This Necromancer Just Wants to Plant Trees - Chapter 26

The contents of the notebook were not extensive. From the tone of the narrator, it appeared that he was a researcher at one of the lower levels of a laboratory in the Antu Empire.

His research focused on "spirit power," a supernatural ability distinct from magic, yet incredibly powerful. The notebook mentioned that the Antu Empire had captured a group of subjects who were highly suitable for researching spirit power. Unfortunately, the narrator's rank was too low, and he had no chance to interact with them, nor did he even know what kind of beings they were.

His responsibilities were more focused on the theoretical aspects. However, in the multiverse, only the proud Jisa people truly possessed the ultimate secrets of spirit power. Although there were a few hand-copied texts from the Jisa people that leaked within the Antu Empire's laboratory, their research on spirit power theory was still in its early stages.

Yet, the impatient upper echelons of the empire had ordered them to conduct spirit power experiments ahead of schedule. After one such experiment, a swarm of creatures, seemingly emerging out of nowhere, attacked the laboratory. Most of the people turned into infected hosts of the Mad Sirens. Their vessel, the "Dawnlight," initiated its self-destruction sequence immediately after the swarm's invasion.

It was under these dire circumstances that the narrator penned his final words.

"Unit 3's Ni also got infected. She offered me small star-shaped cookies once and helped me with work several times. But I could never confess my feelings to her. Watching her distorted and crazed face through the glass, I felt heartache for a long time. It was only a little relief when I saw her husband, an infected host."

"Everyone is dead. I locked myself in the cold storage. I'd rather freeze to death than become one of those zombie-like creatures. But the cold didn't last long; I soon realized someone had cut off the power supply. Could it be ghosts? I don't know, and I don't want to think about it. I have thoughts of saving myself, but damn it, I'm on a starship that's roaming outside the empire's territory. No one can save me! If I had known the end of the world was coming so suddenly, I wouldn't have refused Bass's invitation to see the striptease last time. Damn it!"

"I suddenly remembered my childhood dream – being with numerous women of different races. But how did I end up as an ordinary researcher? I'm so miserable!"

The above was the content on the penultimate page of the notebook. The content on the last page was even more unsettling.

"I have a woman now, haha! She's curvaceous and beautiful, not inferior to Ni, and being with her feels comfortable. For her, I should pick myself up. We will surely survive and be together forever. That's my promise. My queen!"

The notebook abruptly ended there. Matthew found it deeply unsettling. At the end of his life, did this researcher experience a hallucination, or did something extraordinary occur? Matthew couldn't tell for sure. What he did know was that this researcher couldn't escape the fate of being infected.

"So, the Dawnlight is a starship? After falling into the clutches of the swarm, it somehow ended up here..." Ella had mentioned that the "Mad Siren Nest" was a place where the Moonlight Forest, the primary material world, and other worlds intersect. Looking at it this way, the swarm might have deliberately chosen this place as a landing site, making it easier to infiltrate multiple worlds simultaneously.

Matthew contemplated this calmly, drawing upon his knowledge from his previous life. He silently raised the challenge level of this nest in his mind. Copies created by the Antu Empire were definitely not as simple as they seemed. According to Ella, the Mad Siren Guards were the strongest units among the swarm. But Matthew was certain that there were more dangerous creatures below—some kind of lord-level monsters, perhaps a king or queen.

"After all, the Antu Empire is famous for their reckless experiments. They were once prosperous enough to dominate a universe, but in the end, they created 1,800 laboratories, recruited all kinds of creatures, and ultimately led to the complete destruction of their own universe..."

Matthew shook his head in resignation. Now, he had to be certain that he would eliminate all the insects above before venturing into the fifth level. However, before he could issue an order to the skeleton soldiers, intense footsteps suddenly echoed from the adjacent corridor.

Whoosh! A yellow and black figure leaped out of the passage as soon as it spotted Matthew and his group.

She cursed under her breath, saying, "Damn it!"

Matthew focused his gaze and saw it was a leopard. The leopard's forelimbs touched the ground, and it sprang up, walking upright like a human. Its spots and fur disappeared in an instant, revealing an incredibly beautiful figure.

"Now, all of you go back the way you came. I'll try to buy you some time. Remember, don't look back. They're here for me, but if they find you, you won't escape unscathed," Samantha hurriedly said.

She quickly dropped these words and lay down on the ground, seemingly without any action. In the blink of an eye, a lifelike leopard appeared before the group.

"Samantha?! What's happening?" Ella was startled.

