Volume 5, Chapter 33 – Entering the Lost Lands

Contrary to the crisis-filled situation she had imagined, there were actually not many monsters in the fog.

Perhaps they’ve been cleared out by the adventurers coming and going.

Withdrawing her gaze from the [Omniscient Map], Yisi tilted her head. The ground in the Lost Lands—or perhaps it should be called the Foggy Forest—was exceptionally soft. Apart from a path that had been trodden down by many adventurers, any other spot would leave a finger-deep depression with a single step. If it were any more humid, it would surely turn into a swamp easily.

While thinking such things, a faint sweet scent suddenly wafted into her nostrils. Yisi naturally turned her head.

It was blood.

Edith had cut her fingertip with a small knife, and a series of fine blood droplets were now dripping into the soil. Noticing Yisi’s questioning gaze, Edith glanced at her, then returned her gaze to her bleeding index finger.

“Chesire is not here, so I have to do it myself. Is there something strange about that?”

Chesire was the one among Edith’s pets who possessed blood-tracking abilities.

After chanting a very short incantation, Edith continued her earlier statement. “In this fog, even if you make marks, they are easy to lose. Only by tracking the scent of blood can one be at ease.”

“Can’t you use an ordinary person’s blood?” Yisi’s storage still held a lot of blood she had bought from the Blood Clan’s taverns.

“If I could use someone else’s blood, do you think I would do it myself? Every drop of a pureblood’s blood is precious. But it is precisely because it is precious that it can do things that even high-ranking vampires cannot, such as sensing one’s own bloodstains within a certain range.”

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“If it’s to avoid getting lost, you don’t need to hurt yourself at all, Pepe. As long as I’m here, you definitely won’t get lost.” With the [Omniscient Map] to guide them, it was impossible to lose their way at any time.

However, Edith did not stop. “Even so, it’s best to have a backup plan when facing an unknown land.”

“What a waste…” Yisi’s gaze fell on Edith’s index finger. In this world, apart from Andrea and herself, Yisi had never tasted the blood of another pureblood. The buying and selling of pureblood blood was forbidden within the Blood Clan; it was a law written into their statutes. Although with her strength, Yisi could force anyone to do whatever she wanted, she first and foremost detested people who forced others to do things against their will, and second, she loathed lawbreakers who did not follow the rules.

As if she could see through Yisi’s thoughts, Edith brought her bleeding finger to Yisi’s face with a confident smile. “Want to try it?”

“I do.”

“Then go ahead and try.”

“You’re not going to make me pay some price for it afterward, are you?”

Edith snorted lightly. “Am I the kind of person who makes demands after the fact? I’ve told you, you are special. Therefore, I permit you to make requests that others cannot, and I will do my best to fulfill them.”

“Ehh… then how about I taste it after we get back? In exchange for my blood.”

“That’s fine, but your blood is unnecessary. This is not a transaction. It is…” As if she were thinking of the right word, Edith paused for a moment, then placed her index finger below her lips and revealed a satisfied smile. “—It is a gift between lovers.”

If Pepe were to cast aside her various wicked interests, she would surely become a very comfortable partner to be with. But if she cast those things aside, she would no longer be Pepe.

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Stunned for a moment by Pepe’s charming words, Yisi waved her hand as if nothing had happened. “That’s just your wishful thinking, Pepe.”

“Lord Loiswell is very charming…” Following behind Yisi, Andrea, who had been protected behind Mary, turned her head, a look of reverence in her golden eyes. “She will surely become a convincing ruler.”

“Although I don’t agree with Your Majesty’s indecisiveness, I have enough self-awareness to know that I am only suited to be a lord. I cannot fulfill the role of a king.”

“Is that so…” For some reason, a look of disappointment and regret flashed across Andrea’s face.

Andrea isn’t really thinking of giving the throne away, is she? Not to mention that the throne was not something that could be given away just like that. Even if it could, it would surely cause dissatisfaction among the various lords, leading to national instability.

Then, Yisi noticed Andrea looking up at her with a hopeful gaze.

No, no, even if you look at me like that, I’m not going to be king for you. She currently had no intention of being tied down to one piece of land. She much preferred a life of freedom.

Seemingly noticing the retreat in Yisi’s eyes, Andrea lowered her head in disappointment again. Yisi felt a pang of pity and almost blurted out something she shouldn’t have.

Hold back, Yisi. You are definitely not king material, she warned herself internally. Yisi patted Andrea’s pink pigtails and changed the subject in embarrassment. “How are you going to investigate the undead here, Andrea? Can you tell the difference between naturally formed undead and artificially created ones at a glance?”

“I can only identify the undead of the Blood Clan. As long as I find one, I can use a magic unique to the royal family to search for their most profound memories from when they were alive. Artificially created undead will generally remember the person who turned them into an undead, while naturally formed ones will show a variety of images, usually their dying wish—that’s what Augustin told me.”

Augustin was Andrea’s magic tutor, so most of her knowledge about magic came from him.

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“Aah! T-Tiffany, spit out what you just ate!”

Refina’s shout suddenly came from behind. Yisi and the others naturally turned their heads. Currently, the group is arranged with Mary as the vanguard, followed by Andrea and Edith, with Yisi and Camilla in the middle for support, and Tiffany and Refina as the rearguard.

Tiffany tilted her head with a dazed expression. “Why?”

“I think I just saw you eat something strange… wasn’t that a juvenile Swamp Poison Spider?”

“It pounced. I ate it.” The meaning was that because she saw it pounce, she ate it.

Yisi immediately looked as if she had seen a ghost. If she remembered correctly, an adult Swamp Poison Spider was a monster three meters long and covered in dense, thick bristles. Recalling the scene where Tiffany had swallowed an Ice Fairy in one gulp, Yisi quickly moved behind her. She had almost forgotten after so much time, but this girl was the type who could eat anything.

Landing a karate chop on Tiffany’s neck, Yisi accurately located the spot where the spider was stored. Thankfully, Tiffany hadn’t had time to digest it. The Swamp Poison Spider was happily spitting venom on her hand.

“Yisi, ouch.”

“It’s your fault for eating random things, Tiffany.”

Although a slime could digest anything, a Swamp Poison Spider was highly venomous. If Tiffany were to digest it, her own body would become toxic. At that point, Yisi would have no choice but to quarantine her to prevent Mary and Edith from being poisoned as well.

“Hungry.” With a pitifully aggrieved expression, Tiffany pointed to her slightly open mouth. Helpless, Yisi could only first pull out the spider’s fangs and toss it aside, then take out milk and bread from her storage.

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“Remember not to eat random things next time.”

“I know. Yisi, my favorite.” Taking small bites of the bread, Tiffany’s eyes widened as she nodded seriously. It was hard to tell if she was being deliberate or genuinely thanking her.

On the other side, Camilla had a thoughtful expression. “Onee-sama, was that a Swamp Poison Spider just now?”

“Yes, it was. What’s wrong?”

“If I remember correctly, Swamp Poison Spiders should live in remote parts of the forest and are social monsters. We’ve only just entered the forest. Why would we encounter one…”

“It was just a juvenile. Maybe it got separated from its group?” Refina, wearing metal gauntlets, smashed the Swamp Poison Spider that Yisi had thrown away with a single punch and shook her hand.

However, Refina soon noticed something was wrong.

A faint rustling sound came from the surrounding fog. It was the sound of insect limbs piercing the soil. The scratching sound, like a multi-legged insect walking over leaves, was instinctively unsettling.

The sound grew more and more urgent, until it became impossible to ignore.

Immediately after, the sound of human footsteps and panting came from ahead.

“Prepare for battle.”