There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 571 - 565. Real Estate Scouting

Chapter 571: Chapter 565. Real Estate Scouting

Promptly after the sheet flare burned, they packed up the camp and left everything but the beacon. This time, instead of leaving a purification device, they tried to conceal the beacon’s existence. After all, no one would stay there to guard the device.

"Let’s go," Bassena led the group with a lighter step, even looking around the area as they went down the hill, humming. His mind started to draw some plan; cutting down some trees, replanting some, placing some structures...

He looked so happy and carefree, but so were the others, perhaps because they could rest in their territory for a bit once the field of fog was cleared.

Just as Jock reported, the way down the hill could be called a leisure trail compared to the path they usually take. It was a downslope meadow with sparse trees; they didn’t even need to zig-zag much. Thanks to Ashur and Bassena’s children of darkness clearing the place before, they didn’t even encounter any beasts. Truly a leisure walk to the ruin before they reached the lake.

"The buildings here didn’t seem as big as the main base," Han Shin commented.

"I think this is more like a small town or a village," Jock said and pointed to the east. "There was another similar-sized ruin in that direction. I guess the settlements in this part of the region consisted of those. Maybe if we find a shore, we’ll see a residual of port city."

"Maybe the ship team could find it," Bassena nodded. "There’s nothing in these ruins though, too bad..."

They didn’t need to look too keenly; the ruin was straightforward and mostly destroyed with not even any intact building. What seemed to be residential homes were located quite far away from each tower, giving an idea that the place might be some kind of farm or ranch.

"But wouldn’t it be a nice place once we cleared the Deathzone?" Han Shin said cheerfully. "It’s in a valley between a lake and a hill, perfect for retreats--you know, villas and such."

"Planning your future business already?"

"I’m thinking more of a retirement plan," Han Shin shrugged. "I can’t really live in a mountain."

Bassena laughed since it seemed like he wasn’t the only one who thought about their plan in this place once the Deathzone was cleared. It had a weird uplifting effect.

Honestly, they were feeling down and rather pessimistic after witnessing the Fallen Star’s clone during the war. They no longer joked about taking dibs on some plot of land like before, as their view of the future consisted of merely surviving the final battle.

But being able to think lightly about some future plan meant they had regained their confidence. Perhaps because things had worked well these days; finding the source of the fog right after finding another shard?

Almost felt like they could see the blue sky.

With that uplifting mood, they finally reached the meadow before the lake. It was a big enough lake that even had a shore. If the scary plantations around it were to be rid of, they could easily see a potential spot for tourism.

Hmm...if they made a viewing platform from the cliff or the hill, they could have a view of both the sea and the lake...Bassena stroked his chin with narrowed eyes as all kinds of calculation filled his brain.

How refreshing to think about something other than battle.

A piece of even better news: the lake was indeed the lake that Han Joon saw before, which meant Jock could officially integrate his map.

"Are we going to cross the lake?" Han Shin asked with a binocular stuck over his eyes.

Thankfully for Zein, his dark-vision goggles were equipped with a great zooming function. He tried to check the island in the middle of the lake, but all his goggles could see was a thick wall of trees. Seemed like the island--which was actually as big as a small village--was a jungle. He wondered if there was a dungeon or a shard nestled in the middle of that natural barrier, but...

"Crossing will be hard," Bassena said. "It’s too far to cross using platforms only, and we have no idea if some underwater beasts will come."

They had three supports including Zein, who would have to try and balance themselves on top of a platform while a fight that would create waves broke out around them. Crossing the water on foot was simply tricky unless they had a magician who could freeze the water.

"Never thought I’d say something like I miss Senia," Han Shin chuckled. "Hmm...so we’ll go round?"

"That seems to be a better option," Bassena said, glancing at the still incomplete map. "We need to check the area around the lake anyway."

Han Joon nodded in agreement. "Right, we don’t have that yet since the time was running out that night."

"The canyon should be that way," Jock pointed to their right side.

There seemed to be another hilly area on that path, but nothing looked complicated. Bassena smacked Han Shin’s back while grinning. "Hey, we’re not stranded in the end."

"Ugh--" Han Shin rubbed his back with pursed lips. "But we still haven’t found the Fallen Star’s dungeon..."

"Well, if we clear the fog, we can just return to the corridor through the desert," Bassena shrugged.

"Oh, that’s right!"

* * *

The journey to the canyon was even more leisurely.

