Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 334 Fog and Lamp

On the continent of Aifara, there are not many rules regarding the naming of plants and animals.

Some are the simplest descriptive names, directly using the creature's appearance, sound, behavior, or habitat as its name, such as "bloodthorn flower" or "bird's claw vine"...

Those who are a little more particular might associate the name with the mythological allusions, heroic epics, or historical events behind it, such as "Merlin Rose" or "Kelmore's Spider Plant"...

Of course, most of the time, what is passed down by word of mouth among adventurers and explorers is often the most widespread common name for this creature.

Throughout the long history of the continent of Aifara, there may have been some talented individuals who were well-versed in relevant biological knowledge and naming skills, and attempted to formulate a universal and strict naming standard.

But no one has ever succeeded.

After all, this is a fantasy world where gods truly exist and divine authority is fragmented and divided.

A common forest deer, seemingly ordinary, is associated with "nature," "antlers," "guardianship," and "life"... and it is very likely that it is connected to many great beings above the divine realm.

A name that is widely circulated and recognized by most people is, to some extent, also part of "faith".

This involves areas that are far beyond the reach of ordinary people.

"Fog lamp grass" is the common name for this plant.

It is simple and easy to understand. Even illiterate farmers in the countryside can roughly imagine its appearance and growing environment when they hear this word.

In Elvish, a language that has always valued rhythm and elegance and likes to use the fewest syllables to depict the richest imagery, the fog lamp grass also has its own poetic expression.

A direct translation would be:
—A hazy halo of light swayed in the thickest fog before dawn.

It is not very tall, with each plant being about half a foot to a foot long. The slender, emerald-green stems seem to be slightly bent as if they cannot bear the pressure of the "dew" above. At the top hangs a lantern-shaped inflorescence composed of dense clusters of blue and white petals.

Like a humble night watchman.

For most of the year, the fog lamp grass is inconspicuous, just hanging alone in the crevices of cliffs, hidden deep among weeds and shrubs.

Around the time of Midsummer, it transforms the elusive magic it silently absorbs into light particles emanating from its stamens. These particles come into contact with the moisture in the surrounding air, emitting a soft glow.

In the legends of elves, the fog lamp grass is said to have been formed from the tears of an ancient elf who was separated from her lover in the forest. Where her tears fell, they turned into these little lamps that illuminate the way home, guiding lost souls back to their origin.

Even today, many Elven rangers still wear a foglamp grass tied around their waist or a badge with corresponding patterns to signify their status and honor.

Lillie, of course, would not know these stories about the fog lamp grass.

To her, it was just another kind of plant in the forest, no different from wildflowers by the roadside or drooping vines.

There was even a hint of resistance.

Because each sacrificial ceremony is held during the blooming period of the fog lamp grass flowers.

This led the girl to instinctively associate "death" with "fog lamp grass".

boom--

Behind me came the loud thud of a heavy wooden door closing, the sound of chains scraping against the lock echoing in my ears.

She seemed to vaguely hear the noise of the villagers.

This made Lillie, who had been enduring the oppressive atmosphere in the village for many days, feel happy.

"Yes, the ceremony is over, and everyone no longer has to suffer like they have these past two days."

But soon, as the footsteps and voices gradually faded into the distance, an indescribable sense of fear and loneliness engulfed the girl's body and consciousness like a tide.

The canyon was deep and secluded, shrouded in mist, and the air was thick with a damp, chilling silence.

Darkness and mist slowly rolled and flowed before my eyes, like some kind of living entity, firmly limiting my vision to within ten steps.

The concept of space seemed to become blurred at this moment, with only the increasingly piercing sound of heartbeats, accompanied by the occasional echo of water droplets falling from the rock wall, vibrating the eardrums.

Light has become a luxury here.

The towering cliffs on both sides blocked out the warmth and light from the sky, and only a few dim rays of light seeped down, scattered and refracted in the swirling mist, forming an unsettling blurry glimmer.

In this dimly lit environment with extremely low visibility, the fog lamp grass becomes the most conspicuous thing.

