The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

Chapter 86 The Mutant Ghoul (Fifth update, please subscribe!)

"The detection of evil can continue for a short while. I can sense that thing is still on the left side, and its position hasn't changed," Anya said softly.

"Okay, let's go."

Lorraine had picked up the shield from the ground again, put the Rusty Throat back on, and turned left to continue deeper into the trail.

The walls of the side passage were narrower than the main passage, and the air was worse; it was estimated that no wind had passed through here for decades, and the various complex stenches almost solidified.

There are traces here.

Not far along, Lorraine discovered two trails that stretched from the sewage onto the path, the filthy water stains moving forward in a crooked trajectory.

He examined it by the light; the marks were winding and meandering, clearly not something that could be left by anything normal.

"We're very close. Prepare for battle," he whispered.

The three of them quickly reached the end of the fork in the road and found a collapsed iron gate, the water stains disappearing behind it.

Lorraine cautiously probed inside with her shield, illuminating the scene behind the door with a light spell.

Inside was an abandoned reservoir, the water of which had long since dried up, and the bottom was filled with silt and debris that had accumulated over countless years.

In the middle of that mud, a humanoid figure was crawling and gnawing at something, which looked quite eerie in the dark environment.

This creature has unusually long limbs, with joints that bend backwards, and long, thick bone claws growing from the ends of its hands and feet.

Its skin was a dirty yellowish-brown color, and in some places it was cracked, with some kind of translucent crystals growing on the muscles at the cracks.

Lorraine raised her shield towards it, and finally saw clearly what it was gnawing on.

a corpse.

The corpse was lying face up in the mud, its chest and abdomen torn open, its internal organs dragged all over the ground.

The remaining leather armor on the corpse and the guild emblem on the belt clearly indicated his identity.

That's most likely one of the adventurers who went missing before.

The humanoid monster was engrossed in eating, its head bowed, completely oblivious to the light and sounds behind it.

"A ghoul..." Eileen recognized it quickly. She frowned and said, "Those crystals don't look right... Normal ghouls don't grow these things."

"Is it evolving into a demon?" Anya glanced at the corpse.

"No." Eileen shook her head. "The demon will be smaller, and its skin will be more rotten. It's possible that the negative energy caused it to undergo some kind of mutation."

"Can we lure it out? It's not easy to fight in there." Lorraine turned to look at her.

"Can."

Eileen nodded and was about to raise her staff to cast a spell when Anya stopped her.

"Hold on."

Anya gently tapped the holy emblem and chanted a familiar incantation: "Lord of the Dawn, grant us courage to face the enemies ahead!"

Golden light suddenly flew out from the holy emblem and landed on the three of them. This was the divine spell Anya had used when she was besieging the rock salamanders—[Blessing]!

Lorraine was instantly enveloped in a warm feeling, and boundless courage surged from within him, making him feel extremely invigorated. He shouted in a low voice, "Go!"

He raised his shield and stood in front of the two men. Having just grasped the technique of sheathing his sword, he was worried about not having a target. At this moment, he saw that the ghoul was already eager to attack.

"Agnir Ignis!"

Eileen quickly chanted the incantation, and a flaming arrow swiftly formed at the tip of her staff, trailing an orange-red tail of flame as it swept past Lorraine and flew straight toward the ghoul.

"boom--"

Flames erupted from the ghoul's back, blasting its upper body into the mud.

It struggled to pull its body out, then let out a chilling screech, its head twisting backward 180 degrees in an instant—an angle no living person could possibly manage.

Lorraine had already rushed to the edge of the reservoir, only a few steps away from it, and could clearly see its face. However, she was so frightened by its strange way of turning its head and its appearance that her scalp tingled.

This ghoul had no lips; its gums and jagged fangs were exposed, with bits of flesh and blood still clinging to them. Its deep-set eye sockets did not contain eyeballs, but instead emitted a faint green glow.

Its body suddenly turned around, and after merging with its head, it growled and pounced on Lorraine.

"Bang""

Lorraine gritted his teeth and used his shield to block its right claw. The huge bone claw slammed into the dragon scale shield with a muffled thud, and the impact made his arm go numb.

An indescribable stench wafted over, and even with Lorraine's well-worn sense of smell, she felt her stomach churn and almost vomited.

He gritted his teeth and swallowed it back; now was not the time to vomit.

"call""

The ghoul's other claw followed immediately.

Lorraine had no time to dodge, so she quickly held the Rusty Throat horizontally against her shield and took the blow with the blade.

The longsword emitted a low hum, and the rusty throat, which had the attribute of being sturdy, was actually slapped so hard that it bent slightly.

Fortunately, Lorraine now knows how to deflect force. He lowered his knee, took a step back, and triggered [Parry Counterattack].

"Drink!"

The longsword, enhanced by the skill, slashed out like lightning. The first strike of the combo landed squarely on the ghoul's neck. The light attached to the blade seeped into the wound, igniting platinum flames on its muscles.

The sword strike seemed to be very effective, but Lorraine frowned deeply.

The feel of chopping with this thing is really weird...

The rusty throat didn't feel like it had cut into normal flesh and blood at all; it felt more like it had chopped into a piece of rotten hard wood, with an unusual sense of toughness.

He didn't have time to think it through. Glenn's teachings flashed through his mind, and he bent his wrist at an angle following the slight reaction force.

The second sword strike also came down at great speed, striking the ghoul's shoulder blade squarely.

"bite"

A crisp sound rang out as the rusty throat blade struck something hard and was forced to slide aside.

What is that?!

Lorraine's pupils contracted, and she looked in surprise in the direction of the sword tip.

The crystals on the ghoul's body had spread out, forming a semi-transparent carapace on its back. Its attack had only left a shallow sword mark.

"Lorraine, get out of the way!"

Eileen's sharp rebuke rang out from behind.

He quickly stepped back to avoid the ghoul's bite, exposing its body to her line of fire.

"BalaAstra!"

Three silver-white magic missiles shot out from the tip of Eileen's staff, exploding accurately on the ghoul's body. Some of the translucent crystals were scattered in the dazzling explosion.

But the ghoul seemed to feel no pain. It simply stumbled back a step, and then, as if enraged by Eileen's magic, it completely ignored Lorraine and rushed towards her.

"Did you secretly learn how to be sarcastic?!"

Lorraine reacted swiftly, gripping the rusty throat and channeling his magic into his free index finger.