Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After going through the winding mountain path, they finally reached the top of the mountain.
It was the top in name only. For ease of travel, the mountain path was craved through the ridge and the 'top' that there are on is one of the higher points of an already low-lying altitude. They were surrounded by two massive peaks that marked the Dragonspine Ridge. It almost felt like the two sides were closing in on them. A remarkable scene indeed.
Lily as usual, was at the forefront of the party. Fatigue doesn't seem to exist in her dictionary. While the strong horses that they were riding were already gasping for air, the werehusky was bouncing up and about. "I see the Blood Lake! Over there! Over there!"
Hao Ren and the rest quicken their steps as they heard her cried. From the open area on the mountain where they stood, their destination lay in front of them. The Beinz Blood Lake. As a matter of fact, there is still some distance to go before they reach the lake proper, but the skies was clear that day, the party could see miles beyond.
Towards the foot of the mountain was a wide open plane and a thick forest. In the middle of them, was the Beinz Blood Lake. It's crimson waters shimmering like rubies. It was as per the legends, the waters on the lake was red as blood and it was all the more captivating under the sunlight. It was highly unusual, but nonetheless still a sight to behold.
"It'll be much easier going downhill. The road conditions ahead is much better than the eastern ridge and the elevation is not that steep. After reaching the foot, we'll head southwest towards Leyton. That's the last proper town we'll see before going into the Blood Lake. Let's rest up there for a while. We'll get into the Blood Lake region proper after passing through the Leyton Outpost." Becky said from the back of the party.
"This is really something, isn't it." Hao Ren couldn't help but be amazed by the scene before him. He had wondered how the 'Blood Lake' would have looked like. At first, he thought it was simply a lake filled red liquid. But the scenery before him shattered that image. The majestic lake was not only a sight to behold, its' effect on the surroundings were equally palpable. The land around the lake had a crimson hue to it, giving the lake a sense of foreboding mystique, almost as if land was surrounded by some sort of force field. Hao Ren stood awestruck for a good while before noticing the crimson hue around the lake was not simply just light's reflection. "That's a forest?"
Becky looked at where Hao Ren was pointed, the patch of forest between the mountains and the lake. A path that they must tread to get to the lake after leaving Leyton. The forest was surprisingly uniformed with it's layout. With almost every each of land covered in the same density of trees. The leaves were an eerie shade of crimson purple. She noticed that Hao Ren and his gang were all surprised by the sight of the forest, and an unsurprised look appeared on her face. "It's always the first time eh? That's the forest, the Gnarled Grove. Legend says that when the Goddess destroyed the world her rage were stored within the lake, and it was from by the following corruption of the plant life. I heard that the Blood Lake had many strange and dangerous creatures. That forest is the most lethal of all. It's a plant life the size of a plain, and we have to traverse through it."
"A plant? What do you mean?" Hao Ren was dumbfounded.
"Literally. Don't tell me you don't even know this? I suppose you may have heard of it before?" Becky shrugged. "The entirety of the Gnarled Grove is from the same plant life. The trees are pretty much appendages of an ancient lifeform that had broken to the surface. A group of elven researchers only confirmed the fact after a hundred odd year research. But don't you worry, the forest itself isn't hostile, it's the flora and fauna within it that we need to be weary of."
A shiver went down Hao Ren's spine as he heard what Becky said. He threw his gaze towards the forest by the foothills once again and tried to imagine the patch of forest as a gigantic living plant life. His thoughts then went to the fact that they will need to go through it and goosebumps started to form. Lily didn't even bother hiding her nervousness, "Is there any other way?"
Becky then pointed towards the northern part of the forest. The flat plain there had a darker hue of crimson purple, and under the sunlight, it was even more pronounced. Connected to the purple plain was another range of mountains. "There is another path towards the Blood Lake, but that means taking the Virulent Flats towards the north of the lake. You will then need to pass through the sacred mountains of the mountain folk and the werewolves. It's way way more dangerous. Don't be fooled by the mountain folks congeniality, they absolutely abhor foreigners stepping into their sacred lands, the werewolves even more so."
"Even though they have their own kind here?" Lily puffed her chest up to press home the point that she was a werewolf.
Truth be told, if her proportions were more like Vivian's, perhaps the chest puffing might work better...
Becky looked at Lily sideways, "You sure you're a werewolf? I feel that I know more about their customs than you. Throughout the years only a few Popes of the Disciples of Glory and the last great king, Baldwin were invited into the sacred mountains. Where did your confidence even came from?"
Hao Ren knew the husky was about to snap back and quickly pulled her back. "Heheheh, both her and Y'zaks were brought up on the plains, even then they are not pure-blooded..."
Of course she was not pure-blooded. There's even a 1/16 of a Pekingese blood in her. This was not a lie. Hao Ren prided himself on being an honest man after all.
