Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1346 - 132: Edge of the Desert

Chapter 1346: Chapter 132: Edge of the Desert

The bright moonlight spilled over the empty desert, where the winds had perpetually shifted the sands, creating ripples across the surface like waves of the sea. At the peak of the sand waves were the vast, continuous dunes. Under the cold moonlight, the fine sand atop the dunes reflected the moon’s glow, shimmering with silvery light. At the edge of sight lay the tallest dune, where amidst the shrouded night, one could vaguely see a string of black dots as they reached the summit and looked out towards the northeast. The night, the moonlight, the sea of sand, the travelers—this scene seemed as if lifted from a painting by a master named Galos from many years ago, blurring the line between reality and being within a painting.

"Oh, Denia be merciful," the priestess Lina, leading the procession of undead, felt her vision widen the instant she reached the top of the dune; she gaped at the sight before her, crossing her chest rapidly with a square, stuttering in awe, "This place, this place, this place is more than just a desert."

"Ha, I knew it would be so." Catherine, who arrived second at the summit on her skeleton mount next to Lina, looked down with her and remarked, "Mr. Ghost, your world truly exceeds expectations and seems rather flourishing."

"It isn’t all that flourishing, really." Mr. Ghost’s response was modest, but his tone and gestures betrayed his pride, "Only the capital and four towns could be considered bustling. Places like our hometown are actually quite tranquil."

"What exactly are you all looking at?" Pannis, who was the last to catch up with the group, also stopped in surprise when he saw what lay below. In his view, the end of the desert came shortly after the dunes, with the ground transitioning from fine sand to large, cracked clods of earth. Further out lay vast expanses of black soil with not a trace of sand to be seen. Sparse, low-growing brown plants dotted the cracked earth, while the outer rim of this dark land was carpeted with the same brown vegetation—perhaps this very plant life had halted the encroachment of the desert.

At the edge of this dark expanse, a village abruptly entered their view, composed of more than fifty homes built from white bones, their skeletal architecture gleaming eerily in the moonlight. Around the village were several neatly tilled fields, with more than half planted with tall Bone Mushrooms, and the rest with a variety of differently colored plants—red, gray, purple, and even white—with each color likely representing a different species. Although there were over fifty houses, each was not very large, and so the village itself was quite small. On the narrow paths between the homes, skeletons and ghosts frolicked, playing games completely alien and incomprehensible to living creatures. In the fields, many skeletons toiled away, but their labor was unique; to be precise, a large group of skeletons worked mechanically, while a few others sat at the edge of the fields directing their efforts, reminiscent of the slave-based work scenes from thousands of years ago in the human world. However, the members of the adventure team who had traveled here from the Bone Fortress in the main world had some understanding and would not think it an exploitation of slaves.

"So you also manipulate other undead to tend the fields," Catherine said with a hint of surprise, "I thought such detailed work could only be done by yourselves."

"Haha, tending the fields is hardly detailed work. It can be smoothly done even while controlling three bodies. But more nuanced tasks, like sowing seeds, would be too taxing to perform through three other bodies; it’s simpler to do it myself," Mr. Ghost explained patiently, "After all, operating several bodies at once to complete delicate tasks isn’t an easy feat."

"Indeed, it’s not easy." Catherine nodded, sneaking a glance at Vivian, who was glaring at her with puffed cheeks, seemingly having anticipated Catherine’s thoughts. The knight girl stuck out her tongue at Vivian, implying with her words, "Those Skeleton Mages must have quite the advantage."

"You just said, three bodies?" Pannis interjected, his question casual, "Do you have limitations in your control?"

"Of course, there are limits. A soul’s vitality is finite, so naturally, the bodies it can control are also limited," Mr. Ghost seemed quite puzzled as to why Pannis would ask such a basic question and replied in surprise, "Don’t you know? For most undead, controlling three bodies is already the limit. Only a very few can control more than three bodies. It is said that the most powerful one can even control eight bodies."

"Uh, of course, we couldn’t possibly know that," Pannis said helplessly. "But I heard that you could control the undead without any limits, tens or even hundreds of thousands."

"Ah, it’s possible to influence their behavior to some extent, but precise control is impossible," Mr. Ghost vehemently shook his head and said, "It’s said that a while ago, it was indeed possible to do so. But later on, our master said it wasn’t good, so everyone lost that ability. Although I don’t fully understand why our master would think that’s not good, since our master said so, it must be right. The master must be considering our best interests."

"Heh, indeed it is for your own good," Pannis stroked his chin with a half-smile and said, "I think you’ll understand one day."

"It seems that the Lord has indeed been trying hard all this time," Catherine remarked meaningfully. "He has been preparing for the coexistence of both sides since back then."

"However, there’s something I’m quite curious about," Pannis went on to ask, "We’ve been here for more than a day, so why haven’t we encountered any wandering undead? Given that the energy of death is so abundant here, apart from you, there should be many of those undead without self-awareness, right? Where are they all now?"

"Wandering undead?" Mr. Ghost, sounding surprised, inquired with puzzlement, "What wandering undead?"

"Um?" The response was completely unexpected for Pannis, leaving him no choice but to explain, "I mean those undead that lack self-awareness and wander around driven by instinct."

"There are no such things," Mr. Ghost stated, "Without self-awareness, how could they possibly form a body and move around?"