Chapter 155: Chapter 155
As was usually the case with ogres or other large monsters, the Minotaur’s body could also be used for various purposes.
Following the advice of Bezel, the only mage in the rescue party, they quickly butchered the beast and sorted out the necessary parts.
Starting with the massive mana stone, they gathered its huge horns and hooves, thick pitch-black hide, the sticky blood in its heart, as well as its bones and tendons.
Thanks to the skilled knights boosting their fighting spirit while receiving the Blessing of Vitality, the butchering was finished in no time.
“Buffalo horn is commonly used as a material for composite bows. If we use this guy’s horns, something far more incredible might come out of it.”
Hakan licked his lips as he looked at the massive Minotaur horns.
Of course, having done nothing more than aim his bow from behind, he could hardly dare claim a stake in the hunt.
He merely hoped he might receive whatever leftover scraps remained after making a single bow.
Hearing his words, Shan looked down at the horns with an intrigued expression.
In the past, he had not paid much attention to archery, but through various experiences, he had been thinking for some time now that he needed a reliable ranged attack capability.
No matter how strong he was, against a wyvern flying in the sky or a warship fleeing into the distance with hoisted sails, all he could do was shout at them to come here.
Even if he utilized A Thousand Shapes, it was difficult to create something overwhelmingly stronger than an ordinary bow, and among the artifacts from the Altoan era, there were hardly any magic tools specialized in ranged attacks like bows.
If he used this to craft a powerful bow, it would certainly be helpful.
The problem was how to dispose of this right now.
They had to cross the rugged Blade Mountain Range, so they could not carry around such heavy luggage, and even if they crossed over, it would clearly stand out.
After contemplating for a moment, Colun came up with an answer.
“For now, our only choice is to bury it nearby and retrieve it later.”
After digging a pit, they flipped the stripped Minotaur hide inside out, wrapped the other byproducts in it, and buried it, managing to camouflage it reasonably well.
Naturally, the body of a powerful magic creature did not rot easily, and since winter was not yet over and the weather was cold, this would be enough to preserve it for the time being.
Lastly, after leaving secret marks on nearby trees and rocks to confirm where they had hidden it, the rescue party once again climbed the Blade Mountain Range.
The mage Bezel looked back and muttered.
“To think the day would come when I’d just bury Minotaur byproducts and leave them behind.”
In the past, byproducts of an ogre pack leader had been so coveted that lords and knights gathered from all over forgot their dignity in their feverish eagerness.
The strange lightness of feeling after killing a beast comparable to that, organizing its byproducts, and simply walking away was because it hadn’t quite set in for them.
After all, almost within seconds of its appearance, the creature had had its neck severed by Shan’s hands.
Fortunately, after encountering the Minotaur, the influx of monsters suddenly came to a dead stop.
This seemed to be because the creature was the master of the surrounding area.
Since the beast that held sway over the nearby monsters had died and was emanating the stench of blood, everyone felt fear and refrained from approaching.
The trail, which had initially been only slightly sloped, soon turned treacherous, giving way multiple times to inclines that were almost vertical cliffs.
Whenever that happened, it was Shan who broke through from the front.
Using the shoes with attachment functions made for him by Cheryn, he quickly climbed the cliff, attached a rope to A Thousand Shapes transformed into a grappling hook, fixed it at the top, and helped the others pull themselves up.
Specially crafted for this operation, the magic item rope embedded with mana stones was relatively thin and light, yet tough and sturdy enough to support several burly adult men.
Since all members of the rescue party were well-trained warriors and wore gloves enchanted with magic to increase friction, climbing cliffs using the rope was something they could easily handle.
Priest Lysac, who climbed the cliff last, panted and spoke.
“C-Can we really come back through here while carrying Princess Cassia?”
“I can just strap her to my back and carry her.”
At Shan’s answer, his eyes widened round and his mouth went agape.
It was because he could hardly believe the claim that Shan would carry a person across such extremely rugged terrain.
Mind you, looking at how Shan was smoothly forging a path at the front right now, it did seem quite possible.
What was more, Shan did not even receive the Blessing of Vitality while doing so.
It was based on the judgment that since miracles consumed the caster’s physical strength even if not as much as magic, it was better for Lysac to conserve his strength.
As they ascended and descended cliffs several times like that, the effect of having killed the Minotaur gradually began to wear off, and monsters started prowling around again.
The ones seen most frequently were flying creatures such as harpies and gryphons that primarily lived in such cliff regions.
Because places difficult for humans to climb were also places difficult for other land monsters to climb.
“Get lost!”
When Hakan snapped in anger and shot an arrow, a harpy crumpled nearly in half and tumbled down.
Watching this from the side, Shan once again felt the urge to make a good bow.
He grew especially earnest after a wyvern spent nearly half a day flying around the area targeting them.
