Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 279 Misty Mountains

In the darkest hour before dawn, the only sounds in the rock crevices were the wind and Ellie's even breathing.

With his back against the cold rock wall, Luo Lin closed his eyes, focusing all his attention on the faint but steady operation of [Quiet Dust Star].

Each cycle is like the finest brush, gently brushing across the parched and aching body, taking away a trace of chaos and leaving behind a sense of tranquility.

The pain was still clear, but at least it was no longer so sharp that it made it impossible to think.

The mark on my wrist had disappeared again, but the feeling of being locked on by a cold gaze, like a dark cloud hanging overhead, had not completely dissipated.

The temporary retreat of the secondary arbitrators does not mean the end of the recovery process.

We must reach a more complex environment before they reappear.

The sky gradually changed from deep black to inky blue, with a faint gray-white sliver seeping through the gaps.

Ellie stirred and opened her eyes.

A short, deep sleep restored some of her energy, but the aches and fatigue in her body remained heavy.

She immediately looked at Luo Lin and saw that he was still leaning against the rock wall with his eyes closed, his face pale, but his breathing seemed to be more stable than last night.

"Mr. Rowling?" Ellie called softly.

Luo Lin slowly opened his eyes, which were bloodshot, but his gaze had regained some clarity. "Awake? How are you feeling?"

'

"I'm fine." Ellie quickly shook her head and sat up. "How about you? Is your wound still hurting a lot?"

"I'm feeling a bit better." Luo Lin didn't try to be brave and told the truth, "I still have difficulty moving around and need your help."

Ellie nodded vigorously: "I'll help you."

The two ate some of the remaining dry food and drank some water.

Ellie checked Rowling's wound again, changed the outer bandage, and the ointment was working very well. The edges of the deepest wound had begun to close up, and there were no signs of inflammation.

Duan Yu and Lan Yu also woke up. Although they were still listless, they were in better spirits than last night.

They ate some of the food Ellie had given them and stayed quietly nearby.

Baha flew in from outside and landed beside Rowling, gently nuzzling the back of his hand, its six eyes full of concern.

"Get ready to go," Rowling said to Ellie. "Target: those misty mountains directly ahead."

"Try to walk on rocky and sparsely vegetated areas, and avoid open areas."

"Pay close attention to the sky and your surroundings. If anything seems unusual, take cover immediately."

"Yes." Ellie slung Rowling's bundle over her shoulder and then carefully helped him up.

Rowling's right leg and waist were badly injured, making it almost impossible for him to put any weight on them. Most of his weight was on Ellie's thin shoulders.

Ellie gritted her teeth and struggled to walk out of the crevice step by step.

Outside, the wasteland was shrouded in the faint light before dawn, and the air was crisp and cool.

The outline of the distant, misty mountains became clearer, the gray-white mist hanging low at the foot of the mountains like a still curtain.

Broken Feather and Blue Feather flapped their wings, gliding slowly at low altitude to lead the way.

Baha flew higher to scout ahead.

Its movement speed is not much faster than that of a snail.

Every step Rolin took was accompanied by suppressed groans and cold sweat on his forehead.

Ellie tensed every muscle in her body, struggling to hold on, and sweat quickly soaked her back.

They had to stop and rest after walking less than a mile.

Luo Lin leaned against a rock, breathing heavily, his face as white as paper.

Ellie was so tired she could barely stand up straight and drank a lot of water.

"This is too slow." After catching his breath, Roland looked at the still distant mountains ahead, his brows furrowed.

At this speed, they might not even reach the foot of the mountain before dark, let alone enter the complex terrain.

The longer it drags on, the greater the variables become.

We must find ways to improve mobility.

Roland's gaze fell on a relatively flat, dry riverbed not far ahead, covered with pebbles of varying sizes.

"Ellie," he said breathlessly, "do you see that riverbed? The stones there—are smoother."

"Go find some sturdy dead branches, and some resilient vines."

Although Ellie didn't understand what she was supposed to do, she did as she was told.

Soon, she found two relatively straight, arm-thick dead branches, as well as several supple vines stripped of their leaves.

Rowling instructed her to tie two branches together side by side with vines, leaving enough space in the middle, and then tie a short branch horizontally to the front of the branches to make a simple "A"-shaped support.

"This is a trailer," Rowling explained. "Put me on it, and you can drag it—it will save you a lot of effort, and the speed will be—faster."

