The Mythical Path of a Princess from a Destroyed Kingdom

The wary adventurers swallowed hard, their hearts sinking. The captains huddled together again to discuss the matter, and the consensus they reached was still to "wait."

Once the sun rises, these ghosts will generally return to their original positions and go back to sleep, at which point they will go in again to observe the situation.

The person may not be alive, but the merchant's body must have left behind something valuable. Wouldn't it be a waste to leave it there?

Maginus neither objected nor agreed to Arat's idea, but the steady warrior Lily felt that doing so was too dangerous:

"I don't think that's a good idea. What if the ghosts suddenly rush out of the village once we enter?"

“As the saying goes, wealth can only be found in the dragon’s cave,” Arat said dismissively. “Aren’t there any dangers on our way to the Crystal Salt Kingdom? Now is a good opportunity to make a fortune.”

Harry and Ellie also tried to persuade Lily, and seeing this, the warrior had no choice but to agree. With three votes in favor, one against, and one abstention, she had no way to stop it.

About two or three hours later, the morning sun finally rose from the mountains. The white fog, full of negative energy, hissed when it met the sunlight and then dissipated in a moment. The five teams drove their horse-drawn carriages toward the village as originally planned.

They had only run halfway when several emaciated corpses appeared before them, their bodies covered in frost. They couldn't tell whether they had frozen to death or been sucked dry.

Continuing forward, the scattered corpses along the way were filled with terror, and their paths were crooked and erratic, proving that they had all gotten lost before they died, probably due to being trapped in a "ghost wall," and could only die in despair in the white mist.

As the group reached the village exit, the unease they had felt earlier vanished, and the sunlight dispelled the chill in the village.

"Damn it, this village is really troublesome. It looks normal in the morning, but it turns into that kind of situation at night... Everyone, don't rush in yet. Put up a sign at the entrance of the village to warn those who come later, and put one over there too."

The leader shouted, and the others had no objections. They found a huge rock and together pushed it near the exit, then used their weapons to carve words on it.

Beware of the many ghosts inside.

Arat had told the girl that this was an unspoken rule among adventurers, and also one of the few remaining aspects of their conscience.

After they finished carving the clues, they, who wanted to claim the wealth, tied up their reins and carefully entered the village. What came into view was the unchanged village buildings, along with corpses all over the ground.

All the men and horses were dead. Each corpse wore a look of despair and resentment on its face, and its gaze seemed to follow the living creatures, giving the impression that the dead might come back to life at any moment.

Despite the danger of being attacked, the adventurers wore excited smiles, while the various valuables on the wealthy merchants' fingers and necks glittered.

"Remember, don't steal what others have already gotten. Let's search and leave quickly!"

The temporary team leader shouted, and everyone rushed out in unison.

Chapter 104 Money Blinds the Eye

Money, money, money.

Money, money!

The necklaces, bracelets, and rings on the corpses glittered in the sunlight. The adventurers, who had been relatively calm, were blinded by the monster called wealth and rushed over to tear at the clothes of the rich merchants, while the commoners who were traveling with them were ignored.

Maginus followed in the footsteps of these adventurers, constantly taking valuable items from the merchants, and walked towards the center of the village.

Upon reaching the center of the village, the girl stopped and gazed at the well. Her life force surged toward it, but as soon as she got close, it was completely consumed by negative energy.

Clearly, all the ghosts are currently residing in this well, hiding inside because they cannot withstand the sun's brilliance, and will only emerge when it gets dark.

I wonder if there's any water of torment or ashes of vengeful spirits down there...

Painful Water is a tangible, liquid form of negative emotions, while the Ashes of Wraiths are a combination of negative energy and soul energy left behind by ghosts. Both are precious magical materials, as for their market price…

As far as Maginus knew, a thumb-sized bottle of Pain Water cost around a thousand gold coins, while a similar amount of Wraith Ash cost three hundred gold coins.

The former is so expensive for another reason: besides the effects of magical materials, the Water of Pain also has another function—it's for "drinking".

Just a tiny drop can plunge a person into extreme emotional anguish, making them feel like they'd rather be dead.

However, once the feeling of being worse than dead has passed, the sense of relief at surviving the ordeal and the joy of returning to normalcy after the pain can make one feel as if they have ascended to paradise.

It is a pleasure that originates from emotions and the soul, a pleasure that is said to be far superior to any beverage that affects the body.

Well, all this knowledge comes from books. Anyway, the girl has never touched them, but she is quite curious whether drinking the water of pain will have any effect.

In short, because of this extra function, the price of Pain Water has increased significantly, and mages have long been accustomed to using a similar material when making corresponding spells.

Maginus took a mirror out of her dimensional bag and placed it over the well. Through the reflection in the mirror, she could see a thin layer of red liquid floating on the well water, with red smoke rising from it from time to time.

The lurking ghost stares at Maginus through the mirror, attempting to transfer negative energy into the girl, while she hears the plea for help that the deceased merchant had previously heard:

"Help me..." "Help us..."

