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Chapter 115
Chapter 115: The Ruined Forest Gnome Tribe, the Valley "Abyss"
The light from the bonfire flickered gently in the night.
Duogan awoke with a start and sat up, his eyes filled with a momentary confusion as he stared at the bonfire before him.
Then, it all came back to him. He quickly raised his head to look at Tang Zheng, who was sitting a short distance away, smiling at him.
"Hu-human."
Duogan's voice stuttered. The pain in the back of his neck made him realize that everything before him was real, and his green pupils constricted.
Instinctively, Duogan drew his legs in, his face a mask of vigilance and nervousness as he watched this human.
During the day, when his consciousness was muddled, he hadn't felt anything amiss fighting this human; he had only wanted to kill him.
But now, with a clear mind, Duogan immediately realized how unbelievable the situation was. This human could not only summon an angel, a type of summoned creature from the human world, but he also possessed terrifying combat strength and could even use an ability like *Shrink Spell*, which only his race could learn.
Most terrifying of all!
This human was suffused with the power of a curse, yet it seemed to have no effect on him.
"It looks like you're fully awake now."
Tang Zheng noticed that the bloodshot veins in the Forest Gnome's pupils had faded, and his previously paranoid, frantic mood had stabilized.
"No need to be so tense. I mean you no harm."
"In any case, let's fill our stomachs first, then we can talk."
Tang Zheng took a piece of wild boar meat, roasted to a golden-brown and sizzling with fat, from the bonfire and offered it to the tense Duogan.
While Duogan was unconscious, Tang Zheng had not been idle.
【Experience Bar: 9632/10000】
First, his experience had risen to over 9,000. If not for the time limit on the angels, he might have maxed out his experience today.
Although the area of this forest was far smaller than the Touv Great Forest, it was still quite large. Within their limited time, ten flame archangels had only managed to clear this region of monsters.
He currently had 15 Flame Archangel summoning scrolls left. To prevent any unexpected situations, he decided not to summon any more angels.
Besides the gains in experience, the curse power within Tang Zheng's body had grown denser, but the overall increase in concentration was not significant.
At first, Tang Zheng suspected it was because the angels were too far from him, preventing him from absorbing the curse power that dissipated from the monsters upon their death.
So, Tang Zheng entered the forest to slay a few monsters himself, only to find that the energy from the curse power he obtained was indeed minimal.
The only thing he could confirm was that the amount of curse power varied greatly between different monsters. In particular, the stronger the monster, the more curse power its body contained.
"I can't eat that!" Duogan's expression changed at the sight of the offered wild boar meat, and he recoiled.
Tang Zheng paused, looking at him in confusion.
"This entire forest has been cursed! The bodies of all living things here are poisonous!"
A trace of fear appeared in Duogan's eyes. Then, as if remembering something, he looked at Tang Zheng.
"That's right, that's right. You control this curse. You aren't afraid of this forest."
"Where is Pasha? Is he alright?"
Duogan's emotions grew agitated again, but this time he didn't lose control.
Poisonous?
Tang Zheng's hand, holding the wild boar meat, froze. He had already eaten quite a bit before Duogan woke up.
He hadn't felt any discomfort.
"Ahem."
Tang Zheng cleared his throat and placed the wild boar meat back on the bonfire.
The "poison" Duogan mentioned was likely the curse power within the bodies of the wild beasts and monsters. Since he himself controlled this power, he was unaffected.
"If the Pasha you speak of is the Forest Gnome who left several years ago, then he is currently living very well in our Human Empire."
"After all, a race like yours is very rare. Right now, in the Empire, the one with the greatest reputation is an Ogre known as the "Warrior King," who is quite popular."
Tang Zheng smiled, speaking softly with a mix of truth and lies.
Duogan was silent for a moment, then let out a heavy sigh of relief. He raised an arm to wipe his eyes, his hoarse voice muttering, "As long as he's alive, as long as he's alive."
"Can you tell me what happened?"
Seeing that the other's emotions had stabilized again, Tang Zheng asked, "A friend of mine is currently suffering from the same curse as you. I want to understand what's going on; perhaps I can find a way to resolve this curse."
Duogan looked up, a hint of astonishment showing on his hairy face.
"Even you, who controls this power, don't have a solution?"
Duogan's green pupils widened.
Tang Zheng shook his head. "Sorry, I don't fully understand this power myself."
"By the way, should I take you back to your Tribe first?"
