Chapter 24: The Third Wave of Impact! The Polluted Land!
The latter stage of the Saint’s Cataclysm.
The non-combat deities within the Pantheon suffered the greatest losses, especially the former hedonistic goddesses, whose final outcomes were all quite dismal. Soren even remembered one goddess being imprisoned by a demon lord from the Hell of Bartok; it was unknown how long she had been taught and tormented before being rescued. However, that was a later development; at this point, the gods had not yet plunged into chaos, and everyone was still somewhat restrained.
Time always passed quickly without notice.
In the blink of an eye, it was almost May, and by this time, the signs of the third wave of impact from the Saint’s Cataclysm had begun to emerge.
Modo, located in the Overseas Islands, did not feel its effects too strongly.
However, on the mainland, the traces of demons had become increasingly frequent, especially the cannon fodder of lower-class demons, which began to appear more commonly in the wilderness.
During the first two impacts, demons were not the main force, but they still gained some benefits.
Now, these gains had transformed into little demons serving as cannon fodder; they began to appear frequently in the wild, attacking various non-demon creatures.
……
Spearwind Hills. River Valley.
Soren’s figure appeared in this somewhat remote area, the edge of Spearwind Hills, where the land was not very fertile, but there were thousands of residents nearby. Behind him was a solemn High Priest and a few other priests of bishop rank or higher, followed by the little demon that had just returned from a mission; the incident this time was due to the news he brought back.
“My lord.”
A bishop-type priest humbly bowed his head to Soren and then said in a deep voice, “The message has been delivered. There has indeed been a batch of problematic grain in the southern region recently.”
“Many civilians fell ill after consuming it; this grain has been tainted with a vile spell.”
“If the priest’s divine technique cannot dispel it, those who have eaten the grain will turn into undead creatures, and those who are attacked by them will be infected with corpse poison.”
The demons had finally taken action.
Compared to the reckless behavior of the demons, the devils were clearly more adept at calculations and conspiracies. It was unknown when it started, but a batch of problematic grain appeared in the southern region. At first, no one noticed, but as more and more people fell ill, they finally discovered the problem. What was even more severe was that these sick individuals eventually turned into undead, and those they attacked would become infected with corpse poison. The southern region had the highest population in the material plane; once this issue arose, it would undoubtedly spread rapidly.
Spearwind Hills was also within the range of influence.
And in the river valley where Soren had personally arrived, one village had turned all of its inhabitants into zombies.
“This land has problems.”
Soren silently observed everything, then turned to the High Priest and said, “Send people to scatter and search! The land here has been polluted! There must be a secret altar nearby!”
“Any being that consumes anything grown from this land will contract a terrible disease!”
“Tell the people below not to eat anything from here.”
“Including water.”
The methods he observed struck Soren as somewhat familiar, resembling a typical tactic of demons, but also recalling the touch of the liches in the gray wasteland.
Demons especially liked to alter the structure of polluted lands.
Because many demons are immune to toxins, their most common practice when attacking the Bottomless Abyss was to change the planar laws of occupied land, transforming the chaotic laws of the Bottomless Abyss into ordered ones. In the front lines of the Blood War, many fortresses occupied by demons were ultimately transformed, and the laws of the land became more suited for demons.
What lay before Soren was a piece of altered land.
A power filled with filth had already corrupted this land; whether it was plants, soil, or rivers, they had all been eroded by this power. Although it seemed outwardly unchanged, anyone living here who consumed the local produce would slowly fall ill and potentially become undead due to infection from the undead plague.
“The methods are reminiscent of demons.”
“However, some of the signs look like the tactics used by the denizens of the Bone Wastes! Could it be that the undead lords have also started taking action against the material plane?”
Soren couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.
According to the normal course of history, the undead should have begun their incursions into the material plane during the fifth wave of impact. By that time, many people had already died in the material plane, especially those in the lower planes, particularly in the gray wasteland, the spirit world, and the demiplane close to the underworld. The liches, undead lords, and undead monarchs left over from history deemed it a critical opportunity; the large-scale fatalities in the material plane provided them with a chance to act, which initiated the fifth wave of the Saint’s Cataclysm.
It was during that time that adventurers colloquially referred to it as the “Undead Calamity!”
However,
Currently, although a considerable number of people had died in the material plane, the proportion was not very large.
Even if the undead lords belonging to the undead faction were to cast spells to summon spirits, it would be unlikely for them to gather a terrifying undead army from graves or the wild.
Judging from the current signs.
Soren felt that it was more likely that the demons had colluded with a small faction of legendary liches and undead monarchs, using the power of the undead to weaken the material plane’s strength to ultimately harvest enough souls.
Yet, this large-scale population massacre was more reminiscent of demons’ tactics, not the careful calculations typical of devils.
Soren was momentarily confused.
It felt as if history had taken a serious deviation here, where the third wave of impact had caused action among demons, devils, and undead factions, yet their movements were not particularly significant.
“The undead plague must be contained.”
“If not, the number of deaths will skyrocket!”
“And by then, the air of death will become increasingly dense; without anyone casting spells, many corpses long buried will rise once again.”
“If that happens, the fifth wave of impact will probably arrive early!”
According to history,
The third wave of impact involved the Demon Legion, the fourth wave involved the raging Elemental Life, and the fifth wave was the Undead Calamity.
All these previous impacts had resulted in a massive loss of life, and by the time the fifth wave occurred, even the gods could no longer sit idly by. That period was characterized by legions of undead; the souls of those who had passed rose up one after another due to their grudges, enveloping the entire material plane in the stench of death. Soren was unsure if the actions of the undead monarchs taking place prematurely were a good omen, but currently, the “Elemental Turmoil” had yet to erupt.
Since he could respond quickly, it was likely that the Lord of Radiance, Lady Silver Moon, the Agricultural Goddess, and the other gods could also respond just as swiftly, right?
Soren contemplated for a long time.
Ultimately, he decided that regardless of how things developed in the future, the immediate issue needed to be addressed first. He had to locate the polluted altar and find a way to purify this tainted land.
After all, the rampant undead were more troublesome than demons and devils!
……(To be continued ~^~)
