Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 100 I thought you were a decent person, but I didn't expect you to be...

After a full six hours of sailing, it had quietly become evening.

They sailed out of the storm-shrouded sea, and the crimson moonlight pierced through the clouds.

Not far ahead of them was a giant island shrouded in layers of mist.

That was their destination!

That pristine island inhabited by Blue Shadow Falcons and many other extraordinary creatures!

Alger's expression brightened, and his previous weariness vanished.

Alger stared intently at the primitive island that was faintly visible under the crimson moonlight, his heart filled with excitement.

"There must be Blue-crowned Falcons on this island; I've seen them with my own eyes. And while I haven't seen Dragon-eye Sea Eagles, the possibility of them existing is extremely high!"

"If we're lucky, we might find traces of them on the outskirts. If that happens, we might not have to go any further."

"Bang!"

Before long, the Azure Avenger, which was gradually approaching the island, docked in the shallow waters near the island.

The sails were furled and the anchor was dropped into the sea to secure the ship.

Ash.

Alger said, "Your silver knights would be better left on the ship to guard them."

"Um?"

Yu Jin cast a questioning look at him.

"This is a ghost ship."

Alger explained with some helplessness, "Although I am its captain and have taken control of it, this ancient ship, which has been left over from the Tudor dynasty, still has some secrets that I cannot understand."

"For example, when it's unattended, it often deliberately creates problems, or it deviates from its course and sails into dangerous waters. If it were in a safe course, it would be fine, but now..."

Alger gave a wry smile.

It's a full six hours' voyage from here to the safe passage, and this journey is fraught with danger, with sea monsters lurking and storms swirling around. Even if there are ships, there's no guarantee of getting through.

But what if this ghost ship suddenly sails away from the island?

Having lost their ship, they would likely be trapped and die on the island.

After all, apart from the two of them, no one else knew the coordinates of the island.

"no problem."

Yu Jin nodded slightly. He hadn't expected the Silver Knights to deal damage anyway, so having them guard the ship was just fine.

Even without a boat, he wasn't really worried.

Because he has a return bone fragment, he can return to the campfire at any time.

But the Return Bone Shard is different from other consumables; it is the residue left after the bones of the undead have burned away.

During the process of passing the fire, he always had to use the return bone fragment to return to the campfire because of reasons such as falling off a cliff and being unable to return.

If you're in Lordran, you can always find a few undead to burn and leave some scraps.

But in this world where no one is immortal, every piece used is one less available.

Therefore, Ember will not be used lightly unless absolutely necessary.

"rustle!"

The two boarded a small boat and landed on the island, their feet making a soft, gentle sound as they stepped onto the fine sand.

Before them lay a lush, verdant forest.

Logically speaking, such a jungle should be inhabited by many creatures, but in fact, the environment here is very quiet. There are no birdsong, wolf howls, or even insect chirps, giving people a sense of deathly stillness!

The island was shrouded in a hazy mist, through which even the crimson hue could only penetrate slightly.

But this did not dispel the darkness of the forest and the central mountain peak of the island; instead, it shrouded them in a sinister and bloody atmosphere.

"It's nighttime now."

Alger lifted the heavy box in his hand and explained, "It gets quite lively here during the day. Those extraordinary creatures that have become extinct in the northern and southern continents are very active, and their numbers are beyond your imagination."

"But at night, the power that dominates this place seems to change. Almost all the extraordinary species will hide and only appear one after another at dawn."

"However, this time we are going to hunt the Blue Shadow Falcon. Although this extraordinary creature is only equivalent to Sequence 6, it is extremely fast. Even extraordinary beings of the same rank can only vaguely see the shadow it leaves behind, let alone hunt it."

"Therefore, I need to make some preparations at night in advance for hunting Blue Falcons during the day."

Yu Jin nodded knowingly, without saying anything more, and simply gestured for him to proceed.

He didn't know what Alger was planning, so he couldn't offer any help.

He simply walked to the side, carrying a lantern to help illuminate the nearby road.

Alger didn't dare venture too deep into the jungle, but simply walked around the perimeter of the island along the beach.

He then put down the box he was carrying a kilometer away from the Azure Avenger.

"Snapped!"

Alger lifted the wooden board on top of the crate, revealing what was inside.

By the dim light of the fire, it appeared to be a living person!

"This is a fish-man."

Seemingly afraid that Ember would misunderstand, Alger explained without turning his head.

Yu Jin raised the lantern a little higher, letting the light illuminate the inside of the box and allowing him to see the full appearance of the 'person'.

It was less a human and more a fish-like monster with a human form.

It's like a giant fish that has grown strong limbs, with obvious webbing between its hands and feet.

