The next morning, as the sun was just beginning to rise, everyone was already ready to depart.
After a quick two-hour journey, a massive barren mountain appeared before them.
Desolate, with no signs of life—this was the first impression the mountain gave, resembling a mine that had been exhausted and was now abandoned.
When the group reached the base of the mountain, an inexplicable chill in the air made several people sneeze.
There were no plants of any kind, only bare rocks exposed on the surface, making the area look exceptionally bleak.
Ed furrowed his brow, carefully observing his surroundings. He drew his steel sword, stuck it into the ground, then pulled it out again, closely inspecting the dirt on the blade.
Finniel saw Ed's actions and walked over, curious. She asked, "Ed, what are you doing?"
Before Ed could answer, Leon sneered and said, "Just doing something pointless to attract attention."
Finniel shot back at Leon, "If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."
At that moment, Ed, looking at the slight dirt on the steel sword, slowly said, "The Underground Undead Cavern here—its Undead Monsters won't be weak. It's best not to underestimate them."
Upon hearing Ed's words, Finniel Morton, Eng, Melissa, and Leon all looked at him.
Ed continued, "There's soil and moisture, but no plants, and no life exists in the soil."
"To turn an entire mountain into a place filled with death, the Undead Monsters here won't be weak."
The others agreed with Ed's analysis, but Leon scoffed, saying:
"What's there to worry about? I'm carrying a sword that can counter Undead Creatures. Don't worry!"
"Besides, we have so many people, and four Gold-level Hunter guards. Exploring an Underground Undead Cavern? It'll be a breeze!"
Leon turned to Finniel and said, "Finniel, don't worry. With me here, there won't be any surprises this time!"
Finniel ignored Leon.
The group continued forward.
About half an hour later, a Hunter who had been scouting ahead ran back and reported, "Lord Eng, we found some caves up ahead. It should be the entrance!"
Everyone hurried over, and soon, in front of a smooth rock wall, several cave entrances of varying sizes appeared before them.
Although it was daytime, the cave entrances were emanating a chill and the scent of death, causing many of the Hunters to grow serious.
While the others were focused on observing the cave entrances, Ed was the only one looking at the surrounding land. He was searching for traces left by Undead Monsters that might have walked through here.
There was nothing to be found. It seemed that these caves hadn't been entered by anyone or any creature for a long time.
Eng noticed Ed's actions and quietly asked, "Did you find anything?"
Ed shook his head and replied, "The low-tier Undead Creatures that attacked us yesterday didn't come from these cave entrances."
Eng nodded and said, "Those low-tier Undead Monsters from yesterday were probably the reason the village was abandoned. The deaths in the village have nothing to do with this place."
Ed didn't respond. It was just that there were no signs of entry or exit at these cave entrances. There might still be other caves that hadn't been discovered yet.
Ed suggested to Eng that they send someone to thoroughly investigate the barren mountain to see if any other cave entrances could be found.
Eng frowned, indicating that they needed to hurry. If they delayed any further, it would be dark soon.
Soon, under Eng's arrangement, the Hunters chose the largest cave entrance. With weapons ready, they slowly ventured inside.
Ed and Melissa walked in the middle of the group, ensuring that, whether danger came from the front or rear, they would have enough time to react.
The cave entrance sloped downward in a spiral. As they went deeper, the temperature dropped, and the light completely disappeared. Without proper lighting equipment, nothing could be seen.
The cold environment caused droplets of water to form on the walls, slowly falling and making a "drip, drip" sound. Apart from that, only the sound of the Hunters' footsteps and their heartbeats could be heard.
After walking for about ten minutes, they still hadn't encountered any Undead Monsters. There weren't even any rats or bats!
Someone whispered, "Could it be that we've come to the wrong place, or that the Undead Monsters have already left?"
Upon hearing this, Finniel became worried. She feared that if the Undead Monsters had left, she would have no way of finding the items her family needed.
At that moment, a strange sound suddenly came from not too far ahead!
Everyone fell silent, holding their breath.
