Chapter 18：Dark Outpost

The Portoroa Kingdom was a kingdom towards the north of the Miracle Continent. It was famous for the use of magical powers. The magic that existed in the country was extremely developed. Much of the magic that currently existed in the kingdom was a result of the research done by the magicians.

Sean still remembered that the science of magical weaponry was created by the Portoroa Kingdom and the Magi Empire. Those two countries had pushed the Miracle Continent into the Era of Magical Weaponry. However, the research and development of the science of magical weaponry was already an event from the third expansion phase. Entering the Era of Magical Weaponry was part of the fifth expansion phase, so it was a still long time away from the era Sean was living in.

However, when Sean looked at things with the eyes of someone from the future, he could see some shadows of the science of magical weaponry.

For example, in the Portoroa outpost, there were some shadows of magical weaponry around that hinted towards what the technology would develop into in the future.

The magic towers in the outpost were slightly different from ordinary magic towers. Usually, controlling the magic towers required a joint operation between a few official magicians. However, the scale of the two magic towers in front of the team meant they were only able to hold two magicians in each tower. There were also no engravings at the top of the towers to strengthen the magic formation. Only a ball made of gold had been set up. Using her observations and judgment, Cecilia could conclude that the magic towers only needed two magicians to display their destructive power, which was equal to 10 magicians of the past.

That reminded Sean of the Magical Cannon.

The Magical Cannon was a type of cannon that only needed one ordinary person to operate. Its power was roughly equivalent to the rank-four range of magic damage, despite the fact that only one person needed to man it.

However, the team did not stay for too long. Drouin was also only a little bit surprised. He and Halle had not forgotten their mission. Therefore, the team very quickly started walking into the outpost. In reality, if it had not been for Sean constantly telling everyone to slow down, coupled with the influence Sean had had on their journey, the team would not have waited and instead would have quickly crossed the outpost. They wanted to leave this terrifying place as soon as possible.

No one felt any fear towards the outpost now. They checked a few houses along the way, but there was no one inside. Also, judging from the layer of dust inside the houses, it seemed that no one had entered for at least 100 years.

However, Sean did not think that was the case. He was extremely familiar with the dungeon they were in. He had been there in the game.

Dark Outpost.

The campsite, which looked like a small town, was a dungeon that had to be passed to get to the Portoroa Kingdom from the Starfall Forest. Only by completing the dungeon would it be possible to leave the Starfall Forest and head towards the Portoroa Kingdom. It was unknown whether it was due to the original settings of the game or due to some other reasons, but the fog that surrounded the path that led to the Portoroa Kingdom from the Starfall Forest could interfere with people's direction and perception. Anyone who tried to pass through the thick fog would be completely lost in it and, in the end, would turn into a corpse.

Likewise, anyone in the Portoroa Kingdom had to successfully go through this dungeon if they wanted to enter the Starfall Forest.

At the moment, the dungeon monster had not yet come out. It was not that the dungeon had already been completed by someone, but because Sean and the others had not stepped within the range of the monster's attack.

No one dared to be careless when they saw Sean looking like he was about to be confronted by a formidable enemy.

Along their journey, reality had proven that as long as Sean displayed such an expression, then it meant that the rest of the trip would be very troublesome. They knew that they had to trust Sean and his intuition about the situation they were in. They had not seen Sean display such an expression when they entered the Land of Black Earth. However, now, at the outpost, there were no signs of any enemies, so why would Sean's expression look like that? Could the enemy really be that terrifying?

The outpost was extremely large. It was bigger than any small town that Sean had seen ever since he had arrived in this world. It made Sean quite emotional. Back when he was inside the game, it only took a few minutes for him to go through the outpost from the beginning to the end. However now, they had walked for more than 10 minutes, and he still had not seen the end. From what he could see with his eyes, it seemed that they had not yet walked even one-third of the distance.

Naturally, it would make people feel that the Portoroa Kingdom was very rich and powerful since they made an outpost of such a scale. In reality, it was actually treating the Portoroa Kingdom a bit unjustly.

Back when the Portoroa Kingdom was battling against the Serian Kingdom for the right over the forest, the outpost was the front-line command battalion of the Portoroa Kingdom army. It was very different from the so-called "outposts" of other ordinary countries. Also, magicians had always liked luxuries, so it made sense for a front-line command base to be a lot larger and more luxurious. At the very least, from looking at Drouin's proud expression of admiration, it was possible to see that he was proud of being a citizen of the Portoroa Kingdom.

Right at the moment when the team was advancing, everyone heard a "bang," which startled them. When they turned their heads around, they saw a guard suddenly fall to the ground.

Everyone could not help but smile.

The guard seemed to have fallen to the ground because he had tripped over something. He started to swear as he got up.

However, the color on Sean's face suddenly changed as he shouted as loud as he could, "Be careful!"

Before anyone was able to react, they saw that Sean wave the longsword in his hand, before taking a step forward and rushing towards that guard. Without the slightest hesitation, the long sword in his hand stabbed fiercely into the ground next to the guard's right foot. The strange sound of broken bones could be heard from the ground. The sound was so clear that even people in the team who were standing a bit farther away were able to hear it. All of a sudden, the expression on everyone's faces changed.

