Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1329 - 115: New Discoveries

"That’s a good question, I want to know the answer myself," Pannis sighed, smiling wryly, "Last time we appeared in the void above our heads, far, far away from the ground. Yet this time, we appeared right at the edge of Death’s Gate, as though we really had passed through a door. The places where we appeared are completely different, and I have been pondering the reason. I guess it may have something to do with where we entered. The black sphere represents the entire space, including this void. Last time we entered from the air, so we appeared in the void above. This time we entered from the ground, so we appeared on the ground. Of course, there are many flaws in this speculation, but it’s all I can come up with."

"I think you might be focusing on the wrong thing," Lina stared at Pannis blankly for a long while, woodenly saying, "Haven’t you noticed? There’s not a single Undead around us. According to the stories, this place should be swarming with Undead, right? Heaps of them crowded around Death’s Gate, ready to surge out at any moment, leaving us no place to even stand. That would make sense."

"Well, if it was more than a hundred years ago, that would indeed be the case," Pannis scratched his head, explaining, "But now, things are different. We can almost be certain that many Undead have the same Divine Wisdom as humans. In the past, the Undead continuously surged through Death’s Gate, so it was crowded without any place to land. But now, only those who have gone out remain. The others don’t plan to leave, so why would they crowd here? Think about it, a group of Undead that can build houses to rest in would hardly crowd in the wilderness for no reason, right?"

"You thought of this before? You were already prepared mentally?" Lina looked Pannis up and down with a skeptical eye, questioning, "Why do I feel like your explanation was made up on the spot after seeing the current situation?"

"Of course it’s just a reason I’ve just come up with, how could I possibly have known in advance?" Pannis could no longer pretend and said with a wry smile, "I was also wondering. Not only is there not a single Undead around us, but look at our surroundings. When we came here a hundred years ago, the ground was covered with white bones, almost burying the yellow sand beneath. But now? There’s not a single skeleton to be seen, and it’s even cleaner than the Sighing Desert outside. This does not make sense at all. However, on further thought, after the Undead gained Divine Wisdom, it’s not impossible for them to want to transform their environment. After all, who would want to live amidst white bones in a messy environment? I suspect that in the decades after the Undead gained Divine Wisdom, they’ve already cleaned up this whole area. It’s probably not easy to find scattered bones nearby now."

"I think you’re wrong this time. You better come up here and take a look." Following the voice, they turned to see that while Lina and Pannis were discussing, Catherine had already climbed a towering dune nearby, standing on the peak of the continuous dunes, the knightly young woman turned back and gestured downwards, "I now feel that we must reconsider what it means to be an Undead. I think after you see this, you will think the same as I do."

Dozens or even hundreds of meters tall, such sand dunes are all too common in the desert, so nobody cared for these view-blocking dunes before. Catherine, habitually seeking higher ground for better observation, thought to climb to the top of the dune to look around, only to behold a sight that surprised her. When the others reached her side, they too were stunned into silence by what they saw.

In the cool moonlight, a vast expanse of white bones formed into hills rose from the sandy ground, the bones neatly piled, different parts of skeletons organized into small mounds, orderly and methodic. These bone piles resembled a vast warehouse storing countless white bones; every mound was separate, with several animated skeletons scurrying back and forth, continuously organizing the bones into even neater formations. Should the wind knock a bone loose, these busy skeletons would quickly pick it up, nimbly clamber to the top of the pile, and place it back in its original position.

"No wonder the Undead can directly build fortresses with skeletons outside." Catherine said in amazement, "It turns out they have stored a vast amount of materials here, and I think the reason we can’t see any white bones nearby is that they’ve all been concentrated in this place."

"Maybe it’s not that simple. The bones they’ve gathered might not just be from the surrounding area." Pannis pointed toward the distance and said, "Take a look over there. I think you’ll be even more surprised."

"Over there?" Lina, the most curious of all, was the first to shift her gaze in the direction Pannis pointed to. She immediately covered her mouth and let out a soft gasp, "Oh, blessings of Denia, what is that?"

What appeared at the end of their sight was a massive, dark shadow. Even though it was several kilometers away, its presence was clearly visible, hinting at the enormity of its size. This shadow wasn’t stationary—it was slowly advancing towards the Bone Hills. As it drew closer, the girls could see it with increasing clarity. In fact, it wasn’t a shadow at all, but rather three massive bone beasts. These creatures stood over thirty meters tall and similarly in length, supported by six long legs. They were made of countless bones, packed so tightly together that they could be described as airtight. It was impossible to tell just how many bones it had taken to form these giant skeletal monsters. Because their bodies were so heavy, the movement of these bone beasts appeared incredibly slow. Completing the action of taking a single step seemed to take an age, but given their long limbs, their actual marching speed was not slow. They continued to approach, growing ever larger in the field of view.

At the feet of the giant bone beasts was a following troop, comprised of over a dozen Undead. They didn’t move on foot, but rather rode mounts of various sizes and types—skeletal horses, goats, deer, and even big cats like tigers or leopards. Almost every rider had a different kind of mount. However, despite the differences in size and type, the troop moved with exceptional coordination, maintaining the same pace as the huge bone beasts. These Undead seemed to act as guardians and guides for the three creatures, or perhaps, they were more like an escort.

The three giant bone beasts made their way across the desert, seemingly slow but actually quite fast. Their heavy footsteps didn’t make much sound or vibration on the soft sandy land, but each step still kicked up a lot of dust. The shadow that everyone had seen earlier was caused by this dust.

"Whew, is this some kind of new Undead?" Catherine finally managed to close her agape mouth and sighed, "Or is it a new kind of war machine?"