Chapter 2086 - 557: Black Death God

The dripping sound echoed throughout the forest edge cave, accentuating the emptiness. The air was filled with the musty smell of decayed moss and the acrid scent of frightened ratmen urine.

In the center of the emerald moss, Qianqian knelt obediently on the smooth stone slab, presenting the iron canister wrapped in leather straps with both hands.

Just like offering a crown.

"Honorable Majesty, I am fortunate to have fulfilled my mission."

Not far from the Queen of the Land of Nightmare, a creature wrapped into a cocoon by white spider silk lay on the ground.

Shrek's sharp, monkey-like face protruded out, his beady eyes spinning wildly, shaking with the fear of death. The resilient spider silk cut into his flesh, making even the slightest movement a luxury.

Luo Yan, standing in the cave, reached out to take the iron canister.

The canister was light, less than a kilogram, yet exuded a bone-chilling coldness.

Without haste to inspect the item, Luo Yan weighed it for a moment before putting it away, then placed a recording crystal on the smooth blue stone beside him.

An orange-yellow glimmer flickered to life, illuminating the dark cave and casting light on Shrek's pallid rat face.

"Speak."

Luo Yan's voice echoed in the cave, his gentle demeanor imprinted in Shrek's eyes, yet it felt like a demon from the depths of hell.

"Pour out everything you have in that head of yours. If there's one lie, or I feel you're wasting my time..."

He paused, gently tapping his fingers on the canister's surface.

"I'll shove you into here."

Shrek shivered all over, swallowing hard the saliva in his throat.

He knew too well what was in that canister; if he were truly locked inside, the outcome would be a million times more desperate than death.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! It's, it's Mork! Mork the Soul Shatterer!"

Shrek shrieked, confessing the name of the Rot Clan's leader, yet Qianqian, sitting nearby, yawned with boredom.

Everyone knew such things.

Startled by the yawn, the trembling Shrek quickly changed his words, continuing sharply.

"Of, of course, it's not just Mork! There's someone behind him! The Tomb Guardian of the Ryan Kingdom, I remember they're called this! And, the Academic State is involved too! Yes! It's a big shot from the Academic State!"

Though his words were incoherent, the information was substantial.

Luo Yan raised his eyebrows slightly.

It was just as he suspected, the Academic State was indeed involved, and the gray-robed mage he initially encountered was an insider from the Academic State.

No wonder there were so many magic scrolls on the ratmen's outpost, as well as more rune crossbows than the Dwarf Kingdom itself.

As the battle line continued to deepen, there might emerge even more formidable things in the rear.

"Do you know the name of the big shot from the Academic State?"

"I, I only know one name," Shrek stammered, "He's called Professor Edgar Kaufman!"

Luo Yan had never heard of this name.

However, he had quite a few acquaintances in the Academic State, and asking Professor Hector to inquire about it shouldn't be a problem.

Gazing at the silent Mysterious Man, Shrek racked his brain, spilling everything he knew.

"Lord Mork asked me to assist this professor, dig more holes, conduct experiments, oversee the captured captives, I... I don't even know exactly what he's researching! But they did come up with some good things that can enhance strength, it seems they call it Holy Water."

"As for the assault on Spinor Earl's Domain this time, it was under Merlin's orders! As for who Lord Merlin takes orders from, I really don't know! Who am I, a little mouse, to inquire about the friends of Lord Mork?"

He cried with a runny nose, as if wanting to dig out his heart to show this mysterious boss, although no one wanted to see that thing.

Luo Yan didn't interrupt him, quietly pondering.

Not until Shrek's sobs gradually subsided did he raise the canister in his hand.

"And this?"

Shrek retracted his neck, avoiding eye contact.

"It's called 'Black Death God'... Lord Merlin gave it to me, Shrek doesn't understand the specifics!"

"Tell what you know."

"Yes, yes! He said... as long as it's poured into the water source of Cold Crow City, you can send half the city into hell! Oh yes, he also mentioned that it contains over ten thousand vengeful spirits of Ryan people, it seems to be a byproduct of the laboratory."

At this, even he couldn't help shuddering.

Even for the inherently cruel ratmen, there was a primal fear towards such pure malevolence, especially when he ended up in human hands.

Qianqian sighed softly.

"Humans, truly terrifying... Of course, except for Lord Demon King."

Hmm?

Wait, exclude or not?

The Queen of the Land of Nightmare was caught in a dilemma, she vaguely remembered that in Demon City, scary seemed to be a compliment?

But Luo Yan didn't care about such details, just stared into Shrek's eyes, his gaze piercing through the terrified soul.

Fear couldn't be faked.

This rat had already been scared senseless, the stock within him likely all unveiled. If the Ten Thousand Ridges Mountain Range were likened to a septic tank, this guy could at most be considered a cleaner.

Having lost the laboratory and materials at Burial Peak, he was already a corpse, just depending on whose hands he would die, and in what identity.

Luo Yan put away the recording crystal, stood up, and brushed off the nonexistent dust on his clothes.