This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees - Chapter 109

In the southwest edge of the Remnants of the Deceased, less than two hundred meters from the oak forest, humanoid creatures resembling ghosts continuously crawled out from the scorched black soil.

Their bodies were tattered, their faces darkened, and they vaguely retained a humanoid shape when seen from the front. However, looking at them from the side, it was clear that these "creatures" had an abnormal width, as thin as sheets of paper!

Their faces were made up of large, shadowy patches, as if they had no faces at all.

These "paper creatures" moved in an unnatural, zombie-like manner.

With each step they took, sparks fell from their bodies.

As the sparks landed on the ground, the once-clean soil was stained with a layer of black.

Gradually, the edge of the Remnants of the Deceased expanded further.

When Matthew and his group arrived, this was the scene that greeted them.

There were around a dozen paper creatures idly roaming near the edge.

However, as soon as they sensed Matthew approaching, they suddenly became lively and rushed toward him as if they had found their target!

Reiga was the first to react, swiftly swinging his sword to cut down one of the paper creatures.

The creature's body was easily torn apart by his two-handed sword and turned into ashes that dispersed into the air.

Reiga continued with his onslaught, charging forward alone, swinging his sword left and right. In no time, he had completely cleared out the paper creatures with sparks.

This sight left Matthew and the others in shock.

"Is this the trouble you mentioned?" Reiga said, leaning his two-handed sword against the ground and turning to Matthew with a smile. "I don't even need oil for my sword to take care of them!"

Matthew looked at the Remnants of the Deceased behind Reiga, his expression filled with doubt.

But after a few seconds, his expression changed abruptly.

"Fall back!" Matthew called out.

Reiga, reacting quickly, withdrew two steps after hearing Matthew's call and turned around.

When he looked, he was taken aback by what he saw.

On the scorched earth of the Remnants of the Deceased, dozens of red-glowing circles suddenly appeared. From within these circles, black hands reached out from the ground.

Silently and swiftly, a large number of paper creatures emerged from the circles.

Their numbers had doubled compared to before.

What was even more terrifying was that this time, the paper creatures that emerged had faces, and they looked exactly like Reiga!

Even the most clueless person now realized something was amiss.

Reiga raised his hand, struggling to maintain his grip on the two-handed sword.

"My energy seems to have been drained!" he exclaimed.

Matthew strained to sense the information of these paper creatures. He didn't dare to use his enhanced perception, fearing it might further exacerbate the situation with the Remnants of the Deceased.

Fortunately, after a while, the data screen displayed a response.

"Hint: You've encountered 'Ashen Minions'! Your comrade, Reiga, has killed all the 'Ashen Minions.' During this process, a portion of his essence was absorbed and duplicated by the Ashen Minions. The 'Ashen Minions,' with the support of the 'Ashen Lord,' will increase in number and strength. A new wave of Ashen Minions is charging towards you!"

"This is 'Ashen Life'?" Matthew's heart sank.

Seeing that the group was about to engage, he quickly called out to them, "Don't engage with Ashen Life near the Remnants of the Deceased. They are immortal and absorb the essence of the living to strengthen the Remnants of the Deceased!"

Hearing Matthew's words, the group halted their attacks and hastily retreated in the direction of the oak forest.

But even so, about half of the Ashen Minions, due to their fierce charge, were killed by the group with tears in their eyes.

As the group retreated to the edge of the forest, they could faintly see more red circles appearing on the ground of the Remnants of the Deceased.

"The numbers are increasing!" Reiga complained. "And why do they look the most like me?"

As he spoke, he couldn't help but swing his sword, unintentionally annihilating the remaining Ashen Minions.

"This is bad!" Reiga exclaimed as he sat down on an oak tree, his face unusually pale, and sweat pouring from his forehead.

"Because you killed the most minions, they absorbed more of your life essence," Matthew said calmly. "I read about these creatures in the Seven Saints Alliance's information. They are not individual entities but extensions of the Remnants of the Deceased. If we can't severely damage the Remnants of the Deceased, these creatures, called 'Ashen,' will continue to accumulate until we can't defend ourselves. Then, they will advance, further expanding the Remnants of the Deceased's coverage."

Reiga panted and asked, "Why didn't you say that earlier?"

Matthew sighed. "You killed them too quickly, much faster than I expected."

Reiga glared at him, concerned about the incoming wave of Ashen Minions. "Can your oak forest stop these creatures?"

Matthew shook his head. "I'm afraid not."

However, in the next moment, several Silver Moon Zombies emerged from the entrances between the cemetery and the surface, advancing confidently toward the fifty or so Ashen Minions that resembled Reiga.

"But my Undead can," Matthew said.

Before anyone could react, the zombies effortlessly tore the Ashen Minions into pieces.

After a while, the Remnants of the Deceased lit up with more red circles, but this time, the number of circles did not increase.

"Indeed, the Ashen Minions that are killed by the Undead won't increase in number because they can't absorb life essence," Matthew said with relief.

Since the moment he confirmed that the Ashen Lord would send troops to chase them, Matthew had been preparing for today.

During this time, the information provided by the Seven Saints Alliance had played a significant role.

The information clearly stated that the main domain of the Remnants of the Deceased, a lingering tentacle of the Void Dominator Yukluss, was the "Ashen."

The Alliance had conducted in-depth research and collected data on this domain.

Matthew found that the Ashen and the Undead were two overlapping concepts. Both encompassed an aspect of "death." Compared to the Undead, the Ashen was more focused on two key elements: "Transcendence" and "Eternity."

