Winter Lord: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 257 Shadow Moss and Soul-Eating Lizard
Before dusk had completely dissipated, the Crack Hills in the northern part of Wheat Wave Territory were already shrouded in a thin, indistinct mist.

The cracked hills resemble a giant beast that once bit off a piece of the earth, leaving behind cruel and ferocious scars.

Louis looked up and saw that the surface vegetation on the hill had all withered, the soil was damp with a rusty smell, and a low rumbling sound came from the ground from time to time.

Louis gazed at a cave, his brow furrowing slightly. "This is it. There's a slight magical fluctuation here."

“…Magical fluctuations?” Lambert frowned.

“Perhaps, but not certain.” Louis raised his hand, signaling caution.

Although he said that, he already knew what was inside—Shadow Moss and Soul-Eating Lizard Beast.

“The terrain is narrow, so only twenty of us can go in. Any more than that… it would be difficult to even turn around,” Lambert said in a low voice.

His eyes were sharp as he stared at the dark, sloping entrance, his fighting instincts already subtly activated.

“Alright.” Louis nodded. “You choose the men, the cream of the crop. The rest will stay on the perimeter and seal the entrance if necessary.”

"Yes."

Soon, more than twenty high-ranking knights clad in light armor lined up and prepared, each equipped with special tools in addition to their standard weapons.

Before setting off, Louis gave the final order: "Everyone wear the 'Frosty Leaf Vine Air Purifier Mask' and activate the slow-release mist sac three minutes after entering."

Upon hearing this, everyone took out the transparent face masks with silver frames from their backpacks.

This is an experimental piece of equipment developed by the Red Tide Research Workshop, originally designed to resist the psychic attacks of the Mother Nest.

It contains a light blue, viscous medicine extracted from frost-leaf vine, which can be quickly released as a micro-mist curtain when subjected to mental disturbance, isolating pollutants such as spores and hallucinogenic gases.

“Remember, if you experience dizziness, tinnitus, or memory loss, immediately increase the fogging rate. Do not delay,” Louis commanded.

"Yes!"

"Check the security." Lambert habitually surveyed the area, making sure everyone was properly equipped, before leading the way into the dark depths.

Following closely behind were Louis and five bodyguards, while the others entered the depths of the crypt in pairs.

They had barely stepped into the cave when they felt an indescribable sense of oppression.

It wasn't a drop in temperature, nor a thinning of air, but rather a faint, almost imperceptible gaze.

It was as if someone was hiding behind the cave wall, watching them.

As you go deeper down, the temperature drops and the wind becomes damp.

Strange phosphorescent patterns began to appear on the rock wall, like magical runes formed by absorbing magic power over many years.

The air was filled with an indescribable smell: the smell of rusty metal, the smell of damp decay, and a faint, blood-like sweetness.

“This place…something’s not right,” Wel murmured.

They cautiously ventured deeper into the slope, their feet treading on slippery rocks and broken bone fragments, the remains of unknown creatures.

Finally, after descending about ten meters underground, the passage opened up, and the sight before them stunned everyone.

It was an underground circular hall more than 20 meters wide, with a collapsed dome, but the walls still retained fragmented carvings and sacrificial patterns.

Amidst the broken stone pillars, several long-desiccated corpses leaned against each other, some draped in tattered gray robes, others still clutching blades long since rusted to dust.

What's even more chilling is the dark purple moss that covers the walls and the corpses.

The shadow moss undulated slowly, its surface shimmering with a faint phosphorescence, spreading like a tide.

As the air temperature dropped sharply, a fine layer of white frost appeared on the outer layer of the frost-leaf air purifier.

“…It’s not a natural cave.” Louis spoke slowly, his eyes sharp.

"It's a cemetery. Some kind of... ancient tomb with a very strong ritualistic nature."

Louis stepped forward, squatted down beside a corpse, and gently brushed away the moss to reveal the incomplete inscription on the sternum—a snowflake-shaped cross pattern with a horizontal crack in the center.

“It is… the ancient emblem of the Snow Oath,” Louis speculated. “It should be the tomb of a Snow Kingdom priest and his accompanying guard from hundreds of years ago, but over time, shadow moss has grown on it.”

A young knight standing nearby exclaimed in surprise, "Wasn't that all destroyed thirty years ago?"

"Perhaps not all, for example, this place... has never appeared in any map or historical records."

Just as they were filled with surprise and doubt, the patch of shadow moss at their feet silently and slightly twitched.

They initially lay inconspicuously on walls, among corpses, and in rock crevices.

But at this moment, drawn by some subtle air current fluctuation, the purple light slowly moved closer to the crowd, like a damp carpet slowly stretching out.

There was no sound, no smell, but if someone were to remove their mask at this moment, they would immediately sense a chilling aura of fear, born from the memory of someone else's death, slowly emanating from the moss.

Those were sensory attacks composed of the priest's fear, the soldier's despair, and the cursed's wails.

