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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 394:
The information continued to scroll for nearly a minute before it finally stopped.
The card seemed to rank based on strength levels and the completeness of the information.
Freya gently wiped the card, and immediately, the top ten beings who received mission information appeared.
These creatures were all bizarre-looking humanoids without exception.
Moreover, from the number of missions received, Freya vaguely guessed that the Toxic Fog Swamp area seemed to be quite familiar here; it was not an unvisited forbidden zone.
After glancing briefly, Freya casually tapped on the third-ranked being.
A ripple passed through her fingertips, and a special mental connection automatically linked to her mind.
"Excuse me, are you the employer?"
This was a strange voice that sounded like countless voices overlapping.
"That's right, it's me," Freya transmitted her thoughts through the card.
"Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes." The other party then actively disconnected the mental link.
Holding the card, Freya stood in place, her gaze surveying the gloomy city.
The tops of the tall buildings were pointed, and one could occasionally see peculiar statues erected on them.
Most of the humanoids on the streets were clad in armor and weapons, yet they appeared to be very orderly.
If we set aside appearances, this could be considered a decent large city even in Cloud City.
Moreover, the most important thing is that Freya faintly sensed a special energy fluctuation spreading throughout the city from the Black Tower located in the middle of the city.
The nature of this power was unlike any she was familiar with. It felt slightly distorted but had an extensive range.
Freya compared the intensity of the fluctuations and realized that if an ordinary person with a weaker constitution were to survive here, they might contract various physical ailments due to this power within a week and ultimately perish.
"It seems that these Human Wizards are only involved in a small area; they seem to have developed their own system, and it appears to be quite mature. I just wonder why it has only been encountered by wizards until now," Freya murmured curiously.
As part of the Medium World, the Wizarding World is vast and filled with all sorts of incredible things, some of which stem from ancient wars. Many others already existed within the Wizarding World.
There are certain things or creatures that even powerful and knowledgeable wizards have never come to know.
In even more dangerous areas, it seems that only specific races can survive, while other beings cannot venture there at all.
Indeed, the Wizarding World is far more mysterious and obscure than its equivalent worlds.
Ten minutes later, on a sparsely populated street, a strange figure clad in full armor, including a helmet that obscured their head, approached Freya.
This armored figure was not very strong in build, but an obscure aura surrounded them. Two Black Longswords hung at their waist, and only a pair of Crimson eyes could be faintly seen through the helmet.
With each step they took on the ground, a sharp metallic sound echoed, which was quite grating.
The armored figure quickly reached Freya's side and spoke in a mixed and overlapping strange voice.
"Hello, I am Ron. I am your guide to the Toxic Fog Swamp. When shall we depart?"
"Let's do it now," Freya said after a moment of thought.
She had prepared everything back in the Northern Snowfield, so there was nothing more to do.
"Alright," replied Ron, the armored man, nodding as he pulled out a familiar black card from behind him. "My task is only to guide you; I am not responsible for your safety. Even if you die halfway, I will throw your body into the Toxic Fog Swamp. If you have no objections, leave your breath on it."
Hearing his words, Freya tilted her head and smiled.
"Oh? There are such rules here? Interesting."
She pointed her finger at the card, and the black card suddenly displayed the image of a woman with two horns growing from her forehead.
The woman on the card silently whispered something, and a black halo flashed by.
Freya faintly sensed that something had been added to her, connecting her to Ron in front of her.
She sensed it briefly and frowned slightly.
"Is this really a World Contract? Does such a simple task require such a grand gesture?"
"Of course, this is the most basic order of this city," Ron replied, seemingly unwilling to explain further. "If you don't need to prepare anything else, we can set off now."
Without saying a word, Freya lightly snapped her fingers, and the black carriage parked not far away immediately began to move toward them.
Fifteen minutes later, she and Ron, who was fully encased in armor, left the city...
Under the Azure Sky, there lay a stretch of dark yellow wasteland.
Dried yellow grass was piled in clumps on the ground, and occasionally one could see a few withered trees alongside white bones weathered by the elements.
A Black Carriage approached from the distance of the wasteland, with Ron riding beside it on a creature resembling a black Dinosaur-like Creature.
Freya's carriage had been traveling through this wasteland for a while. According to Ron's introduction, the Toxic Fog Swamp was located in the northern part of the Crimson Forest Trace, shrouded in a sea of trees. To reach it, they would need to cross two mountain ranges and several rivers, making the journey quite complex. It would be nearly impossible for first-time travelers to find their way in the Crimson Forest Trace.
To exit this wasteland at their current speed would take them at least five or six hours.
The carriage continued to move through the wasteland until it finally stopped under a relatively rare grove as the sun began to set.
After securing the carriage, Freya took out a wizard's tent and set it up at the back of the carriage, sheltered from the wind.
The temperature in this wasteland was still bearable during the day, but it became extremely cold at night. Even sleeping in the carriage would be uncomfortable for her, despite her resilience.
She lit some dry wood and placed an iron rack over the flames.
Freya took out some meat, mushrooms, and other items to cook on it. Soon, white steam began to rise.
Ron sat quietly on a nearby rock, resembling a stone statue; Freya could hardly sense any life emanating from him.
Once the meat on the rack was nearly cooked, Freya sprinkled some seasoning on it. Using a fork, she picked up a piece, blew on it lightly to cool it down, and placed it in her mouth. The rich aroma of meat instantly filled her palate.
She picked up another piece and glanced at Ron beside her, puzzled.
"Are you not going to eat anything?"
Hearing Freya's question, two red lights suddenly lit up in the dark helmet.
"No, I have my own food."
He reached behind him and pulled out a Black Bag, then took out a wriggling Black Insect with his armored gloves.
