Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 276 The Silent Forest

Regardless, the three most likely locations on Baselles Island where the legendary necromancer Rodrigo left his remains have been found.

This is the benefit of relying on the local indigenous people.

Richard saved hundreds or even thousands of people days or even dozens of days of searching simply by gifting six golden horned frog eggs!

This doesn't even take into account the casualties and other losses caused by the various monster attacks and dangers encountered during the search, making it an extremely worthwhile investment.

Having found three possible locations, Richard immediately decided to take Stephanie and the other person there. Their first destination was naturally the Silent Forest, which had the highest probability of being the location.

According to the Apache shaman, "There are walking skeletons, tall, ugly, deformed monsters, knights riding bone horses, and evil spirits!"

Richard believed that there must be a secret in the Silent Forest, but whether it was the site of the ruins was unknown; he would have to go and investigate to find out.

As for the Queen's first mate, Ottombo, and the twenty melee fighters, Richard thought it would be safer to leave them at the Wolf Tribe camp.

If the Silent Forest is truly inhabited by undead creatures, then for ordinary people like them, going there would only increase casualties and wouldn't be of much use to Richard!

"Apache Shaman, then please send an experienced Wolf Tribe hunter to take us to the Silent Forest. I suspect that what I need is there in the Silent Forest," Richard said to Apache, having made up his mind.

"Honorable guest, it is getting late. If you really intend to go, why not stay the night and head out tomorrow morning?" Although surprised that Richard wanted to go to that dangerous forbidden area, Apache knew that wizards were all powerful individuals.

What is forbidden territory for ordinary people may not be an inaccessible place for wizards.

"No, nighttime is probably more suitable for us!" Richard smiled mysteriously, politely declining the Apache shaman's offer.

Richard and Stephania both have an affinity for the dark element. Although the dark night is the domain of the undead, it is also Richard's domain.

"In that case, alright, I'll send the tribe's most experienced hunter over now!"

"Thank you, Apache Shaman, and thank you to the Wolf Tribe for their hospitality. By the way, I would like to trouble the Wolf Tribe to provide food and lodging for my twenty melee fighters. We will offer appropriate compensation."

Richard pointed to the orc first mate Ottombo and the others beside him and said.

"Haha, it's a small matter!" Chief Wolf laughed.

Upon hearing that Richard did not need him to accompany him, the orc first mate Otombo became anxious and said, "Lord Richard, although my combat strength is far inferior to yours, it would be good if I could clear the way! The dense branches in the forest will block your path."

As he spoke, Otombo brandished his double-edged axe.

What a straightforward orc!

Richard and Stephanie exchanged a glance and smiled slightly. "Ottombo, your task is to lead the team well. We need you more for the melee combat. Also, if we don't return within seven days, you can return to the Princess and leave Baselle Island on your own."

Seeing Richard's determined expression, Outomb knew he couldn't change the wizard's mind, so he could only nod gruffly and say, "Yes, sir! I will wait for you here."

At this moment, a skilled native hunter walked in. Judging from his appearance, he was the hunter squad leader who had encountered Richard and his men earlier, with three red lines painted on his face.

The Apache shaman chuckled and said, "Honorable guest, this is Tar, one of the best hunters in our Wolf Tribe!"

The native named Tal bowed to Richard with his hand on his chest and said, "My lord wizard, it's a pleasure to see you again. I will then lead you both to the Silent Forest!"

Richard nodded, and with Stephena in tow, he left the Wolf Tribe camp with Tal, accompanied by the Apache Shaman, the Wolf Chieftain, and Otombo.

"Whew, whih, whih!"

No matter how fast Tal cleared the way, he could always feel the wizard following behind him with an air of nonchalance.

The opponent's unfathomable strength immediately calmed his mind considerably.

You should know that even though he was one of the best hunters in the Wolf Tribe, he didn't want to go to that godforsaken place, the Silent Forest.

It was eerily dark, and various strange undead creatures roamed around it!

The thought of that scene sent a shiver down Tal's spine.

The path from Wolf Camp to Silent Forest is not smooth, so riding a horse is not suitable; walking is the best mode of transportation.

