The Cornflower Witch

Book 2: Chapter 40: Misty Mountains

Vol 2 Chapter 40: Misty Mountains

Chapter 40: Mist Shadow Mountain 8

Misty Mountain

Sylutia walked through the cold, misty mountainside, her Black Ebony Compound Bow in hand, alongside her companions.

The water mist here never dispersed all year round, and it merged with the Shadow World. They occasionally stepped into areas with color, only to walk into gray-white zones again. This alternating sensation was quite uncomfortable.

After entering the mountains, everyone became noticeably more vigilant, speaking much less. When someone did speak, it was definitely because they had discovered something.

"Yan, how far can you see now?" The captain asked from the front without turning his head.

"About sixteen meters. Anything beyond that gets a bit blurry."

"I'm slightly better, I can see about twenty meters," Karl added from behind.

"Probably because Karl, as a wizard, has stronger mental power," Bad Apple simply assessed."I can see about fifty meters. That's because I'm of the 'Mist Shadow' Aspect myself, gaining perception within the mist."

"What about Tia?" The group's focus shifted to the young girl in their team.

"About two hundred meters or more," Sylutia thought for a moment before answering. This was her normal visual range. If she fully expanded her Nature Perception and added the assistance of her alien star perception, she should be able to see a distance of four hundred meters.

*Whew.* Hearing this, everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.

To be honest, not long after stepping into this place, the group had felt something was wrong. The compression of their visual and sensory range was simply too severe.

If someone like Yan came here, they could only perceive their surroundings within sixteen meters. They would be extremely vulnerable to ambushes by unknown monsters and would have to maintain a high level of concentration at all times. Furthermore, if teammates strayed even a little too far, it was easy to get separated. In these mist-shrouded mountains, that was almost a death sentence.

"Something's coming," Sylutia said softly, her gaze fixed ahead.

Hearing her warning, the group stopped, moved closer together, and prepared for battle.

In the mist-encircled mountainside, two creatures with snow-gray fur sniffed at the faint scent carried on the air, moving swiftly. Their forms resembled foxes but were much more slender. Their movements were utterly silent. On each side, they had three blood-red eyes, making six eyes in total, which was particularly eerie.

As they darted through the mist-colored grass and reached a point about fifty meters from the group, it was as if they had already spotted the people. Their figures flickered and then dissipated like ice cubes sinking into water, their outlines vanishing. Now, not to mention the other team members, even Sylutia, pushing her Discernment Eyes to the limit, could only detect constantly shifting, blurry outlines.

"Careful, they've turned invisible."

These words made everyone's hearts tighten again.

Nocking an arrow, drawing the bowstring, Sylutia focused her spirit and held her breath, aiming before releasing the shot.

A slight vibration of the bowstring, and the arrow pierced through the mist, striking the outline of one monster, drawing a faint trail of blood.

The attack caused the approaching creature to pause, then rapidly turn and retreat back into the mist, fleeing.

So cautious and cunning? Retreating immediately after just a little injury, refusing to get any closer, Sylutia thought.

Faced with this situation, her feelings were mixed.

She was glad they could avoid a dangerous fight, but worried because these two monsters were so intelligent. Who knew what trouble they might bring later?

Afterwards, the group resumed their forward progress until they passed the spot where the two monsters had been injured.

Bad Apple crouched down, carefully examining the fresh bloodstains on the grass blades. He dipped a finger in, tasting a bit.

"There's a faint 'Mist Shadow' aura. They should be Second Tier 'Mist Shadow' Aspect monsters," he said, standing up.

"The good news is they're only Second Tier. The bad news is, I don't know their origins either, and I can't even guarantee we can win." He felt the pressure mounting.

"Let's keep moving for now. If the situation seems wrong in the coming days, we'll light the Dawn Wind torches and retreat quickly."

They were already here. It would be a real shame to turn back at the first sign of trouble. With this thought, the team continued onward.

In the afternoon, as the light gradually dimmed, Sylutia used her fingers to part the damp leaves of a shrub, finding several small, dark blue fruits within.

'Cyan Blue Berries', berries imbued with 'Slumbering Winter' aura, quality Superior.

