Chapter 290: Corpse Driving |
Inside the church, Bai Mu held the "Profound Yin Corpse Nurturing Secret Record" and awakened ten intact villagers' corpses.
Those pale-faced corpses climbed up from the ground. Their frozen joints and flesh made their movements appear very stiff.
Bai Mu tried making them walk a few steps. Although there was a weird sense of distortion, they could indeed maintain their own balance.
The Southern Hero sighed with emotion, "You truly come from a magical country, sir. This way, these villagers' corpses can be buried in the public cemetery of the Norm Merchant Guild."
"I originally thought Lord Hero would disagree with this method." Bai Mu controlled the corpses to walk out of the church.
"I should say it helped a lot," the Southern Hero said. "Although no one has been able to prove the existence of souls and heaven to this day, I still hope the innocent dead can find peace in the Goddess's Heaven."
In human faith, they believed this world was created by the Goddess. Only by returning to the earth—returning to the soil created by the Goddess—could the soul ascend to Heaven.
Those corpses walked themselves to the sleds at the entrance. Before using 'Corpse Raising' to control the corpses, Bai Mu had used the Book of the Witch to modify some old carts in the village into two large-sized sleds.
As for those corpses with missing limbs and severe damage, he and the Hero had already wrapped them in cloth beforehand and placed them on the sleds. The remaining corpses with intact limbs were controlled by Bai Mu to sit down and lie properly on another sled.
After learning that Bai Mu had the ability to control corpses, the Southern Hero went to the nearby forest and hunted such a magic beast to serve as a mount to pull the sled. At the same time, Bai Mu also summoned Tu Ya. The robust Great Horned Deer appeared in the snow and rubbed against Bai Mu's palm.
Bai Mu tied the hitched sled reins around the necks of the magic beast and Tu Ya respectively, letting them take charge of pulling the sleds.
Bai Mu and the Southern Hero followed beside the sleds, escorting the corpses together toward the location of the Norm Merchant Guild. As for Xiao Wei and the Witch, since they were about to travel, Bai Mu had already canceled their summons.
The Southern Hero said, "As far as I know, the only magic that can control corpses belongs to Aura the Guillotine, one of the Seven Sages of Destruction. However, strictly speaking, Aura's magic should be called Obedience Magic. That is an extremely dangerous Demon Race who can place the souls of herself and her opponent on a 'scale' to weigh them. The party with lower Mana will become the captive of the party with higher Mana. Her legion has already conquered several human fortresses. Even among the Seven Sages of Destruction, she is the more troublesome one."
"I didn't expect your magic item to so easily make corpses move according to your will. This is truly... unheard of. Even the Great Mage Serie would probably be very interested in the magic item in your hand."
"I do come from a very distant place," Bai Mu said. "But this... let's call it a magical craft for now, wasn't researched by me. In my hometown, there is a profession called Corpse Driver. Their work is somewhat similar to the Norm Merchant Guild; they transport corpses."
"Corpse Drivers will transport the people who died in foreign lands back to their hometowns, allowing the relatives of the deceased to hold funerals for them in their hometowns. In our culture, there is a saying of 'falling leaves return to their roots'. This is actually a very traditional and ancient craft."
"Is that so... If there's a chance, I really want to visit your hometown," the Southern Hero said.
Speaking of his hometown, the old cement house surfaced before Bai Mu's eyes, and some images from a long time ago drifted through his mind. He was now a stranger wandering in a foreign land too, but he didn't have a so-called home to return to anymore.
Some messy thoughts drifted by, but he didn't have much inner fluctuation. Then he continued to chat with the Southern Hero about the Demon Race. He inquired about some matters regarding the Seven Sages of Destruction. According to the Hero, these seven Demon Race were the strongest Demon Race under the Demon King.
"The Demon Race is a race that respects Mana above all else," the Southern Hero said. "Among their own kind, there is almost only one way they judge each other's strength, and that is the amount of Mana. To them, Mana is like luxurious houses, gold, silver, treasures, and noble titles. And the seven Demon Race with the strongest Mana are the Seven Sages of Destruction."
"Each of the Seven Sages of Destruction possesses immense Mana. Their physical structure is completely different from humans, so they can master powerful magic that is hard for humans to imagine. Even though I, with my precognition magic, can figure out their magic and predict their actions in advance, if I really have to face multiple Seven Sages of Destruction, I will still find it a bit thorny."
"Multiple would be a bit thorny... Does Lord Hero mean that in a one-on-one, you can gain the upper hand?" Bai Mu asked.
"No, the result of a one-on-one is certain; I will win," the Southern Hero said. "Any single one of the Seven Sages of Destruction cannot defeat me in a solo fight. Therefore, if I can find the timing when they are alone and defeat them one by one, humanity will be able to quickly establish an advantage on the battlefield."
"Unfortunately, the other side also has a Demon Race who possesses precognition magic: the Omniscient, Schorf. Compared to the Seven Sages of Destruction, that is the Demon Race that poses the greatest threat to humanity. The only person who can eliminate him is me. If I cannot eliminate him, humanity will not be able to win this war."
Because of their interactions over these two days, the Southern Hero's trust in Bai Mu had increased significantly, so the things they chatted about became increasingly broad. And Bai Mu finally knew the vision the Southern Hero had foreseen regarding his death. In about a year from now, in a place close to the Demon King's Castle, Endae, he would be besieged by all the Seven Sages of Destruction and the Omniscient Schorf.
He would die in this battle, but at the same time, he could also eliminate Schorf and three of the Seven Sages of Destruction, creating an opportunity for victory and allowing the war to end.
"The one who defeats the Demon King won't be me, but that young hero named Himmel. All I need to do is pave the way for him, even if my great deeds will be buried under the haze of history."
This seemed to be an unchangeable future, or rather, a mutual compromise between the Southern Hero and the Omniscient Schorf. They were both using their own sacrifices to exchange for a more acceptable ending for their respective races.
And the future a year from now was already something Bai Mu couldn't interfere with at all. After all, the time he could stay in this world was only 30 days.
But after hearing these words, Bai Mu slightly changed his mind.
He felt that rather than going to a town to find those mentors whose levels were unknown, it would be better to follow this powerful Hero. The things he could learn would obviously be much more and more practical.