After Sean finished doing that, he quickly ran to the side. He pulled up Cecilia and immediately backed away. At the same time, he reminded the team, "Spread out everyone and run. Don't just stand there!"

In reality, except for Halle, who was a fat businessman with no combat experience at all, everyone was already on the move. They did not need Sean to remind them.

Among the members of the team, the archer who had not made a single shot this journey, was the most sensitive. He took one step and sprinted forward. He ran towards a house, and quickly jumped up and stepped on the wall of the house. He stepped onto the wall just like that, then leaped and grabbed onto the corner of the house. With the help of his strength, he somersaulted and jumped onto the roof.

There was no doubt that the archer's movements were a smart thing to do. Since the enemy had come from underneath the ground, it was naturally safe to stand somewhere high up. Especially since he was an archer, it was more beneficial for him to display his strength by looking down from somewhere high. Although he did not know why Sean had not allowed him to waste any arrows on their journey, he was not stupid. He immediately placed himself in a favorable position to attack first as soon as a battle broke out.

In addition to this archer, who was the most responsive, Drouin and Old Pete had also reacted very quickly. One went left and the other went right as they quickly retreated towards the sides. Old Pete had even opened his eyes angrily and fiercely hurled his long spear while he had retreated at full speed. Even with just the very short distance of one meter, the long spear made a thunderous roar as it fiercely plunged into the ground. At least half of the spear was stabbed into the ground.

The moment Old Pete made the kill, a clear sound could be heard from under the ground. It was as if something was breaking apart.

The reaction of the three guards was slower by only a little bit, relative to the others who had reacted. They grabbed Halle, who was still in a daze and quickly pulled him out of the area. Watching the three guards use their hands and feet, it looked a bit like they were catching a live wild boar on the mountains, who was trying to escape.

Of course, at that moment, no one dared to laugh out loud for fear of what could happen.

The moment everyone had fully retreated, hundreds of hands suddenly rushed out of the black covered dirt and poked out from the ground, swarming the open area.

It was possible to see countless arms moving on the black soil while sending out a series of soft clicking sounds. The sound was crisp and clear, and everyone could not help but feel a chill down their spine.

Hundreds of corpses crawled out of the ground. They had no weapons in their hands, but their sharp, narrow fingernails were already much better than any weapons. The corpses were pretty much all wearing a half-body armor. There were two styles. Everyone present was able to tell the difference. They knew that it was the standard armor that the regular armies of the Serian Kingdom and the Portoroa Kingdom wore, but the armor they saw was already rusty. They probably would not be of much use anymore.

From what a normal person knew, even though the corpses of undead spirits were stronger than skeletons, they also had their limits. For example, they had already killed a lot of creatures like walking corpses and zombies. After all, the Serian Kingdom was also not a safe place. Occasionally, it was possible to see a few dead spirits stage a rebellion.

Only Sean's expression had remained solemn. He felt a little more surprised.

The number of demonic corpses was more than he had expected. According to the number, he could tell that the difficulty of the dungeon was already at a very high level.

The discovery confused Sean a little. Why was the "Wandering Darkness" at its normal difficulty, but "Dark Outpost" was a lot more difficult?

He also knew that now was not the time to pursue the question.

"Be careful. The corpses are not like the walking corpses or zombies that you take for granted," Sean said quietly. "They are demonic corpses!"

When they heard that they were demonic corpses, Drouin and Cecilia frowned slightly. It was obvious that they were aware of the difficulty of fighting the undead spirits. As for the other people, they all looked puzzled. They did not know the difference between demonic corpses and walking corpses and zombies. The serious expression on Sean's face made it clear to them that the demonic corpses were very difficult to deal with.

"Mr. Halle, you and Old Pete get to the roof as quickly as possible. We will cover you for the time being," Sean soon began to give battle orders. "You also go up to protect Mr. Halle and Old Pete. We need the support from their bow and arrow. Cecilia, get up there quickly."

Sean casually ordered a guard to go up to the roof and help. As for the archer, after he heard the order from Sean, he immediately had a look of excitement on his face. Along their entire journey, it seemed like he was not needed, which had made him feel a little bit upset. Now, the time had finally arrived for him to display his full strength.

"What do we need to do?" Compared to the excitement of the archer, Old Pete, who was a veteran, asked calmly.

"We will be in charge of the demonic corpses. There is only one thing you guys need to do." Sean glanced at the demonic corpses. They had already opened their eyes, showed their wild and barbaric expressions, and displayed their jagged teeth. "Find a demonic corpse that is wearing red clothes and shoot all your arrows at it. No matter what, you must let it come and try to create trouble for you. It would be best if you can let it become furious."

Almost as soon as Sean had spoken the words, hundreds of demonic corpses roared for an unknown reason. Then, they rushed towards Sean and the others like agile cheetahs.

A guard raised his shield. He tried to stop one of the fast demonic corpse that was rushing towards them, to give Halle enough time to climb onto the roof. However, in the moment the guard raised the shield in his hand, the demonic corpse appeared right in front of him. A muffled crash sounded, and the guard took a few steps back. The demonic corpse only shook its head. It seemed that it was a little confused. It was obvious that using its head to hit the shield had made it feel uncomfortable.

Everyone finally understood the difference between demonic corpses and the ordinary walking corpses and zombies. The demonic corpses far exceeded the slow-moving walking corpses and zombies!