Chapter 452 General Chapter: The Queen of the Dead - Socially Anxious Witch in the Apocalypse

"When did I start having memories?" The Fire God Base, a newly awakened revenant stared at her cold, lifeless body with a confused expression. "Who am I? Where am I? What should I do?" She observed many people running back and forth inside the base. Many of them were wounded badly, their blood splattered everywhere. So fragrant, so sweet! And filled with endless hatred. Instinctively, they knew they had to kill them. The revenant lunged forward, driven by an uncontrollable desire, greedily gulping down the blood. As she consumed more and more blood from the gifted individuals, she felt herself growing stronger. After several hours, there wasn't a single living person left in the vast expanse of the Fire God Base. Suddenly, she felt a pull, guiding her to go outside the base. Amidst the icy cold snow, dressed in thin clothes, she felt no chill at all. Outside, she saw a girl with beautiful pink hair. Instinctively, she knelt down in submission. "Your Highness!" The revenant rasped in a hoarse voice. The witch princess looked at her with curious eyes, seemingly amazed that she could speak. Within mere seconds, she sensed that she was becoming stronger, ascending to the role of queen among the revenants. From today forward, she was the Queen of the Revenants. The witch princess left. Her command was to return to the Fire God Base. The Queen of the Revenants returned to the Fire God Base, confused, unsure of what to do next. Seeing the bodies inside the base, she had an idea. She instructed the elite and regular revenants to gather all the bodies and construct a blood pool. As long as she stayed near the blood pool, she felt invigorated. Additionally, the Queen of the Revenants had her underlings clean up the mixed toxins in the base, collecting them all together; they might be useful someday. Days, or perhaps endless time passed. She watched as one by one, the revenants fell. She began to feel slight fatigue. The blood pool was drying up, giving her a sense of crisis. Perhaps due to the relative warmth of the Fire God Base, wandering gifted individuals would occasionally approach, becoming part of the blood pool. Uncertain of when it started, she felt herself growing even stronger, but exactly how strong, she did not know. One day, many new revenants arrived outside. They were all transformed by the witch princess. Now, they came under the Queen of the Revenants' jurisdiction, which made her feel good. She hoped it would continue like this indefinitely. ... A war erupted outside. The Queen of the Revenants received the witch princess's command, causing the fallen revenants to rise again. She dispatched her army of revenants. Outside, she witnessed the dreadful war between the Four Seas Base and the cannibals. The Queen of the Revenants was not afraid of such a battlefield, or rather, revenants did not possess the feeling of fear. "Release the toxins!" An endless barrage of mixed toxins was hurled onto the battlefield. No matter how powerful a gifted individual was, upon contact with the mixed toxins, they would quickly succumb to poisoning and rot. Furthermore, with the witch princess's magic, the number of revenants on the battlefield increased continuously. However, the Queen of the Revenants underestimated the strength of the gifted individuals. The aftermath of Lan Shao Kong’s explosive power shattered the Queen of the Revenants into pieces, leaving her immobile. Buried in the snow, the Queen of the Revenants felt as if she were coming to rest. ... Time passed little by little. Perhaps a year, perhaps ten thousand years. The Queen of the Revenants stood again; she saw Her Highness and knelt on one knee once more. Only a few dozen elite revenants remained by her side; most of her former subordinates were gone, dead and thoroughly so. The once fearsome battlers, Lan Shao Kong and Da Xi Wang, had both fallen. Perhaps it was due to absorbing the blood of powerful beings, the Queen of the Revenants acquired greater abilities, and she knelt on one knee: "Your Highness!" ... How much time had really passed? The Queen of the Revenants stood atop the city wall, looking at the verdant spreading fields, puzzled. This city was built by a few human subordinates under Her Highness. Although the witch princess had left, they worried she might return at any time. Affected by the apocalyptic cataclysm, the mountains where Her Highness originally resided had mostly crumbled, causing concern that she might be displeased. However, the city had been built, but Her Highness had yet to return. ... "Who are you?" One day, the Queen of the Revenants noticed a woman approaching, wearing a gown adorned with a starry pattern in shades of blood. The aura around her was extremely powerful and terrifying, yet the Queen of the Revenants could sense that the power the woman possessed was akin to her own, both stemming from the witch princess. "Will you go to the Inner World with me?" Du Wen Qian asked. The Queen of the Revenants replied, "I will not go." Du Wen Qian said, "Very well, then the revenants of this world will be under your command." The Queen of the Revenants inquired, "Have you seen Her Highness?" Du Wen Qian gazed afar thoughtfully, "I have." The Queen of the Revenants said, "I will wait here for Her Highness's return." Du Wen Qian said, "If one day, you find it impossible to remain on Earth, come find me in the Inner World." The Queen of the Revenants shook her head, "Thank you." ... One day, a myna landed, it was that myna. "Yo, Queen of the Revenants, you've built such a large city here?" The myna perched upon a branch, asking. The Queen of the Revenants inquired, "Has Her Highness come?" The myna tilted its head, "Do you wish to see Her Highness?" The Queen of the Revenants didn't know how to respond. The myna continued, "Her Highness said you