[Vol. 8] Chapter 184: The Stench of Blood
"Hmm?"
Hearing the loud rumble coming from deep within the valley, along with the shaking of the ground that could be faintly felt even here, the ten-person team that had just entered the mountains all stopped walking and looked at each other. One of the priestesses even turned her head slightly, as if she sensed something, and a strange expression appeared on her face.
A few curious members couldn’t help but start talking.
“What’s going on? An earthquake? Things are already going wrong the moment we arrive…”
“Now that you mention it, the Chaos Magic Valley has been recorded in history as having occasional unexplained tremors. And in the past few decades, they’ve become more and more frequent. Some scholars even believe there’s an ancient earth-element dragon living deep underground here. They say that’s the reason why the magic in this area is so unstable.”
“Come on, that sounds way too far-fetched. Dragons aren’t moles. Even if it’s an earth-type dragon, why would it live underground all the time? And what does a dragon have to do with magic going crazy? Are these scholars just making stuff up with zero proof and using their imagination as fact?”
“Haha… That’s kind of how scholars work, right? Bold guesses and careful testing. The mystery of the Chaos Magic Valley still hasn’t been solved. There are a lot of different theories about this place, and with so many ideas, of course some are going to sound silly. It’s just a guess, it doesn’t cost them anything.”
As the members of the hero’s party chatted and debated about the distant rumble, Violet, who heard every word clearly, only shook her head slightly and said nothing.
This earthquake definitely wasn’t natural, but it also probably wasn’t caused by a dragon.
The Chaos Magic Valley really was unusual. Violet had already tested it. While she could still cast magic using her own stored MP and completely block out the external magic, she found that she could hardly recover any MP by normal means here. Her ability to keep casting magic was clearly reduced.
Even she was being affected to that degree. For regular creatures, even dragons, it would be impossible to live here without being affected.
In fact, although a few creatures did live in this place, there were almost no intelligent lifeforms. That’s why, as soon as they passed through the sword formation at the valley’s edge and entered, the priestess had used SP to scan the whole area and quickly got a general understanding of the terrain.
Overall, the Chaos Magic Valley wasn’t too different from a normal mountain valley, except for the extremely strange magic in the air. That strange energy made it impossible for magical beasts, monsters, or most intelligent races, who rely on magic to survive, to exist here. Aside from that, the rest of the environment matched what a normal valley should be like.
If there was one thing that stood out, it would be the large circular area at the center of the valley, sunken several kilometers wide. It was nearly empty except for rocks and a few animal bones. Compared to the lush greenery around it, this place looked completely out of place.
From the sky, when she used her spiritual sense to scan the area, it looked like a normal part of the mountain landscape had just been cut out, leaving a giant scar on the earth. It was very eye-catching and didn’t match the environment at all.
And in that brief moment when Violet’s divine sense swept over the lifeless crater, she actually saw a few humans who looked like scholars moving around inside. However, to avoid startling them or causing trouble, the priestess withdrew her spiritual scan before they could notice they were being watched.
She hadn’t seen clearly, only that they appeared to be a few ordinary people with no magic power, but even so, their presence made Violet feel uneasy. She couldn’t stop thinking about them.
Creatures without magic power can move around the valley normally, but it’s clear they can’t pass through the outer sword energy barrier that now surrounds the area. So logically, the Chaos Magic Valley should have been completely cut off from the outside world for at least a month. If those people inside didn’t have a way to get through the sword formation like Violet and her team did, then the only possibility is that they entered the valley before the barrier formed, and haven’t left since.
But why would a group of people stay in the valley for over a month? What are they trying to do?
In fact, those people might not even realize that the valley is now completely sealed by sword energy and that no one can get in or out. After all, Violet had earlier seen what looked like a camp built by that group somewhere in the valley, several miles away from where she was at the time.
If they knew they were trapped, they should be much more careful with their food and supplies. But judging from certain details, it seemed like they weren’t aware of their situation at all.
And judging by the tremor and the loud noise earlier...
Had those people done something?
Violet quietly guessed to herself. Since she was still with the hero’s party and didn’t want to cause suspicion, she didn’t use her spiritual power to search the area again. As if sensing her thoughts, Xiao Guang lightly poked the priestess on the side and whispered softly in her ear:
“Master, just a moment ago, I smelled something very strange. I think it was a living creature, but it didn’t feel quite right. The smell was all mixed up and messy, with a strong earthy odor... Anyway, this is the first time I’ve ever come across something so hard to describe.”
“What kind of vague explanation is that?”
Violet gave her dragon girl companion a strange look.
“Can you describe it in more direct, simple words?”
“It smelled bloody and rotten.”
“Oh...”
So, it probably wasn’t anything good.
Violet understood the situation in her heart. She turned to the rest of the hero’s party, who were still discussing what might have caused the sudden tremor, and took the initiative to interrupt.
“It’s getting late. Walking through the forest at night isn’t a good idea. Let’s find a spot nearby and set up camp. Once it’s morning, we can continue. Judging from the earlier shaking, it doesn’t seem like this valley is very peaceful. We should take our time to get used to the environment and move with caution.”
Her suggestion made sense, so of course, no one objected. They found a relatively open space nearby, and the priestess took out various supplies from her magic-resistant backpack. Everyone pitched in, and before long, a simple camp was set up.
After the earlier tests, the team had more or less confirmed how the valley’s environment affected them. Mages couldn’t use any magic at all here. Even people like Zachary the demon or Mia and Selna the vampires, who relied on their innate powers, couldn’t use them properly, since those abilities were also powered by magic, and the valley’s strange energy disrupted all of it.
However, just as Violet had expected, the interference had little effect on items that contained laws or divine power, like the [Staff of Eternal Radiance] used by the Heaven Hero, or the [Heart Chime Pendant] held by the Spirit Hero. These items couldn’t be damaged or disrupted easily, let alone Violet’s own sacred artifact.
With that in mind, Violet had already come up with a specific counter-strategy and was now getting ready to put it into action.