Cornflower Witch

Chapter 113 Setting Sail from Fog Mountain
The morning of the day of parting.

Hilti stood in front of the city gate, bidding farewell to Maester Hyde and the others behind her. Lady Fran, Viscountess Scheffen, Ray, Winnie, Thalys, and others were also present.

"Tia, this trip may be the last time we see each other," Maester Hyde said with a gentle smile.

He is old and has little life left, and he is now exceptionally open-minded, probably because he has no regrets.

“Professor Hyde…” Hilti looked at the old man, unsure of what to say to comfort him.

"Hehehe, don't worry about me, I've already let it go." He spoke in a relaxed tone, without any lingering resentment.

"Si Chen has arrived, and no one can stop him."

"My life will also come to an end someday."

"Childhood, the past, and many other things will slowly dissipate like clouds and mist, leaving only an empty sky."

"Tiya, you will gradually understand." He gazed at the sky, his long robe and white hair fluttering slightly in the wind.

"However, your lives have just begun, and you will encounter many things in the future, some of which may be extremely painful or you may suffer huge setbacks."

"Never be strong, never belittle yourself, never bow down to your enemies, and even running away is better than giving up in despair."

"Life is like a winding road, always full of surprises and changes."

"Go, Tiya, go find your life and your future, like a bird climbing that mountain." After saying his last words, he let go of everything and waved to his student in his later years, as if bidding farewell to all the faces he had seen in the past.

Hilti was also deeply moved by this. She looked at the others who had come to see her off—Lady Fran, her sister Winnie, Thalys, Ray, and Mick—and nodded slightly. Then, she brushed a strand of hair that had been ruffled by the wind behind her ear, turned around, and boarded the carriage.

The wheels rolled over the gravel, slowly started moving, and began to descend the mountain road outside Jiaoshi City.

Inside the carriage, Hiltiya, dressed in a black dress with white trim, sat on her trunk, closing her eyes to recall everything she had experienced over the past six months.

The wind blew through the car window, causing the white gauze curtains to flutter and dance with the long, silver hair, stretching out inside the carriage like a nostalgic photograph, frozen in a certain moment.

……

The carriage traveled for several kilometers from Jiaoshi City, then crossed the mountains and arrived at the top of a high hill with a triangular cliff that leaned towards the sky.

At the top of the cliff where small white flowers bloom, the carriage slowly came to a stop. The driver jumped down and gently knocked on the door.

"We've arrived, Tiya."

“Yes, Sir Morrick.” Hilti opened the car door and stepped out, carrying a heavy suitcase in both hands.

The knight, clad in full silver-gray armor, easily took the box from her hands and led Tia slowly toward the platform at the top of the mountain.

At the end of the meadow, there is a large stone slab. The inscription on it has been eroded by rain and is now blurred. In front of the slab, an ancient stone sword is stuck in the ground, weathered by time.

"This is where the late King Regard and his knights took their oath. There are more than thirty such places in Regard." The knight walked ahead, put down the box, and introduced the place to Hilti.

"He appointed those knights as guardians of their respective regions, which is the origin of many noble families in Regas today."

"The knights who acquired the land also swore to protect this land and its people, to safeguard them from the Night Demons and the beasts, to keep the lighthouse from the chaotic fog, to become the solid wall of this continent, and to maintain the boundaries of civilization."

Knight Morric slowly approached the stone slab, knelt on one knee, and gently touched the wind-eroded inscriptions with one hand. Invisible ripples spread out, as if a beacon had been lit, illuminating this vast world. "We are on a continent on a sea of ​​clouds. This world is still in danger of falling into the abyss. Every nation that is established must build walls and towers in various places to prevent the chaotic mists of the Twilight Sea from eroding it."

"This is a struggle that has spanned three eras, ever since the fall of the Seven Dragons."

"The place you are going to is the shadow beneath this continent, the world reflected in the twilight sea."

"There are many schools of thought that gather there. They recruit and absorb outstanding young people from all over the world, and go deep into the bottom of the endless abyss to find opportunities and resources."

"There will be many dangers, but you will also gain a lot."

“I’ll leave you here today, Tia.” The knight stood up.

He walked slowly down the hillside, and the silver-haired girl waved goodbye to him in the wind.

"Thank you, Sir Morrick."

The other person nodded to Tia with his closed helmet, then led the carriage slowly down the hillside, leaving the girl and her suitcase standing alone in the grass and wind.

Several minutes later, a sound that seemed to travel far away came from the mountains.

Hilti gently shielded her eyes from the sunlight, but she couldn't see anyone.

In a single instant, as if an invisible film of water were slowly torn apart, a colossal figure, hundreds of meters tall, emerged from one side of the mountains and the sky, its body enveloped in lingering mist that stretched for thousands of meters.

The enormous figure's six long legs are about a hundred meters high, standing between the canyon and the stream at the foot of the mountain. It is about fifty stories high. On the back of this camel-like giant figure are even more majestic and layered buildings. Its eaves and window frames extend into the sky, casting huge shadows, as if the sky has changed color and everything has become dark.

This colossal camel walks among the mountains, as if it were one of them. It is incredibly tall, and wherever it treads, mist swirls, making its entire form seem to exist between illusion and reality, making it incredibly mysterious.

The enormous camel, as big as a mountain, carrying the distant sound of bells, slowly made its way through the mountains, gradually approaching the place where Hiltiya was.

The mere movement of the other party stirred up invisible air currents and water mist. Standing still, Hilti was as if she were in a sea of ​​clouds, with a long river of mist constantly rushing past her. Her tiny figure was submerged in this vast sea of ​​mist and clouds, like a small dot.

Finally, the giant camel slowly approached Hilti, and the girl could see the pavilion on the camel's back.

It was a 27-story building, layer upon layer, with a style unlike any other building I had ever seen in the Kingdom of Legas. Each floor was adorned with long, colorful ropes, and bells of varying sizes hung from the ropes.

Some of the bells were old and worn, like rusted bronze, while others were brand new, as if they had just been hung up. As the camels moved forward, these bells swayed and made a sound like the ocean.

The camel's six tall legs stood on the canyon below the cliff, its back level with the cliff. When it stopped, the previously noisy bells stopped ringing.

Everything suddenly fell silent, and Hilti noticed that the 'Woodland Badge' pinned to her chest was now emitting a faint glow, illuminating the misty meadow.

Then, a clear, crisp bell rang out from the high-rise buildings, breaking the silence.

Hilti pressed down her flowing hair, looked up at the tall building at the top, and one of the closed doors opened. Then, an invisible force lifted Hilti up, along with her suitcase placed to the side, and slowly rose towards the tall building on the camel's back.

As she rose higher and higher above the ground, Hilti instinctively stretched out her arms and grabbed the suitcase beside her.

Shortly after, she landed slowly inside the open door. As her toes touched the ground and she landed with her suitcase, the door behind her closed again.

Then the camel got up again, took a step, and walked towards the distant mountains, its figure slowly dissipating into the clouds.

(End of this chapter)