After two days

Dorian swung his word, and blood splattered on the ground. “These beasts don’t know what’s good for them.”

“They’re many on this path. They’re crazed and would attack whatever came their way, weak or strong.” Isaac looked over the dead bodies of hounds loitering their trail.

Pedro sniffed the pungent smell and tasted the frigid air.

“It’s going to rain,” said Isaac, looking at the ominous sky.

“It always rained on these parts,” a soldier said. “The crazed monsters, the foul smell, the rain . . . we are nearing the Mountain of the dead.”

The soldier’s face grew solemn while the mercenaries brandished their swords and moved along the forest in careful steps. The looming mountain over the dead trees and the hazy fog was worrying.

Traversing the mountains of the dead, or Corpse mountain as the locals knew it, was the most arduous path into the Kingdom and the shortest route. Not many ventured this path unless they were pressed of time –– like them.

Monsters and beast lurked at every corner, watching, waiting to attack. They were crazed from hunger and would attack anything while the thick hazy fog shrouded the entire mountain in perpetual darkness.

A day of traveling in the darkness while suffering attacks from all sides, and to make matters worse, the mana in the mountain was thin, making recovery difficult. The soldiers shuddered while the mercenaries became alert as they neared the entrance to the hill.

“Why are they afraid?” Ryu asked Ferris. “And why are we . . . slowing down?”

Ferris yawned and flexed her muscles. “Well, Corpse mountain is infamous for being dangerous cause of the terrain, visibility, and monsters. Not only that, the mana’s thin there that means mana users will have a hard time using their spells and magic.”

Ferris shot Ryu a grin. “You don’t have to worry. You don’t use mana, so you’ll be fine.” She then folded her arms and shrugged. “But not the same could be said for those who rely on their mana to fight.”

“Monsters and beasts are the least of our worries,” Dorian butt in. “Ryu, do you know what’s horrifying about this mountain?”

Ryu tilted his head, and Ferris rolled her eyes.

“The ghouls and ghosts,” Dorian said, eyes popping from their sockets.

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Ryu’s expression didn’t change, and Dorian’s shoulders slumped in dismay.

“It’s called Mountain of the Dead ’cause piles and piles of corpses were buried here until it was this tall,” explained Dorian. “Ghost and ghouls are part of the undead, so even you cut them in half, they’ll still crawl their guts out to eat you. Ghosts are even trickier since they don’t have a physical body that you can defeat.”

Dorian flung a hand. “The only way to defeat them is by using mana but with it thin here. Recovery will be hard. Especially a day’s worth of travel without sleep and continues fighting, it’s a matter of gamble on which would run out first. The undead or our mana.”

Dorian shook his head and sighed. “Makes you wonder if it’s worth risking your life for just five days of shortcut.”

Ryu frowned and looked at Cecily’s carriage. Ferris sensed Ryu’s agitation, and she held his hand. “Don’t worry. Dorian is just scaring you. The undead is easily defeated with fire and light or divine magic.”

Dorian shrugged. “Yeah. It’s good if we can use magic nonstop, but mana is thin in the mountains, remember?”

Ferris restrained a grunt and shot Dorian the sharpest glare. Why is he too friendly with them again?

“Shouldn’t you be chummy with your own pals?” Ferris said, shooing Dorian away.

“It’s fine. I don’t really fit in a group.” Dorian then went ahead to the soldiers and handed out jerkies.

“Why is he too friendly?” Ferris grumbled.

Sensing the glares in her back, Ferris peeked at Isaac and the other mercenaries. They looked away once she caught them glaring at her.

They were treating them as shields. Not that Ferris minded. As long as she protected Ryu and Cecily, she didn’t care about the rest.

“Be alert, everyone! We are entering the mountains.”

What followed next was suffocating air and foggy darkness. Everyone lighted their torch, and their pace slowed than before. But compared to circling the mountain in the usual course, they just saved themselves five days’ worth of travel in the fastest horse.

But most soldiers wondered if it was worth the risk. They wanted to turn and run, but there was something in their head, a voice they couldn’t resist, whispering to continue.

“It’s cold.” Ryu sniffed the air. There was nothing but rot and dump. The pungent stench of decay overpowered the smell of monsters and beasts.

“Coming from you, no wonder our soldiers are shaking.” Ferris licked her lips and smirked. “Though they might be afraid more than they are cold.”

Ryu looked over at the carriage where Cecily was. Mercenaries and soldiers surrounded it, so Ryu didn’t have to worry about her. Besides that, Murok and Agatha were inside with her. But he decided to walked closer to her carriage just in case.

“Keep your guard up and keep those lights burning at all times.”

Ryu’s ears perked at the sensations, and his eyes shot into the unknown.

Rustle . . .

Rustle . . .

“W-what is that?”

“Do you hear that?”

They were crackles and whispers, and it certainly didn’t come from them. The noise was faint, but as they went deeper into the mountain, it was all they heard –– hurried steps, rustling bushes, restrained growls, and sometimes . . . eerie cries.

“Don’t stop,” a mercenary said and urged everyone to keep going. “The moment you stop, it’s the end.”

“Keep moving, and don’t stray from the person in front of you.”

Ryu blinked. He didn’t know if it was his eyes, but all he saw were fog, and faint red lights flickering from the torches of his companions.

“Is this normal?”

“This amount of fog is abnormal. The last time I ventured here, it wasn’t this thick.”

“When exactly is this last time?”

“Something is not right.”

“The cries . . . it’s getting louder.”

Ryu’s claws extended, and her fine hairs stood on edge. No matter where he looked, there were thick fogs, and no matter how much he sniffed, there was nothing but foul stench. It was hard to pinpoint where the enemies were.

Argh!

Ragh!

The next thing that happened was an onslaught of cries.

“Help!”

“Ran!”

“Argh!”

Ryu panicked, and he searched for Cecily’s carriage. But with all the haze blocking his vision, he couldn’t pinpoint where she was. He couldn’t even track where everybody was.

Ryu ducked when the air ripple behind him. He looked over, and a white person almost transparent with disfigured limbs, and hallowed eyes hovered past him.

“Ryu! Don’t let those specters touch you! They drain your life force!”

Ferris’s voice resounded in Ryu’s ears, but he couldn’t point her location. Her voice was fading as the eerie cries overpowered everything.

“Ferris!” Ryu bellowed, but no one answered his call.

Ryu was about to get up when the ground vibrated. Something was approaching them. Fast!

Growl!

“Dead Wolves!”