Within the Gray Fog (Part One)

"My lord, all the goods have been packed. Last night's 'relief supplies,' including seven cattle, twenty sheep, a packhorse, and all the miscellaneous items, have been entered in your ledger and packed."

Karim, the steward, wore a presentable cloth tunic, but his expression was thoroughly glum. No one would be happy about entering the Northern Frontier. They stood atop the wall and gazed into the distance. Apart from the Gray Fog stretching up to the heavens, there was only more Gray Fog.

It was not that he had never considered escaping, but Field gave him no opportunity.

Corrupted by money, Wildcat and the other slave soldiers had become utterly loyal to Field. Karim was certain that the moment he ran, those damned lapdogs would kill him, and Field would reward them with a silver coin.

Damned lapdogs. They'd sell their souls for money and even throw their lives away, the steward cursed inwardly.

That was how slaves were. Give them a little hope and preferential treatment, and they would dare to lay down their lives.

"By the way, my lord." After much hesitation and several glances at Ashina, Kao could not help asking, "That slave-sorry, I mean Miss Ashina-is she really a Chosen One? You aren't deceiving us, are you? Could she show us a miracle?"

To raise morale, Field had gathered everyone the previous night and announced that they had a Chosen One.

"I have to prove it to you? Why don't you lead the expedition, then, and I'll serve as your steward? Though I wonder whether you'd survive the Empire's efforts to hunt you down." Field stopped Ashina from summoning her giant wolf. With a cold snort, he frowned at the steward. This disloyal steward had been spouting defeatist talk the entire time. Had he not been one of only two people who could read and write, Field would have made him a groom.

It was time to put him in his place.

Kao felt the pressure, and cold sweat immediately trickled down his forehead. He managed an "Uh," then dared not speak again.

His master was practically a different person now. Perhaps his family had put too much pressure on him? That had to be it. After all, Kao himself did not want to enter the Cursed Land, so a pampered noble would surely be even less willing. Kao's mind was a complete muddle.

"If there are no objections, we're moving out!"

Field lit the Mist-Driving Lamp. At twenty-five gold coins apiece, every minute it burned was like throwing money into the fire.

Gritting his teeth, Field stepped into the Northern Frontier Province. Every sound and trace of living creatures around him abruptly vanished, replaced by nothing but terrifying silence. Looking up, he saw the murky fog of death enveloping his surroundings. It was eerily silent, and even the sun was invisible. Stay there long enough, and it would feel as though they were deep beneath the sea. Even Field felt nervous and afraid, let alone the slaves.

Had leaving the Mist-Driving Lamp's range not meant being corrupted, and had Field not announced the news of the Chosen One, they would probably have lost their minds already, plunged headlong into the Gray Fog, and been corrupted into monsters.

The ground was covered in writhing red-and-black "tentacles." These were corrupted plants. They could not attack, but they would snag the wagon wheels.

"This is just like fucking Silent Hill." Field forced himself to remain calm and walked at the head of the procession, keeping himself in everyone's sight as he guided them forward and gave them courage.

After all, if a noble who valued his life was still there, what excuse did they have to run?

"Caw, caw, caw..."

"Roar!"

All kinds of eerie cries rang incessantly through the Gray Fog. The Mist-Driving Lamp illuminated a little over a hundred paces ahead, while the roars came from farther away. No one felt safe in the slightest.

Ruined walls lay everywhere, and shriveled heads sat impaled on corroded iron spears sticking out of the ground. Field even spotted a faded Griffin Banner. The Empire had sent many pioneering legions here, but sadly, they had all died and settled in quite nicely as "locals."

"Gulp."

Field swallowed.

"My lord, get behind me." Ashina's crimson eyes watched the area ahead and to the right warily. "A monster is approaching."

Soon, a corpse ghoul missing half its face staggered into Field's view.

"Whoosh!"

Ashina drew her bow and loosed an arrow, sending a streak of silver light through the air.

The corpse ghoul's head burst like a watermelon. Its body rolled twice across the ground before lying still.

"Watch out! More monsters are charging at us!" A large cluster of skull icons appeared on Field's Mini-Map. Since they had been discovered, he no longer bothered keeping his voice down. "Just as we practiced! Arrange the wagons into a wall! Archers and crossbowmen, fire!"

At Ka Mountain Fortress, Field had acquired eighty crossbows and a hundred standard-issue Imperial bows. Unfortunately, only two or three slaves knew how to shoot a bow. Crossbows were easy to use, though, so he had armed twenty ranged soldiers.

The strange cries grew ever more frenzied. Amid a dense patter of footsteps, a dark mass of corpses surged forward, coming into view. With the Mini-Map's help, Field knew where the nearby monsters were, but they were packed too densely. His group was still forced into combat.

"Damn it, fire!" Without needing further orders from Field, the trembling slaves had already loosed their crossbow bolts.

"Whoosh, whoosh!" The corpse ghouls at the front seemed to hit an invisible wall. Seven or eight fell immediately.

Ashina put away her bow, summoned her giant wolf, and charged in to crush them. Though she was only a first-tier Chosen One, a Chosen One's combat strength was inherently greater than that of mortals.

The long saber in her hand fluttered up and down like a butterfly, and corpse ghouls fell beneath her blade one after another.

Some had their heads severed by her saber; others were battered to death by the Dragon-Breed Wolf's claws. Ashina charged into the thickest part of the horde and immediately had the Dragon-Breed Wolf spin while breathing fire. Like a blazing hurricane, it reduced every corpse ghoul around it to ash.

"She... she really is a Chosen One?" Kao rubbed his eyes, his face filled with disbelief.

Ashina took a great deal of pressure off them, but the tension did not ease at all. With the Gray Fog obscuring their vision, the corpse ghouls pouring endlessly out of it placed everyone under immense psychological strain.

"Kill!" Wildcat growled, thrusting his halberd with all his strength at an oncoming corpse ghoul.

Three or four halberds plunged into the corpse ghoul's chest together, then heaved upward, flinging it to the ground like a torn sack. More corpse monsters slammed into the slave guards around Wildcat. Their fists and claws rained down on the guards' shields and lamellar armor, producing a metallic clanging like a smithy at work.

"Hm? What's flying toward us?"

Field noticed a rapidly moving skull icon on the map. It was already above him. Without hesitation, he swung off his horse. He was the only person in the entire procession perched so high up, and it was far too dangerous.

He had barely found his footing and had not yet had time to look up when he felt a powerful gust rush toward him.

"Watch overhead!"

Field immediately ducked, drew his longsword, and thrust upward. In that fleeting glance, he saw a bat woman.

She had no hair or eyebrows, and her face was hideous. Aside from the feminine features of her body, her arms were bat wings, and her legs ended in sharp, hooked talons.