Chapter 83: Mirage Sea

"Crack, crack..."

Chen Mo sat in the carriage, chewing on a deer antler in his mouth; beside him were a stack of oil cakes and a bowl of meat sauce.

The deer antler had no taste and the texture was indeed quite crisp, but his throat felt very uncomfortable when swallowing it.

So Chen Mo had bought some meat sauce and oil cakes to eat with the deer antler; it could adjust the flavor and make it easier to swallow.

Biting off another piece of deer antler, Chen Mo lifted the carriage curtain and glanced at the scenery outside.

He estimated that in another ten or twenty miles, he should reach the military camp.

He opened the wooden chest on the carriage and put away the remaining deer antler.

Chen Mo lifted the carriage curtain and stepped out of the cabin; his destination was the military camp, even though the driver was also a Soldier of the Zhu Niu Ji military camp.

But if he did not show his face, the Personal Soldiers in the camp would never let them enter the camp at will.

The carriage traveled for another period of time, and the familiar military camp gradually appeared before his eyes.

This place was still as heavily guarded as in the past; before the strange carriage had even approached, the guards responsible for watch duty in the military camp had quickly become alert.

Two Personal Soldiers responsible for guarding the gate ran over hurriedly; seeing Chen Mo, their expressions were slightly surprised.

"Brother Thirteen, aren't you off to take up your post? Why have you suddenly returned?" one Personal Soldier asked with some curiosity, turning to wave at the distant watchtower, signaling his companions not to remain on alert.

"I have matters to attend to; I need to enter the military camp to see my foster father," Chen Mo said in a deep voice.

The two Personal Soldiers quickly busied themselves, pulling aside the anti-cavalry stakes to let the carriage enter.

The three carriages drove all the way to the deepest part of the military camp, and only then did Chen Mo jump off the carriage and personally move the things inside the cabin down one by one.

"Just leave one carriage for me; you all take the other two carriages back now," Chen Mo instructed the Soldiers who had come over, pulling a five-tael silver ingot from his Huai and handing it to one of them.

This money appeared to be for them, but in reality, it was for the two carriages to settle the carriage fees upon returning, plus the food and fodder for the people and horses along the way; there wouldn't be much of this money left.

However, in the end, the two of them should each be able to get seven or eight mace of silver.

Having received the reward, the two were naturally overjoyed, bowing again and again, and immediately drove away.

Several Personal Soldiers followed along the way to ensure they would not wander around the military camp.

Chen Mo walked into the barracks alone carrying the wooden chests; several Personal Soldiers gathered there wanted to help but were politely declined by him.

Some of the more tactful Personal Soldiers understood in their hearts that they should not look at what was packed in the chests.

They immediately stepped away, and even those Personal Soldiers who hadn't figured out the situation were dragged away by them.

For a time, only the few Personal Soldiers responsible for watch duty remained there.

"Hmm!" Sun Shouren had originally been sitting in the study, carefully looking at a letter in front of him; seeing Chen Mo walk into the room carrying three wooden chests, he couldn't help but be stunned.

"You are not guarding Zhu Niu Ji properly, why have you suddenly run back? Has something happened?" Sun Shouren frowned slightly, flipped over the letter in his hand, and asked hurriedly.

"This matter is a long story; Foster Father, please listen to me slowly," Chen Mo put down the three wooden chests slowly, turned around, and tightly closed the room door.

There were also two ice basins in the study; to prevent the cold air from escaping, the windows were closed very tightly, so he didn't need to go to the trouble of doing it himself.

"A few days ago, I asked you why the military camp arranges for people to stand guard and patrol day and night, and why they must beat the Gong and Drum.

Before, I was just puzzled, but until I encountered some things recently, I finally understood."

Chen Mo had no intention of beating around the bush and went straight to the point.

After hearing his words, Sun Shouren's expression changed suddenly, his brows locked tightly, looking like the character 'chuan'.

He stood up and opened the study door, telling the few Personal Soldiers guarding in front of the door to stand guard outside and not to let anyone else in.

After making the arrangements, he walked back in front of Chen Mo.

"Do you really know why the military camp must beat the Gong and Drum?" Sun Shouren's tone was cautious, his expression unusually serious and earnest.

This matter did not allow for any carelessness; it had to be confirmed again and again.

"That day, I was suddenly awakened at night and heard strange noises coming from outside; I went to investigate alone, but never thought I would fall into a grey, hazy fog.

In that Grey Mist, I also encountered a peculiar creature; it was a deer with extreme ferocity."

"I killed it, but its corpse did not remain; it turned into a piece of Living Meat emitting a strange fragrance.

At that time, I was worried that there would be problems if I ate it, so I endured it and didn't dare to eat it; immediately after, I heard the Gong and Drum beating in the military camp, I escaped the Grey Mist, and the Living Meat also became what it is now."

Chen Mo said a lot in one breath and took out the piece of Living Meat he had kept earlier from his Huai.

Sun Shouren sighed softly, took it in his hand, and examined it carefully back and forth.

"Later, I tried two more times; every time I fell into that Grey Mist, I encountered these peculiar creatures and had some gains.

