Red Mist

"Sir Wizard!"

Hal and Jimmy were so excited that they couldn't help themselves.

Although there were more Wizards in the Old Land than in the Forgotten Land, the overall number of Wizards was there. In addition, they lived in different regions from mortals, and the information channels in this world were very underdeveloped.

Due to various factors, Wizards were still like myths and legends in the eyes of mortals. Most people had never seen a Wizard in their entire lives.

Now that such a legend had appeared in front of them, the two young soldiers could not control their emotions.

Heath raised his hand and repeated, "Are you people from Reiden City?"

The yellow-haired Hal quickly said, "Yes, yes, my Lord."

"The Count asked us to wait for you here. He was worried that you were not familiar with the way, so he arranged for us to pick you up and take you to Reiden City. This is our emblem, please take a look."

Hal lifted his leather armor and revealed the emblem on his chest.

Heath had extracted the knowledge of the emblem of the surrounding nobles in the library, including Reiden City.

He took a look and confirmed that this was indeed the emblem of the kite in Reiden City.

Heath nodded. "In that case, let's go."

"Yes, Sir. Please follow me."

"Jimmy, quickly, go back and inform the Count that the Wizard is here!"

"We're saved!"

...

Reiden City was a human city in the northern part of the Dark Forest. It belonged to the Helan Kingdom, which was one of the Sixteen Kingdoms. Because it was close to the transportation hub, the Cross Forest, there were caravans coming here for supplies all year round, and commerce was very developed.

A few days later, at the gate of Reiden City.

The tall gate was open, and the heavy drawbridge was lowered.

On both sides of the drawbridge, a line of nobles stood in two rows. They wore long gowns, stockings, and walking sticks. They were all well-dressed, and their expressions were respectful as if they were waiting for an important guest.

Anyone who was familiar with the heraldry of the nobles of the Helan Kingdom would be shocked. The Heisen family, the Joey family, the Edd family... Including Count Kroya, the Lord of Reiden City, all the nobles who had a bit of prestige in Reiden City had arrived.

Who was it that was worthy of such a grand occasion for the nobles?

The answer was soon revealed.

Da da da...

The sound of horse hooves could be heard.

In the distance, a figure could be vaguely seen in the wheat field. It was a young man riding a white horse and wearing a gray-black cloak.

The horse galloped through the wheat field, across the stream, and across the small stone bridge. It was as if the wind was blowing as it moved, causing the windmill to spin slowly. The gray cloak danced with the wind.

Soon, the white horse came close, and the young man on the horse got off.

At this moment, the nobles of Reiden City straightened their backs, put on a fawning expression, and went up to greet him.

"Sir Wizard!" Everyone saluted in unison.

The travel-worn Heath adjusted his cloak and then raised his hand to speak to the nobles. "I am the Apprentice of Shadow Tower, Heath. I heard that there is trouble here. Who will tell me the details?"

A middle-aged man in his forties walked out. He was the Lord of Reiden, Count Kroya. "Sir Wizard, I have already prepared a banquet for you. Let's eat and talk."

Heath looked up at the sky. It was indeed late, so he nodded and said, "That's fine."

At the dining table, Heath understood the whole story.

Everything had to start from Cross Forest.

Cross Forest was a forest outside Reiden City. It was located at the intersection, and all the caravans from the south to the north had to pass through it. It was definitely a major transportation route.

However, a few months ago, a strange thing happened in Cross Forest.

A layer of red fog filled the forest for no reason.

Ever since the appearance of the red fog, the entire forest had been filled with strange things. Some people heard the cries of women coming from the forest. Some people lost their way in the forest for no reason, and so on.

Count Kroya had organized many people to go into the forest to investigate but to no avail. In the end, he could only arrange for soldiers to escort the merchant caravans.

Although the situation had improved when there were soldiers escorting them, there were so many merchant caravans traveling from the south to the north. The soldiers in Reiden City were limited, so it was impossible for them to take care of every merchant caravan.

And once the soldiers left or the number of people was small, strange things would happen.

For a moment, it caused panic among the people. The surrounding merchant caravans no longer dared to pass through this place.

Reiden City relied on these merchant caravans to make a living. Once this merchant caravan stopped, the entire city would suffer. Seeing that the starving citizens were about to rebel, he had no choice but to bring a letter to Shadow Tower to ask for help.

After listening to Count Kroya's description, Heath asked in puzzlement, "How long has it been like this?"

Count Kroya said, "It has been more than three months since the first appearance of the red fog, Sir."

Heath picked up the spoon and pointed outside. "Is it that forest? I don't think I saw any fog when I came here."

Count Kroya smiled bitterly and said, "It is a random appearance, my Lord. Sometimes it will appear, and sometimes it won't."

Pausing for a moment, he sighed and said, "Every time I organize a large group of people to enter the forest, it will be very calm. But once I leave with my Knights, strange things will begin to happen in the forest."

He angrily knocked on the table. "What kind of damn monster is this!"

A noble beside him hurriedly pulled on his lapel. Only then did he realize that he was still entertaining the distinguished guest. He quickly said, "Sorry for being rude."

However, Heath ignored the Count. At this time, he was already deep in thought.

There were many things that could release red fog in the Wizard World. Plants, animals, and even certain minerals.

However, according to Count Kroya's description, this thing should have appeared suddenly, so it was most likely living, moving, and most likely a magical creature from an elemental land.

It should have a certain level of intelligence and know how to avoid harm and seek benefits. It would only attack weak travelers and caravans and deliberately avoid the regular army.

However, this also showed that its strength was very limited...

Suddenly, Heath seemed to have thought of something.

He asked, "Your Excellency just said that the people who disappeared because of the red fog were all men. Is that true?"

The count nodded. "So far, so true."

Heath narrowed his eyes.

He seemed to have an answer.

Soon, he made a decision. "Well, help me make arrangements..."

...

A few days later, in Cross Forest.

The sound of wheels rolling echoed in the forest.

A convoy was slowly walking on the muddy path.

The convoy was not large. There were seven or eight people, all of whom were men. Half of them were disabled people with incomplete limbs and elderly people. There were only three young people.

Two carriages were carrying a few large wooden boxes. They looked like an ordinary caravan.

Walking in the middle of the caravan, Heath was constantly observing his surroundings.

He had asked the Count to arrange this caravan in the name of transporting goods.

Heath had personally selected every member of the caravan. Other than him and the two Apprentice Knights, the rest were weak commoners who did not even know his arrangements.

If his judgment was not wrong, there was a high chance that the caravan would attract that thing.

"Eh? What... What is that?"

"Fog? Fog!"

"What's going on? Why is there fog when the sun is out?"

"It's red, the fog is red!"

"There... There can't really be a ghost..."

At this moment, there was a sudden commotion in the crowd.

A layer of fog appeared out of nowhere in the forest.

Red fog.

Heath raised an eyebrow. 'It's coming!'