Unfortunately, without a special container, the Pain Water would quickly lose its effectiveness even if it was retrieved.

Maginot retrieved the mirror and stopped peering into the well. Like the others, she continued searching for valuables. Unbeknownst to her, a subtle, peculiar fluctuation was affecting the remaining villagers, making them even more engrossed in the joy of finding money.

The atmosphere is a bit off.

Maginus, who kept looking up, encountered several adventurers and found that they were all immersed in the desire for money, their eyes appearing dull and crazed. But that wasn't the biggest problem; the biggest problem was that it was getting dark soon.

Realizing the problem, the girl quickly jumped onto the roof, took a deep breath, and screamed at a high pitch: "Ah!!"

A terrifying aura!

The girl's scream, accompanied by a terrifying aura, shattered the village's tranquility. The adventurer, blinded by greed, was startled and immediately snapped out of his strange state. He then heard Maginus's voice:

"It's getting dark, we need to leave quickly!"

Only then did they remember to look up at the sky, and when they realized the sun was about to set, their eyes widened in surprise. In their sense, only a little over an hour had passed.

Looking back at what they had picked up, the adventurers suddenly realized that their packs were already full, and the valuable items they picked up were simply dropped as soon as they were picked up.

Am I being bewitched by a ghost?

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat. The temporary leader decisively shouted, "Everyone, grab your spoils and get out of the village immediately! The ghost is coming out again!"

The adventurers scattered throughout the village began to communicate with each other. They quickly dropped their somewhat cumbersome and cheap loot, lightening their load as they rushed toward the village gates at top speed.

However, at that moment, the ghost seemed to sense that its prey was about to leave, and it stopped disguising itself and hiding. It let out a heart-wrenching wail from the well, and white mist spewed from the well opening!

"Run! Run!" the adventurers shouted, trying to escape the village as quickly as possible.

Maginus, who was closest to the well, noticed that the ghosts had forced their way out. The white mist was being constantly dissipated by the sun, and if it weren't for the mist's cover, the ghosts would probably have been exposed to the sunlight and destroyed.

A few minutes later, all the survivors reached the village entrance, and about three of them died.

Maginus saw a man who had been picking up things on the other side of the village struggling to run back, but was caught by the white mist. Countless arms pulled him in, and then he disappeared without a trace.

"Quick, let's get out of here."

Still shaken, Arat beckoned everyone to get in the car. The girl gazed at the white mist confined to the village by the sunlight, and the ghostly faces that appeared and disappeared within the mist, as they gradually left the village.

"They won't catch up, will they? It would be terrible if they did," one of the worried adventurers asked again.

"Didn't I say that as long as the other side is in a bound spirit state, there's no need to be too afraid? They didn't chase after us yesterday, did they?"

The knowledgeable knight explained, but Maginus kept sticking his head out of the carriage and looking around.

To ensure safety, she used the Life Force Mist to check the carriage and found that strong negative energy was still lingering on it.

This means that something is following them, and they are completely unaware of it, and can only wait quietly for the enemy in the shadows to launch an attack.

……

As dusk turned into night, the carriages slowly came to a stop, and the remaining team members got off and lit a campfire. They maintained a certain distance from each other while ensuring that they could provide timely support to other teams.

"Hey, how was your haul?"

Arat wore an undisguised smile, as did the others, but Maginus kept her eyes fixed on the carriages, her hands never leaving her weapon.

Just as everyone was celebrating, the girl suddenly stood up and interrupted their conversation: "Everyone, it seems like something has followed us here."

The camp, which had been filled with whispers, fell silent as everyone instinctively gripped their weapons and looked in the direction Maginus had indicated.

That was the carriage the temporary captain rode in; it looked quite ordinary.

Chapter 105 Cursed Ghost

The carriage remained completely still under the watchful eyes of the crowd, who looked at Maginus with suspicion. The girl simply uttered one sentence:

"Don't forget, it was my shout that brought you back to your senses, otherwise you would all be dead in the village."

The adventurers then realized that the shout had come from the girl. Those members with the ability to fight the undead no longer hesitated. Some applied holy water, while others applied it. As for ritual spells... there was no time for them to prepare them now.

About three or four people stood in front. There should only be one undead, and it was just a ghost from a small village. Three or four people should be enough.

As Maginus thought this, she gripped the protector tightly and carefully approached the carriage. She raised her hand and cut her wrist to let the blood flow out. Wiping the blood onto the protector, the girl forcefully splashed out the blood containing a large amount of life force.

Drops of scarlet liquid fell onto the ground in front of the carriage, and everyone suddenly felt a chill.

"Uh uh uh~".

A chilling growl emanated from inside the carriage, and a white mist, identical to that in the village, gradually spread, albeit at a much lower concentration and intensity. Maginus narrowed her eyes, and the red mist of life force quickly enveloped the white mist of negative energy, preventing it from spreading.

At this moment, the monster lurking inside the carriage finally revealed itself.

