The goddesses attempted to gain my salvation.

Page 194

Snow and grassland offer different landscapes.

However, each has its own advantages.

Sunlight shone on the thin layer of snow around us, and the whole world was filled with bright white.

The carriage wound its way through the towering mountains, occasionally accompanied by a melodious tune.

Ryan and Orina sat in the back, gazing at the scenery and whispering sweet nothings, while poor Rose was relegated to the role of coachman, waving the reins and enduring the constant displays of affection from the couple behind them.

Ugh... I'm so tired.

"Ryan...it itches, stop touching me."

"Haang~"

"Well......"

"Ryan...be gentle..."

Rose: "......"

Or, why don't you just kill me and use it to entertain the two of you!

------

The carriage arrived safely at its first destination.

However, just as Rose had predicted, several guards stood around the village.

Upon seeing Ryan's carriage, the guards immediately stopped it.

"Travelers, I'm sorry, but this is a restricted area and passage is prohibited."

Rose deftly dismounted, revealing her identity as a contributing editor for the Adventurers' Weekly.

The guards exchanged glances before replying.

"So you're the editor of the weekly magazine. My apologies."

"However, we stopped you for your safety."

One of the guards pointed to the village behind him.

"This village has now been completely sealed off, and the land inside has been corroded for unknown reasons. Even grass, trees and flying insects cannot survive on the land."

"I advise you to turn back."

Over the guard's shoulder, Rose could see the dark land in the distance.

If you squint and look closely, you can see some black particles suspended in the air.

Even the wind blowing in our faces carried the smell of decay.

These guards must have worked very hard to stay here for so long.

Rose took several bottles of fine wine and some grain from the carriage and handed them to the guards.

"Thank you for staying at your posts to ensure the safety of the people."

"However, we must go in and investigate."

"Please be accommodating."

The guards looked at the wine and grain in their hands and exchanged bewildered glances.

After a long silence, one of the guards spoke up: "Thank you very much."

"But... do you really want to go in?"

“It is indeed very dangerous inside. This is not a lie we told to discourage you.”

"In fact, when the anomalies in the villages and towns were first discovered, a ten-person advance team went in... They still haven't come out yet."

Rose's attitude remained firm.

Seeing this, the guards didn't say anything more and consciously made way for them.

The carriage moved slowly forward, and the closer it got to the village, the stronger the stench of decay became.

Rose channeled her wind magic into her body, trying to dispel the smells.

However, it had very little effect.

The horses sensed some kind of danger and became very anxious, pawing the ground incessantly, trying to stop.

"Don't go any further."

"We're getting off here."

At Ryan's suggestion, the three parked the carriage a little further back and walked towards the village.

Ryan and Orina simultaneously activated light-attribute magic to disperse the black particles that swarmed towards the three of them like locusts.

The original stench of decay gradually diminished due to the flow of this magic.

Before long, the three entered the village.

For safety reasons, the three did not split up, but instead went to investigate as a unified whole.

Meanwhile, in the darkness, a pair of eyes, filled with intense malice, were observing them.

The entire village was covered in black soil, which felt like soft mud underfoot.

The surrounding wooden huts have also rotted to varying degrees, with some collapsing completely, leaving only ruins.

It is worth noting that the ground in the village was covered with scattered clothing.

Some lay across the middle of the road, some hung in windows, and many more remained in the posture of their owners before their deaths, scattered in various places.

Whether walking, shopping, or chatting with friends...

Looking at the clothes on the ground that were about to rot into dust, Ryan felt a sense of doubt.

its not right......

He had also personally witnessed the sacrificial ceremony; when the Scarlet Eye devours living people, it doesn't spit out their clothes.

So, what exactly are these clothes...?

Just then, Rose, the weakest of the three, suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold!

That was extremely strong malice!

Rose quickly shrank back towards Ryan!

"what happened?"

"There seems to be... someone here!" Rose said, her voice trembling slightly with panic.

"Someone?"

Ryan quickly looked around, but there was no one there.

I used magic to investigate, but the result was still the same.

However, Rose and Ryan's intimate behavior aroused strong dissatisfaction from Olena.

Ryan felt a chill run down his spine.

Following my instincts, I saw Olina's cold face.

Ryan smiled wryly and distanced himself from Rose, while secretly sighing to himself.

It's been so long since I've seen Orina's icy goddess face.

To be honest, I kind of miss it.

The three continued exploring the village, but after about two hours, they still hadn't found anything of value.

Just as the guards said, there was no living creature in this area.

The decaying aura interfered with everything; even top-tier mages like Ryan and Orina couldn't sense any residual magic in the surrounding environment.

"Looks like we're going to go home empty-handed."

“Ryan, we didn’t come away empty-handed.”

Orina gently brushed the dust off Ryan's hair: "This kind of large-scale decay is extraordinary. None of the seven elemental magics we know of, nor the records in the library, contain any magic capable of causing such a phenomenon."

"In my opinion, this phenomenon is closely related to the inscription Freya mentioned."

"So, the mere fact that this matter was discovered is itself a significant discovery."

Ryan was about to reply when he suddenly froze.

Then, looking around, I discovered a serious problem.

Sometime during the day, Rose... disappeared!

Orina also noticed this, and with her right hand gripping the round-headed staff, she began to gather magic power.

Ryan immediately unleashed his magic to locate Rose's position.

Upon entering the village, Ryan used magic to leave a mark on everyone.

What I fear is that the three of them might get separated in the village.

I never expected that it would actually come in handy.

Magic led Ryan forward until he finally found Rose in a dilapidated house!

Rose was surrounded by a dense swarm of black particles, like locusts!