The beast was so cunning that it hovered endlessly just beyond the reach of arrows, annoying the rescue party, and only after Shan took a bow from Hakan and shot an arrow with maximum fighting spirit to inflict a minor wound was he barely able to drive it away.
Fortunately, these attacks by flying monsters also ceased before long.
For the wind blew violently above the Blade Mountain Range, making it difficult even for flying monsters to fly.
Had it not been for this phenomenon, monsters would have long since crossed the mountains and overrun Ajun and Libert.
Instead, what assailed the rescue party was terrible cold, lack of oxygen, and fatigue from climbing the rugged terrain.
Naturally, the mage, the priest, and the female knight Aran, whose bodies were less trained than the knights’, struggled the most.
After continuously downing cold-resistance potions commonly used in the Demonic Realm as well as potions that boosted vitality to some extent (though far inferior to miracles) they finally realized that the view to the north had opened up wide.
Looking at the pure white snowfield spreading out in the distance, everyone groaned.
“Finally…”
“Damn it, that was ridiculously tough.”
Although the thoughts of those who had finally crossed the Blade Mountain Range were varied, there was one sentiment they all shared.
That the idea of leading an army across this place was something only an absolute fool would entertain.
Even if all the soldiers possessed physical abilities on par with knights, attempting it without a vanguard like Shan would surely result in most of them dropping dead along the way.
*
Fortunately, descending the mountain range was far easier than climbing it.
Above all, the fact that there were no monsters on the Ajun side across the Blade Mountain Range was a huge factor.
After three days of effort, having descended the mountain range, they buried their climbing equipment nearby, marked the spot, and adjusted their half-loosened disguises.
Before long, a procession of country peddlers from Ajun clad in fur clothing came into being.
Unable to wash properly while crossing the mountain range, they smelled dirty and sour, but since Ajun people originally rarely washed during winter, it actually helped their disguise.
Though it was a painful ordeal for the people of Pendia, who were accustomed to washing with an endless supply of warm water.
Next, they also verified the new identities they were to use in this land of Ajun.
“So, Sir Abras and I are like sworn brothers who have done business together since we were young…”
“And I am Sir Colun’s second wife, right?”
Colun, who had a perfectly fine wife and children at home, looked at Aran, cleared his throat with a “hem,” and nodded.
Apart from them, Lysac the priest disguised himself as an Old Faith priest, while Bezel the mage posed as an idle sword-wielding vagabond who had followed the peddlers because he had nothing better to do.
Shan and Hakan were orphans who had joined from a village destroyed by raiders during their travels.
The reason they did not disguise themselves as a single family was that their appearances did not resemble blood relatives in the slightest.
If it were just one or two, it might pass, but if everyone looked completely different, it was highly likely to rouse suspicion.
Hakan looked at Shan and asked.
“Are you truly all right, Lord Protector?”
The reason he asked was because Shan had his eyes wrapped in cloth.
It was a desperate measure to hide the glowing eyes characteristic of Altoans, disguising himself as completely blind.
Of course, just because he could not see did not mean he was completely incapacitated.
For he was able to combine his heightened hearing and smell (enhanced by sensory amplification magic tools) with his innate analytical ability to gain a certain degree of insight into his surroundings.
The others marvelled at how Shan acted like a normal person even with his eyes covered.
Of course, even for Shan, such a trick had not been accomplished on the spot; it was only possible because he had practiced weeks in advance for the disguise.
Even so, in the eyes of ordinary people, it was an absurd feat.
To create a justification for carrying a blind man along, Shan shouldered a large bundle storing chainmail, cooking pots, and the like.
After getting their stories straight to some extent, they consulted a compass and began moving northwest.
Colun and Abras took the lead, looking around with scowls on their faces.
“Where around here might this be?”
“If it’s as we saw before, it should be near a region called Nash Gorge.”
“I wish we’d meet anyone while passing through. There isn’t even a single person to ask directions from, good grief.”
Not even the shadow of a person was seen while traveling, because winter in Ajun was a season when not just bears, but humans as well, holed up in their villages to hibernate.
Winter in Ajun, located furthest north among the five nations of the Arman Alliance, was cold enough that not even bandits dared to wander outside.
It was a relief that this place was the southernmost part of Ajun and winter was coming to an end; otherwise, even clad in magic-enchanted fur clothes, they too would have shivered uncontrollably from the cold.
It was the second day since they had kept advancing northwest and caught a wild boar to satisfy their hunger.
Finally, a village inhabited by people appeared for the first time.
“Heeey-! Is anyone there?”
“Looks like someone came outside?”
“Call the village chief!”
In the dim evening, when Colun shouted loudly, the residents of the small rural village were wary of the sudden visitors.
Here in Ajun, a burly adult male meant someone capable of raiding at any moment.
However, their guard melted away as they looked at the group’s members.