Its eyes were round and bulging, and its cheeks had long gills, making it look like a monster from legend.

Even though the monster was curled up, it was clear that it would be over two meters tall if it stood up!

But at this moment, the monster, which looked incredibly ferocious, appeared extremely tired, and its body was covered in wounds, as if it had suffered some inhuman torture before it died.

As Alger effortlessly dragged the fishman out of the box, he patiently explained, "For extraordinary beings, their favorite food is other species that are also extraordinary beings."

"And for most of the extraordinary bird-like creatures in the sea, their favorite food is fish-men."

As he spoke, Alger smiled again, "Of course, for humans, fish-men are also quite excellent as food; their flesh is very delicious."

"Unfortunately, since the fishman's swim bladder is the main material for the Sequence 9 'Sailor', the fishmen in the coastal waters have been almost completely hunted down, with only a small number left to be kept by the Church of Storms. So under normal circumstances, even pirates who specialize in operating at sea rarely encounter them."

"Tsk."

After hearing Alger's description, Ember clicked his tongue in amazement.

"Would you like to taste it?"

Alger raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile, "Although it's still useful, cutting off a part shouldn't have too much of an impact, and tonight's dinner can be a bit more substantial."

"No."

Ember shook his head, his tone slightly regretful, "These merfolk are just not what I imagined."

"..."

Alger's expression instantly became incredibly strange.

I thought you were a decent person, but I never expected you to be such a pervert?

Alger's expression quickly returned to calm, and he said leisurely, "You're probably imagining a mermaid, right? The kind with a human upper body and a fish lower body, and a pure and charming appearance."

"I must remind you that mermaids and fish-men are two different species. And I can tell you with certainty that mermaids are exactly the same as you imagine."

"Many noble families are even willing to spend a fortune to buy a live mermaid. As for their purpose in wanting these mermaids..."

Alger gave Ember a knowing look, and then said with a hint of regret, "But unfortunately, mermaids are even rarer than fish-men. For most people, mermaids exist almost exclusively in legends."

"I have never seen a mermaid in person, nor have I ever heard of anyone capturing a mermaid alive."

"That's not necessarily true."

Yu Jin said thoughtfully, "Didn't you say that this primitive island is rarely visited by people? Perhaps mermaids live here."

"That's even more impossible."

Alger shrugged. "Like I said before, most avian supernatural beings in the sea prefer fish-men as their food. But in fact, mermaids are far more popular than fish-men, but because they are so rare, supernatural beings have to settle for fish-men as a second choice."

"Even if there really were mermaids living here, they would probably have been eaten clean by the supernatural creatures on the island long ago. At most, you can only find the fish scales left behind by them."

"Tsk, what a waste of resources."

Alger shook his head and sighed deeply, looking up at the sky.

"To be honest, that's true."

Yu Jin nodded seriously.

Mermaids are extremely popular among both humans and supernatural beings, but in very different directions.

They would be treated as playthings by humans.

But to supernatural beings, it is nothing more than food.

For both sides, the other's handling of the mermaid can be described in four words:

A violent thing!

Humans: You're using such good stuff to eat?

Extraordinary Creatures: Why don't you use such good stuff to eat?

Alger's trap was not particularly ingenious, and could not even be called a trap at all.

He simply tossed the fishman onto the beach and created the illusion that the fishman had accidentally stranded himself.

As for the traps he set, they were barely worth mentioning.

After all, they were hunting extraordinary creatures, and extraordinary creatures comparable to Sequence 6!

It's impossible to expect these ordinary traps to be of much use; ultimately, they will have to take matters into their own hands.

The key to this trap lies in the murloc as bait.

As long as this bait is there, there's no worry about those extraordinary creatures not taking the bait.

of course.

Whether the creature that takes the bait is the extraordinary being they want is entirely up to luck.

"We need to hide first."

After setting up the trap, Alger stood up, looked around, and said, "I'm going to lie in wait in that forest to make sure the fishmen aren't carried off by anything tonight."

After a pause, Alger continued, "You can go back to the ship and rest for a while, just make sure you're back before five in the morning."

"Need not."

After a moment's thought, Yu Jin shook his head and said, "There are only a few hours left until dawn. I'll wait with you."

"OK."

Alger nodded; it would be best if Ember was willing to stay and help.

He first observed the surrounding environment, then went straight to the forest near the beach and found a patch of grass where he could hide and squatted down.

"Birds are extraordinary creatures, and most of them have exceptional visual abilities."

Alger cautioned, "So we must make sure we are well hidden and never be detected. Also, their hearing is quite excellent, so it's best not to make any noise while we are lying in wait."

"If that's what you mean by that."

Yu Jin looked enlightened and reached out to take out two rings.

