Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 576 - 43 Loneliness in the Fog_1

Chapter 576: Chapter 43 Loneliness in the Fog_1

(PS: Average has finally exceeded 250, phew, mixed feelings.)

"Roar~~~~" The massive roar, akin to thunder, shook both Lina and Freya’s eardrums painfully, yet neither girl felt a hint of panic. They were painfully familiar with this booming sound, a sound they heard every day: it was Catherine’s roar, a yell intensified with Aggression from her vocal cords and chest. This battle cry, embedded with the fluctuations of Aggression, was used by knights to disorient and wound the enemy. Also, it was used by knights to amplify their voices to communicate with distant companions. Hearing the familiar roar, Lina abruptly halts her descent, and Freya stops her metal limb movements. They squinted through the fog for a long time, and finally, they recognized an indistinct shadow that was signaling towards them. Amid chirping sounds and wing flaps, Catherine’s voice diffused clearly: "Swing over here, swing over here, I will catch you when you are here."

"Freya also landed," Lina shouted forcefully, barely audible in the unrelenting attacks.

"Fraya is climbing over the cliff," Catherine used her battle cry again, but her voice was almost hoarse. Regardless of how strong the knight was, she was still made of flesh. Even with the Aggression strengthening, her throat and vocal cords could not withstand the frequent roars, especially such long sentences. This was the reason why knights’ battle cries in combat were very short - as long as they did their job. Knights tried not to strain their voices to protect their bodies. However, in this situation, Catherine did not have a choice, she could only bear the agony of a torn voice and communicate with her companions using her battle cry.

Upon hearing Catherine’s command, Lina no longer worried about Freya and began to swing forcefully, and her swing grew bigger. Though her path was frequently disrupted by bird attacks, the presence of these flying creatures provided the opportunity for Lina to use them to increase her swings. Meanwhile, Freya manipulated the metal limbs again and climbed toward Catherine along the cliff. As she no longer needed to use the Crystal Energy gun to ward off enemies, she had enough time to observe the surroundings. When the predators rushed down at the closest distance, she finally saw what these birds looked like.

"Bang Bang", Lina knocked away several predators surrounding her and finally approached the shadow of Catherine. She sighed with relief, wanting to let go off her hands to jump to the ground, but suddenly heard Catherine’s loud roar again, "Hold tight, don’t let go."

Upon hearing this, Lina’s hands, which were about to let go of the rope, gripped it tightly immediately. She shook for a while on the rope before stabilizing herself. However, she didn’t swing back under the force of gravity. A long whip was already wrapped around the rope above her and held her in the air. Without waiting for Catherine’s instruction, Lina slowly slid down the rope until she was close enough to realize that Catherine was not where she had seen the shadow, but right in front of her. By the time Lina stepped on the ground, Catherine, regardless of saying anything, pushed Lina inwards and raised her shield to block the pathway in front of them, flinging away several predators chasing them.

"Stick to the wall." Catherine’s defensive tactics were as secure as a city wall. No birds could get near from the front. "These birds need a flying space. They can’t attack you by sticking to the wall. They can only attack from the front. So, stick to the wall, and they will be unable to interfere with you. But beware of the sides and the top. Sometimes, other beasts living in the wall will crawl over. Luckily, there aren’t too many, but you should still keep a lookout."

Hearing Catherine’s hoarse voice, Lina reacted suddenly. Now that there were fewer cries of predators around her, she could clearly hear the normal volume conversation. She looked left and right, curiously asking, "What just happened? Why did it seem like you weren’t here?"

"There is something strange with this fog," Catherine explained. "Just like in water, it can refract light, which makes us perceive things incorrectly. What happened before was precisely a result of this. The place you were swinging to was a cliff. If you had let go, you would have fallen. We were actually here all along."

"Is this treacherous fog a masterpiece of nature?" Lina gritted her teeth, "I’ll remember this."

Just as Catherine had said, a lot of small magical beasts leapt from the cliffs, using it as stepping stones to chase after the girls. Since Lina had already landed, her fighting power was no longer limited. She swung her hammer just like she was playing a lightning ball game, slapping the small magical beasts flying towards her, one by one. Vivian stood with Lina, no magic needed, she simply swung her magic staff, taking advantage of the skill she had developed from hitting Freya’s head, she accurately knocked off every little beast that lunged at her back off the cliff.

