Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 640 - 4: Ways to Enter the Magical Beast Forest_1

Chapter 640: Chapter 4: Ways to Enter the Magical Beast Forest_1

"Priests of the Merciful God don’t stand by while people suffer from disease," Lina waved her hand impatiently, indicating that she wanted to be left alone to continue reading. "Once you’ve found a place, let the bartender inform me tomorrow."

The big-bearded mayor scratched his head awkwardly, feeling rather excited. He couldn’t wait to share the good news with the townsfolk in need of healing. The truth is, in the cold Icebound Town, many people suffer from various ailments. The frigid weather often caused those of advanced age to experience joint discomfort in their lower limbs. Although not an issue on regular days, the pain could become intolerable during snowy weather. The recent snowstorm had left about fifteen old people bedridden because of this. In addition to the usual patients in town, a total of over twenty people were laid up. The priest in the town didn’t have the ability to cure them, and it was also impossible to invite some high-level priests to come and offer healing. After all, the nearest city was over four hundred kilometers away. No priest would be willing to run up and down the road for seven or eight days, just to treat about twenty villagers. However, they have finally met a passing priest willing to help and who seemed quite capable. It’s hard for the responsible mayor not to get excited. Hurriedly, he put on his hat and gloves, wore his thick coat, said a few words to Catherine, and then trotted out of the tavern. As he left, he gave a strangely curious look at the remaining three people.

In the mayor’s eyes, the other three were indeed strange. The young girl with the blue short ponytail had been resting her chin in her hand and staring at the ceiling lost in thought since she sat down. She would occasionally murmur some phrases that couldn’t be understood. It was hard to tell what she was thinking from her sleepwalking-like demeanor. The blonde girl had to wrap her long hair around the front of her body when she sat down, otherwise, her long hair would drag on the floor. This long-haired girl had not changed her expression since settling down. She was motionless like an exquisite doll, her gaze never changing. If it weren’t for her walking in herself and the occasional blinking, the mayor might have treated her as a doll. As for the only male in the group, the mayor could only wryly smile. In a span of less than ten minutes, the man had emptied six wooden cups and was about to consume his second serving of venison stew. Even the locals would feel uncomfortable after consuming six mugs of strong beer, but this man seemed unaffected. If it wasn’t for the black-haired girl staring at him with a scowl, the seventh mug of strong beer would probably be gone by now.

However, professionals always have many oddballs among them, and the adventurers even more so. The mayor, who was almost fifty, had also traveled in the north when he was young and had seen quite a number of professionals. He has gained a certain tolerance for their quirks, so he didn’t show excessive surprise. He just took a quick look, then hurriedly left.

"It’s still going to be a few days of waiting. This snowstorm really happened at the worst time," Catherine frowned after the bearded mayor left, moved to a corner table with the others, and said, "With this, the few days we rushed ahead have been wasted. I wish this snow would stop soon."

"Even if it stops, we can’t leave," Pannis managed to swallow the venison in his mouth. He was about to pick up his mug to drink, but under Catherine’s glare, he reluctantly set it aside, grabbed another mug of water, gulped it down, then continued, "We’ve been traveling non-stop in the snow for eleven days, especially in the last part, we traveled non-stop for two days and a night. We have to rest here for a few days. Otherwise, even if you can withstand it, Lina and Freya will not be able to keep up. Traveling in the snow is physically draining. Plus, we have been rushing forward. If we don’t rest, we may end up like the mayor mentioned, staying in the Magical Beast Forest forever. By then, it will be too late to regret."

"Alright, you know the snowfield better than I do, you make the decision," Catherine sighed, pressing her forehead, "I really underestimated the cold here. I used to think that the Knight Academy, where I studied, was already very cold. I didn’t expect it to be even colder here, it feels even colder than when we were in the Frozen Hell of the Crying Cave."

"Although the southern part of the Falar Empire is not warm either, it at least has four seasons, not like here," Pannis said, "As for Frozen Hell, actually, the temperature is pretty much the same. But in the snowfield, wind and snow are best buddies. They can combine to increase the impact by several times. Most people who die of cold in the snowfield actually die in the wind. If you can find a place to shield against the wind, you can generally be saved if you don’t stay out too long."

"You make it sound so scary," Lina regained her usual self when the others were gone and said curiously, "but I’ve learned for the first time that you can move on the snowfield without having to move your feet, though your waist and arms will suffer a lot more."

