The River of Tears

Under the orchestration of some powerful force behind the scenes, Shadow Border suffered its greatest damage ever, with the sturdy car body twisted and even the doors flying off.

Originally, the power that Bai Mo activated could only land it in an area twenty miles away at most, but now, Shadow Border has reached the westernmost part of the Fairy Britain, the location of the Nameless Forest.

The mist swirled around the Nameless Forest, causing Ritsuka to slowly open her eyes.

"Mash?"

She subconsciously called out the name, which surprised even herself. Although she couldn't find any trace of the person named Mash in her memory, the name seemed to be engraved in her bones.

Are you awake?

A voice came from beside her. Ritsuka turned around and saw a girl with long golden hair and a beautiful face, but dressed in shabby clothes, sitting next to her.

"Artoria?!"

Ritsuka subconsciously called out the name; now another name had entered her mind.

The girl in front of him suddenly twitched at the corner of her mouth, and for a moment she was at a loss for what to do.

Is Artoria such a common name? Even people who have never seen me before can recognize my face and say that name. Why is it so hard to escape...?

The girl inwardly scoffed, but she still feigned a bewildered expression and said:

"Um, do you remember something? This is really unexpected. Logically speaking, after entering this Nameless Forest and inhaling its mist, all memories should have disappeared."

Mash and Artoria... they must be very important people to you, right? Or is it because of your names?

"No... Mash can't remember, but seeing your face, the name Artoria suddenly popped into her mind."

"Is... Is that so? Artoria, that name sounds so beautiful, like something a princess would have. There's no way a country bumpkin like me could have such a name."

"No, I feel like this name is common, because for a moment I seemed to see many faces, maybe it's some kind of overused name."

The blonde girl in front of him felt a mix of emotions, and could only manage a helpless laugh to cover her embarrassment.

"Well, it could be the name of another companion you know. There's also a red-haired man who came here with you. I'll go call him."

The blonde girl walked out, and seeing no one around, Ritsuka immediately checked her surroundings and quickly found an employee ID on her person.

"Ritsuka Fujimaru... that should be my name, right?"

East of the Fairy Britain, south of New Darlington, a Taiga runs across the Daichi. Bai Mo and Morgan did not want to be warmly welcomed in the air again, so they chose to walk.

"This is the River of Tears, also River Dracae. Dracae is a dangerous fairy lord of the dead. Anyone who tries to cross this river will have their favorite thing conjured up by Dracae and floated downstream."

If a person jumps into the water for something they love, Dracae will drag them in and kill them.

Morgan and Bai Mo walked along the riverbank. The Winter Queen tirelessly told Bai Mo about the history of the river. From the very beginning, Morgan enthusiastically recounted some interesting anecdotes and landscapes of the Fairy Britain to Bai Mo.

Bai Mo didn't refuse, treating it as a way to pass the time, and instead became a listener.

"It sounds like a story from a fairy tale."

"I do have that feeling, but unfortunately, those things aren't real. They're mostly illusions conjured by Dracae, mere objects with outward appearances. If you have enough willpower, you can ignore them."

"So, do you want to cross the river directly?"

Bai Mo nodded, feeling a little curious about what might drift over as he walked by, though Bai Mo didn't believe that Dracae had the ability to explore his inner thoughts.

Morgan stepped onto the bridge first, her pace seemingly slowing deliberately as she gazed at the River of Tears. The water surged, and beneath it, something seemed to be lurking.

"I can feel the flow of magic. So it really is something created by magic?"

Bai Mo also stepped onto the bridge, sensing that although magic could indeed create anything one desired to a certain extent, it also had its limits. What Morgan sought was Britain, and from a physical point of view, it was impossible for Britain to float down from upstream on this river that nestled in Britain.

Just then, amidst the swirling vortex of weapons, Bai Mo saw strange and twisted figures from the other side of the river, accompanied by shouts of battle. Just as he frowned and was about to investigate, a cry of alarm came from beside him.

"Bah Vanshi?"

A corpse was slowly floating on the river. Her body was mangled, and her fingers were missing. Her red dress was tattered, and even more horrifying was her face, which looked like a rotting corpse dug out of the ground.

With a thud, the body crashed into the bridge pier, one leg severed, and it floated down, the stench of the corpse rising up.

"Bah Vanshi, that's your companion, right? This..."

Bai Mo frowned slightly. Clearly, Morgan's worries were real. If it were a normal companion floating in the water, it would be easy to tell that it was fake.

Just as Ritsuka couldn't possibly be in this river right now, Bai Mo had already scanned the surrounding area with his senses.

But the sounds coming from afar, coupled with the location of their current situation, filled Morgan with worry. What if Ba Wanshi had truly been defeated, killed by the fairies, and thrown into the river?

This is extremely unlikely, but not impossible.

Even so, Morgan remained rational and quickly prepared to leave.

"That guy Dracae... he actually did something so perverse. Even dead fairies are still fairies, huh?"

"This is a bit different from what you said. Shouldn't something like wealth or jewels float down at a time like this? This isn't something you'd find in a fairy tale."

Bai Mo said, and just then, a faint voice came from under the bridge:

"Mother... save me..."

Morgan paused, instinctively channeling her magic. A blue iron chain stretched downwards, and in an instant, the once calm river surged into a raging torrent. Ba Wanxi's figure vanished, replaced by a colossal figure emerging from behind the giant wave.

"Hehehe, you've reached out your hand, haven't you? Well then, come down, hurry up, don't you want it?"

The giant wave resembled a gaping maw, and just as it reached its highest point, the figure within it opened its eyes, two crimson lights flashing, when the wave seemed to freeze.

A red light flashed, and the Fairy Lord seemed to doubt his own eyes.

On the bridge, on one side was the Winter Queen, her body surging with magic, almost turning into a raging fire; on the other side was a woman with clenched fists, her body radiating 950,000 units of power, completely undetectable by anyone outside the realm.

This is what they mean by "kicking an iron plate," right?