Chapter 83: The Origin of the Monsters
Deep within the Dark Mountains.
The pioneering expedition had been operating here for a month. After establishing a foothold, Gawain began dispatching various scouting teams daily to explore the southern mountain range, the western forest, the eastern mines, and the wilderness across the Baishui River, searching for supplies and mapping the terrain. The route the two serfs were taking into the mountains was one of the newly discovered natural mountain paths found just in recent days. Although new, several exploration and patrol teams had already passed through multiple times—yet no trace of monsters had ever been found.
There was no doubt these aberrations had only recently appeared here.
The mountain path was rough. Though Gawain and Amber had remarkable endurance, the two ordinary serfs couldn’t keep up the pace. It took them nearly an hour to finally approach the fork where the monster attack had occurred.
As they drew closer, even Amber—the usually carefree and lively one—grew tense. Clutching her small dagger tightly, she lowered her voice. “It’s been so long… shouldn’t those monsters have wandered off by now?”
“Not necessarily,” Gawain replied, eyes fixed on the jagged rocky path ahead and the dense vegetation lining the trail. His gaze lingered on a steep, crumbling cliff face, then he lowered his voice. “You don’t understand the ‘habits’ of these aberrations. They aren’t normal living creatures. In a magical environment, they don’t need to eat. Aside from their instinct to attack intelligent beings and seek out sources of magic, they have no clear purpose. If they sense humans or magical energy nearby, they’ll lunge immediately. Otherwise, they just wander aimlessly or stay still. Of course, if their numbers grow large enough, their behavior becomes unpredictable.”
“So what exactly are these aberrations…” Amber muttered, her eyes darting nervously between the shadows cast by the trees—not so much watching for hidden enemies as searching for escape routes.
Gawain shook his head. “It’s hard to say. One theory is that humans exposed to chaotic magic transform into aberrations. Another says the magical storm opened a portal to another world, and these creatures came through. But neither theory has been proven.”
Amber curled her lip, thinking that if even Gawain—who’d fought monsters for twenty years in his past life—couldn’t explain their origin, then the so-called experts and scholars in the kingdom’s interior were even less reliable.
Just then, her gaze caught a mark on the ground. “Hey, look over there!”
Not far ahead on the rocky cliff, the stone was torn and cracked, and dried blood stained the crevices.
The two serfs leading the way trembled like leaves at the sight.
“Must be close,” Gawain said, gripping his Pathfinder’s Sword tightly as he focused on sensing the slightest movement around them. “Stay alert.”
Amber swallowed hard and followed cautiously behind Gawain, turning carefully toward the other side of the fork, as if facing a deadly enemy.
Suddenly, Gawain stopped. An instinctive alertness surged through his body. Guided by this heightened awareness, he quickly slipped behind a large boulder and peeked around the edge.
Four massive humanoid figures, like giants made of flesh and bone, staggered along the mountain path. Their faces, flowing with red mud-like substance, were featureless, but from their chests and abdomens came low, chaotic whispers—blasphemous, indescribable murmurs.
Soft, sinister whispers.
“One, two, three… four,” Amber’s warm breath came from behind him, her voice barely above a whisper. “Looks like these are the ones the serfs ran into. They haven’t noticed us yet. You go first. I’ll wait until you’re out of sight, then I’ll run.”
Gawain ignored Amber’s usual reckless bravado. His eyes locked onto one aberration’s abdomen, where a twisted, decayed, gray-black object was embedded. To most, it would be unrecognizable, but Gawain’s careful scrutiny revealed the truth: it was a standard-issue weapon from the Gondor Empire!
He withdrew his gaze and scanned the surroundings, confirming no other monsters were nearby. Then he replied, “I’ll charge head-on. You sneak around and stab the last one in the back. Hold off the one beside it. After I take down the other two, we’ll finish this together.”
Amber blinked and nodded eagerly. “Got it. Waiting for your move.”
Though she’d joked earlier, it was clear when it came to serious business, she was all in.
The two serfs, frozen with fear, had at least mustered the courage to cover their mouths, neither screaming nor fleeing—a commendable effort under the circumstances. Gawain nodded at them to stay quiet and ready, then raised his Pathfinder’s Sword.
