Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 471 Deformed Species
The changes in the surrounding environment came extremely suddenly, even without any warning.

Just a moment ago, the group was walking through increasingly dense architectural fragments, but after turning a corner, the magnificent domes that were faintly visible in the tree canopy, the broken eaves embedded in the stone walls, the exquisite stone bricks on the ground... all of them vanished in an instant.

Instead, there is a spacious open area, about the size of two basketball courts, located at the deepest part of Twin Valleys.

The ground is a brownish-gray mixture of mud and gravel, and you can feel the fine granular texture under your feet; the towering and narrow cliffs on both sides flare out slightly, allowing more sunlight to shine in and making the whole scene look more spacious and open.

In fact, Xia Nan didn't need to remind everyone to be vigilant.

As the group of six rounded the corner, a sudden gust of wind swept through the canyon, and the extremely strong stench of corpses in the air instantly prepared these highly experienced adventurers for battle.

The formation tightened abruptly, firmly protecting the spellcaster Hein, who was at the core.

A pair of eyes stared seriously and nervously at the open space that came into view.

First and foremost, the most striking feature was the large number of corpses of the Shahua fishmen scattered throughout the entire site.

The fluorescent blue blood soaked large swathes of land, and the ground scattered with green scales resembled the ground after a fishmonger had closed up shop.

None were spared.

Shredded flesh, severed limbs, along with twisted armor and broken harpoon weapons...

It was as if a storm of blades had swept through, and the gruesome and bloody scene on the field was enough to terrify an ordinary person.

Even the seasoned Blade of Vengeance squad had members who instinctively frowned and felt uncomfortable upon seeing this scene.

"What... happened here?"

Hein gripped her staff tightly with both hands, her gaze sweeping over her teammates who were protecting her, and looking at the tragic scene on the field.

Her experiences on the way here, including Rabbit Island and at the dock, had already led her to subconsciously identify the main enemy of this mission as the Shahua fish-men, who were suspected of plotting something.

But the corpses that appeared before her now seemed to silently indicate that the actual situation was different from what she had expected.

"Some of them are killing each other."

Lorraine led the group to slow down and carefully step into the area.

His gaze swept over the scattered corpses at his feet, and he could see wounds left by harpoons on some of the still relatively intact merfolk bodies.

"But the vast majority of them must have been attacked by some kind of powerful monster."

The scene was so gruesome because of the exaggerated injuries on the corpses, far exceeding what the fishmen's claws and teeth could inflict.

Some had their chests completely flattened, bones broken and shattered; some were bitten in half at the waist, the cuts jagged, revealing grotesque teeth marks that pierced through their bodies; some had their entire heads and half of their upper bodies disappear, revealing jagged white bones and tender white flesh.

Large splattered bloodstains remained on the ground, clearly indicating a lack of hygiene practices. Following the bloodstains, one could see the mangled corpses of several fishmen lying nearby.

The wounds appeared to be different, but anyone with a little combat experience could tell that these fishmen had been injured at the same time. A huge claw mark swept diagonally across their upper bodies like a lawnmower, ripping them open.

"The thing that attacked the fishmen must have been incredibly strong. Judging from the wounds, these Shahua fishmen didn't even have time to fight back before they were torn to pieces."

Hein analyzed intently.

"Hmm... perhaps it has some kind of mind control effect, which is why the fish-men kill each other."

Xia Nan stood at the back of the line, looking at the corpses of the Shahua fishmen in front of him, and felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

He had seen scenes like this before, where the battle left behind was just as gruesome as the one he fought himself, but in a completely different style.

That was the fish-man corpse left behind by that shark beast on the way to the cave at the bottom of the cliff on Cliff Island.

Currently, the number of Shahua fishmen killed on the field is significantly greater, and the wounds and scars left on the corpses are also much larger and more exaggerated.

what does this mean?
A monster of the same kind, far more powerful than the shark beast he had encountered before?
Without any intention of hiding it, he immediately explained his guess to his teammates.

Xia Nan's reminder was immediately taken seriously, making the team members even more vigilant.

