Translator: CinderTL
Deep within a remote, dense forest in the eastern part of the Golden Valley Kingdom, the air hung heavy and humid, thick with the mingled scents of rich humus and the exotic fragrance of unknown wildflowers.
Massive, plank-like roots, gnarled and twisted like the claws of a slumbering giant beast, tore through the dark earth.
In this primeval and tranquil region, an unnatural fissure marred the landscape.
The ground had collapsed, forming a nearly perfect circular pit, approximately ten feet in diameter, with jagged edges.
The vegetation around the pit's rim was withered and charred, a stark contrast to the vibrant greenery that surrounded it.
Gloria stood motionless at the pit's edge, gazing down into the bottomless abyss, her lips pressed into a thin line.
The depths of this pit revealed far more than ordinary soil and rock strata.
Initially, the walls were composed of ordinary earth. But as the pit descended, they gradually became coated with a smooth, oily, dark purple substance, as if long-soaked in some creature's bodily fluids.
This bizarre material pulsed faintly, radiating a faint heat and emitting an overwhelmingly sweet, nauseatingly cloying odor.
Light itself seemed to warp and vanish within its depths.
The tunnel stretched downward endlessly, disappearing into a heart-stopping darkness as thick and viscous as pitch.
Occasionally, unnatural, sickly phosphorescent flashes flickered from the deepest depths, like the blinking eyes of some colossal creature, vanishing in an instant.
"It's definitely a trace of the abyss, and..."
She bent down, picked up a handful of earth beside her foot, and carefully rubbed it between her fingers.
"It was caused by human mining."
Upon confirming this, a sliver of doubt crept into the Imperial Princess's heart.
"But... according to the ancient texts, there's a fundamental barrier between the abyss and the Material Plane. How could mere human labor have carved out a passage like this?"
"Who could have possibly done this?"
As she sank into thought, hurried footsteps echoed through the grove.
"Princess Gloria!"
Maid Mel's dark face was etched with clear panic.
Gloria frowned slightly, gesturing to the dozen guards around her to maintain strict vigilance over the area. She rose and walked toward the entrance.
"What's happened, Mel?"
Gloria withdrew a white silk handkerchief from her sleeve and carefully wiped her hands.
Though she asked the question aloud, her mind was still flashing back to the eerie and ominous sight of the underground cave.
Mel took a deep breath, her voice tight with tension.
"Your Highness, terrible news has arrived from the royal capital. In recent days, several of your siblings have met with misfortune. The Sixth Prince... passed away in his chambers. And Prince Adams... during a hunt..."
Having spent months tracking traces of the abyss in the dense frontier forests, Gloria had long been cut off from news from the capital.
Upon hearing this sudden string of tragedies, she jerked her head up, the silk handkerchief falling from her hand.
Her face drained of color, and for the first time, shock and disbelief were clearly reflected in her eyes, usually as calm as a still lake.
"How dare they..." she murmured, her voice trembling slightly. Images of Duke Arno's unfathomable smile and Crown Prince Lucius's seemingly senile yet icily calculating gaze flashed through her mind.
"And there's more, Your Highness," Mel continued urgently, steadying herself. "Regarding the envoys from the River Domain Nations, nationwide arrest warrants have been issued, accusing them of..."
Before she could finish, a sudden disturbance erupted.
The light twisted, and the temperature plummeted as if winter had descended in an instant.
The dense shadow of a massive tree behind Gloria seemed to writhe with life. A humanoid silhouette detached itself from the darkness, moving in a way that defied logic.
It didn't run, but rather glided across the ground, moving with silent, unnatural speed, leaving only a blurred afterimage in its wake.
The attacker was completely shrouded in darkness that blended seamlessly with the environment, making it impossible to discern any specific features.
The only visible detail was the short blade in its hand, seemingly forged from pure nothingness, radiating a terrifying aura that devoured light.
And this was just the beginning.
Almost simultaneously, another ghostly figure sprang from the shadows on the ground to Gloria's left, moving with coordinated precision as if two sides of the same coin.
