Snow had been falling continuously for three days.
The entire land was now blanketed in white. Trees swayed in the strong winds, their branches lashing the air like wildly thrashing whips.
A scout knight, accompanied by a Mightyena, tread carefully over the thick snow, making his way toward the depths of the Black Forest. Their movements were light, leaving only faint traces in the snow. The forest, shrouded in white, was eerily quiet.
Most of the magical beasts in the Black Forest had already found safe places to hibernate for the winter. Even for creatures with powerful physiques, it was hard to endure the bitter cold of this season.
Still, the scout knight remained vigilant. Accidentally stepping on a hibernating beast beneath the snow would be extremely dangerous. Fortunately, his partner, the Mightyena, used its keen sense of smell to detect the presence of any nearby beasts, allowing them to avoid danger as they steadily advanced deeper into the woods.
This time, the knight's mission was to inspect the area cloaked in grey mist. Since winter had begun and many magical beasts had migrated down from Mount Coronet, they hadn't checked the mist's condition in some time.
Judging from recent events in the forest, it seemed that no beasts corrupted by the grey mist had appeared yet—otherwise, chaos would have already erupted.
Moving cautiously, the scout knight finally arrived at the mouth of the Abyssal Cave. Thick, murky fog billowed continuously from within. From a distance, the hazy mist obscured any clear view of the interior.
"The mist is getting denser..."
"At this rate, it won't be long before it engulfs the entire forest."
The scout knight responsible for monitoring the mist's movement looked grim. At his side, the Mightyena growled uneasily, as if it sensed some dreadful presence lurking within the fog.
Whoosh—just as the knight was about to calm his companion, the mist suddenly surged.
A shadow burst from within the fog, lunging straight toward him.
The Mightyena reacted instantly, growling low as it leapt forward. A flash of white light surged from its body as it used Tackle! Boom! The two figures collided in mid-air and quickly separated.
Only then did the scout knight see it clearly: it was a Skuntank. But this Skuntank's fur, normally purple, had turned ashen, and its body was shrouded in grey mist. Its blood-red eyes gleamed with madness and bloodlust.
The moment it hit the ground, the Skuntank pounced again, ferociously slashing at the Mightyena without using any formal moves—just pure, rabid aggression.
"It's been corrupted by the mist…" The knight's expression grew even more serious. He quickly drew the longbow from his back, nocked an arrow, and pulled it taut.
With a sharp whoosh, the arrow flew and struck true, piercing deep into the Skuntank's flesh and splattering blood into the snow.
For a magical beast, such a wound should have been grievous. Yet the Skuntank seemed unfazed—its movement didn't even falter.
Magical beasts corrupted by the grey mist now called Abyssal Beast became mindless monsters driven only by destruction. The scout knight felt a chill in his heart—these creatures truly were terrifying.
"There's only one way to stop them—kill them."
He drew a second arrow, maintained a full draw, and aimed directly at the creature's head.
Seizing an opening, he released the shot. The arrow screamed through the air and embedded itself in the Skuntank's skull, sending the beast flying backward.
It crashed to the ground, twitched a few times, then finally went still. The swirling mist around its body began to dissipate.
"Whew… finally dealt with it." The knight exhaled and quickly ran to check on the wounded Mightyena. It had taken some damage in the feral Skuntank's assault, but thankfully, the injuries weren't serious.
This had to be reported immediately. Without hesitation, the scout knight slung the Skuntank's corpse over his shoulder and began his return to camp.
The Abyssal Beasts… had appeared.
…
The Abyssal Beast Tide
Mira's expression was grave.
She had just received word from the front lines. Although only a few had been spotted, the Abyssal Beasts had indeed surfaced.
Fortunately, the heavy snow had come just in time, giving them some buffer.
Before the snow melted, she planned to gradually relocate villagers from the northeastern territories to Aspiration City.
Meanwhile, knight orders summoned from various regions would begin gathering in the northeast, preparing to enter the Black Forest and carry out cleansing operations on the corrupted beasts within.
Based on their last encounter with the Abyssal Beasts, the spread of the grey mist was directly tied to the number of corrupted monsters. Each corrupted beast would continue to emit grey mist from its body, accelerating the contamination.
But if a corrupted beast was killed, the mist around it would also dissipate. Thus, the fastest way to end the Abyssal Beast Tide was to eliminate every corrupted creature.
The only alternative was to wait for the mist to dissipate on its own. During the last outbreak, Aspiration City had endured for over two months before the fog naturally cleared, ending the crisis.
However, this time things were much worse. The severity of the Abyssal Beast Tide correlated with the number of beasts in the mist—and this year's winter migration was the heaviest yet.
Mira could only hope the knights on the front lines could buy Aspiration City enough time. And she prayed Azelf would continue to protect the city.
Closing her eyes, she prayed in silence.
When she opened them again, the light of resolve shone in her gaze. She walked to her desk and began drafting official orders. One by one, commands were issued and sent.
After finishing the paperwork, she let out a long breath. Her eyes then turned to a letter from Johnson. Upon learning that Aven was fully cooperating, she felt a bit relieved.
The contents of the letter also piqued her curiosity. Not only was Aven an excellent apothecary, but he also seemed to have extensive knowledge about magical beasts.
That much was clear from his ability to quickly raise such a powerful team. Beyond just Gloom and Mightyena, he even knew how to cultivate Rhyhorn.
(End of Chapter)