Lust System: Conquering the World Beauties

The journey resumed without any further trouble.

After everything they had endured inside the witch’s lair, the quietness of the following hours almost felt unnatural. Liam had expected something else to happen. A beast attacking them from the forest, another strange illusion, perhaps even some mysterious figure waiting along the road. But nothing came.

The road simply stretched ahead of them.

The horses moved at a steady pace while the group traveled together, surrounded by the changing landscape of the unfamiliar world. Sometimes they passed through dense forests where enormous trees blocked most of the sunlight. Other times the road opened into wide grasslands where the wind swept freely across the plains, making the tall grass ripple like waves beneath the sky.

Nobody complained.

Even Gregor, who had every reason to want to stop after being kidnapped by a witch, seemed determined to keep moving. He was still recovering, but his strength had returned considerably after resting inside the lair. Leonid occasionally checked on him, while Mary and Agatha kept an eye on the surroundings.

Liam spent most of the journey riding quietly.

Tatiana stayed close to him.

Every now and then their horses would move close enough for their shoulders to nearly touch, and Tatiana would glance at him with a small smile before turning her attention back toward the road.

The strange thing was that Liam felt relaxed.

For the first time in a while, there was no immediate danger pressing against them.

Just a long road and an unknown destination.

It stayed that way for two entire days.

By the time they finally reached their destination, Liam’s body was beginning to feel the effects of spending so much time on horseback. He pulled the reins gently and brought his horse to a stop before climbing down.

His boots touched the ground.

Liam stretched both arms above his head and twisted his body from side to side.

"Ahhh..."

His back cracked.

He immediately sighed in satisfaction.

"That feels good."

Tatiana climbed down from her horse nearby and watched him with an amused expression.

"You look like an old man."

Liam glanced at her.

"You try sitting on a horse for two days."

"I did."

"Then you understand my suffering."

She laughed softly.

Liam ignored her and turned toward the landscape ahead.

His expression slowly became serious.

They were standing at the foot of a large hill.

From where they were, the land rose gradually before descending toward a massive mountain range in the distance. Two enormous mountains stood opposite each other, creating a narrow passage between them.

There was only one visible path.

It stretched directly between the mountains like a natural gateway.

Liam narrowed his eyes.

"So that’s where we’re going."

Agatha had already dismounted.

She stood a short distance away, staring toward the mountains with an expression that was difficult to read.

The wind moved through her clothes and carried loose strands of her hair across her face.

She didn’t immediately speak.

Instead, she looked at the passage for several seconds as though she were trying to remember something she had never actually seen.

Eventually she spoke.

"I have no idea what lies beyond these mountains."

Everyone became quiet.

Agatha’s gaze remained fixed on the distant passage.

"But if there is one thing I know..."

She slowly turned toward them.

"We are in the right place."

Liam raised an eyebrow.

"The right place?"

Agatha nodded.

"This is our first step."

Liam’s brows furrowed.

"First step?"

He looked from Agatha to the mountains and then back at her.

"First step to what?"

Mary walked past him at that moment, her horse following behind her.

She didn’t even stop.

"First step to everything."

Liam turned his head.

"What does that even mean?"

Mary only smiled.

Agatha looked toward the passage again.

"Let’s go."

There was something in her voice that made Liam stop asking questions.

Everyone mounted their horses again.

The group began moving.

At first the horses traveled at a relaxed pace, but as the distance between them and the mountains disappeared, Agatha urged her horse forward. The others followed, and soon the entire group was moving at a faster pace.

The two mountains grew larger with every passing second.

What had looked like two distant hills from far away now towered above them.

Their sides were steep and covered in dark stone, with occasional patches of vegetation clinging stubbornly to the mountain walls. The higher peaks disappeared into thin clouds, making it difficult to tell just how tall they truly were.

Liam tilted his head upward.

"That’s one hell of a mountain."

Tatiana looked up as well.

"It feels strange."

"What does?"

She frowned slightly.

"I don’t know."

She looked toward the narrow passage.

"Something about this place feels..."

She paused.

"Old."

Liam’s expression became thoughtful.

He could understand what she meant.

There was something different about the air here.

Not necessarily dangerous.

Just old.

Agatha entered the passage first.

The others followed.

