Welcome to Hell! - Chapter 265: Dense Fog

Three days had passed since we began our journey through the sea of trees. It was a relatively simple task, as all we needed to do was keep heading straight south while constantly checking our compass.

“The fog is really thick today.”

“Muu…It feels sticky…”

However, the forest was shrouded in a dense fog since the morning. It was so thick that even seeing the carriage directly behind us was a struggle. Those of us riding in the coachman’s seat and the oxen pulling the carriages were soaked through due to the humidity.

If it had been raining, it might have been somewhat better. I could have created an umbrella out of sand, and there were certainly others in the other carriages who could use spiritual arts. Defending against rain would have been easy. But with the fog, fine droplets of water suspended in the air made it impossible to avoid getting wet.

Being drenched like a drowned rat was certainly annoying, but this level of discomfort was bearable. During the war with the Republic, there were times when we had to lie in wait near their base for extended periods to execute surprise attacks and we were even ordered to launch them as soon as battle broke out.

We at the front, riding along with Chris, were in a somewhat lucky position. She was keeping the moisture away from our carriage as much as she could. It seemed that, despite being made of the same element, fog was much harder to control than flowing water. The nature of fog must differ greatly from that of liquid water.

“Hmm…? What’s this…?!”

I had been checking the compass at regular intervals, but it was only now that I noticed something was amiss. The compass I was holding was spinning clockwise in a whirl. This made it impossible to discern the correct direction!

I quickly sent a telepathic message to my comrades in the rear to stop and gather the key members. I also pulled on Apao’s reins to bring him to a stop.

“Boss?”

“Something strange is happening. We’re going to stop for a bit.”

As I dismounted from the coachman’s seat, I patted Apao’s back, who turned around in confusion. The obedient Apao seemed to be satisfied with that and started munching on the grass growing on the ground of the sea of trees.

Around the same time that Apao started eating grass, Tigar and other key members gathered around. From the fact that I had summoned them, they understood it was an emergency, and their expressions were grave. Their concerns were indeed justified.

I just showed them the compass which continued to spin ceaselessly without saying anything. A picture is worth a thousand words, and the erratic behavior of the compass conveyed the urgency of the situation more accurately than any explanation could.

“Just to cover all bases, this isn’t just a case of a defective product that broke prematurely, right?”

“I checked the spare compass as well. That one is spinning counterclockwise.”

Tigar’s faint hope that it was merely a malfunction shattered when Chris brought out the spare compass from the carriage. It seemed Tigar hadn’t truly been holding out much hope, as he muttered “That’s how it is,” to himself in resignation.

Once it was clear that it wasn’t a malfunction, we knew we had to come up with a solution. The most likely cause of this anomaly seemed to be the dense fog that had not been present until yesterday. We originally assumed there was no danger since there had been no issues when we set out, but that assumption appeared to have been a grave mistake.

“Perhaps we should try clearing the fog for a start.”

As a solution, the quickest approach seemed to be to clear the fog. I concentrated my spiritual power and created a multitude of small sand balls, which I then moved erratically through the air. The swiftly moving sand balls began to swirl through the fog, absorbing moisture as they went.

The sand grew heavier after absorbing the moisture, but at that point, I would release my control and create new sand balls. This was because the sand that absorbed water was of no use.

The balls of sand that grew heavy with water started to accumulate and they formed a mound. It seemed that my efforts were not in vain, as the dense fog that enveloped us began to lift, albeit slowly.

“Hey, it stopped spinning!”

“It looks like the fog was the cause after all.”

As the fog thinned, the anomalies in the two compasses showed signs of improvement. They stopped their frantic spinning and after finally settling down they pointed in the exact same direction. It was clear then that the fog had been the culprit all along.

Despite the significant strain it placed on me, it seemed best to continue reducing the moisture in the fog as we moved forward. Just as this thought crossed my mind, I sensed two spiritual powers rising in the distance. The fog I had worked so hard to diminish began to thicken once again.

“So that’s how it is.”

“It wasn’t a natural phenomenon after all.”

Those with keen senses, like myself, seemed to have detected the use of spiritual arts. Everyone was glaring in the same direction with sharp eyes. There were many unknowns about the Shumie Mountain Range, and we had accepted the phenomena as natural occurrences due to their vast scale, thinking it was just something we had to live with.

However, the story changed if someone was intentionally behind this. We had no choice but to see it as a clear act of hostility. Tampering with one of the few ways to discern direction in the forest and attempting to lead us astray, was an action we had to conclude was carried out with clear malicious intent.

Having determined it was an act of hostility, there was only one thing for us to consider next. That is neutralizing the threat. Fortunately, the hurried use of spiritual arts within our sensory range gave away their location. We were ready to launch a counterattack right away.

“But this looks troublesome. There are multiple enemies, and they are well-coordinated in their use of spiritual arts. They must be highly intelligent, possibly even human.”