Although they hadn't yet condensed an Aspect, they were still relatively rare and precious. They could be used to ferment and brew a specialized 'Cold Dew Wine', useful for learning 'Slumbering Winter' Aspect abilities.

Sylutia carefully picked over thirty berries from the shrubbery, placing them in a cloth-padded box. She then hung the box inside a leather saddlebag on the horse's back.

"Let's keep going," she said, standing up and glancing at the three waiting men.

"Alrighty," Bad Apple said, hopping down from the branch he was squatting on, then taking the lead once more.

Later on the road, they encountered many more minor troubles: white venomous snakes in the grass, strange insects occasionally flying low overhead, and odd pits that appeared on the path at unknown times.

"There are two more pits ahead. Let's go around," Sylutia advised, looking at the grass that blended perfectly with the environment within her vision.

"Sigh, another detour? What exactly is it that we can't even touch?" Bad Apple was somewhat curious.

"I don't know what it is either, but I can sense strange living creature auras lying in ambush beneath the pits," the girl explained.

"How about this time, we prepare ourselves and just face it? If we keep avoiding them, not knowing the specifics isn't good either," Yan suggested.

After listening, Bad Apple shook his head. "I think it's better to listen to Tia. No need to take unnecessary risks."

"Of course, I understand your thinking, Yan. You always seek stability, wanting to be prepared for future encounters."

"How about this: next time we encounter just one, we'll go check it out."

"That works too," Karl nodded from behind.

About two hours later, they came across a similar pit again. This time, there was only one.

After hearing Sylutia describe the specific location, Bad Apple looked at the other two members.

"Well? How about we give it a try this time? We'll all be careful."

"Then I'll walk in front," Yan said, raising his shield slightly.

"Alright, be careful," Bad Apple nodded.

"Wait a moment," Sylutia remembered something. She went to the black horse behind them, retrieved some of the high-quality food stored in the pack, and took several cold flatbreads into her hands. She used the 'Baking Method' to heat them slightly before handing them to Yan and the others.

[Roast Meat Pie] (Superior);

Made with high-quality venison and Rare flour ingredients. Its quality slightly declines after cooling. Can replenish nutrients, restore stamina, and accelerate blood circulation. (Stamina Recovery +2, Blood Circulation +1)

After receiving them, everyone ate the pies with a sense of novelty, then waited for the food's effects to take hold.

"This feeling is a bit strange. Before, we never knew when we'd encounter enemies, so we always ate afterwards."

"But doing it this way does indeed raise our overall combat power considerably," Yan said, licking the residue crumbs from the corner of his mouth, seeming to want more.

"Alright, food's done. Time to work."

Afterwards, Yan walked ahead. Bad Apple circled to the side, ready to provide support at any moment. Sylutia stood at the back, gripping her bow and aiming, prepared to offer ranged support. Karl stood not far from Sylutia, also holding spellcasting materials, ready for various preparations.

Following Sylutia's indicated location, Yan held his shield before him, slowly approaching. He then stopped and threw a stone into the camouflaged grass.

The stone pressed into the grass leaves, hitting the monster within the pit. A sharp screech rang out, followed by a gray-white figure leaping out rapidly. Yan didn't even have time to see what it was clearly before it pounced on him.

Sharp forelimbs hooked, pulled, and scraped across the shield, leaving deep scratches. An ordinary person would have been torn open, even dismembered, by this attack.

Facing the biting chelicerae, Yan pushed against his shield with all his might, preventing the black fangs from piercing through. At this moment, the others finally saw clearly what the ambushing creature was.

Its form was similar to a spider, but both pairs of forelimbs were as sharp as knife points. Its body was covered in snow-white down, which greatly reduced the sound of its movements. After attacking, several pairs of black eyes of varying sizes fixed on Yan, and the mouthparts beneath its chelicerae emitted fierce, hissing shrieks.

[Snowdown Trapdoor Spider] (Second Tier · Mist Shadow): A burrowing spider that lives underground. Utterly silent when lying in ambush, extremely swift when launching an attack. Ordinary creatures find it difficult to detect and defend against.