After a day's stay for repairs, they began to cross the narrow dry path that they had explored yesterday afternoon through the swamp, which was about one and a half kilometers long in length.
The sparse horseshoes stepped on the soft mud covered with weeds, leaving clear traces, and the small stones that were accidentally kicked over fell into the water pool only half a meter deep next to it, causing ripples that circled around for a long time. stop.
But that was the only movement.
Except for the sound of the horses moving and the swaying of the weapons and equipment carried on their backs, the swamp between the trees was quiet.
One of the reasons was that people stopped talking and were wary, and another reason was the overall change in the team.
On the eighteenth day after leaving the small town of Scotti, the entire team reduced from the 400 people and 700 horses when they set out to only eight people and 10 horses.
The team that has been streamlined to this point is all familiar faces with names and surnames.
Those who are good at magic include the elf magician Horno and the imperial magic tutor Camilo; in addition to our Mr. Sage, the melee fighters include the paladin Adolphus who is equipped with a one-handed spear and shield, and the red card who uses a two-handed spear. The mercenary Erica and the captain Stephen who uses large blunt weapons; the remaining positions of long-range weapon shooters are filled by Filippo and Mira, the two youngest people, because their role is not obvious.
The reason for this change seems a bit absurd, and its starting point is just some reasoning and uneasiness of our wise man. But in a vague future, Henry's idea is their only direction - at this point, they can't tolerate any chances, and they must seize the opportunity even if there is just a little doubt.
There is an ancient Laman saying that the most uncomfortable thing is not the sorrow of the result, but what you should have done and failed to do when you should have done it.
It would take a long time for a team of more than two hundred people to cross the swamp. Coupled with a series of other problems, the team originally formed to deal with ghouls and other witch armies has now become a kind of The drag of redundancy.
If you are still unwilling to give up the advantage brought by numbers, you will probably lose more in the end.
They didn't want to do this, so they made a quick choice.
This eight-man team, composed almost entirely of heroes who could defeat a hundred, only carried three days of supplies. They even unloaded most of the other supplies and left out the cooking utensils. The saved space was replaced with additional weapons. Everyone except the magician carried a long pole weapon, a melee sharp weapon and a blunt weapon. Mira, Filippo and Adolfo Sidhu also brought a shield, a crossbow and the matching crossbow.
Captain Stephen is considered the most heavily armed person in the team. In addition to carrying his own two-handed axe, he also borrowed the sledgehammer from his deputy captain - it is worth mentioning that the latter They insisted on going on the road together until the last moment, but because the remaining personnel needed capable people to lead them, the deputy commander and Adolphus' adjutant stayed behind.
The two of them and Camilo and other leaders traveled with the team because no one else was qualified for the job and they were the strongest people in the team. And if the team composed of these people still fails, then a few more people going on the road together may not make any changes.
The words return to their original place. After packing up their gear and focusing on carrying armor and weapons, this separated elite team quickly distanced itself from the nearly two hundred people left behind.
The very small team moved quickly and quietly. It only took them two hours to cross the huge swamp - this was because they encountered a section of terrain that had to be waded through - and then again After setting foot on the hard ground and spending two days of lackluster travel, they were completely separated from the team behind them in a real sense.
The terrain of this area has gradually begun to climb higher again, and it is obviously close to the edge of the Palohia Plateau.
This is far enough to the east, but there is not even a hint of the undead, not to mention ghouls.
On the morning of the third day, after eating one-third of the last day's rations, they continued to move forward with a little uneasiness.
The whole morning was spent moving forward peacefully, but just when they were about to move on and find a place to take a short rest, they suddenly noticed something was wrong.
There was something, weird - Henry raised his hand, and the people behind him pulled the reins to slow the horse down. The little unicorn followed and stopped obediently next to Mira. It snorted, and the Luoan girl unexpectedly found that the unicorn no longer seemed so uneasy.
"Don't let your guard down." The sage said, he and Erica were walking together, Stephen and Adolphus were guarding the two wings, Horno and Camilo were in the middle of the team, and Mira and Fei Li Bo is the queen.
They slowed down and moved forward slowly.
The air here is still stagnant. Camilo did not bring the delicate and fragile thermometer developed by the Royal Astrology Institute on this trip, but based on his physical sense, he could tell that the temperature was below ten degrees.
Wearing armor and plush warm cloaks, they should not be aware of the temperature while marching. Even when it was colder before, people never had this strange feeling, as if something was wrong, something didn't belong here, and it shouldn't belong to what they had been used to for more than half a month. Silent and lifeless environment.
"..." Frowning Mira sniffed her nose: "This is..."
"There is...the fragrance of flowers in the air?" Filippo followed her words, and the explanation that followed was indeed not our Mr. Sage as usual, but Erica who was in front.
"It's magnolia." The silver-haired lady said softly. The unique floral fragrance of Padrosi was not offensive, only the elegant fragrance floated lightly in the air, and luckily she could recognize it.
