Building My Empire in the Frozen Apocalypse (Riley Carter) novel Chapter 147

Chapter 147 Capture Failure

Chapter 147 Capture Failure

The deal was sealed.

Riley picked up one of the scrolls and carefully entered a command.

“Search target: Dead wood, dense tree hollows, dry environment.”

+30 Free Coins

The ink on the parchment swirled intensely-clearly, the target wasn’t nearby. A small portion of her mana bar drained away almost instantly.

After a few moments, a faint arrow materialized, pointing steadily to the northwest.

“Estimated distance: 32 miles.

“Terrain warning: Extremely rugged. Detour strongly advised.”

“Thirty-two miles…”

Riley’stared at the number and let out a quiet sigh.

Back in the old world, that would’ve been nothing-a quick drive down the highway. But here? In the middle of a primal, overgrown wilderness? It meant thirty miles of hacking through vines, watching every step, and staying alert for mutated creatures lurking in the shadows.

Her stats were much better now than when she’d first arrived; otherwise, she doubted she’d even reach the place before the dungeon cycle ended. And that was assuming the scroll was accurate about the location.

Still, TartKing was safe for the moment, so there was no need to rush. At least she had a direction now.

“Alright, I’m heading out,” Riley said to the others without ceremony. “Got things to do.”

“Thanks again and good luck out there,” one of them replied. “We need to track down the rest of our squad.”

They parted ways near the rocky stretch of woodland.

Riley climbed onto a high boulder and gazed northwest, where an endless expanse of trees stretched toward the horizon.

୮

About thirty minutes later, she reached a high ridge with a clear view. Wiping sweat from her brow, she caught her breath.

Even with her boosted stamina, making her own trail through raw wilderness wasn’t exactly human-friendly work. She’d had to stay alert for venomous insects and swing her hatchet almost nonstop at the thick tangles of vines. Progress was painfully slow.

“At this rate, I’ll never make it to Tartking in time.”

She looked down the slope ahead.

It was a long, gradual decline that ran for several miles. Maybe because the elevation was higher here, the vegetation had changed. Gone were the choked, giant rainforest trees. Instead, the ground was covered in a thick layer of short, unfamiliar grass-smooth and even.

A wild idea crossed her mind.

1/3

7:50 pm

Chapter 147 Capture Failure

+30 Free Coins

Riley opened her inventory, shuffled through her supplies, and pulled out something she hadn’t used in a while: “Skis”.

“Who says skis only work on snow?”

She tapped the hard base of the skis and made up her mind.

No time like the present.

She strapped them on as if she’d done it a hundred times before, secured her boots into the bindings, and grabbed her poles.

“Here goes nothing.”

With a strong push, she slid forward,

“Whoosh-!!!”

Wind roared past her ears.

At first she wasn’t moving very fast, but as the slope continued, she picked up more and more speed. Before long she was flying across the rolling grassland.

That trapped, suffocating feeling from hours in the dense forest vanished as she raced over the open terrain.

“Woo-hoo!”

Riley couldn’t hold back a low, excited shout.

The landscape blurred on either side of her.

As the elevation dropped and the terrain shifted, the surroundings began to change, too.

The heavy scent of damp mold faded, replaced by drier, dustier air. The giant broad-leaf plants grew sparse, giving way to tough, drought-resistant pines and rocky, bare mounds.

After about twenty minutes of grass-skiing, she’d easily saved herself two hours of hiking.

Just as she was passing a rocky outcrop, she spotted someone in the distance.

A man in camo gear was crouched warily behind a boulder, skinning some kind of mutated creature.

Hearing the sound of skis gliding over grass, his head snapped up. He gripped his knife across his chest, eyes sharp and hostile.

But when he saw the figure speeding down the slope at that ridiculous pace, fully geared up on skis, his expression shifted from aggression to pure disbelief-and caution.

n a dungeon where most people moved like ghosts, hiding and sneaking… someone was actually grass-skiing?

Riley saw him, too.

She didn’t slow down. Just shifted her weight slightly, carving a wide arc about twenty yards from his position.

Their eyes met briefly.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify