BXBX NOVEL Chapter 142 142:Medea Forest
"I think this is the place."Lucas gasped heavily, feeling a strong reaction from the Holy Cross.
I don\'t know what we may encounter inside the barrier so I think we should take a moment to replenish ourselves and return to the peak of our condition."Henry suggested.
"I agree," Tom murmured.
Lucas then walked to the side and took out a potion.
[Super Sensory Potion]
Lucas\'s hands trembled a bit as he stared at the small vial and remembered the warning.
"Lucas, this potion would be effective for four hours and your senses would heighten to that of a 4-Star warrior or even 5-Star. I don\'t even know the full extent of it. As soon as the effects wear off, there may be grave repercussions of extreme discomfort and hallucinations. You will find it difficult to perceive the external surroundings and you need to rest so that your body can adjust to extreme discomfort."
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Lucas chugged down the potions.
Lucas sat down and closed his eyes to concentrate.
At first, it was faint but his ears started to ring again. A splitting headache ran through his mind and the increased sense of smell gave him a sickening feeling.
The moment Lucas opened his eyes, the world around him started to change and the rapid influx of information perceived by him momentarily stunned him.
Lucas didn\'t panic and tried to process his thoughts by getting himself familiarised with the surroundings.
"I hope this helps," Lucas muttered and getting up, executed simple moves to get used to his feeling.
On looking at the status screen, he was startled to see his perception at the peak of the 5-Star level.
"No matter what, I am not gonna die today.
........
A bright light erupted from the Holy Cross covering the whole area. Upon being led by Holy Cross, they entered a flat land filled with grass but the density of mana was way higher than before.
It was then The Holy Cross flashed, and the curtains upon entering the place simmered. The fray dark clouds that had been throwing cold icy winds disappeared, and a clear sky filled with clusters of stars appeared. The refreshing scent of flowers greeted them and a panoramic view filled with beauty startled them.
"Wooow!"
"What\'s this? This place looks mesmerising."
"Beautiful."
Everyone gasped in shock and took a moment to relish the beauty. However, before they could, the Holy Cross on Lucas\'s neck erupted and a bright light flashed again.
The space before them was distorted.
Suddenly strong winds blew and then the red mist pushed by the wind engulfed the place.
Lucas saw the faint shadow of things scattered onto the floor and a faint fishy smell passed by the tip of the nose.
Lucas moved forward with hastened steps followed by others.
Running ahead, Lucas checked the figure scattered across the ground.
Facing the shocking sight, Lein\'s breath stopped for a moment.
Dozens of paladins and Knights with broken armour scattered here and there laid on the floor with widened eyes filled with fear.
"How can it be? They went on a mission two weeks ago so how can their corpse be here?"Lein screamed in bewilderment.
"Do you know them?"Henry asked calmly.
"Yes, they are the main paladin\'s squad of the Parish. It\'s because they are missing, we are in trouble, otherwise, why would our security be so poor."Lein explained.
Lucas bending down examined the corpses.
The whole body was covered in blood and the skin had been pierced as if it had been hacked by thorns.
Lucas\'s eyes then fell on the deformed limbs which seemed to have been crushed.
Lucas\'s heart started to beat crazily as if it would explode. His back tingled and his body shivered.
His eyes widened and the hair on his skin stood up as the odd feeling of something rolling appeared.
It was then, Lucas felt feet slight tremors.
Lucas\'s body reacted, and he jumped up with a scream.
"Be careful."
Lucas\'s words drew everyone\'s attention. On turning around, they were startled to see dark hands rising from the ground.
"These are..."
Exclaimed in shock, everyone moved back.
Hands sprouted from the ground trying to pull them down.
Thankfully, Lucas\'s warning saved their lives. Otherwise, who knew what would happen?
Henry, pulling Lein, jumped into mid-air and shouted.
"Stay away from the ground."
Lucas before landing on the ground used shadow steps and appeared far away from the spot.
With a pale expression, Lucas scanned all around wondering to whom these hands belong.
Undead or ghouls?
"Hmm!"
Lucas sheathed his sword and stabbed it in the ground creating a small crack. He then threw a bomb into it and stepped back.
BOOM!
The ground erupted and a small crater was created, inside which many disfigured corpses were burnt by the blast.
"There are dead bodies inside, "Lucas screamed.
Henry and Tom stared at each other for a moment.