all should live as you wish, there is no need to wait." The Queen of the Revenants replied, "We will." The myna said, "Alright then, I’m off; I can't stand the realm of the revenants." The Queen of the Revenants gazed at the sky, watching as the myna departed. ... This was Apricot Tree Mountain. Because of a mutated apricot tree at the summit, the area became known as Apricot Tree Mountain. Revenants were present here constantly, each carrying a cage in hand. The mutant rats within the cages had long since perished, yet they continued to hold onto the cages. If any rogues, unaware of the danger, intruded, they would capture and cage these mutant rats. The able-bodied from the town below frequently ventured nearby. They envied the temperature within the magical barrier of the mutated apricot tree, wishing to live inside. However, the patrol of revenants deterred them from approaching. Most importantly, these revenants were creations of the murderous witch. Slaying revenants could entangle them in a war with the witch herself—an unbearable price. Moreover, someone tried entering the area of the mutated apricot tree’s magical barrier, clashing with the revenants, and got killed. Only then did they realize the terrifying strength of these revenants. They couldn't afford to provoke them. One day, a myna flew to Apricot Tree Mountain, perched on the apricot tree, and gathered all the revenants, No one knew what the myna said to these revenants, but to everyone's surprise, the revenants left Apricot Tree Mountain together, heading toward the utopian ruins. Nearby ability users cheered. They rushed into the mutated apricot tree's magical barrier, seizing prime locations to erect shelters and mark plots for planting. Some noticed the fruit on the mutant apricot tree, assuming that since the myna could reach them, it would be safe for them to pick a few as well. Initially, when someone dared to approach, trying to pluck a fruit, the tree merely swatted them away. Unfortunately, someone attempted a reckless act, trying to cut off a branch. The mutated apricot tree became infuriated. Its roots extended out from the mountain, slaughtering those involved. For a time, no one dared to tread near the vicinity of the mutant apricot tree. People noticed, though, that the tree did not harass those maintaining a respectful distance, so they continued building homes and cultivating fields, vegetables, fruits, and grains within the magical barrier. About six months later, the fruit on the mutated apricot tree was large, fragrant, and evidently ripe, yet no one dared to harvest them, driven by curiosity and temptation. A few powerful users decided it was worth a try, thinking to grab one or two of the fruits. With tales common across social apps of power users consuming special mutated fruits leading to explosive strength increases, and significantly reduced mutation risks, who could resist such allure? Residents within the magical barrier eyed the fruit greedily, hoping for a taste. They tacitly agreed to these strong individuals' attempts. In truth, opposition wasn’t an option—they lacked the power to stop it. Thus, eighteen powerful individuals ascended, launching coordinated attacks on the mutated apricot tree. Initially, a few were repelled by its branches, sustaining only light injuries. The eighteen grew enraged. In a fit of determination, they resolved to sever the branches entirely; after all, wouldn't harvesting the fruit be easier if the branches were cut? Boom! Boom! Boom! The mutated apricot tree raged. It fought back fiercely, but this time the ability users were too strong for it to withstand. Two enormous branches of the tree were severed. Seizing the opportunity, a spatial movement ability user quickly captured the falling branches into his space storage device and vanished from the scene with a blink. The mutated apricot tree went completely berserk, with countless roots and branches spreading out, killing several people in the process. In the end, out of the eighteen powerful ability users who went up, only five returned, two of whom were seriously injured. The two seriously injured individuals stood at the base of the mountain, grinning as they took out ripe apricots and ate them. Instantly, their injuries healed rapidly, radiating an incredibly powerful aura. The effects mentioned on the apps were true. The pair were overjoyed. The five survivors began dividing the fruits, each receiving a satisfactory share. To prevent any betrayal or robbery, those who obtained the fruit immediately consumed one to enhance their strength. However, within less than fifteen minutes, they realized something was amiss. The magical barrier that protected the area, spanning dozens of miles, had disappeared. A terrifying, extreme cold descended upon them. Many ability users living within the barrier had no time to react and froze to death instantly. This catastrophe claimed the lives of hundreds, with many more teetering on the brink of death. Only then did the affected ability users comprehend the magnitude of the disaster. They regretted not doing everything possible to stop the fruit picking. But by then, it was too late. Under the extreme cold, even the mutated apricot tree began shedding many green leaves. The tree was also terrified, desperately absorbing energy from its fruits to rejuvenate itself, but alas, the effort was futile. The magical runes existing on its body had been damaged during the recent battle. As for the ability users who ate the fruit... They desperately fled. Moments into their escape, they suddenly felt excruciating pain in their stomachs, and their bodies collapsed onto the frozen, snowy ground uncontrollably. Looking down at his stomach, one realized in horror that it had already been corroded into liquid by poison. Clutching at the hard ice and snow, he lamented bitterly, "The fruit was poisoned..." (End of Chapter)