This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees - Chapter 52 (Patreon)

As Matthew looked into Eli's eager eyes, he tried to soften his tone as much as possible:

"Peggy is indeed a woman of grace, but sometimes, preserving a bit of mystery might be a better way to get along."

Eli understood the implication behind Matthew's words.

He was slightly displeased:

"I thought that after these days of being together, we might not be friends, but at least we wouldn't be like strangers."

Matthew quickly smiled and said:

"As long as you agree, Eli, we will be lifelong friends."

Eli's expression softened:

"Since we're friends, why did you stop me from seeing Peggy?"

Saying that, he suddenly had a realization:

"Could it be that Peggy is your lover?"

"I may have been a bit presumptuous, but rest assured, I just wanted to meet her, with no intention of taking her away! After all, I've been through it myself, and I know how painful it can be. I wouldn't want you to endure that kind of pain."

Matthew's smile froze on his face:

"No, no, Peggy is not my lover, and I'm not stopping you from seeing her out of selfish desires."

Eli was puzzled:

"Then why are you so unwilling to let me meet Peggy?"

Matthew was about to explain, but a tall figure suddenly hurried over:

"Matthew! Quickly, check out my chest!"

"Here, touch it, and here, do you feel like I'm missing a few ribs?!"

A hulking minotaur skeleton approached with a brash attitude.

And in the process, he forcibly pushed Eli aside.

Eli's face immediately showed displeasure, but before he could speak, the peculiar skeleton shouted at him:

"Little kitty, don't make that unhappy face! I just heard you talking behind my back!"

Eli couldn't help but chuckle.

He had been about to say, "I was discussing Miss Peggy, what's it to you."

But the next moment, he heard Matthew's somewhat helpless voice:

"Alright, Peggy, stop messing around."

"That day, didn't I check you already? I just broke a few ribs, and I've reattached them. With your constitution, you'll recover in no time."

Peggy didn't seem to believe him.

She covered her chest with one hand, and with the other, she reached under her ribcage to feel around for a while. After a moment, she shook her head playfully:

"Alright, even if the ribs are reattached, my butt still hurts. You need to check that too."

As soon as she finished speaking, Eli, who had been staring in shock, finally reacted.

His tongue was tied as he asked:

"She's Peggy?"

The minotaur skeleton proudly declared:

"I am Peggy!"

Matthew, with a hint of pity in his eyes, confirmed:

"Peggy is her."

...

In the dimly shadowed territory stood the Pool of Bloodlight.

This was the location of the Cataclysmic Cult's sanctum.

In front of an ordinary white wooden house, burning braziers on both sides blazed fiercely. These braziers were self-igniting, and within the flames, one could occasionally glimpse the twisted faces of tormented souls.

On the steps, a golden-haired man, who always wore a warm smile, faced the vigilant Zeller warriors.

He gently extended his arms towards the Zeller, his voice carrying a compelling charm:

"Welcome back to the sanctum, my daughter, Lysanna."

With these words, he inclined his arms forward, inviting the Zeller for an embrace.

Lysanna raised an eyebrow slightly, and with some reluctance, she walked over to the man and shared a brief hug before stepping back.

Her body language was filled with resistance, and deep within her pupils was a hint of fear.

"My father, this mission has ended in failure. Mehdis and Banwen lost their lives in battle, and Sivak is suspected to have become a prisoner. I followed the oracle's guidance and brought back only Edson's head."

As she spoke, she reverently handed over the head she held tightly.

"Only the head?"

The golden-haired man, still smiling, spoke with a voice as gentle as a spring breeze.

Lysanna's body quivered, and she hurriedly lowered her head, saying:

"The enemy was very vigilant, and the power of Rolling Stone Town exceeded our estimates. That necromancer was very cunning, Edson couldn't counter his spells, and he never had the chance to banish his bone dragon. As a result, we suffered a defeat. They had a significant number of forces, and security was tight. I couldn't bring back Edson's entire body, so I settled for this."

"I'm sorry, this failure was unavoidable. Even if I had intervened, I couldn't have changed the outcome."

The golden-haired man shook his head.

"We haven't failed."

Lysanna looked up in surprise and saw the sincere smile on his face.

"But we did lose."

The golden-haired man chuckled and said, "The outcome of a momentary victory or defeat is like fleeting smoke. What's more important is that war is just a means to an end."

"We must prepare for the next mission. Only then will we truly repay our master's boundless favor."

Lysanna breathed a sigh of relief and quickly complied:

"I understand. I'll go to Blackthorn City and persuade them."

"Not so fast."

The golden-haired man smiled and said, "Everyone else perished, and you alone survived. Though this was my command, you must still face punishment—not for your sake, but for the sake of your fallen comrades."

Lysanna suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with fear and reluctance.

Beads of sweat, like pearls, appeared on her forehead.

"Father..."

She whispered.

"What's wrong, don't you want to?"

The golden-haired man still wore his smile, and in the flickering firelight, his shadow stretched infinitely, casting a sinister and terrifying silhouette on the stone wall.

"No, I'm willing."

Lysanna clenched her teeth and finally muttered.

"Come, let's go inside."

The golden-haired man gently took her hand.

The two of them entered the white-painted wooden house.

Before long, an extremely agonized woman's voice emanated from the house.

Faintly echoing in the background.

Still, you could hear the gentle teachings of the golden-haired man:

"You should be happy, Lysanna; this is a father's love."