The soft blue-white halo, like stars fallen into a canyon, swayed gently in the deep, dark depths, hanging low. The delicate, lantern-shaped flowers glowed in the breeze, illuminating a small circle of air and dark moss around them.

The number of fog lamp grasses is not large, but their presence is particularly strong due to the current extremely dark environment.

On the rock face, among the grass... one after another, as if just as described in the legend, guiding lost travelers into the depths of the canyon.

Lillie had long been prepared to die, and her calm and composed attitude towards Fuyuki showed her determination.

But no matter how much she tried to convince herself that she was doing this for her family and her village, she was, after all, just a girl who had never even left her village.

When loved ones are gone, the way home is blocked.

Faced with her current lonely situation and impending death, a deep fear still arose in her heart.

The intense pain in her arm, along with the warm liquid flowing from the wound, instinctively reminded her that her life was slipping away.

The biting cold in the air made Lillie tremble, like a moth drawn to a flame, instinctively moving towards the only light source in her surroundings, and running in small steps toward the fog lamp grass.

The canyon was eerily silent.

Despite her feet moving constantly and never stopping for a moment, the girl felt her body getting colder and colder, and her limbs gradually becoming weaker.

In addition, amidst the terrifying, breathtaking silence surrounding her, Lillie seemed to sense a gaze lurking in the depths of darkness.

It could be the blurry outline of a distant swaying grass; it could be the abstract face made of moss on the rock face beside you; or it could be... the land itself beneath your feet.

Lillie even had a strange feeling that the path led by the fog lamp grass to the depths of darkness was not her own choice, but rather the will of the canyon was luring her step by step into some terrifying abyss.

"Crash!"

Suddenly!

The bushes not far ahead suddenly shook, and the sudden noise that broke the dead silence made the girl, who was highly focused, scream.

His body stiffened instantly, and he collapsed to the ground.

His pupils trembled, his consciousness wavered, as if he were about to faint at any moment.

Fortunately, almost at the same time as her scream, a familiar male voice, deliberately lowered, came out, allowing Lillie to regain her senses slightly after she had reacted.

"Shh, don't make any noise..."

Lillie's eyes widened involuntarily as she watched the blurry outline gradually approaching in the dim light, her voice tinged with disbelief:

"Fuyuki!?"

"Why are you here?"

The unassuming young man, who had unusually missed morning exercise and then suddenly appeared in this forbidden area, did not answer the other person's question.

Upon seeing Lillie, his eyes first lit up with ecstasy, relieved that she had not yet died as a sacrifice in the ritual.

Then, upon noticing the girl's pale face and the wounds on her arms, he was filled with panic again.

He hurriedly took out the herbs and bandages he had prepared from his pouch and rushed forward to bandage the girl's wounds.

"No, no, no..." "You shouldn't have come, Fuyuki!"

Lillie's voice trembled slightly, and her slender arm instinctively reached out to shield Fuyuki.

"It's dangerous here! Quick! Go back!"

"Before the village chief and Brother Aspen have gone far, have them open the gate for you!"

"Go...go towards the entrance, we, no, you..."

Looking at the bewildered girl in front of him, who had become somewhat incoherent because of his appearance, Fuyuki surprisingly calmed down.

He gently pushed aside the slender white arm blocking his way, squatted down beside Lillie, took out a water bottle, and carefully rinsed the wound.

“Lillie, you should know… once the forbidden gates are closed, before the ritual is completely over and the spirit of the canyon is appeased…”

"We can't get out."

Fuyuki carefully treated the wound on the girl's arm, his calm tone somewhat similar to that of Lillie in the barn that night.

At this moment, the anxious girl and the calm and composed boy completely reversed their behavior.

With her eyes fixed on Fuyuki beside her, Lillie opened her mouth as if to say something, but her gradually regaining composure ultimately made her swallow the words that were already on the tip of her tongue.

They didn't stop them, but simply waited quietly for the wound to be bandaged.

The wound was treated until the bandage was tightly wrapped around the wound and only the bloodstains underneath were vaguely visible.

Then he slowly opened his mouth and asked:
"How did you get in? Do Aspen and the others know?"

