“How terrible.”
Standing before Shade, Miss Karina looked down at her boots stepping into the muddy slush of the snow, then asked Miss Sylvia
“Where are we now?”
The seven of them gathered together. Shade, carrying a suitcase and a sword on his back, watched as Miss Sylvia made a map of the Pantanal region float in the air, pointing her finger toward the southeastern portion of the map
“We are three miles off from the expected location, but it is still within the plan. My [Spatial Perception] tells me that we are currently on the outskirts of the Gurus Ruins.”
Miss Aurora tilted her head and took a glance
“6.5 miles (approx. 10.5km) from the central lake? We need to move faster.”
If they were in a plain, the seven people present could have covered 6.5 miles on foot in two hours at most. However, the terrain of the Great Swamp was extremely complex, and with danger lurking everywhere, the Voodoo Society would certainly have set up obstructions in the vicinity. Thus, 6.5 miles was indeed a great distance.
“We can take this route.”
Wrapped in a brown scarf, Miss Sylvia pointed to a light gray line on the map. Although the wind in the swamp region was cold, it wasn't particularly strong, but the falling snowflakes were exceptionally startling
“The Langma Ancient Road. It was the supply channel used while the Carsonrick army was stationed on the Heart Island. Although this path is a bit of a detour, at least it doesn't pass through dangerous zones.”
The Pantanal region was one of the few places in the Old Continent that still remained a designated “Danger Zone” by the Church; the inhabitants here were not necessarily ordinary animals. According to legend, half-blood dragons even resided in the depths of the Great Swamp.
“Can we fly over?”
Shade asked. Miss Karina shook her head
“Likely due to the influence of the seal, long-distance spatial movement is prohibited in the area ahead. While flight isn't forbidden, flying easily attracts dangerous things. We have enough time; there's no need to take risks.”
“Then let us move quickly.”
Miss Aurora waved her hand and poured some bone powder onto the snow. As the sorceress cast her spell, the flowing bone powder multiplied and shaped itself until it formed four undead skeletal horses.
The hooves trod upon the snow, and the unfrozen mud beneath emitted strange *squelching* sounds. Blue flames ignited in the eye sockets of the skeletal horses. Simultaneously, rose vines entwined the blackened bones, growing from the sockets toward the hooves, skillfully avoiding the positions of the saddles, making these summoned undead appear even more mystical.
“Sivi, when did you improve your undead summoning ability?”
Miss Karina curiously examined the rose vines, but the lady with the long wavy hair—who had pinned her hair up today—frowned slightly
“I didn't improve this spell; this region is influencing my casting.”
“There are spatial anomalies as well, otherwise we wouldn't have drifted three miles,” Miss Sylvia added.
Miss Karina nodded slightly, understanding that this was a characteristic of the depths of the Great Swamp. This land had long been polluted by evil entities; one had to be extremely careful when casting spells here.
After confirming that the skeletal horses had only changed in appearance, they fitted them with pre-prepared tack.
Among the seven, Miss Sylvia, who needed to lead the way at the front, rode a horse alone. The other two witches rode together, and Shade ended up sitting behind Miss Karina.
This wasn't because Miss Aurora was being “generous,” but because she was the highest-ranking witch in the group and would have to face more dangers; therefore, she didn't want Shade following her.
The current time was Wednesday, 1:03 PM, on the 24th of the Month of Slumber, 1853 of the Common Calendar. The story of the fourth Chosen was about to reach its conclusion.
The blizzard in the Great Swamp region was far more severe than in Huntington City, which lay outside the swamp. After Miss Sylvia led the group to the ancient road, even though skeletal horses were better suited for complex terrain than real horses, the environment within the swamp still greatly hindered their progress.
The wind and snow were so intense that Miss Avril, one of the three Ninth-Ring sorceresses, had to cast temporary shields for everyone to block the blizzard. Even while pushing forward through the low temperatures, Miss Sylvia, who was highly sensitive to spatial anomalies, nearly lost her way in the snowy swamp.
“Something is definitely wrong. Previous reports didn't mention the Great Swamp having characteristics that cause one to lose their way. It seems we have entered the influence zone of the Voodoo Society.”
At the end of the ancient road, which had nearly vanished into the Great Swamp, lay a frozen wetland. Miss Sylvia gripped the reins and halted at the front. After consulting with Miss Aurora, she borrowed Shade's [Night Watchman], smeared her own blood upon it, and swung it forward violently.
The wetland was sliced open by the silver sword like a canvas, blown away by a strong wind to reveal the path forward.
