Book 7, Chapter 77: Fog Region
Book 7, Chapter 77: Fog Region
What had just fallen from the sky and landed in front of Frost was a Titan-Class puppet.
The group of Titan-Class puppets that Su Chen had unleashed to block the gods’ blow was indeed meant to protect him, but it also served a dual purpose by allowing him to send one of them over to the other side.
Titan-Class puppets were as strong as Ultimate Emperor Realm cultivators, after all. Frost’s job would be a lot easier with one of them by his side.
“Well done.”
Frost hastily stowed the puppet away. With it on his side, his plan could now be fully executed without anymore breaks.
At Dusk Fog Mountain.
This mountainous region was quite desolate as it was eternally shrouded in fog.
From time to time, certain strange creatures would emerge from the fog and attack whoever dared to intrude on their territory. This only served to further bolster its reputation as an off-limits area.
Even so, every year, many warriors ventured in to plumb its depths because the legends said that this place contained quite a few ancient Arcanist relics.
The Arcanists had not been nearly as powerful on Kun’s territory as they were on the Primordial Continent, but they still had their own history here.
They had named their country the Dusk Country. Unfortunately, it had been quickly washed away by the sands of time. Their system of Arcana Techniques, however, had survived intact.
Dusk Fog Mountain was where that Arcanist country had been established. It was very believable that the Arcanists would have left quite a few valuable treasures behind here. And every year, there would be a few lucky individuals who would find something of value and maintain the legend.
The Red Cauldron Tavern was located at the base of Dusk Fog Mountain, just outside the reach of the fog.
This tavern’s owner was a Sandman. He had smartly opened up this tavern for the prospectors that would frequent this area, and he had set the prices quite high.
Even so, this was the only tavern in the area, so those prospectors had no choice but to gather here. A number of them would try to dine and dash every year, but most of them were shaken down by the giant swordsman guarding the door.
When Frost arrived, there were only a few people sitting within the tavern. The tavern’s owner was standing behind the counter, idly washing some used blades.
That’s right, he was washing blades, not cups or bowls.
The tavern was obviously of the unscrupulous kind.
“Rum costs thirty gold ingots and a plate of beef is twenty. Don’t ask why. That’s just how much I’m selling them for,” the tavern’s owner said gruffly.
This was twenty times more expensive than outside.
“I need a guide,” Frost said.
“A hundred gold ingots per day. However, they will not take you any deeper than ten kilometers inside the fog,” the tavern owner replied.
“That’s fine.”
“Hank, you’re up!”
Upon hearing the tavern owner’s yell, a youth came rushing over.
“Sir, are you the one who needs a guide? I am willing to serve you,” he said to one of the men drinking at the table.
“Get the hell out of my way, you blind brat. The one that wants a guide is over there!” The drinker then impatiently shoved the youth in Frost’s direction.
Frost caught him. “You can’t see?”
The youth’s pupils were stark white.
The youth smiled slightly. “Sorry, sir! I didn’t know that you were over here. Yes, I can’t see, but that shouldn’t be a problem, right? In any case, you don’t need eyes when the fog is so thick that you can’t see. I can bring you to wherever you want to go.”
Frost gazed intently at his eyes. “You weren’t blind from birth. Someone dug your eyes out of their sockets. Who did it?”
The youth’s smile didn’t falter as he replied, “The Eye-Eating Snake. It’s one of the creatures that live in the fog. It specifically only consumes eyes, but it doesn’t kill anyone.”
The tavern owner began to wipe down the table. “He was able to make it back on his own even though his eyes were eaten. This kid has an innate sense of direction, and his personality is quite tough. If you want to help him out, then you should use him. He is very reliable.”
“It’s not that his sense of direction is good. Rather, his consciousness is extraordinarily powerful,” Frost replied.
“Hm?” All of the people in the tavern were stunned.
“A child innately talented in consciousness power is quite rare,” Frost said with a slight smile. Then, he added on, “You’re hired.”
“Wait just a moment. I want that kid,” suddenly demanded the drinker who had originally pushed the youth aside as he strode over.
An affinity for consciousness power was a rare talent in Kun’s territory. The drinker immediately realized that this youth was a treasure upon hearing Frost’s explanation.
He knew that such a rare kid would sell for quite a bit even if he was blind.
Frost ignored him and said to the youth, “If you don’t need to prepare anything, then we can go now.”
“Wait just a moment. I’ll be ready in a second!” the youth yelled before running towards the back of the tavern.
“Hey, I said that I want that kid!” The drinker angrily reached out to grab Hank.
But before he could even touch Hank, Frost’s fist slammed into his face, sending him flying.
“I’ll kill you!” the brawny man roared as he leapt to his feet.
Anyone who dared to try to loot Dusk Fog Mountain definitely had the skill and courage to back it up.
This brawny man wasn’t exactly weak, so he leapt at Frost as soon as he got back on his feet.