With his other hand, he lifted the metal mask covering his mouth and stuffed it directly into his mouth.
From Freya's perspective, she could clearly see a row of dense white Fangs beneath his mask, with no lips. The teeth were all bared outward, looking somewhat ferocious.
The Fangs quickly tore the finger-sized insect into pieces. Black and white liquid flowed down his teeth into the armor, followed by a series of strange sucking sounds.
Noticing Freya looking over, Ron pulled another insect from his pocket and gestured.
"You should try the Soulbug; its nutritional value is much better than the inferior food you have."
Seeing the wriggling Black Bug, Freya felt goosebumps rise on her back and shook her head.
"Forget it, I might not be able to get used to it."
Upon hearing Freya's refusal, Ron didn't mind much. He nodded and stuffed the insect into his mouth again.
Due to Ron's bizarre eating next to her, Freya lost her appetite for a moment. After eating a few pieces of meat, she stood up and walked toward the nearby edge of the forest.
In the western sky, the fiery clouds were about to disperse, and a cold wind began to blow across the calm wilderness.
The wind rustled the distant dry branches, producing a faint creaking sound.
Freya looked at this desolate place, faintly overlapping with the memories of the King Cobra that had been passed down.
Once, the land here was very fertile and full of life, but now it had long lost its former appearance.
Although those memories did not belong to her, Freya still felt a slight sadness, a sense of being gradually eliminated by the times.
Freya stood quietly at the edge of the forest as the sky slowly darkened, and several large black birds made strange calls among the trees.
Suddenly, Freya noticed that as night fell, in a distant clearing, translucent shadows were slowly emerging.
Those shadows seemed to be standing Tall Shadows, vaguely surrounding the forest and facing Freya, completely still.
"Hmm? What is that?"
Seeing the appearance of those shadows, Freya frowned slightly.
Just as she was about to probe further, Ron appeared beside her without her noticing.
"Don't move. Those are Wilderness Shadows, a natural phenomenon of this place. If you attack them, we'll have our hands full tonight."
"Natural phenomenon?" Freya lowered her hand and curiously looked at the translucent Tall Shadows. As the light grew dimmer, these shadows became clearer and more numerous, seemingly filling the entire wilderness.
"Yes," Ron nodded. "Besides these Wilderness Shadows, other things may also appear here at night. As long as you don't step out of this forest, you'll be very safe."
"The forest?" Freya turned her head. Next to the carriage, an orange flame burned quietly, but there was nothing strange appearing around; it seemed as if it was isolated by the trees.
Although her eyes could clearly see these things, she strangely felt no presence through her senses, as if these shadows were merely illusions.
However, even though she didn't feel anything, Freya no longer wanted to test anything.
The Crimson Forest Trace was no longer the Stardust Prairie it once was, and after so many years, she wasn't surprised by any strange occurrences.
After watching for a while longer, she returned to the front of the carriage.
Ron had returned to sit on the stone, the red lights representing his eyes in the helmet dimming. The orange-yellow flames reflected on his armor gave it a grayish-white texture.
Glancing at his sculpted appearance, Freya slipped into the tent and began her meditation.
She didn't know how long it had been when Freya opened her eyes from meditation.
Outside, it was still completely dark, without a hint of light, only a large bright moon hanging in the sky.
The moonlight covered the ground like a silver veil.
Freya stood up and looked outside; the carriage was still parked nearby, the campfire had gone out, and a wisp of white smoke rose into the air.
Ron, who had been sitting by the fire, was nowhere to be seen. The entire forest was silent, without a sound.
Feeling an overwhelming sense of silence in the atmosphere, Freya sensed something was off.
Although this wilderness rarely had large creatures due to environmental reasons, there were still some insects and birds around. But now it seemed as if they had all vanished into thin air.
"Strange."
After pondering for a moment, she stepped out of the tent. The Black Stallion stood quietly in front of the carriage, its eyes closed; even with Freya's presence, it showed no signs of waking up.
Furrowing her brow, Freya approached the Black Stallion and gently reached out to touch it. The horse felt icy, as if she were touching a stone.
"Is it dead?"
Noticing something unusual about the Black Stallion, Freya's frown deepened. She scanned her surroundings, and in the moonlight, she realized there was nothing in the forest except for the trees.
A cold breeze swept through, causing the dying campfire to flicker with a hint of red glow.
Just as Freya was feeling puzzled, a faint sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the forest.
The sound of 'tap, tap, tap' echoed loudly in the silence.
Freya turned around to look in the direction of the footsteps, and under the Silver Moonlight, a tall shadow was slowly approaching her.
"Ron? Is that you?" Upon seeing the shadow, Freya had an unsettling premonition.
'Flap, flap.'
The sound of wings flapping came from beside the carriage.
Freya turned her head and saw a stranger crouched on the horse, completely naked with pale skin.
The person's arms were long enough that they nearly touched the ground while crouching on the horse's back. Their face lacked a mouth or nose, only two red eyes staring intently at Freya with their head tilted.
This sudden appearance of the strange figure startled Freya for a moment, but she quickly reacted and reached out to grab it.
"Swish!"
Five clear dark blue Thin Lines swept past.
With a 'crack', the large tree behind the carriage suddenly broke, but the figure strangely showed no signs of being affected.
Seeing the attack was ineffective, Freya's expression darkened as she stepped back a certain distance.
"Spirit? No, there's not a hint of Spirit response. What is this?"
'Slap'
Not far away, the tall shadow stepped out of the forest and then stood still at the edge of the woods.
Freya silently stared at these two entities, feeling a chilling sensation in her heart.
--------------------(To be continued...)
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