Without hesitation, Leon drew his golden-glowing longsword and moved to the front of the group, carefully approaching the source of the sound.
The atmosphere instantly became tense.
Everyone was staring intently, and soon Leon spotted the source of the sound—it was behind a rock.
He took a deep breath, slowly bringing his golden-glowing longsword closer.
Suddenly, a mouse, no bigger than the size of a palm, appeared before him.
Leon couldn't help but curse, "What the hell! It's just a dead mouse! Damn it, you scared me!"
He immediately swung his sword and cut the mouse in half.
The other Hunters let out a sigh of relief, thinking it was some kind of monster.
However, the next moment, everyone behind Leon froze.
Leon sensed something was wrong and slowly looked up.
What had been an empty rock wall now had several white tendrils slowly advancing toward him.
As soon as Leon noticed the white tendrils, they suddenly sped up and shot toward him like arrows.
Leon quickly used his longsword to defend himself, and Eng began issuing orders for the Hunters on the mission to join the fight.
In an instant, the previously calm atmosphere was replaced with the loud sounds of battle.
It was then that everyone realized that the so-called white tendrils were not tendrils at all, but white bones, which had gathered together to form bone chains!
And then, footsteps could be heard coming from ahead.
By the time Leon and the others managed to destroy the bone chains on the wall, they discovered that a seemingly endless number of Undead Monsters had gathered in front of them.
Unlike the low-tier Undead Monsters that had attacked the village the night before, the Undead Monsters in front of them gave off an eerie feeling.
These Undead Monsters were like soldiers in an army, full of order. At the front were large Undead Monsters holding bone shields, and behind them were a group of skeletons wielding bone spears.
As for the rear, it was hard to see clearly, but there were faint figures of longbows.
Eng's expression grew serious, and he whispered, "It's a legion! An Undead Legion!"
"Ed, you were right. The strength of the Undead Monsters here is far stronger than we thought!"
Ed didn't respond. He was staring at the mouse Leon had just cut in half, where he seemed to spot a piece of torn fabric.
However, just then, strange sounds came from behind the Undead Legion, and Ed immediately shouted, "Arrows! Everyone, take cover!"
His first instinct was to draw his steel sword and shield Melissa behind him.
Several unfortunate Hunters, not quick enough to react, were hit by the bone arrows, letting out chilling screams of agony.
As expected of a high-tier Silver Hunter, Leon turned to look at Finniel and then, raising his golden-glowing longsword, shouted, "Charge with me! Let's take down those Undead Monsters with shields!"
Arrows shooting from a distance were constantly knocked down by Leon. His sharp eyes focused on the shield-wielding Undead Monsters, and without hesitation, he thrust his sword forward.
The golden longsword immediately pierced through a shield and killed one of the shield-bearing Undead Monsters. However, before Leon could celebrate, countless long spears suddenly appeared behind the shield, quickly thrusting toward him.
With no choice, Leon had to retreat quickly!
Fortunately, a few Hunters followed Leon's charge. They were quick to react and helped him block the incoming spears.
A guard from the Morton Family said to Eng, "This isn't working. Why don't we step in and help?"
Eng frowned and said, "Let's wait a little longer. Without sunlight, we'll run out of energy and won't be able to recover..."
Before Eng could finish his sentence, he suddenly turned his head to look at the Undead Legion ahead.
He saw the shield-bearing Undead Monsters at the front slowly moving to the sides, clearing a path.
A figure riding a skeletal warhorse, surrounded by thick black mist, carrying two longswords on his back, and resembling a mummified Hunter, slowly emerged.
Eng said, "Undead Hunter Knight! High-tier Silver strength!"
The Undead Hunter Knight, riding the skeletal warhorse, slowly spoke, "Humans, leave our territory, and we'll spare your lives."
Several Hunters, already frightened, instinctively looked toward Eng.
The Undead Hunter Knight noticed Eng as well but showed no surprise. He didn't seem the least bit afraid of Eng, despite Eng's Gold-level Hunter strength.
Both Eng and Ed immediately realized something wasn't right.
In the next moment, the ground suddenly began to shake!
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