Foster Father, what exactly is that Grey Mist? Why can the sound of the Gong and Drum disperse it? And what kind of creature is that strange deer living in the Grey Mist?"

Chen Mo asked many questions in one breath; these had been troubling him ever since he first fell into the Grey Mist, and now he finally had the opportunity to ask them all at once.

"Sit down first," Sun Shouren waved his hand, signaling Chen Mo to sit at the desk.

"Since you already know, then I will no longer hide it from you."

Hearing this, Chen Mo's eyes couldn't help but light up; sure enough, his speculation was correct. As one of the few powerhouses in the entire Xingyuan Prefecture, his foster father indeed understood these secrets.

"I have told you about the Ruins Realm and Ruins Monster before, but they all have specific ranges of existence; as long as you are not within them, you will not be affected by them.

But the Grey Mist you mentioned is different; it has a more precise name called the Mirage Sea.

They only appear in places where large groups of people gather at night; if you are alone, or only in a group of seven or eight, then you will not encounter the Mirage Sea."

Sun Shouren narrated slowly; just as Chen Mo had expected, the powerhouses of this world had long been in contact with the Grey Mist, or rather, the Mirage Sea.

"Remember, if you camp in the wild in the future and don't want to beat the Gong and Drum and cause yourself to be exposed.

Then the number of people gathered within three mu of land must not exceed forty; once it exceeds this number, there is a possibility of encountering the Mirage Sea.

Or you can ensure that everyone wakes up and goes to sleep at the same time, and will not be awakened in the middle of the night for even a single instant.

Otherwise, don't think about taking shortcuts; you must arrange for people to beat the Gong and Drum."

Sun Shouren explained it quite meticulously; as a military commander, he often had to arrange for scouts to go out at night to patrol and investigate.

Therefore, he had quite a lot of experience regarding how many people could be arranged in what size area without any accidents.

These were things that would not be taught in military books and could be considered the secret traditions of the major military aristocratic families.

"That's not right. This child remembers that the last time I fell into the Mirage Sea, the speed was clearly very slow. Even if I accidentally woke up for an instant at night, I shouldn't have been pulled directly into the Mirage Sea, right?" Chen Mo's expression held a hint of confusion.

"That is because there was only a small patch of Mirage Sea beside you, so the speed at which it dragged you in was very slow.

But if there is no one to strike a gong to disperse the Mirage Sea, then dragging you into it only takes a single instant.

If the area covered by the Mirage Sea is larger, then even if you are in a deep sleep, it can forcibly pull you in.

In the end, it might be useless even to strike a Copper Gong; you would only be able to hold out inside until dawn, when it would slowly disperse."

Sun Shouren's tone was cautious, and even carried a trace of fear; this was the most terrifying aspect of the Mirage Sea.

As the area of coverage increases, its power will continuously strengthen, eventually dragging everything into it.

Therefore, in places where more people gather, more people will be arranged to be responsible for patrolling and striking gongs, ensuring that there is a sufficient surplus in number and that it will never be lacking.

In even more important major cities, besides Copper Gongs, there are many other methods such as water clock towers and bells used to disperse the Mirage Sea, ensuring the safety of the city.

In short, the Imperial Court's defense against the Mirage Sea has always been to have too much rather than too little.

Otherwise, once an accident occurs, an entire city might be swallowed by the Mirage Sea.

"Then where do these monsters in the Mirage Sea come from? Why do they not leave behind corpses after being killed, but instead leave these things?" Chen Mo continued to ask.

"The monsters in the Mirage Sea are evolved from the Mirage Sea itself. The reason it is called the Mirage Sea is because everything you see within it is a mirage. Even if you kill them for a moment, after a period of time, they will evolve again," Sun Shouren answered solemnly.

His strength might not differ much from Chen Mo's, but as a Right Fifth Rank official, the information he could access and understand was far beyond what Chen Mo could reach.

"Then is hunting the monsters in the Mirage Sea weakening its power? If enough are killed, can it be completely worn down?"

Sun Shouren nodded slightly, "You are right; that is the logic of it.

But every person who enters the Mirage Sea and does not return also continuously strengthens it.

Moreover, the power of the Mirage Sea is too strong and too vast. To this day, countless experts do not know how many Mirage Beasts they have hunted within it.

Yet the power of the Mirage Sea has never weakened, and there are even signs of it becoming stronger."

When Sun Shouren said this, he let out a long sigh; even based solely on the information he had access to, he could feel a kind of inexplicable despair.

The Mirage Sea is too strong, and it is still constantly growing stronger; no matter what methods they exhaust, they have not been able to weaken it in the slightest.

Everything the Human Race does in its presence is merely gasping for breath, trying to delay for a longer time.

As time passes, the Mirage Sea will eventually swallow this world; this is almost a certainty.

Fortunately, according to the information Sun Shouren knows, for the Mirage Sea to swallow this world, it will take at least several hundred to a thousand years of effort.

He had never doubted or overthought the truth or falsehood of this information.

Therefore, his worry and despair regarding this matter were only occasional, and he was not very anxious.

Things hundreds or thousands of years from now are too far off; leave them for future generations to solve, there is no need for him to worry.

(End of this chapter)