In the early morning, a light mist hung in Ankersun. The sun had not yet come out, and the leaves were covered with heavy dew.

In a mountain gorge, three more figures appeared.

"Vey, are you sure you can bear it? This time we are crossing the misty swamp to reach Balachico. The situation in the swamp is more dangerous and complicated than your journey to Anxon." said a dwarf.

Yes, these three people are Wei Yi, Ia and the dwarf Lelka. Three days ago, Ia was injured and fainted in the battle with the dark mage. After several days of careful care by the dwarf medical team, his injuries have also improved.

He was almost recovered. In order not to waste time, Ia proposed to Vey the idea of ​​leaving Anxon and going to Palachico.

After confirming that Oia's body had really recovered, Vey and Lelka expressed their thoughts and asked him about the shortcut to Balachico.

Lelka, who had lived in Ankerson for half his life, offered to lead them. Although he knew the surrounding terrain relatively well, the situation inside the misty swamp was complex and changeable. Leaving aside the issue of monsters, there were hidden beasts and dangerous things in the swamp.

The swamp is enough for them. With him around, at least the dangers Weiyi and Oia will encounter on the road will be much smaller.

Hearing Lelka's worry, Vey looked at Oia beside him, who smiled at him and said: "Don't worry, our elves recover faster than ordinary people. I understand my current situation myself.

"

Wei Yi nodded and said to Lelka: "We have no problem."

Lelka stretched his body and said: "I haven't been to the Misty Swamp for many years. This time I go to get familiar with the road." He took out a piece of hand-drawn parchment and pointed to the pattern drawn with charcoal on it.

, said: "When we leave the gorge, we have two roads to choose from. The first road is the nearest road, which is to go north to the Rodil Mountains, and then follow the mountains through the misty swamp to reach Parachico. The other road is

The long way, which is safer than the first one, is to cross the Rodil Mountains, walk along the shore of White Jade Lake to where the Brill River enters the lake, and go upstream along the river to reach Parachico. But this road at least

It's an extra twenty days' journey." After he finished speaking, he stopped and looked at the two young men.

Wei Yi and Ia looked at each other and said in unison: "Take a shortcut!"

Lelka nodded, put away the map, and said: "Then let's set off and take advantage of the coolness of the morning to walk more distance."

Vey and Oia were both dressed lightly, carrying waterproof blankets and dry food for the journey. However, Oia, with the help of the dwarfs in Ankers, made a new one that was more suitable for them.

After using the bow, he was very satisfied with it. Lerka, who led them, was wearing light mail, carrying a double-sided ax on his back, and there were many small jars in the pockets on his waist.

, making a crisp collision sound when walking.

Because the weather and terrain were suitable for their journey, and there was a local who was familiar with the terrain, they quickly walked out of the gorge and entered the dark forest area.

Returning to this familiar place, Wei Yi and Ia couldn't help but shudder. It was this place that almost caused the two of them to die. Now they can truly feel the horror of the dark forest described in those books.

How. In this environment, it is no wonder that those who came to explore are travelers and lost caravans, why no one can leave the forest.

"Lelka, there are legends in the books that the former dwarf king left a large treasure in the dark forest. Is this true?" Wei Yi quickened his pace and came to Lelka and asked.

Lelka touched his beard, shook his head without hesitation, and said: "It's fake, the dark forest is so big. If the dwarf king really left the treasure in the forest thousands of years ago, even if the explorers don't

There are many, but I haven’t heard of anyone finding a treasure in these thousands of years. And we dwarves have been living in Anxon for almost a thousand years, so even if there is, we should have found it, right?”

"Then this rumor attracts many people here every year and they lose their lives." Wei Yi said with a bitter smile.

Leka's face darkened and she said in a deep voice: "That's because of their greed. If their greed for wealth and gold coins were not so deep, they would not lose their lives. Okay, let's stop this matter.

Bar."

Vey shrugged and returned to follow Lelka and continued walking.

At noon, the sun penetrated through the dense branches and leaves of the dark forest, dispersing the mist and shining the scarce sunlight on the ground. Except for some low shrubs, the dark brown soil surface was devoid of any life. I am afraid that in this barren land

, only the black trees unique to the dark forest can survive. Wei Yi secretly thought to himself.

Soon, during the march, Vey discovered that the trees around him were somewhat different from the forest he passed through before heading to Anxon.

The trees here are more brown, and the color of the shrubs is not just black. They have more dark green branches and leaves, which are a little more vibrant than the forest to the west. The trees are also much taller than before, and that makes

The palpitating feeling of darkness gradually weakened, making them feel much better.

Not long after, the mountainous terrain they walked through disappeared and was replaced by a flat land. At the end of the land, the mountains, hidden in the clouds, seemed to be waving to them again. They had arrived at the edge of the dark forest.

"Huh?" Ia, who rarely spoke along the way, suddenly raised his head, moved his nose slightly, and couldn't help but let out a startled sigh.

Weiyi turned his head and looked at him, wondering: "What's wrong? Did you find something else?" He knew that Oiya's perception and sharp facial features could often discover some unknown things and dangers faster than himself and others.

.

Seeing that Oia seemed to sense something, Lerka who was walking in front also stopped, came to Oia, and looked at him doubtfully.

Ia fanned in front of his nose and said strangely: "Strange, I smelled a faint fragrance, and this fragrance is quite pleasant."

Wei Yi took a few deep breaths through his nose, carefully identifying the fragrance that Oia mentioned in the air, but he couldn't smell anything. Lelka also twitched his nose a few times, but he quickly shook his head.

, muttered: "The perception of the elves is really incomparable. The only monster that can compare with them is probably the dragon, right?"

"Lerka, are there any plants or animals in the forest that can emit fragrance?" Vey asked.

Leka rubbed her chin and thought for a moment, then shook her head: "In my impression, there seems to be no scented plants or animals in the forest. The only scented plant is a medicinal flower, but this flower only grows in the southern part of the forest.

There are definitely none in the basin to the north where we are."

Wei Yi scratched his head. Oia's perception was definitely infallible, so where did this mysterious fragrance come from?

Leka walked to Oia and said, "Can you smell the direction or direction from which this fragrance is coming?"

Ia walked a few meters away from Wei Yi and Lelka, raised his head slightly, and slowly turned his body in a circle. From the slight movement of his nose, he could tell that he was carefully identifying.

After a few minutes, Oia pointed in front of them, which was the route they were heading, and said: "It should be in front of us. According to the wind direction, the smell coming from here is stronger."
Chapter completed!