Chapter 43: Zombies, Curses, And Traps

Chapter 43: Zombies, Curses, And Traps

The wind was rushing too fast too talk as we were carried up to the Floating Island of Death. A flying sword was clearly not designed with safety or seatbelts in mind, but it was surprisingly stable. It didnt rock or tilt in the slightest.

Old Hengar kept one hand behind him on my shoulder and another hand in front of him on Wen Xues shoulder. He kept a firm grip on both of us while the air rushed by. It was too noisy to easily move. We had been flying through the night and most of the morning, fairly high up as well, avoiding the clouds thankfully. It was already quite cold.

I noted that he wasnt flying in a straight line. He was looking for the floating island doing large loop. I spotted Mount Atlas in the distance. There were a number of buildings and people on the frozen summit. No one would spot us at this distance, unless they were watching the sky carefully for a moving dot.

Even then I wasnt too worried. Anyone past the first bottleneck in their cultivation would already be on the island. Not waiting on a mountain. The sword began to turn a bit more than before, and then I spotted where Old Hengar was headed. The floating island had come out behind some clouds.

While there had been many amazing sights and cultivation was not something that existed on Earth, there was something truly magical about a floating island that was hard to put into words. I noted the many ropes trailing off the side of the island, and the jagged rocks sticking out below. It was less an inverse pyramid, and more of an inverse mound.

The sides were thick, and the bottom wasnt pointy. The island was higher than us, so we began to ascend. If we came from above the zombies would spot us. People had tried that in the past, but it was a death sentence. The island was moving at a decent speed through the sky and as we got closer, I estimated it to be about 25 miles, 40 kilometers, in terms of the radius. Or about 4 miles across, which would be about 6.5 kilometers.

It was massive. I hadnt seen any of the buildings at a distance, not even the wall that was supposed to be around the buildings in the center. We were coming in too low for that. I noted small streams of water trickling off and dispersing into the air. Trees and roots lined the outer edge. They werent the twisted small trees one would see at the top of mountains. These were big, thick trees, one would find in an ancient forest.

Old Hengar adjusted our course slightly and we came up over edge of the floating island, where he matched its course and speed. He tossed us both off without a word and I had to make sure I didnt trip and fall with two packs on my back. Wen Xue landed near me as well. Right after we were tossed onto the floating island, Old Hengar took off to do a loop of the floating island and then leave back to Black Rock City.

I had been scanning the island with my eyes, and the number of motes around this place was at least triple that of the Cloudy Moon Sects mountain peak. Since we had come up from below, I hadnt spotted anything of note, except that the trees had energy within them. They were all spirit trees, and based on my guess around rank 3 or rank 4.

The value of the trees alone was immense. I had no idea how null metal would exist in a place like this, but I needed to find some no matter what. The first step was to find a hiding spot. I then looked at the trees again and then moved close to Wen Xue.

Dont damage the trees, I whispered out as quietly as possible. He gave me a look and then nodded. The fact the trees were still around and hadnt been ripped off and tossed to the ground below, implied they were protected in some way.

If I was a cultivator looking to make some easy money, I would have climbed up here and started cutting these spirit trees for their value. The fact that none of them were cut implied they were protected in some way.

I took point as we slowly moved away from the edge and began looking for our first base. The ground was very uneven. The trees grew up and around large rocks, and there was not much soil either. The roots were massive twisted things, making for an uneven ground. The air was still frigid, and slightly hard to breathe. Thankfully we could handle the environment as cultivators in the third stage, but it was important to note there was no environmental barrier around the floating island.

It might be slightly warmer than the mountain peaks below. Since there was no ice or snow. Making our way through the outer forest carefully, I wanted us to get near the wall and then find a hiding spot. We carefully made our way through the forest. I kept scanning the area in front of us and listening carefully.

After half an hour of quietly walking, I saw the wall through the trees in the distance. I adjusted our course to move clockwise around the island, through the outer ring of trees, looking for a spot. Then I saw a larger tree in the distance. I froze, since I also noticed that there was already someone on top of it.

I had us go around the tree, and away from whomever was hiding up there. They moved a couple of times but didnt bother us. Starting a fight or a commotion, was a death sentence. The zombies were the real threat. That wouldnt stop someone desperate, but no one up here was an idiot.