"Finally made it down." Shortly after, Freya climbed over the rope from the cliff, she was drenched in sweat after descending down less than 200 meters. "No wonder Pannis asked us to descend together, if it was just one us, I’m not sure we could have made it."

The girls didn’t find Freya’s exclamation strange as they all had the same feeling during their journey. Dangling in mid-air, not able to see the sky above or the ground below, blanketed by an unclear fog, with persistent strange noises ringing in their ears. Monsters were all around them, fiercely attacking them. As they climbed in this environment, the world aside from them only seemed to contain monsters filled with hostility, creating a sense of despair and a feeling of disintegration. But whenever the girls felt this unease, their companions surrounding them would give off a familiar feeling. Even if they couldn’t see, hear, or touch each other, they knew that their companions were just by their side. This invisible reliance and support made the feelings of despair and disintegration disappear without a trace. The girls remained silent, quietly recalling the feeling of loneliness they had experienced a moment ago.

Sounds of continuous banging echoed, but it did not affect the girls who had already steadied themselves. Behind Catherine, Ike squatted on the ground, hammering Alloy Steel Pins into the ground, preparing for the next rapid descent.

"Here he comes." Catherine suddenly said, and a figure was seen swiftly sliding down a rope not far away, his speed so fast that it seemed as if he was dropping straight down. However, just before reaching the nearby platform, the figure on the rope abruptly stopped, standing still and listening. Before Catherine could let out a battle cry, he leaped and landed accurately on the platform.

"Glad to see everyone is still safe." Pannis began to gather the rope as soon as he landed. He pulled up the rope from above while Ike began threading the other end into the newly drilled alloy steel pins. They moved swiftly, not wanting to waste a second. Whilst tugging the rope down, Pannis said, "No time to rest, get ready to descend further. This time we can cross the fog layer and then it should be safe."

"How thick is the fog layer?" Catherine asked. "Can we see the fourth transfer station as soon as we get through?"

"About a hundred metres or so." Ike answered. "Then we need to descend about two hundred metres to reach the fourth transfer station. But don’t worry, after crossing the fog layer, we should be free from creatures attacking us. Birds in Earth’s Scar are very strange, they either fly low, with a maximum height of less than two hundred metres, or they live in the clouds and nest on cliffs within the clouds."

"Huh?" Catherine was taken aback. "What’s this strange habit?"

"Only God knows." Ike muttered and then spoke loudly. "Since we all safely made it here, there shouldn’t be any problems with the remaining journey. I’ll wait for you below. Once you’re out of the clouds, your vision will be good, and you’ll see me directly."

"Remember, hold on to the rope." Before Catherine started to descend, Pannis suddenly said something inexplicable. He had said the same thing at the second transfer station, however, this time was noticeably different. The first time he had said this, his concern and admonition were clear to hear, but this time, his voice was filled with a heavy mocking jest. "Hmm, but for you, it should not be a problem, no reminders needed. I can’t say the same for others, though."

"What do you mean?" Catherine asked curiously. "What is it with your cryptic words? What’s down there?"

"You’ll know once you get down there." Pannis answered with a faint smile that Catherine couldn’t see. "The first time I saw it, I was stupefied for a good five minutes. I hope you’ll be slightly faster than that, hehe."

"Damn your mysteriousness, I’m not Lina." Catherine pouted, carried Vivian, and leaped off the rock serving as the transfer station, disappearing back into the thick fog.

"Pannis, I have a question for you." The foes around them were still fiercely attacking, but since everyone had their backs to the cliff, only small magical beasts on the rocks dared to approach. The large birds flying in the mist did not dare to approach the cliff wall at high speed, and could only hover not far away with reluctance. Seizing the moment when Catherine was descending, Freya asked, "Have you observed the birds in the fog closely?"

"You saw them?" Pannis chuckled a few times before replying, "Yes, I have observed them closely. Those are likely not birds at all. But we don’t have time for a detailed explanation now. When we reach the ground and have time, I will explain it then. For now, we need to focus on descending."

"Alright." Freya sighed. "I’m worried about how we’re going to climb back up. Do we really rely on you to climb up and rope us?"

"There’s actually an easier route, but unfortunately, it’s only an exit, not an entrance. I’ll show you when we get out." Pannis said, "Alright, Catherine and the rest have reached the place. It’s your turn to descend." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit qidian.com to vote and support it. Your support is my greatest motivation. Cell phone users can visit m.qidian.com to read.)