"It's the Mad Siren Guards. I don't know why, but today, they left their territory and ambushed me. I narrowly escaped being hit. Go quickly, don't ask any more questions!" Samantha growled.

Then, she disappeared in the direction she had come from.

From deep within the corridor came various strange and hideous roars.

"Matthew, we need to help..."

Ella's words were cut off as Matthew, in the form of a raven, soared to the top of the cave.

"Wait for me!" Ella followed in a panic.

However, Matthew didn't fly far. He found a suitable platform to perch on, where he could observe the situation and strategically position his skeleton soldiers.

Sounds of intense fighting echoed from the tunnel. In no time, Samantha reappeared. Her body was marked with three bloody wounds, with one of them even having a crawling insect.

"Aura, why haven't you left yet?" Samantha spotted the owl on the platform and was both surprised and angry.

"The skeleton soldiers are slow in their movement. We may not be able to outrun them," Matthew said. "I want to know how many of those chasing you are Mad Siren Guards."

Samantha hesitated for a moment upon hearing Matthew's voice. Before she could respond, a horde of figures rushed out of the corridor.

In that instant, Ella couldn't help but scream.

Matthew was also stunned by the grotesque appearance of the creature leading the charge. It was a monstrous being, seemingly composed of countless human legs and stitched together halves of bodies, with the seams haphazardly done, causing the insects to crawl out. The creature's skin was a deep purple, and its movement was incredibly fast. Wherever it went, it left a large pool of nauseating yellow-green slime.

Mad Siren Guard (Level 10)

Behind this creature were over a dozen Mad Siren infected hosts. This number exceeded the limit that Matthew's skeleton soldiers could handle under normal circumstances.

"Run! I'll buy you some time. Eli is on the way. Don't worry about me!" Samantha shouted loudly.

She then pounced at the first Mad Siren Guard and engaged it in a fierce battle. After successfully getting its attention, she started playing a game of cat and mouse with it, utilizing the terrain to her advantage.

Meanwhile, the skeleton soldiers fought against the infected hosts, and the scene turned chaotic. In this situation, the skeleton soldiers' disadvantage in individual strength, combined with their lack of numerical superiority, was significantly amplified.

In less than half a minute, three of the skeleton soldiers were overpowered by the infected hosts in one-on-one combat.

More footsteps came rushing from the tunnel.

Soon, the second Mad Siren Guard appeared in front of them. Unlike the first one, it had numerous arms instead of legs.

They looked incredibly eerie.

"Aura!" Matthew shouted.

From the shadows, a skeletal figure, twisted and contorted, suddenly lunged forward. He appeared behind the second Mad Siren Guard, wielding a short sword and striking with incredible speed.

In the blink of an eye, all the stitches on the Mad Siren Guard's body were severed by him.

With a loud snap, the creature disintegrated into a pile of meat parts right on the spot. More than a hundred larvae jumped out of it, clamoring as they lunged at the skeleton soldiers and Samantha.

In no time, the space became too tight for Samantha to maneuver.

With one unfortunate move, Samantha ended up with several new wounds.

"Samantha, come closer to us," Matthew's voice came from the platform.

She glanced and noticed that Matthew had returned to his human form, holding a shimmering silver magic book. Despite her initial hesitation, under Ella's persuasion and the influence of the magic emblem on Matthew's chest, she approached at lightning speed.

Ten steps behind her, two infected hosts were chasing her.

"You better have an escape plan, or I'll have to take Ella with me..."

Samantha spoke quickly in Druidic.

Matthew didn't reply. Instead, he gently raised the magic book and began to chant.

Poof! A set of mysterious magical symbols floated in the air.

The two infected hosts charged forward, but it was as if they hit an invisible wall, slamming into it with blood gushing from their heads. Their bodies rapidly weakened as if some force were draining their life energy.

"You've cast a protective spell? But aren't you a necromancer?" Samantha was genuinely surprised.

"Of course, I'm a bona fide necromancer," Matthew said with a light smile. "And soon you'll understand why people say not to play horde tactics in front of a necromancer."

The next moment, Matthew's mouth erupted with a sharp note.

In the midst of the melee, one nearly defeated skeleton soldier suddenly emitted a lotus-like gray mist. An immense amount of negative energy poured out, resulting in a thunderous explosion that killed several infected hosts and even more larvae.

However, the real explosion had just begun.

"You have used the spell 'Final Dance' on Skeleton Soldier No. 9!"

"You begin to use 'Corpse Burst' in succession!"

Chapter 27 >>

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