The southeastern part of the Basharan Empire should be hilly, or perhaps a relatively humid plain. Because Sean felt a constant dampness in the air ever since entering the mountainous region, which was quite uncomfortable...
The team set off three days after hearing the news at the inn. During that time, everyone prepared their own gear. Aside from the alchemist Alphonse’s potions, the others also needed to prepare items suited to their needs. For instance, Laster needed to prepare special arrows, while Jonathan had to stock up on dry rations... As for Sean, he originally wanted to buy some local maps of the area, but couldn’t find any. The best he could get were broad regional maps that only showed routes. But since the mercenary squad already knew the routes themselves, those maps weren’t very useful. So Sean opted to buy some gunpowder tools, hoping he wouldn’t need them.
“The air here is really unpleasant.” “Yeah, was it always like this around here?” Sean asked.
The group had already entered the forest. Although the southeast wasn’t mountainous, there was still plenty of vegetation. This area didn’t yet have the heavy fog rumored at the inn, but the damp air made breathing uncomfortable, causing dry coughs.
“I rarely came here before, but I’ve heard there are swamps in this area...” Jonathan said. “That’s right. Many years ago, several rivers used to flow through the southeast, but when the city of Tacoma was built, many were forcibly cut off. However, the climate here is humid, so those muddy rivers never dried up completely. During the heavy rainy season, they even formed lakes, which gradually led to swamps,” Alphonse explained.
Sean hadn’t expected this alchemist to know so much about geography! “Been here before?” “Heard about it.”
Sean clearly noticed a 【Hesitation!】 status on the other person, but there was no sign of lying. So he probably hadn’t been here, but that hesitation might have come from learning something elsewhere.
The team continued forward. Although the air irritated their throats, wrapping a scarf around their faces solved the problem.
“Are we on the right path?” Since entering, they hadn’t seen any other mercenary squads besides their own.
Sometimes Sean found mercenary squads strange—they’d all gather together during evening gatherings, but when traveling, they deliberately avoided other squads’ routes. He remembered several other mercenary teams leaving the inn at the same time as them. But gradually, the group stretched out, and now there was no one behind them at all.
“The others probably took different paths. The forest has trails everywhere. Mercenary teams don’t like traveling together, so they likely avoided us on purpose,” Jonathan said casually, as if this was common among mercenaries.
They kept going deeper until sunlight could barely penetrate the forest... And in Sean’s vision, a prompt gradually appeared: 【Daytime: Clear, 6:35:30】
But the mist drifting in the air was labeled 【Miasma】.
“Wait.” Sean raised his hand to stop everyone. “What’s wrong, Master Sean?” “This mist might affect our health. Let’s all put on masks. Alphonse, do you have any antidotes?” Sean suddenly turned to the alchemist. “I do, but...” “Give one to each person. If anyone feels unwell, drink it in advance. Don’t waste the potion,” Sean emphasized. “What’s wrong with this mist, Master Sean?” “A kind of miasma. It might be harmful.”
In this world, there was no concept of miasma, and the display didn’t directly say 【Poison Gas】—just gases from decaying plants and animals. They could be harmful, but not as directly toxic as poison gas.
None of them doubted Sean’s judgment as a ‘Silver-ranked Bounty Hunter,’ so each took a potion and continued.
*Gurgle~* The sound of something falling into water.
The vegetation in the forest was tall, blocking their view, so even though they heard the noise, they couldn’t see any water.
“We should be on the main road, right? Why are we encountering water?” someone in the group suddenly asked. “Maybe it’s from the heavy rain recently. Isn’t this area known for the most rainfall?” Jonathan retorted.
As the guide, he was reluctant to admit they were lost, and Sean had checked the map in his hand—the route they were taking was correct... but the path looked far too overgrown.
Not all roads in this world were paved with fine stone. Only a few major cities close to each other had stone roads; most distant routes were simply dug-out mountain paths. Take his own town, Taylemian, for example. It was originally a logging camp with mountain trails, and only later did people settle and turn it into a town. But for very remote places, even the digging was skipped—paths were just worn down by footsteps.
In places like forests, the most traveled routes by travelers or caravans became the roads! No one maintained them, and an empire couldn’t afford such large-scale road upkeep... So sometimes Sean thought that poor roads might be one reason many people were unwilling to leave their hometowns.
People from one region mostly moved within that region’s cities, rarely crossing into distant areas.
“But that shouldn’t be. Even if no one had walked here for half a month, the plants wouldn’t have grown this fast. It’s too abnormal,” Laster said from behind. “If it were normal, they wouldn’t have sent so many people... Looks like we’ll have to take the water route from here,” Sean said as he stopped, his foot stepping into a puddle.
The path ahead was now covered in shallow water... It didn’t look too deep, since they could see weeds and branches through the surface.
Sean had thought about preparing all sorts of things, but he never considered bringing waterproof boots. It seemed they’d have to wade through from now on...
“Find some long branches to use as walking sticks. Follow each other’s footprints and don’t step into unknown areas,” Jonathan, who had some survival experience, instructed. Each of them grabbed a long wooden pole so that if someone slipped, they could extend it to help.
……………………
The six of them carefully made their way through the muddy water. The chilly, damp smell in the air was still strong, now mixed with a rotting odor.
The water underfoot was cold, and stepping on vegetation caused them to sink slightly, but not too fast—if they lifted their feet quickly, they could pass. Still, the road conditions made everyone somewhat displeased.
This journey to the Tacoma region felt awful, but since they’d come this far, no one wanted to turn back. They had no choice but to keep going, hoping to leave the wetlands soon.
The fog in their sight grew thicker...
“Do you hear that? A sound?” Lawrence, who was at the back, suddenly said.