Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1085 - 200 Rordelansor Ring Mountain

Chapter 1085: Chapter 200 Rordelansor Ring Mountain

The Yarran World’s largest forest covers an area of three million square kilometers, and naturally, the terrain within is not all smooth paths. The environment is not just dense woods; like the outside world, the forest contains mountain ranges, rivers, plains, valleys, swamps, and even deserts. These are all surrounded by vast forests, turning them into isolated islands within the Sea of Trees, hidden from human sight.

The Wandering Woods is one of these numerous isolated islands within the Sea of Trees. As its name suggests, the Wandering Woods is also a type of forest terrain, except that the trees are sparsely distributed, with most trees separated by shrubs and wild grass. It cannot be considered a forest, and is instead regarded as woods.

Located between two steep mountains, the Wandering Woods is shaped like a long, narrow corridor, less than five kilometers wide but stretching over a hundred kilometers long, serving as one of the passages connecting the inside and outside of the Forest of Death. Just as the entire forest is divided by the Okain Mountain Range into the Forest of Death and the Lost Forest, the Forest of Death is also split by the steep Rordelansor Ring Mountain into the Core Area and the outer regions.

The steep and towering Rordelansor Ring Mountain acts like a natural prison, enclosing the Core Area within. Only seven or eight pathways connect with the outer regions. The environment in the Core Area is even more stifling and humid, steaming with poisonous gases, and filled with fierce magical beasts, making danger nearly omnipresent. The most dangerous are the several pathways that link the inner and outer areas because the climate there is milder, attracting large numbers of ordinary wild beasts to these few passageways, and naturally, countless predators follow.

The Wandering Woods is such a connecting passage and is also the only anomaly among these pathways. There are no wild beasts, no poisonous insects, no magical beasts; there is almost no life at all. The woods are shrouded in thick fog all year round. Legend has it that adventurers who occasionally draw near the Wandering Woods can see eerie shadows roaming and lingering in the mist never dissolving. Any creature that attempts to enter the fog quickly becomes assimilated by the strange shadows, joining the ranks of the aimlessly wandering and never finding release. Therefore, those explorers named this unnamed land the Wandering Woods and dared not enter it lightly.

"Over five thousand years ago, before the War of Faith began and when the followers of the Deities still maintained a fragile peace, Rordelun, the greatest Elven traveler of the main roads, was determined to tour the world. The cold ice fields, the scorching plateaus, the towering mountain ranges, the dangerous and mysterious seas—he left his footprints in every corner of the Continent. Finally, after nearly traveling the world, he embarked on a challenge to the only blank area: the Forest of Death," Flare’s voice was low and gentle, and even in her narration, it sounded as melodious as a song: "The mighty Rordelun pushed forward through the Forest of Death, passing through numerous perils until he reached the foot of this unnamed ring mountain. Regrettably, his wish remained unfulfilled, his steps never successfully entering the core of the Forest of Death. According to legend, he chose the direction of the Wandering Woods, though back then, there was no Forbidden Land of Living Souls. To avoid the hidden dangers of the natural pathways, he did not enter the ring mountain through the Wandering Woods but climbed the steep peaks, diagonally cutting into the territory of the Lake of Termination. As recorded in the diary found by his descendants, Rordelun was gravely injured within the bounds of the Lake of Termination, sensing that his life was about to end. He was unwilling to fall so close to his goal and continued to push forward. However, reality is cruel. In the Land of the Dead, Rordelun exhausted his last breath, falling forever at a place less than a hundred kilometers from the most central area of the Forest of Death, leaving eternal regret. Later, his people named the ring mountain Rordelansor in honor of this great traveler, and the places where he was injured and died were named the Lake of Termination and the Land of Bones."

At the edge of the Wandering Woods was a lush bamboo forest, perhaps growing extraordinarily tall due to the influence of Leyline Energy. The common bamboo would not exceed the thickness of a grown man’s thigh, usually around seven to eight meters in height, with the tallest being no more than thirty meters. However, within the Forest of Death, possibly influenced by unique Leyline Energy, most of the bamboos here were over a hundred meters tall with diameters often exceeding three meters, some reaching five meters, akin to the main trunks of giant trees.

As another evening approached, a square area within the bamboo forest had been artificially demarcated as the expedition team’s temporary camp. Adventurers constructing a campsite typically use materials found on-site, and this occasion was no exception. Pannis and Conaida worked together to saw down two Death Bamboos—that’s right, these hundred-meter tall bamboos were called Death Bamboos. After felling them, they segmented the bamboo every ten meters and split them from the side to create numerous bamboo planks one meter wide and ten meters long. These curved planks were also surprisingly thick, with the thickest part nearing fifty centimeters. In terms of hardness and flexibility, they were highly satisfactory.

