"If these monsters are indeed created by the Dark Elf people, then how did they do it? Could it be that they can forcefully inject new souls into the deceased bodies using black magic?" Hao Yun felt very curious about this.
"Hmm, the method you mentioned does fit the style of dark magic. However, injecting souls into these artificial monsters seems unlikely. After all, after living beings die, their souls are taken away by the earth-bound soul priests. Where would they find souls to inject into the bodies? It's impossible unless they can snatch souls from the soul priests. So, I think whoever created these monsters must have mastered some technique to artificially drive dead bodies," Dao Lao said.
"By your logic, does this spell also work on corpses after living beings die?" Hao Yun asked, feeling somewhat horrified.
"In theory, this spell can turn corpses into zombies. Maybe in our future actions, we'll encounter enemies like zombies. Although the zombies driven by external forces in the mortal realm have limited attack power, they can be quite troublesome. And the stench of corpses on them is truly nauseating."
Speaking of this, Dao Lao subconsciously smelled his own arm, while many unpleasant memories surfaced in his mind: "Ah! I remember many years ago, when I was on a mission to capture mold spirit energy, I went to a bizarre world where various zombies were the main labor tools. At that time, to prevent the mold spirit energy from drawing negative energy from those zombies, I killed quite a few zombies. Oh my! I still remember how it felt to be covered in zombie slurry!"
Due to an incident in his childhood where Hao Yun secretly watched a horror movie featuring zombies, he developed a psychological shadow. So every time he heard the word "zombie" or saw any images related to zombies, he couldn't help but feel anxious and afraid.
Therefore, when Dao Lao was about to describe in detail the scene of encountering zombies, Hao Yun immediately interrupted him. At the same time, because after mentioning zombies, Hao Yun had already mentally classified the large monsters below the cliff as a type of zombie. The psychological shadow of zombies surged into his mind instantly. So, under an extremely unsettling fear, Hao Yun immediately turned around, preparing to move away from the rocky beach below the cliff, which was filled with large zombie corpses.
After turning around and walking for about ten meters, Hao Yun realized that although he was standing on a cliff covered with grass, this cliff was actually a relatively flat platform only on the side close to the coastline. On the other side of this platform, there was a long slope with an obvious incline. At the end of this slope, there was an incredibly magnificent and boundless forest sea.
Because after being teleported here, Hao Yun and Dao Lao were immediately attracted by the fantastic scenery ahead and the post-battle ruins below the cliff, and because they appeared on a high terrain, they couldn't get a better view of the landscape below the long slope behind them. So, until the two turned around and left the cliff, they finally saw the equally breathtaking and magnificent scenery behind them.
However, after Hao Yun and Dao Lao saw the green earth below the high cliff, which was in harmony with the blue sky and white clouds, they did not utter any words of admiration. This was because, above the long slope leading from the cliff to the forest below, apart from lush green grass and colorful wildflowers, there were also large pieces of debris from corpses.
Many tender grasses and wildflowers grew from the eye sockets or mouths of the skulls, and some wildflowers and grasses were scattered around the remains of limbs and bones. There were even some playful wildflowers and grasses growing on the edges of the giant monster skeletons, turning those terrifying white bones into lively artworks. Many weapons and armors scattered on the ground, as well as severely damaged war chariots lying on the side, were also covered with many bright-colored wildflowers, making them appear less murderous and more naturally peaceful.
In fact, besides feeling a deep-seated fear of zombies, the battlefield remnants under the slope would mostly shock Hao Yun rather than scare him. After all, in the Earth world where Hao Yun lived, there was a large-scale war that affected the entire globe several decades ago. As someone who grew up in the new era, Hao Yun had participated in various anti-war activities organized by schools or social organizations many times, and through various relics and audiovisual materials left over from that war, he had intuitively understood and felt the cruelty and bloodiness of that world war.
However, the battlefield remnants seen with one's own eyes would definitely be different from what was seen in audiovisual materials. Moreover, compared to observing the corpses left on the coastal beach from a distance just now, observing the corpses left on the battlefield at such a close distance would still have a certain impact on Hao Yun's mind.
Seeing this, Dao Lao patted Hao Yun's trembling shoulder and said in a steady voice, "Relax, take deep breaths, don't be nervous. This is just a remnant of a battlefield after the war, there's nothing to be afraid of. You will definitely encounter more scenes like this in the future, so for now, consider it as a strengthening training for your mind."
Then, Dao Lao pointed to the vast forest in the distance and said, "We're not familiar with this place, so for safety reasons, let's enter that forest first, find a relatively safe place to rest, and then plan the next steps. Activate your protective shield, follow me closely, let's pass through this battlefield debris and see if we can discover anything special. How about it, are you okay?"
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Hao Yun looked at the battlefield ruins below, took a deep breath first, nodded, and then gave Dao Lao a thumbs-up, indicating that he was okay. Then, after confirming that his protective shield was in a standby state ready to be activated at any time, he held the Blade of Speed and Passion with one hand and followed Dao Lao, slowly descending the slope from the top of the cliff.
Hao Yun and Dao Lao followed the tire tracks left on the grassland by the wheels of the war chariots, carefully driving away the occasional seabirds that appeared in the battlefield ruins, while carefully examining the various remains of corpses along the way, and moving towards the distant forest.
