Chapter 481 - 478: Invisible Enemy

Chapter 481: Chapter 478: Invisible Enemy

Although Li Luo and Zhou Dynasty hadn’t noticed the strange phenomena on the battlefield, Mo Ling saw everything clearly.

These attacks materialized out of thin air, striking different parts of the battlefield from time to time. They seemed to have no target, simply destroying nearby trees and pulverizing them into splinters.

Moreover, invisible attacks would occasionally slam into the ground, as if something had suddenly stomped down hard.

’Where are these attacks coming from?’

Mo Ling watched the attacks, and it felt as though some kind of invisible creatures were locked in a fierce battle.

’Could it be some kind of invisible activated lifeform, like living air?’

Mo Ling tracked the attacks, searching the battlefield for any suspicious targets. He soon discovered that they all seemed to be concentrated within a specific area.

’A small, circular area... Only targets inside this area are being attacked...’

At that moment, Li Luo and Zhou Dynasty had not yet entered the area.

Moreover, Mo Ling discovered the area wasn’t stationary. It was slowly moving toward the center of the forest.

This made Mo Ling even more certain that some kind of activated lifeform was responsible.

’The source of these invisible attacks must be at the center of this circular area.’

Mo Ling was certain of it, but his view was limited, and he couldn’t yet see what was at the circle’s center.

However, Li Luo and Zhou Dynasty were about to set off again and were already standing at the edge of the circle. Mo Ling quickly controlled the Block, having it descend to block their path.

"What’s wrong?" Li Luo asked in confusion.

Mo Ling quickly wrote what he saw on the electronic screen and sent it to Li Luo. ’There’s danger...’

Li Luo read the electronic screen, her gaze shifting to the area in front of her.

’Invisible attacks?’ She couldn’t see any of the silent attacks.

The circular area was vast, and most of the attacks were hidden among fallen trees and debris. Drifting wood and metal fragments filled the air, obscuring vision and making it difficult for the human eye to spot the attacks.

Still, Li Luo trusted Mo Ling completely.

"If this area is dangerous, we can just go around it."

But the battlefield clearly wasn’t that easy to bypass. The circle was constantly moving toward the forest’s center. No matter how they detoured, they would only run into it again, wasting precious time.

The longer you wait, the more can go wrong. In a forest completely overrun with activated pollution, the longer they stayed, the more likely something unexpected would happen.

Mo Ling didn’t hesitate for long before immediately writing a message on the electronic screen and sending it to Li Luo.

’"I’ll go see what’s in there. You wait here."’

Li Luo immediately tried to stop him, but Mo Ling had already directed the Block to fly into the circular area.

"Be careful..." Li Luo wanted to say more, but that was all she could manage to get out.

Mo Ling didn’t quite hear what Li Luo said. After probing the edge for a moment, he flew directly into the circular zone.

The moment he entered the area, a strange buzzing sound converged around the Block.

The edge of the circular area seemed to act as a barrier, containing the sound within.

At the same time, the light and shadows within the area also seemed strange, as if viewed through an odd, brown filter. A faint brown dust floated in the air.

Mo Ling teleported a sample of the nearby air into the Block. The brown dust quickly settled on the metal floor. Mo Ling dabbed a little onto his finger, held it to his nose, and sniffed. A pungent, metallic tang of rust immediately assaulted his nostrils.

’The smell of rust... It’s so strong.’

Mo Ling nearly choked. Any scent, when too concentrated, becomes unbearable.

’It seems humans can’t enter this area at all. It would affect their breathing.’

Mo Ling was glad he’d discovered the area’s strangeness in time to stop Li Luo and Zhou Dynasty. If they had rushed in recklessly, they might have quickly suffocated.

Even if they didn’t suffocate, the brown dust would still cause immense harm to their bodies.

Looking at the harsh environment within the area, Mo Ling suddenly had a strange thought.

’This area... it was deliberately created to contain whatever is inside and stop it from spreading.’

Invisible attacks, suffocating air, strange sounds... everything about this area reeked of strangeness. Yet none of it crossed the circle’s edge. It was all neatly contained, moving along with the circle.

However, that was just a theory. To find out what was really happening inside the area, he had to get to the center of the circle and see for himself.

With that thought, Mo Ling took a deep breath to steel himself against the choking smell of rust and headed for the center of the circle.

He hadn’t flown far, however, when he heard a cacophony of sounds up ahead.

’That’s the sound of weapons clashing...’

He immediately flew toward the source of the sound, wanting to see what was going on.

However, when the source of the sound came fully into view, he saw a truly shocking sight.

Humans! There was actually a squad of humans here!

They were holding rusted weapons and wearing gas masks, locked in a desperate struggle against a group of bizarre-looking creatures.

’Why are there still humans on this Sky Island?’

Mo Ling could hardly believe his eyes. His vision immediately passed through the gas masks, confirming that the figures beneath were, without a doubt, human.

’How did they get here? And what are they fighting?’

Mo Ling then turned his attention to the creatures battling the humans.

Mo Ling recognized them at first glance. He had seen this type of creature before.

Or rather, he had only ever seen its head.

’A Corrupted Skull?’

Is the Activated Corruption in this area?

However, upon closer inspection, the head’s appearance was different from the Corrupted Skulls he had seen before. Its surface had no maggots, nor was there any grayish-green dust.

The head resembled that of a ferocious deer, with enormous antlers taking up a large portion of it. The head was covered in thick fur, and its three eyes were wide and round, glaring furiously at the humans before it.

Below the head was an ape-like body, also covered in thick fur, with sharp claws protruding from its hands.

All of the strange creatures present bore wounds of varying severity. It seemed the seemingly weak humans had given them a lot of trouble.

’Is this what the Corrupted Skulls originally looked like?’

Or rather, what they looked like before being corrupted.

’Could this be a creature native to this Sky Island?’

Perhaps the Activated Corruption had merely borrowed this creature’s appearance. The head, the maggots, the fungal powder—they were all just external manifestations of the corruption, mediums for spreading its foulness, holding no special meaning in themselves.

This creature was likely just chosen by the corruption by chance, to be used as its avatar.

The creatures’ attacks soon confirmed Mo Ling’s theory.

They seemed to only attack enemies with their sharp claws. Their intelligence appeared low, and they showed no signs of cooperation, relying entirely on brute force. Their methods had nothing to do with the abilities of the corruption.

But these ferocious creatures only grew more savage as they were injured, forcing the humans into a steady retreat.