Chapter 3163: Elder Harald

The last stop of today's itinerary was to leave the seaside and enter the scope of the snow-capped mountains.

Moving from the seaside toward the center of the island, along the gradually towering silver-white mountain forest, there were completely no traces of human activity. People living by the sea and tribesmen at the foot of the snow-capped mountains regarded Fatumunster Snow Mountain as a "Holy Mountain," so they rarely approached the foot of the mountain.

This time, what Xia De wanted to find was the location where the "Potion Merchant" was attacked. Other people who wanted to investigate this matter only knew a rough range, but Mr. Mortis provided Xia De with a relatively exact location and knew what happened at that time:

"He was attacked when he went into the mountains to collect herbs. When I last saw him, he said that the enemy appeared behind him as if out of thin air. You can search for traces along the herb-collecting route map I gave you, but it has been snowing these days, and those traces have probably disappeared long ago."

For such a primitive snow-capped mountain that had not undergone any development, it was very difficult to climb without someone to guide or being familiar with the terrain oneself.

Fatumunster Island itself was quite large, so after Xia De left the seaside reef, he flew to the location pointed out by Mr. Mortis. The mountain pass was easy to find, but as the sun gradually set, snowflakes also fell from the sky.

At the foot of the southern slope of the snow-capped mountain was a large area of undeveloped primitive forest, and the terrain was unusually rugged with low south and high north. If Xia De did not rely on "Strong Spatial Perception" for positioning, it would not be easy to find the mountain pass location pointed out by Mr. Mortis.

And the road that the potion merchant took into the mountains to collect herbs was not a road at all. Ordinary people would definitely not be able to walk up, and the merchant who sold potions relied on his own sorcerer power to walk in the snow-capped mountains.

And Xia De, who learned to fly through the Dragon Feast Ritual, fully realized the advantage of being able to fly at this time. Unless he turned into a giant dragon, whether it was a red butterfly, a cat, or a silver wolf form, moving in such a dangerous and complex environment would not be so convenient.

And flying alone close to the ground at the foot of the snow-capped mountain, watching the snow-covered slopes shining with golden brilliance under the setting sun, Xia De's mood was really comfortable.

At the foot of the mountain further down, the shadows of pine trees and withered branches were drawn long, like a black-and-white sketch, and the emptiness and tranquility of the "Holy Mountain" further up seemed to be able to swallow everything. In the dim yellow scroll of the horizon, a small area of dark blue had already appeared, and the afterimage of March and the stars were gradually visible in the sky unknowingly.

During the climb, Xia De even noticed a snow leopard walking alone in the snow. After seeing him flying over, the wild animal first walked a few steps toward him, and then was scared and turned to run; he also heard the clear, sharp, and ethereal sound of a flute from somewhere unknown. That should not be a traditional flute but a local tribal instrument. The melodious sound combined with the snow mountain scenery in the evening made Xia De's favorability for this brand-new area become higher.

The Year-End Festival had just passed and it was still midwinter, plus a few heavy snowfalls before the festival, even in the low-altitude areas of the snow-capped mountains, there was almost no bare rock or land to be seen.

Xia De searched all the way up, relying on "Blood Echo" and the location information given by Mr. Mortis to find the location where the attack occurred. But he still underestimated the difficulty of finding a specific location in such a mountain with almost no reference objects. By nearly six o'clock in the afternoon, Xia De had gained nothing except beautiful scenery.

However, he saved a mountain sheep chased by a snow leopard halfway, and then he gave the snow leopard food worthy of the mountain sheep, so he thought he didn't waste time in vain:

"That snow leopard is really beautiful. I remember that leopards also belong to the cat family... I don't know if Flora will turn into a leopard."

Since he couldn't find it, Xia De didn't plan to continue looking. Looking up, the dark blue that had originally dyed this clear sky had occupied most of the area of the sky, and he should go home.

Xia De was standing on a small road cut by tribesmen between the cliffs in the mountain, recorded the location at this time and planned to continue tomorrow, then reached into his pocket, wanting to take out Lei Qianya's crystal shoe.

But suddenly looking up, he noticed someone approaching.

Above the winding stone path, a figure wearing a heavy fur robe was walking over. The color of the long robe was mixed with pure white and dark gray, and the natural gradient effect made him blend well with the background of the snow-capped mountains.

The edge of the robe had totem embroidery patterns, and as he approached, Xia De saw that it was an elderly man with a long beard.

He wore a strange cotton hat decorated with bull horns on both sides, and held a long staff wrapped with vines in his right hand. He wore wrist guards embedded with bone pieces on his wrists, bone charms with primitive runes and a string of bone necklaces hanging on his chest, and a dagger inserted in a scabbard and an unlit kerosene lamp hanging on his waist.

