The moment the team stepped into the oasis, daylight began to drain from the sky.
The sun sank unnaturally fast, as if something were pulling it down.
Torches were lit one after another, but their flames could only push the darkness back a few meters. Beyond that, shadows pressed in thick and heavy.
What should have been open ground quickly turned hostile.
Rugged jungle, dense vegetation, and patches of swamp blocked the path ahead.
Every detour they took twisted their direction further, until the original straight road vanished without anyone realizing it.
The oasis was a maze.
And the maze was alive.
From the surrounding jungle came movement.
Cursed undead those marked by Anubis, emerged from every direction.
They were hunched and frighteningly fast, leaping through the trees like monkeys in the deep forest.
Crude hunting tools gripped their hands, and broken syllables spilled from their mouths as they circled the group.
Garfield sensed them instantly.
Without panic, he lifted a paw and calmly laid down overlapping defensive spells around himself, invisible barriers snapping into place.
"What—what is that?!"
"What the hell?!"
The constant yelling from the so-called Bento Brothers rippled through the formation, making it painfully clear, this place was far more dangerous than anyone had imagined.
Imhotep, however, showed no fear.
He still possessed enough mana to ignore creatures like these, and aside from Anck-su-namun, he cared little about anyone's survival.
The only reason he'd brought the curator and Lock-Nah along was that they might still be useful.
Imhotep seized Alex firmly.
"Anck-su-namun." He ordered, "Protect Evelyn."
Anck-su-namun immediately moved, shielding Evelyn at Imhotep's side.
Lock-Nah took a position near Jonathan.
The curator hesitated, originally intending to stay with Jonathan, until he noticed Garfield perched on Jonathan's shoulders.
The memory of the clawed wound on his face sent a spike of pain through him.
He backed away without another word.
At the rear of the team, Wang strolled leisurely, cigar dangling from his lips. He puffed lazily, scanning the jungle with idle curiosity.
From time to time, he flicked a small stone into the trees.
Biu.
Another stone.
Biu biu.
No one else noticed but Garfield.
Each pebble struck a lurking undead squarely, knocking them tumbling through the brush. The little creatures flipped and scrambled in helpless confusion.
Watching their miserable acrobatics, Garfield couldn't help laughing.
"What a child." He muttered. "Grown man, still playing games."
Noticing Garfield's grin, Wang Defa rubbed his bald head. "Want to try? It's surprisingly fun."
"Sure."
Garfield reached out, took two stones, and calmly aimed at a nearby undead raising a blowpipe toward Jonathan.
Biu.
The stone shot forward and slipped cleanly into the blowpipe's opening.
A split second later…
Bang!
The blowpipe exploded, scattering rotten fragments and mud everywhere as the creature collapsed in a heap.
Garfield burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Wang, you're right this is fun."
Jonathan turned around, confused. "Garfield? Wang? What are you doing?"
Wang casually pointed into the jungle. "Just dealing with some undead."
"What?!" Jonathan's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He didn't get the chance to finish.
The jungle erupted.
A swarm of undead surged from all directions.
"Run~run!" the curator shrieked.
Lock-Nah grabbed O'Connor and bolted. That single movement seemed to trigger everything. The hidden undead poured out of the trees like a tide.
Imhotep had anticipated this long ago.
He yanked Alex close, barked an order to Anck-su-namun to shield Evelyn at all costs, and without hesitation…
Plunged straight into the depths of the jungle.
Lock-Nah, the curator, and O'Connor quickly realized something was off. Without hesitating, they abandoned their own troops and followed Imhotep's path.
Twisted vines snagged at their clothes, thick undergrowth threatened to trip them, and shadows moved where no shadow should be.
In the confusion, O'Connor spotted a chance.
While Lock-Nah's attention was elsewhere, he slipped free from his restraints and sprinted toward his wife and son, hands and feet moving with desperate agility.
Lock-Nah remained focused on protecting the curator, knowing instinctively that survival meant sticking to Imhotep's lead.
Jonathan wanted to follow, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Brother Jonathan." Wang Defa said calmly, cigar dangling from his lips, "Don't rush. Walk slowly."
"But… what about my sister, nephew, and brother-in-law?" Jonathan asked.
Wang Defa patted his chest reassuringly. "Relax. They'll be fine. At most, a little scare."
Jonathan exhaled, trying to trust the words.
Garfield, still observing from above, twitched an ear. "Wang, don't get comfortable."
"O'Connor's about to get himself killed."
Wang Defa followed Garfield's gaze.
With a subtle flick of his wrist, the air around him seemed to thrum with power. "Cat… nothing's ever simple, is it?"
In the blink of an eye, Wang vanished beside Garfield.
A pulse of spiritual pressure radiated outward, clearing ten meters of jungle, uprooting plants, and scattering anything living that threatened O'Connor.
He appeared beside O'Connor, helping him to his feet.
"Brother, follow me." His voice carried a mix of teasing and authority.
From the brink of death to sudden safety, O'Connor barely had time to process what happened before Wang dragged him toward the looming pyramid at the heart of the oasis.
Garfield turned to Jonathan. "Eyes up. What are you looking at? Follow your brother-in-law and Wang."
"Oh… okay…" Jonathan stammered.
As he followed, Jonathan finally saw the scene cleared by Wang's spiritual pressure.
Fallen "little monkeys" littered the jungle floor. On closer inspection, he realized their uniforms resembled those of long-lost desert soldiers from the First World War.
His stomach churned. These weren't undead monkeys, they were trained soldiers, twisted into cursed forms.
The thought of being left behind among them made Jonathan shiver.
"Garfield, I'll keep up. I won't get left behind." He promised determination replacing fear.
With that, he sprinted, following the path Wang had carved through the jungle like a windstorm, heading straight for the pyramid.
In the shadows, figures in strange, anachronistic clothes observed the advancing little monkeys.
They raised firearms that should not have existed in this era.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
PhantomDream