Chapter 117 : Chapter 117
Chapter 117. Espionage, Reconnaissance
“Everyone, rest.”
I opened my Mana Heart and spread my mana.
Reading the returning waves, I approached the forest that was exuding a foreign feeling.
“I'll go with you.”
Adellian waddled along behind me.
“Go and rest. 10 minutes will pass quickly.”
“I know.”
“……So go and rest. After the break, we have to go for a while.”
“I know. It’s more uncomfortable to rest over there.”
I looked at Adellian silently.
At school, she didn’t feel uncomfortable or anything even when she was among the boys, but it was strange for her to suddenly be like this.
“Why?”
Adellian furrowed her brow deeply.
It seemed to mean that I shouldn’t stare at her intently and think strange things.
“It would be better to rest even a little.”
“It’s fine. It’s a hassle to loosen my clothes, lie down, and then get up. It’s better to move. We were given time to relax our muscles anyway. I can just circulate my mana.”
Adellian’s stubbornness had begun.
Since she was a person who wouldn’t bend her stubbornness even with a knife to her throat…….
“Do as you please.”
“Okay.”
She was smiling so brightly, as if something was so great.
“Your Highness! I will go with you too.”
Rodrigo came running with his hand raised high.
That man was also stubborn, so I told him to go ahead.
It was less tiring to move together than to argue with stubborn people.
“But why are we going there?”
Rodrigo also seemed to have the same question as Adellian, nodding and looking at me.
“Because the feeling is strange.”
Adellian and Rodrigo looked beyond the forest.
The wind blew, and the gaunt tree branches swayed.
The pine trees with their frozen leaves also trembled.
Swaaaa.
It also boasted a desolate sound.
“It looks like a ghost might appear.”
“I know, right.”
“If you’re scared, you can go back. Both of you.”
The two of them frowned as if they had made a promise.
Right, if they were to turn back over something like this, they wouldn’t be stubborn people.
I signaled that we would move without a word and slowly started walking.
Crunch.
Snow that hadn’t melted because the trees blocked the sunlight.
Every time it was pressed by a foot, it made a sound that announced a visitor.
It wasn’t a pleasant sound.
Thanks to it, our speed slowed down.
Because we had to move slowly, very slowly, to not make even the slightest sound.
Thwack.
Rodrigo, who was walking ahead, raised his fist to signal a stop.
He pointed to the ground.
‘Deer tracks?’
I knew that deer wandered around even in winter.
But there shouldn’t be much to eat here…….
It might be nothing.
While searching for food, it might have come up to the middle of Mount Ramus.
Because animals were something that couldn’t be grasped with reason.
Tap, tap.
Adellian, who had gotten my attention by tapping my shoulder, wrote something on the ground.
It was a question of whether the strange feeling was because of the deer.
I shook my head to give her the answer that it wasn’t.
‘Right, it wasn’t the kind of feeling an animal would give off.’
To check the surroundings, I spread my mana.
The fine mana that was wrapped around the surroundings rippled and spread out.
What hit the trees was distorted in a circle.
And it returned to me in its original form.
Flying beasts, running beasts.
It was all the same.
‘Nothing caught.’
All of it was weak compared to the waves given off by a person.
It meant that there were only beasts and plants…….
‘But the feeling says otherwise.’
Since nothing worthy of caution was found, it was right to go back.
The break time would also end soon.
We had to occupy the hill before the Uresra bastards appeared.
That way, we could prepare the attack tactics we had talked about.
But.
‘I don’t think we should just go back.’
Swaaaa.
The trees swaying in the wind seemed to be telling me.
That something else was here.
Flash.
“Dodge.”
I pushed Adellian and Rodrigo away and took out Dawn.
Teeng!
Dawn trembled.
A huge arrow fell, crushed.
According to the waves, there were only three running beasts in the direction the arrow came from.
‘Beasts!’
I remembered the one I fought at the Billien River.
Uresra's inhumane experiments.
The one named Smiral or something had turned into an alligator.
“Enemies ahead. Three of them.”
After telling Adellian and Rodrigo to be careful, I ran towards where the beasts were.
Ping!
Piing!
I raised Dawn and deflected the rapidly rotating arrows.
I took a deep breath.
Mana settled on Dawn.
I quickly cut down the trees that blocked my view.
Koong.
I stepped on the fallen trees and jumped high into the sky.
The situation came into view at once.
I could see the tails of the leaping deer.
But…….
“A person? No, a deer?”
The lower body was that of a deer, but the upper body was that of a person.
A form similar to the centaurs of legend.
“Uo!”
The one whose eyes met mine let out a grotesque scream and drew an arrow.
“Adellian!”
I could block an arrow with Dawn.
But if they ran away, it would be difficult to catch them.
Even now, they were running between the snow and trees without any hindrance.
“Ice Plate!”
Following Adellian’s sword that stabbed the ground, a smooth sheet of ice spread out.
At the same time, the bows they shot were cut down helplessly.
In a situation different from what they had expected, they were flustered and ran around here and there.
It seemed they were trying to create distance and seize an opportunity to attack.
But that plan was brutally shattered.
Kudang.
All three of them couldn’t even balance their bodies.
Still, they tried to break the ice plate with their feet to create a place to stand, to somehow survive.
“Capture them alive……”
The moment I was about to say we had to capture them.
My eyes met theirs.
A strange energy brushed past my face.
“Dodge!”
An immense light erupted from their eyes.
It wasn't just their eyes.
Their mouths, ears, and entire faces emitted light.
Kwang!
A fierce wind carrying intense heat blew.
Some trees were engulfed in flames, producing black smoke.
“Y-Your Highness!”
Rodrigo came running, cutting through the fire.
One of his arms was a mess.
“I’m fine. What about Adellian?”
“I’m fine too!”
