The Cornflower Witch Chapter 166

Mist Mountain

Hylial held her ebony compound bow and walked with her companions through the cool, misty mountains.

The mists here never dissipated and were integrated with the Shadow World. They constantly stepped into colorful areas only to return to gray, a transition that was far from comfortable.

After entering the mountains, everyone became noticeably more vigilant and spoke little. If they did speak, it was only because something had been discovered.

“Yarn, how far can you see now?” The captain asked without turning his head as he walked ahead.

“About sixteen meters. Anything further is a bit blurry.”

“I’m a little better, I can see about twenty meters,” Karl replied from behind, adding to the information.

“It’s probably because Karl is a wizard, so his spiritual power is stronger,” said Bad Apple with a simple assessment.

“I can see about two hundred meters. This is because my innate ‘Mist Shadow’ aspect allows me to perceive things in the mist.”

“How about Lia?” The others focused their attention on the girl in the group.

“About two hundred meters,” Hylial said after a moment’s thought. This was her normal visual range; if she fully activated her nature sense, aided by alien perception, she estimated she could see up to four hundred meters.

*Phew*, upon hearing this, everyone subtly relaxed.

To be honest, shortly after entering this place, they all had a bad feeling. The range of their visual perception was severely compressed here.

If someone like Yarn came alone, only being able to perceive 16 meters around him, he would be very susceptible to ambushes from unknown monsters. He would have to maintain a high level of concentration at all times, and if other team members strayed too far, they could easily get lost, which would be fatal in these misty mountains.

“Something’s coming,” Hylial said in a low voice, looking ahead.

Hearing her warning, the group stopped, drew closer to each other, and prepared for battle.

In the mist-shrouded mountains, two creatures with snow-gray fur rapidly moved, scenting a faint odor on the wind. Their forms resembled foxes, but they were much more elongated, moving silently. Each had three blood-red eyes on either side, totaling six eyes, making them particularly eerie.

As they moved through the misty bushes and reached about fifty meters from the group, it was as if they had already seen them. Their figures wavered, and like ice sinking into water, their outlines dissipated. Now, not only the other team members, but even Hylial, activating her discerning eye to the fullest, could only detect indistinct, shifting outlines.

“Be careful, they’re invisible.”

This made everyone’s hearts race again.

Hylial drew her bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed with bated breath before shooting.

The faint vibration of the bowstring sent the arrow piercing through the mist, striking the outline of one of the monsters and drawing a faint trace of blood.

This attack caused the approaching foe to pause for a moment, then it quickly turned and vanished back into the mist, retreating.

*Are they that cautious and cunning? Even a slight injury is enough for them to not approach again,* Hylial thought to herself.

Facing this situation, she felt both pleased and worried.

The good news was that it could avoid dangerous battles. The bad news was that these two monsters were so clever that they might cause more trouble later.

The group then resumed their trek until they reached the spot where the two monsters had been injured.

Bad Apple knelt down and carefully examined the fresh blood on the grass blades, dabbed a bit with his finger, and tasted it.

“There’s a faint ‘Mist Shadow’ aura, likely a Tier 2 ‘Mist Shadow’ aspect monster,” he stood up.

“The good news is it’s only Tier 2, the bad news is I don’t know its origin, and I can’t even guarantee us a win.” He felt a bit stressed.

“Let’s keep going for now. If things don’t go well in the next few days, we’ll light the Summer Wind torch and retreat quickly.”

Since they had already arrived here, it would be a shame to turn back at the slightest hindrance. With this thought in mind, the team continued forward.

In the afternoon, as the light gradually faded, Hylial parted the damp shrub branches and leaves with her fingers, finding dozens of small, dark blue berries.

‘Anthocyanidin Blue Berries’, berries imbued with a ‘Sleepy Winter’ aura, excellent quality.

