The Burial Ground of Bones is imprisoned by a mysterious energy, which has spawned countless undead and also created a cage that binds them.
After conducting some simple elemental energy tests, Felix strongly suspected that the mysterious energy causing the undead transformation of the entire Vulture Plain is a kind of mutated geothermal energy with different elemental fluctuations. Unfortunately, with just the simple magical tools available today, it's impossible to determine the nature of this energy.
The world's magical theory leans towards the spiritual, focusing on energy and the spirit world. This is the opposite of the past world's science, which focused on material aspects and even led people to reject the existence of the spiritual realm.
Both paths, purely focusing on one aspect, are unhealthy. True evolution should balance material and spiritual aspects; the body is the vessel of the soul, and the soul is the core of the body.
Under the "Laws," true perfection is not allowed. A singular path could lead to the destruction and birth of the entire world. This is what's known as the cycle of reincarnation.
...
Wisely, Felix stopped pondering this matter. His recent breakthrough in the study of Astrology had given him a leap in imaginative thinking. In simple terms, it's what you'd call "wild imagination!"
It's hard to imagine, isn't it? Astrology, the closest to a technological system and requiring the most extensive data calculations, actually needs such boundless creativity!
Studying Astrology was a necessary decision for Felix, as he found his arcane talents quite limited. The specific jargon of Arcane and the "Elemental Order" set by the fourteen great arcane masters conflicted greatly with Felix's belief in the "Law of Conservation of Material Energy."
Neglecting the basics, Arcane seems more pitiful than magic, as it has become completely formulaic. This forced Felix to abandon Arcane as a focal point and instead delve into its origin power - Astrology, an ancient and profound force that can't be fully grasped even with ten thousand years!
In such a vast and deep field, specializing in one aspect is the most effective and fastest approach. Felix chose "Constellation Structural Analysis," essentially the "Triangle Law" of the original arcane mainline "Elemental Seal."
For Felix, magical power has always been his biggest obstacle. Ample and profound magical power requires time, a lot of time, which Felix lacks.
In a limited plane, he extends his reach farther, grasping all available power.
"True power lies in the sky, in the ocean, beneath the soil, deep within our hearts..."
Felix rubbed his forehead, tucking the marble-thick "Compendium of Astrology" back into the Blue Crystal.
He dreaded encountering such philosophical, idealistic, and obscure theories in his meticulous magical studies. These seemingly logical but confusing statements are the most disorienting.
So, whenever Felix comes across such statements during his studies, he either skips them or stops analyzing altogether.
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They had been traveling for a day and a half, more precisely, one day and four magical hours.
Before the battle of the Vulture Plains, the empire had built an exceptionally wide road here. An army of a hundred thousand needed three to five hundred thousand logistical personnel. In logistics, the road is the primary element.
As the group ventured deeper, the fog gradually thickened. The Burial Ground of Bones is shrouded in mist for eight months of the year. Except for the last two months of winter and the transitional period between spring and summer, the fog dissipates for reasons unknown.
Felix is now at a place called the "Crossroads of Life and Death."
The reason for this name is simple: turn left, and you enter The Burial Ground of Bones, the territory of the undead, the land of death. Turn right, and it's the Barren Plains, home to green-skinned half-orcs. If you're smart enough, it's a land of riches.
In such a place, there was only one kind of person you'd expect to find: ruthless bandits, murderers, and the fallen.
Unfortunately, Felix encountered just such a group.
With their eerie green eyes, the bandits blocking the road exuded a wolfish aura, like hungry wolves on the prowl. In such a place, the most scarce and desired things for bandits were money, wealth, food, and — most of all — women. Clearly, Felix's group included many beautiful women.
There was nothing more exhilarating for these soulless villains, condemned to hell, than to defile a nun, a priest, a cleric. They would treat her as a specimen, using her for a very, very long time...
There were twenty-eight men in total, all adults and very strong, but that was it.
The evil thoughts within one's heart could attract negative elements from the outside world. Under certain mental stimuli, these could be absorbed into a living being's body. Common folk call this "falling," but spellcasters refer to it as "demonization." Any caster who had conducted living experiments was familiar with this phenomenon, as it was a fundamental reference for their experiments in guiding magic into living beings.
Man-induced "falling" was always a favorite among black magicians.
Of the twenty-eight men, sixteen emitted waves of negative elements. Their faces were ugly, marked with ferocious scars and traces of rot, like demons crawling out of hell! One of the branch effects of "falling" is the corruptive line of "decay." Negative elements' corrosion of the flesh is terrifying. As the state of "falling" deepens, these men's bodies would gradually rot and decay. Those with strong minds could be reborn as true dark creatures, while others would become mindless, wandering undead.
The Burial Ground of Bones is one of the densest convergence points of negative elements in this plane. Here, the excessive negative elements could more easily trigger the phenomenon of "falling." Bandits living here for a long time, with dark, murderous psyches, only needed a catalyst, a strong mental stimulus, to become stronger than ordinary humans.
The bandits' leader, a tall man wielding dual blades and draped in a black cloak that covered his entire body, radiated an aura of the undead, telling Felix that his level of "falling" was not low. Perhaps, he was no longer human.
The team maintained order; the middle-aged nun didn't even step out of the carriage. Three guards at the edge of the group and a female knight, around twenty to twenty-five years old, moved to the front of the team. Without a word, she raised her 116-pound Viking greatsword and pounced into the bandits like a nimble cheetah.
It was a one-sided slaughter. Clearly, the bandits had underestimated women, especially beautiful ones.
So, they paid the price. Death.
Felix watched the slaughter until the last bandit was beheaded, then he returned to the carriage. Before turning away, he casually cast "Holy Light - Purification" and made the sign of the cross on his chest, whispering, "May the Lord forgive your sins."
The bloody scene didn't stimulate Felix much; perhaps he was mature enough. He just felt a bit nauseous. It seemed he wouldn't have much appetite for dinner.
No one paid attention to the corpses by the road. The group resumed their journey. In this land, where even the Lord's glory couldn't shine, mercy and compassion were the most expensive luxuries.
Felix opened the "Compendium of Astrology," continuing to decipher those profoundly deep words.
From here, they would officially enter The Burial Ground of Bones.