Adellian appeared, pushing through a mound of snow.
It seemed she had squeezed out her strength and blocked the heat with snow at the moment of the explosion.
“And you? Are you okay?”
I raised Dawn to show that this level of heat was nothing.
The heat and shock they created were nothing compared to the flames of a Devil Bear.
That wasn't the problem.
“We have to get off the mountain.”
Our position was exposed to the enemy.
They were just isolated, but they exploded.
Without resistance, emitting a tremendous light.
If they had intended to die with their opponent, they would have exploded immediately without any warning.
But it glittered so much that the presence of light could be felt even in the bright daylight.
“Your Highness!”
Bethel's voice was heard from afar.
Then, hundreds of soldiers centered around Perignon appeared.
And.
Dudududududu.
Even though the ground was frozen solid, a thick cloud of yellow and white dust rose up.
As the sound got closer, the vibration that traveled up through the feet became stronger.
“It looks like there are well over 500 of them?”
Adellian gulped down dry saliva.
Even though the distance was considerable, the scale of the enemy could not be taken in at a glance.
“Your Highness, what happened……”
Perignon, who had come closer, also swallowed his words as he saw the dust cloud rising in the distance.
“How long do you think it will take?”
“The speed is considerable. It seems they are coming on horseback……”
I shook my head.
It wasn't horses.
They had planned to move their troops using ships.
So they would have excluded cavalry from the composition.
Because it would be difficult to move enough horses to field a cavalry.
“Then are they coming on foot? At that speed?”
“They must have used magic or drugs.”
Perignon’s brow furrowed.
“30 minutes. No, they will be here sooner than that.”
“There’s not much time. We need to change our plan too. Map.”
The soldier who handled the map came forward.
“The point closest to the Akal Corridor is……”
I read the map carefully.
To get to the original point, it would take at least an hour.
“Your Highness, we don’t have enough time.”
“I know. That’s why we have to find a way to stop them.”
There was no suitable place.
There was a place we could enter within 10 minutes, but at most, it could hold only about 10 people.
With 10 people, we couldn’t stop them…….
“Adellian?”
What Adellian had accomplished in the explosion just before flashed through my mind.
The moment they entered the center of the Akal Corridor, what if we buried them with snow?
“Adellian, Perignon, Bartea.”
The three whose names were called looked at me.
“Circulate your Mana Circles. From now on, don’t ask questions and do as you’re told.”
I took them and ran to the newly found place.
Odekerkh and Bethel also followed.
I swept away anything that would be an obstacle on the way with Dawn.
Thus, we stood on a narrow cliff that overlooked the center of the Akal Corridor.
“What are you going to do here?”
“It’s too narrow to set up archers.”
“You’re not going to say something like let’s jump from here, are you?”
The three who used the power of water looked back and forth between the approaching enemy troops and me standing at the edge of the cliff.
Anxiety and bewilderment bloomed chaotically on their faces.
“Use all your power to create snow. As heavy and rough as possible, you can even put sharp things inside. Make anything.”
If we squeezed out all the mana those three could use, we could bury the incoming guys with snow.
“W-what, what should I, I do?”
“Me too. What should I do?”
I ordered Bethel and Odekerkh to gather their strength to shake the mountain.
“Th-the mountain?”
“Not just the cliff, but this whole area has to be shaken?”
“Don’t think, just do it. Because we have to succeed no matter what.”
There was no time to consider the possibilities.
We had to prepare first and then set it off.
We had to make it happen somehow.
“There’s no time. Quickly.”
Whack!
Perignon, Adellian, and Bartea plunged their swords into the ground.
A dark blue energy spread on the ground and began to create snow.
“How much do we have to make?”
“Enough to cover the mountain.”
Adellian’s forehead was full of wrinkles.
Perignon and Bartea were similar.
They knew they needed a large amount to bury the enemy, but they probably didn't think it would be that much.
“I’ll add some clean mana, so use that.”
Since the conversion efficiency would be better than existing mana.
I opened the Talisman and stimulated my Mana Heart.
“One hand on the ground.”
My two hands, their one hand.
Dirty mana flowed into me.
And clean mana flowed into them.
The speed at which snow was created more than doubled.
The cliff, the slope, the mountain's outer coat turned white.
“That this is possible!”
Perignon looked at me with surprised eyes.
His dark face also loosened a little.
He had done as he was told because there was no alternative, but it seemed he had been thinking of failure.
“We will succeed somehow, so don’t spare your strength.”
The three creating snow nodded.
White steam rose from their bodies.
Bartea and Adellian, who had fewer circles, staggered.
Perignon also trembled as if he had reached his limit.
Dudududududu!
They got even closer.
The size, color, and shape of the dust, and the figures of the guys running inside, were vivid.
“Your Highness! Is it now?”
Bethel raised his sword high.
Odekerkh also asked, ‘N-now?’ and circulated his Mana Circle.
The Uresra bastards got even closer.
The snow also got thicker.
Plop.
Bartea, who had exhausted his strength, collapsed.
Then Adellian too.
“We have to do it now.”
Bethel’s sword turned almost black.
The enemy also got closer to the center of the Akal Corridor.
But not yet.
“Just a little more.”
It was the moment they set foot in the center.
That was when we had to push them into chaos.
“Cough!”
Perignon’s blood soaked the ground.
Just before the dust cloud reached the cliff.
“Now!”
Bethel and Odekerkh shouted, ‘Uwaaaa!’ and struck the ground.
Kurung.
The shock spread throughout the mountain.
Mount Ramus began to shake its body with a ‘Kureureureung’ sound, as if suffering from a sickness.
The heavy footsteps of the guys stopped.
They were standing near the cliff, looking up at where we were.
Kwa-gwa-gwa.
The avalanche was greeting them cheerfully and running towards them.