Why can't humans do it too?

This world can be very noisy, with explosions from mutual attacks, heart-wrenching screams, and relentless battles that last for days, months, or even years, as if playing a symphony of death with no end in sight. The clamor that even the gods revel in is its main theme.

Yet this world can also be very quiet, without the chirping of insects, the voices of people, or the sounds of life, only the sound of the wind, the endless sound of the wind, the unchanging gray ground, and everything stained by the red sky.

Monotonous and boring.

creak, creak.

Deep footprints are left on the emerald green and blackish-gray, and the sound will never change, like a lullaby. However, no one dares to sleep in such a place. All that remains are four crooked footprints, which are eventually smoothed out by the newly fallen blackish-gray at the far end.

"...Did the black ash fall in?"

Having confirmed that the muffled groan he had just heard was not a hallucination, Suer asked in a low voice, without stopping, as if afraid that if he stopped, he would never be able to lift his leg again, and just mechanically repeated the same action.

"……Do not."

There was only one word in response and then silence. However, Suer didn't pay any attention, and the two returned to their previous silence.

Unlike Suer, who was wearing boots sewn by Ke'er herself, Xin Ke, who had never considered walking on the black ash before, was not protected from the black ash at all. Therefore, Suer could only use a torn robe to simply wrap her feet, hoping that the black ash falling from the sky would not touch her skin.

The robes the two had taken from the safe spot in the strait had been torn to shreds, turning into bandages wrapped around their wounds. At most, the remaining robes could only barely protect Xin Ke's body.

Unaware of how long they had walked or how far they had gone, in this endless, black and gray rain, Suer had lost all sense of distance and time. He only knew that they had not yet arrived.

That abandoned city that exists in Xin Ke Kou's mind.

Just get there.

You can use the remaining techniques to protect yourself.

You can look for the food that the Mori Sei clan planted there back then.

They can rely on the remaining arrangements to contact other forest spirit species.

Everything will be alright—as long as we can get to that city.

Chapter 116 Naivety

It was so cold that all the exposed skin was almost frozen solid. If you tapped it, you might hear a crackling sound. However, the body wrapped in clothes didn't retain much warmth. Suer felt that the only parts of his body that still had warmth were his internal organs... but even his internal organs were gradually getting cold.

The black ash, falling like snowflakes, kept landing on the two of them, almost burying them. Every time they traveled a certain distance, Suer and Xinke had to expend their remaining strength to shake off the accumulated black ash. The corpses of the elves seemed endless.

It hasn't reached the point of forming a death storm yet, but if this trend continues, it won't be long before such a death storm does materialize.

In such weather, one should find a cave to hide in, but since escaping the red mist, Suer has not found a place to stay—or rather, even if he did, he wouldn't dare to stay.

There was no firewood to start a fire, and those lovely flammable materials had been buried under a thick layer of black ash, leaving no extra energy to search for them.

If they couldn't light a campfire to generate heat in the cold, gloomy cave, they might only find two cold corpses by the next day... or perhaps only the corpse of Suer.

Therefore... they could only mechanically move forward, even wondering where their strength came from. The whole world was moving forward with a strange inertia, and as long as this inertia was not broken, everything would continue in its final form.

The large amount of falling black ash actually served as camouflage for the two people.

His body was suddenly pulled, the force coming from where the two were supporting each other. The momentum of his forward movement was suddenly broken, and Su Er almost fell to the ground and plunged headfirst into the black ash. Fortunately, Xin Ke caught him in time.

Slowly focusing his gaze, Suer awoke from his daze and belatedly noticed the object blocking their path. It was mostly buried under a thick layer of black ash and would soon be completely concealed beneath it, yet it possessed an intangible sense of familiarity.

Swaying as he approached, Suer rolled up a corner of his robe to sweep away the black ash, then froze—his entire body was leaning against the ground, a few slightly raised tentacles still outstretched as if trying to touch something. The expressions remaining on his two ugly heads were no longer clear; one could only sense a hint of madness and lingering regret from his bared teeth.

It was that monster mutated from a vampire. Even though it was dead, it still had a chilling appearance. Covered in black ash for a long time, even its flesh had been melted away, leaving only charred powder clinging to its bones.

It has been buried here in black ash for a long time. If it stays here for a while longer, even its bones will probably be completely dissolved.

“…Dead…?” Suer muttered in astonishment, his stiff face twitching slightly.

He then realized that, at some point, the little dot that had always existed in his mind had disappeared, along with the delicate yet real invisible thread, that mysterious connection.

Somewhat unable to accept it, his mind suddenly became chaotic—this monster, this monster that had devoured his flesh and blood, a monster that could be considered a formidable enemy for him and Xin Ke in their escape… just died like that?

There was no final outburst, no words of resentment; it simply vanished dramatically into the vast expanse of black ash.

It even sensed something from the invisible connection with Suer, and the monster somehow appeared in the direction the two were heading. Even in its last moments before dying, it stretched its tentacles toward where Suer was, as if wanting to touch him one last time.

Even at the very last moment of its life, the monster did not sever the fragile connection between itself and Suer, even though it could have easily broken free with a slight effort, but it was stopped by its own greed and craving...

"Now the threat that was following us has finally disappeared," Xin Ke said, her voice tinged with weariness, a sentiment she shared.

"This is your first time experiencing something like this, isn't it?"

Without turning around, but asking softly, Su'er's eyes remained fixed on the monster's skeleton. Among the tightly packed bones, buried in the flesh that had been corroded and melted away by the black ash, was his dagger.

"Ha~"

There was no definite answer; the only response Suer received was a cold snort from Xin Ke, but he had already gotten his answer.

