Chapter 1823 Mud

A desolate plain stretched as far as the eye could see under the cloudy sky. The horizon was shrouded by a rustling veil of cold rain, and the ground had turned into an endless expanse of mud.

A canyon cut the plain like a deep scar, resounding with eerie weeping sounds. It would turn into a raging river soon, but for now, the vertical slopes were drowning in nothing but darkness.

A young woman was moving across the plain, pulling a makeshift sled behind her. . . although, it would have been hard to recognize her as a human from first sight. Covered in mud from head to toe, she looked like a gaunt golem made from clay. The mud stuck to her skin and clothes, making the woman look like a part of the barren wasteland that had somehow come alive.

Her face and hair were covered in layers of dirt, as well. Only her dark, sunken eyes could be seen, burning with fierce determination.

. . . In the end, Rain had lasted more than a day. In fact, she had lasted for six, enduring the inhuman strain and crushing exertion of their desperate flight against all odds.

She had reached her breaking point a long time ago. But, somehow, she managed to keep going even after becoming broken. Later, she faced some other, much deeper limit. . . Rain wasn't sure what it was, and couldn't clearly remember. All she knew was that she was still standing.

That was all that mattered.

The original stretcher had long fallen apart. The enchanted cloak was fine, of course, but the wooden frame had cracked and shattered. Rain had kept repairing it as best she could, but at some point, she could only discard the broken branches and replace them.

She built the new frame from the bones of the

Nightmares Creatures that had attacked them in the dead of night.

The melodious ringing of essence crystals colliding with each other in the depths of her soul was almost deafening now, filling her ears. Her vision had grown vague and narrow. Most of her consciousness was consumed by the sensation of soul essence spinning in a raging whirlpool, permeating every cell of her body. The rest was filled with exhaustion and pain.

Step. Step. Another step.

The further south they went, the more bleak the weather became. Chilling rain poured from the grey sky more and more frequently, and grew more and more forceful. She didn't mind. Not only did it mean that they would not suffer from thirst, but pulling the stretcher through the mud was easier than it would have been if the soil was dry.

Of course, it was a perilous exchange. Rain would have probably been dead if not for her military bodysuit — being wet meant losing heat, and heat was energy. With how much she was exerting herself, energy was a precious resource that she dared not waste.

Her body had already started consuming itself, so it was a dire commodity.

Tamar, meanwhile, was not faring much better.

She did not have to exhaust herself physically, and her wounds were healing. But new ones were added to the old ones after that nighttime attack.

The young Legacy had lost a lot of blood, and although they slaughtered the abominations in the end, it was not without a cost.

By that time, Tamar had already sent another arrow flying, finally bringing the wounded abomination down. Her face was pale, and the ugly wound that stretched across her shoulder and chest had opened, seeping with blood. The strain of drawing a powerful enchanted bow was too much for her to endure.

And yet, she was already pulling the string for the third time.

The Nightmare Creatures were almost upon them.

Both lunged forward in a flash of claws, fangs, and frenzied eyes.

Just then, Tamar's arrow hit one in the head, killing it instantly.

The other jumped on Rain. She dove under its claws and thrust both of her blades forward. The hunting knife barely penetrated the tough hide of the abomination and slid from her grasp, but the long dagger sunk into its flesh to the hilt.

The creature fell on Rain and sent her crushing to the ground. She just barely managed to push the abominable beast, sending it flying over her head.

They fell simultaneously.

‘It hurts.’

Rain fell on her back, but spun and rose to her knees almost immediately. Dashing torward the struggling abomination, she pinned it to the ground with the weight of her body and stabbed it repeatedly. Her strikes were aimed at all the spots where vital organs should have been.

A while later, the beast stopped moving.

Rain crawled off its corpse weakly and sprawled in the mud.

After that violent burst of strength, she felt like she would never be able to stand up.

And yet. . . throughout all of it, the melodious ringing never grew silent. Even while being lunged at by a snarling abomination, wrestling it to the ground, and sinking her blade into its flesh, Rain had never stopped circulating her essence.

Somewhere deep within her, another radiant grain of sand was formed.

She smiled tiredly.

‘Soon. . . Soon. . . ’

Drops of rain were falling heavily on her burning face.