He felt that this Forest Gnome, Duogan, was still in a questionable mental state. If he could go to his Tribe and communicate with the other Forest Gnomes, it would be for the best.
"The Tribe... the Tribe is already destroyed."
"They're all dead."
Duogan's shoulders couldn't help but tremble. His hoarse voice, thick with remorse and despair, muttered, "I am a man of grave sin."
Before Tang Zheng could speak, Duogan suddenly shot his head up, his green pupils fixed on Tang Zheng. "It's the Abyss!"
"Something went wrong inside the Abyss!"
Then, Duogan scrambled to his feet and knelt before Tang Zheng. "Take me to the Abyss! Only a Lord who controls the curse power can approach such a place!"
"Alright," Tang Zheng said, startled for a moment, then nodded.
The next day.
At the crack of dawn.
Tang Zheng and Duogan set off, heading toward the deepest part of the Jungle.
The "Abyss" the gnome mentioned wasn't some legendary place, but a bottomless Canyon located at the intersection of the Forest's Depths and this Mountain Range.
This place had always been called the "Abyss" by the people of the Forest Gnome Tribe.
Duogan didn't explain the full story in detail, but from the information Tang Zheng gathered through indirect questioning, he could piece together a rough timeline.
The origin of this matter traced back to a time long before Leinas had obtained her curse power.
For a very long time, Duogan's Tribe had been dealing with poisonous monsters that would occasionally crawl up from the Abyss in the Valley. Their bodies showed signs of black corrosion and contained toxins.
His Tribe would kill these monsters and then burn them, but such monsters were not very numerous.
However, an accident occurred a few years ago, which seemed to involve a magic ritual passed down through the Tribe that Duogan had mentioned.
*Rustle, rustle.*
The foliage in the woods swayed, and the tree leaves rustled softly.
The two moved swiftly through the Forest. Tang Zheng possessed the *Forest Traversing* magic item, while Duogan, as a Forest Gnome, was equally adept at moving through the Jungle.
Along the way, perhaps because of Duogan's presence, no monsters attacked them. Even so, it still took them the better part of a day to reach the edge of the deepest part of the Forest.
The deep Valley looked as if it had been sliced clean by a knife.
One moment there was dense Jungle, and the next, a single step forward would place one over the bottomless Valley. It was as if the Forest had been severed at its waist, a section of it simply gone.
(end of chapter)
The light from the bonfire flickered gently in the night.
Duogan awoke with a start and sat up, his eyes filled with a momentary confusion as he stared at the bonfire before him.
Then, it all came back to him. He quickly raised his head to look at Tang Zheng, who was sitting a short distance away, smiling at him.
"Hu-human."
Duogan's voice stuttered. The pain in the back of his neck made him realize that everything before him was real, and his green pupils constricted.
Instinctively, Duogan drew his legs in, his face a mask of vigilance and nervousness as he watched this human.
During the day, when his consciousness was muddled, he hadn't felt anything amiss fighting this human; he had only wanted to kill him.
But now, with a clear mind, Duogan immediately realized how unbelievable the situation was. This human could not only summon an angel, a type of summoned creature from the human world, but he also possessed terrifying combat strength and could even use an ability like *Shrink Spell*, which only his race could learn.
Most terrifying of all!
This human was suffused with the power of a curse, yet it seemed to have no effect on him.
"It looks like you're fully awake now."
Tang Zheng noticed that the bloodshot veins in the Forest Gnome's pupils had faded, and his previously paranoid, frantic mood had stabilized.
"No need to be so tense. I mean you no harm."
"In any case, let's fill our stomachs first, then we can talk."
Tang Zheng took a piece of wild boar meat, roasted to a golden-brown and sizzling with fat, from the bonfire and offered it to the tense Duogan.
While Duogan was unconscious, Tang Zheng had not been idle.
【Experience Bar: 9632/10000】
First, his experience had risen to over 9,000. If not for the time limit on the angels, he might have maxed out his experience today.
Although the area of this forest was far smaller than the Touv Great Forest, it was still quite large. Within their limited time, ten flame archangels had only managed to clear this region of monsters.
He currently had 15 Flame Archangel summoning scrolls left. To prevent any unexpected situations, he decided not to summon any more angels.
Besides the gains in experience, the curse power within Tang Zheng's body had grown denser, but the overall increase in concentration was not significant.
At first, Tang Zheng suspected it was because the angels were too far from him, preventing him from absorbing the curse power that dissipated from the monsters upon their death.
So, Tang Zheng entered the forest to slay a few monsters himself, only to find that the energy from the curse power he obtained was indeed minimal.