They walked along the lakeside, and since it was a big open space, they could almost pretend that they had a night walk. Enemies who approached were sparse because they had been diligent about cleaning up, and those who remained were only at the level that Bassena’s children of darkness could dispatch.

So truly, it was like a leisurely night walk after a picnic or something.

"This lake is so big...I think we can even put out ship here..." Han Shin commented.

"It’s deep too," Bassena, who had sent his children of darkness inside the lake, said. "Deep enough that a lot of underwater beasts can live down there without those on the surface realizing."

"How many?"

"As many as a regular high-red dungeon," Bassena stroked his chin. "A dungeon probably formed underwater and broke...or it could be coming from the sea if Jock’s assumption is true."

It meant the bottom of the lake was basically a den of miasmic beasts with at least one boss-level monster on par with a Specter.

"Can we just get rid of it now?" Zein asked.

They had no idea where the final battle would ensue. For all Zein knew, it could happen in this meadow, so leaving an area full of enemies like this felt iffy.

"Underwater fight without magicians is too disadvantageous for us," Bassena replied. "We can’t breathe underwater or move our body easily."

"Even you?"

Bassena smiled proudly as he glanced at the guide. "Thank you for your confidence in me," he said playfully. "But even my serpent will move slower in the water. Of course, we can always win in a prolonged battle, but we do not really have the time for it now."

"Ah..." Zein nodded.

"Don’t worry, these kinds of beasts only fight in their territory. We’ll take care of it later once the path to the main base is open with the magician’s squad," Bassena reassured the guide, who finally nodded with ease. "So our priority now is to clear the path."

"Okay."

Just as Bassena said, even if they chatted loudly right beside the lake, no beasts came out from the lake--not even surfacing to scout. It gave the illusion that the lake was completely calm and safe. If one were to carelessly cross the water, they might lower their guard and meet their end in an underwater battle.

"But if they came from the sea...wouldn’t that mean the ship team have a high chance encountering those kinds?" Han Shin tapped his chin in pondering.

"Even if they didn’t come from the sea, it’s bound to have beats roaming too," Bassena shrugged. "Even tougher than the one in the river."

"Oof..."

"But that’s why I sent Senia there," Bassena explained. "And the ship is instructed to maintain a minimum distance from the shore, so in the worst case, they can just debark for a bit."

"The data of the sea beasts is also important," Jock chimed in. "Even if we cleared the Deathzone, cleaning the sea so it’s safe enough is another project altogether."

"That’s right. We don’t have a tower in the middle of an island like the Southern Kingdom after all," Bassena said. "Like the Western Republic, we’ll need a comprehensive sea border Unit to make sure the monster beyond won’t cross the safe zone."

"Tower..." Han Shin muttered and tilted his head, before glancing at Zein. "Umm...Zein, after getting rid of the Fallen Star, you’re going to unite the shards, right?"

Zein nodded. "That’s the plan. Why?"

"Are you doing it with the core as the center? So...in the tree fortress?"

"Yeah..." Zein tilted his head, wondering where was Han Shin going with this.

"Hmm...I was just thinking," Han Shin scratched his neck at the guide’s inquisitive gaze. "The fragment becomes a Tower and a Temple when a Celestial Being infused their power, right? But...is that going to happen with this fragment?"

Zein blinked.

"I mean...I wondered if it’ll become a Tower or a Temple," Han Shin added quickly with a laugh.

But Zein...Zein couldn’t really answer it as he drowned in his own thoughts. Was uniting the shards into a fragment really enough? Would it only get activated with the help of another Celestial Being’s power? What if--

"We can think about it later," Bassena’s voice pulled Zein to the surface again. "Once we defeat the Fallen Star, we have all the time to think about it. Who knows--maybe a Celestial Being will automatically send Their power down once the shards united."

"Well, wasn’t the fragment originally have a deity assigned to it?" Han Joon added light-heartedly. "Maybe that Celestial Being’s power had been waiting on a launching pad for five centuries already."

Zein couldn’t help but smile at that non-entirely baseless confidence. Yeah, he had been thinking too much these days. He used to only think about how to survive tomorrow or next week, avoiding complicated stuff.

Was it because he had been thinking about the future a lot?

Zein shook his head and decided to focus on what was in front of him. For now, he only needed to focus on finding the Fallen Star. Before that, so they could return to the star corridor and resume their hunt, they needed to cross the field of fog. Hopefully, the annoying fog would have been cleared by the time they arrived.

Unfortunately, the fog was still as thick as ever when they arrived at the camp, greeted by a glum Iron Mountain.