Perhaps because the corpses here were not soaked in seawater, the stench here was noticeably less than before. Moreover, it might also be because these corpses were far from the sea, so the seabirds did not intend to make this their habitat. Therefore, the seabirds always hurriedly flew over to peck at the corpses on the grassland, and after selecting a few appropriately sized bones, they flew back to build nests under the cliff while carrying the bones in their beaks.
Hao Yun, having shifted his gaze from a seabird that had disappeared into a dive at the end of the cliff, returned his attention to the battlefield remnants in front of him. Soldiers' limbs lay casually amidst the flowers and grass, while various weapons and armor were scattered about haphazardly.
Although the soldiers' bodies had turned into stark white bones, this didn't prevent Hao Yun from discerning their differences from human skeletons. Judging from the shape of the bones, their bodies were slenderer, and they didn't look as robust as human skeletons. However, judging from the skull features, they bore a striking resemblance to the elves described in human novels, causing Hao Yun to marvel at the transcendent imagination possessed by human writers.
In addition to the soldier remains in the form of elves, there were also many giant monster corpses on the battlefield. Perhaps because they were not soaked in seawater, based on the presence of large crossbows near these monster corpses, it seemed that these giant monsters' main targets on the battlefield were those large war chariots. Judging from the numerous soldier corpses left around the monster corpses, it seemed that the elves had also deployed a large number of troops to protect their war chariots and stop these gigantic monsters. But judging from the broken remains of the elf soldiers, these giant monsters must have been extremely powerful, to the point that many soldiers were torn to pieces by the monsters' sharp claws in combat.
Since Hao Yun had already categorized these giant monsters as zombies, he naturally felt a bit uneasy when he saw them. So, as he passed by these towering monster remains, he would always raise the Blade of Speed and Passion in his hand and cautiously maneuver around them from as far away as possible. Hao Yun couldn't shake the feeling that these tall undead might suddenly jump up and grab him, then proceed to devour him alive.
However, because these giant monster corpses were quite different from the zombies in Hao Yun's impression, and because parts of them, apart from the fur, had already turned into dry bones, Hao Yun could somewhat restrain his fear of them. But it was different for the zombies that resembled elf soldiers in body shape and were mixed in with the elf soldier corpses. These zombies' bodies had not decayed after death; instead, they were as stiff as dried beef jerky, with every muscle tense and rigid, devoid of any moisture.
Hao Yun had reason to believe that these zombie soldiers existed in this dried-up state before they died. As he looked at these purple, dried-up zombie corpses, Hao Yun felt a sense of immersion, imagining himself in the fierce battle that had taken place here before. Just thinking about these zombies rushing towards him with their teeth and claws made him shiver again.
Seeing Hao Yun cautiously avoiding the zombie corpses, Dao Lao couldn't help but roll his eyes and grumble, "Can't you be less timid? These zombies are completely dead, what are you afraid of?! If you're really afraid that these zombies will suddenly attack you, then when they do, immediately attack their heads with your dagger, pierce their brains, cut off their brains, or simply chop off their heads. No matter which method you use, you'll destroy their nervous system and finish them off for good."
Upon hearing Dao Lao's advice, Hao Yun's fearful mood eased slightly. Right, he wasn't completely defenseless. If the zombies attacked him, he could fight back! Moreover, what he held in his hand was the Light Weapon obtained from Judge Yan. Dealing with zombies from the mortal realm with such a powerful weapon was as easy as cutting vegetables. Hao Yun once again leveraged the advantage of his strengthened spiritual power and tried to convince himself that he didn't need to fear these damn zombies at all. To him, these things were just insignificant toys for someone like him, a priest of the divine realm.
Thinking of this, Hao Yun's emotions finally calmed down. Although he still felt disgust from a physiological perspective towards the nearby zombie corpses, as long as he held the Blade of Speed and Passion in his hand, he dared to face these zombies head-on at least. Of course, Hao Yun also felt a bit regretful at this moment. Because after obtaining the Blade of Speed and Passion and the martial art technique called "Phantom Stab" from Dao Lao, Hao Yun hurriedly embarked on this mission with him, he didn't have enough time to understand the functions of this dagger or to learn the Phantom Stab skill. Otherwise, Hao Yun felt that he would have more confidence than he currently did.
"Hmm? Dao Lao, how can you be sure that attacking the heads of these zombies will completely finish them off?" Hao Yun brought back his thoughts and asked, attempting to shift away the residual fear he harbored towards the zombies before him.
"Didn't I already say it? I once dealt with zombies while executing a mission to capture mold spirit energy. Although the zombies there were completely different in appearance from the zombies here, the principle behind their actions was almost the same," Dao Lao said, while simultaneously sharing a set of detection data with Hao Yun through the shared consciousness system.
"See, according to the system's detection data, these zombies, just like those giant monsters, contain an unknown magical substance within their bodies, and there are residues of magical energy. It can be seen that most of this magical energy is concentrated in the brain area of the zombies and is transmitted throughout their bodies. This indicates that all the actions of these zombies are carried out based on the magical energy in their brain area," Dao Lao explained based on the detection data provided by the system.