Ellie's eyes lit up, and she immediately took action.

With the help of Duan Yu and Lan Yu, the two carefully moved Luo Lin onto the makeshift trailer.

Luo Lin lay half-reclined between two parallel branches, using the remaining vines to secure his body and prevent him from slipping.

Ellie grabbed the horizontal branch at the front and tried to pull it.

Sure enough, although it was still heavy, it was much less strenuous than walking while holding on, and the speed was significantly increased.

"Let's go!" Luo Lin lay down to minimize the pain caused by the bumpy ride.

The trailer creaked and groaned as it slowly but steadily made its way toward the misty mountains on the pebble-strewn riverbed.

Duan Yu and Lan Yu flew low beside them, while Baha scouted ahead.

With the trailer, the efficiency of travel has been greatly improved.

Although it's still very slow, at least we see hope.

As the sun rose higher, the temperature in the wasteland began to rise.

Ellie's hair and clothes were soaked with sweat, and her palms were red from being rubbed by rough branches, but she didn't utter a sound. She just kept her head down and pulled the trailer, adjusting the direction from time to time according to Rowling's instructions to avoid some obvious potholes or obstacles.

Lorin lay on the stretcher, his eyes mostly closed, focusing all his energy on healing his injuries with [Silent Dust Star], while simultaneously monitoring his surroundings through [Silent Dust Star]'s senses. Occasionally, he would speak to Ellie, reminding her: "Thirty steps to the left, behind that big rock, there's something—go around it." or "Stop, take cover, something's flying overhead."

Every warning was accurate, allowing them to avoid some potential trouble.

A few low-level demonized hyenas wandered around, a giant wild boar, possibly a close relative of the Steel-mane Boar, was sunbathing on a distant hill, and a black shadow with an astonishing wingspan occasionally swept across the sky.

Ellie was utterly impressed by Rowling's perception abilities.

Even in his severely injured and weakened state, he was still able to perceive his surroundings so clearly; this strength and alertness were far beyond her reach.

Around noon, they finally reached the edge of the misty mountains.

The air here is noticeably more humid, and the wind carries a faint, indescribable smell of decay mixed with sweetness.

The ground beneath my feet was no longer scorched earth or gravel, but soft, dark brown mud mixed with a lot of decaying plant remains.

Sparse trees began to appear, but these trees were twisted in shape, with branches and leaves that were an unhealthy gray-green, and their bark was covered with thick moss and fungi.

The fog ahead was no longer a static curtain as seen from afar, but flowed slowly, like a living thing.

Visibility dropped rapidly; it became impossible to see beyond fifty meters.

"This is the outer edge of the Forgotten Swamp." Rolin's voice sounded somewhat ethereal in the mist. "Put me down and rest. We need to make some preparations before we go in."

Ellie parked the trailer on a relatively dry, exposed rocky ground, then plopped down, panting heavily.

Luo Lin asked her to take out several specific medicinal herbs and mineral powders from the package, mix them in a certain proportion, and add some water to make a thick, grayish-brown ointment with a pungent smell.

"Apply it to exposed skin, especially around the mouth and nose." Rowling instructed Ellie, then struggled to apply the ointment to his face and hands. "The swamp mist contains trace amounts of toxins and hallucinogenic spores, and this ointment can provide some protection and neutralization."

"While it cannot provide complete immunity, it can greatly reduce the impact."

Ellie applied the ointment as instructed. The pungent smell made her wrinkle her nose, but she didn't hesitate.

Rowling then had her cover her mouth and nose with a strip of cloth soaked in a specific medicine, leaving only her eyes exposed. He did the same to himself.

"Once inside, stay close to me and don't touch any plants or puddles."

"Watch your step. Some places may look solid, but you could be sinking into a bottomless pit of mud. Follow my instructions." Roland's voice, muffled by the cloth, was unusually serious. "The dangers here come more from the environment itself; they're impossible to guard against."

Ellie nodded vigorously, making sure she remembered every word Rowling said.

After resting for about fifteen minutes, I replenished my fluids and ate some food.

Rowling had Ellie modify the trailer by tying several thicker branches horizontally to the bottom of the two main branches to increase the contact area with the ground and prevent it from sinking into the mud.

Although it will be a bit heavier, it can still handle the relatively solid ground at the edge of the swamp.