The Situation

"My breath steamed white before my lips. You could hardly imagine how desperate a person would seem amid the boundless white of the Great Snow Mountain.

If Chris had not been beside me, I thought I would have gone mad. Perhaps I had gone mad long ago, to have followed Chris in drawing those pursuers away.

Chris appeared utterly calm. He told me that my breathing had become disordered from fear, just like the Rhythm of my life. I needed to maintain steady breathing if I wanted to survive.

The Breathing Method was truly miraculous. It calmed me down. Chris frankly admitted that he was not certain he would survive this time either, and told me to be prepared.

Prepared to die?"

Journey to the Snow Mountain was a novel written by Thackeray from his own first-person perspective. It told of how Thackeray, then still a wandering bard, had encountered the legendary ranger Chris in the northern lands. At the time, Chris had accepted a commission to escort an earl's eldest son back to his homeland to inherit his title.

Perhaps captivated by Chris's bearing, Thackeray chose to follow him. On the road, in order to draw away their pursuers, the two of them separated from the earl's eldest son and traveled through the vast, white Great Snow Mountain.

It was during that time that Chris told Thackeray the details of his many experiences. After the two finally defeated their pursuers and completed the commission, Thackeray wrote Chris's accounts into a book, making Chris's title as a legendary ranger resound even more widely across the continent.

The Snow Mountain Escort arc was the final part, and also the most thrilling. During that battle in the snow mountain, Chris's face was slashed up, while Thackeray suffered serious injuries as well. Not long after the book was published, Thackeray died of illness.

The legendary tales of Chris that came afterward were all novels fashioned by others from the words of a few witnesses. Though they generally matched the original course of events, they contained quite a few inaccuracies.

"Chris!" Chris murmured his own name with a trace of nostalgia. Then his gaze hardened once more as he looked at Dessa across from him. "Enough time has been wasted. Please step aside, Miss Dessa. Although you are a lady, if you truly insist on stopping me, then for the sake of my convictions, I will not show mercy."

Dessa smiled faintly. Her somewhat ordinary face gained a touch more charm when she smiled. "I am not Nozades. Those words about not showing mercy should be mine to say."

"One last time, Mr. Chris." Dessa drew a slender sword from beneath her black robes. Great quantities of black spread across her hand, revealing where the Black Crow Pathogen had been implanted. "You possess qualities Lord Negary needs. Submit to Lord Negary. Not only will your old hidden injuries be healed, but you will also gain the power bestowed by Lord Negary."

Chris's expression did not change. Without the slightest hesitation, he threw a punch at the woman.

"What a few disgusting little bugs." Adre withdrew his palm from the corpse. At his wrist, some black substance was slowly receding into his body. The fallen corpse wore a bewildered expression, as though it still did not know it was dead.

This group had laid an ambush along the road Isabella and Nara took home, intending to kill the mother and daughter. Unfortunately for them, with the Crow Men forces protecting them, they not only failed to accomplish their goal but also lost their own lives.

Meanwhile, Isabella and Nara seemed entirely unaware of the ambush as they continued down the road home, their expressions shifting.

The Black Crow Pathogen was a miraculous pathogen. Enhancing physical capabilities was merely its most basic function. Before implantation, the pathogens showed no differences, but once implanted, they developed different abilities according to the method of implantation and cultivation.

For example, Nozades had developed it into an ability to record an opponent's moves. Adre, meanwhile, was the first Crow Man in the true sense of the term. His development of the Black Crow Pathogen was the strongest among all Crow Men, and among all of Negary's subordinates, his strength ranked among the very best.

"Lord Adre." A man dressed as a merchant came before Adre. His skin continuously writhed and darkened, until he turned into a puddle of black sludge-like matter. The layer of black fluid kept changing, eventually restoring itself into an ordinary face without any distinctive features.

"Do you have any news, Garnan?" Adre asked.

Garnan was also a member of the Crow Men Organization. Like Nozades, he had chosen to implant the Black Crow Pathogen into his skin. However, unlike Nozades, who used it in battle, Garnan had allowed the Black Crow Pathogen to completely Devour his skin, granting him the ability to mimic and transform.

Thus, he usually disguised himself as different people and traveled to other regions to gather intelligence.

"The latest news is that Bishop Austin of the Divine Grace Church has brought a team of Divine Grace Knights to an area not far from Rea." Garnan's voice was as unremarkable as his appearance, impossible to notice.

"Reinforcements?" Adre nodded, indicating that he understood the information.

"Also, there is another piece of uncertain information." Garnan hesitated before continuing. "I learned some scattered news from a Roas merchant. The Kingdom of Roas may have sent people to Rea."

"The Kingdom of Roas is joining in this mess too?" Adre frowned. The situation was becoming increasingly complicated. "I understand. Continue gathering information, and be careful."

"Understood!" Garnan's skin writhed and darkened once again. He then transformed into a youthful-looking boy with a trace of childishness still on his face. After changing his clothes, he became a novice mercenary who had only recently left home.

"Lord Negary." Watching Garnan depart, Adre murmured softly before turning toward the Forbidden Land. More than a third of his body had already been replaced by the Black Crow Pathogen, so through his connection with the pathogen, he could sense some of the changes occurring to Lord Negary.

"Adre?" A somewhat weary voice traveled through the Black Crow Pathogen within his body and reached Adre. He hurriedly dropped to one knee, lowered his head, and said respectfully, "It is I, Lord Negary. What are your orders?"

"I need to enter dormancy for a time. During this period, Noah must remain at my side and cannot leave. I will entrust Rea's order to you during this time. Do not let anyone disturb me."

"Also, Nozades has already been defeated by Chris, and Dessa appears to be close to losing as well. I will tell you how to control the Scale-kin shortly. Take them and intercept Chris. It would be best if you can kill him, but do not force it if you cannot."

"The most important thing now is to pass through my dormancy period steadily."

"Yes, Lord Negary!"

I took a ride back to my hometown today, and I truly was not in the right state. I have been stuck badly, and even writing this chapter was somewhat forced. I will make up another chapter tomorrow.