It took another hour of walking and we finally ran into another larger tree. It was further back from the wall, but there was no one hiding up it as far as I could tell. I pointed up and Wen Xue nodded at me. I leapt up into the air, making sure to kick off the ground as quietly as possible. I carefully took my time ascending up the tree.

I got to the height of a four story building before the branches became too small to keep going safely. I didnt want to break them in any way. I pulled out a thin, but sturdy wood plank from my spatial ring. I then laid it across two branches, up against the tree. I carefully set my packs down on it and Wen Xue did the same.

We then both used some rope to carefully tie off the end of the blanks to the tree branches it was resting on. See anything? he asked me quietly once we were done. I shook my head.

Nothing, I replied. Our little base was on the opposite side of the tree from the wall. Zombies patrolled it regularly, so taking any kind of risk was unacceptable. We both had some water. No arrays or formations, I added as well.

It is cold up here, and there is a breeze, Wen said quietly. It was chilly, but we would survive. It would be uncomfortable, but on our trip out here from the sect we had slept at the rest spots between cities. I could tell he was bringing this up to ease his nerves and to be ready for the night.

We settled in, onto our plank. Now came the challenging part going forward. Trying to figure out where to go from here and sneaking inside the wall without dying horribly. I wanted to see a zombie first, hopefully getting a better idea of their capabilities first, and how hard they were to actually spot. The first rule we had both agreed on was to not rush.

Thats why I had insisted on the extra packs of supplies. We could last out here for quite a while. There was someone on that large tree we passed earlier, I said quietly as Wen Xue and I both sipped some water.

Really? Hiding? What stage? he asked.

I think fourth, but it was hard to tell. They were concealed quite well, I replied. We both had rings of concealment, that would blur and hide our cultivation to any kind of sensing techniques. They were decent items, but neither of us had a clear picture of how well they would work against the zombies.

I pulled out a Beast Hiding mixture, which was really scent concealer and sprinkled it on the plank we were sitting on. I then put it away. Another one of our many safety precautions. You going to scout now? Wen Xue asked me, and I nodded.

Yes. No time like the present. Other side of the tree, I think. It was about as thick and wide as a car. These were massive trees, and this was the second biggest we had run into. I wasnt about to run off yet. It would be too easy to get lost and turned around.nove(l)bi(n.)com

Wen Xue made sure the packs were secure, while I got up and carefully went from branch to branch, around the tree. I slowly ascended up the tree, being careful not to break any branches. I eventually found a good branch to see at a distance. I laid down on the branch. The needles at the end of it shook lightly, but none of them fell.

Yes. Could be a while- I was proven wrong as zombie screams went up in the distance. I carefully moved back around and up the tree to my observation spot. The zombies on the wall were moving away. Clearly, they didnt have much intelligence since they swarmed. It was both a strength and a weakness.

It was a strength since whatever they attacked would get overwhelmed. A weakness since it left a huge gap in their defensives. I quickly returned to Wen Xue and we packed up our camp, taking only one set of packs with us. The other set we would leave here. We couldnt be encumbered by that much. While we could carry it, we wouldnt be able to move as quickly and silently as we needed to.

Returning back to the wall, we went up and over once more. I saw the zombies swarming another part of the city. Apparently, someone had a similar idea to us, using the first break in patrols to sneak in, but then they had been caught.

Staying in the streets, I maneuvered us deeper into the city, avoiding zombies while keeping track of the nearest building without any. They were quickly filling up. Perhaps this wasnt a cultivation technique, but a method to build an army?

I finally found a building without zombies and we entered, while I looked for arrays. There were several as we began clearing the building. Wen Xue would disable them, we would check the room for stuff, there was nothing and then move on.

That was when we came across a room in the middle of the three story building that had an alter. That was a floating crystal and a formation around the alter. A formation was made of multiple arrays, so it getting to that floating white crystal hovering in the air above the alter, or pedestal would not be simple. I checked for approaching zombies but there were none.

I began to quietly point out the various arrays to Wen Xue. He made notes. We had a system down on how I would handle the descriptions, to waste as little time as possible and streamline the time he spent conducting an analysis.

Not possible, he said to me. I nodded at that and we left the room, and finding some stairs to go to the second floor. Wen Xue had the ultimate call on the traps we found. If he didnt think he could disable them safely without sending up an alarm we would move on. The entire expedition couldnt afford risks.

