Chapter 63: The Calm Before the Danger

The soil here is not right!
Lis muttered to himself. Although his research into necromancy was not profoundly deep, his perception would not fail him.
There was a faint aura of necromancy lingering within the soil here!
So, this forest was forcibly brought into being by vitality forcibly extracted from the earth?
Is this something necromancy can accomplish?
Lis felt his understanding somewhat subverted. After pondering for quite a while and failing to figure out how it was done, he decided to share his discovery with Yassen and the others.
The moment Yassen heard that the area was indeed affected by a necromantic aura, his expression instantly turned solemn.
For such a vast region to be tainted by necromancy, it was impossible for a high-tier necromantic entity not to exist.
After a brief silence, seeing that the others had no other discoveries, Yassen decided to continue pressing forward toward Kora Village.
Rombos took the lead this time, effortlessly swinging his terrifying hammer and smashing the vines blocking their path into pulp.
Lis estimated that Rombos's strength attribute had already exceeded 300 points, making this display of might look genuinely terrifying.
The group advanced at a rapid pace. Elena also continuously scanned her surroundings; although the forest gave her a bad feeling, a ranger's traits still allowed her to be entirely in her element among the trees, her agile figure leaping unceasingly between the branches.
...
Advancing for another kilometer or so, Lis and the others finally arrived at their destination for this trip: Kora Village.
Yet what unfolded before their eyes was a scene of ruin and desolation.
Stout tree trunks protruded from the village houses, recklessly bursting through roofs and walls, stretching their branches to their hearts' content as if eager to bask in the rain and sunlight.
The paths and fences within the village had almost been completely swallowed by greenery, the silent and desolate scene silently recounting how this village had been abandoned for decades.
Yet Lis and the others knew clearly that just ten days ago, this had been a peaceful, tranquil place with smoke rising from kitchen chimneys.
What on earth caused all of this?
An alien plane? A treasure? Or some kind of powerful, eerie entity?
None of this was known. Lis and the others could only scatter to search Kora Village in hopes of uncovering new clues.
...
A moment later, Yassen, Yaer, and the others reconvened at the village entrance.
None of them had found any valuable intelligence, only confirming that Kora Village had indeed been evacuated in a hurry, with many belongings left behind inside the villagers' houses.
Yassen beckoned Elena, who was keeping watch in the distance, to come over, and asked in a cautious tone:
"Given the current situation, does anyone have any thoughts?"
"None. Although I feel this forest is very bizarre, so far, I haven't found anything else amiss."
Elena tucked a stray lock of golden hair behind her ear and spoke with some puzzlement.
"None, except that the aura here makes me feel rather uncomfortable."
Yaer nodded honestly. Having already been through a few trials, she realized that this matter was not so simple and could not be resolved simply by hacking people down with a sword.
Rombos remained silent, shaking his head to indicate he had no ideas and would leave everything to the rest of them.
Lis pondered for a moment and said:
"I haven't found any anomalies either. Aside from the necromantic aura I detected earlier, there are no traces of spells or spell-like abilities having been cast within the village."
"I suspect the cause triggering this change is not inside the village."
"You mean?"
Yassen looked at Lis and asked.
Using his emerald staff, Lis traced a circle on the ground and said:
"Before entering the forest, I used Fly to observe it. The radiation range of this forest forms a circle, which is extremely rare. To put it otherwise, without external factors, it is impossible for it to form naturally."
Pointing the tip of his staff at the center of the circle, Lis voiced his thoughts:
"I suspect there might be some kind of special item influencing this, or perhaps a high-level magic array, and the forest was formed within its radiation range."
"It's just..."
"Just what?"
Elena asked, feeling that Lis's conjecture might be true.
"The affected area is so vast, and the resulting mutation is quite astonishing. If it truly exists, it is at least of Gold-tier power, or perhaps even stronger."
"Moreover, judging by the circumstances, it may be related to necromantic energy. We cannot rule out the possibility of immense danger."
"Should we go..."
Lis looked at Yassen, letting the team's reliable guardian make the call.
"We go!"
Yassen made his decision quickly. After all, up to this point, his group had not found any valuable clues, and how could one explore a mystic realm without taking certain risks?
Yassen was confident that his team had the capability to deal with Gold-tier enemies.
Legendary-tier?
If so, they might as well just wash up and go to sleep. If such an entity truly existed for this mission, retreating right now might not even guarantee their safety.
"What Lis said makes sense. Let's go to the center of the forest and take a look."
The others raised no objections. After resting in place for a short while to maintain their condition, they continued their march toward the heart of the forest.
Lis cast the 2nd-ring spell [Lightfoot] on everyone to quicken their marching pace and reduce physical exhaustion.
Yet the deeper they ventured into the forest, the more a faint sense of unease grew in everyone's hearts.
This was the first time they had encountered such an eerie situation: no enemies, no targets, and the surrounding forest was dead quiet, save for the sound of Yassen hacking through vines and trees.
Lis furrowed his brow. In his past life, he had indeed encountered quite a few bizarre mystic realm dungeons—some that killed people silently, others so grotesque and labyrinthine that no exit could be found; what hadn't he seen?
Yet he truly had never encountered a situation quite like this.
Clearly, no unexpected events had occurred, and the detection spells he kept active gave no early warnings, but an inexplicable pressure lingered in their minds, gradually intensifying as time passed.
Lis had checked; this was not the influence of any mental-type spell, but a pure intuition originating from his own spiritual perception.
Ever since entering this forest, this abnormal feeling had refused to fade, making him inevitably somewhat irritable.
Is my intuition warning me?
Lis glanced at his teammates. Yaer's expression carried a trace of irritation, seemingly experiencing the same condition as him.
Meanwhile, Yassen and Elena wore no such expressions, merely scouting their surroundings cautiously.
Judging by Yaer's expression, she seemed to feel the pressure as well. Could it truly be the influence of Gold-tier power?
Amidst the silence, Lis and his party finally arrived at the center of the forest. The ten-meter region before their eyes was free of trees, consisting instead of a flat patch of grass.
Aside from that, it was quietly devoid of any special features.
Yassen's expression remained calm. Was it really not so easy to find the source?
After a thorough inspection, there truly were no special items here. Even when Rombos excavated nearly ten meters down into the earth, he found nothing.
Left with no other choice, Yassen chose to pitch camp and rest on the spot.
No one objected. Without a clue, they could only bide their time.
If there were no anomalies, they would simply wait it out hard!
They were here to solve a problem, and the arrival of danger was welcome—only then could they quickly figure out what was truly happening here.