The eastern sky had turned pale as a fish's belly. The first rays of sunlight fell over the forest, and a few birds flew overhead, leaving a trail of chirps.
As the first light of dawn pierced the darkness, it revealed the woods beneath the mist.
At that moment, the group stopped.
Through the mist, they could see that despite the sunlight, the surrounding trees looked somewhat stunted and undernourished, though their leaves were exceptionally lush.
The sunlight struggled to penetrate the mist and the overlapping layers of foliage to reach the ground.
Even at dawn, the forest felt like night.
"This is the place. Everyone, clear the area," Bishop Kanrongpa said.
"Yes!" Those accompanying him were either priests or knights. The knights drew their preferred weapons first and began clearing an area, treading over the thick layer of humus on the forest floor.
"Drive out the snakes and insects." This time, however, they had come prepared. A mass of holy light illuminated their surroundings, and beneath its radiance, countless spiders, insects, and snakes emerged within a ten-meter radius.
One knight could not help swallowing. His eyes twitched, and his scalp prickled. Most of those creatures were venomous...
"Everyone, please use up your remaining divine spells."
Although wasting divine spells was, in a sense, disrespectful to their god, they could no longer afford to worry about that.
Divine spells were cast one after another, much to the knights' benefit.
"Are we certain this is the right location?" Viscount Salante and Mage Haboba asked.
"Yes. This is definitely the Gohata Count Fief. To be safe, we've come well inside its borders," said Fukangxi, who had regained consciousness.
"Then let's prepare!"
The preparations were simple. They unloaded blankets from the carriage and spread them on the ground in a clearing, facing the