Although they haven’t yet condensed an aspect, they are quite rare and precious. They can be fermented and refined into a special ‘Cold Dew Wine’, used for the ‘Sleepy Winter’ aspect’s ability learning. Hylial carefully picked over thirty berries from the shrubbery, placed them in a cloth-lined box, and then hung it inside a leather saddlebag on the horse’s back.

“Let’s continue,” she said, standing up and looking at the three people waiting beside her.

“Alright,” Bad Apple hopped down from the branch he was squatting on and then walked ahead again.

Later on, they encountered many minor troubles, such as white poisonous snakes in the grass, strange insects occasionally flying at low altitudes, and odd potholes that appeared out of nowhere on the path.

“There are two more pits ahead; let’s take a detour,” Hylial said, looking at the tall grass that blended with the environment in her line of sight, reminding everyone.

“Ugh, another detour? What in the world is it that we can’t even touch it?” Bad Apple was curious.

“I don’t know what it is, but I can sense strange living creatures ambushing in the pits,” the girl explained.

“How about this time, we prepare thoroughly and just face it? Otherwise, if we keep hiding, we won’t know the full situation,” Yarn suggested.

Bad Apple shook his head after hearing that. “I think it’s better to listen to Lia. There’s no need to take unnecessary risks.”

“Of course, I understand Yarn’s idea, you always play it safe, wanting to be prepared for future encounters.”

“How about this, next time we only encounter one, we’ll go check it out.”

“That sounds good,” Karl nodded from behind.

About two hours later, they encountered a similar pit again, but this time there was only one.

After Hylial described the exact location, Bad Apple looked at the other two team members.

“What do you say? Shall we try this time? We’ll all be careful.”

“Then I’ll go first,” Yarn raised his shield.

“Okay, be careful,” Bad Apple nodded.

“Hold on,” Hylial thought of something, walked to the black horse behind her, took out some reserved high-quality food from her bag, placed a few cold flatbreads in her hand, warmed them slightly with the ‘Baking Method’, and then handed them to Yarn and the others.

[Roasted Meat Pie] (Excellent): Made from excellent venison and rare flour ingredients. The quality slightly declines after cooling. It can replenish nutrients, restore physical strength, and accelerate blood circulation. (Physical strength recovery +2, Blood circulation +1)

The group took the food, ate it with curiosity, and waited for the effects of the food to kick in.

“This feels a bit strange, because we never knew when we’d encounter an enemy before, so we always ate afterwards.”

“But this way, the overall combat power will indeed increase a lot,” Yarn licked the leftover crumbs from the corner of his mouth, still wanting more.

“All right, the food’s gone, time to get to work.”

Afterward, Yarn walked at the front, while Bad Apple moved to the side, ready to provide support. Hylial stood behind, bow drawn and aimed, prepared to assist, and Karl, not far from Hylial, also held casting materials, making all necessary preparations.

Following Hylial’s directions, Yarn held his shield in front of him, slowly approached, then stopped and threw a stone into the disguised grass.

The stone pressed into the grass, hitting the monster in the pit. A sharp shriek echoed, followed by a gray and white figure leaping out. Yarn didn’t even have time to clearly see the opponent before being pounced on.

Sharp forelegs clawed and scraped at the shield, leaving streaks of scratches. If it were an ordinary person, they would have been torn open, or even dismembered by now.

Facing the biting fangs, Yarn desperately held up his shield, preventing the black pincers from piercing through. At this point, the group finally saw what the ambushing creature was.

Its appearance resembled a spider, but its two pairs of forelegs were as sharp as knife points. Its body was covered in snowy white fur, which greatly reduced the sound of its movements. After attacking, several pairs of black eyes of varying sizes stared at Yarn, and the mouthparts beneath its pincers emitted a fierce, hissing cry.

[Snow-Fluffed Trapdoor Spider] (Tier 2 Mist Shadow): A cave-dwelling spider that lives underground. It ambushes silently and attacks with extreme speed, making it difficult for ordinary creatures to detect and defend against.