Magic surged into the blade, a scorching light erupting from its edge. A faint white glow spread over Gawain’s armor. Then, leaping forward, he crossed dozens of meters in a single bound, descending like a storm to strike the startled aberration.
At the same moment, a shadow flickered through the air. The last of the four monsters shuddered violently—it had just been drawn to Gawain’s attack and was howling in chaotic rage when Amber struck a critical blow, sending it crashing to the ground.
Emerging from the shadows, Amber darted around another awakened aberration, her dagger barely effective except for splattering red mud and sparks when it missed weak points. She shouted, “Boss, help!”
Gawain’s sword slashed again, staggering the first aberration. Without chasing it down, he spun and lunged at the one with the ancient sword embedded in its belly. As expected, the wound wasn’t fatal but hampered its movement. Under Gawain’s fierce assault, it barely parried twice before being cleaved in two.
When you can cut an enemy in half with a single strike, hitting weak points becomes less critical.
The dying aberration let out a chaotic, incomprehensible roar. Its final whispers carried a maddening power, but Gawain ignored the brief mental haze. Using the momentum, he twisted and struck the wounded enemy again.
Amid Amber’s panicked cries, the last monster fell.
As the giant of flesh and mud collapsed heavily, quickly dissolving into chaotic elements, Amber flopped onto the ground. “Oh man… I’m exhausted. Guess I need to work on my escape skills…”
Gawain examined the remains without looking up. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to improve your frontline combat skills?”
“I’m telling you, this is my personal peak right now. I’m pretty self-aware… Hey, what are you looking at?”
Amber noticed Gawain squatting beside one of the carcasses, studying it intently, and grew curious.
“Come take a look,” he beckoned.
Obediently, Amber leaned in. The aberration’s flesh and mud had mostly evaporated, leaving a blood-red skeleton that would take days to fully dissolve. Embedded in the terrifying bones was a severely twisted, corroded piece of metal.
Amber blinked. “What’s that?”
“A soldier’s sword from the Gondor Empire,” Gawain said gravely. “No doubt about it. The model used by the northern outposts back then.”
Though playful by nature, Amber was no fool. She immediately grasped the implication. “Wait! This thing was on the monster… so it came from the Gondor Wasteland?”
Gawain nodded silently.
“No way!” Amber broke out in a cold sweat from head to toe. “The entire Gondor Wasteland is surrounded by the grand wall built by the elves. Those sentinel towers aren’t just for show… How could these monsters have escaped?”
Gawain was silent for a moment, then said quietly, “The grand wall has stood there for seven hundred years.”
Amber’s face twitched. She forced a laugh. “Hey… hey, don’t scare me. Maybe these monsters were trapped outside the wall all along, wandering between the Dark Mountains and the sentinel towers, and only just now drifted here.”
“Impossible,” Gawain dismissed her hope. “Aberrations break down gradually once removed from the magical storm environment—unless their numbers are enough to create a new chaotic magic field. They couldn’t survive outside the wall for seven centuries. So… they must have come from inside.”
Amber shuddered. “Oh no…”
“Don’t spread this yet,” Gawain looked her in the eyes. “It might not be as bad as it sounds. I was there when the sentinel towers were built. They have self-repair and load-balancing functions, so a total failure is unlikely. Most likely, one tower’s power has temporarily dropped due to age, but the barrier will heal itself soon…”
Amber swallowed hard. “In plain English?”
Gawain: “The barrier might have a temporary breach, but it’ll patch itself up.”
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Amber patted her barely noticeable chest. “You scared me.”
Gawain frowned. “Don’t relax yet. The grand wall having problems is obvious. Even if it patches a small hole, it means it’s aging. Small holes will eventually become big ones.”
“What do we do then?!”
“…I have to see it for myself. Even a distant look to confirm the wall’s still standing,” Gawain stood abruptly. “Sitting here guessing won’t bring peace of mind.”
“What about me…” Amber hesitated, torn between fear and boldness. But finally, inspired by Gawain’s resolve, she gritted her teeth. “I’m coming with you!”
(End of chapter)