Dark Outpost

The Kingdom of Portoroa is a renowned country in the northern region of the Miracle Continent, known for its advanced magic. Many of the existing magic techniques in the world were developed by the mages of this kingdom.

Sean remembered that the development of magical technology, known as Magitek, was a joint effort between the Kingdom of Portoroa and the Magi Empire. It could even be said that these two countries ushered the entire Miracle Continent into the age of Magitek. However, the development of Magitek was a matter for the third expansion pack, and entering the Magitek era was a story for the fifth expansion pack, which was far beyond the current time in which Sean found himself.

Nevertheless, as Sean looked at things from the perspective of a time traveler, he could see some traces of Magitek technology in the present.

For example, the Portoroa Outpost had hints of Magitek influence.

The magic towers in the outpost were slightly different from ordinary ones. Usually, several formal mages were required to operate a magic tower. However, the scale of these two towers could only accommodate two mages each, and there were no engraved amplification magic arrays on the top. Instead, a metal sphere was placed there. Cecilia's observation led her to conclude that these towers could unleash destructive power that previously required ten mages with just two.

This reminded Sean of the Magitek cannons.

They were magical cannons that could be operated by an ordinary person, and their power was roughly equivalent to a Level 4 area-of-effect magic spell.

However, the group didn't linger here for too long. Durun was only slightly surprised, and he and Harvey didn't forget their mission. So the team quickly entered the outpost. In fact, if it weren't for Sean constantly emphasizing that they should take it slow and the influence he had gained along the way, they would have been eager to cross through this outpost and quickly leave this dreadful place.

At least now, no one felt fearful of this outpost. They had already checked a few houses along the way, but they found them empty. Judging from the layer of dust inside the houses, it seemed that no one had entered for at least a hundred years.

However, Sean didn't think so because he was too familiar with this dungeon.

The Dark Outpost.

This entire camp, resembling a small town, was actually a passage dungeon that led from the Starfall Forest to the Kingdom of Portoroa. Only by clearing this dungeon could they leave the Starfall Forest and proceed to the Kingdom of Portoroa. For some reason, whether it was a design choice in the game or some other factor, the mist surrounding the Starfall Forest and its path to the Kingdom of Portoroa had the ability to interfere with direction and perception. Anyone who attempted to pass through these dense mists would become hopelessly lost and eventually turn into a lifeless body.

Likewise, anyone from the Kingdom of Portoroa who wanted to enter the Starfall Forest had to pass through this dungeon as well.

At the moment, the dungeon monsters had not yet appeared, not because they had already been cleared, but because Sean and the others had not entered their attack range.

Everyone, seeing Sean looking so vigilant, naturally didn't dare to be careless.

The events along the way proved that whenever Sean showed such an expression, it meant that the upcoming journey would be extremely troublesome. At least when they entered the Dark Earth region, they didn't see Sean with that expression. But now, in this outpost, there wasn't even a shadow of an enemy. Why would Sean have such an expression? Could the enemies truly be that terrifying?

The outpost was enormous, probably larger than any town Sean had seen since arriving in this world. This made Sean quite amazed. In the game, it only took a few minutes to walk from one end of the outpost to the other, but now they had been walking for more than ten minutes and still hadn't reached the end. From the estimated distance, they hadn't even completed one-third of the journey. Naturally, it made them feel that the people of the Kingdom of Portoroa were extremely wealthy. They could make an outpost of such scale.

In reality, this was a bit unfair to the Kingdom of Portoroa.

When they were in a dispute with the Serian Kingdom over this forest, this outpost was the frontline command camp of the Portoroa army, which was significantly different from what other countries would consider a "outpost." Mages always enjoyed luxury, so it was only reasonable for a frontline command base to be larger and more extravagant. At least from Durun's proud and admiring expression, one could tell that he was genuinely proud of being a citizen of the Kingdom of Portoroa.

While the team was moving forward, they suddenly heard a "crack" sound. Everyone was startled and turned around to see a guard who had suddenly fallen to the ground.

Everyone couldn't help but chuckle.

It seemed that the guard tripped over something, causing him to fall. At this moment, as he got up while grumbling, Sean's face suddenly changed, and he shouted, "Watch out!"

Before anyone could react, they saw Sean swing his sword and take a swift step towards the fallen guard. Without any hesitation, he forcefully plunged his sword into the ground at the edge of the guard's right foot. A strange sound of bones shattering erupted from underground, so crisp that even those standing a bit further away could clearly hear it. Instantly, everyone's expressions changed.

After doing all of this, Sean quickly ran to the side and immediately pulled Cecilia back, while reminding everyone, "Spread out, run, don't stand still!"

