Gray sandstone broke loose beneath their feet and rolled down the cliff, which rose dozens of meters high. Only a few withered shrubs grew along the way. Sebas hurriedly stopped, then looked ahead with lingering fear. The towering mountains stretching for dozens of miles were all shades of gray, while narrow mountain paths wound through the scattered gray landscape. This road was none other than Karasu's famous eastern Withered Way.
The young man led a donkey along, thoroughly baffled. Everyone traveling with him—including the undead who made him uncomfortable—had privately said that their destination was a prosperous place. Yet everything he had seen over the past few days had grown increasingly desolate.
He had left Rosalin with his adoptive father intending to travel to the Nine Phoenixes. Who would have thought that through a twist of fate, he would end up in this completely unfamiliar foreign land? He did not mind as long as it was a good place to settle, but everything before his eyes seemed to be diverging from what he had imagined.
The forest extending eastward from the northern lowlands of Karasu ended here. During the Year of the Burrow Beast, when the Blood Staff swept through eastern Karasu, a great battle had taken place here between the undead and the Highland Knights. The undead's secret arts had wiped out every trace of life in the canyon, creating the scene they saw today.
Adeni wrinkled her delicate nose and frowned at Naquel, who was saying farewell to Andria and the others not far away. She had caught the thick scent of death permeating the air.
"Mr. Naquel, south of here is the Gray-White Mountain Road. There's a trail there that leads to Wismin. Once you pass through the forest there, you'll reach the northern edge of the