Chapter 50: Battle of the Flesh Nest—March to the Front

The oaths and rallying cries before the battle didn’t last long.

Everyone knew—the true trial began the moment they took the first step.

“Move out.”

Lin En gave the order.

This elite force, assembled from the finest of the Dark Elves, advanced toward the Forbidden Zone deep within the Endless Forest.

The further they moved toward the Forbidden Zone, the more the surrounding trees—and all life—withered.

The leaves on the trees turned yellow and fell, as if autumn had played out in front of their eyes.

As they pressed on, even the trees themselves lost vitality; bark cracked, branches twisted, taking on a foreboding gray-white hue, like silent sculptures.

Then, a faint gray mist began to spread through the air.

It was different from ordinary moisture—cold to the bone, as if it were the very breath of death itself.

Several Enders began to find breathing difficult; a prickling sensation crawled across their skin, and a weakness rose from deep within, as if their life force was being silently and steadily eroded by the omnipresent, insidious mist.

“This is the Desolation Mist—formed from the leaking Power of the Isolated Remains.”

Magis explained heavily, staring at the gray fog around them, his voice tinged with sorrow and helplessness.

“To counterbalance and imprison the Broodmother’s devouring force, this withering power must cover the entire Forbidden Zone.”

“It’s not as lethal as Wither Fever, but it continually and indiscriminately devours life.”

“For a thousand years, it has been both the prison for the Flesh Broodmother and our protection.”

His words gave Lin En’s group a deeper understanding of the horror of the Flesh Broodmother.

Seeing the team’s condition start to decline, Lin En’s expression remained unchanged.

He simply raised his hand.

In the next moment, holy light burst forth, expanding upward and transforming into a massive, translucent golden dome that enveloped the entire team—

[Sanctuary Light Dome].

The cold gray mist, upon touching the edge of the dome, fizzled with an eerie, tooth-aching hiss, instantly dissolving and evaporating in the sacred light.

Beneath the dome, the air became warm and clean again.

The bone-deep weakness vanished, and everyone felt a surge of renewed energy.

However, when physical discomfort was forcibly eliminated, a deeper, more bizarre terror began to emerge from another dimension.

“Wait…”

Elena, who had maintained heightened perception, was the first to sense something amiss.

She pressed her chest, frowning.

“Do you…hear it?”

Everyone stopped and listened.

Silence.

Deathly silence.

The wind, insects, falling leaves—all sounds of nature had vanished.

Yet within this absolute stillness, a strange “sound” began.

It didn’t enter through the ears.

Instead, it came from the ground beneath their feet, resonating through their limbs and bones, straight into the depths of their senses.

Thump…

Hwa…

It was a colossal, heavy, malice-filled heartbeat.

Thump…

Hwa…

Following it came the pulse of countless filthy rivers surging underground.

At first, it was faint, perceptible only with great concentration.

But as they pressed deeper into the Forbidden Zone’s core, the sound grew clearer and louder, as if the very earth was the flesh of a slumbering ancient behemoth.

This tremor from the land chilled them more than any roar.

After advancing several more kilometers, the surroundings grew even more terrifying.

The gray, dead trees vanished completely, replaced by twisted, charred remains—like skeletal hands burned by hellfire, reaching desperately toward the ash-shrouded sky.

Upon these ruined trees and cracked earth, vast swathes of Mimic Blight Fungus began to appear.

These fungal colonies shone with a greasy black luster, their forms grotesque—some swollen like tumors, others spreading like veins.

They radiated a heavy aura of doom and rot, and with each giant heartbeat, they pulsated in eerie synchrony.

At the sight, Lin En and Elaine’s eyes contracted sharply!

“This is…”

Elaine whispered, disbelief flooding his voice.

“Mimic Blight Fungus from Fallen Leaf Town.”

Lin En took over, his face dark as water.

They recognized them at once—these were the same mysterious fungi that had caused an unexplained plague far away in Fallen Leaf Town!

Yet here, at the heart of the Forbidden Zone, they existed on a massive scale!

The doubts that had haunted the two resurfaced.

Elaine looked at Lin En, murmuring so only the two could hear.

“Fallen Leaf Town is over a thousand miles from here. How did a source power from the Forbidden Zone’s core cross such a distance to the kingdom’s edge—and only cause such a limited infection?”

There was no answer.

But the implications made even the Royal Alchemist Elaine shudder.

