Agares continued his journey. He spurred his horse to speed down the hill, crossed the river, passed through the forest, until he was near Zoragul Fortress.
The large fortress was guarded by thousands of soldiers, with a border wall stretching 120 km, connected to one another.
It was not the Kingdom of Caer Vireth that built the fortress, but the people who came before—before the Great Empire.
Not only were the border walls long, they were also tall, sturdy, and thick. Their height alone could be calculated to reach 100 meters, making it difficult for ground monsters to break through.
'They really guard the border well,' replied Agares.
Not many people came to that place, only a procession of horse-drawn carriages from the nearest city bringing supplies and additional soldiers. Agares was curious to see if he could cross the border or not.
Agares plucked up his courage and spurred his horse out of the forest to arrive in front of the large castle gate, which was three meters high. There, four guards were inspecting anyone who came.
"Stop!" said one of the guards sternly, wearing armor and a helmet, a spear clutched tightly in his hand.
"Who are you? What is your purpose here?" the soldier asked, curious.
Agares stopped his horse, opened the hood of his cloak, and revealed his face. He clearly stated that he had an important mission beyond the border, specifically in the Morgor Mountains.
"I am Agares. I have come to cross the border and collect some herbs, Red Silk Worm and Autumn Night Flower," explained Agares.
"Those plants do grow in the Morgor Mountains. But you have not shown any proof of your identity. I'm afraid I cannot allow you to pass," replied the soldier.
Only he spoke to Agares; the other three soldiers were busy inspecting the arriving horse-drawn carriage. Agares saw his chance.
He patted his magic pouch and took out two black bags, one containing 10 gold coins and the other containing 20 silver coins. Agares threw the two black bags forward, shocking the soldier.
"What is this?"
"That should be enough for you to let me in," Agares said firmly.
When the soldier opened the two black pouches, he was stunned to see that they were filled with money, a considerable amount. The soldier glanced to the side; his friends did not see him receive the money from Agares.
"Well?" Agares asked flatly.
The soldier sighed softly, put the two black pouches in his pants pocket, and replaced them with an access token for Agares. He handed over the token and hurried back to his post.
"Do it quickly and be careful. Zoragul Castle will not help you if you run into trouble there!" said the soldier sternly.
Agares smiled broadly; it was easy for him to bribe a corrupt soldier like that. He nodded, spurring his horse slowly into the border castle. With the access token, anyone could enter and exit the place with ease.
He rode through the front gate of the castle and saw many military posts set up in the area. There was a large building that looked like a palace, heavily guarded by many soldiers.
'That must be the castle commander's palace,' Agares replied.
His goal was not to admire the beauty of this place. He had to go to the castle's exit gate to find the herbs needed by Priestess Ara.
According to Nyx's smart navigation, the distance from Agares' location to the Morgor Mountains was a one-day journey. Agares was prepared for any consequences.
At the end of the road, Agares saw another gate that was tightly closed and guarded by two soldiers. When he arrived there, the man immediately showed them his access token.
They obeyed. Agares didn't expect the access token he had to have absolute power to leave the border. Apparently, there were always people who went outside the border to carry out certain missions.
The outer gate opened, revealing a long corridor that ran through the ancient border wall. The man put his access token away and stepped inside at a moderate pace.
From behind the long, dark corridor, there was a glimmer of light at the end of the road. Two soldiers guarded the outer gate and immediately opened it without Agares having to show his access token again.
Now, he was completely within the Red Line territory. There was an old, rickety and neglected house located near the outer gate of the border. Agares walked closer to it.
He stepped inside and saw an empty house filled with dust and old furniture that looked poorly maintained.
Despite that, the house could serve as a resting place for anyone who had been on an expedition in the Red Line area.
"Nyx," Agares called out.
[Standby mode deactivated]
[System activated]
[Do you need anything, Master?]
"I want you to mark this location on the map," Agares explained.
[Will do]
[Location marked]
[Host can select the marked location as the next destination]
Agares nodded. Uncomfortable with the sight of the old house, Agares stepped out and returned to his horse. He spurred his horse forward, quickly entering the depths of the Red Line.
What separated the Red Line from the human territory was the contour of the land and the environment.
The Red Line had hard, rocky soil with a maroon color.
Not only that, the trees and plants that grew there looked strange and terrifying, the result of mutation from hundreds of years of dark energy.
