The massive gates of Leonora slowly opened after that while the cold wind swept through the narrow gap leading outside the kingdom walls.

One by one, the scouting squads immediately rushed outward into the dark wilderness beyond the battlements.

King Garrie had deployed three separate scout squads in total. Each squad consisted of five elite scouts personally selected from the kingdom’s fastest reconnaissance units. Every one of them specialized in movement, survival, tracking, and rapid communication across dangerous terrain.

They carried lighter armor than ordinary knights while Magic enhancement runes glowed faintly across their boots and cloaks to increase their speed.

The moment they left the walls behind, the three squads quickly separated and moved toward different directions surrounding Leonora.

The forest outside the kingdom swallowed them almost immediately.

Branches blurred overhead while the scouts sprinted rapidly between the trees with practiced movements like this was their usual speed. Their feet barely touched the ground for more than an instant before pushing forward again. Magic reinforcement continuously flowed through their bodies to maintain speed.

But the deeper they moved into the forest, the stranger the atmosphere became.

It was really too quiet.

No beasts moved through the undergrowth. No birds chirped. Even the wind itself felt muted beneath the gloomy sky hanging above the kingdom despite it keeps blowing. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The scouts exchanged uneasy glances while continuing forward.

"These places feel wrong," one of the younger scouts muttered while leaping over a fallen tree covered in old claw marks.

Another scout beside him kept scanning the dark forest carefully and said, "At least nothing’s attacking us."

"That’s exactly why it feels wrong," the first scout replied immediately.

Their squad leader continued running at the front without slowing down. The older man’s expression remained tense while his sharp eyes observed every shadow between the trees.

"Keep moving," he ordered firmly. "We need to cover more ground before returning."

The others immediately nodded.

Among every scout squad, one member carried a communication spirit specially prepared by the battlement mages before deployment. The small translucent spirit floated near the shoulder of one female scout while faint blue light pulsed from its tiny body continuously.

The squad leader glanced toward her afterward.

"Contact the other squads," he said. "Ask what they’re seeing."

The scout immediately nodded before placing two fingers against the floating spirit. Soft Magic ripples spread out while the spirit’s glow intensified.

Several moments later, faint voices began responding through the communication link.

"North route here. No contact."

"Eastern squad reporting. Still nothing."

"We haven’t encountered any corrupted creatures either."

The scouts within Garrie’s squad exchanged glances again after hearing the responses.

"Nothing from all directions?" one scout muttered quietly.

Another scout released a slow breath afterward. "Maybe the danger has already passed?"

Nobody answered him immediately.

Several of the scouts continued staring silently into the dark forest around them instead.

Because even now, despite the absence of enemies, the uneasy feeling inside their chests still refused to disappear.

The forest remained far too silent. And that silence felt more dangerous than the monsters themselves.

The scouts continued moving deeper through the forest while the silence around them only became heavier with every passing minute.

Their speed never slowed. Enhanced by Magic reinforcement, the elite scouts moved rapidly between the trees while shadows blurred past them continuously.

But the farther they traveled away from Leonora, the stranger the environment became.

Eventually, the dense forest began thinning. Several moments later the outlines of abandoned villages slowly appeared in the distance beyond the trees.

The scouts immediately slowed slightly afterward while carefully approaching the area.

Rows of empty houses stood beneath the dark sky while cold wind moved through the abandoned streets. Wooden doors creaked softly while loose cloth decorations fluttered weakly from the buildings. Not a single villager remained there anymore.

The kingdom had already evacuated these outer villages several days ago and forced the civilians to retreat inside Leonora’s walls when the corruption first began spreading across the region.

Now the entire settlement looked lifeless.

The squad leader carefully observed the village while his eyes narrowed slightly.

Even this place felt wrong. No animals remained. No smoke rose from the houses. No sound existed besides the distant wind.

The squad leader immediately raised one hand afterward.

"Spread out," he ordered quietly. "Search everything. I want anything unusual reported immediately. If you see any tracks, Magic traces, or any signs of movement, report to me."

The scouts quickly nodded before separating throughout the empty village.

Some of them entered abandoned homes while others moved toward storage buildings and narrow alleyways between the structures.

The female scout carrying the communication spirit remained near the center while maintaining contact readiness with the other squads.

Meanwhile, the squad leader slowly lifted his gaze toward the sky. Immediately, his expression hardened.

The dark clouds above the region had stopped moving. Not slowed, but stopped.

The enormous black cloud formations remained frozen unnaturally above the village despite the wind still continuing below them.

That was impossible.

The squad leader stared upward silently for several moments while unease slowly spread deeper inside his chest.

Then suddenly...

"Captain!"

One of the scouts shouted loudly from the far side of the village.

"I found something!"

The squad leader immediately snapped toward the voice.

"Everyone regroup!" he shouted.

The scouts instantly rushed toward the source of the call while boots pounded rapidly across the empty village streets.

Several moments later, they reached the edge of the settlement where the scout stood frozen beside the ground.

The moment they saw what lay before them, every expression immediately changed.

A massive fissure stretched across the earth. The crack looked completely unnatural.

It tore through the ground in a jagged line that extended far beyond the village and disappeared into the distant forest. Faint crimson-black light pulsed from deep beneath the fissure while strange Magic energy seeped up continuously like smoke.

The soil surrounding it had already turned dark and corrupted. Even worse, the edges of the fissure slowly moved.

Not physically like an earthquake. But almost like the land itself was breathing.

One scout quietly stepped backward afterward.

"What... is this?"

Nobody answered him.

—

Far from the abandoned villages, the second scout squad continued running deeper into the wilderness without stopping.

Unlike the first group, their route avoided the outer settlements entirely. They moved directly through forests, rocky hills, and narrow valleys while steadily placing more distance between themselves and Leonora.

Still nothing appeared. No monsters, corrupted beasts, or any movement.

That silence only continued worsening the atmosphere around them.

One scout eventually muttered under his breath, "I hate this..."

The squad leader said nothing while continuing forward at full speed.

Then suddenly, the scout at the front abruptly stopped.

"Wait."

The others immediately halted. The ground ahead of them had split apart.

A gigantic fissure stretched through the middle of the valley before them while crimson-black energy pulsed from within the depths below.

The scouts stared at it in complete silence.

—