Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1176 1158. Thick Fog
When Nenneke said this, he mainly wanted Lan to have a general understanding of the situation.

But then, when she talked about the stage when the whole thing was finally discovered and taken seriously, Nenneke's tone became heavy.

"But just when the villagers had just finished working for a while and were preparing to go home to send money and take a vacation with their families..."

"According to the mountain folks who ran all the way to this temple and came back to their senses a little, they felt something was wrong before they even entered the village."

"There should have been huge old trees and stubborn rocks around the village. These things were obstacles for the mountain people to travel, but they also served as the village's outer layer of natural defense."

"But when the mountain people who received their wages from the mines returned, the thick trees were broken like fragile matches, and the broken wood chips even covered a piece of land as big as a house."

"The stubborn rocks were like pieces of butter that were crushed and smashed. The scattered rocks even flew half a kilometer away and then broke off a forest."

"Listening to their description, I thought it was some crazy general who dragged the expensive Fire Scorpion siege vehicle up the mountain just to attack that ordinary mountain village."

Aunt Nenneke said in a deep voice.

As her low tone of voice and the ominous and tragic story unfolded, it seemed that even this originally bright and lush garden was shrouded in a depressing atmosphere.

"The whole place looked like it had been ravaged by something. The people who came back from working there were totally terrified. In fact, I and Aurora took care of them for several days before they could speak again."

"Did no one see any signs other than the destruction of the site?" Lan asked, "Didn't they go into their own village to check?"

Nenneke nodded, indicating that Lan was right.

"They really wanted to go in. After all, their families were in the village, and they would not be willing to go in without seeing it with their own eyes."

"But the goddess blesses them, they are very lucky."

"A few villagers were so frightened by the scene outside the village that they were at a loss what to do. They covered their heads and tried to go into the village. Before they could enter, they happened to run into the hunter in the village who had gone a little crazy."

Lan En tilted his head slightly: "The hunter in the village is not dead?"

“He’s luckier.” Nenneke told him without turning around. “Although I don’t know the exact time when the accident happened in the village, he was chasing a bear and had been in the mountains for a week. He was not in the village.”

"That hunter returned to the village earlier than the working villagers. Not only did he see the signs of the explosion outside the village earlier, he even had the courage to go in and take a look. That's why he was a little crazy."

"According to him, the scene in the village was like..."

Nenneke pursed her lips, as if it was a little difficult to describe, but finally she let out a long breath and spoke.

"It's like there's a greedy and tyrannical demon that abuses everything!"

"Everything is gone, people, livestock, all living things, there are cracks and depressions everywhere, the ground of the entire village has almost collapsed and a layer has been scraped off!"

“That’s a mountain, Lan.” Nenneke turned to look at the witcher and emphasized, “Except for the layer of soil on the surface, it’s all rock!”

"The hunter was frightened by the scene in the village and went insane. His mind was blank and he wandered outside the village for several days, not daring to leave or stay. He survived on the carcass of the bear he had hunted, which already had a bad smell."

"It was not until the working villagers came back and saw familiar people that the hunter regained some normality. He ran out of the mountain, talking nonsense and dragging the equally panicked villagers out of the mountain."

"A bunch of people made it all the way from Mahakam to Elland with just one stinking bear. I don't know how they managed to survive."

Lan's thin lips moved from beneath his hood as he repeated Sister Nenneke's description in a low voice.

"Only the carcass of a bear?"

The carcass of a bear sounds very large, and it seems that at least several hundred kilograms of meat can be cut off.

However, as an individual hunter, he does not have the ability to carry away all the bodies of a bear at once.

Therefore, even if the hunt is successful, the amount of meat brought back to the village for the first time will not be very large, and it will be necessary to make multiple trips or call for help in exchange for a share of the meat.

In addition, according to the hunter's description, he stayed around the scene of the incident for several days in a daze. He would eat a part of the food himself and then supply it to the mountain villagers who came back from work, and use it as food for their escape from the mountain. This is too tight.

Now that he has learned how to escape from unknown dangers, he should have regained some of his sanity, or at least be able to feel his body's hunger and weakness.

"This hunter can hunt bears, so he must be a good hunter, right?"

The witcher pulled at his hooded cape, which had been sliding down a little, and there was a sound of armor buckles and chainmail shirt rubbing against the fabric.

"Plus, we have the help of the working villagers. Didn't they buy some food along the way?"

Originally, Aunt Nenneke was walking slowly in front of Lan, as if she was leading a guest to visit the garden.