The only thing he could confirm was that the amount of curse power varied greatly between different monsters. In particular, the stronger the monster, the more curse power its body contained.
"I can't eat that!" Duogan's expression changed at the sight of the offered wild boar meat, and he recoiled.
Tang Zheng paused, looking at him in confusion.
"This entire forest has been cursed! The bodies of all living things here are poisonous!"
A trace of fear appeared in Duogan's eyes. Then, as if remembering something, he looked at Tang Zheng.
"That's right, that's right. You control this curse. You aren't afraid of this forest."
"Where is Pasha? Is he alright?"
Duogan's emotions grew agitated again, but this time he didn't lose control.
Poisonous?
Tang Zheng's hand, holding the wild boar meat, froze. He had already eaten quite a bit before Duogan woke up.
He hadn't felt any discomfort.
"Ahem."
Tang Zheng cleared his throat and placed the wild boar meat back on the bonfire.
The "poison" Duogan mentioned was likely the curse power within the bodies of the wild beasts and monsters. Since he himself controlled this power, he was unaffected.
"If the Pasha you speak of is the Forest Gnome who left several years ago, then he is currently living very well in our Human Empire."
"After all, a race like yours is very rare. Right now, in the Empire, the one with the greatest reputation is an Ogre known as the "Warrior King," who is quite popular."
Tang Zheng smiled, speaking softly with a mix of truth and lies.
Duogan was silent for a moment, then let out a heavy sigh of relief. He raised an arm to wipe his eyes, his hoarse voice muttering, "As long as he's alive, as long as he's alive."
"Can you tell me what happened?"
Seeing that the other's emotions had stabilized again, Tang Zheng asked, "A friend of mine is currently suffering from the same curse as you. I want to understand what's going on; perhaps I can find a way to resolve this curse."
Duogan looked up, a hint of astonishment showing on his hairy face.
"Even you, who controls this power, don't have a solution?"
Duogan's green pupils widened.
Tang Zheng shook his head. "Sorry, I don't fully understand this power myself."
"By the way, should I take you back to your Tribe first?"
He felt that this Forest Gnome, Duogan, was still in a questionable mental state. If he could go to his Tribe and communicate with the other Forest Gnomes, it would be for the best.
"The Tribe... the Tribe is already destroyed."
"They're all dead."
Duogan's shoulders couldn't help but tremble. His hoarse voice, thick with remorse and despair, muttered, "I am a man of grave sin."
Before Tang Zheng could speak, Duogan suddenly shot his head up, his green pupils fixed on Tang Zheng. "It's the Abyss!"
"Something went wrong inside the Abyss!"
Then, Duogan scrambled to his feet and knelt before Tang Zheng. "Take me to the Abyss! Only a Lord who controls the curse power can approach such a place!"
"Alright," Tang Zheng said, startled for a moment, then nodded.
The next day.
At the crack of dawn.
Tang Zheng and Duogan set off, heading toward the deepest part of the Jungle.
The "Abyss" the gnome mentioned wasn't some legendary place, but a bottomless Canyon located at the intersection of the Forest's Depths and this Mountain Range.
This place had always been called the "Abyss" by the people of the Forest Gnome Tribe.
Duogan didn't explain the full story in detail, but from the information Tang Zheng gathered through indirect questioning, he could piece together a rough timeline.
The origin of this matter traced back to a time long before Leinas had obtained her curse power.
For a very long time, Duogan's Tribe had been dealing with poisonous monsters that would occasionally crawl up from the Abyss in the Valley. Their bodies showed signs of black corrosion and contained toxins.
His Tribe would kill these monsters and then burn them, but such monsters were not very numerous.
However, an accident occurred a few years ago, which seemed to involve a magic ritual passed down through the Tribe that Duogan had mentioned.
*Rustle, rustle.*
The foliage in the woods swayed, and the tree leaves rustled softly.
The two moved swiftly through the Forest. Tang Zheng possessed the *Forest Traversing* magic item, while Duogan, as a Forest Gnome, was equally adept at moving through the Jungle.
Along the way, perhaps because of Duogan's presence, no monsters attacked them. Even so, it still took them the better part of a day to reach the edge of the deepest part of the Forest.
The deep Valley looked as if it had been sliced clean by a knife.
One moment there was dense Jungle, and the next, a single step forward would place one over the bottomless Valley. It was as if the Forest had been severed at its waist, a section of it simply gone.
(end of chapter)
