The Invincible Young Master-Chapter 212 - Clouds

[A/N: I would have loved to use ’Miasma’ instead of dark mist, but for the clearer picture I am using mist. Also, excuse me for dividing the chapter into 3 parts.]

…

The two spectral armies continued to march toward each other. Then, just as the armies were about to collide, something shifted in the air.

A subtle ripple spread outward, like the soft disturbance of water when a stone is tossed in.

The ripple began at the spot where Lina and the Emperor Academy’s elder stood. It moved across the battlefield slowly, methodically, as though it were a tide, a wave of magic sweeping through the land.

The spectral soldiers, suddenly froze, sensing the change in the air. The once-illusion figures began to tremble, their forms flickering and warping, like smoke caught in the wind.

At the center of this magic stood Lina, the pulse of her magic surging outward.

The four protectors surrounded her, their imposing presence forming a protective barrier, shielding her from any danger.

The ripple of magic spread further, and with each passing second, more and more soldiers from both armies began to dissolve. Their bodies lost their shape, becoming formless, like mist drifting away. Slowly, they turned into dark vapor, their forms mixing into the clouds above.

As the last remnants of the spectral soldiers dissolved into the mist, the area fell into silence.

Lina’s breath slowed, her eyes still glowing softly with the magic that had swept across the field.

"The illusions are gone," she said quietly.

With the illusions lifted, the soldiers blinked, adjusting their vision to the barren landscape before them.

The ground beneath their boots was dry, cracked, and lifeless. The earth stretched out in jagged, parched veins that ran like the scars of a dying creature.

Cracks spread out in every direction, splitting the land open with sharp, uneven lines. From them, dark mist poured like smoke rising from the embers of a long-dead fire.

Some of the soldiers, trained to sense the energy around them, noticed something even more unsettling.

The mist rising from the cracks didn’t feel natural. It radiated with a dark, sinister energy that sent a chill through their spines.

Then, one soldier noticed something unusual. He crouched low to inspect an object half-buried in the dry land.

It was a skeleton, old and brittle, its bones sun-bleached and fragile. Strangely, there were remnants of tattered cloth clung to the bones.

The soldier raised a hand, signaling the commander. The commander, who had been overseeing the army’s movement, quickly approached.

"What is it?" he asked.

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The soldier pointed to the skeleton. "Sir, look at this."

The commander’s gaze fell on the remains. As he looked closer, it became clear that this was no isolated case.

More soldiers began to notice skeletons buried across the cracked earth, all with remnants of cloth wrapped around their bones.

The skeletons were positioned haphazardly, as though their final moments had been spent in frantic, desperate movements, scrambling in vain to escape whatever had claimed them.

One of the soldiers leaned in, his gaze narrowing as he noticed something strange. The skeleton’s bony hand still clutched a small metallic object.

His fingers hesitated before pulling it free from the dead grip. It was an identity card. A familiar insignia was etched into the metal, one every soldier and adventurer of the Jul Empire would instantly recognize.

"An adventurer’s guild identity card..." the soldier murmured, his voice low with realization. "These bones belong to the group that came to bounty hunt."

The commanders also observed the identity card. The insignia was unmistakable, it was from the guild.

A heavy silence settled over the soldiers. The commander stood slowly, holding the card in his hand. His eyes scanned the barren land, searching for answers in the desolate emptiness. Where had these adventurers gone? What had happened to them?

"It confirms they were here," the commander muttered. "But where are the others now?"

The guild had reported more than two hundred bounty hunters had entered the ruin, yet there weren’t enough bodies to account for their fate. Where had the rest gone?

A commander, his brow furrowed with concern, stepped forward. He glanced toward the elder from the Emperor Academy, who had been standing quietly, watching the barren landscape.

"Elder," the commander called. "We’ve made it inside the ruin, but now what? There’s nothing ahead but this wasteland, no paths, no landmarks, no sign of where we should go. What is our next move?"

The elder turned his gaze toward the commander.

Slowly, he lifted a finger and pointed toward the sky, where dark clouds hung ominously.

"We follow the clouds," the elder said simply.

The commander followed the elder’s gesture, his gaze rising to the dark mass above. The clouds had formed from the same mist that had poured from the cracks in the earth and the mist from the spectral soldiers.

Now, the clouds shifted slowly, drifting toward the direction they had initially come from.

"Those clouds," the elder continued, "will lead us to our destination."

The commander nodded, though doubt lingered in his heart. He had seen strange things before, his years of experience had taught him to expect the unexpected. But this was different.

The land, the mist, the strange movement of the clouds, they defied logic. Yet, if the elder, known for his wisdom, believed this was the way, there was little choice but to trust it.

"Understood," the commander replied, his voice firm despite the uncertainty. He turned and signaled his troops to prepare for the next phase of their journey.

Before they could continue, there was a brief moment of solemnity. The fallen soldiers were laid to rest. The soldiers formed a line, their movements respectful, as they buried their comrades in the cracked earth, doing their best to honor them in this desolate place.

Once the burial was complete, the soldiers began their march, following the slow-moving dark cloud that loomed overhead.

Hours passed, how many, no one could say. Time felt warped in this empty, desolate place.

Just as the monotony of the land began to wear on their nerves, something changed. In the distance, a faint curvature appeared on the horizon.

It was subtle at first, but as they drew closer, the shape became clearer: it was a cliff.