Chapter 304: Gargoyle

Because the Claw Valley Mountains possess a high elevation that acts as a barrier.

The haze over the Koshi Plains is not severe, consisting only of a thin layer of sand mist.

Sunlight attempts to penetrate, but can only scatter mottled golden light and shadows.

The speed of the Flight Technique is not fast.

It took Rod half an hour to reach the nearest marked location.

Looking down from the sky.

That should have been a village with vast green fields.

But now, wooden houses are utterly destroyed, and vast stretches of vegetation rise up in plumes of pitch-black smoke after being consumed by flames.

Countless Lycanthropy patients wander aimlessly through the wasteland, their eyes flashing with wild and mad light.

Due to the effect of Spirit or Magic, infection by Lycanthropy does not turn those with accumulation into mindless zombie-like creatures.

They still retain their normal memories, but their personalities become more beastly, brutal, and cunning, as if their very thoughts have been infected.

Rod chose a small hillock to lower his altitude.

The Banshee trembling in his arms finally calmed down a bit and dared to open her eyes.

"Can... can we get down? Master."

She said with a trembling voice.

It was mentioned before that the appearance of Undead is closely related to the negative energy emanating from the ground; therefore, once far from the ground, obvious fear arises.

Rod was also afraid she would be scared to death in his arms, so he simply landed on the ground.

He plopped Chris down onto the ground with a squelch.

Still dazed, she hadn't adapted yet, and let out a cry as she landed on her back on the grass.

Too lazy to care about her, he maximized 【Spider Sense】.

The marked location was ultimately estimated by Wendigo Belkin, so its accuracy is another matter.

He still had to rely on his own to locate it.

To avoid attracting the attention of those without eyes, Rod had Tally cast 【Shadow Veil Robe】 over both of them.

This was a new skill that dropped a few days ago.

Its main function is to drape others in a black robe made of shadows, reducing presence and concealing features.

More importantly, the Veil Robe can block blood and poison mist from all directions, which is one of the reasons Rod dared to enter the Koshi Plains.

Perhaps due to advancing to the Seventh Tier and achieving higher mastery in Shadow Spells, Tally's native Spirit Arts have gained more possibilities.

"Oh, found it."

After walking only a few steps, Rod smoothly found a trace of leaking Spirit in the bamboo forest to the left in the distance, around the Sixth Tier.

As expected of a Shared Skill, 【Spider Sense】 is quite powerful.

Following the traces, he proceeded step by step.

The 【Shadow Veil Robe】 effect was excellent; low-tier wandering Lycanthropy patients did not spot them.

About half an hour passed.

Rod passed through the bamboo forest and discovered a half-naked man covered in blood by a small stream.

Spirit accumulation: low Sixth Tier.

At this moment, he was squatting by the stream, with a long spear stuck upside down beside him, reaching into the water to stir something.

"He cut his wrist and is now in the flowing stream. Do Lycanthropy patients currently have a trend of suicide?"

Tally asked in the shadows, puzzled.

"They have a trend of splashing their blood onto others."

The Banshee, having recovered, said.

She had experienced half a night of battle, after all, and knew their style.

"Yes, Lycanthropy has a characteristic: they crazily want to infect others. This one probably wants the blood to flow down the river and infect everyone who comes into contact? However, this amount has long been diluted by the water flow until it is completely useless."

Lycanthropy patients have somewhat reduced intelligence, so doing this isn't strange.

While speaking, Rod drew the 【Sacrificial Body Sword】.

Then came a heavy, piercing slash of a shrieking wave; a blue-white crescent of Spirit sliced through the man's neck.

His body stiffened, then head and body separated; before he could react, he was dead.

"Just one, simple and easy."

Rod had just sheathed his sword.

The perception immediately triggered.

Frowning, he looked toward the distant sky to the south.

There he saw a giant stone statue with stone wings and an ape-like body; its wings were clearly stiff as stone, yet it could still take flight, holding an equally massive Shi Fu in its hand.

"Gargoyle?"

The Gargoyle raised the Shi Fu and charged toward the ground like a meteor.

A boom echoed; even at Rod's position, the ground's vibration could be felt.

Someone is fighting.

And they are specifically using Ghouls, magical creatures that cannot be infected by Lycanthropy.

"Gargoyle? Can you do it in bed?"

Tally jumped out from the shadows.

She also cast a Transformation Spell, becoming a cat-girl with cat ears and a cat tail.

She tilted her head cutely and asked; both the question and her appearance seemed a bit dim-witted.

"Probably not. They are demons transformed from stone and lack a reproductive system."

This succubus, though not old, was somewhat ignorant outside the realm of love-making.

"Tch, what's the point, meow?"

"Meow?"

Facing her master's confusion, Tally bounced over, darted into his clothes, and began licking his neck.

"Tally is a little kitten today, and little kittens love licking people the most."

"That's wrong, Master. Gargoyles do not reproduce through transformation; they lay stone eggs after pairing."

Kristine spoke up.

"Oh?"

"There are many gargoyles near Emerald City. I've even seen them doing 'that' in the forest, but the fluids they exchange are certainly not the essence we understand, so they are not on the succubus menu."

"I see."

So it was I who was ignorant.

Rod felt a bit embarrassed; knowledge gained from books is always shallow; one must see it with one's own eyes.

The succubus inside the clothes immediately got excited: "How do they do 'that'? Is it the same as us?"

"Uh, no. They connect while fighting, often destroying everything around them in the process. I heard the losing side becomes the egg-layer."

"Are gargoyles hermaphrodites?"

"Hard to say. I wouldn't dare get close enough to check."

The Banshee shrugged.

Tally's head squeezed out from Rod's collar, her face full of excitement.

Her pink, cat-like ears twitched cutely.

"Master! Let's catch that gargoyle! I want to watch you screw it!"

No.

You don't want to.

Neither do I want to screw a gargoyle that looks like a winged ape, even if I were to screw something, I'd pick something cute.

Besides.

That gargoyle was quite strong, reaching the seventh tier.

If forces of this level are deployed, the Lycanthropy-infected enemies they face must be comparable. This place isn't too far from Claw Valley Mountains; he needs to go check it out.

So they set off again.

Following the stream upstream, it took about ten minutes to cross a patch of tall, dense bushes, and they arrived at the flat ground where the gargoyle battle had occurred.

But unfortunately.

The battle was already over.

In fact, Rod had noticed it not long after they set off.

After all, that gargoyle's move was a desperate one.

Amidst the various battle scars on the ground lay a gargoyle torn to pieces. Only upon closer inspection did they realize this thing was nearly five meters tall.

"The gargoyle was torn apart... its body is almost covered in Lycanthropy blood. Huh? A corpse of a Mushroom Person? And a Star Spirit Person?"

(End of this chapter)