Sumeru, deep within the Avidya Forest.
Sunlight was fragmented by layers of giant leaves, barely scattering onto the ground covered with humus and damp moss.
The air was filled with the rich vitality exuded by plants, mingled with a subtle, sweet scent of decay.
A young female Forest Ranger, Rana, was carefully making her way through it, her notebook densely filled with records of biological activity and ecological changes in the rainforest.
The rustling sound of her writing intertwined with the chirping of birds and the buzzing of insects in the forest, forming a tranquil and peaceful natural tableau.
Bang!!
Bang!!!
Suddenly, a series of heavy, muffled, and extremely rhythmic thuds came from deep within the dense forest, brutally tearing apart the tranquility.
The sound was unlike any known creature; it was more like some incredibly heavy, metal-clad behemoth, treading the earth step by step.
Each impact made the ground beneath Rana's feet tremble slightly, making her heart pound with fear.
"What's that sound?"
Rana abruptly looked up, vigilantly staring in the direction of the sound, her pen nearly slipping from her hand. The animals in the rainforest also seemed to sense the threat; the birdsong ceased abruptly, the insects fell silent, leaving only the heart-pounding "thump... thump..." sound steadily approaching, carrying an irresistible sense of oppression.
Fear instantly seized Rana's heart.
She quickly stuffed her notebook back into her backpack and drew the Ranger's Axe from her waist.
The axe blade glinted coldly in the dappled light, yet it offered her no sense of security.
"Who's there?! Come out!"
Rana mustered her courage and shouted towards the direction of the sound, her voice trembling slightly from tension.
She gripped the axe tightly, adopting a defensive stance, her gaze fixed on the dense bushes ahead.
Her response was not any language or the roar of a beast.
Instead—
Rumble!!!
A deafening crash! A massive tree in front of her, one that would take two people to embrace, was seemingly snapped or pushed aside by some unimaginable force, letting out a grating groan before slowly, irreversibly toppling towards her side!
The huge canopy crashed to the ground, stirring up a cloud of fallen leaves and dust.
With the obstruction cleared, sunlight could finally illuminate that area.
And at that moment, the true face of the "thing" that had caused all the commotion was fully and hideously revealed before Rana's eyes.
However, at this moment, Rana wished she hadn't seen anything at all!
She wished that giant tree hadn't fallen! She wished she hadn't even entered this rainforest today!
"W-what... what kind of monster is this...?"
The axe in Rana's hand clattered onto the soft mud, her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground, her limbs cold and numb, unable to even muster the strength to get up.
Extreme fear, like ice water, instantly drenched her entire body, leaving her mind blank, with only instinctive trembling.
What entered her vision was a colossal being completely beyond her comprehension, existing only in the most absurd nightmares!
A tall figure, over three meters in height, like a moving black iron tower!
It merely stood there silently, and its shadow almost completely swallowed Rana.
A suffocating, bone-chilling aura of death emanated from it like a tangible tide; wherever it passed, the vibrant plants around seemed to instantly wilt, their colors turning dull and grey.
The air itself seemed to freeze and solidify due to its presence.
It was entirely covered in a full-body armor, pitch-black like ink, monstrous in design, and incredibly heavy.
The armor's joints were riddled with sharp ramming spikes and barbs, glinting with an eerie metallic sheen, as if devouring all surrounding light.
Through the helmet's slits, no eyes could be seen, only hollow eye sockets.
The parts not covered by armor revealed not flesh, but shriveled, blackened, terrifyingly thin flesh clinging to bones, like ancient corpses buried for a thousand years resurfacing, exuding decay and ill omen.
In one hand, it held a black Tower Shield larger than a door panel, with blasphemous and unknown runes carved into its surface; in the other, it held a terrifyingly curved Greatsword.
The sword's tip dragged on the ground, easily plowing a deep furrow in the mud.
This was a Death Knight from the Great Tomb of Nazarick, serving as the vanguard scout of the undead army, dispatched by its "master" to investigate the Sumeru rainforest and assess the country's resistance.
Rana's brain could no longer process this horrifying information; she just sat there, her teeth chattering uncontrollably, making a clacking sound.
She was a brave Forest Ranger, possessing the courage to fight venomous snakes and fierce beasts, but facing a creation clearly belonging to the realm of "undead," "hell," and "nightmares," her courage was utterly crushed.
The Death Knight's hollow, crimson gaze seemed to linger on her for a moment, and after confirming that this tiny creature posed no threat, it ignored her.
It strictly adhered to the supreme command issued by its masters: unless attacked, innocent individuals were not to be harmed.
They themselves were magical pawns, possessing no true life, and naturally had no need to fear death.
"M-monster..."
Rana finally found a sliver of strength amidst the extreme fear, not the strength to fight, but the strength to flee.
She scrambled to her feet in disarray, not even bothering to pick up her dropped axe and backpack, let out a terrified scream, and turned to stumble into the depths of the rainforest at the fastest speed of her life, only wishing to get as far away from that black nightmare as possible!
The Death Knight had no interest in the fleeing Forest Ranger.
It took heavy steps, its iron-clad feet once again leaving deep imprints on the ground.
It walked forward, bent its heavily armored waist, sheathed its Greatsword, and then, with its iron-clad fingers, precisely picked up the rainforest area map Rana had dropped.
It held the crudely hand-drawn map up to its helmet, as if "reading" it.
Although the intelligence was rudimentary, for an undead army already planning to crush its target with absolute force, knowing the general direction and path was sufficient.
The Death Knight casually crumpled the map in its iron fist, then turned around, resuming its characteristic heavy and rhythmic stride.
"Thump... thump..."
Towards the deeper parts of the rainforest, in the direction of Sumeru City, it began its deathly patrol.
Wherever it passed, life faded, leaving behind only a cold aura of death and giant footprints, silently announcing the arrival of some kind of apocalypse.