"Hehe." Dongshu chuckled and scratched his head. "I've been waiting since yesterday afternoon, until midnight, and finally found an opportunity when they changed shifts."

Upon hearing this, Lillie paused, a strange expression appearing on her face:
"Does that mean you came in before me and have been in the canyon for almost half a day?"

"It won't take that long, maybe three or four hours earlier at most."

"Didn't encounter anything?" Lillie stared wide-eyed.

“Nothing at all.” Dongshu nodded with a smile, deliberately making his tone light to reassure the girl. “I told you the village chief and the others made it up. See, nothing’s wrong with us.”

"Don't worry, I've trained in the wild with Brother Aspen for many years, I can take good care of you."

"Later, we'll find a place to hide in the canyon, wait quietly for a few days, and then look for an opportunity..."

“Fuyuki,” Lillie suddenly spoke, interrupting the boy.

She could tell, of course, that the other person was trying to comfort her.

The mud and dust on the boy's cheeks, and the trembling fingers as he bandaged himself, revealed that he was far less calm than he appeared.

Lillie had long since resigned herself to her fate, but she was absolutely unwilling to let the boy she knew die silently in this place.

Her tone was resolute:
"Listen to me, walk towards the gate, and don't look back."

“If the offerings are not presented, the ceremony will not be successful.”

"And if something goes wrong with the ritual... we've heard countless stories about the calamities that befall the village since we were children, haven't we?"

"No, Lillie, I..." Fuyuki wanted to say something, but the resolute and calm eyes of the girl in front of him made his voice grow softer and softer.

He knew that no matter what he said at that moment, he probably wouldn't be able to change the other party's decision.

But he couldn't bear to watch a girl be sacrificed to the so-called "guardian spirit" in the canyon, who didn't even know what she looked like...

A resolute look flashed across Dongshu's face. He suddenly stood up, about to say something.

Suddenly!

A subtle, spreading gray-white hue startled him.

Before anyone knew it, the fog in the air had quietly thickened.

The fog lamps that guided the way like miniature streetlights, with their soft blue and white halos, had been swallowed up by the deep darkness.

For a moment, it seemed that only this small clump of fog lamp grass remained in the entire canyon.

"careful!"

He gave a low shout, and his one-handed sword was suddenly drawn from its sheath at his waist. He turned halfway around, protecting Lillie behind him.

After being reminded by Fuyuki, the girl realized that something was wrong.

Knowing their own weakness, even though they were prepared to be sacrificed, they still instinctively made some movements of resistance under the threat of death.

She struggled to her feet, back to back with Dongshu, her eyes wide, doing whatever she could to carefully observe and sense the danger in the darkness ahead.

The air fell into a suffocating silence once again.

Sweat streamed down his forehead, down his cheeks, and soaked his collar.

Fuyuki's body was tense, and his hand gripping the sword hilt was slightly white from the excessive force.

Seemingly sensing the weakness of its two prey, the monster lurking in the darkness no longer intended to ambush them.

Then, the blue and white light of the fog lamp grass flashed once again.

hum-

That was the noise produced when magical particles vibrated.

Fog lights, which should have been scattered throughout the canyon, were quietly gathered together.

A hazy mist hung in the air, and a faint blue glow rippled in the darkness.

The scattered lights of the fog lamp grass create a terrifying, enormous silhouette that appears and disappears in the thick fog and darkness.

Fuyuki possesses a strong will and the courage to protect the person she loves.

But he was just a novice hunter, and the most dangerous creature he had ever faced was a newly grown jungle leopard.

Right now, as he held that old, worn-out one-handed sword in his hand, he raised his head and looked at the enormous creature that was nearly four meters in front of him.

A feeling of powerlessness welled up inside me.

Just as Fuyuki's eyes were bloodshot, his teeth clenched, and he took a step forward, driven by the passion of youth, wanting to swing his sword at the enemy in front of him.

"call out!"

A small, dark brown earthenware pot shot out from the darkness behind the monster and landed on it.

Enveloped in sticky black grease, a fleeting spark vanished amidst the splattering dust.

boom--

Flames erupted!

(End of this chapter)