Chapter 164 Nortlangard Tail

The new assault squad was prepared. Lily, Alistar, Edelweiss, Ghander, and seventy other elite elven soldiers mounted their horses and set off toward the plateau. Alistar glanced at Edelweiss solemnly as she rode her horse.

"Edelweiss, where do you think we should go?"

"I believe the next leakage is likely to be near the grand city of Northlandgard. After all, that is where it all began," Edelweiss replied, checking her leyline radar. The mote of light on the radar didn't point to any specific location. It simply dissipated into thin air as they circled. Alistar had brought a beacon and a bow with him, hoping to draw the undead away from Northlandgard. Whether these items would prove useful remained to be seen.

Ever since we destroyed the curse seed two weeks ago, the plateau had become more pleasant. Sparse patches of grass could be seen growing around us, a sign of life returning to the land. After a few hours of riding, the ruins of Northlandgard came into view in the distance. Numerous undead knights and horsemen could be seen in the vicinity. Dark clouds loomed over the city while sluggish zombies wandered beyond the boundary of light and darkness.

"The boundary is so distinct. It's unsettling," Alistar muttered, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"The summoner created a barrier to concentrate the corruption. Beyond this barrier, the undead become noticeably stronger, gaining a buff from it."

"And will we be affected by it?"

"As long as you're not wounded, you should be fine. You might feel sluggish and heavy, as is typical in these circumstances. It's difficult for the corruption to penetrate your body. However, depending on the thickness of the corruption, even a slight scratch could prove fatal within hours or minutes," Edelweiss explained. Her words made everyone tense.

"Thank you, but we must press on regardless! Everyone, some of you may die! Most of us might die! But if we fail here, the cursed zone will be the fate of our elven nation. No, the fate of this continent! We must succeed!" Alistar shouted, and the fear in their eyes transformed into resolute determination.

"Let's set up camp here. The sun will set in two hours," Ghander murmured, calling upon several knights to assign watch duties. As lords and blessed individuals, we were exempt from such tasks except during emergencies. Tents were erected facing Northlandgard, and Lily chose to sleep closest to the entrance. I nestled my tail outside the bedsheet and prepared for guard duty. The night was far from serene, with the clacking of bones and occasional howls and ragged breaths of Vargmuth echoing across the field. It instilled a sense of dread, but they did not waver as elite knights.

When the moon rose high in the sky, its light illuminated the marching zombies and skeletons. I straightened my tail, fearing that we had been discovered. However, they all moved in the opposite direction, towards Fort Soleil. The usual group of a few thousand skeletons and a few Vargmuth were among them.

Our soldiers didn't attack them, nor did they wake us up. However, they did see them and were prepared to wake us up as they inched closer to our tent. Once it became clear that the undead were not targeting us, the soldiers resumed their usual patrol, now about seventy percent more silent.

Morning arrived in the blink of an eye. When Alistar emerged from the tent, the night duty soldiers briefed him on what had occurred during the night. Lily woke up a minute later when she sensed her tail moving independently.

"What happened?" Lily asked as she groomed me, still sleepy and unused to waking up early. However, my absence from her reach and staying up all night peering outside the tent had made her uncomfortable, prompting her to wake up regardless.

"I couldn't sleep and chose to keep watch over our surroundings," I replied. She pouted upon hearing my response.

"Take care, okay? Even my tail needs some rest. Why did you choose to brave the cold night outside instead of being my hug pillow?"

"Well, I was being cautious. We are in the middle of enemy territory here."

"If you want guard duty, you have to take me with you!"

"Nah, you know that's not going to happen. Unlike me, you need to sleep. Sleeping outside would be a recipe for catching a cold. Peeking a limb outside a blanket might only result in mild discomfort, but having your whole body outside would be dangerous," I answered without hesitation. She pouted even more in response to my logic.

"Northlandgard is right there, my lord. When should we start?" the soldiers exclaimed in excitement.

"When Edelweiss wakes up," Alistar sighed. The soldiers winced as Alistar poured cold water on their enthusiasm. We all looked at her as she remained in la-la land, still smiling and hugging her pillow.

"Well, I beg your pardon, but maybe Lord Alistar could wake up Lord Edelweiss?" one soldier suggested.

"No, we will not wake her unless we need to. Besides, we also need to scout our surroundings and have our mages use mana sense. We can ask Lord Lily to use this," Alistar said, pulling out the leyline radar that Edelweiss always carried.

"Snooping inside a lady's purse is not very polite, Lord Alistar," Lily whispered from behind him.

"What!" Alistar jolted with a start before responding. "I did not do such a thing. This is our nation's asset. Her luggage is over there, while this one is in the military's asset's place! I've always told Edelweiss that."

Lily's joke ended as she took the radar out of Alistar's hand and infused her mana into it. As she did, the ball glowed, and a white mote flew towards Northlandgard, projecting a vision that revealed the location of the leyline.

"It's there, in that big building. It looks like an old government building, but it also has a touch of a personal manor house," Lily said.

Alistar nodded as they continued to plan their next move.