?

This jungle is "ferocious". Ishad couldn't think of any other words to describe it. Compared to now, the trials on the river are simply heavenly.

They must use their swords to chop through solid rattan and thick-skinned vegetation, fighting the jungle in order to advance. They couldn't breathe air—only a heavy, damp fog that stung them so much that they couldn't open their mouths or open their eyes. It didn't take long for everyone to be exhausted.

Ishad had a terrible feeling of being watched, seemingly everywhere and at the same time non-existent. One by one, the team's defenders and flanks began to disappear and attrition. Most disappeared without a sound, and a few others screamed and were dragged into the bushes.

In less than a few hours, Ishad's group of thirty sailors and beastcatchers had been reduced by half.

"Keep up!" She shouted and wiped the sweat pouring from her eyes. She couldn't concentrate. Her head roared, her skin burned, and the red spots were now all over her torso and limbs. She can't stop here. She's not going to stop here. They have to keep going.

The spies in front shouted. Ishad trekked to the front row of the column. There was a small clearing in the middle of the dense forest ahead, and in the center of the clearing was a particularly conspicuous, black pool. The clearing was narrow, but compared to the dangers and bumps behind them, it was a godsend.

"Don't touch the pool," Isad ordered the soldiers, though she herself was very thirsty. "We're here to recuperate. But be prepared to go at any time. ”

After sitting down, Isad looked up and saw Odilon. He handed over a potholed, worn-out tin kettle. After a moment of hesitation, she took the kettle with a dark face. He slowly leaned down and sat down next to her. Ishad looked at him with her peripheral vision, and Odilon began to waver a little along the way.

"Don't be too impressed," said the trapper. "With or without you, I can get here, to this damn place. I had no choice. ”

Ishad looked at him with a frown. Odilon saw that his men were all out of range of their voices, and moved closer.

"I'm bankrupt," he whispered. "I spent my last bit of money to get here, and this is my last chance to save my reputation. Either bring back a beast that dominates the Colosseum and pay off my debts, or I won't be able to go back. ”

Odilon sighed and took back the kettle and took a sip.

"So, what are you here for?"

"Duty," Ishad looked into the depths of the forest. "When I return triumphantly and incorporate this place into Noxus, they will name it after me. The noble surname Tomily used to mean a lot...... It wasn't until later that the Grand Commander Svein came to power and began his purge. My exploits will go down in history and will be passed down forever. ”

"They say you're so happy," Odilon said with a smile. "I thought they must have had enough, so they arranged such an unfortunate errand for you. I know what they mean now," he said, with a strange softness in his words. "I'm sorry about it."

"Wait," Isaad thought about what she meant, frowning. Suddenly, the sound of splashing water interrupted her brief musings. "I said, don't touch the pool!" She snapped.

"Not our people," Odilon said, looking deep into the forest.

Ishad looked at the pond and saw in the reflection that the canopy above her was vibrating. The branches snapped and smashed to the ground and fell into the water.

Then she heard the voice.

Heavy footsteps, with the crackling of trees breaking, and a low, sticky roar. A figure emerged from the forest, pushing through the dense vegetation to reveal a large, fanged head.

Ishad didn't move. She'd seen a dragon lizard before—a man-carrying mount, or a camel-carrying beast. She'd also seen adult dragon lizards, big enough to crash down walls during sieges.

But this guy is bigger.

The creature looked down at them and let out a soft roar that was loud enough to make those who were standing stumble and fall.

"Okay!"

The sound of the victory celebration sent Ishad out of shock. She turned to look at the master beast trainer, who was putting together a harpoon and a lasso, and looked up at the monster with a smile.

"Come here, you little beauty!" Odilon roared, his voice filled with madness, wielding the tools he excelled in. "Let's see who's the boss, you or me!"

Ishad felt the ground tremble beneath her feet with every move the monster tossed at each step, almost enough to knock her over. She heard the wild roar of the dragon lizard, followed by the shouts of the crowd. She knew that the voice of the famous master beast tamer was also mixed in.

But she didn't look back at him. She was running in the opposite direction with all her might.

Ishad finally slid to a halt at the edge of a clearing in the forest. She held the tree with one hand, panting as hard as she could. She couldn't hear Odilon and the dragon lizard anymore, but she could imagine the end. She took a few deep breaths and looked up to count the remaining hands.

There were six of them, including herself. Ragged, physically exhausted, and frightened, only three of them were still armed. Odilen's trappers all persevered to the end with their employers. Despair seemed to materialize, striking Isaad, who desperately resisted her knees as she slid to the ground.