Henry then threw Lien to Tom and landing on the ground, slammed his fist.
BOOM!BOOM!BOOM BOOM!
Following his notion, Owis and Cale also hit the ground.
Dust rose as the ground was pulverised and the top portion of the soil was swept away exposing the ugliness inside.
When the dust dissipated, they saw the ragged ground stained with blood with a blackish mass wriggling around on the corpses that had been buried there.
Lucas\'s head throbbed as he remembered that horrific scene he had witnessed with Professor Shiya.
Leeches and black slimes seemed to be sucking blood on the corpses creating many gap holes.
"What\'s going on here? And how are these corpses moving?"Henry muttered while looking around with a baffled expression.
"There isn\'t any necromancy involved here. Though this place is filled with malevolent energy, I didn\'t feel any necromancer nearby."Lein spoke with a pale expression.
The corpses turned their body to look above the ground and stumbling in their steps, started climbing out from the cracked ground.
Seeing their zombie-like movement, Lucas had a sudden realisation.
"Puppeteer! There seems to be a puppeteer somewhere nearby."Lucas spoke and then observed the terrain.
"The puppeteer must have hidden nearby to control the puppets. That means he is observing us."
"How will we find it?" Tom asked.
"We have no other option than to fight these dead ones while searching around. Lein cast your Holy Light."Henry shouted.
Lein nodded and started praying.
A bright light shimmered and fell on everyone.
Lucas felt a warm current flowing through his body. He could feel his strength and vitality rising with a refreshing feeling.
The locket squirmed as if conveying something.
Suppressing his excitement, Lucas stared at his status screen.
Lucas\'s jaw dropped wide, seeing his status screen as if it was nothing less than a miracle. His combat ability had risen to mid of D+ which is synonymous with peak of 4 Star.
His stats looked the same but Lucas was sure it was above 4-Star in all stats.
"I knew Priest boosts help a lot but aren\'t this way too much."Lucas gave Lein a weird look and then stared at the Holy Cross.
"It seems that the Holy Cross had a hand in it. I thought it was a normal cross but is it a precious artifact?"
There was no status screen to alert you about an artifact rank in this world nor was he well versed in this field.
Moreover, unlike other Lucas boosts, it was way bigger as Lein was a 6-Star priest and Lucas was sure that this guy wasn\'t an ordinary priest.
"It seems, Saintess glimpsed all this. Okay, for this time I will trust you."
The dead bodies containing nefarious energy slashed their scimitar at Lucas\'s neck.
Lucas saw the blade coming at him. It was quite slow. The energy contained by the corpse was at 5-Star still it didn\'t pose any threat to Lucas.
Lucas bent his needs. He dodged the blade of a scimitar with a slight difference, then slashed his sword.
THUD
A head flew back and landed behind.
Lucas then kicked the ground and rushed at the dead bodies attacking him.
[Flash Steps]
Swish!Swish!Swish!Swish
Along with the frightening sound, the bodies of the five corpses were split diagonally.
SLASH!
Lucas\'s blade shimmered and sizzled as dark blood burned over the blade that had been blessed.
His heart thumped. Magical energy pumped over his body and a sense of excitement welled inside him. He felt free and the power to do anything at the moment courses through his heart.
"What the hell? I thought that guy with blue hair is the only abnormal among the bunch but this guy is also a monster?"Tom screamed in horror.
"Yeah, even I am having trouble dealing with so many ghouls and dead bodies so how is he dealing with them?"Henry spoke with a frown and felt embarrassed.
"I think something is helping him. The ghouls and dark energy around him are getting purified and they are turning weak in facing him."Lein spoke calmly.
"How can it? Does he have a special power?"Tom asked.
"No, I think it\'s the effect of the Holy Cross that Saintess carries, "Lein concluded even though he wasn\'t sure, still he believed that it wasn\'t an ordinary cross.
Lucas\'s eyes sparkled. He dashed into the battlefield leaving his body to that feeling of bravado and started slaughtering everything that came before his eyes.
He looked like a red wolf strolling amidst a flock of sheep. As he submitted himself to the desire to slaughter everything, Lucas\'s pupil dilated, noticing several threads around him.
Tracing the strings, his eyes fell on a distant tree. Due to heightened senses, his sight had improved greatly and he finally glimpsed a person hiding in the shadows who jumped up in bewilderment on meeting his gaze.