Chapter 265: The Feather Society's Anomaly
Its body underwent an astonishing transformation. The creature's massive, four-meter-tall physique rapidly shrank as if its very flesh were desiccating, pulling taut over its frame until its muscle lines became dense, solid, and refined.
It finally settled at a height of about two and a half meters. Although still towering over an ordinary person, it had lost the overwhelming visual oppressiveness it once possessed. In its place, however, the dangerous aura coiling around it escalated exponentially, becoming a evident, suffocating pressure.
The black carapace encasing its body grew even deeper, a void-like shell that seemed to absorb all light. At key points—its joints, spine, and fists—clusters of sharp, crystalline formations erupted, resembling jagged shards of dark purple crystal. Within these formations, a viscous darkness seemed to flow, pulsing with an extremely ominous energy.
Most unsettling of all, the sheer concentration of Abyssal power emanating from the creature was so potent that the very ground beneath its feet began to sizzle. The dark soil, which had previously only been tainted by its aura, now rapidly turned scorched and compacted, emitting wisps of black smoke as if being eaten away by a powerful acid.
It raised its head. The two purple glows on its face had narrowed into a pair of thin, burning slits, locking onto the three figures before it.
Hu Tao, Iansan, and Varesa felt a cold dread grip their hearts. They understood instantly. This desperate monster had abandoned all thoughts of defense, all instinct for self-preservation. It had condensed every last shred of its power for one final, insane onslaught.
What awaited them would be a battle far more brutal and perilous than anything that had come before.
The flames of war scorched the lands of Natlan. Yet, with the valiant resistance of the Chat Group members and Natlan's own warriors, the people of the six major tribes found a glimmer of hope amid the chaos, steadily relocating towards the sanctuary of the Holy Fire Arena.
Abyss portals, whether small fissures or larger maws that had just fused into existence, were being subjected to targeted and ferocious attacks. The reinforcements from the Chat Group, armed with their "mission assistance systems," were proving astonishingly efficient in their support.
However, Lumine and Paimon, currently operating in the Feather Society's territory, began to feel a subtle sense of disharmony after efficiently clearing several waves of monsters and rescuing a few trapped teams with the help of their mini-map.
"Lumine, don't you think this is strange?" Paimon asked, floating beside the Traveler. She propped her chin on her small hand, frowning as she studied the mission list displayed on the azure light screen before her. "The missions we've been getting are all 'rescue the besieged merchant caravan,'or'clear out the monsters attacking the safe haven,'or'escort civilians to safety'..."
Paimon tapped the screen for emphasis. "They're all about dealing with monsters that have already shown up. How come there isn't a single mission about destroying the source, like an Abyss portal?"
Lumine's sword had just turned the last Rifthound to ash. She gave the blade a clean flick, shaking off non-existent blood, her golden eyes fixed gravely on the mini-map. On the display, most of the red dots representing enemies were mobile monster groups; there were conspicuously few special markers indicating fixed sources of corruption or active portals.
"Something's definitely not right," Lumine said, her voice low. "An invasion of this scale needs a stable source. These monsters can't just be materializing from thin air."
She looked up at the sky, where warriors of the Feather Society soared on their unique Furred-Wing Dragon companions. They circled like keen-eyed falcons, scouting relentlessly in an attempt to find the hidden monster "nests." But according to the sporadic information relayed through Venti's Wind Network, their search was yielding little progress.
Inside the Holy Fire Arena, Mavuika's brow was also deeply furrowed. Through the Wind Network, she could clearly grasp the general battle situation and the commands being issued across the various tribes.
The monster eradication in the Feather Society's territory was proceeding smoothly, and the civilian evacuation was orderly. Yet, the feeling that they were merely "treating the symptoms, not the root cause" lingered unpleasantly in her mind. The enemy was like a venomous snake hidden in the shadows, sending out an endless stream of vipers to harass them while keeping its fatal fangs concealed.
She continuously issued orders, demanding that the Feather Society intensify its aerial reconnaissance, paying special attention to areas with complex terrain—valleys, dense forests, and cave systems—where a threat could easily hide.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the Feather Society's domain, in a steep, forested mountain region known as Qiaozhi Cliff, a medic named Chuychu had just finished treating the injuries of a civilian team of about twenty to thirty people.
The group was a disheveled mess. Every single person was wounded, their faces etched with exhaustion and lingering fear. They claimed to be among the first to encounter the monster attacks. After a bitter struggle where they lost several companions, they had been forced to abandon their home, retreating toward the Holy Fire Arena as their injuries worsened and their strength failed.
"Alright, your wounds have been bandaged, and the Abyss erosion in your bodies has been temporarily suppressed," Chuychu said, her tone gentle as she put away her medical tools. "Everyone, please hold on just a little longer. You'll be safe once you reach the Holy Fire Arena."
However, as she turned to pack her medicine box, her delicate brows furrowed slightly. As an experienced doctor, she was all too familiar with the symptoms of Abyss erosion. Typically, the corruption spread from the outside in, first manifesting as dark spots on the skin or a numbness and tingling in the limbs. Only in severe cases would it penetrate deep into the internal organs, causing intense pain, bloody coughs, and even organ failure.
But the condition of this team was abnormal.
Their external injuries weren't particularly severe, and the traces of erosion on their skin were faint. Logically, this level of exposure shouldn't have caused any internal problems. Yet, during her treatment, she had clearly sensed that almost every single person had mild signs of Abyssal corruption in their core organs, like the stomach and lungs.
This didn't fit the established pattern of erosion, unless…
A thought sparked in Chuychu's mind. She knelt down again, keeping her tone as calm as possible. "Besides fighting the monsters, did any of you eat or drink anything unusual along the way? For example, wild fruits that didn't look fresh, or spring water that had a strange color?"
A middle-aged man who seemed to be the leader of the group clutched his abdomen, enduring a dull ache. He tried hard to recall. "Unusual? No, Doctor… We were just so hungry, and we were on the run. We picked some fruits we recognized in the woods over there, and drank some water from a small stream…"
Wild fruits? Stream water?
Chuychu's gaze suddenly sharpened. She offered a few more words of reassurance, encouraging them to continue on their way and informing them that a reception party would meet them further ahead.
The moment they were gone, she walked to one side, concentrated, and used the Wind Network to contact Mavuika directly.
"Lady Mavuika, this is Chuychu. I've discovered an anomaly near Qiaozhi Cliff." Her words were clear and rapid, devoid of panic but filled with urgency. "A team evacuating from an early battle zone is showing signs of 'internal-to-external' Abyss erosion—their internal organs are damaged, but the external signs are minor. According to their testimony, they consumed local wild fruits and drank stream water along the way."
"I suspect the problem lies in a contaminated water source or the soil itself," she declared. "This might explain why no large Abyss portals have been found in the Feather Society's territory—the enemy might be hiding them underground, conducting a more covert and widespread erosion by polluting the environment!"
She paused, gathering her thoughts before continuing. "I have instructed this team to continue towards the Holy Fire Arena, but they will require more professional purification treatment. I recommend immediately dispatching personnel to intercept them and to conduct focused reconnaissance on the areas they passed through, especially the water sources."
"At the same time, I believe the Qiaozhi Cliff area requires more reconnaissance forces. The source of this pollution is very likely in this vicinity."
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