dragons.
“The Disaster is descending. No one will be able to escape. This is a threat that the entire death realm will face.”