At Tal's speed, he should be able to reach the edge of the Silent Forest in about an hour and a half.

Gradually, about an hour later, the group heard the sound of flowing water in the distance.

Richard thought for a moment, and realized that this must be the Lunn River that the Apache shaman had mentioned at the Wolf Camp, the place where the evil spirits were discovered.

As he approached the banks of the River Lenne, Tal slowed down noticeably, and his alertness increased dramatically.

It seems he is very wary of the potential evil spirits that may appear here.

Indeed, for indigenous warriors, unless they possess strength comparable to that of Chief Benlang, who, according to their indigenous terminology, reaches the level of a totem warrior, they are completely powerless against these evil spirits.

"roar!!"

On the flat riverbank, a giant mountain bear was fighting a huge skeleton wielding two swords!

The three of them were immediately stunned by this bizarre scene!

"Master, this two-handed greatsword skeleton should be at least at the first tier, right?" Stephania asked, her beautiful eyes wide with astonishment.

Richard nodded; the mental energy fluctuations emanating from the greatsword skeleton clearly reached the first level.

What surprised Stephania was that it was extremely rare for wild undead creatures to reach Tier 1, requiring many conditions to be met.

For example, a greatsword skeleton must have been at least a Grand Knight in strength during its lifetime, its body must be intact at the time of death, and the area where it died must have extremely dense dark elemental energy particles, etc.

Only when all these conditions are met is there a certain probability that the current situation will occur, with a greatsword skeleton reaching the first tier.

Although the greatsword skeleton was now just a skeleton about two meters tall, it wielded its greatsword with incredible speed, forcing the mountain bear, which stood four meters tall, to retreat repeatedly.

But the mountain bear, as the overlord of this area, naturally wouldn't hand over its territory so easily, and a bloody battle ensued.

However, as the greatsword skeleton's attacks became more and more intense, the mountain bear's body was covered in more and more bloody wounds, and it soon retreated in a sorry state!

But the greatsword skeleton did not continue the pursuit. Instead, it walked downstream along the edge of the river as if on patrol.

This immediately startled Richard and Stephanie!

This completely contradicts their common sense about wild undead creatures.

According to the records in the Ignis School Library, wild undead creatures kill living beings to absorb their death energy. However, this greatsword skeleton actually spared the mountain bear and did not kill it to absorb its death energy, which is really too strange!

"Tal, you should go back now!" Richard said to Tal, turning to him.

"Alright, Your Excellency Wizard, I'll be heading back now! Please be careful." Tal bowed slightly, clearly astonished by what had just happened, and quickly disappeared into the dense forest on his way back.

"Stephena, do you think we should go straight into the Silent Forest, or follow this greatsword skeleton?" Richard smiled and turned to Stephena.

"Master, how about we follow the Greatsword Skeleton and take a look?" Stephania said with a smile.

Both of them had a desire to investigate this strange phenomenon.

As for danger, the path of a wizard is fraught with peril. If one is afraid to even confront hidden events, what is there to talk about on the path of a wizard?

Of course, the main reason is that the greatsword skeleton in front of them is not much stronger than Richard and Stephanie, so it is not a big danger.

The two chose to follow the greatsword skeleton at a distance, walking along the riverbank. But soon, the greatsword skeleton began to make a strange ninety-degree turn and cross the river, heading towards the depths of the silent forest.

Richard and Stephanie exchanged a glance, then slowly followed, crossing the Lenne River and beginning their journey deeper into the Silent Forest.

Upon entering the forest, the two discovered that the plants there grew in all sorts of bizarre ways, with various branches drooping down and completely obscuring the evening sky, making it as dark as night.

"Wow! Such a high concentration of dark element particles!" Richard blurted out.

"Yes! Master, the concentration of dark element particles here is at least 20% higher than outside! I feel that my magic will be much more powerful here." Stephania was just as surprised as Richard about the concentration of dark element particles here.

It's worth noting that even deep within the swamps where the Ignis School is located, the concentration of dark elemental energy particles is only about the same as here.

Could this be another training ground for dark wizards?