“I understand. If that’s the case, we’ll make sure to eliminate them for good. Only those who can maintain their sense of direction in the fog will go. Mika and Asumi, let’s move.”

“Understood.”

“It’s my turn, then. Sharl, take care of Sidika for me.”

As Sharl had pointed out, it was clear that the enemies were working together when they activated their spiritual arts. Moreover, the individual who generated the fog with spiritual arts was different from the one who conjured the winds that carried the fog to us. This strategy allowed them to deliver the fog from beyond our detection range. Although they were currently our enemies, I couldn’t help but praise their coordination in my head. They were not opponents we could afford to underestimate.

Given such high levels of intelligence, it was likely that our enemies were of the human species. They might be one of the few who knew how to traverse to the other side of the Shumie Mountain Range. If this speculation were correct, it implied that they were individuals who would not hesitate to commit murder to monopolize their interests. It was clear that overlooking them now would only invite further attacks. A lenient approach was not an option.

For the mission to eliminate them, I chose Mika and Asumi in addition to myself. Mika had superior hearing to anyone else, and Asumi’s senses of hearing and smell were also exceptional. Asumi entrusted her daughter to Sharl’s care and set out into the fog with us.

“Ah, they’ve noticed our approach?”

“It seems they’re coordinating even in their simple attacks…”

“They’re lacking in firepower, though.”

Apparently, the attackers sensed our approach through the fog and switched to a direct attack. Many fist-sized balls of water were carried by a gust of wind and rained down on us.

It seemed that the users of water and wind spiritual arts were different individuals. One was dedicated to creating balls of water, while the other focused solely on generating gusts of wind.

Despite the storm-like situation with unnaturally large raindrops, the water balls never hit us. This was because I had prepared a shield of densely compacted sand for each one of us.

The water balls lacked the power to penetrate the compressed sand, and while the gusts of wind were annoying, they weren’t strong enough to stop our advance in demon form. In fact, the gusts only cleared the fog and helped improve our visibility, which I was quite thankful for.

“Is that them?”

“They…aren’t humans, huh?”

“A turtle and a snake? But they’re quite large.”

With the fog cleared and the general location known from the presence of their spiritual power, we caught sight of our attackers. There was a huge rock in a faraway place, and a turtle and a snake on top were the users of such spiritual arts.

However, their size was so large that they could be seen even from a distance. The turtle was tall enough to reach my chest, and the snake had a head that seemed as thick as an embrace. Not only their appearance but also the immense amount of spiritual power they emitted was extraordinary. And the closer we got to them, the more I realized that they were formidable opponents.

“Mika, Asumi, you’ve noticed, haven’t you?”

“Of course.”

“They think they’re hidden… Hmph. Their killing intent is too obvious.”

“Grrrroaaaaah!!!”

“”Fushaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!””

Though only the turtle and snake were visible atop the rock, it seemed they had prepared an ambush in case we got too close. A bear emerged from the shadows of the trees, and two wildcats descended from the branches above.

However, we were no strangers to surprise attacks on the battlefield. Anticipating where an enemy might hide had become almost second nature to us. Thanks to this, we had been aware of the hidden foes for some time.

I, with the most physical strength, took on the bear, while Mika and Asumi handled the wildcats. Without needing a word or even a glance between us, we calmly countered the attack. I first blasted the sand shields to blind the bear and wildcats and then landed a solid punch on the bear with my fist hardened by exoskeleton. While it likely didn’t kill the bear, I felt the satisfying crunch of its teeth and jaw breaking.

As the bear collapsed with a thud, Mika and Asumi swiftly kicked the wildcats in their bellies, sending them flying into the dense forest before they quickly disappeared from our sight. The surprise attack ended in failure.

“That takes care of th….ugh?!”

“What’s this shaking…?!”

“It’s an illusion! Increase your spiritual power!”

Just when I thought we had repelled the surprise attack, my vision suddenly became distorted. In addition, my sense of direction became skewed; even though I was standing on the ground, I felt as though I was upside down and falling.

It was Mika who discerned the nature of our predicament. The reason why he was able to tell right away that it was an illusion was probably because he was on good terms with Rinne, who was an illusion spiritualist. I did as Mika said and increased my spiritual power to the best of my ability, and everything returned to normal with a sound that sounded like shattering pottery.

[Impossible! How could my illusion be dispelled by simple brute force?!]

“There you are.”

The caster likely didn’t anticipate the disruption of her spell and let out a mental shriek. Whether it was due to her panic or her focus on me, she mistakenly directed her telepathic cry to me instead of her allies. This slip-up allowed me to pinpoint her location, and without hesitation, I dove into the bushes where she was hiding and seized something.

As I lifted the struggling figure with my hand, a wave of déjà vu hit me. The reason was clear. What I had captured was a fox with divine golden fur and five tails.

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TN: !!!!!