The Ashen Domain represented the "residue" and "decay" of the entire universe as it moved towards its inevitable withering conclusion.

These two domains were destined to overlap and be in opposition.

Therefore, using the Undead to counter the enemies from the Ashen Domain was an effective strategy.

In the history of the Alliance, there had been a project that gathered a large number of necromancers to slow down the expansion of the Remnants of the Deceased. In practice, this project had yielded good results, leading to a significant period of cooperation between the White Rock City and the Jade Groves of Cyrelia.

At the southwestern tip of the Trail of the Deceased, less than two hundred meters from the Oakwood Forest, humanoid creatures resembling ghosts were emerging continuously from the scorched black soil.

Their bodies were tattered and dark, with a somewhat humanoid silhouette when viewed head-on. However, from the side, their abnormal thinness became evident, resembling nothing more than sheets of paper!

Their faces were composed of large patches of shadow, as if they had no facial features.

These "paper-like creatures" moved in an extremely unnatural manner, somewhat resembling zombies.

With every step they took, sparks would fall from their bodies.

As the sparks hit the ground, the previously clean soil would be tainted with a layer of black.

Gradually, the tip of the Trail of the Deceased expanded even further.

When Matthew and the others arrived, this was the scene that greeted them.

There were about a dozen of these paper-like creatures idly roaming near the tip.

But as soon as they sensed Matthew's approach, they suddenly became lively, rushing towards him!

Swoosh!

Reiga was at the forefront, swinging his sword to cut down one of the paper-like creatures.

With a swing of his two-handed sword, he effortlessly tore apart the creature's body, turning it into ashes that vanished into the air.

Reiga continued his onslaught, charging forward on his own. With his large sword, he swung left and right, and in no time, he had completely dispatched those paper-like creatures, each emitting sparks.

This scene left Matthew and the others stunned.

"Is this what you call trouble?" Reiga asked, nonchalantly planting his two-handed sword in the ground and turning to look at Matthew. "I can easily deal with them without needing sword oil!"

Matthew looked at the expanding Trail of the Deceased and couldn't hide his confusion.

But after a few seconds, his expression changed abruptly.

"Fall back!" he shouted.

Reiga reacted quickly to Matthew's call, taking a couple of steps back before turning around.

When he looked back, his breath caught in his throat.

On the scorched earth of the Trail of the Deceased, suddenly, more than thirty red-rimmed circles appeared. From within these circles, numerous paper-like creatures emerged.

Their number had doubled compared to before.

What was even more terrifying was that this time, the paper-like creatures had faces, and they all looked exactly like Reiga!

At this point, even the most absent-minded person realized that something was wrong.

Reiga raised his hand abruptly, almost losing his grip on the large sword in his hand.

"My vitality seems to have been drained!" he exclaimed.

Matthew tried to sense the information about these paper-like creatures. He didn't dare to use full sense sharing as it might trigger further changes in the Trail of the Deceased. Fortunately, after a brief moment, there was a response in his data panel.

"Warning: You have encountered 'Ashen Grunts'! Your comrade Reiga has killed all 'Ashen Grunts.' During this process, a portion of his essence has been absorbed and replicated by the Ashen Grunts. The Ashen Grunts, with the support of the 'Ashen Lord,' will become more numerous and stronger. A new wave of Ashen Grunts is charging towards you!"

"Are these the 'Ashen Lifeforms'?" Matthew thought to himself.

Hearing Matthew's words, everyone stopped their actions and quickly retreated in the direction of the Oakwood Forest.

However, even so, about half of the Ashen Grunts were killed by the aggressive approach, and they fell with tears in their eyes.

When the group reached the edge of the forest, they could still see many red circles appearing on the Trail of the Deceased.

"The numbers are increasing!" Reiga cursed. "And why do they look the most like me?"

While he was talking, he couldn't help but worry:

"Can your Oakwood Forest stop these creatures?"

Matthew shook his head:

"Unfortunately, it can't."

But in the next moment, several Silvermoon Zombies emerged from the entrances between the cemetery and the surface. They approached the more than fifty Ashen Grunts who looked like Reiga.

"But my Undead can," Matthew said.

As he spoke, the zombies swarmed the Ashen Grunts and easily tore them to pieces.

After some time, red circles appeared once again within the Trail of the Deceased, but this time, the number of red circles did not increase.

"It seems that the Ashen Grunts killed by the Undead cannot absorb life essence, so their numbers won't increase," Matthew said, relieved.

As soon as Matthew confirmed that the Ashen Lord would send troops to pursue him, he began preparing for today. During this time, the information provided by the Seven Saints Union was incredibly useful.

The data clearly stated that as one of the residual appendages of the Void Dominator Yucrus left in the primary material world, the main domain of the Trail of the Deceased was the "Ashen" realm. The Union had conducted in-depth research and summarized information about this realm.

Matthew realized that the Ashen and Undead realms were conceptually overlapping in many ways, both involving aspects of "death." However, the emphasis differed, with the Undead realm focusing more on "Transcendence" and "Eternity," whereas the Ashen realm represented the "Remnants" and "Decay" of the entire universe moving toward an inevitable demise.

These two realms were inherently conflicting and opposing, making the use of Undead to counter the enemies of the Ashen realm a practical approach. In Union history, there had been a project to delay the expansion of the Trail of the Deceased, gathering a large number of necromancers. This project had proven effective and established a significant period of cooperation between White Rock City and the Grove of Cyrelia.

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