Becky then stepped ahead, "Right, lets get down the mountain. Try to get to Leyton before night falls. I don't want to spend my night in the mountains."
The climate on the western side of the Dragonspine Ridge was as what Becky said, totally different from the eastern side. The arid eastern side had nary any vegetation, but towards the lake to the west, the vegetation was lush and the air much more humid. While the thought of this humidity originated from that strange lake may unnerve someone, all in all the climate of the western side was much much more comfortable.
The rocks around them were also crawling with thin vines and resilient vegetations. And of course, the ubiquitous moss.
As the party was half-way down hill, Becky suddenly stopped. She pointed towards a cliff wall on the far end and exclaimed. "Look, over there!"
The whole party turned to where Becky was pointing and all they saw was a landslide, with moss, vines and tress toppled over alongside the cliff face as if being struck by a God's wrath. What was left was almost a 90 degree mountain wall. The landslide had pretty much created a stone wall right through the mountains. Grey boulders were scattered all over the place, and you could see dust by the foothills. It seemed that this landslide only just happened.
Hao Ren swiftly recalled the loud crash they heard not long after ascending the mountain path. So it was from the western side of the mountain?
Lily looked up towards the sky and remembered that it was rather cloudy when they first ascended, "Seems like the clouds reflected the sound and carried it all the way to the east side."
Hao Ren coughed drily as he heard what Lily just said. He was wondering what this idiot was up to today. Was she that smart all along? And that her idiocy was just a show?
It didn't take long for Lily to disprove Hao Ren of his notion as she picked up a rock and threw it as hard as she could towards the far side of the mountain, trying to see if she could hit it. Hao Ren let out a sigh of relief. She's truly and idiot...
"A landslide on the Dragonspine... This is not good..." Becky was muttering to herself, her voice quavering with fearful piety. Vivian quickly summoned a bat to scout the area as she had caught sight of something.
The bat quickly found what Vivian was looking for and she gulped hard. "Those golems came from this part of the mountain, and there's definitely more than four!"
Along the mountain face was a series of specific indentations, they bore the hallmarks of a struggle seemed by golems that were buried within the mountain to free themselves. While Vivian had no opportunity to further check the on the rocks further downhill, she did see many similar dents all across.
It was almost as if the mountains had came apart, and how many of those monstrosities were there?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After going through the winding mountain path, they finally reached the top of the mountain.
It was the top in name only. For ease of travel, the mountain path was craved through the ridge and the 'top' that there are on is one of the higher points of an already low-lying altitude. They were surrounded by two massive peaks that marked the Dragonspine Ridge. It almost felt like the two sides were closing in on them. A remarkable scene indeed.
Lily as usual, was at the forefront of the party. Fatigue doesn't seem to exist in her dictionary. While the strong horses that they were riding were already gasping for air, the werehusky was bouncing up and about. "I see the Blood Lake! Over there! Over there!"
Hao Ren and the rest quicken their steps as they heard her cried. From the open area on the mountain where they stood, their destination lay in front of them. The Beinz Blood Lake. As a matter of fact, there is still some distance to go before they reach the lake proper, but the skies was clear that day, the party could see miles beyond.
Towards the foot of the mountain was a wide open plane and a thick forest. In the middle of them, was the Beinz Blood Lake. It's crimson waters shimmering like rubies. It was as per the legends, the waters on the lake was red as blood and it was all the more captivating under the sunlight. It was highly unusual, but nonetheless still a sight to behold.
"It'll be much easier going downhill. The road conditions ahead is much better than the eastern ridge and the elevation is not that steep. After reaching the foot, we'll head southwest towards Leyton. That's the last proper town we'll see before going into the Blood Lake. Let's rest up there for a while. We'll get into the Blood Lake region proper after passing through the Leyton Outpost." Becky said from the back of the party.
"This is really something, isn't it." Hao Ren couldn't help but be amazed by the scene before him. He had wondered how the 'Blood Lake' would have looked like. At first, he thought it was simply a lake filled red liquid. But the scenery before him shattered that image. The majestic lake was not only a sight to behold, its' effect on the surroundings were equally palpable. The land around the lake had a crimson hue to it, giving the lake a sense of foreboding mystique, almost as if land was surrounded by some sort of force field. Hao Ren stood awestruck for a good while before noticing the crimson hue around the lake was not simply just light's reflection. "That's a forest?"