Richard couldn't help but become even more curious about what exactly was inside the Silent Forest.

The greatsword-wielding skeleton continued to walk slowly forward, but the black branches grew denser and denser, and thick fog slowly rose from the depths of the forest.

In the thick fog, all sorts of eerie sounds slowly began to rise!

There are eerie cat meows, baby cries, and the panting of a dying person; the feeling of not being able to breathe and about to suffocate can drive a normal person crazy.

But Richard and Stephanie were both necromancers, so they were naturally not afraid of such ghostly things.

To avoid being spotted by the Greatsword Skeleton, Richard and Stephanie, who were following behind, deliberately kept their distance, hanging far behind. But now that the thick fog had risen, visibility dropped drastically, and they could hardly see anything beyond five meters.

Therefore, the two quickly lost track of the greatsword skeleton.

Richard frowned slightly at this moment. The wizard's perception was far beyond that of ordinary people. He could sense that the greatsword skeleton had suddenly disappeared about fifty meters in front of him.

The next second, a cloud of deathly energy began to swirl around him, and bone armor began to cover his entire body. Richard turned to Stephanie and said, "Be careful, something's not right. Stay behind me."

"Yes, Master!" Stephania nodded.

After thinking for a moment, a pale green inverted pentagram array flashed beneath Richard's feet, and a three-meter-tall blood and bone puppet appeared in front of Richard.

For safety's sake, Richard had the Bloodbone Puppet lead the way.

He hadn't even taken two steps!

"clang!!"

A heavy thud resounded!

The Blood Bone Puppet immediately sent a telepathic message to Richard, informing him that it was engaged in combat with a formidable enemy.

"Snapped!"

The Bloodbone Puppet was knocked back several meters and came to a short distance from Richard. The next second, a huge abomination emerged from the mist and chased after the Bloodbone Puppet!

"Disgusting!" Stephania blurted out.

She found that today's events were more shocking than the two months of sailing on the Princess!

"How could wild abominations possibly appear?!"

"That's impossible!"

Stephanie looked incredulous, as did Richard.

This goes against common sense. Logically, a greatsword skeleton could be wild, but abominations like this usually come from the Netherworld or are modified by necromancers. There would never be a wild abomination.

Therefore, the two of them simply couldn't understand what circumstances could possibly lead to the existence of hatred in this world.

However, Richard was confident he could handle a single abomination.

For example, using one form of hatred to fight another!

A second later, the pale green inverted pentagram in front of Richard flashed by again, and a huge figure appeared before him—the vengeful spirit, Abomination.

Since his injury, Richard has repaired the space within the vengeful spirit's body, making it ready to house evil spirits and vengeful spirits at any time.

The vengeful spirit, with its eyes half-closed, sniffed the air and seemed to find the place quite comfortable. It then gave its master, Richard, a grateful look.

Immediately afterwards, it spotted another creature of its kind that was slightly smaller than itself!

The two enormous creatures stared at each other for several seconds before letting out a roar and charging forward to begin their fight.

Suddenly, tree branches snapped, and the ground shook violently!

Both of the colossal creatures weighed in tons, and their fighting was incredibly powerful. However, the vengeful abomination was still the better one, and the wild abomination was no match for it and began to retreat slowly.

But Richard wasn't about to let it have its way, so he immediately ordered the vengeful spirit to relentlessly pursue the other party.

Fight and retreat!

Richard and Stephanie continued deeper into the Silent Forest.

Suddenly, the thick fog ahead thinned considerably, and a strange two-story wooden cabin appeared abruptly deep in the forest!

Judging from the exterior of the hut, it seems to have been uninhabited for a very long time, and it looks like it's about to collapse.

But the most bizarre thing is that a small house appears in the middle of such an eerie and silent forest!

Richard and Stephanie exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes!

This is a strange area that keeps the thick fog out.

Even more strangely, the greatsword skeleton they had been following earlier had just entered the second-floor hut.

The abomination was also running towards the second-floor hut.

It seemed to be a refuge! A place to escape the vengeful spirits' pursuit and harm.

(End of this chapter)