The second floor just had some stone furniture, but nothing interesting. The third floor, had a chest in one of the rooms with an array around it. A single array was much easier to deal with than a formation. Wen Xue had explained to me, that with a formation, one could set up conditions so the outer array in the formation acted as a failsafe.

It had been the standard practice for a long time. While there were methods for getting around this they werent simple. If the outer array was turned off, then the inner arrays in the formation could activate. It wasnt enough to disable the array, but suborn it and block the connections.

This is where things quickly got very complicated. Array disabling wasnt a common practice. So while there were methods, none of them were simple. Most advice involved, tossing someone or something else into the array and triggering it that way. Or using such an event to get a better idea of how it functioned. Or to carefully study it, try and reconstruct it, and then work out the best method of disablement from the reconstruction.

Neither method was acceptable. That was why we moved on. It also wasnt a matter of cultivation either, but a matter of knowledge. While senior cultivators might have more knowledge on arrays and formations, they couldnt brute force them without risk.

That was a big part of why this was a forbidden zone even to high rank cultivators. The traps triggering would be something a rank 8 cultivator could set off or a mortal. Thankfully Wen Xue knew what he was doing and managed to disable the array around the chest. He looked at me for confirmation while I inspected it closely.

Nothing else that I can see, and I can see through it, barely, I said quietly, and he nodded. I was the scout portion of our duo, which meant that I got to open the wood chest. It was the first wooden object we had spotted. Opening it up, there were stacks of gold coins inside.

Absolutely worthless. I looked at Wen Xue who shook his head and I closed the chest. Gold had no value to either of us. It wasnt even spirit metal either from what I could tell. Just regular gold. The floating island had junk like this scattered about as well that the zombies collected and stored.

Once the building was cleared, I looked out the narrow slits in the walls carefully at the surrounding buildings. There were zombies in each of them. Some were just standing around, clumped togeather in rooms, while others were patrolling.

Making any progress would be a massive headache. We found an interior room on the third floor to settle in for the night and discuss our plans. The green portions of the stone glowed slightly in the darkness, which was unnerving and made me think of radiation. I didnt feel sick and other people who had come and stayed on the Floating Island of Death hadnt gotten radiation poisoning, so I wasnt worried in that regard.

We need a way to check the other buildings, Wen Xue said quietly while we had some food and water. That meant using our ambush plan. You can see their routes, right?

Yes. But that assumes a zombie will walk onto the array plate, I said. We had a portable formation inscribed into a metal plate. It wasnt cheap, but it was a means of offense. The zombies had to be taken out instantly, otherwise they would alert others.

If the other buildings are full of zombies we have no choice, Wen Xue said, and I nodded at this. I spent the evening looking around at the nearby buildings. There was one a bit deeper in the city with only one zombie patrolling each floor.

The following morning, after making sure the coast was clear, we made it to the building. I pulled out the metal plate into a doorway the zombie passed through while walking about. Wen Xue quickly set everything up and gave me the trigger mechanism. Two beast cores were somehow crafted to connect to each other. Pushing energy into one would cause the other one to trigger.

Waiting was torture, but there was nothing to do. Eventually the zombie paused for a moment at the metal plate, but then continued over it. I triggered the formation. The outer array silenced any noise, energy. While the interior array created a contained pulse of crushing force. The zombie was crushed into a ball of flesh and fell on the plate.

We quickly returned, and I saw the zombie flesh ball had no more energy. There were no screams either. We had managed to kill one, without being killed ourselves. I returned the array to my spatial ring, while the flesh ball stayed behind.

We then went up to the second, and third floors repeating the process with the next two zombies before we began clearing the building in earnest. Each use of the formation plate cost 4 rank 3 spirit stones. It wasnt cheap to kill zombies like this. While I could afford to kill a fair few, I had no chance of killing all of them.

This time we found a sword in one of the rooms. It was made of rank 5 spirit metal and was fairly large. The same rank as the sword I currently owned. It would sell for a decent amount, but it wasnt what I wanted to find.

After putting it in one of my spatial rings, we kept exploring. We rested in one of the corner rooms, that evening. It was incredibly stressful as we took turns keeping watch. The next day I looked for another building to explore that wasnt packed full of zombies.

Eventually I found another building, but I spent the entire day checking on the patrol routes and timing. There was no need to rush. Rushing was how we would end up dead. It was much better to take our time and avoid confrontation wherever possible.

We just needed to take things slow and steady and hope we would hit the jackpot. I absolutely needed that null metal no matter what.