Be a lord in the world of Indian mythology

Chapter 50 Vanished into Thin Air

As the caravan continued upstream, the river's color began to become increasingly eerie and terrifying.

The originally murky yellow gradually turned into a deep blue, and then from blue into an eerie purple. Under the dim light of the sky, the river surface shimmered with a sinister and terrifying luster, looking not like river water at all, but like some kind of viscous poison.

The hot, dry air caused a thin mist to rise continuously from the river surface.

White mist hung over the river, drifting gently in the wind, enveloping the entire river in a hazy and eerie atmosphere.

Just then, a sharp and mournful scream suddenly came from the river. The sound was completely different from the roar in the valley last night. It was more like the wailing of countless creatures in extreme pain. It came from the depths of the river and made people feel cold all over.

"It's divine punishment..."

"This is a scene from hell..."

The servants in the procession began to mutter to themselves, their emotions once again on the verge of collapse.

"Close your eyes! Don't look at the river! Don't listen to the sounds in the river!" Mu shouted, his voice imbued with divine power, echoing throughout the entire group.

At the same time, the prayer beads tied to his black robe spun rapidly, emitting a soft yet firm white light, forming an invisible light shield that completely blocked the water mist rising from the river.

The air vibrated with the chanting of orthodox Sanskrit, and the solemn sound of the scriptures finally calmed the chaotic emotions of the crowd.

Even so, many of the Vaishya and Shudra servants who accompanied the group couldn't help but cry out.

Most of them were ordinary people who had never left their villages and towns before and had never seen such a terrifying and bizarre sight.

Although they already knew that this journey to the East would not be easy, they had only been on the road for a short time when they encountered sacrifices, corpses, withered forests, strange noises, strange rivers, and live fish swimming on the banks...

One incident after another relentlessly assaulted their nerves, instilling a deep-seated fear in them that brought them to the brink of collapse.

The voice, seemingly audible only to Vijay, reached his ears: "Patriarch, we must speed things up. The divine power I've borrowed is limited; it can only temporarily appease everyone and won't last much longer. If this continues, once the divine power is exhausted and everyone's defenses completely collapse, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Vijay nodded heavily; he knew better than anyone how critical the situation was.

However, the road ahead was rugged and difficult to travel, narrow and full of potholes, making it bumpy for vehicles and exhausting for livestock, so the caravan's speed could not be truly increased.

They could only move as quickly as possible, inching their way out of the valley, while ensuring their safety.

And so, amidst fear and exhaustion, the group endured another night.

This night was even more unbearable than the previous one. No one dared to speak loudly, and no one dared to sleep soundly. The campfire burned all night, and the guards were extra vigilant. Even the slightest noise from the valley could instantly put the entire camp on edge.

The crowd huddled together in the circle formed by the carriages and horses, leaning on each other and barely managing to close their eyes to rest, their bodies and minds already at their limits.

On the morning of the third day, just as dawn was breaking.

Everyone woke up almost simultaneously, eager to escape this living hell. Numbly, they packed their belongings, preparing to depart; the atmosphere was incredibly oppressive.

As the first rays of dawn pierced through the thick haze over the valley and fell upon the caravan's temporary camp, an indescribable stillness slowly engulfed everyone, like the icy river water.

The first to notice the anomaly was the Shudra servant responsible for taking attendance in the early morning.

He was simply checking the list of those who had been on duty the night before, as was his usual practice, but after scanning the list, his face turned deathly pale and his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

He staggered to Vijay, Vilandra, and Vanumu, then knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling and choked with sobs as he said:

"Master... Lord Vilandra... Lord Mu... Someone... Someone is missing!"

These words struck like a thunderbolt through the newly awakened camp.

Everyone stopped moving at that moment, their eyes all turning to the source of the sound. The already tense atmosphere was instantly stretched to the brink of collapse.

Vijay's heart sank. He strode forward and asked in a low voice, "Who's missing? When did they go missing? Where are they?"

The servant was so frightened that he couldn't speak a complete sentence, and could only keep pointing to the west side of the camp near the carriage fence.

Vijay looked in the direction he was pointing, and there was nothing there but a crumpled coarse cloth blanket lying haphazardly on the ground, as if its owner had just gotten up and left.

The surroundings were clean and tidy, with no trace of struggle, no remnants of shouts, and not even a hint of panic.

"He's a Shudra brother," another older servant quickly added, his voice trembling as well. "He's strong and healthy, one of the best drivers in the whole team, and he's also an excellent bread maker and meat soup cooker..."

Vijay closed his eyes; he hadn't even had a chance to learn the guy's name yet.

For those who embark on this trade route, death is to be expected.

Everyone is aware that this isn't the problem; the main issue is the way he disappeared!

He immediately turned his head and gestured to Delanvila beside him. The three of them reacted almost simultaneously and immediately summoned the coachman who had been standing right next to the missing person the night before.

The coachman was already pale with fright. When he was brought before the three men, his legs went weak and he could barely stand. He knelt down with a thud, his forehead pressed against the ground, his voice filled with extreme fear: "My lords... I really didn't hear anything!"

"I spoke to him before my shift last night. I woke up once in the middle of the night and touched him. He was still lying next to me, quiet and peaceful, without any sign of anything amiss... I swear, I really didn't fall asleep and I didn't leave my post!"

"When did you discover he was still there?" Vilandra asked in a deep voice.

"It was the first half of the night," the coachman replied in a trembling voice, "when Lord Vilandra was personally leading the patrol..."

All eyes immediately turned to Vilandra.

As a centurion from the regular army of Harappa, Vilandra possessed extremely rigorous experience in guard duty and battlefield awareness. Logically speaking, it was impossible for such a serious oversight to occur during the patrol shifts he led.

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Vilandra simply shook his head slowly and heavily, his face showing a rare look of confusion and solemnity: "I patrolled the fixed route all night, checking every place inside and outside the camp, the carriage fences, around the campfire, and the livestock area. I did not see anyone leave the camp, heard any unusual footsteps, or find any signs of fighting, dragging, or struggling."

To prove his judgment, Vilandra immediately bent down and carefully examined the ground with an extremely professional demeanor. He parted the dry grass, examined the soil, checked the gaps in the fence, and even slowly walked around the entire perimeter of the camp.

But finally, he stood up, shook his head slightly at Vijay, and said with an undisguised sense of defeat, "No footprints, no pieces of clothing, no drag marks... this person... vanished into thin air!"