“It's not a spell, nor a relic, but some kind of more terrifying power,” the witch whispered. Then, the four skeletal horses continued forward, leaving a series of hoofprints in the snow that were quickly covered.
At 1:47 PM, the group continuing along the ancient road simultaneously felt the ground shaking. The earthquake lasted for half a minute before ending, but afterward, the sound of explosions echoed from far away.
Miss Sylvia calculated the position and believed that the Church's team had engaged in combat with someone, and the intensity of the battle was not low. At least one Thirteenth-Ring sorcerer was fighting at full strength; therefore, the enemy was likely not human.
At 2:35 PM, the advancing group encountered an attack from crimson vines hidden beneath the snow layer. The vines were densely packed, and the sight of them springing up all at once was truly terrifying.
However, the battle lasted less than half a minute. The six ladies simultaneously summoned fireballs. The fireballs bombarded the ground like steam cannons clearing a field. After the battle, upon Miss Karina's inspection, these vines were identified as “Man-Eating Corpse Vines,” classified as Category 2 dangerous plants. They were extremely rare in the Old Continent, usually distributed on overseas islands. Even the Pantanal region shouldn't have had such things; they clearly hadn't grown naturally into a colony near the ancient road, but had been specifically placed here like a hunter's trap.
“The Truth Society has researched these things,” Miss Aurora added with a solemn expression. Similar occurrences would likely increase.
At 3:40 PM, the group continuing forward encountered an abandoned village that had no markings on the map. After scouting together, Miss Karina and Miss Aurora concluded that this village was very likely the Sage-level relic [Udill Ghost Village]. After discussion, the group could only temporarily deviate from their path, bypassing the location-type relic that had appeared here for unknown reasons at the cost of wasting more time.
But even after deviating, the group unknowingly entered the abandoned village without realizing it. Terrifying wraiths gradually surrounded them in the blizzard. The inevitable battle began after Shade summoned the first giant snowball and smashed it into the crowd of undead.
The three Great Witches and three high-ring sorceresses attacked any anomaly that dared block them without holding back, yet the ghost village in the snow was not suppressed by the humans even in a direct clash.
Fortunately, the group's goal was not to defeat the relic, but merely to escape. In the end, relying on his trait of not being actively attacked by the undead, Shade led the way at the front, while Miss Aurora, whose rotating Life Ring swept through the army of undead and ghouls like a light cannon, ensured everyone's safety at the rear.
Once it was confirmed that it could not keep the seven of them, the desolate village, which seemed to have developed a consciousness, finally opened the path for their departure. However, as the group rode away, when Shade looked back at the village, he clearly saw those wraiths still standing in the snow, watching them.
At 6:00 PM, no sunlight could be seen in the Great Swamp region. Shade and the six ladies gathered around a crackling campfire, while the skeletal horses were tied to a nearby tree for later use.
Miss Avril, the witch's follower, was leading her companion, the brown-haired Miss Scarlett, in setting up an outer defensive ritual. They intended to rest here for half an hour and then head straight to their destination in one go. The final sorceress, Miss Catherine, was brewing hot soup and adding some magic potions to dispel negative statuses for everyone; her work was similar to that of Madam Marques in the Silver Mountains.
Miss Aurora found a sufficiently open area nearby and entered the Council amidst a song to report the situation to the waiting councilors. Miss Sylvia observed the starry sky from a high tree to confirm that their position was correct.
“Your body temperature is so high.”
A translucent shield hovered overhead, blocking the wind and snow. The red-haired Duchess, draped in a blanket enchanted with a constant-temperature spell, leaned against Shade without reservation and spoke softly. The two were currently sitting by the campfire waiting for food; even in such harsh conditions, the Great Witches were unwilling to simply gnaw on bread.
The long-haired Duchess had also pinned her hair up today for ease of movement. Shade could smell the scent on her red hair
“It's probably because of the First Fire, and the flames of the sun.”
The campfire before them had been ignited by Shade. Although this flame couldn't compare to the campfires used by the witches he had seen at any point in the Fifth Epoch, it was at least sufficient to ward off ordinary cold.
Miss Karina tilted her head and leaned on his shoulder, feeling that although the conditions were a bit arduous, she was at least satisfied with the current situation
“What will happen next?”
“We've already encountered relics, traps, a crazed dragon-beast...”
That is to say, a mindless draconic creature with a blood purity of less than five percent. Because its meat was toxic, the group had casually discarded it.
(End of Chapter)