However, these knights were wearing Frostleaf Purifiers, which had already silently kept the terrifying spores out of their masks.

Under Louis's protection, they unknowingly avoided the initial erosion of a form of spiritual pollution.

“…Tsk.” Louis stood by the Shadow Moss, squatted down gently, and stared at the dark purple moss.

“It’s no longer a tomb for the Snow Country’s priests.” He smiled. “Now, it’s a precious asset of the Red Tide!”

Louis's voice wasn't loud, but it echoed clearly in the empty cavern, carrying a sense of excitement and pleasure.

Only then did everyone realize that something was wrong with the thing, and they all looked at their lord.

"Wait, wait... Lord, you mean... this purple moss is..."

“Shadow Moss,” Louis said with a hint of excitement, “an extremely rare magical plant. It can strengthen willpower, improve the efficiency of battle qi condensation, stimulate breakthroughs in bottlenecks… and is also an auxiliary resource that many high-level battle qi practitioners dream of.”

"It can even be used to manufacture special fumigants, sensory weapons, or mind interference devices."

It was quiet all around.

Until Lambert uttered a rare "...Huh?"

Will exclaimed in surprise, "Did I just...step on something valuable?"

“They’re everywhere,” Louis said, shrugging. “You can still take your boots off now.”

A murmur rippled through the crowd. Even the seasoned Lambert couldn't help but grin and mutter under his breath, "This place isn't just the underworld, it's a treasure trove!"

"This thing can help people break through bottlenecks? Really?"

"I've been stuck in the Elite 1st tier for four years... I should have brought a pocket!"

"Can you smell it? The air is different! I feel my throat is clear, and even the aura that didn't dissolve last month is slightly warm!"

"Dude, calm down..."

The atmosphere had shifted from shock to excitement, exhilaration, and even fervor.

They all understood that this level of magical plant, if placed in other noble territories, would never flow into the hands of lower-level military personnel; at most, it would be refined into finished products to sell for money or used by the direct descendants of the family.

But they were knights of the Red Tide Territory, Louis Calvin's direct subordinate legion.

They knew that Louis had always been the kind of great lord who "eats the meat while the knights drink the soup."

That's why these knights were so loyal to Louis and willing to risk their lives for him.

Now, the thought that these mosses will eventually become their training fumigant, a supplementary medicine for breaking through bottlenecks, and an auxiliary material for enhancing their battle qi perception makes them unable to suppress their excitement.

Several knights in the crowd even began frantically scanning the ground beneath their feet.

Just as everyone's emotions were rising and they were about to lose control of their laughter and chatter...

The shadow moss suddenly contracted, like a damp net, violently pulled from within by some force. The next second, several dark figures lunged out from the cracks in the rock…

Without any warning or roar, just the slight tremors in the air and the disturbance of light were enough to instinctively send chills down one's spine.

"Enemy attack!!" Lambert immediately thrust his shield forward, his crimson battle aura surging forth, and the light patterns on the shield spread like fire patterns.

In that instant, everyone heard a sound, not from their ears, but from a sudden, intense mental noise that seemed to come from dozens of dead people whispering and gnawing at their thoughts.

"Ugh—!"

"My head... hurts so much...!"

The knights closest to the front stiffened, their pupils contracted, and their weapons nearly fell from their hands. A moment of confusion and disorientation flashed across their faces.

The persistent mental shock began.

"Ah-"

Just as they were about to lose control, a light blue mist sprayed out from the air purifier at their waist, instantly enveloping their masks like icy fog!

That is the "tranquilizer mist" refined by Frostleaf Vine, an emergency suppression solution specifically designed for pollutants such as Shadow Moss and psychospores.

Accompanied by that familiar bitter and cold medicinal smell, the dazed knights instantly snapped back to their senses.

"Ugh... Damn it... I almost hallucinated that my dad froze to death just now..."

"Ha, are you a newbie?" The old knight next to him laughed and helped him up. "Compared to the mental pollution of the Mother Nest, this is nothing."

"Compared to the mother nest, this is child's play."

Amidst their laughter and conversation, the several staggering knights in the front row quickly regained their footing and resumed their fighting stances.

These people are, after all, elites who survived the "Brood War"!

Having fought for days against insect-like corpses capable of corrupting dreams and controlling the dead, they had long since grown accustomed to this kind of mental harassment.

A mere few lizard beasts?

Do not make jokes.

"Red battle aura array, advance in a ring!" Lambert ordered again.

In an instant, the entire team was filled with fighting spirit, and the triangular formation quickly took shape in the narrow cave.

The feet of the twenty-odd people seemed to spread like crimson flames, and a high-pressure battle aura wave suddenly unfolded from the knights as the core!

"Clang—!" The sword was drawn, and a red light shot up.

While these Soul-Eating Lizard Beasts excel in mental attacks and possess astonishing stealth abilities, their close-quarters combat skills are...

"These deformed geckos can't even kick my horse's butt."

