Even Gu Xiang, an experienced swordsman, didn't know where the last monster was hiding, but his mentality remained good as he comforted them, "It's alright, we don't need to rush."
"This secret realm is not that big, where could one monster possibly hide? Perhaps we just haven't searched carefully enough, and the monster is hiding in one of the houses."
Qiu Qiu nodded and said, "Then let's do a thorough search of the village again. As a Holy Light Mage, I can sense a lingering dark presence nearby."
"The last monster must be around here!"
The others nodded, knowing that was their only option at this point.
Just as they were about to set off, they noticed Lufan remained still, seemingly deep in thought.
"Little brother, what's wrong? Have you made any new discoveries?" Gu Xiang walked up and patted Lufan's shoulder.
After the battles, Gu Xiang had grown quite admiring of Lufan, and their relationship had become closer.
Lufan shook his head, indicating he had no new findings, but then he said, "I feel like we may have overlooked something."
"What is it?" Qiu Qiu asked curiously.
Lufan opened the task panel and showed it to everyone, then pointed at the text, "You see, the task introduction said that the people of the Desperate Village were initially infected by a plague, and their bodies were piled up by the lake."
"Three days later, these bodies mutated into the zombies."
"So I'm wondering, could the real problem not be the village, but the small lake next to it?"
Lufan's words made everyone's eyes light up.
There was indeed a small lake next to the Desperate Village in this secret realm.
It wasn't a very large lake, at most just a big pond, filled with black, foul-smelling water, so the group had not approached it.
If there were no monsters in the Desperate Village, then the last one was most likely hiding at the bottom of the lake!
Gu Xiang was delighted, "Lufan is right, we haven't even checked if there are any monsters in the lake."
"I'd say the source of the plague in the Desperate Village is probably from the lake, and the secret realm's boss must be hiding at the bottom of the lake!"
Qiu Qiu nodded in agreement, smiling slightly, "If that's the case, let's go take a look at the small lake."
The group headed to the small lake next to the Desperate Village.
The lake surface was calm and mirror-like, making it hard to imagine what might be lurking underneath.
Qiu Qiu waved her wand, and countless white fireballs coalesced in the air, then rained down like hail onto the lake, covering the surface.
Not only Qiu Qiu, but the two other mages in the group also unleashed Fireball spells, bombarding the small lake, causing a cloud of water vapor and the foul stench of rotting corpses to rise up, making several people frown.
The disturbance in the lake soon triggered a reaction.
In the center of the lake, a whirlpool suddenly appeared, and a surge of black mist burst forth from the bottom, blowing away the mages' fire spells.
"So the last monster is hiding there!" Gu Xiang tensed up, gripping his greatsword and standing in the front.
"Everyone, be careful, this should be the secret realm's boss, and it won't be easy to deal with!"
Gu Xiang had barely finished speaking when a deafening explosion came from the center of the whirlpool, and a pitch-black figure suddenly shot out from the bottom of the lake, surrounded by a thick black aura, and hurtled towards Gu Xiang like a cannonball.
With a huge boom, Gu Xiang was sent flying, coughing up a mouthful of blood, the difference in their strength clearly evident.
As Gu Xiang was knocked back, the black figure sped towards the rear of the group, its agility far outpacing the slower Little Jia.
Qiu Qiu's face turned pale, seeing the terrifying black figure charging at her, feeling her blood freeze.
But at that moment, another figure rushed in, its speed not much slower than the black figure.
Of course, Lufan couldn't just sit by and watch the monster slaughter his team's rear. He reacted quickly, and after Gu Xiang was knocked back, he dragged the Ebony Dragon Scale Greatsword to intercept the black figure.
"Kneel down!" Lufan roared, immediately unleashing Dragon Fang Strike, slamming the massive dragon head down upon the black figure.
The huge dragon head roared as it pressed down, successfully pinning down the black figure, preventing its movement.
Dragon Fang Strike didn't outright kill it, but the Ebony Dragon Scale Greatsword slashed its shoulder, leaving a deep gash that exposed the bone, and the powerful impact forced it down to one knee.
This pause allowed the true form of the black figure to be revealed to everyone.
It was also a zombie, but its appearance was far more horrifying and eerie.
It was entirely pitch-black, like a lump of mud in human form, with its facial features indistinct, like a corpse that had been soaked in water for years but not yet decayed.
On its hands were two rusted iron chains as thick as wrist.