Ascension To Divine Throne

Chapter 63: The Calm Before Strom

“The soil here is not right!” William murmured, although his study of necromancy wasn’t deep, his senses were unlikely to be mistaken.

There was a faint whiff of necromantic essence in the soil!

So, was this forest forcibly nurtured by life force drawn from the earth? Is this something necromancy can accomplish?

William felt his understanding being challenged and, after pondering for a while without finding an answer, shared his discovery with Jason and the others. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Upon hearing about the necromantic influence, Jason’s expression turned serious.

With such a vast area tainted by necromantic essence, it was impossible not to have a higher-order undead presence.

After a moment of silence, seeing no other discoveries, Jason decided to continue toward Kora Village.

This time, Lumbro led the way, effortlessly swinging his fearsome hammer, turning the vines blocking their path into mush.

William estimated Lumbro’s strength attribute must have surpassed 300 points, a truly terrifying sight.

The team advanced quickly, with Elena continuously scouting the surroundings. Despite her unease with the forest, her ranger skills made her agile among the trees, her figure nimbly moving through the branches.

About a kilometer further, William and the others finally reached their destination, Kora Village.

What lay before them was a scene of desolation and ruin.

Thick tree trunks emerged from the houses, breaking through roofs and walls at will, branches stretching out as if to soak up the rain and sunshine.

The village’s paths and fences were almost entirely engulfed by greenery, the silence and desolation speaking volumes of a village abandoned for decades.

Yet, William and the others knew that this place was a peaceful and serene village just ten days ago.

What caused all this?

Another plane? A treasure? Or some powerful, mysterious entity?

All these remained unknown. William and the others spread out to search Kora Village for any new clues.

After a while, Jason, Nichole, and the others regrouped at the village entrance.

No valuable information was found, only confirming that Kora Village was indeed evacuated in haste, with many belongings left behind in the houses.

Jason called over Elena, who was keeping watch from afar, and asked with a serious tone, “What are your thoughts on this situation?”

“Nothing. Although I find this forest eerie, I haven’t noticed anything else unusual so far.”

Elena brushed her fine blond hair behind her ear, expressing her confusion.

“No, just that the atmosphere here makes me uncomfortable.”

Nichole honestly nodded, realizing after some experiences that this situation was not as simple as solving it with her sword.

Lumbro remained silent, shaking his head to indicate he had no ideas, deferring to the others.

William, after some thought, said, “I haven’t found anything unusual, aside from the necromantic essence we discovered earlier. There’s no trace of spellcasting or similar activities in the village.”

“I suspect the cause of these changes isn’t within the village itself.”

“What do you mean?”

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Jason looked at William, prompting him for clarification.

William drew a circle on the ground with his emerald staff, saying, “Before entering the forest, I observed it from above using a flying spell. This forest’s spread is circular, a very rare occurrence. Without external influence, it’s impossible to form naturally.”

Pointing at the circle’s center with his staff, William shared his hypothesis, “I guess there might be a special object influencing this area, or perhaps a high-level magical formation, creating this forest within its radiated range.”

“Just that…”

“Just what?” Elena asked, sensing that William’s guess might be spot on.

“The range of influence is so wide, and the anomalies it created are quite astonishing. If it really exists, it’s at least of Gold-level power, maybe even stronger.”

“And looking at the situation, it might be related to necromantic energy. We can’t rule out the possibility of significant danger.”

“Should we go…”

William looked towards Jason, letting the team’s main caretaker make the decision.

“Let’s go!”

Jason quickly decided. After all, they hadn’t found any valuable clues yet, and exploring unknown territories always involves certain risks.

Jason was confident in his team’s ability to handle Gold-level adversaries.

Legendary-level? Time to call it quits. If this mission really involved something of that level, retreating now might not even guarantee safety.

“William makes a good point. Let’s head to the center of the forest and take a look.”

Everyone agreed, and after resting on the spot to maintain their condition, they continued towards the forest’s center.

William cast the second-circle spell Light Body on everyone to speed up their progress and reduce fatigue.

However, the deeper they ventured into the forest, the more an indistinct unease settled in their hearts.

This was their first encounter with such a peculiar situation—no enemies, no targets, just the silence of the surrounding forest, punctuated only by the sound of Jason cutting through vines and branches.

William frowned, recalling various mysterious dungeon instances from his past life that could kill silently or were bizarrely inescapable. Hadn’t he seen it all?

But had he ever encountered this type of situation?

Despite no apparent crisis and continuous monitoring spells without alerts, an inexplicable pressure loomed over him, growing stronger with time.

William verified it wasn’t the effect of any psychic spells but purely from his own intuition.

This persistent abnormal feeling since entering the forest was irksome.

Is this my intuition warning me? William glanced at his teammates. Nichole appeared irritated, seemingly sharing his condition.

While Jason and Elena showed no other expressions, just cautiously scanning their surroundings.

Nichole’s expression seemed to indicate she felt the pressure too. Was it truly the influence of Gold-level power?

In silence, William and his companions finally reached the forest’s center, finding an area of about ten meters without trees, just a flat patch of grass.

Other than that, it was eerily quiet with no special circumstances.

Jason, calm-faced, realized finding the source wouldn’t be easy. After inspecting the area and finding nothing special, even after Lumbro dug nearly ten meters into the ground, they decided to camp on the spot, having no other leads.

With no leads, waiting was the only option.

No anomalies, then wait it out! They were there to solve problems, and a danger’s arrival would help clarify the situation.