What appeared before them was a grayish-white ghost. Its upper body was clearly defined, in the form of a ferocious humanoid creature, but its lower body was a blurry, ghostly cloud of mist, with a malevolent consciousness surfacing in its empty eyes.

ghost!

The adventurers stared wide-eyed, sensing danger, none of them willing to step forward to test the waters, and instead focused their attention on Maginus.

"Blood, life..."

Incoherent words spilled from its mouth as it lay before the girl's spilled blood, attempting to draw life force from it. Upon seeing this, Maginus immediately waved his hand, reclaiming most of the life force.

Staring blankly at the blood before him, now devoid of most of its life force, the ghost suddenly looked up, fixing its gaze on the girl. Its expression turned extremely ferocious, and the words it uttered had only one meaning: "...Kill!"

It pounced directly at Maginus, the gray light emanating from its hands giving off a dangerous feeling, and its charging speed was extremely fast, reaching her in the blink of an eye.

Maginus widened her eyes, maximizing her dynamic vision and thought process, raising her sword to block the gray claws, her mind divided as she searched for information about the monster in her brain.

By comparing each of the ethereal creatures to the past, she found the information.

This should be a monster called a cursed ghost. Those who suffered great pain before their death, or were afflicted by harmful control spells, sometimes become cursed ghosts and continue to wander, trying to spread their suffering to others.

It possesses the intelligence of a normal person, and its hiding in the carriage was probably intended to launch a sneak attack while they were asleep. However, the cursed ghost could not resist its instincts, and its thirst for life caused it to rush out prematurely.

"Hihihi!"

A piercing laugh rang out. The ghost, mistaking the girl's weapon for an ordinary one, swung its claws even faster, believing the weapon couldn't touch it. However, the instant it made contact, it felt the sharpness of the blade and realized...

This is a magical weapon.

Maginus didn't exert any force at all; the ghost lunged at her and cut off its own claws.

The sharp wail made the girl frown slightly and take half a step back. She then raised the glowing guardian spirit and swung it forcefully, but the ghost dodged the attack with extreme agility.

It wanted to pounce on Maginos again, but dared not get close because of the magic sword, and then turned its attention to the others.

The next second, the ghost decisively abandoned its original prey and flew towards the person closest to it. The ranger took out a curved knife coated with holy water, intending to imitate the girl and injure the ghost.

However, when the scimitar slashed down, the ghost's claws actually blocked the attack. The enchanted weapon merely touched it, but failed to cause much damage. The only damage was from the holy water on the weapon.

"Hihi!"

A putrid, stench-filled gray mist enveloped the two. The ranger suddenly felt his body go limp, and the arm holding the scimitar lost its strength. When he realized something was wrong, the ghost's claws were already reaching for his head.

Just as the claws were about to touch the ranger's head, they were blocked by a dagger. The thief, who had entered the fog, widened his eyes, grabbed the ranger's body, and quickly retreated, shouting loudly:

"This guy's gray mist can make people feel weak, be very careful!"

Maginus could see more clearly through the fog; besides being suffocating, the gray fog also drained some of their life force when they collided with the wraiths.

Seeing that the ghost was not going to attack her, the girl rushed towards it instead. However, the ethereal monster did not want to fight head-on and instead sought out people weaker than itself to attack.

With its incredible speed, the ghost relentlessly exploited the life force of the four people besides Maginus, constantly looking back at the somewhat frightened adventurers in the distance who had no way to deal with the situation, and even occasionally darting up to the girl to provoke her.

Intelligent undead are a nuisance, but oh well, I'll just time it a little better...

With a smirk, Maginus awaited the undead's challenge. After toying with the adventurer once more, it flew past the girl with a vicious smile, its eyes filled with mockery as it met her gaze.

Just right.

There were no adventurers around her, and the cursed ghosts were within her attack range. It was at this moment...

Killing Aura!

The crimson halo flashed by, and Maginus no longer concealed her life force, fully unleashing her taunts against the cursed ghosts.

Influenced by the aura, the ghost's anger at the girl for harming it was amplified, while at the same time, a vast life force tempted it.

Come on, come and eat me...

Maginus called out to it, and the ghost's instincts completely overwhelmed reason, rushing towards the girl without regard for anything else!

With her right hand, she threw the psychic short sword at the charging ghost, and with both hands gripping the Guardian Angel, she charged towards the cursed ghost. Maginus's muscles were straining, as if she wanted to kill the ghost completely with one strike.

As it swung its claws to block the psychic blade, Maginus leaped into the air, parallel to the floating ghost. Sensing that the ghost, which was about to fall into slumber, had awakened for a moment, its desire for life kept it from flinching or retreating, and it stretched out its claws toward the girl.

The gleaming longsword was raised above her shoulder, leaving an arc of light in the darkness. As the ghost's claws pierced the girl's chest, its body was also completely severed from shoulder to hip!

The two halves of the dead tried to reassemble themselves, but under the influence of the Soul Eater, resurrection became a luxury. The soul energy was quickly absorbed by Maginos, leaving only the soul core to return to the River Styx.