As they went further, they discovered more noteworthy details.

"No wonder the fishmen who attacked us at the dock were just low-level minions; the elites all died here."

Arken no longer carried his anchor-shaped giant axe on his shoulder, but instead held it tightly in front of his chest with both hands, and said with a solemn expression.

Just as they had guessed, such a large number of ordinary Sawa fishmen could not possibly be without a more powerful individual as their leader.

The reason why they couldn't find any when cleaning up the battlefield at the docks was because the elite individuals among the merfolk had all died there.

In fact, the number was far greater than they had imagined.

The number of the four-armed elite Saka murlocs who died in this open space is conservatively estimated to be nearly thirty, including even two murloc priests!
Such a scale could almost be described as an "army," and even if the entire Oath of Vengeance squad were assembled, they might not be able to handle it reliably.

But now, they have all become cold, mangled corpses.

But the culprit... has already disappeared.

Xia Nan suddenly turned around and looked towards the northernmost part of the open space.

There, right at the bottom of the cliff, is a small pool of water.

Its area is by no means large, occupying only one-sixth of the total area of ​​the open space, but it is unusually peaceful.

Unlike the surrounding sea with its violently colliding, multicolored waters, the pool is incredibly calm, appearing from a distance like a piece of black glass, its deep, dark color hinting at its inner depth.

learn from mistakes.

He remembered that the shark beast he had encountered last time had leaped out of the pool in the cave and had taken the opportunity to ambush one of his half-elf teammates, causing the latter's death.

Faced with a similar situation, Xia Nan certainly couldn't ignore it.

Immediately alert everyone and designate the area around the pool as a high-risk zone, advising them to stay away.

Then, after passing through a large number of fish-man corpses, the group discovered the missing islanders.

Or rather, the corpses of the islanders.

Just like the fishing village on Hare Island, all the fishermen who had lived in Twin Valleys for generations were killed, and their bodies were thrown into a huge, hastily dug pit as sacrifices.

It is now rotting and stinking. But strangely, no mosquitoes have gathered around it to attract the stench of the corpse.

No one thought much of it, because everyone's attention was focused on the strangely shaped altar in the center of the open space.

Compared to the two buildings Xia Nan had seen before, which seemed to be simply pieced together from sea rocks, this building in front of him truly resembled an "altar".

Like a small hill rising from the ground, the bottom of the altar is made of neatly stacked sea rocks with wave patterns carved on the surface, decorated with a large number of shells, conches and oysters, and adorned with sparkling pearls between the layers.
Looking up, you can see all sorts of pale fish bones piled into bizarre yet regular shapes, surrounded by corals of various colors and intertwined branches.

The entire altar is cone-shaped like a pyramid, with a wide base that gradually tapers upwards.

But what's really strange is that...

At present, this location, where all the exotic buildings have been completely cleared out, is suspected to be the center of a secret realm.

At the very top of the altar, however, a unique phenomenon of clipping occurred.

It was as if they had traveled and merged out of thin air.

Half of the operating room was integrated with the altar.

The side with the room door completely disappeared, revealing a floor covered with small white and green tiles that looked like a checkerboard pattern, with fish bones and coral protruding from below.
The walls of the operating room were white, with a kerosene lamp with a broken outer glass cover hanging on the wall. The steel instrument cabinet next to it was open and empty, except for a few conch shells that had been incorporated into the altar.

In the center of the operating room, there was a marble operating table.

Judging from its appearance, it should be the same model that Xia Nan and the others found in the cave in the rock wall before. However, this operating table has been completely damaged. A huge crack runs through it from head to tail. Only a large amount of bloodstains can be vaguely seen on its surface, as well as blood-stained gauze and scalpels scattered on the ground around it. It seems that surgery was still being performed when they crossed over, and they did not have time to clean it up.

However, there were no patients or corpses on the operating table; it was completely empty.

What caught Xia Nan's attention the most was a sofa that had been tilted to one side, not far from the operating table.

