Chapter 1025: Poisoning (1)

The southern region was vast. Traveling from one end to the other would take a very long time.

Moreover, Elina had thirty thousand troops with her. Even with the buffs from the mages, it was clearly impossible to reach the rebels’ location quickly.

"Halt!"

Elina raised her right hand.

Evalyn, Freya, and thousands of soldiers stopped at once.

"It’s nighttime. We haven’t rested since this morning. Set up tents in the surrounding area. We’ll spend the night here!" she ordered.

"Yes, Your Highness!" the soldiers replied in unison.

While the soldiers began setting up camp, Elina took Freya and Evalyn to look for a water source. Not far from their location, about twenty meters away, a river flowed rapidly.

Elina, Freya, and Evalyn guided their horses toward the river. They dismounted and let their horses drink their fill.

The three of them were tired as well, so they drank alongside their horses.

"Phew! The water feels so refreshing!" Freya exclaimed happily.

She cupped her hands, scooped up some water, and splashed it onto her face.

Elina and Evalyn did the same. The water was cold and refreshing.

Once they’d had their fill, the three of them led their horses back to the camp. By the time they returned, the tents had already been set up.

However, Elina didn’t go straight to her tent.

"Sister Freya, Sister Evalyn, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you. Could you come to my tent first?"

Neither of them refused, so they followed Elina into her tent.

There was a table inside. Elina took out a map of the southern region, covered with hand-drawn markings, and laid it on the table.

"We’re currently here," Elina said, pointing to a flat area called Tagrash. "If we follow the route indicated by Sergan and Duke Malvain, we’ll reach our destination quickly. However, there are several major obstacles along the way."

She pointed to several dangerous areas in the southern region.

One of them was the Mordryn Mist Forest. It was a vast forest, stretching for about twenty kilometers.

As its name suggested, the forest had been shrouded in mist for hundreds of years.

Many dangerous monsters lived within it.

Although her troops could easily deal with these monsters, Elina didn’t want to take any risks. Human lives, after all, were not something that could simply be replaced.

Freya stared at the map indifferently.

"I know the route to the border very well. Would you like to hear about it?"

"Of course."

Elina didn’t refuse.

Freya pointed to the Tagrash Plains, then traced a side route with her finger. Along the route was a small mountain range called the Artagush Mountains.

"It’s better to go this way. The route is longer, but the risk is much lower. If we go through the Mordryn Mist Forest, there’s a high chance we’ll encounter monsters. We don’t know what might happen along the way. We could end up exhausted before we even reach the rebel forces."

"But our supplies won’t last that long," Evalyn interjected with a long sigh. "At best, they’ll only last another four days. Like it or not, we’ll have to find a city or town near the Artagush Mountains."

"That’s no big deal. There’s a small town near Artagush. Its name isn’t marked on the map, but I remember going there four years ago. We can buy supplies there later," Freya said indifferently.

Evalyn nodded and said nothing more.

The three of them continued discussing various matters, especially strategies for dealing with the enemy.

"According to Sergan, we’ll encounter enemy forces in Butterfly Wing Valley. This is something we need to think about," Freya said with a serious expression.

"Butterfly Wing Valley, huh?" Elina narrowed her eyes. "Have you ever been there, Sister?"

She had never been there herself. After all, the valley was extremely dangerous. She had only ever heard about it in a few storybooks.

"Unfortunately, no."

Freya shook her head.

"That valley is very isolated, and there are also many powerful monsters there. To me, fighting in a place like that is tantamount to suicide."

"Then aren’t we in the same boat? I mean, we’re going to encounter enemy forces there, aren’t we?" Evalyn asked hesitantly.

Silence fell over the tent.

After a long pause, Freya spoke again.

"Sergan said there’s still a chance we might encounter the enemy there, but it’s not certain. If that happens, we need to get there before they do. That way, we can scout the terrain and come up with a plan to deal with them."

Elina and Evalyn exchanged glances before nodding in agreement.

"We also—"

Before Freya could finish her sentence, a panicked voice rang out from outside.

"Y-Your Highness Elina, bad news!"

All three of them were startled. Elina hurried outside and saw a short, young soldier panting heavily, his face pale.

"What’s going on?" Elina asked coldly.

Freya and Evalyn followed her outside and stared intently at the soldier.

Faced with their gazes, the soldier swallowed hard. However, he quickly composed himself and spoke honestly.

"Dozens of soldiers are having seizures!"

Elina, Freya, and Evalyn’s expressions changed when they heard that.

"What did you say? Dozens of soldiers are having seizures?"

"Y-Yes, Your Highness! Their condition is critical. The mages can’t heal them!"

Elina had a bad feeling about this.

She nodded and said gravely, "I understand. I’ll check on them."

"I’m coming too," Freya said.

"Me too," Evalyn added.

Elina said nothing and immediately headed toward where the soldiers were being treated.

When she arrived, she saw dozens of soldiers lying in neat rows on the ground.

Their faces were pale, as if they had lost a great deal of blood. Their breathing was labored, and strange spots had appeared on their necks.

Seeing the three of them arrive, the mages breathed a sigh of relief. One of them walked over to Elina and bowed her head.

"Welcome, General Elina," she greeted politely.

"How are they? Do they have any serious injuries?"

The mage shook her head.

"For now, they’re fine. It’s just that I don’t know if things will stay that way."

Elina frowned.

"What do you mean?"

The mage looked at the soldiers with a troubled expression.

"Their condition is very strange, and I can’t figure out what’s causing it."

Suddenly—

"They’ve been poisoned. And it’s a very potent poison."