The dark lake was so deep that even a glance at it would fill one with an inexplicable fear. In the wind, the sound of something huge hitting the water seemed to come from the depths of the lake, but when one looked closely, nothing could be seen.
Shade poked the fire with the long branch in his hand, thought for a moment, and took out a ring from his pocket:
"The Plague Doctor Ring can immunize against certain special diseases. Wear it, it might be useful later. To use it, rotate the ring counterclockwise. Don't refuse. My physical fitness is probably better than yours."
Iluna naturally did not refuse. After accepting the ring, she asked Shade if he was still wearing her Sun Holy Emblem Brooch. After getting a definite answer, she talked to him about the topic of the Eternal Youth Leaf.
Snowflakes fell from the black sky, swaying in the wind and landing on shoulders. From time to time, dull sounds were heard in the swamp, followed by low, high-pitched cries, but no one knew where they came from. The dark lake reflected the firelight, swaying and constantly hitting the shore, and the figures of the girl and the stranger beside the campfire appeared in the swaying.
Even though she would be forced to face a difficult battle, Iluna still believed that she would remember this moment, this brief moment of rest when she and Shade sat by the campfire by the dark lake deep in the swamp.
Compared to the four people on the death beach in the fall, this time, there were only her and Shade.
Twenty minutes was not a long time, and Shade had been keeping an eye on the time. When the time was about to pass the late night of Wednesday and reach the early morning of Thursday, he stopped discussing with Iluna about the special rules for the chosen ones of "Wisdom and Knowledge" and took out the time key that had only one chance to be used from his arms:
"I won't save it for use in battle."
"Well, I wonder if that witch from the past can help you."
Iluna held her chin with her right hand and looked at Shade's profile illuminated by the firelight, only to find that Shade had a very melancholy expression at this moment:
"If I could see her reach the top of the mountains, I think she would be able to help me."
He dug out the relics and special items that he could not bring with him and temporarily placed them on the ground. He then pulled out the door-shaped pendant from his chest. Snowflakes fell on it and melted because of Shade's body temperature.
"See you in three seconds then, Iluna."
Shade temporarily handed the Night's Watch to Illuna, who took the sword:
"See you in three seconds."
Xia De inserted the wooden key into the lock of the door, and watched the "huge" wooden key being "sucked" into the tiny lock hole that was like a needle hole:
"May the World Tree protect me in time."
The tiny door was opened, and the white mist inside the door surrounded Shade. When the mist dispersed, Iluna could only see the tiny door falling to the ground.
"one."
She looked at Shade's original position and counted silently in her heart. The bonfire danced in the wind, and a large shadow covered Shade's position. Suddenly, she heard a strange laugh. The laugh was so tempting that Iluna's heart, which had been gradually calming down, suddenly became agitated.
"two."
She heard the sound of water, and it sounded like the sound of human hands splashing water. The sound was very close, and the long sword in her hand almost immediately lit up with a silver light that almost illuminated the night.
Iluna immediately raised her sword and turned to look at the dark lake not far away. As she stood up, with the help of the light of the sword in her hand and the reflection of the lake water, she saw a beautiful woman's head emerging from the water.
Plop~
She could almost hear the sound of her own heartbeat at this moment. Iluna couldn't describe how beautiful that face was. Even though the light was dim at the moment, that face was still as charming as if it was under the only light on the stage. However, it seemed a little too beautiful.
"three.
My mind is clear, the rune of the sword that can slay demons has lit up, and the girl, holding the sword high, walks towards the lake, as if she wants to use the silver sword to split the dark lake surface.
Shad is coming back.
(Mi Mia is running...)
Stranger, you have stepped into the "Corridor of Time".
Message from the ancient god "Father of the Infinite Tree":
Winter of the 903rd year of the Fifth Era, Northern Continent, Silver Mountains.
Event: Lost in the snowy mountains.
Duration: forty minutes (3/3).
You get additional information.
The figure of the Infinite Tree Father watches over you.
The tests given to you by the Ancient God of Time will continue.
Assist the deity 'Winter Maiden' to escort lost people to the top of the mountain.
The Father of Infinite Tree will give you rewards: Thaumaturgy - Imprisoned Light, Spell - Flying Flower Spell.
Taking a step forward in the vast white fog, Xia De then fell directly into the snow.
"It's like this again."
Shade, who was wrapped tightly, complained. Although it was still very cold here, he surprisingly didn't feel too cold this time. Maybe it was because the shore of Lake Pantanal was not a very warm place.
Xia De, who was already familiar with this strange snow mountain, took a mouthful of snow, then climbed out of the snow and looked around. Under the colorful black sky, the highest peak of the snow mountain seemed right in front of him.
