164: Forest Allies

After placing the Gnoll's armor and other equipment into his Qiankun Ring, Ryan continued southwest.

Along the way, large spiders and wild wolves that leaped out of the forest to attack the boy were repelled and killed by him and the Dragon King, who experimented with various methods.

Besides spells, the damage was most significant when the boy used his Vampiric Flying Swords to strike medium-sized animals.

When two Vampiric Flying Swords struck a single target simultaneously, the ratio of minor injury, moderate injury, severe injury, near-death, and instant kill reached 1:1:3:3:2.

Further ahead was a burial ground.

Ryan cast Original Consciousness, sensing Undead Creatures nearby.

Randall stepped forward, bowed to the Young Duke, and said, “Duke, there is a high probability of Undead Creatures in the environment ahead. Your strength has increased greatly, but you still lack special abilities to counter Undead Creatures. If you wish to continue, please allow me to accompany you.”

The boy thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement: “Alright, Randall. Let me deal with them first. If I can't handle it, then you step in.”

“Yes, Duke,” the Holy Knight replied.

The first Undead Creatures encountered were two humanoid Ghouls.

From their appearance, it was still barely discernible that they had once been human, but many parts of their bodies were severely twisted and deformed.

Their tongues had become long and hard, specifically for licking marrow from bones, while their teeth had become sharp and pointed, and their nails had become hard and sharp.

Seeing Ryan and Randall appear, they began to approach the two clumsily and slowly.

The Young Duke's arrows did little damage to them. He switched to his Flying Swords, which cut off the heads of the two Ghouls, causing the Undead Creatures to fall motionless.

Ryan was unsure if these two Ghouls would rise again, so the Holy Knight ultimately performed an exorcism on them.

After circling this ancient burial ground, the two eliminated more humanoid Ghouls and Skeletons.

The boy even utilized the fourth-circle divine spell from his Pearl Dragon Scale Armor today: Summon Water Elemental: Pearl Variant.

With brute force, the Water Elemental smashed the Skeletons to pieces.

Only then did those Skeletons become motionless.

However, they were not annihilated; these Skeletons simply needed more time to recover.

The Young Duke felt that dealing with Undead Creatures was still twice the effort for half the result, even though his strength had increased.

Yet, the Holy Knight dealt with these creatures with half the effort for twice the result.

Indeed, specialized skills are essential!

In the afternoon, after Ryan returned to the camp, he used the teleportation gate to transport Randall and others back to Black Panther Fortress.

Everyone followed the Young Duke to the edge of the forest.

The boy took out a small wooden whistle and blew into it towards the forest.

Not long after, Forest Nymph Fiona and Water Sprite Lilian both appeared before everyone.

“Dear Ryan!” Fiona, holding Lilian's hand, approached the Young Duke. “The last time you returned was a month and a half ago.”

“Fiona, Lilian,” the boy said, “I've found evidence of the Gnoll invasion.”

With that, he threw a long-handled halberd and a set of Gnoll armor at his feet, “These are weapons and armor made of infernal iron, and they still carry the scent of Gnolls.”

“I just returned from Cloud Mist Peak, Ryan. I already told Fiona on my way here,” Lilian said with a serious expression, without examining the Gnoll equipment. “A large number of Gnolls have appeared near the source of my river within Cloud Mist Peak. We agree to join the Allied Forces. But on one condition: you must first go to Cloud Mist Peak's summit to rescue our kin and the creatures of the forest there.”

The Young Duke took out a map from his Qiankun Ring, “Our army is currently at this location. What's the fastest way to reach the place you mentioned?”

“Let me see,” Fiona took the map. “If you follow the road south, it will be faster. From here, there's a road west to this point, then enter the mountains and head south; that's the fastest route. At human speed, it will take at least thirty to forty days.”

“I can go ahead along the river and tell my sisters to hide,” Lilian took the map. “We'll coordinate operations after you arrive. I also know a shortcut through these mountains to a place on the map called Saint Cavell Valley. This way, the Allied Forces can avoid the Ogre Plain and go directly to the Gnoll fortress.”

“But…” Fiona hesitated.

Everyone looked at her.

“But in more than thirty days, who knows how many creatures in that forest will have been slaughtered and sacrificed,” Fiona said, biting her lower lip with her clean white teeth.

“I can send a portion of the army,” the Young Duke said, “but I need to know how many Gnolls are in that area first. For the detailed plan, let's discuss it inside.”

Everyone discussed in the Wizard's Hut until the moon rose.

Finally, it was decided that Fiona would use her tree-teleportation ability to first scout Cloud Mist Peak and ascertain the exact number of Gnolls.

She would also gather other allies along the way.

At noon three days later, they would rendezvous with Ryan's cavalry squad by a large lake near the eastern Wan'an Highway to discuss the next course of action.

Lilian would also gather her aquatic allies and reach the lake via underground rivers to meet everyone.

After the plan was settled, Forest Nymph Fiona and Water Sprite Lilian departed.

Ryan also opened the teleportation gate, bringing everyone back to the military camp.

At this time, the main force of the Allied Forces had arrived at this crossroads.

The Young Duke, Kedas City Lord, Burning Flame Kewenruide, and others held a meeting.

They were relieved to hear about a shortcut that could bypass the Ogre Plain.

Reducing unnecessary battles and losses was naturally a good thing.

To the south, on the direct southern extension of the crossroads, Ryan's men were still constructing a straight new military road.

According to the plan, to avoid causing tension with Amn, this road was to be built to the base of a mountain that intersected with the Wan'an Highway, about a day and a half's journey from Amn's Naskel.

These past few days, the accumulated snow on the ground had begun to melt, and parts of the Wan'an Highway had become muddy and difficult to traverse.

However, Ryan's newly built military road had no snow and was flat and clean, so many merchant caravans traveling north and south had already begun to use the new road.

According to the previous surveying report from the Druids, Minister of Craftsmen Kordor Ironanvil was currently leading men to construct a stone high tower on top of that mountain range, to serve as the southern outpost of Ryan's sphere of influence.

From there, walking west for a few hours would lead to the rendezvous point agreed upon with Fiona and Lilian.

At dawn the next day, Ryan led over 200 cavalrymen south along the straight military road.

Two days later, in the evening, they arrived at the outpost construction site.