Alger hesitated, then said weakly, "You're not going to tell me that these two rings happen to have this function?"

"almost."

Yu Jin pointed to the two rings on his palm and gave a brief explanation: "Phantom Limb Rings can conceal the wearer's figure from a distance, which is about five meters. As long as you are more than five meters away from the target, you can be completely 'invisible'."

"The Sleeping Dragon Emblem Ring can eliminate the sound made by the wearer."

"..."

Alger's lips twitched.

One is for vision, and the other is for hearing.

The two rings work together to achieve perfect stealth.

If the effect is really as strong as Ember described, then as long as you wear these two rings and are more than five meters away from the target, the other party will not be able to detect you even if you are face to face.

Where did he get so many strange and wonderful rings that have all sorts of magical effects?

"Don't you need it?"

When Alger saw Ember hand over the two rings, he instinctively asked a question.

But when he noticed the ten rings on Ember's fingers, he fell completely silent.

The ten rings were all different styles, and two of them were exactly the same as the one that Yu Jin had handed over.

As for the other eight rings, Alger did not recognize them.

He didn't ask any questions, but silently took the ring and put it on his finger.

The Sleeping Dragon Emblem Ring had an immediate effect; all sounds he made were silenced after wearing it.

As for the phantom limb ring...

"One, two, three, four, five..."

Alger tentatively took a few steps back, silently counting the distance in his mind.

The moment he counted to five, the embers that had been so close vanished completely before his eyes.

The spot where Yu Jin was originally located was just a patch of grass; he couldn't see anything else there.

And when he took another small step forward, the embers reappeared in his sight.

And all of this changed because of a mere five meters!

What are its side effects?

Alger walked back to Ember's side and couldn't help but ask.

"Just like the sacrifice ring."

Alger fell silent after receiving the answer, because he remembered that when Ember introduced the "Sacrifice Ring," it had only one side effect: it had to be worn continuously to take effect.

Compared to other magical items, this so-called "side effect" is completely negligible.

and……

Alger instinctively looked at Ember's hands.

The ten rings were all different in style, a truly dazzling array.

but.

The only thing missing was the sacrifice ring.

This made Alger question the meaning of life.

After all, in his eyes, no matter how effective these rings were, they couldn't compare to the Sacrifice Ring.

After all, the latter is a real second life!

But Ember didn't bring the Sacrifice Ring, and judging from his previous attitude...

His words also seemed to reveal his disdain for the sacrificial ring.

"Is it confidence? Or some other reason?"

Alger was somewhat puzzled, but he didn't delve into it, after all, it was someone else's secret.

……

As time passed, the crimson moonlight gradually disappeared completely into the sky.

The warm sun peeked out from behind the clouds, generously showering the earth with its radiance.

Even the sun's rays were blocked by the accumulated fog, only penetrating a small portion.

But it was precisely this little bit of sunlight that fell on the island, as if it were some kind of signal, that instantly brought this island, which was originally filled with a deathly atmosphere, back to life.

"rustle!"

"Squeak!"

"Awoo!"

"Hey!"

The sounds of insects chirping, the wind rustling through the leaves, birds singing, and wolves howling seemed to bring life back to the earth.

A large number of extraordinary creatures began to appear one by one.

They mostly hide in the jungle, carefully concealing themselves while hunting other extraordinary creatures.

Yu Jin and the other person stood at the edge of the forest, staring intently at the fishmen on the beach not far away.

Until they heard a sharp bird cry.

A blue shadow flashed across the sky.

However, instead of disappearing from their sight in the blink of an eye like a swift arrow, it did not leave, but instead began to hover in the air.

"They're here!"

Alger's expression brightened. "That's the Blue Shadow Falcon!"

Alger's eyes lit up with delight; it seemed they were quite lucky.

It was only just dawn, and they didn't have to wait long before the Blue Shadow Falcon arrived.

The other side had clearly noticed the fish-men on the beach, and their current circling was merely a probing and observation.

As long as it determines that there is no danger in the surroundings, it will descend on its own.

Alger stared intently at the blue shadow with a tense expression.

The Blue Shadow Falcon is incredibly fast, and it's also a flying bird—a superhuman creature.

If it doesn't land, Alger has no confidence that he can catch it.

"Hey!"

at last.

After circling in the sky for a long time, the Blue Shadow Falcon seemed to finally determine that there was no danger nearby, and flapped its wings to slow down as it flew toward the fishman on the beach.

Alger's expression grew increasingly excited. He was ready and waiting for the Blue Shadow Falcon to land so he could rush out!

If all goes well, he should be able to obtain the first main material he needs for this trip in a few minutes.

however.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, that's impossible.

"Hey!"