Becky looked at where Hao Ren was pointed, the patch of forest between the mountains and the lake. A path that they must tread to get to the lake after leaving Leyton. The forest was surprisingly uniformed with it's layout. With almost every each of land covered in the same density of trees. The leaves were an eerie shade of crimson purple. She noticed that Hao Ren and his gang were all surprised by the sight of the forest, and an unsurprised look appeared on her face. "It's always the first time eh? That's the forest, the Gnarled Grove. Legend says that when the Goddess destroyed the world her rage were stored within the lake, and it was from by the following corruption of the plant life. I heard that the Blood Lake had many strange and dangerous creatures. That forest is the most lethal of all. It's a plant life the size of a plain, and we have to traverse through it."
"A plant? What do you mean?" Hao Ren was dumbfounded.
"Literally. Don't tell me you don't even know this? I suppose you may have heard of it before?" Becky shrugged. "The entirety of the Gnarled Grove is from the same plant life. The trees are pretty much appendages of an ancient lifeform that had broken to the surface. A group of elven researchers only confirmed the fact after a hundred odd year research. But don't you worry, the forest itself isn't hostile, it's the flora and fauna within it that we need to be weary of."
A shiver went down Hao Ren's spine as he heard what Becky said. He threw his gaze towards the forest by the foothills once again and tried to imagine the patch of forest as a gigantic living plant life. His thoughts then went to the fact that they will need to go through it and goosebumps started to form. Lily didn't even bother hiding her nervousness, "Is there any other way?"
Becky then pointed towards the northern part of the forest. The flat plain there had a darker hue of crimson purple, and under the sunlight, it was even more pronounced. Connected to the purple plain was another range of mountains. "There is another path towards the Blood Lake, but that means taking the Virulent Flats towards the north of the lake. You will then need to pass through the sacred mountains of the mountain folk and the werewolves. It's way way more dangerous. Don't be fooled by the mountain folks congeniality, they absolutely abhor foreigners stepping into their sacred lands, the werewolves even more so."
"Even though they have their own kind here?" Lily puffed her chest up to press home the point that she was a werewolf.
Truth be told, if her proportions were more like Vivian's, perhaps the chest puffing might work better...
Becky looked at Lily sideways, "You sure you're a werewolf? I feel that I know more about their customs than you. Throughout the years only a few Popes of the Disciples of Glory and the last great king, Baldwin were invited into the sacred mountains. Where did your confidence even came from?"
Hao Ren knew the husky was about to snap back and quickly pulled her back. "Heheheh, both her and Y'zaks were brought up on the plains, even then they are not pure-blooded..."
Of course she was not pure-blooded. There's even a 1/16 of a Pekingese blood in her. This was not a lie. Hao Ren prided himself on being an honest man after all.
Becky then stepped ahead, "Right, lets get down the mountain. Try to get to Leyton before night falls. I don't want to spend my night in the mountains."
The climate on the western side of the Dragonspine Ridge was as what Becky said, totally different from the eastern side. The arid eastern side had nary any vegetation, but towards the lake to the west, the vegetation was lush and the air much more humid. While the thought of this humidity originated from that strange lake may unnerve someone, all in all the climate of the western side was much much more comfortable.
The rocks around them were also crawling with thin vines and resilient vegetations. And of course, the ubiquitous moss.
As the party was half-way down hill, Becky suddenly stopped. She pointed towards a cliff wall on the far end and exclaimed. "Look, over there!"
The whole party turned to where Becky was pointing and all they saw was a landslide, with moss, vines and tress toppled over alongside the cliff face as if being struck by a God's wrath. What was left was almost a 90 degree mountain wall. The landslide had pretty much created a stone wall right through the mountains. Grey boulders were scattered all over the place, and you could see dust by the foothills. It seemed that this landslide only just happened.
Hao Ren swiftly recalled the loud crash they heard not long after ascending the mountain path. So it was from the western side of the mountain?
Lily looked up towards the sky and remembered that it was rather cloudy when they first ascended, "Seems like the clouds reflected the sound and carried it all the way to the east side."
Hao Ren coughed drily as he heard what Lily just said. He was wondering what this idiot was up to today. Was she that smart all along? And that her idiocy was just a show?
It didn't take long for Lily to disprove Hao Ren of his notion as she picked up a rock and threw it as hard as she could towards the far side of the mountain, trying to see if she could hit it. Hao Ren let out a sigh of relief. She's truly and idiot...
"A landslide on the Dragonspine... This is not good..." Becky was muttering to herself, her voice quavering with fearful piety. Vivian quickly summoned a bat to scout the area as she had caught sight of something.
The bat quickly found what Vivian was looking for and she gulped hard. "Those golems came from this part of the mountain, and there's definitely more than four!"
Along the mountain face was a series of specific indentations, they bore the hallmarks of a struggle seemed by golems that were buried within the mountain to free themselves. While Vivian had no opportunity to further check the on the rocks further downhill, she did see many similar dents all across.
It was almost as if the mountains had came apart, and how many of those monstrosities were there?