To be honest, having been in this world for so long, except for traditional ancient witches like Miss Feilian, the person in front of him was the character who best matched the "magic worldview" in the mind of an outsider.

This was certainly not an ordinary person. This old man with frosted eyebrows and brown hair should be a high-ring sorcerer. And he was definitely not just entering the high-ring like Xia De, and might even be higher than the ten-ring doctor. This kind of person was a rare figure no matter where he was, and Xia De did not expect to run into him as soon as he arrived.

The old man walking from a high place was also surprised to run into a stranger here. After hesitating and stopping to look at Xia De, he asked in Karsenrick with a heavy accent and mixed with local dialect:

"Young man, do you want to play a game of Luo De cards?"

"What?"

Xia De felt that his words seemed to have been snatched by someone else, and the joking old man laughed, walked down a few steps and approached Xia De a little:

"An outsider sorcerer, right? Don't ask me how I know. Running into the mountains wearing such thin clothes, if you weren't a sorcerer, you would have frozen to death long ago. What are you looking for here? Tell me about it. If I know, I will point the way for you. Don't run around and disturb this Holy Mountain."

Seeing that Xia De did not show a defensive expression, he approached Xia De a few more steps. Although Xia De was not sure how powerful the other party was, he was confident that he could run away no matter what, so of course he would not be nervous:

"Good evening, thank you for your kindness... Are you an elder in the tribe at the foot of Fatumunster Snow Mountain?"

This was not a random guess. The other party's dress was too obvious, so the old man nodded:

"Yes, I am an elder of the Fatumunster tribe, but it is best not to pronounce the pronunciation of 'Fatumunster' with an East Coast accent, otherwise it will become a very dirty word. We are divided into many different tribes, and I am considered to have some reputation among them. If you want to go into the mountains to find something, I can help you."

"I heard from people in the city that the snow water here is quite good, so I want to take some to taste."

Xia De said politely, and the old man shook his head gently:

"Young man, you are definitely not here to find water."

Xia De then told the truth. Tribesmen certainly did not want an uncontrolled "Magic Sword" to be killing people everywhere:

"I heard from people that a magic sword appeared on the island some time ago, and I happen to be a master of using swords—forgive my lack of humility, so I want to go into the mountains to find clues."

"That sword, I have also heard the news, but it seems there is no clue indicating that the sword is in the mountains, right?"

"I heard that many people are looking for it, but everyone has not found it. Since city people cannot find it in the city, I thought about trying my luck on the mountain."

The old man had already arrived in front of Xia De at this time, and he shook his head very seriously:

"Young man, I can guarantee you that even those of us who live here have not found its traces on the snow-capped mountains. That sword is very dangerous. The Five Gods Church in the city and we are all looking for it. Now it is getting late, I will accompany you down the mountain."

He almost said "You hurry up and leave here." Xia De had heard in the city black market and from Silvia that these "Fatumunster people" were very exclusive to strangers, especially strangers who did not follow the rules and ran around on the snow-capped mountains, so he also understood the old man's meaning. They regarded this silver-white snow-capped mountain as their home and holy land. Although they did not forbid others from coming, they did not like outsiders to break in rashly.

Of course, although Xia De respected others' traditions, he did not want to be driven down the mountain like this. He still had to come tomorrow. He was noncommittal about the old man's proposal and reached out his hand to him:

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself just now—John Watson, considered a travel writer, I have been to many places on the Old Continent."

The old man understood his meaning, held the long staff with his left hand, and also reached out his right hand to him:

"They all call me 'Elder Harald', considered a priest and doctor in the tribe."

The two hands held together and then exerted force at the same time. In an instant, Xia De actually felt the pressure from the other party's soul. At first, it was just the primitive, ancient, and rough soul power of an eleven-ring sorcerer appearing, but after a few short seconds, Xia De felt that the other party's soul was connected to the Fatumunster Snow Mountain under his feet.

The world represented by the snow-capped mountains caused the old priest's soul power to undergo a qualitative change. What was displayed in front of Xia De at that moment was no longer "Elder Harald" as a mortal, but powerful power similar to a demigod incarnation.

The silver-white mountains pressed over, and the ancient and holy mountain range gave the "priest" power more ancient than the sorcerer system. But when this power really touched Xia De through the handshake of both sides, Elder Harald originally thought he would let go of his hand like a thunderbolt like those outsiders who were driven down the mountain in the past, but what he felt was that the power of the Holy Mountain was blocked by Xia De.

PS: Figure 1 of this chapter "Snow Mountain Path"; Figure 2 of this chapter "Elder Harald".

(End of this chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3164 =====