Chapter 456: Mass Grave & Black Dragon

"Alright, enough. Don’t say things that could hurt team morale." Phield was sweating profusely. "Besides, that’s just rude."

Violet chimed in at just the right moment. "In short, she’s extremely formidable."

That certainly was impressive. After all, this was a world of erotic debauchery, so someone this outrageous was perfectly fitting.

"As long as they’re only third-order, I’m not afraid of them." Phield waved his hand dismissively, his face practically screaming invincibility.

"It’s not that I look down on you, but even if the Imperial Army came here, they would have no choice but to defend the city from behind its walls. You have no chance of defeating the corpse tide in a direct battle out in the open. Get back into the city, quickly."

Seeing that Phield remained unmoved, Violet stomped her foot in frustration. "You’ve never witnessed Frenita’s strength. It will absolutely blow your mind. Arrogance will only lead you to your own grave, idiot."

"Enough. Frenita has already come all the way here to provoke me. I’m going to beat her until she calls me daddy."

Phield was furious.

"Ugh, you’re so stubborn."

In Violet’s eyes, Phield was completely outmatched. Just the number of third-order Divine Chosen alone put them at a disadvantage.

Violet sighed helplessly. "Don’t you think the roads around here are incredibly difficult to traverse?"

"Yeah. Dawnfall Domain is practically submerged."

Violet beckoned with her finger. "This is dangerous. If you want to solve the problem, follow me. And remember, step exactly where I step. Otherwise, you might end up falling into deep water."

With that, she began wading northward through the water.

"Can we trust her?" Ashina asked worriedly.

"She should be trustworthy."

Phield didn’t want to miss such an opportunity. "Ashina, you and the little fat dragon stay here and provide support. Everyone else, come with me and take a look."

Following Violet’s footprints, everyone waded northward through the flooded terrain.

About two hours later, the water grew deeper and deeper, eventually reaching their waists. Mist filled the air, while the constant gurgling of water around them made their scalps tingle with unease. It felt as though they had wandered onto a deserted island.

"Everyone, be careful. More aquatic corpses are coming."

Aikalia had returned to her mermaid form. When she saw the corpses with their deathly pale bodies, she shrank behind Phield in fright.

A bloated corpse, swollen from being soaked in water, fixed its grayish white dead eyes on Phield’s neck and charged toward him, carrying a disgusting stench of stagnant water.

Phield pointed the rapier in his hand at its face and thrust forward.

With a wet splatter, the rapier easily pierced through the corpse’s skull, spraying a large amount of filthy grayish water everywhere. The stench was overwhelming.

"That’s disgusting."

Phield shook the filth from his hand.

Aikalia quickly conjured a pure sphere of water. "My lord, let me wash it for you."

"It’s fine. I’ll just get dirty again anyway. There’s no need to wash it until everything is settled." Phield waved his hand indifferently.

"Mm-hmm. When the time comes, Aikalia will make sure to wash you very thoroughly, my lord."

Rosalia and Violet simultaneously gave her a peculiar look.

"Is your baron always this popular?" Violet asked disdainfully. "It’s only been a few months, yet he’s already gathered so many beautiful women."

"Forget about that. Phield, do you like gentle women? I’m gentle too. Could you clean the bottom of my shoes for me? Please, my lord."

"Adding ’please’ doesn’t suddenly make you gentle."

"Besides, I love everyone equally."

Firomina, meanwhile, floated elegantly across the surface of the water without getting a single drop on herself. "The sooner this rookie lord gets burned to ashes, the better."

"I can’t be bothered with you."

The group continued their banter as they soon arrived at the place Violet had mentioned.

"There doesn’t seem to be anything special about this place." Rosalia narrowed her starry eyes as she surveyed the surroundings.

"Hmm~ Your senses are terrible." Firomina mocked her mercilessly. "Look at that raised ground in the center. There must be something underneath it."

Following the direction of Firomina’s finger, everyone could clearly see a slope that rose noticeably above the waterline. Faint, eerie cries could be heard coming from somewhere beneath it.

Not only that, the surrounding wastewater was no longer the murky grayish black it had been before. It had become a much darker, reddish black, almost the color of flesh. The foul stench was nauseating, and the entire scene looked deeply unsettling.

"Corpses. A massive pile of corpses. They’re all gathered beneath the water!"

Phield stared straight at the minimap, his scalp crawling.

On the minimap, countless red skull markers were piled on top of one another, densely packed across the area.

"But why? Wouldn’t they drown?"

"You’re right, Phield. This place is a mass grave." Violet’s voice became terrifyingly grim. "I died here myself, beneath the blades of the Imperial Army."

"Hiss." Rosalia drew a sharp breath. "Wait, you... you’re not actually alive?"

"Are you stupid? Of course corrupted creatures aren’t alive! You’re already dead too."

Violet’s solemn explanation was interrupted, and she was so furious that she nearly jumped up and hit her.

"Don’t worry about it. Corrupted creatures are just like this. They’re all ridiculous." Phield gestured for Violet to continue. "You’re saying the Imperial Army killed you?"

"That’s right. Back then, after the Orcs launched their massive invasion, the Northern Province was devastated. But the Archduke’s main forces were never defeated. Countless people rallied behind the Archduke, building an enormous network of fortresses and defensive lines and fighting the Orcs to the death."

"Appeals for reinforcements were sent to the Empress without a moment’s pause."

"But in the end, all we received was the Empress’s blade."

As Violet spoke, the violence in her eyes grew increasingly intense. "In truth, the Empress never cared about the Orc invasion. She had only two goals. The first was to kill the Golden Lion Archduke, a duke powerful enough to threaten her family’s long-term rule. The second was that the previous Empress wanted immortality. She wanted to become a corrupted creature and live forever."

"The Empress betrayed the armies of the Northern Province, slaughtered its people as sacrifices, stole the Seed of Corruption from the Holy Light Church, and personally turned the prosperous Northern Province into the nightmare you see today."

"So... that’s what really happened?"

Phield found it hard to believe. He had never seen anything about this in the Empire’s historical records. "This was an entire province. She... she must have been completely insane."

"Exactly. She was insane. Her life was already nearing its end, after all. Not long after the Northern Province was corrupted, she died of illness as well." Violet gave a bitter smile. "But enough about that. This place is the main channel of the great river running through Dawnfall Domain."

Phield understood immediately. He pulled out his map and repeatedly compared it with the terrain. "But the main channel has been blocked by countless corpses, which caused the flooding. As long as we clear them away, the flooding throughout Dawnfall Domain should be resolved very quickly."

"Exactly. Corpses naturally gather together. All kinds of monsters become fused into massive clusters, and they also produce corrupted secretions." Violet pointed toward the very center. "There’s also a powerful Swamp Black Dragon trapped inside the mass of corpses."

"Don’t attack recklessly. Otherwise, you’ll have to face an endless tide of corpses along with a corrupted Black Dragon."