Chapter 13：Land of Black Earth

"The Land of Black Earth?"

Not everyone knew what the meaning of the words "black earth" was.

Sean was not surprised at all that Cecilia and Drouin knew about the Land of Black Earth. The words "black earth" were spread and passed down by the magicians. The Portoroa Kingdom was a country that was dominated by magic, so it would not be strange for Drouin to know what "black earth" was.

"If you already knew that there was the Land of Black Earth here, why did you not tell us at the very start?" Suddenly, like a beast that had exploded from anger, the aristocratic elegance and etiquette that Drouin had originally displayed reappeared. "Do you not know the dangers in the Land of Black Earth?" he asked incredulously.

"I do," Sean said very calmly. "Do you remember what I said to you? This is the Starfall Forest, a place that I know more about than you do."

"You…" Drouin was rendered speechless by Sean's calm aura. In his opinion, there was no reason to be that calm over something as grave as going through the Land of Black Earth.

"What on earth is this Land of Black Earth?" Old Pete started to frown. He sensed the panic and fear that was being emitted from Drouin.

The atmosphere suddenly turned a little cold. Fear started to grow inside of everyone, consuming their thoughts and making it harder to consider the things that they needed to think about in order to stay alive.

"Let us set out first. We can talk about it while on the road." Instead of answering the question right away, Sean urged everyone to get ready. They set out on the road again.

Even though the game "Miracle" had been improved to a great extent after the development and revolution of the 'Prosperous World,' especially in the aspect of AI, which had been almost perfect. However, there were still big differences between the game and the real world. Sean had never heard of anyone who would be treated so generously by the packs of Wind Striped Black Wolves inside the game. Even if there was a "clan hatred" DUBUFF, it was far from being strong enough to require the Wind Striped Black Wolf King to personally come out and make a move.

As expected, the game was very different from the real world.

The team soon set off on their journey again. Perhaps the change in the attitudes from Cecilia and Drouin caused the entire team to be in an extremely tense atmosphere. Sean knew that it would speed up everyone's physical and mental consumption on the team. However, he had no time to think about adjusting their mentality. Sean had to be highly focused to prevent any possible accidents that could occur.

But just because Sean had not answered, it did not mean that the rest of the team would stay silent. They were still confused as to what the Land of Black Earth was and wanted to know how much they should worry about it.

Although Halle was a little bit fat, he had lost some weight during the last few days. Right now, even though he would still pant when he ran, he was able to utter at least a few words, "Mr. Drouin, What…exactly…is the…Land of Black Earth?"

The expression on Drouin's face struggled a bit before his eyes fell onto Sean's back. "That crazy guy!" he exclaimed. He could not believe that Sean would leave the explaining to him.

After a moment, he sighed helplessly. "You should all know that when the Ashes Age descends, there will be no more light in the world. The order of the Old Era will completely collapse as well"

At the end of the Twilight Era, people's hostility towards the Gods had reached a degree that it could no longer be repaired, and they no longer believed in the Gods. Due to this, the angry Gods gave out a Divine Punishment and the world became very chaotic. Because people no longer believed in the Gods, the people who had lost their divine power had no choice but to turn towards other aspects of development. They started to come into contact with the field of elements. Since then, they no longer had to borrow the divine power to display their magical techniques. That had made the Gods panic and become afraid. Therefore, to re-establish the majesty of the Gods, they waged a prolonged war with the people.

It was a war with heavy casualties on both sides and no clear winner at the end. The war was later known as the "Twilight of Gods" by historians.

After the great war, the Gods no longer existed. However, the people were not welcomed by what they called an ideal world. The strange power left behind by the divine power and the elements had broken the world. As the protection of the Gods was lost, the sky had also lost its color. Desolation and ruins became the most common scene. It was like the ashes that were left behind after a flame burned out.

It was because of that war that the next era was called the Age of Ashes, the age that rose in the ashes of the war.

"During the Age of Ashes, there was no light in the world. Even the air was muddy," Drouin said in a low voice. "But those are not the most terrifying things. What was terrifying was the dark energy that existed everywhere in the world. Under continuous attacks from these dark energies, any species would be killed. In the entire world, there were only a few places that still had the power of order, where living things were barely able to survive."

"These places are called the Arks," Cecilia continued, picking up where Drouin had left off. "In the end, the Gods did not abandon the people. At the very last moment of the war, the God of Order might have realized something. As a result, he decided to sacrifice himself and turn into countless Fires of Revival. The reason why the Ark was able to let the people continue on living was that there was the Fire of Revival in the Ark. Only the Power of Order generated by the Fire of Revival can withstand the attacks of the dark energy."

"The places that have been attacked by the dark energy are called the Land of Black Earth." Drouin glanced at Cecilia. He became a bit curious about Cecilia's identity. Of course, he was more amazed by her talent. "It is natural that you guys know nothing about the Land of Black Earth. After all, places that are adjacent to the Serian Kingdom are fertile lands and powerful countries. However, in reality, there are still many places that are the Land of Black Earth in the world. For example, further east of the Portoroa Kingdom is the Land of Black Earth. It is a place without light or heat, not to mention food."