The moment they passed between the mountains, the atmosphere changed.

The road became narrower.

The massive walls of stone rose on both sides of them, blocking much of the sky. Their horses naturally slowed down because there wasn’t enough room to travel beside one another.

One horse at a time.

Agatha remained at the front.

Mary followed her.

Then came Irina, Leonid and Tatiana.

Liam stayed at the very back.

He occasionally looked behind them, making sure nothing was following.

Nothing.

The passage seemed almost disappointingly normal.

Based on its length, it looked like they would be through it within a minute.

Liam relaxed slightly.

Then he heard something.

A sound from above.

His eyes narrowed.

"Screeeeeech!"

The cry tore through the mountain passage.

Every horse suddenly became restless.

Several of them reared slightly, forcing their riders to pull hard on the reins.

Liam’s horse snorted violently.

"What the hell?"

Everyone looked upward.

And froze.

Liam’s expression changed instantly.

There were creatures perched along the mountain walls.

Several of them.

No.

Dozens.

They were humanoid in shape, but calling them humanoids felt like an insult to the word itself.

Their bodies were tall and unnaturally thin, with long arms hanging almost to their knees. Their skin was a rough grey color, resembling stone that had somehow been stretched over a living body. In some places the skin appeared cracked, with dark lines running across their shoulders, chests and limbs.

Their fingers ended in long, crooked claws.

Their legs were unnaturally thin but powerful, ending in talon-like feet that dug into the stone.

And behind them...

Wings.

Huge, grotesque wings.

They weren’t beautiful like the wings of some mythical creature.

They looked malformed.

The leathery structures were stretched across long, crooked bones, with patches of torn membrane hanging between them. Some were folded tightly against their backs while others were spread across the mountain walls.

Their heads were the worst part.

Their faces possessed a vaguely human structure, but everything about them was wrong.

Their eyes were too large.

Their noses were almost nonexistent.

Their mouths stretched unnaturally wide across their faces.

And inside those mouths were rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth.

The creatures clicked their teeth together as they stared down at the travelers.

Clack.

Clack.

Clack.

The sound echoed through the narrow passage.

Liam slowly looked around.

"What the fuck is that?"

Leonid’s face had gone completely serious.

"I have no idea."

Irina tightened her grip on her reins.

Tatiana’s eyes narrowed as she studied the creatures.

"They aren’t beasts."

Liam looked at her.

"You noticed too?"

She nodded.

"They don’t smell like the beasts we’ve encountered."

Liam’s attention immediately returned to the creatures.

He activated his system.

His eyes glowed faintly.

Nothing happened.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

Liam’s eyebrows slowly drew together.

"Come on."

He focused harder.

Nothing.

No identification.

No level.

No race.

No weaknesses.

Nothing.

The system simply refused to provide information.

Liam’s expression became colder.

That had never happened before.

When he encountered powerful creatures, the Omniscient Eye could usually give him something.

But these things...

Nothing.

They weren’t magical beasts.

That realization made the situation even stranger.

Liam looked toward Agatha.

Then Mary.

Then Gregor.

They weren’t looking at the creatures with the same confusion as him.

They were staring.

Not fearfully.

Not exactly.

They looked shocked.

Agatha’s face had lost its usual calmness.

Mary’s eyes were wide.

Liam noticed immediately.

He slowly turned his horse toward them.

"You guys know what those things are."

Nobody answered.

Liam narrowed his eyes.

Agatha continued staring upward.

One of the creatures suddenly moved.

Its head twisted at an unnatural angle.

Its enormous wings slowly unfolded.

The sound of leathery wings scraping against stone echoed throughout the passage.

Liam’s hand moved toward his weapon.

Tatiana noticed.

Leonid did too.

But Liam wasn’t looking at the creature anymore.

He was looking at Agatha.

Because the expression on her face told him something far more important than anything the system could have revealed.

She knew them.

Or at least...

She knew what they were supposed to be.

And judging by the disbelief in her eyes, whatever stood above them was something she had never expected to see in this world.

The creature opened its mouth.

Rows of sharp teeth emerged from the darkness.

Then another screech echoed through the mountains.

"Screeeeeeeeeech!"

The horses became even more restless.

Liam tightened his grip on the reins.

His eyes remained fixed on the creatures.

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