Did this mean the power imprisoning the Flesh Broodmother had lost control—and perhaps, through some incomprehensible means, had already seeped beyond the Forbidden Zone?

Burdened with heavy doubt, the team finally emerged from the dead forest.

The sight before them made even the most resolute Enders draw sharp breaths.

It was an endless Crimson Plain.

No trees.

Not even dead branches.

Not a single Mimic Blight Fungus.

The sky was entirely shrouded by impenetrable gray mist; sunlight struggled through, casting an oppressive, dark red hue.

The weighty, viscous heartbeat and pulse came from the center of the plain ahead.

Massive and clear, each throb made their hearts quake, as if an invisible giant hammer struck their souls.

Though the Broodmother’s true form was still hidden, its overwhelming presence pressed down like a mountain on them all.

“It has found us.”

Elena, silent until now, spoke coldly beneath the Sanctuary Light Dome.

Her expression was grave; her eyes flashed with vigilance.

“The Mental Power Field is intensifying rapidly.”

Before she finished, an inexplicable agitation and chill surged within everyone, as if countless invisible eyes were peering into the depths of their souls.

Without hesitation, Elena stepped to the center of the formation and closed her eyes.

In the next instant, a formless wave—clear as glass, tranquil as the deep sea—spread outward from her, gently enveloping everyone beneath the [Sanctuary Light Dome].

“Sanctuary Veil, deploy.”

With her solemn whisper, the invasive agitation, the sensation of being watched, and the primal fear were all soothed and purified by the crystal wave.

Each mind was protected as if by an indestructible transparent barrier—restoring clarity and calm.

Under the dual protection of Lin En’s holy light and Elena’s tranquility, this last hope advanced, gazing upon the endless Crimson Plain, taking their first step toward the final battle.

The ground beneath was hard and cracked, a strange dark red.

Each step was silent, as if walking on a giant scab of dried blood.

It sent chills through their bones.

With double protection, their hearts steadied.

They moved cautiously in a tight formation.

Suddenly!

Disaster struck without warning!

Splat—!

A black, mucus-covered flesh tentacle burst from the hard crimson earth beneath their feet, lightning-fast, wrapping itself around an Ender on the outer edge of the formation.

“Ugh!”

The warrior could only give a short, stifled groan before the tentacle constricted, lifting him off the ground.

What happened next nearly froze everyone’s blood.

When the tentacle’s surface touched the exposed skin of the warrior’s neck, a horrific mutation began.

The warrior convulsed violently, unable to scream, as his throat and facial muscles twisted and grew uncontrollably.

His eyes bulged.

His nose collapsed.

His mouth was stretched toward his ears.

His features melted like hot wax, sliding and shifting chaotically, losing all human resemblance in an instant.

Next, all his flesh lost its form, transforming into a writhing, indescribable mass.

The mass that had once been “human” squirmed, dissolving like living sludge, fusing completely with the black tentacle.

Clang—clang!

The fine armor and weapons, now without support, crashed to the ground, a hollow shell.

No blood.

No corpse.

Only empty armor remained, silently marking a life consumed in the most terrifying manner.

The tentacle, having devoured the warrior, seemed to grow thicker, brandishing in the air before snapping back into the crimson earth as if it had never existed.

The horror of the scene struck every heart like a heavy blow.

Mental attacks could be resisted—but this direct, life-defiling assimilation was despair on another level.

“Damn!”

Fiona’s face was deathly pale.

With a hiss, she drew her sword, shielding Elaine and scanning the ground for danger.

“Circle formation! Shields front, spears back! Watch your feet!”

Magis was the first to react, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the ground as he roared.

The Enders beside him responded instantly, years of battle instinct overriding their fear.

They closed ranks, protecting Lin En, Elena, and Elaine at the center.

The outer warriors raised tower shields, slamming them down, while those inside thrust spears through the gaps.

In moments, the squad became a steel fortress bristling with spikes.

The combat unit entered highest alert.

“It’s not simple devouring—it’s forced Gene Overwrite and assimilation!”

Lin En’s eyes were filled with shock, but also a scientist’s cold observation.

“It’s usurping the right to define life’s form! This land itself may be its extension…”

He stared at the empty armor on the ground, speaking softly, yet clearly enough for all to hear.

“It seems the Welcome Ceremony is over. The real battle begins now.”