"You should rejoice; this is the gift of our Lord."

"Smile! Laugh out loud! Otherwise, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to put this spine back in on time..."

Soon, outside the wooden house...

The distressing voice transformed into a somewhat eerie laughter.

A subterranean squirrel happened to pass by.

It curiously crawled up to the window of the wooden house to peer inside.

With a crisp sound, a sinister tendril extended from an unknown place.

And as the sticky tendril disappeared...

There remained only a shallow bloodstain on the window.

But inside the house, the hysterical laughter continued.

...

In the northeast of the Oakwood Forest.

Matthew stood solemnly near a marker stone.

A few guards with surprised expressions followed behind him.

They were still some distance from the marker stone, but at this point, they dared not approach any further.

Because they could sense a dreadful aura of annihilation!

"The Mark of the Undead is spreading, and it's an abnormal expansion, stronger and more extensive than before!"

Matthew's expression was serious.

At the moment of the incident, he was with a few teammates in a cave, preparing a makeshift graveyard. Suddenly, he sensed an evil disturbance.

Following his perception to this location, he discovered that not only had the Mark of the Undead expanded a considerable distance to the southwest, but the vitality of something within it had also increased significantly.

Before, the Oakwood Tree he had planted here was about thirty or forty meters away from the Mark of the Undead.

But now...

That tree was almost touching the scorched earth of the Mark of the Undead!

Under the scouring influence of this aura of annihilation...

This Oakwood Tree was already showing signs of decay.

Although it wouldn't die immediately, it would undoubtedly be hard-pressed to survive in the long run.

"What's going on? How could the Mark of the Undead erupt like this out of nowhere?"

Matthew was filled with questions.

He suddenly remembered a strange occurrence he had come across in recent days while cleaning up the bodies: Matthew had discovered that more than three hundred corpses, whether Gnolls, Kobolds, or Imps, all resembled mummies.

Devoid of fluids and lacking blood.

When he first noticed this anomaly, Matthew thought it was related to the curses that the Cataclysmic Cult had placed on these subterranean creatures.

But now, it seemed it might be more complicated.

"Could it be that the Mark of the Undead is absorbing the blood of the war dead? Earlier, I used my basic soul vision to check the condition of the spirits, and I found that there were fewer of them after the battle. I thought it was because the Underworld folks were becoming more efficient..."

Matthew's heart raced.

Could it be that for the Cataclysmic Cult, destroying Rolling Stone Town was not the ultimate goal? Instead, was it the Mark of the Undead?!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

At the edge of the scorched earth, a colossal hand, seemingly composed of countless paper fragments and ashes, burst from the ground and rushed menacingly toward Matthew.

Matthew remained incredibly calm, stepping back three paces, and in an instant, Abin's figure had taken his place.

In the blink of an eye, two short knives crossed paths, and the ashy hand disintegrated into flying ashes.

...

"Hint: You have eliminated an 'Ashen Hand,' and your affinity with nature has received a slight boost.

You have gained a new main quest:

Main Quest 2: Exterminate the Mark of the Undead!

Description: The Mark of the Undead's expansion has become uncontrollable and is even threatening your carefully nurtured Oakwood Forest. It's time to remove this malignant tumor from the land!

Primary Objective: Halt the Mark of the Undead and block its further southwest expansion.

Primary Reward: Demi-godhood (with domain) & a substantial amount of XP."

...

Matthew's eyelids twitched.

"As expected, the main quest is inevitably intertwined with the Mark of the Undead."

Although he had anticipated this deep down, the quest's content and generous rewards still surprised him.

A demi-godhood that includes a domain?

This meant that as long as Matthew reached around the fourth tier, with the blessings of a demi-godhood and a domain, he might attain the realm where he had no equals under the legendary tier!

Even a demi-godhood in the third-tier state granted him the ability to challenge opponents up to two tiers higher.

This indirectly reflected the difficulty of the task.

At least, no one currently knew how to stop the expansion of the Mark of the Undead.

The elves of the Jade Green Court hadn't managed it.

The Druids of the Watchful Highlands hadn't either.

Matthew could only rely on his own power to explore, and this was a tremendously daunting task.

But he had no choice.

Because if he didn't stop the Mark of the Undead, the Oakwood Forest he had painstakingly nurtured was likely to be destroyed in an instant.

In the meantime, his path in the way of nature would be entirely sealed off, with no possibility of advancement!

"Let's go, and report to Lord of the Manor. We need to reset the marker stone."

Matthew gazed deeply at the scorched earth ahead.

Then he turned and led his people away.

...

Night.

Matthew, unable to sleep, stood in the northern part of the Oakwood Forest, gazing at the Mark of the Undead.

The longer he looked, the more it seemed like a gigantic earthworm to him.

After staring at it for a while, Matthew even had the illusion that this thing would wriggle.

"Matthew."

A familiar voice sounded behind him.

Matthew turned to look:

"Ella?"

But the next second, he couldn't help but blurt out:

"No, you're not Ella!"

Under the moonlight.

The Miss Owl elegantly and solemnly flapped her wings.

She carried a trace of majesty and sanctity that she usually did not possess.

"You're quite perceptive. Hello, Matthew. Nice to meet you. I am Aysia Moonlight."

The owl chuckled softly.

She flew to a rock and perched on it, then looked kindly at Matthew:

"The moonlight is beautiful, isn't it?"

Chapter 53 >>

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