The Blue Shadow Falcon had already slowed down and was descending towards the ground. It was originally so fast that you could only see its shadow, but now Alger could see its entirety.

Just as the opponent was less than three meters away from the fishman, another cry came from the sky.

A huge bald eagle appeared in the sky at some unknown time!

"Longan Sea Eagle!"

Alger instantly recognized the white eagle; it was the other main ingredient he needed.

Within minutes, the two extraordinary creatures he hoped to hunt appeared one after another.

This is a good thing.

But it may not necessarily be a good thing.

"Hey!"

Sure enough, the moment the longan sea eagle appeared, the blue falcon, which was about to land, was immediately startled.

Its eyes instantly turned to terror, and it frantically flapped its wings to quickly ascend into the air.

It shot into the sky almost in the blink of an eye, leaving only a shadow.

Alger was left standing there, his heart bleeding, utterly heartbroken.

Encountering the Blue Falcon and the Dragon Eye Sea Eagle for the first time should have been very happy events for him.

Two happy things coincided.

And these two sources of happiness can bring him even more happiness.

What we received should have been a blissful, dreamlike time...

But why did it turn out this way?

"It's over, it's all over."

Alger's face showed bitterness; the extraordinary creature hovering in the air was simply beyond his ability to deal with.

This has practically sealed the fate of his mission.

However, at that moment, a loud shout suddenly rang in his ears.

"No flying allowed in this area!"

"Hey!"

With two more mournful cries, the blue shadow falcon, moving so fast it was just a shadow, and the massive white-headed raptor simultaneously lost their ability to fly, screaming as they crashed heavily to the ground from the sky.

In an instant, as the two raptors "crashed," dirt splattered everywhere and blood flew.

Alger didn't know how Ember had managed to do it.

But he knew what he had to do!

Alger's figure shot towards the two crashing raptors like a swift arrow.

Instead of going for the closer sea eagle, he rushed towards the more distant blue falcon.

Because they are faster than the latter, once they regain their speed, they will be able to escape before the latter can react.

Holding a short dagger that had appeared in his hand without him noticing, he stabbed it fiercely towards Blue Shadow Falcon's neck!

These extraordinary bird creatures are the absolute rulers of the sky.

But on land, they are not even as good as plucked pheasants!

"Hey!"

Amidst the Blue Falcon's mournful screams, a short dagger pierced its neck, severing its trachea.

Blood gushed out instantly.

In just over ten seconds, the Blue Falcon was already dead.

On the other side...

He pulled out the Darkmoon Longbow at some point, and with a single arrow, he accurately pierced the neck of the Dragon Eye Sea Eagle.

One blow kills.

"call."

Alger breathed a sigh of relief, no longer looking at the Blue Shadow Falcon that was gradually losing its life, and instead rushed towards the Dragon Eye Sea Eagle.

Under the unseeing gaze of its dying creature, its eyes were carefully gouged out.

And in this process.

The body of the already dead Blue Shadow Falcon was filled with floating light spots, and six crystalline feathers condensed on its wings.

Even so, Alger, who should have been very excited, found himself somewhat dazed.

It's been less than ten minutes since dawn.

He had already obtained both of the extraordinary materials he needed.

Why does it feel like a dream?

Alger glanced at Ember, who was leisurely pulling arrows from the sea eagle.

His gaze fell on a pocket watch in the other person's hand.

His intuition told him that the magical item was the key.

Noticing Alger's gaze, Ember casually explained, "The Concerto of Light and Shadow can use certain extraordinary abilities of the Arbitrator Sequence. It's a trophy I obtained from an extraordinary individual in the royal family."

A Concerto of Light and Shadow

A pocket watch that allows the use of lawyers and arbitrators.

Prohibition and Deprivation

Prohibit certain behaviors within a certain scope.

It can also 'deprive' a target of a certain ability.

However, the resulting restrictions shall not exceed two types;

Gift and Distortion

To directly "gift" a negative state to the target

Distorting the target's language, actions, intentions, and the effects of their attacks.

Turn fatal wounds into serious injuries, and blows into pushes.

This pocket watch is a unique blend of the characteristics of both lawyers and arbitrators.

If you're not lucky,

It also has some hidden side effects.

"Spoils of war?"

Alger seemed to understand something.

They assumed the embers came from the extraordinary individuals at the Capin Villa.

Although I'm a little envious, after all, it's something they earned through their own abilities.

"Aish, I think..."

Alger organized his thoughts, just about to say something.

But the next second, a deep roar suddenly came from beside his ear.

"roar!"

Alger's expression changed slightly, and he subconsciously looked towards the jungle behind him.

There, dozens of pairs of eyes, gleaming with an eerie light, were staring intently at them.

(End of this chapter)