Before the lizard beast could even get close, it was slashed across the back scale by the knight's longsword, and the fighting spirit burned into its body, instantly exploding into a cloud of scarlet blood mist.

It fell to the ground with a mournful cry, but did not die; it merely twitched and rolled around on the ground.

"Stop!" Louis raised his hand to stop them. "Don't kill them, these monsters are useful."

"Get him under control, administer medication!"

"understand!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a knight immediately pulled out a vial of special medicine from his backpack. It was a concentrated extract of Frostleaf Vine, which he directly applied to the lizard beast's nape scales.

"puff--"

The bluish-green liquid seeped into the muscles and nerves.

In an instant, the lizard-like beast paused, then collapsed limply, lying on the ground with its head tilted to one side as if it were drunk, its tail flicking slightly twice.

"...Uh, it looks way too much like a drunkard." The knight clicked his tongue.

“This is a ‘slightly tipsy state’,” Louis chuckled. “Slowed nerve responses, blocked mental perception, and complete loss of aggression. We’ll take it back and keep it to study its uses.”

Thus, what could have been a brutal underground battle was instead won by these well-trained knights.

It ended perfectly by controlling rather than killing.

“I’m sorry, sir.” Will carried a charred lizard carcass. “This one… I accidentally cracked its head.”

“No problem.” Louis’s gaze remained unchanged as he smiled. “It’s a good opportunity to disassemble it and examine the magic crystal structure. Keep the rest.”

The results were quickly tallied: a total of 66 Soul-Devouring Lizard Beasts were encountered, one was killed, and the remaining 65 were successfully controlled.

The sixty-five controlled Soul-Eating Lizard Beasts lay sprawled in the Shadow Moss like a group of drunken vagrants, some still licking the rocks, others simply curled up into a ball and began to doze off.

Each one will become experimental material, psychological weapon, or pawn in the future Red Tide's special combat force.

The shimmering phosphorescent moss on the ground contracted gently, as if breathing, and gradually returned to stability under the suppression of the pale blue spray and battle aura.

Will stood beside Louis, watching all this, his tone full of eagerness: "...Sir, shouldn't we send someone to transport this batch of moss and lizard beasts back to Red Tide Main Castle? Hilko must be ecstatic."

“Send it back?” Louis did not respond immediately, but lowered his eyes in thought, his fingertips lightly tapping the hilt of the sword at his waist.

“Of course we should bring samples,” Louis nodded slightly, “but not all of them.”

He did not rush to order the moving, but silently surveyed the structure, humidity, rock wall patterns, and distribution of moss in the cave.

In his magical vision, this patch of Shadow Moss was not chaotic, but rather grew systematically around a "traces of an undisturbed old plane" in the rock core, like a self-sustaining ecological circuit.

The center has a stable temperature, high magic density, and loose soil. The walls even naturally exhibit a kind of low-level "magical resonance".

In addition, those lizard-like creatures seemed to be born adapted to this environment.

Geothermal activity, phosphorescence, lizards, and shadow moss spores form a strange yet stable symbiotic system.

“This is a natural breeding ground for shadow moss,” Louis said in a low voice, his words calm but revealing a hint of surprise.

“If we forcibly transplant it, we will not only have to consume a huge amount of resources to replicate this environment, but we will also have to bear the risks of cultivation failure, moss dying, and lizards becoming mutated... It is better to directly modify it on the spot.”

Lambert, who was standing to the side, was taken aback: "You mean... stay?"

"Ah."

Louis pointed to a flat area in the middle of the cave, "Convert this into an underground fumigation training room, a low-temperature battle aura sensing trial area, a shadow moss breeding station, and a lizard beast control and breeding room."

"This will be the spiritual forge of the Crimson Tide Knights in the future, and perhaps the breakthrough in their bottleneck can be completed right here underground."

Lambert found it increasingly absurd, and could only manage a wry smile in the end: "Sir... are you planning to turn this ancient tomb into a knight training camp?"

Louis smiled slightly: "We'll turn it into a combat resource for our Red Tide, but of course, we'll need to experiment with it before making any arrangements."

Having said that, he turned to the knights and began to give orders: "Ten knights will guard this place and set the entrance to the cave as a restricted area. When we get back, I need a complete map of the ley lines."

Twelve samples were collected from the edge of the growth zone of *Gynostemma pentaphyllum* and used for fumigation liquid experiments, coagulant preparation, and gas-sensing injection preparation.

Control the five lizard beasts to return, and select those with intact bodies and active mental responses as the experimental group.

He ordered his men to contact the Red Tide Alchemy Institute, Pharmacy, and Cultivation Institute, and dispatch a group of researchers and construction technicians to the site.

From now on, this underground cave will be called 'Shadow Valley'.

After saying this, he turned and left with his knights.

Underground, the shadow moss seemed to realize its master's recognition. It flashed with phosphorescence, lowered itself slightly, and gently wriggled on the rock wall as if in submission.

(End of this chapter)