Chapter 224: Looking for Vlad

In just a few hours, the wyvern covered the distance that had taken Seraphina and her squad four days to traverse.

The forest wasn’t dense anymore, but the trees were thicker than before. A vast sheet of snow and ice covered the land, and the temperature had dropped to several degrees below zero.

A flame burned inside Lucas’s black pupils as his eyes scanned the land below. All the colors had vanished from his vision, turning the world grey. Within this grey world, he could see amber figures of living beings through any obstacle within a radius of ten kilometres.

A white bear hibernating inside a cave, a group of goblins surrounding a reindeer, nothing escaped his vision.

Alas, he didn’t see any sign of a human. He only cancelled his Amber Vision when the wyvern slowly descended as they reached their destination.

The trees were scarce here, but the area wasn’t large enough for such a colossal beast to land. It touched down a few hundred metres away from the squad. The trees broke apart, paving the way for its heavy body as it created space for itself without the slightest resistance.

As for Seraphina, her fists instinctively tightened upon seeing this ominously familiar place again.

There was no sign of their battle left on the ground. The land was covered in a sheet of snow, with walls of terrain encased in glacial ice. That was how the Forest of Death was. Countless beings died here every day, but by the next day, their corpses would either be eaten by other beasts or buried beneath the snow, never to be revealed again.

Seraphina’s eyes desperately searched for any sign of Vlad. Chloe also looked around, scanning the unfamiliar yet strangely disturbing place.

The land was uneven, formed of small and large terrains with trees growing at different heights. Some had their thick roots jutting out of the ground, covered in snow.

There were a few fallen trees, their bark bearing slicing marks or scorch marks from fire, the only witnesses to the squad’s desperate last stand against Daemoth.

Suddenly, the temperature in the area rose, melting away the sheets of snow and ice and turning them into vapour.

Heat radiated from Lucas’s relaxed figure, his silhouette covered in a faint amber mana.

Once the vapour vanished, the bare land was revealed. Seraphina’s eyes widened as they fell upon a corpse that had been buried beneath the snow, now lying exposed.

The trio quickly moved towards the corpse. Chloe’s heartbeat rose with each step, her fingers trembling at her side, terrified of what awaited her.

Thankfully, the corpse was unfamiliar to her. It was a middle-aged man. His skin had turned a pale grey after being exposed to frostbite. The man’s dead grey eyes were still half open. At his chest was a head-sized gaping hole, revealing the dried crimson ground beneath it.

Seraphina’s brows twitched, an emotion of anger and fear flickering in her eyes. "H-he is Daemoth," she revealed. "The Five Ring Necromancer who attacked us."

Both Chloe and Lucas looked at the corpse with narrowed eyes.

Lucas bent down, closely inspecting the injury that had claimed Daemoth’s life. It didn’t seem like a sword attack.

The flesh around the injury was uneven, and the bones were shattered rather than cleanly sliced. It was as if a ferocious beast had thrust its claw into his chest.

A knowing smile formed on Lucas’s face before quickly vanishing, his striking features returning to normal.

"He must have been killed by Vlad during the battle," Lucas revealed his analysis, bringing a smile to Seraphina’s face.

Chloe seemed completely expressionless, but she was the most relieved among them.

"Then it means Vlad emerged victorious in the battle," Seraphina exclaimed.

She didn’t celebrate too early. If Vlad really had killed him ten days ago, why hadn’t he returned until now? He was already critically injured when the squad teleported. What condition must he have been left in after the battle ended? There was no one to treat him.

Her lips pressed into a thin line, her jaw tightening as all kinds of negative thoughts appeared in her mind.

"There is a cave." Chloe’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts, her fingers pointing towards the tunnel in the terrain wall.

"Oh right, the cave," Seraphina murmured.

She remembered that she had collapsed the tunnel after leaving, but now it seemed to have been opened again.

Another surge of hope filled her heart.

"Let’s check the cave," she said, taking quick steps towards the tunnel. Lucas and Chloe followed behind her.

Their hurried footsteps echoed through the dark tunnel, illuminated only by the flame balls of Lucas.

They reached the first cave where the squad had fought the oni.

Their hands instinctively moved to their noses as a disgusting, rotten stench filled the air. It was overpowering enough to make even a veteran adventurer puke.

Seraphina didn’t waste a moment there, her fingers pointing towards the high tunnel on the opposite wall.

"We need to go there."

The words had barely left her mouth when the trio went airborne, guided by the wind.

Lucas looked at Chloe with a hint of surprise.

’Such precise mastery of wind,’ he gasped inwardly. ’And she is not even a mage.’

The trio floated through the air bridge, reaching the tunnel on the opposite wall.

As the trio walked through the dark tunnel, the smell grew more and more intense, to the point that it became unbreathable.

Yet they still continued. The smell was the least of their worries.

After walking for a few minutes, they reached the end of the tunnel, which opened into a dark, ominous space.

Lucas’s eyes narrowed at the familiar, revolting presence. It had been quite some time since he had sensed it. The presence of death. It would only appear in places of mass slaughter.

A flame appeared at the tip of his index finger. He flicked it away. It transformed into a miniature sun as it left his finger, reaching the ceiling of the cave and illuminating it with its golden glow.

Seraphina and Chloe’s lips parted, their eyes widening as they fell upon the centre of the cave.