"Then does it mean that all we have to do is to bury the Fire of Revival?" one of the members of the group asked.

"It is not as simple as you think." Cecilia shook her head. "It is only possible to bury the Fire of Revival in the dark whirlpool in the Land of Black Earth and let the order at the Land of Black Earth be restored. In this world, there is an organization called the Pioneer Guild. Their job is to find the Fire of Revival so that the order of the Land of Black Earth can be restored. This way, people can reclaim new land and build new homes. However, the Land of Black Earth is a very dangerous place. Also, in accordance with the strength of the dark energy generated by the dark whirlpool, the dark energy at the Land of Black Earth can be strong or weak. In some places where dark energy is relatively weak, we can go there. On the other hand, for some places where the dark energy is relatively strong, even legendary powerful people would not dare to trespass."

Cecilia paused for a moment. Then, she continued to say, "Since Sean is daring enough to bring us here, then it proves that even with just us alone, it is possible to cross this Land of Black Earth…However, even if we can pass through it, the danger of the Land of Black Earth is by no means something we can take lightly."

Cecilia's words reminded everyone that the road ahead was not a dead end, but if they were to take it lightly, then they could still die.

Behind them, the howls from the pack of wolves broke out one after another. They were mingled with several other louder howls.

When they heard the howls from the wolves, everyone could not help but rejoice that Sean's judgment had been accurate. Even their fear of the Land of Black Earth was not as strong as earlier. They had escaped from the Starfall Forest alive and mostly okay.

Of course, the same was true for Drouin.

After all, as citizens of the Portoroa Kingdom, the vast majority of the people from Portoroa had all seen the Land of Black Earth with their own eyes. Therefore, they had a better understanding of the fears that this Land of Black Earth created. As for Drouin, he knew even more about the Land of Black Earth compared to an average citizen of the Portoroa Kingdom. Drouin was an officially registered pioneer at the Pioneer Guild and had also once fought in the Land of Black Earth.

This time, because of the all-out journey, coupled with reduced harassment from the magical beasts, the team traveled a little bit faster than before.

However, people were still able to detect the changes along the way.

The scenery along their journey became more and more withered. The huge trees that had grown so luxuriantly inside the Starfall Forest had all disappeared and were replaced by dead trees with branches and leaves that had already fallen. Looking ahead of them, the bare, dead trees in their field of vision sent chills down everyone's body. Coupled with the silent environment surrounding them, it added to the heavy pressure that everyone felt. It was as if there was an invisible mouth within the darkness that was about to swallow them up.

As the team advanced, the ground became black like scorched soil. It was as if the nutrients in the ground had been extracted completely. The originally silent environment got a lot noisier. The clattering and crackling sounds of the team stepping on the mud was like a reminder bell ringing again and again. It made everyone more nervous. A whistling sound made by the wind blowing through the withered trees could be heard in what was supposed to be a windless environment. It oppressed everyone's spirits by a little bit.

However, before everyone was able to fully adapt to the environment, they were faced with a new challenge. The cold air pressure surrounding them made everyone's hands and feet turn cold. Originally, they had not been able to feel the weight of their armor. Now, it had become extremely heavy. Even the hands that were holding the knives and shields had become a little numb and sore.

The look in Drouin's eyes turned sharp.

He glanced at Sean and wondered why Sean had not reminded everyone that when they started to feel the cold low pressure, it meant that they had entered the Land of Black Earth. Within the space of the Land of Black Earth, everyone's spirits would deteriorate, as they would be affected by the dark energy all the time. If they were not reminded about it and were not paying attention to it, then they could easily disintegrate.

Right at the moment that Drouin was thinking, the team just happened to pass by a dead tree. Everyone saw a dark shadow suddenly spring out from behind the tree.

The moment they saw the dark shadow appear, everyone on the team was suddenly distracted. No matter how fast Drouin's and Old Pete's reactions were, being in a daze for nearly a second was a mistake that could not be reversed. By the time the two men reacted, the dark shadow had found their leader Sean. It was less than a centimeter away from Sean, and no matter how fast Drouin and Old Pete was able to react, it was too late to support Sean.

Right at that second, a light blue brilliance suddenly swept out from Sean's hand.

Everyone heard a 'click.' The dark shadow fell to the ground next to Sean. A moment later, a skull fell from the sky and slowly rolled to a stop next to Drouin's feet. Only at that moment did everyone see clearly what it was. The dark shadow that had sprung out earlier was a skeleton.

Sean slowly lowered the long sword he had used to cut the skeleton. With a solemn face, Sean said in a deep voice, "Welcome to the world of darkness and death, the Land of Black Earth…I only have one piece of advice for each of you. You must be vigilant. Pay attention to your feet and the shadows of the dead trees. Enemies like to hide in shadows the most. Trust your companions. Someone will be paying attention to the places that you are not able to see out of the corner of your eyes. We are a team."

Drouin finally knew why Sean had not warned everyone when they entered the Land of Black Earth. In many cases, real actions were far more persuasive than just words.

Just by glancing at the team, it was possible to see that the original negative impact on their spirits due to entering the Land of Black Earth had now disappeared without a trace. It was replaced by an elite team with members filled with cohesion and vigilance.