Chapter 235 : Night Parade of a Hundred Demons!!

Germain was dragged to the card table against his will. He ended up playing several rounds with the three of them, placing a few bets, and losing every single one.

[Trait: Terrible Gambler] – Highlighted!

Bisky laughed, "Germain, your card skills are terrible!"

"Totally," Menchi chimed in. "Good thing we didn't bet big, or you'd have lost everything you own."

Shizuku shook her head as well, adding, "Such a noob."

Germain didn't care about winning or losing, nor was he bothered by their teasing. Since he'd been forced to play, he decided to just be a passive background character.

Time passed as they continued their noisy card games for several hours.

Eventually, everyone lost interest in playing—except for Shizuku, who was still determined to prove herself as the "bluffing master."

With three of them no longer interested, the game ended, and the four of them went off to do their own things.

Some time later, while Germain was playing Minesweeper on his phone, he suddenly heard heavy footsteps approaching.

In the "Wasteland," hearing such sounds wasn't unusual. The place was full of massive, zombie-like beasts whose movements felt like the earth was being shaken.

These booming noises often echoed in the night, and the group was used to it.

What caught Germain's attention this time was how close the footsteps were—and that more seemed to be joining in.

The rhythmic pounding echoed through the previously quiet night, causing slight tremors in the cave, like continuous aftershocks rippling through the ground.

Almost at the same time, the five members of Germain's squad noticed the situation and extended their "En" to investigate.

What they detected was a herd of "Immortality Disease Beasts" heading straight for their location.

"Don't tell me it's another 'Night Stalker'?" Bisky frowned. She had unpleasant memories of that chaotic night back in the "Labyrinth."

"I don't sense any 'Night Stalker Beasts,'" Ging said, tugging on his short beard. "This probably isn't a raid. Plus, 'Immortality Disease Beasts' aren't usually hostile toward us."

This was why Beyond's team had chosen the "Alchemy Plant " as their target. The "dangerous creatures" in this area were relatively easier to handle.

They had indeed managed to acquire the "Alchemy Plant ," but on the way back, they accidentally fell victim to the "Immortality Disease," and the "Alchemy Plant " withered in the end.

"Let's take a look," Germain suggested as he stood up and walked to the cave entrance, gazing at the pitch-black night sky and the grayish-white layers of earth outside.

The others followed him.

They didn't have to wait long before the vanguard of the "Beasts of the Immortality Disease" arrived.

The creatures advanced silently, each step echoing with loud tremors. Yet, they showed no interest in Germain's team, even though they were just a short distance away.

One after another, the massive beasts passed by the boulders and the cave, heading deeper into the darkness.

Their towering figures, as tall as mountains, almost completely blocked out the moonlight.

Most of these beasts resembled dinosaurs, such as Therizinosaurus, Ankylosaurus, and Triceratops. However, other creatures like mammoths and giant rhinoceroses also walked past.

"Almost all of them are giant beasts recorded in textbooks, creatures that existed millions of years ago," Bisky said, snapping pictures with a 3D camera. Then she made an incredible hypothesis.

"Could it be that these creatures have been infected with the 'Immortality Disease' since millions of years ago, wandering aimlessly for all this time?"

Menchi, recording the scene on her phone, exclaimed in shock, "Millions of years?!"

"Maybe not that long," Germain offered another perspective, drawing everyone's attention.

"You've seen the state of the Dark Continent yourselves. These beasts only went extinct on the Six Continents. Here, some populations must have survived."

"That's true," Bisky agreed, switching to Germain's point of view. "We can't use the limited perspective of the Six Continents to interpret what's happening on the Dark Continent."

Meanwhile, Ging was focused on something else. He scratched his head.

"The East Edition of the New World Chronicle doesn't mention any collective nocturnal activity like this… Maybe it's recorded in the missing sections…"

Since it was a fragmented version, some pages were either missing or blurred together.

Because of its incomplete state, Ging couldn't be certain if his ancestors had ever witnessed such a scene.

From any angle, this sight was nothing short of breathtaking.

For all of them, this was the first time they had ever seen such a migration of colossal beasts.

Suddenly, Shizuku raised her hand and pointed in a direction among the giant beasts, her glasses reflecting the light of the lamppost.

"It seems… not everything in there is a giant beast…"

Reminded by her words, the group turned their heads and looked. Upon closer inspection, they finally noticed a small, easily overlooked figure amidst the massive creatures.

It was an upright creature with two legs, stiffly walking forward. Its arms swung loosely with each step, as if they moved on their own.

The figure was so tiny that it wasn't even as big as the toe of the nearby mammoth. It was easy to miss.

Boom!

Not only had the Germain Squad initially ignored the small figure, but even its "companions" hadn't noticed it.

A mammoth lifted its massive leg and stomped down, crushing the tiny figure into a flat mess of flesh.

However, not long after, the mess of flesh began to move. Branch-like tendrils extended from the blood and flesh, propping it back up.

The entire body swelled up like a deflated balloon being reinflated.

Before long, it had returned to a shape resembling its original form—at least partially. Its arms and legs emerged from the flattened remains, and it resumed walking forward.

It rejoined the procession, a macabre parade that resembled a nightmarish "Night Parade of a Hundred Demons," continuing on its way.

But this sight made all the members of the Germain Squad frown.

"That thing just now…" Menchi was the first to break the silence. She touched one of the five locks of hair behind her ear. "Wasn't that… a 'human'?"

"It certainly looked like one…" Bisky's face was grave. "Its height, body shape, and limbs didn't seem like something a 'magical beast subspecies' could mimic."

She immediately thought of the feral foxes from the Sixth Continent.

These feral foxes, capable of speaking human language and mimicking human forms, were employed by the Hunter Association as "guides" for the "Professional Hunter Exam."

But even feral foxes wouldn't be able to retain their human shape after contracting the "Immortality Disease" or being flattened by a mammoth.

The "thing" that passed by earlier must have been a human.

"But, how could there be other humans here besides us?" Shizuku stroked the inverted cross necklace again. She remembered what the priest had told her—that this thing could ward off evil. She wondered if it was really true.

"Could it be Don Freecss?" she suddenly wondered aloud.

"It probably isn't Don Freecss," Ging answered, speaking for his ancestors. "Don wouldn't get caught in a place like this. If he returned, he'd be prepared."

"Then who is it?" Shizuku asked, turning to look at Germain, hoping to get an answer from him.

"There are too many possibilities," Germain said. "Throughout history, there have been many teams—like Beyond's team or secret exploration teams, and all those left behind in the 'Wasteland.' Any of them could be involved."

Suddenly, the range of possible targets for the victim expanded.

"Should we capture them, burn them completely, and give them peace?" Menchi said, sounding reluctant. Even though they didn't know the person, they had once been human too.

"We can try," Germain said. "And while we're at it, we can search them for clues, something that proves their identity..."

Suddenly, they all felt a chill in the air. The temperature dropped noticeably, and their fingertips started to ache from the cold.

Between the gaps in the massive beasts' movements, moonlight began to filter through, casting a pale light on their faces and turning their skin white.

In the next moment, a wailing sound echoed in the darkness.

"Woo woo woo—"

"Woo woo woo—"

"Woo woo woo—"

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