Chương 58: Perilous Journey (2)

Yllana had her eyes cast down on the ground. The six huge horses marched in a straight line in the clearing. The forest thinned out and their figures are standing out in the open space. "You will figure things out in time," Lucien mumbled behind her. He insisted on riding the horse with her just in case she gets another "attack".

"Aren't you curious as to what happened to me during the war with the North Kingdom and came back like this?" Shouldn't you at least ask why some people behave abnormally around you when you have just met them?

"Everyone has their secrets," His eyes looked far away in the distance not paying any mind to her anymore. He is a weird one.

Larika kept glancing at her with worried eyes. She has woken up an hour ago and ate as normally as she could. Nothing looks wrong with her. Larika eased her own mind trying to be as rational as she can be.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

When Midel and Vandier heard the rustling noise from the front, three arrows are already stuck on the ground before the horses could step on it.

Yllana grabbed the vacant horse beside them and jumped into it. She turned to Lucien. "We have to hurry and outrun them."

"Let's go."

They all kicked their horses to rush them to the cave. A few more arrows landed on the sides of their path. Lucien whistled and three shadowed figures appeared behind their group and nodded to him. They ran beside the horses while shooting sharp metal objects shaped as arrowheads in the snowfields. Soon they heard a series of grunts and thuds.

"The cave!" Vandier yelled still urging their horses to run faster. He pointed at a small opening on the foot of a small hill. Before the six of them reached the cave's entrance, the three men following them stopped. They stood their ground and faced the half-blood demons about to attack the group.

Yllana kept looking back when she sensed that the three men in silver masks stopped. Lucien saw her hesitation, so he went near her horse and snapped at her.

"Go! I'll follow."

"No! I'll fight with you!"

"You can't always be a hero!" Lucien glared at her before turning his back completely and dashed back in the opposite direction. She was speechless. Wasn't she the knight here? She was the one who is supposed to rescue people, defend them, and make them feel secure around her, but…why?

She felt her chest tighten. She almost lost her grip on the reign when she saw Lucien call out his staff and help the three men. But Midel called out to her to move forward. She hesitated for a moment before finally leading the horse to the cave.

~~~~~~~~~~

Five horses with its riders went inside the cave. The dark and dank entrance caused the horses to give out an ear-splitting cry. They stomped their hooves and pulled against the hold on them.

"We should leave them," Midel suggested.

They all agreed. As they released the reigns, the horses ran out of the cage with fears in their eyes. The air was thick. The pressure? Thicker. What they said about the entrance of the cave was true. They could feel that it was harder to breathe once they stepped inside.

Larika covered her nose. There was a stench of blood and sweat pervading her senses. Why couldn't the others smell it? She could see that Midel and the others were warier of the surroundings rather than the unpleasant smell inside. She felt her cheeks flush. She lowered her head and walked near Yllana.

Vandier took out a small crystal ball from his pouch. He poured a small amount of life force in the ball and it glowed. It lit only about five meters of space around them. It wasn't enough, but it should suffice for now.

Kareem and Vandier led the way. The caves' walls were wet with a clear slimy liquid. Bones were scattered here and there. Unfortunately, there were also skulls from what looked like humans. Some bones still have flesh sticking out.

Larika gasped as the scene unfolded in her eyes. "Y-Yllana…" she gripped hard on Yllana's sleeve with both her hands. The color drained from her face. She felt like something will come out from her mouth as she tried to force it back down. So that was why there was a horrible stink. People have tried coming into the cave and failed. But what Midel was worried about was the cause of the death of these people.

He observed that the corpses weren't whole at all. None of the skeletons suggest a complete corpse. It was strange. He eyed Yllana and saw her eyes have regained focus on the cave. He caught her looking at the huge scratch marks on the cave's ceiling and walls. She even used her sword to lift some torn clothing from the ground. A deep frown started forming on her forehead as they delved deeper into the cave. The air also got thicker that they have to use a barrier that Yllana formed around them.

"Arm yourselves," she whispered. Then she took the lead and urged the two boys to stay beside Larika. She started biting her lip and hugged herself.

"Do you have any idea what made all this?" Midel asked Yllana.

"Something big with massive claws…and hates humans."

Half a day passed and the path inside the cave was still dark. Kareem was starting to tremble as he slithered another strand of life force into the crystal ball.

"Let me," Midel took the crystal ball from Kareem. Vandier grabbed Kareem's arm and steadied his friend in place.

They had to continue or else their sacrifice earlier on leaving Lucien will go to waste. 'I hope he stays safe,' Yllana thought to herself. Lucien is a Holy-ranked mage. He would be able to deal with those half-blood demons as far as she knows. She stopped in her tracks. The others noticed she was standing still, and they all looked at her.

Now that she thought of it, wasn't he too fast on climbing the ranks? What kind of cultivation technique was he using? She was startled with her realization.

"What's wrong?" Larika walked up to her with an inquiring gaze. They had no clue what she was thinking about. Or maybe she was just thinking too much about it.

'He could be a talented mage,' she convinced herself. She shook her head and smiled at Larika. There is no point in trying to question someone else's cultivation technique or rank at this moment. They are facing their own dangers up ahead and Yllana mentally noted that she must not worry them about her own hunches.

"We've been walking the whole day inside this cave. We need to rest," Larika said. She was starting to feel dizzy. Yllana's shield could shield them from the force that was trying to absorb their life forces but nothing could shield them from the tiredness they felt walking one whole day.

They sat down on the rock formations on the side of the path. One day and there was still no sign of light. Their legs started to ache from the distance that they have traveled. They ate dried meat and fresh fruits to bring back their strength. They also started to strip off their coats since the temperature started rising deeper into the cave. They are now in their common daily garments.

As they pushed on further, the wind whistled inside the cave. Before it could touch them Yllana placed the fire shield she had just learned. The wind died down a few seconds before it blew again. It started out faintly, then as they rook a dozen more steps, it grew stronger and stronger.

Vandier could see Yllana gritting her teeth as she pushed the fire shield to block out most of the hot wind. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the next blow of wind has some red blurry lines. The heat was starting to mess with his eyes. Heat? Then those blurry red lines could be…

"Watch out!" he shouted. The hot wind made him squint his eyes as he reached out to Larika and hug her. "For an empress, you are quite small Your Highness," he joked.

Larika saw Yllana's scorched cheek and smelled something burning. When she looked at Vandier, he was patting away a small fire caught in his sleeve that had protected her earlier. The place was making them sweat and there was an incredibly hot wave inside the cave that they couldn't open their eyes entirely. "Hehe, I know. Anyway, thanks Van," she answered back with a smile.

"A dragon," Midel smacked his forehead. It was the most cliched settings for any adventure. A cave, corpses, hot wind inside the cave – Midel never needed to guess but how come he didn't think of it sooner? Yllana grinned while holding the shield in front of her. Her shield is made of fire. The wind was hot, and it contains fire. This is more like hell that has opened on this mainland.

All of them felt fear when Midel mentioned the creature. Could there really be a dragon inside a cave that was in the middle of s snowfield?

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