When Lan En asked this question, he suddenly stopped.

"Because... there is no more prey to hunt."

"So," Lan En frowned, confused, "what does this mean?"

Nenneke spoke calmly, and one could even hear a hint of coldness in her calmness.

"It means: there are no living things."

"In the mountains where they fled, there were no birds singing or beasts roaring, not even any monsters. All they saw were traces similar to those outside the village. Brutal, horrific destruction."

"That 'thing' that destroyed their village. That thing destroyed more than just a mountain village."

"If that's the case," Lan adjusted the brim of his hood and smacked his lips, "it's really terrifying."

“Even if they didn’t see what happened, didn’t they notice anything unusual?” “Yes,” Nenneke said simply. “It was foggy.”

"A thick, autonomously moving fog."

Lan En's eyes immediately focused. This brief description just now might be the most important feature so far.

"Tell me more about it?"

"Those who escaped from the mountains said that they saw the thick fog from afar when they were still running out of the mountains."

Nenneke recounts the words of the refugees she rescued.

"They were on one of the hills in the range and the fog was moving over the hill below another hill."

"The fog was so thick that it was almost sticky, and it was crawling on the shady mountain. The sound of the thick trees breaking on the road passed through the canyon and reached the top of the mountain where the mountain people were, and it kept echoing."

"Is there something in the fog?"

Lan asked in a firm tone.

“Of course there is something in the fog,” Nenneke responded simply, “but the mountain folks can’t see it clearly. They only see a huge black shadow looming in the thick white fog.”

"The shadow's color was darker and its outline was clearer when it got closer to the edge of the fog, but as it returned to the center of the fog, its outline and color were gradually covered by the white fog."

After finishing her words, Sister Nenneke added cautiously.

"Of course, given the mental state of the mountain dwellers and hunters at the time, it is difficult to say how credible these descriptions are."

"I am just relaying this to you as information."

Lan En immediately nodded in gratitude: "This is the most detailed and useful thing I have heard so far."

“You’re welcome,” Nenneke turned and patted the witcher’s arm. “That’s all I can do to help you.”

The kind fat grandmother smiled.

"Does Duke Heward and Aedirn know about this news?"

Lan asked Nenneke.

“Of course.” Nenneke nodded. “After I calmed those poor people down and got them to talk normally, I gave them the news.”

"The area of ​​influence caused by the 'fog' is now rapidly approaching the Pontar River Valley. Everyone would be very nervous about this."

"Although Temeria and Aedirn, as the northern powers closest to the Nilfgaard Empire, are still focusing most of their energy on the direct confrontation, Heward and Demave of Aedirn have still gathered a lot of people to resolve this matter."

"A lot of manpower?"

Lan En tilted his head towards the kind fat grandmother.

“Powerful mercenaries, famous hunters, dangerous assassins,” Nenneke shrugged. “And then there are the young people who come here for money or fame, who heard about it from somewhere or found connections, and so on.”

"Isn't this too involved? I thought Foltest and Demavere wanted to resolve this matter quietly."

"They want to be silent, but can they do it?"

The chief high priest of the temple smiled with a pouty expression.

"People who actually come to carry out the mission, such as Seaward, all treasure their own subordinates and are afraid of losing a lot of them. If they can hire people to work and die at a relatively cheap price, why not do it?"

"Besides, the area affected by that unknown 'thing' is about to reach the Pontar River Valley. Even if we hide it, how long can we keep it a secret? It's okay to deceive ourselves, but forget about deceiving others."

"Okay, okay." Lan En shrugged helplessly.

Nenneke continued walking forward. During their conversation, which had been deliberately slowed down, they had already passed through the garden next to the temple.

"The room I've arranged for you is next to the people who came here for this incident. I can be considered as hosting them here."

Lann complimented politely: "This at least means that in their hearts, you are more trustworthy and respectable than Heward."

“Then I hope they don’t worship me,” Nenneke said indifferently. “They should worship the goddess instead. They all look like they are licking blood from the blade. Sigh.”

As they were talking, there was a pavilion in front of the two people who walked out of the garden. Two voices, one male and one female, came from the pavilion.

Nenneke raised her eyebrows and smiled at Lan behind her.

"There are actually some interesting people in this group. I recommend you go get to know them."

"Like the two in front?"

Lan En understood what he meant.

“To be precise, it’s that woman. I find her interesting.” Nenneke waved her hand.

"And what is her name?"

“Sakia,” Nenneke said, pointing to the pavilion a short distance ahead. “Sakia Sakia.”

(End of this chapter)