"oh!"
It can even be said that the current location is just below the last snow slope of the highest peak. During the time when Shade was away, Miss Chloe and her group moved at an astonishing speed.
“The scenery at the top of the mountain is probably different from that in the snowy mountains.”
He whispered in his heart, then shrank his body and looked around at the vast expanse of white, the smoke from his breath dissipating with the strong wind.
He was also familiar with this kind of white environment, after all, the Great Swamp was also like this. However, the mental pollution and blizzards in the Great Swamp were far less serious than here.
Wrapped in heavy clothes, he scanned the surroundings through the gaps between his hat, cloak and scarf. Under the colorful black sky, snowflakes sparkled with silver light, and except for the sound of the wind, it seemed that there was nothing here.
"Where did they choose to camp this time?"
Looking around, I decided to go higher first:
"Or maybe, this time, it is still that god who is waiting for me?"
Climbing up the mountain with difficulty in the wind and snow, this time it was not walking on the ridge, but actually climbing the mountain. Shade did not forget that what he really had to do was not to climb to the top, but to find the witch and her group. He kept looking around and asked "her" if she had seen any signs.
The previous two times, he had only walked for less than ten minutes before seeing a very conspicuous sign or light, but this time, Xia De quickened his pace and did not see Miss Chloe and her group when the tenth minute came.
"Forty minutes with half an hour left."
So he quickened his pace and walked down from the height, and finally almost crawled back to the original height. This time, Xia De chose to look down, and then not far below where he appeared, he saw a dilapidated camp that was almost covered by snow.
There was no campfire, let alone light and warmth. The expensive tent that Shade brought, sponsored by Miss Carina, was almost crushed by the snowstorm. As Shade pushed aside the snow that covered the tent and squeezed in, he saw Miss Chloe, Mrs. Marquez, and the unknown man, all huddled in the dark corners of the tent. The three of them had their eyes tightly closed, and even frost hung on their eyelashes:
"What happened?"
He nervously held Miss Chloe's hand. The short witch huddled in the blanket, her hands as cold as ice. After trying to feel her breath but to no avail, Shade put his hand on her neck.
Still alive.
He heaved a sigh of relief and checked on the other two people. Their conditions were not much better. Mrs. Marquez's face was blue, and the man whose name Shade still didn't know was lying on the tent with his eyes closed. His life was almost at the end.
"Miss Chloe~Miss Chloe!"
Picking up the short lady again, Shade tried to call out a few times, but the silver-haired, red-eyed witch didn't respond at all. Her body temperature was extremely low, and when Shade held her in his arms, he felt like he was holding a large block of ice.
There were traces of bonfire in the center of the tent, so Shade lit it again and used his mental power to make the flames surge. But the fire didn't bring any warmth, and it didn't make the three people here return to normal. They were still alive, but no one could react to Shade's arrival.
This area is special, you cannot use fire to affect the temperature of the area.
I tried to shout a few more times, but there was still no response. This symptom was somewhat similar to the mental contraction of a ring warlock after suffering a huge mental blow, forcing himself into a semi-comatose state. In other words, this was a self-protection mechanism of the body similar to that of a vegetative person, to prevent immediate loss of control.
This means that shortly before Shade showed up, they encountered another enemy that would have a significant impact on their emotions and spirits.
"The enemies they encounter are all of this mind-affecting type."
This further supports Xia De's speculation about the current situation.
He didn't have much time to stay here, and he didn't think he had the ability to carry, drag and pull three people to the distant peak. So he carefully walked out of the tent with Miss Chloe in his arms, stood barefoot in the snow and looked into the distance:
"God! Are you still there? Your believers need help."
The three people in the tent all claimed to be followers of the winter goddess, the Winter Maiden.
In order to prevent another avalanche, Shade did not dare to shout too loudly, but the sound still echoed under the empty sky. However, the god did not respond to it. Helplessly, he could only return to the tent temporarily and search for something that might be useful.
The food he brought last time had been consumed, leaving only some vegetable scraps that were more durable in cold weather. As for personal belongings, just as Shade had guessed, Mrs. Marquez, the "witch's servant," and the man who stole the Vientiane Impermanence Card had no luggage with them.
In addition to his own clothes, the former had a boot that belonged to Mrs. Marquez's original owner; in the latter's pocket was Impermanence: Darkness, a card that Shade was very familiar with.
Miss Chloe had a small package that she had used as a pillow. After opening it, she found two books, two notebooks, and some sundries inside. The sundries included a ring, spell materials that Shade could not identify for the time being, paper and pen, women's hair accessories, perfume powder, etc.