"That’s skiing for you, there’s no other way," Pannis responded, "If we didn’t move this way, it would have taken us several times longer to get here. I’ve been here once before when it was the end of winter, there was a part of the journey that we made by skiing."

"Is that how people here go out?" Lina asked, "I always feel it’s weird to travel this way."

"Of course, during winter, to get to places nearby, they have to rely on skiing," Pannis nodded, "It’s faster than walking, you can move over fifty kilometers in a day and a night. And, it’s less tiring than running."

"What about distant destinations?" Lina continued to ask, "Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to handle skiing for several days in a row, right?"

"For distant destinations, they have sleds, just like our carriages," Pannis answered, "They train deer and dogs to pull the sleds. You should have seen it when we entered the town just now. Every household has a few deer and a pack of dogs. They’re used to pull sleds. Especially the dogs, they can not only pull sleds but also help them hunt, incredibly useful. Unfortunately, for the people of the snowfield, those animals are as important as their family members, they can’t sell them to us. Otherwise, things would be much easier for us."

"So, are we supposed to ski all the way into the Magical Beast Forest?" Freya asked, "Can we even ski inside a forest?"

"If you’re local and used to traveling by skiing, you could theoretically ski into densely wooded areas. However, we lack that skill. If we try skiing in, we’ll likely crash into a tree after getting not very far, and our speed will be drastically slowed. Hence, we have to resort to walking instead," Pannis shook his head. "But in actuality, we may not need to enter the Magical Beast Forest entirely on our own. Or to be precise, we may not have to walk deep into the forest ourselves."

"Huh?" Catherine raised an eyebrow and asked in a lower voice, "You’ve held back information about the specific situation inside the Magical Beast Forest. I sensed something fishy. Do you have a special way of contacting the Drakes?"

"Me? I don’t." Pannis shrugged, speaking in the same low voice, "However, while I might not, other people do."

"So, the Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture does indeed have the Drakes’ favor." Catherine exclaimed in surprise. "This is a secret that I’ve never heard of before."

"While Drakes are lazy and boring, some people have worshipped them without asking for anything in return, for thousands of years. Moreover, these people have started to resemble Drakes for some unknown reason. I believe even if the Drakes were chunks of stone, they would be moved," Pannis muttered, "Although they may not particularly favor these worshippers, offering some convenience is always possible. For example, contacting them in urgent situations or giving a little help in a crisis."

"That’s enough." Suddenly, Catherine looked at Pannis with suspicion, "You don’t seem particularly friendly towards the Drakes. Your sentiments border on resentment. Shouldn’t you...oh no, I mean...did something happen?"

Pannis didn’t notice the subtle hint in Catherine’s words. He just shook his head and said, "Actually, it’s nothing serious. It’s not their problem. I just have some issues with a majority of their clan. Rather, my anger is misdirected. They haven’t done anything wrong. The problem lies within me. But, it’s hard for me to not hold a grudge because of certain matters. Do you understand?"

"Obviously not." Catherine shrugged in the way Pannis did, "But whether I understand it or not doesn’t matter. What’s crucial is whether we can persuade those people inside the Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture to contact the Drakes for us. If we can make contact, you should be able to get the Drakes to come looking for us, right?"

"Yep, there’s a high chance that the Drakes will come to pick us up," Pannis nodded, "And yes, I do have a way to persuade the human-shaped dragons within the Dragon Worship Autonomous Prefecture to help us contact our Drake friends. That’s why I said earlier we might not have to go in on our own."

"So, my calculation about our timing was incorrect," Catherine murmured as she calculated in her head, "Sigein had mentioned a maximum of three hundred days, so I made plans in hope of resolving the issue within a hundred and fifty days. Anything more than that would be dangerous. If we don’t have to fumble our way around in the Magical Beast Forest for days, then we won’t have to rush as much."

"That’s true," Pannis responded, "But in any case, the sooner this is resolved, the better."

"Of course," agreed Catherine, "Tomorrow then. Lina will help treat the villagers’ diseases, and Freya, Vivian, and Ava will go with her. Meanwhile, the two of us can go find the contact?"

"Sure," Pannis nodded, "It’s been a while since I last met the people in the Dragon Worship tribe. They’re quite interesting. You’ll know once you meet them." (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to qidian.com to cast your vote. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)