Chapter 686: Lynne's Trail of Ice

Once Elizabeth raised the question, Elder Evergreen immediately sighed. 

"That's the problem, Your Majesty. Miss Lynne disappeared inside some time ago and never came back. I've sent some people to look for her, but she could not find her. However, we did find a long trail of ice leading towards the north."

"In fact, this trail extends all the way to the Extreme Misty Forest. Therefore, I suspect that Miss Lynne has already entered the subterranean region of the Extreme Misty Forest," Elder Evergreen stated.

"The Extreme Misty Forest?" Elizabeth repeated with a frown before shortly asking puzzledly, "What is she doing over there? There's nothing good about that place." 

The Extreme Misty Forest was a well-known Perilous Land for being dense in cold mist and yin energy, making it the perfect breeding ground for ghouls and evil spirits to reside. 

The level of danger in that place was so high that even Transcendents do not dare to venture too deeply.

Elizabeth could not understand what reasons Lynne had for going to that godforsaken place.

"That's what I don't understand either, Your Majesty. No one does," Elder Evergreen replied with a similar puzzled look as he knitted his brows together and said, "Miss Lynne did not even leave us a notice before she left." 

"There might have been something wrong with Miss Lynne. This old man is not sure if it has something to do with the red mist that appeared—the Wrathful Demonic Energy that His Highness calls it, I believe."

"Something to do with Wrathful Demonic Energy, you say? Did a lot of it surge out from beneath the World Tree, senior?" Elizabeth immediately asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"It did. If you look properly, you can see the red hue of the Wrathful Demonic Energy trapped inside these layers of ice that Miss Lynne conjured. We tried looking for the source of the red mist, but evidence points that it comes from but deeper in the subterranean world," Elder Evergreen answered. 

Shortly after, he added, "To be honest, the scale of this frozen hell is much big for any normal 9-star Ranked Awakener to pull off. Heck, even Preliminary Accession-level Transcendents might not be able to do it either. So I'm not sure where Miss Lynne draw her power from."

"You're right. Lynne was only a 9-star Ranked Awakener. For her to be traveling to the Extreme Misty Forest—it's subterranean alone, no less… It is far too dangerous," Elizabeth stated with a frown before she said, "Nevertheless, senior can leave this matter to me. I will arrange for some teams to go and look for Lynne." 

"On the other hand, Senior Evergreen should focus on meeting the elves for advice. It's imperative that we resolve the crop cultivation problem quickly. Otherwise, we will be facing a severe food crisis in the near future." 

"Alright, Your Majesty," Elder Evergreen nodded solemnly. 

They both understood the severity of the issue.

More than half a million elves and humans have been brought to the Grassland Region, and even more, will gather in the future.

"If they cannot grow crops, then they will not have food. And if they do not have food, then people will naturally starve to death. 

"Well then, I will go ask the elders to come and discuss the issue with you before setting up the search party for Lynne, senior. Once I'm freed from the work here, I might head to the Extreme Misty Forest to look for her myself—if she is not found by then," Elizabeth stated. 

Lynne was her daughter-in-law, or at least she was going to be. Thus, nothing must happen to her. 

After all, she was still waiting for the opportunity to hold her own grandchildren.

"Understood, Your Majesty."

…

…

…

Meanwhile, Leon's group and the other 700-odd Battle Masters gradually reached the vicinity of the Crimsonfog Tribe.

Chief Valencia shortly turned to the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman before she asked, "There won't be any problem with this many Battle Masters collecting supplies from the Crimsonfog Tribe before we continue on our way, will there?" 

"I'm afraid the tribesmen might be unwilling to sell too many resources to outsiders—especially food, which will be absolutely necessary for the trip to the Eternal Night Secret Realm," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman said with a frown. 

Food was precious. 

If so many foreigners suddenly buy out their food, it will naturally affect the Crimsonfog Tribe's livelihood as they face a sudden food crisis.

As such, it would not be strange for the tribesmen to sell all their food. 

"Although we did bring some food supplies along from the Darkmoon Tribe, it won't last long and may lead to various unfavorable situations once we run out. It's unknown how long this trip to the secret realm will take," Chief Valencia mentioned.

"Exactly," the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman agreed with a nod before he said, "I hate to say this, but this old man will have to discuss this matter with Chief Blacktooth and have him pass the order down. After all, he is the current chief of the tribe…"

"I might have asked this before, but what happened to Chief Baskara? How bad is his injury?" Chief Valencia inquired before she suggested, "If it is not too great, perhaps Young Master Leonhardt will be able to treat him." 

"That's right, we have Young Master Leonhardt with us now, don't we?" the One-Eye Venerable Shaman's eyes subtly flickered before he nodded reassuringly. 

"I have no doubt that with Young Master Leonhardt's ability, Chief Baskara will recover swiftly from his coma."

At the mention of Chief Baskara's injury being brought up, the One-Eyed Venerable Shaman shortly mentioned the appearance of Liches and Battle King-level undead.

"Liches and Battle King-level undead, huh? That's rather concerning, considering we will soon enter the demon's territory," Chief Valencia said with furrowed brows. 

With their amount of Battle Masters, it would not be a problem to deal with a few Battle Kings. After all, they had strength in numbers to make up for the lack of strength in an individual. 

However, suppose the demon's territory had many Battle King-level demons roaming about. 

In that case, their trip will be filled with unprecedented dangers—even before they get the chance to reach the opening of the secret realm.