But before he could even get close to Frost, a hand reached out, grabbed him by the neck, and hoisted him off his feet.
This simple grab rendered him completely incapable of exerting any more force.
The brawny man kicked backwards with his foot, pulled out a whip, and then attacked whoever was holding him from behind.
Instead of being released as he expected, however, he felt like he had just kicked a mountain. The powerful impact even broke a few bones in his foot.
“Ah, dammit! My foot!” the brawny man yelled.
Unfortunately, whoever was holding him by the neck was still keeping him in the air, preventing him from even cradling his foot. All he could do was howl in pain.
His two comrades charged over, but before they could even attack, two loud bangs shook the room, and they were knocked out.
The brawny man knew that he had run into a powerful individual and could only beg for mercy. “Please forgive me. I know that I made a mistake.”
Unfortunately, the person holding him from behind continued to ignore him. The brawny man couldn’t even see who was hoisting him in the air, but he could tell from the tavern owner’s fearful gaze that the person behind him was no ordinary individual.
Soon, the blind youth reappeared with a bag on his back.
“Let’s go,” he said.
He and Frost left the tavern, heading straight for the foggy region.
Only then did the large hand holding the brawny man let go. He was sent flying forward, as if he had been shot out of a cannon. By the time he clambered back to his feet, the person who had been holding him had disappeared.
“Dammit, who ambushed me like that? Hey, Jack, did you see anything?” the brawny man angrily asked the tavern owner.
The tavern owner continued to calmly wipe down the table. “I didn’t see anything. If you want to live a good, healthy life, then what matters most is not strength but rather perception. I’ll only tell you this once: don’t provoke anyone you can’t afford to provoke.”
Once they stepped into the fog, it became impossible to even see their hands in front of them.
Hank said, “Dusk City is over there. If you can’t see, then just follow me. But I can only take you to the city’s outskirts, as the city’s interior is too dangerous for me.”
Dusk City was the city that had been left behind by the Arcanists, and it was also the place that attracted the most prospectors.
Since they didn’t know what it had originally been called, they had just given it the same name as the Arcanists’ kingdom.
“We’re not going to Dusk City,” Frost replied.
“Oh? Then where are we going?”
“Cloudstone Cave.”
“That place is extremely dangerous! The Cloudbeasts inhabit the surrounding region,” Hank replied straightforwardly.
Cloudbeasts were a strange fog creature that had the ability to come and go without leaving a trace. In that sense, they were one of the most dangerous creatures one could encounter.
“Just take me there,” Frost said.
“Then you need to pay me more.”
The youth felt a heavy weight hit his palm. A large handful of gold ingots had been placed there.
He hurriedly stowed them away. “Alright, then. Follow me, but I can only take you close to it. You will have to walk the rest of the way yourself.”
“No problem. Just take the closest path.”
“There are creatures on the closest path.”
“Let’s go. If we encounter any danger, then run.”
The two of them continued to advance forwards.
As they walked, the youth warned, “Be careful. There are many creatures here that might appear out of nowhere. You must be ready to fight at any point in time. I cannot fight, so all I can do is run.”
“Mm.”
“Careful. This is where the Coiling Snakes reside. They are not very terrifying, but they are annoying to deal with. But why can’t I hear any snake hisses? It seems that they aren’t around. Hey, you’re pretty lucky.”
“Mm.”
“Ahead of us is a ferocious bear’s territory. Can you handle it? If not, we can take an alternate path...... Wait a second, where’s the bear? Why can’t I hear it making any noise? Well, it might not be here right now.”
“Mm.”
“Ahead of us is where the Fogwolves gather. They are not strong on their own, but they move around in large packs. As long as you kill a few of them, the rest will scatter in terror...... Hold on, why aren’t they here either?”
“Mm.”
“Ahead of us is a Demonic Snake. It’s pretty powerful, but I guess it’s not here either.”
“Mm.”
“Ahead of us is the territory of an old turtle. It is the creature with the strongest defensive properties in this area. I mean, if it were still alive.”
“Mm.”
“Ahead of us is another creature, but it’s not here right now.”
“Mm.”
The two of them steadily advanced on the most direct path in this fashion.
Shockingly enough, they didn’t run into a single creature along this supposedly dangerous path, which meant that there were no battles.
This greatly surprised Hank, who had planned on escaping at the first sign of danger.
Had all of the creatures moved away or something?
“Ahead of us is Cloudstone Cave. The rest is up to you.”
“Mm.”
Frost continued to reply nonchalantly to everything he said.
The youth turned around and left without another word.
He took the same path back.
“Strange. Where did all those creatures go?” The youth was still suspicious, until his feet stumbled over something on the ground.
He bent down to touch what was beneath him, only to feel a smooth, greasy hide of some kind. He immediately recognized what it was. “The Demonic Snake?”
It had died.
Its corpse was still soft, which meant that it had died not long ago.
Had it been killed by the person who he brought all the way over here?
The youth immediately understood.