Under normal circumstances, this kind of sofa should not be in the operating room, but should be placed in an area for patients' families or medical staff to rest. But now it is slanted and sunken into the ground.

A small portable suitcase is lying on the sofa.

The case is made of dark brown leather with a subtle diamond pattern on the surface.

At the center of the box is a signature pattern of a vertical stethoscope, inlaid in leather and in a dark gold hue.

Xia Nan unconsciously recalled the information he had captured from the attribute panel of the operating table in the living area, and he knew it clearly.

This briefcase comes from the so-called "Medical Association" in the secret realm.

It looked like it had been used for many years; the leather on the corners of the suitcase had been worn white. There were two spring-loaded metal clasps on the front, but they were not locked at the moment, just loosely resting on the sides.

You can see a narrow, dark gap between the upper and lower boxes, which seems to be tempting someone to open it.

Xia Nan has experienced many secret realms and has summarized some of the patterns found there.

For example, there are those strange buildings that are obviously out of place with the surrounding art style, filled with exotic style and blending into the surrounding things like a bug; or a place that suddenly opens up and represents the center of the secret realm.

At the same time, he also knew that some of the secret realms might have been completely integrated with this world, while others might still retain a pocket space.

However, in most cases, each secret realm has its own core.

Similar to the gilded gourd in the Serpent's Lair, the Fiery Crystal Staff in the Ash Valley, and the sheep-deer statue in the Evil Mystic Realm...

After experiencing it many times, Xia Nan also developed a vague sense of connection with the core items of this secret realm.

At this moment, his past experience and keen perception were reminding him in a very strong way.

The key item in the secret realm he is currently in is that briefcase marked with the "Physicians' Association" logo.

Or rather, it's inside the suitcase!

Xia Nan's heart skipped a beat.

Just as he was pondering how to explain this to his teammates, the dark pool of water not far away, which had remained as calm as a mirror since the beginning, suddenly began to ripple.

"Gudu."

Tiny bubbles kept rising to the surface, and one could vaguely glimpse a huge figure, deeper and more mysterious than the pool itself, slowly rising to the surface.

Thanks to Xia Nanfang's timely reminder, the group remained quite vigilant about the pool where enemies might be hiding.

Almost the instant they noticed the movement, they were ready for battle.

Whether it was overconfidence in its own strength or because it sensed Xia Nan and the others' wariness, the monster lurking in the pool did not suddenly leap out of the water and attack the intruders like its counterpart on Cliff Island.

Instead, it slowly rises from underwater in a manner that is so slow and even somewhat leisurely, yet extremely imposing.

"boom."

Water splashed as the short, thick legs supporting the massive body above moved forward, their webbed feet landing softly with a dull thud like a drumbeat.

This is a humanoid shark-like monster.

Its distinctive, disproportionate shark head, which takes up almost a quarter of its entire body size, and its inverted triangular torso filled with muscles, clearly indicate that it is a kind of shark beast that Xia Nan once killed.

However, its exaggerated height of nearly twelve feet when standing upright, and its more bloated, muscular body, make the shark beast that was once only nine feet tall look like a "weakened, youthful version" of it.

The group consisted of seasoned adventurers who had been working for many years, so they weren't particularly surprised by the strangely shaped monsters. Moreover, Xia Nan had already shared detailed information about his previous encounter with the shark beast with the rest of the team before they arrived.

Even if the shark beast in front of us is much larger, we shouldn't be too surprised.

But now, the situation is different.

A pale-skinned human male body, with surgical wounds visible on its surface, blended into the shark-like creature, much like the clipping structures they had seen on their way here.

Its existence completely defied the laws of biological structure in nature, "growing" diagonally from the right side of the shark-like beast's torso.

Its head was lowered so that its face could not be seen. Its left arm was hanging down on the shark beast's waist and abdomen, while its right arm and the area below its chest were completely integrated into the shark beast's body. Its lower body protruded from the left rear of the shark beast's hips, with its two legs dangling on the sides of its thick thighs.

Two species, sharing the same body.

(End of this chapter)