This was indeed a first for Xinke.

This self-proclaimed genius, and indeed truly a genius, who has been high and mighty since birth, experienced such suffering and pain for the first time... From this perspective, isn't she still just a little girl whose mind hasn't grown much?

Suddenly understanding this, Su Er chuckled to himself, without any malice. However, if Xin Ke knew his opinion of her, he would definitely be subjected to a barrage of sarcastic remarks and racial attacks.

Suer could already see the hilt of his dagger, a hint of steel showing through the charred remains of flesh and blood. The cloth strips that had been wrapped around the hilt had been corroded away by the monster's blood.

The wise man did not press the matter further and provoke the great Lord Nirbalian's wrath. Sull tried to move closer and pull out the dagger, but just as he lifted his leg to take a step, his body suddenly went limp. Even Xinke, who had grabbed him in a moment of panic, was almost pulled into the monster's corpse.

It was only then that Suer realized that after seeing the monster that had been threatening their lives die, his entire body had unconsciously relaxed because of this good news, becoming limp and powerless.

"...This is the second time. Is Mr. Monkey so eager to lie in the black ash and have a good sleep?" Xin Ke said sarcastically, annoyed, as the series of accidents that had happened to Su Er had wasted her little remaining strength.

"Sorry, I relaxed a little," Suer said briefly, gritting his teeth as he straightened up and forced his legs and arms to move, drawing the dagger.

The pitted and uneven surface of the dagger, having been inside the monster's body filled with corrosive fluids for so long, had taken a heavy toll on it. In particular, its edges were worn down and no longer sharp after such a long journey.

Not knowing how many more times it could be used, Suer roughly wiped the dagger clean and hung it back on his side.

There was no longer any danger of them heading straight for them; all they needed to do now was reach the city.

Chapter 117 Cold

But Suer was wrong.

You're so wrong.

There seemed to be something calling in his ear... Was it calling his name?

Why is it so faint?

Was there really a sound? Or was it just his hallucination?

A faint, ethereal shadow drifted across the face hardened by the cold, as if someone were knocking on the window, trying to wake the person inside.

Suer returned to this cold world from his daze. He suddenly realized that in his world, he and Xinke had supported each other to reach the high platform in front of them. However, in reality, they were still below. In fact, his legs had been stuck in place for who knows how long. What he had climbed up was just an illusion.

A phantom that exists only in his imagination.

The light veil brushed against his face once more, and only then did Suer belatedly realize what had awakened him.

It was just Xin Ke's palm.

However, when such a palm slapped his cheek, he felt no pain; it was soft and yielding. This time, it was not a hallucination. His condition was not much better than that of Suer. Xin Ke's body was also extremely stiff, like an old, rusty machine.

Even if you strike with all your might, by the time it reaches the target, it has lost its power.

There's no need to worry about whether the wound will bleed anymore, because the blood that has flowed out has frozen into ice, and it breaks apart with every step taken, but this is by no means a good thing.

Unable to speak, he could only purse his lips tightly to prevent even a trace of heat from escaping. Suer glanced once more at the high platform above him—the distance that was not far now seemed like an insurmountable chasm.

The command from the brain traveled a long way before finally reaching the limbs. After a few seconds of delay, Sul looked down and saw his legs slowly lifting again; they were still functional.

With effort, and more effort, Xin Ke, who was a step behind him, gradually started to move and also took steps forward. Compared to her relatively flexible arms, Xin Ke's injured thigh had become a dragging motion, as if she were dragging a withered branch.

But what was even more serious was the damage to her body. From the moment Xin Ke first met Su Er in the desert where the forest elves and goblins were fighting, her abdomen and internal organs were injured. At that time, due to her personal mindset, she only received a cursory treatment and was not completely healed.

Then came the journey to the goblin kingdom, which even Xinke herself had to admit was a fantastic experience—not all forest elves could wreak havoc in the mole's lair and escape unscathed.

In contrast to the adventures reminiscent of picture books circulating among the forest elves, Xin Ke's injuries not only failed to improve but continued to recur. Each time, she was hastily healed with magic, without time for a fundamental cure... until her spirit was completely locked away.

Until, in order to kill the pursuing enemies, he exhausted the spell he had hastily drawn on his body at the last moment.

She has no more cards to play.

The biting cold was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, or perhaps all the damage she had suffered was finally coming to an end. Whatever the reason...

She could still hear the creaking sound of her stiff body sliding through the black and gray fabric. Even though Xin Ke tried her best to lift her legs, she inevitably leaned against the figure in front of her to avoid falling down... that monkey.

Only with his support could they avoid falling on this land covered in black ash.

A monkey.

Her body was like a puppet on strings, being dragged along stiffly and mechanically. With just a slight lift of her head, Xin Ke could see the back of the person struggling to support her body. The face was hidden by the hood. This fragile monkey seemed to never know fatigue, moving forward step by step, with no difference in the distance it took.

It fell down.

Xin Ke also fell to the ground.

'Finally…' A thought flashed through my mind, not of regret or resentment, but of relief. 'Is this the end…?'

However, he could not feel the pain of being eroded by the black ash and his flesh melting—had he completely lost all sensation?

After waiting for a long time, Xin Ke belatedly realized that the two of them had not fallen in the place covered with black ash, but below the high platform.

With the rock wall overhead and several huge rocks nearby providing cover, there was no black dust to settle here, and even the wind seemed to have subsided.

As if they were dead, the two of them lay there quietly, motionless... until Suer's hand slowly moved, slowly moved... gently pulling Xinke over and holding her in his arms.