"Look!" A soldier shouted, pointing forward with the sword in his hand. Ishad peeked into the middle of the clearing, and then she saw the thing. An arch-shaped thing, covered in a dense layer of vines, but still out of place in this suffocating setting.

It is made of stone. Some kind of architecture. They eagerly walked towards it through the clearing in the dense forest, and the sound of rattans and thorns breaking under their feet was heard.

The building is very simple, and its modest exterior has been completely covered by dense forest. Thick vines crawled on the crumbling stones, most likely holding it up. The vegetation on the surface doesn't look like it's growing naturally, and it seems that the place is trying to wrap it around and grind it into dust.

Several survivors dispersed, searching the area around the plant-choked stone. Isad stood in front of it, an inexplicable sensation welling up her throat. She tore open the intertwined vines and saw the words carved into the stone—in a language she knew all too well.

"This ......" her tongue was dry and stiff. She struggled to organize her words. "This ...... This is Nox Storea. ”

Ishad suddenly realized, and at the same time fell into a wave of nausea. They weren't the first troops sent here by the Empire. There had been others before, and their fate was evident from her own journey and the state of the outpost.

She was sent here to die.

She was given a long-awaited command, which took her to the edge of the world, a place from which there was no return. Ishad has used every ounce of strength to build a legend for herself.

However, it backfired, and now she is on the same precipice, and one step further will make the surname Tomily disappear from history forever, disappearing into this impermeable wilderness.

The deserted outpost left them with nothing. Ishad led the other survivors back into the forest, carving a new path through the dense bushes. In their dim minds, it seemed as if the place they had just walked was covered with layers of new roots and vines.

They ran into the Far Hope, almost entirely by coincidence. They hit the bow head-on.

The vegetation has swallowed up the frigate and even filled the surrounding streams. At first glance, it looks like the ship has grown out of the jungle on its own. Ishad saw something on the deck that looked like broken pillars.

Her blood was cold.

That's the crew. They were swallowed up by plants, like the ship. Everyone stood upright, like portraits covered in vines.

"This jungle," she stammered. "Took the boat away."

The rest of the soldiers were in disarray. "What are we going to do?" Armed man Stam shouted. "What are we going to do?"

"Let's go back to the river," Ishad muttered. "Find your way back to the riverbank. Then follow the river back to the delta. ”

"There's no way we're going to get out there. You've seen what happened to the others, Commander. This jungle—"

"Fuck the jungle!" She snapped. "Aren't they trees and vines, insects and beasts? You are a soldier of Noxus. Nothing here can beat you! ”

Ishad wasn't even sure she believed it. Something was wrong with this place, there was something dark, uncanny that even the power of the empire could not tame.

But she was unwilling to give in to despair.

"If you want to die here, alone, no one remembers, then do it yourself." She picked up the last shred of strength. "I don't accept such a fate. Whoever has the strength to follow me, come. This is not where Ishad Tomily should be damned. ”

He crouched by the river, his stomach growling, his mind thinking about his family waiting at home in the village, and he couldn't concentrate on the fishing line.

But he was lucky. A powerful drag came from the fishing rod. The boy let out a cry of victory, and a large fish was pulled out of the water, swaying from side to side, shining.

He didn't see a shadow floating towards him, and he didn't notice it until he was a paddle away.

The boy frowned, and the thing got closer. The fish in the basket had been forgotten by him. He waded down the riverbed and grabbed the thing and dragged it ashore. Driftwood can be used for many purposes in the village, as well as in exchange for other things...... As long as he can drag it home.

But this is not a piece of driftwood. The boy gasped as he saw a human face staring back at the sky under the layers of vines and moss.

It was a dead man, but the boy couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. He remembered the sealed elders displayed at the annual ancestor worship banquet in the village. The corpse was dressed in tattered black armor with dark red trim, and was decorated with a rusted emblem that meant nothing to the boy.

The corpse clutched something tightly in its twisted and stiff hands. He dragged it out with a little effort.

It's a small book, tightly wrapped in soaked worn-out leather.

The boy flipped the journal in his hand. The corpse burst open, and a bright green vine snaked out of it. A shimmering smoke of spore rose from the cavity, and the boy retreated into the distance, coughing.

The boy took the book and started running. The back of his neck suddenly itched, and he reached out and scratched it. Forgetting all about fishing, he fled home. 21