Chapter 165: The Hand of Darkness (Bonus Chapter for 9,500 Accumulated Recommendation Votes)

Chu Yun's reputation was no longer confined to Blackstone City. Following the reports on the subjugation campaign against the Earth-Eater Beast, many people in the Kingdom of Elno and even in other countries had heard of him.

As neighbors to Blackstone City, the elves had worried that the berserk Earth-Eater Beast might attack the Forest of Elves, and thus they paid exceptionally close attention to the creature.

Although she did not recognize Chu Yun at first glance, Talina quickly remembered him upon seeing his name and identity.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, fair elven lady." Chu Yun responded by sketching a mage's salute over his chest.

Talina returned the identification document to Chu Yun and cast a curious glance at Paimon hovering behind him. "I didn't expect Mr. Chu Yun to possess such a powerful magical pet. If it enters the barrier with us, it will surely prove to be a tremendous asset."

Hearing Talina's praise, Paimon proudly lifted its chin a little. However, sensing the formidable power emanating from the elven woman, it restrained itself quite a bit in her presence.

"That shouldn't be a problem; it's a Tier-3 magical creature and is permitted to enter. I wonder how many people have arrived by now?" Chu Yun asked curiously.

Instead of answering immediately, Talina countered with a question of her own, "May I ask if Mr. Chu Yun is acting in a personal capacity, or as part of Blackstone City's vanguard force?"

"I have no affiliation with them. This time, I'm here purely on a personal expedition." Chu Yun glanced around. Aside from himself, there seemed to be very few humans present; the vast majority were elves.

"Very well. Regardless of the capacity in which you have come, the Elven Race extends its welcome to you. This is merely for registration. If you wish to form a party, you may seek companions in that area over there, or we can help match you with teammates of appropriate strength based on your profile."

"Assisting in clearing out the undead creatures within the lake will yield compensation corresponding to the number and tier of the entities eliminated. If you wish to accept this commission, we will assign personnel to accompany you and keep count."

Although the elves lived within the forest, they were far from primitives, and their intelligence was by no means low. What they had adopted here was the familiar bounty-hunting format commonly used by human adventurer guilds. In doing so, they could alleviate the pressure on the Elven Race and reduce casualties, paying only a modest amount of gold in return.

"Of course, you will need to pay an upfront fee for the recorder's wages, though this cost will be waived once the number of eliminated undead exceeds ten," Talina continued. "However, since you are a Tier-3 powerhouse, we can provide you with a recorder to track your data free of charge."

In the past, he might have opted to have a recorder tag along just to save a bit of money. Now, however, he was not short on cash, nor did he wish for anyone to discover the existence of the Mirror World—especially since he still needed to collect the light spheres dropped by defeated enemies.

The primary reason for utilizing recorders was that most of the monsters resided within the lake or along its sheer walls, making it difficult to retrieve dropped items. Furthermore, it was hard to assess the tier of a slain undead creature simply by looking at its remains.

"No need, I prefer to operate alone." Chu Yun declined the kind offer.

"Very well. However, there are quite a few restricted zones within the Forest of Elves, so please try to confine your activities to the vicinity of Moon Lake. Should you need to resupply, you may purchase provisions at the outposts located in the four cardinal directions, or rest in the tree houses provided within them," Talina said with a hint of regret, assuming Chu Yun simply had no interest in hunting lesser monsters.

Talina retrieved a map of the surrounding area of Moon Lake and handed it to Chu Yun. "These are the results of our recent reconnaissance operations around Moon Lake. It marks the approximate distribution of undead creatures across various zones, which might prove helpful to you."

Chu Yun accepted the map. This would be immensely useful for his farming endeavors; not only did it detail monster distribution, but the reverse side also provided detailed descriptions of the behavioral patterns and weaknesses of various undead entities.

"Thank you, this is exceedingly useful to me."

Perhaps due to the relatively low number of arrivals at present, or perhaps because of Chu Yun's formidable strength, Talina offered several more points of caution before taking her leave. Under normal circumstances, such trivial matters would simply be delegated to subordinates.

Chu Yun led Paimon forward toward the outpost. While called an outpost, it was actually rather rudimentary, functioning primarily to solidify the subterranean earth beneath the camp's perimeter so that no undead could burst forth from beneath while one slept.

The perimeter of the outpost was enclosed by towering walls woven from thorny briars, manipulated by a number of tree spirits. Should any undead dare to invade, these walls would immediately execute a defensive counterattack.

Within the interior of the outpost stood numerous temporarily constructed tree houses available for lodging. While Blackstone City's mages were master engineers capable of easily erecting structures of earth and stone, the elven mages were master carpenters with an exceptionally profound mastery of wood-element magic.

Even as hastily assembled temporary dwellings, the tree houses were remarkably exquisite. Hideous architecture was an intolerable taboo to them, much like the grotesque undead creatures themselves.

Chu Yun's arrival drew the attention of quite a few people. Aside from the elite vanguard forces of the two kingdoms, the first to arrive at the outpost included several formidable adventurers and mercenary groups.

This expedition was extraordinary; unlike ordinary times, people were not so eager to form parties or make new acquaintances, exercising extreme caution when selecting prospective teammates. A figure who appeared as overtly powerful as Chu Yun was not the sort of companion they desired—should they truly manage to acquire a divine fragment, distributing it later would become a monumental problem.

Having flown through the night, even Paimon was showing signs of fatigue. Chu Yun located the official in charge of the tree houses, selected a dwelling situated in a relatively neutral location, and settled in. Paimon rested at the base of the tree house while simultaneously standing guard to ensure Chu Yun's safety.

Chu Yun set up alarm spells around the doors and windows of the chamber to deter any individuals harboring malicious intentions from sneaking in, and then stepped into the Mirror World to begin exploring Moon Lake and locating a suitable grinding spot.

To prevent himself from being targeted by other adventurers, Chu Yun entered the Mirror World and immediately activated his flight wings to ascend into the sky, staying well clear of anyone's sensory range.

As he drew ever closer to Moon Lake, the ambient elemental energy grew increasingly volatile. The fundamental aether particles of the elements possessed a powerful potential energy driving them to convert into dark elements. In such an environment, both dark-element magic and necromantic undead sorcery would receive exceptionally potent amplification.

Conversely, the opposing elements of light and life suffered severe suppression.

When Chu Yun arrived at the shores of Moon Lake, a chilling layer of dark elements had already blanketed the surface of the water, lingering persistently.

Chu Yun's divine persona perception was even more potent than the masterless Holy Spear. Standing by the lake now, he could faintly sense the existence of a divine fragment residing at the bottom.

Of course, the primary reason for this was that the divine fragment was ownerless, causing the fluctuations it emitted to be overly intense.

Had it been carried by a bearer of a divine fragment, Chu Yun could still have perceived it through this ability, though the effect would certainly not have been this pronounced. Even so, possessing this capability would grant Chu Yun an advantage when facing champions of the divine, allowing him to identify their identities in advance and make proper preparations.

Chu Yun began to lower his altitude in preparation for observing the undead clinging to the lake walls to farm them, when the dense dark elements lurking in the depths suddenly transformed into a colossal hand of darkness, lunging fiercely to grab him.