Immediately afterward, a third attacker swooped down from the shadows of the higher branches, sealing off all avenues of retreat.
Their sudden appearance was utterly unexpected, as if they had always been part of the shadows, only now coalescing into form to deliver their lethal strikes.
The icy intent to kill tightened like a tangible net, completely enveloping Gloria.
"Your Highness!"
Mel's panicked cry was swallowed by the sudden, suffocating silence.
Gloria didn't even have time to fully turn around before an icy, blood-freezing sensation rushed toward her from behind.
Her composed facade finally cracked.
Her azure eyes narrowed sharply at the unnatural assault coming from multiple directions.
For the first time, the girl's terror and sense of overwhelming danger surfaced uncontrollably on her face.
"Roland, I must say, you possess the innate qualities and talents of a true leader..."
Recalling how Instructor Reggie and the students had rekindled their hope after Roland's speech, the bard couldn't resist plucking his lute strings and murmuring in admiration.
"Allied with the Imperial Princess, rallying the ambitious, overthrowing the duke and prince's conspiracy... Tsk tsk, once this all settles down, I'll need to spend days crafting this epic into a proper tale!"
"Save your nonsense, Galvis," Roland interrupted impatiently, suddenly tightening the reins and closing his eyes.
Shadow Perception silently expanded, spreading like a spiderweb, keenly detecting the faint, almost imperceptible abyss aura in the air.
"But seriously, Roland..."
Clearly, without Avril's restraint, the bard wouldn't stop talking just because Roland was impatient.
"Do you really think the Imperial Princess will agree to your plan? Even if she's willing to cooperate... forgive my bluntness, but while she enjoys considerable popularity among the commoners and soldiers, relying on that to oppose a powerful duke and an imperial prince still sounds rather impractical. Moreover..."
Galvis glanced around at the dense jungle, where sunlight barely penetrated the canopy, his voice tinged with skepticism.
"How can you be certain a noble princess would even remain in a place where even birds refuse to perch?"
"This way."
Roland pointed in a direction, exchanged a silent yet alert glance with Theresa beside him, and urged his horse forward.
"Hey! Roland! I'm still talking to you!"
Watching the pair ride off without hesitation, Galvis sighed in exasperation, muttered under his breath, and finally spurred his horse to catch up, riding alongside Roland.
"Roland, you still haven't answered me..."
"Shh!"
Roland abruptly raised a finger to silence him, dismounted with practiced ease, and fixed his sharp gaze on a spot deep within the grove.
Several corpses in standard-issue armor lay scattered among the fallen leaves and decaying earth, their gruesome wounds bearing witness to a brief but brutal battle.
Seeing this, Roland signaled Theresa and Galvis to be on guard, then lowered himself to the ground, melting into the shadows of the forest as he crept forward with silent precision.
The air hung thick with the metallic tang of blood, mingling with the unsettling aura of the abyss, growing ever more intense.
Pushing aside the last dense shrubbery obscuring his view, the scene before him snapped into sharp focus.
In a ravaged clearing within the grove, three attackers moved with ghostly agility, launching relentless assaults from different angles. Their target: the figure trapped at the center of their encirclement.
Gloria was a stark contrast to the dignified, elegant woman he remembered from the manor. Her gown was torn in multiple places by sharp blades, her long golden hair matted with dirt and grass, clinging messily to her sweat-drenched cheeks and neck. Splatters of blood stained her pale face—whether her own or her enemies' was impossible to tell.
Her once clear, resolute golden eyes were now slightly widened by exhaustion, pain, and desperate focus. Each block and dodge seemed perilous, her breath coming in ragged, uneven gasps, clearly at the end of her strength.
Yet what truly drew the eye were the strange, fiery golden patterns emerging on her bare arms and slender neck. These patterns, as if alive, spread upward from the backs of her hands like burning vines coiling around her skin, radiating a faint, unsettling light that was both sacred and ominous.
(End of the Chapter)
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