In fact, except for Harvey, the overweight merchant who had no combat experience, everyone else didn't need Sean's reminder. They had already started moving.

Among them, the archer who hadn't fired a single arrow was the most agile. With a single sprint, he dashed towards a building, then leaped onto the wall with a swift step, using it as a foothold to push off and jump onto the edge of the roof.

Undoubtedly, this archer's action was the smartest move. Since the enemies were coming from underground, it was safer to be in a high position. Especially for an archer, being above and looking down would benefit his abilities. Although he didn't understand why Sean didn't let him waste an arrow along the way, he wasn't a fool and knew to occupy an advantageous position as soon as the battle broke out.

Apart from this quick-thinking archer, Durun and Old Peter also reacted swiftly. They retreated rapidly, one to the left and the other to the right. Old Peter even widened his eyes in anger and forcefully threw his spear while swiftly retreating. Within just a meter of distance, the spear emitted a thunderous whistling sound as it pierced into the ground, at least halfway in.

In an instant, a crisp sound also came from underground, as if something had shattered.

The reactions of the three guards were slightly slower, but only in comparison to the others. They grabbed hold of Harvey, who was still stunned and hadn't reacted yet, and quickly pulled him away from the area. The way they worked together resembled catching a wild boar that was still struggling and trying to escape while hunting in the mountains.

Of course, at this moment, no one dared to laugh out loud.

In the next second after everyone retreated, hundreds of hands suddenly burst out of the dark soil, probing out from underground.

As far as the eye could see, countless arms were moving on the black soil, emitting a series of crackling sounds, faint yet distinct. A chill ran down the spines of the people, feeling a sense of unease.

Hundreds of corpses crawled out from the ground, their hands lacking weapons, but their sharp and elongated nails surpassed many weapons. These corpses were clad in half-body armor, albeit in two different styles. Upon closer inspection, the people present recognized them as the standard armors of the regular forces of Serian Kingdom and Kingdom of Portoroa, albeit now covered in rust and likely not very effective.

Although the appearance of these corpses was somewhat shocking, when the people saw that they were just twisted faces and dried-out skin, they couldn't help but feel a little relieved.

In the common perception of ordinary people, undead creatures like corpses and zombies were indeed stronger than skeletons but still had limitations. They had encountered and killed creatures like walking corpses and zombies before. After all, this wasn't a safe place in Serian Kingdom, and occasional undead disturbances were not uncommon.

Only Sean's expression remained solemn, with a hint of surprise in his heart.

There were more of these corpse fiends than he had anticipated. Based on their numbers, this dungeon was already at an abyssal level of difficulty.

This discovery left Sean somewhat puzzled. Why was "Wandering Darkness" considered a regular difficulty while "Dark Outpost" was abyssal difficulty?

However, he also knew that now was not the time to delve into these questions.

"Be careful, these are not your ordinary walking corpses or zombies," Sean said in a deep voice. "They are corpse fiends!"

Upon hearing the term "corpse fiends," Durun and Cecilia furrowed their brows, evidently aware of the formidable nature of these undead creatures. The others, however, looked puzzled, clearly not understanding the difference between corpse fiends and walking corpses or zombies. But they did understand Sean's serious expression, indicating that these corpse fiends must be extremely formidable monsters.

"Mr. Harvey, you and Old Peter get up on the roof quickly. We'll provide cover for you," Sean quickly started issuing orders. "You go up too, protect Mr. Harvey and Old Peter. We need their archery support... Cecilia, you go up as well."

Sean pointed at one of the guards, instructing him to assist on the roof. The archer, upon hearing Sean's words, showed an excited expression. He had felt somewhat redundant throughout the journey, which had made him slightly annoyed. Now, finally, the time had come for him to unleash his skills.

"We'll handle these corpse fiends. You only need to do one thing," Sean glanced at the corpse fiends, their eyes filled with madness and savagery, their teeth resembling saw blades. "Find a corpse fiend dressed in red attire and shoot all your arrows at it. Make sure to provoke it and cause it trouble, preferably driving it into a frenzy."

Almost as soon as Sean finished speaking, the hundreds of corpse fiends let out incomprehensible roars and pounced towards Sean and the others like agile cheetahs.

One guard raised his shield, attempting to block one of the faster-approaching corpse fiends to buy enough time for Harvey to climb onto the roof. However, before he could fully raise his shield, the corpse fiend had already closed in, resulting in a dull impact. The guard took several steps back, while the corpse fiend merely shook its head, appearing slightly dazed—it wasn't pleasant for a corpse fiend to ram its head against a shield.

In that moment, everyone finally understood the difference between corpse fiends and slow-moving walking corpses or zombies: both their strength and speed far surpassed the sluggishness of walking corpses and zombies!