"Spring jasmine? Speaking of which, it's March now, so it's early spring -" said Adolphus, who was born in Padrosi and had some knowledge of this kind of flower.
"The end of March is almost April." Camilo added. This unexpected discovery made the atmosphere somewhat less heavy, but people immediately reflected it.
"wrong--"
"How can there be flowers here?"
"No matter how hard Magnolia can withstand the cold, she can't withstand the previous cold wave--" The paladin clenched his spear and held the shield close to his body, looking left and right.
"How!" The sage turned back to look at Horno and Camilo. The elf frowned and spread her palms. A small ball of flames burned quietly in the air. She waited for about ten seconds. Then he dispersed it with a wave of his fingertips.
"No." Horno shook his head: "I can feel the loss of magic power, and the burning of the flame is also a correct reaction."
"What does this prove?" Stephen asked.
"It proves that we are still in reality and have not been pulled into the illusion." Henry answered, while Horno and Camilo nodded, and Filippo behind him frowned: "This... is a good thing? "
"Barely enough." It was Erica who answered him, and then he noticed Mira's frown. Horno lowered his voice and explained again: "Magic..."
"...Her magical charm is a passive influence. At a long distance, Camilo and I can intentionally release our own magical power into the air to enhance the personal magical power within a certain range. concentration to counteract this effect.”
"But it won't work after you get close to it, because she is too strong." The elf lowered his face and said with a wry smile: "Because she is beyond imagination and beyond common sense. We may even have entered the hallucination." I can’t even notice it.”
"But hallucinations also have limitations. The best she can do is to set up a scene and then recreate the memories in our hearts, especially the painful memories."
"In other words, she cannot simulate complex physical phenomena. What she can present is just a fixed scene that lacks change or some fragmented memories, such as such a delicate magic reaction and the interaction between flame burning and air. It’s impossible to do.”
"...I see." Mira obviously didn't understand, but Horno didn't argue with her.
"Anyway." The elf sighed slightly: "We are not in the illusion, which is a good thing. But it may mean something more serious." She said this, and Henry in front checked for a while to confirm that it was safe. He waved his hands again to signal everyone to continue moving forward.
The eight people maintained a vigilant formation, and Horno would release a small fire magic every once in a while to check whether she had fallen into an illusion - this level of magic consumption was nothing to her - but the result Always negative.
The floral fragrance becomes more and more intense as it goes forward, and at the same time something else appears.
The sound of rustling was outside of them, but it didn't belong to the ghouls either.
It's a sign of life.
"Birds singing? How is that possible?" The Luoan girl's eyes widened. She turned back and glanced at the little unicorn. The latter seemed quite quiet and peaceful, no longer as restless as before.
"This place is so weird that it gives me goosebumps all over my body." Stephen said in a rough voice while shuddering.
The horses' hooves moved lightly, and the eight people approached step by step the place that exuded the fragrance of birds and flowers.
[When the world began, He did not know what it should look like. ——The White Sacred Scripture, Volume 1, Section 1. 】
The sound of running water began to appear, and a gust of wind blew from the other side. People's cloaks were lifted up and made a sound, but they did not feel cold.
[Everything is just chaos and darkness. 】
[So on the first day, He said. 】
【There must be light. 】
【There is light in this world. 】
The sun broke through the clouds and fell on the forest.
"No, no, no no no -" Adolphus shook his head vigorously. He even let go of the shield in his hand and let it hang on his forearm, freeing his hand to tightly grasp the holy symbol on his collar.
[But in this world illuminated by light, everything is so quiet and lonely. 】
[Thus He also brought into the world animals, birds, and fish. 】
The chirping of birds echoed on the treetops, and a little hedgehog sniffed the tip of its nose and appeared in front of everyone, but then it burrowed into the green bushes with a "whoosh" sound.
"But she's still lonely."
"Because there is no other individual like her in the world except her, so on the seventh day."
"She created man in her own image."
"I don't believe it!!" The paladin's hand holding the shield was shaking crazily, and standing in the center of this paradise surrounded by birds and flowers, a woman in white clothes with white hair and short pointed ears slowly opened her eyes. Eyes with long white eyelashes.
There was a smile naturally in those lavender eyes with the brilliance of stars.
The white deer was drinking water quietly beside her, the warm sunshine was shining on the earth, the green grass was swaying slightly, and the magnolia blossoms in full bloom in early spring filled the entire air with a delicate fragrance.
"That's not a witch, it can't be a witch, but she's also, no - how is it possible, according to the holy book, how is it possible!" Adolphus roared hysterically, while everyone around him just stared at her blankly .
Standing by the water and under the sun, she has a graceful figure and an angelic temperament.
This appearance is even more outstanding than that of Horno, who is an elf.
She stared at everyone, her eyes completely without a trace of hostility, and everyone who looked at her felt like a spring breeze.
She looked at them one by one.
Finally, those eyes glanced at Horno.
The gentle smile on her clean face reminded Mira of her mother's smile in her memory.
"Welcome back."
"Mother."
she said, in such a gentle voice.
So gentle, like a lullaby to a dream.
