"The mist is worse than I had imagined. We will get lost if this continued. We had to find the right path quickly." Gragas said with a frown on his face.
The mist was blocking their vision. They couldn't even hear what's happening around them aside from their voices and the flow of water.
"This is a serious matter," Eztein muttered. He only heard it but he didn't expect that it was hard to pass this thick mist.
Amanda looked calm outside but she was anxious and excited at the same time. If they passed this thick mist, they would be able to arrive at the Witch Clan's territory. She dreamed of finding this place countless times and she never thought that a monster would be the one to help her. Her gratitude and loyalty to Souta increased greatly.
Yenxa simply glanced at Souta and didn't say anything. She already realized that she was helpless in this situation but that's not the same for her master.
"Just keep moving forward," Souta said while staring in front. He had a calm expression as this mist didn't bother him at all.
He could entirely feel that the white mist around them was filled with mana and it was the cause of the disruption of their senses.
"Are you sure that this is the right way?" Gragas asked while glancing at Souta. He narrowed his eyes when he saw the confidence in Souta's eyes.
"Absolutely." Souta didn't even look at Gragas. He just kept staring ahead.
"Very well. It seems that you know what you're doing so I will trust you for now." Gragas nodded and he didn't bother Souta anymore.
The small boat kept moving in the middle of the white mist. The white mist only appeared the moment they travel on the river using the boat. So there was a rule to follow if someone wanted to find the Witch Clan. They had to travel on the river as they wouldn't be able to find the Witch Clan if they just walk beside the river banks.
Even if they run throughout the entire riverside they wouldn't find the white mist in the river because of the illusion barrier that was preventing every creature from seeing what was inside the river. It was only blocking the appearance of the river but it didn't block the vision on the other side. So the people could still see and hear what's happening on the other side of the river.
Using a very complicated barrier formation they made it possible.
Time had passed quickly. They didn't even realize that three hours had passed since they've entered the white mist. It was too silent and the eerie vibe in the atmosphere was bone-chilling.
"How many hours had passed since we enter this fog? It feels like I lost my sense of time. Somehow I feel calm." Gragas wondered.
Soon, the silent atmosphere was shattered as sounds of laughter echoed. The laughter of children, adults, and elderly sounded everywhere.
'It's starting. It will only get worse as we are approaching the Witch Clan.' Saya informed him.
Souta nodded and he moved his eyes. He looked at Amanda, Gragas, Eztein, and Yenxa. "Prepare yourself. This white fog is a barrier formation and a high level at that. It will weaken our five senses. It will also produce powerful illusions as we got closer to the Witch Clan."
He slowly explained the barrier formation to them. He recounted to them what Saya said to him about this white fog.
"If you can't handle it just close your eyes and cover your ears. The things that we hear and see are different from each other. Remember my words."
Souta started to hear familiar voices in his ears. Lynn, Lumilia, Bryan, Brando, and everyone that he knew was whispering to his ears. He stayed calm and ignore everything around him.
Soon, the scene in front of him had changed. The scenery became a bloody and brutal battlefield. Corpses were scattered like a trash and a pool of blood was forming on the floor. The thick stench of blood assaulted his nose.
All the people that he had killed were before his eyes.
"Why did you kill me?"
"I have a family..."
"I didn't do anything wrong."
"You should have the one that died."
"No one will care if you die..."
Souta scratched the back of his head and yawn. The creepy voices and brutal scenery didn't matter to him. He had seen violent scenery in the game and it was much worse than this.
He had killed countless people and he didn't regret it. From the beginning, he knew that he would eventually kill a lot of people so he was prepared. Everything was for his survival.
He sighed and thought that if he was in their position what would he do. He knew that his path was filled with blood and a lot of people who stood beside him will probably die too.
Souta looked down and he couldn't see Amanda and the rest. The illusion was too good and if he didn't have high perception then he wouldn't feel that his comrades were just beside him.
Another hour had passed and Souta felt the fluctuations of Amanda, Yenxa, Gragas, and Eztein's energy. Their energy was trembling and it felt like they were being emotionally disturbed.
"The illusions are finally affecting them. Just hold on for a little bit. I can feel that we are getting closer."
Souta muttered as he crossed his arm in front of his chest. He closed his eyes and covered his ears with flesh. Hearing the creepy voices for an hour was an unpleasant and irritating experience.
After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked in front of him.
"This...!"
He clenched his fist and threw a punch.
Bang!
Loud sounds echoed and it sounded like a shattered glass. The wind blows strongly and the white fog slowly disappeared.
"We're here."
Souta narrowed his eyes as he found that the boat was already on the land. He placed his hand in his pocket and grabbed the transmission talisman. He tested if he could still connect to Alice and the result was as he expected. The barrier formation couldn't block the transmission talisman.
It couldn't be compared to the barrier that covered the Ladros City which could even block the connection of talisman.
Gragas, Amanda, Eztein, and Yenxa noticed that they weren't in the river anymore. They jumped out of the boat and looked around but they found that a group of people wearing red formal clothes with golden trims were circling them.
"Is this the witches?" Gragas asked in a low voice.
"Probably, but their aura is filled with killing intent." Eztein laughed dryly as he slowly pulled the halberd on his back.
From the witches' point of view, they were intruders so they couldn't help it if the witches were hostile to them.
'I understand your feeling. These guys also intruded the hidden base and turned me into a slave.' Eztein said inwardly.
The number of witches around them was more than thirty. Twenty of them had the energy level of a B-rank while the rest had the aura of an A-rank.
A tall handsome man stepped forward. He had long blonde hair and a pair of blue eyes. His skin was soft like that of a woman.
"I'm the Chief of Witch Clan's Enforcer, George Lothyne! Intruders, I ask you! Why have you come you our land?!"
The man introduced himself as a high-ranking person in the Witch Clan. Among the witches here, he was the only one that had the aura of an S-rank.
His aura was ominous and heavy. It was heavier than the woman that Souta fought in the auction house. It was even heavier than Gragas and Eztein. It was as if this man had already solidified one hundred percent of his energy in his mana pool. He was just simply waiting for his opportunity to break one of the shackles and he will enter the realm of SS-rank.
As expected, the Chief Enforcer should be one of the strongest people here. If the Chief Enforcer was already at the peak of S-rank then the Clan Leader was surely at the shackled realm.
'Fuck! This is definitely dangerous. This clan alone would be enough to wipe out the Great Astley Empire in just a single day.'
A smile formed on Souta's face while thinking about the forces of the Witch Clan. The Ancestor of the Great Astley Empire could only be compared to an early stage of S-rank. Even Gragas and Eztein would decimate the Ancestor in the blink of an eye.
Souta raised his hand and pushed Amanda forward.
Huh?
Amanda looked back with a confused expression as she didn't know why Souta pushed her.
"Introduced yourself. Don't worry, I'm here." Souta smiled and said.
"I..." Amanda wanted to say something but she eventually nodded her head as determination filled her eyes. She turned to the Chief Enforcer and said, "I'm Amanda Brune, a member of the Witch Clan! I came here because I want to find out the truth!"