Agares had to be careful, he was unfamiliar with this new area. It was possible that the monsters living in the Red Line were mutated animals or plants, without any race, driven only by their basic instincts.
From a distance, Agares saw the peaks of the Morgor Mountains. That was the final destination of Agares' journey; he had to travel for about 12 hours to get there.
"I better hurry before the monsters find me!" said Agares firmly.
He spurred his horse to quickly enter the mountain valley and climb the foggy forest. His vision became blurry, accompanied by the disgusting smell of rotten eggs along the way. Agares remained focused and cautious.
SREK!
Agares stopped and looked around him. He faintly heard the sound of footsteps dragging from deep within the forest. But he couldn't tell what kind of monster it was.
"Are there monsters living in this forest?" asked Agares.
"HYAAA!"
The man turned to the side and immediately drew his sword. He parried an attack from a knight with a skull-like face and glowing purple eyes.
"Are they undead?" Agares asked.
Agares pushed the monster away and continued his journey at a fast pace. Occasionally, the man raised his sword and blocked any monsters approaching him, especially the undead knights.
"So, the legend is true—the demon realm and the Red Line have been taken over by undead knights?" Agares asked.
The fog grew thicker, the air thinner, and the feeling of exhaustion grew stronger in Agares' body. The man realized something—the thick fog was draining his stamina drastically.
Agares glanced back, seeing countless undead monsters chasing him from below, hundreds of them. He couldn't let them keep pursuing him.
He stopped urging his horse forward and began focusing on activating his first skill.
"Activate Skill!" Agares commanded firmly.
"Saber Skill: Shadow Cleave!"
[Shadow Cleave Skill Activated]
[-50 Mana]
[Mana: 450/500] [-50]
Agares' eyes glowed purple-black, and his sword blade emitted a powerful dark energy, ready for use.
He swung his sword sideways while staying atop his horse, the shadow slash attack charging forward and creating a purple explosion effect upon hitting the undead knights.
The undead were pushed far back, their bodies split into two halves. Agares felt relieved, but that wasn't enough to defeat the undead monsters.
The undead knights' eyes glowed purple again, a sign that Agares' saber skill attack was useless against them.
Agares clicked his tongue, deciding to focus on picking the herbs and leaving the Red Line area immediately.
Arriving at the peak of the Morgor Mountains, he saw many red-colored caterpillars releasing webs of the same color.
Not only that, there was a type of flower growing wild and densely in the forest. Agares suspected that both were the herbal ingredients he needed.
"Nyx?" Agares called out.
[Standby Mode Deactivated]
[Do you need anything, Master?]
"Can you identify these two items?" Agares asked.
[I can do that]
[Initiating scanning of items through host's eyes]
[Scanning complete]
[1 Red Silk Worm]
[1 Autumn Night Flower]
[Would you like an explanation for each item, Master?]
"No need," Agares explained.
[Very well, Master]
[Stand By Mode Activated]
According to Nyx's information, it was certain that the items in Agares' hands were the ones he was looking for. He immediately gathered 10 of each item and stored them in his magic pouch.
"Finally done!"
Just as Agares was about to leave the mountain, his footsteps stopped when a violent tremor shook the Morgor Mountains.
An explosion occurred, accompanied by strong winds that could knock anything down. Agares managed to survive.
"How dare you steal my items, Human?!"
Emerging from the depths of the ground was a large centipede with red legs and a black body, its eyes emitting a purple light with a dominant fluctuation of dark energy.
[WARNING!
[Foreign entity detected. Threat detected]
"Nyx?"
[Standby mode deactivated]
[Do you need anything, Master?]
"Identify the monster in front of me and give me a detailed explanation," ordered Agares.
[Starting scanning of monster through host's eyes]
[Scanning complete]
[1 Mountain Blood Centipede]
[Name: Mountain Blood Centipede]
[Monster Level: 3]
[Affinity: Darkness]
[Description: The Mountain Blood Centipede absorbs blood and tears its prey apart, living in highlands with abundant plant resources. Its affinity for darkness makes every attack dominant]
[Difficulty Level: Hard]
"A level three monster?"
"What kind of monster can I take on at my current level, Nyx?"
[Adjusting stage host, only level 1 monsters can be faced]
"So, I'm facing a monster three times my strength?"
"How unlucky!"