Chapter 559: Blood Corpse Portrait

When the last collision sound rang out.

The low, secluded wind that swept by carried a hint of bloody sweetness.

The red-and-white mixture seeped into the soil, dyeing the fine stones a lovely color.

They did not stop, remaining motionless.

Lin An and Zhang Tie stood there straight, watching the last person die.

It was not that they were cold-blooded to the point of turning a blind eye, nor that they were unwilling to act.

But after seeing the first man die, an inexplicable sense of absurdity rose in both of their hearts.

Acting would be useless.

They simply could not do it, nor could they stop this group from seeking death.

It's like a broken machine; the only way to make it stop is to cut off its power.

But people only stop when they die.

Even if you break their limbs, even if you forcibly separate them and throw them onto the mountains, into the sea.

Without a doubt.

These people will crawl, struggle, and wriggle back here.

Then, mechanically, they repeat all of this.

"Captain Lin... why are they doing this..."

"Move a little! Just shift slightly and you won't die!"

"Madmen! They're a bunch of madmen!!"

I don't know how many times I've asked this question.

Zhang Tie stared, his eyes fixed dead on the man beneath his feet.

His forehead caved in alive, like a rice bowl.

The back of his head was smashed into a pulp, like a crushed soda can.

When this group hits the ground with their heads, they don't use that much force.

But if their heads don't touch the ground.

They will desperately, with all their strength, frenziedly smash their own heads downward.

Head-first into the ground!

It's as if, as long as they exert force, they can smash through anything blocking them, hit the ground, and complete an entire ritual.

The first time.

Lin An had not answered Zhang Tie's question for a long time.

He also could not understand.

But deep down, he guessed the meaning behind this group's behavior.

This group.

Like a preset machine program.

No matter what external forces they encounter, they will not change their behavior.

Standard. Fixed, rigid.

The body must crawl, rubbing against the ground.

Both hands must be raised above the head.

The head must touch the ground.

Even the direction of forward movement is fixed.

They are turning themselves into machines, discarding all emotion and reason.

In order to...

Seek... "eternal unchanging"?

For some reason, a hint of absurdity flashed in Lin An's heart.

He seemed to know how the Ascetic Practitioners actually obtain their power.

Cycle, firmness, belief, the mystery of giving up sand...

All the clues point to time.

But he currently lacks other information to verify his idea.

He exhaled, Lin An's gaze complex, he took a deep look at the corpse on the ground.

"Let's go, to the Great Xia Royal Capital."

"Perhaps there we can get answers."

Zhang Tie opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But seeing Lin An turn without hesitation and step forward, he ultimately chose silence.

Speed increased.

The corpses lying all over were left behind.

As they drew ever closer to the central area, the population was no longer so sparse.

Vast fields connected, one after another ancient cities dotted the landscape.

Unlike before, when only scattered caravans existed.

While moving at high speed, Lin An sensed several distinct auras emanating from within the cities.

The owners of those auras seemed to be true Ascetic Practitioners.

Whenever they passed by, those aura owners would lock onto them.

It's just unknown why; it's merely a lock-on, and it didn't draw any obstruction from anyone.

This strange group of beings, like an old monk entering meditation, silently stays in their own territory.

As the number of people seen increases.

Xiong Hanzi's mood also grew heavier.

"Lin Dui..."

"Along this road, we have encountered at least four to five hundred thousand ascetic practitioners, just like that previous group of madmen."

"Their direction is also the Royal City..."

Lin An nodded slightly, not too surprised.

Along the way, they encountered many ascetic practitioners, or rather, ascetic cultivators.

It's hard to imagine that in an ancient setting, amidst an environment fighting monsters, there would appear so many non-productive ascetic cultivators.

According to what he saw, these ascetic cultivators included all kinds of people.

From elders in their seventies or eighties down to children six or seven years old.

Including those with missing limbs, blind eyes, and even pregnant women.

As for these ascetic practitioners, the people of this world seem to hold them in great respect.

The routes of the ascetic practitioners all point toward the vicinity of the Royal City.

These people are like ants drawn to sugar, continuously streaming toward the Royal City.

As if that place were a holy land.

Along the forward route, scattered food and drinking water can be found.

It appears to have been placed by the residents of the towns along the way.

However, these ascetic practitioners rarely eat, or eat very little, only consuming a bit just to barely survive.

The massive gathering resembles a newly formed ant colony.

When some ascetic practitioner groups' routes clash with another side, the two sides collide expressionlessly, or simply exhaust themselves to death there.

Along the way, Lin An discovered many desiccated corpses, appearing to have been exhausted to death alive on the spot.

And when the route is mistaken, they encounter rivers or cliffs along the way.

These ascetic practitioners then, like lemmings, line up to jump off the cliffs.

The shattered corpses fill the base of the mountain.

White bones litter the area.

The forest below the cliff is unusually lush.

"Lin Dui, what exactly are these blood corpses?"

"We've captured so many of them, but damn it, not a single one can explain clearly."

Zhang Tie glanced at the official just captured on the ground and asked in a muffled voice.

The person was knocked unconscious right after asking, and then tied up.

These few are people they saw on the road, appearing to be tax officials collecting grain.

The description of the blood corpses given by these people is far more detailed than that of the Northern Border garrison troops.

But hearing it, it actually sounds even stranger.

The Northern Border troops have never directly fought the blood corpses, whereas these tax officials, being closer to the border battlefield, have had dealings with them.

From them, Lin An also roughly learned the war situation in this secret realm.

The human side, namely the Great Xia Dynasty, has its defensive line resisting outside the national gate, at the border of the Royal City.

At the battlefield border, the blood corpses launch attacks incessantly.

They possess immense strength and a terrifying appearance.

Their entire bodies are bright red.

Like enormous, skin‑stripped living humans.

Moreover, because they like to eat humans, anyone wounded turns into the same monster, hence the name blood corpse.

But strangely, the tax officials repeatedly mention that these blood corpses will "infiltrate" the territory, controlling many flying monsters.

They can even control fire.

"Probably similar to a mutant, right?"

Lin An replied offhandedly, not entirely sure.

Speaking frankly, he always feels that the description of the blood corpses from the tax officials is somewhat off.

Controlling flying monsters, infiltrating, and controlling fire.

This is not like zombies...

Could it be some special kind of mutant? Yet its numbers are extraordinarily huge, and it even possesses some intelligence?

Looking at the image drawn based on the tax officials' description, Lin An couldn't help but feel doubtful.

This monster actually looks somewhat like a licker.

Its whole body is exposed muscle tissue, and its size is huge.

Except it lacks the huge claws.

So, are these mysterious ascetic practitioners fighting against this kind of monster?

Put that way, it actually makes sense.

The Great Xia Dynasty, which possesses reversal ability and has ascetic practitioners suspected to be of the Third Rank, why has it been locked in battle with these monsters for hundreds of years?

If they were ordinary zombies, it would have been resolved long ago.

Looks like it.

Blood corpse, very strong.

Compared to the mutant zombies of the real world, it won't be weak at all.