After completing the creation of bamboo planks, they threaded each plank with three sturdy metal cables at both ends and the middle to align and connect them neatly. In theory, this process was the most difficult due to the tough nature of the Death Bamboo, which made drilling holes a challenge. However, for Alcmene and Flare, who invested in ranged combat professions and whose Aggression naturally leaned towards penetration, stimulating their Aggression allowed Alcmene’s Throwing Spears to easily puncture through the bamboo.

Once all bamboo planks were strung, they found a sufficiently large open space and fixed the metal cables at about three meters up on six bamboo poles—a temporary platform was thus constructed. The bamboo’s flexibility was strong, and with an additional supporting metal cable in the middle, even if everyone ran and jumped in unison on the platform, it wouldn’t result in a breakage. Of course, it was unlikely anyone would do such a foolish thing.

The perimeter of the campsite was sprinkled with insect repellent powder and protected with various concealment and defense Arrays. In the center of the campsite, a goblin insect repeller was activated to assist with pest control, ensuring maximal safety for the entire area.

Moreover, this was not the end. Serving as supporting pillars, the six bamboo sticks had large holes drilled at each segment above the campsite, allowing people to crawl inside and reside there. These natural dwellings were not only windproof and rainproof, but the characteristic coolness of the bamboo also made the interior pleasantly refreshing. Sleeping inside would feel cool and comfortable.

Hanging over the central campfire was a strange item resembling a cloth bag, which was filled with water and placed atop the flames to boil. Through the semi-transparent cloth bag, one could see various ingredients tumbling in the boiling water. Oddly, although the bag was clearly exposed to the flames, there was not a single sign of it igniting, leaving one to wonder what material it was made from.

Her Majesty sat by the fire with her knees clasped, her gaze lost in the dancing flames as she recounted a tale set within the foggy woods in a soft, deep voice.

"We can only take you this far," Flare whispered. "When you were setting up camp earlier, I went to test out the area. Not only the Lost Forest, but even the outer periphery of the Rordelansor Ring Mountain has become the Forbidden Land of Living Souls. As soon as you approach, you will suffer spiritual attacks. Hence, we cannot proceed; the rest of the journey must be undertaken by yourselves."

"We are deeply grateful to have been escorted this far by you," Catherine stood up and bowed earnestly to the Demigods, "Without your protection, we would have perished several times over on our way here, and even if we had somehow survived, it would not have been possible to reach this place in a mere ten days. This is, after all, a mission undertaken by our adventure team, and it’s only right for us to complete the rest of the journey on our own."

Indeed, this mission had been accepted by the adventure team. Before the team left Neville City, a total of thirty-one individuals—including leaders of major forces and some Demigods from various races—jointly issued a mission at the Adventurers’ Guild, targeting the Divine Servants’ Nest in the Core Area of the Forest of Death. Such a line-up of clients had never been seen before in the history of the Adventurers’ Guild, and even since the existence of adventurers as a profession, there had never been such a lavish array of clients. Not only was this lineup of clients unprecedented, but the amount of remuneration offered was equally so. Although the actual amount was kept secret within the Adventurers’ Guild, rumors still leaked out, suggesting that the reward was as high as thirty million gold coins.

In fact, the reward was not thirty million gold coins but twenty million instead. After deducting the costs for high-capacity Crystals and high-quality supplies, the adventure team’s actual income was estimated to be between sixteen to seventeen million gold coins. Of course, for the adventure team, this was already a sum filled with temptation; however, Catherine’s first reaction was surprisingly to decline. Her reasoning was straightforward: as a member of the Yarran World, facing danger to protect the world was her knightly duty, and therefore, it should not be undertaken as a mission nor should there be any remuneration.

However, Pannis soon took her aside for a serious discussion lasting more than ten minutes in a secluded place. After coming back, the knightly girl solemnly apologized to every girl in the adventure team and accepted the mission. Lina, driven by intense curiosity, found it hard to believe that anyone could persuade Catherine to change her decision on such a principled issue. She repeatedly asked Pannis what exactly had been said, but Pannis always responded with a smile and remained silent.

Nevertheless, Catherine inadvertently revealed that Pannis had told her a story he had heard from Dillie, apparently related to redemption. As for what the story was exactly, no one knew.