For among the party were not only Aran, a woman, and Lysac, a priest, but also Shan, whose eyes were blindfolded.
Generally, groups moving out to raid did not travel with such people.
Still, the middle-aged village chief did not let down his guard, staring at them with sharp eyes as he asked.
“Winter isn’t over yet, so for what business are you wandering through the snowfields?”
“I am a man from Willow Flower Village far to the southeast, but because our village’s stored food ran out this autumn, I came out thinking I might buy something in a large city.”
“Dear me…”
At Colun’s words, the villagers murmured, showing signs of accepting his story.
Originally, villages in Ajun had to store a sufficient amount of food to endure the cold winter, but cases of failing to do so for various reasons were surprisingly common.
Whether miscalculating from the start, improper storage leading to rats gnawing it, rotting, or having it stolen in raids by bandits or neighboring villages.
When that happened, as with the party right in front of them, the able-bodied men of the village gathered, took trinkets and valuables, and went to a city where food was stocked to purchase provisions.
“Then why bring a woman…?”
“This one is my wife, and since there was no one to care for her while I was away, I brought her along.”
Colun said so, smoothly giving brief explanations for the circumstances of the others as well.
While it was hard to call him a skilled actor, it was a reasonably decent performance, so the villagers accepted it without major suspicion.
At that moment, a few villagers signaled to the chief with their eyes.
‘What should we do?’
If what he said was true, that bundle carried by the tall blind fellow over there likely contained quite a few trinkets worth selling.
Because even in the city, food or the carts and donkeys to transport it would not be given for free.
Since they had not yet accepted the group in front of them as guests, attacking now meant those goods would become the village’s property…
After hesitating briefly, the village chief soon shook his head.
‘No, let’s leave it.’
They were not so desperately poor or starved that they had to raid passing travelers, and above all, killing a priest raised fears of divine retribution or trouble down the road.
Furthermore, the men were generally well-armed and built large, looking as though their fighting skills were considerable.
Even the unarmed woman possessed a larger frame and sturdier build than ordinary women.
Since several of the village’s young idle youths had failed to return from the last holy war, suffering heavy losses now would be troublesome.
“Come on in. In accordance with the Goddess’s will, we shall welcome travelers from afar.”
Unaware that he had just skirted a deadly crisis, the chief welcomed the strangers as guests.
*
Staying in the village for a day, the rescue party rested their bodies exhausted from crossing the Blade Mountain Range, while also confirming their current location and the direction they had to move forward.
Replenishing their food and water supply, which was gradually running low, was an added bonus.
As compensation for this, they gave a few small gold rings they had prepared in advance.
In Ajun, where mines were abundant and rare minerals were produced in quantity, such items were relatively common, but precisely because of that, the chances of exposing that they were guests from another country were low.
“Mister, where did you come from?”
“Tomen says, do snow monsters really come out in the Demonic Realm to the east?”
“Who knows. Nothing like that comes out near our village either.”
The village children, cooped up at home all winter and stifled, gathered around and pestered the rescue party members.
Every single one of the Ajun children, with blond hair and vivid blue eyes, looked exceedingly kind and innocent.
It was unimaginable that these children would grow up to become burly raiders and invade the south.
A few of them even clung to Shan.
“Why are your eyes covered?”
“I got hurt.”
“Then can’t you see ahead?”
“I can’t see.”
Answering the children’s questions, Shan anew felt a strange emotion.
Because the thought crossed his mind that the people of Ajun, whom he had vaguely thought of as a nest of demons, were human after all.
Could there have been ordinary, decent people like this on Yezor Island, which he had subjugated and burned down?
He did not particularly feel regret or guilt, but the thought suddenly occurred to him.
“That must be hard. Then you won’t even be able to go on raids.”
“Raids?”
“Yes. Daddy said a proper man has to go raiding to the south.”
At the same time, hearing such things also made him think that maybe it would be better to just eradicate them root and branch.
After staying for exactly a day and a half, the rescue party gathered themselves and set out on their way.
As the villagers saw them off, Colun turned back and waved his hand.
“May you buy food well, and do stop by on your way back!”
“Thank you for everything!”
Having thoroughly rested, eaten, and drunk, the rescue party recovered to some degree the stamina lost while crossing the mountain range and advanced quickly.
Moving along the road the villagers had told them about, they bypassed nearby cities without stopping by.
Although not many people were wandering about because it was winter, as they drew closer to the capital, they occasionally encountered people.
They encountered groups traveling up to the city for reasons similar to theirs, and also ran into patrols searching for criminals within the kingdom.
Fortunately, they too bought into the excuses prepared in advance.
And once, they experienced an uncomfortable encounter.
“Hand over everything you’ve got.”
Although the people of Ajun considered raiding a virtue, that did not mean it was an entirely lawless land.
Of course, while they broke the rule often, the targets of raiding were, first and foremost, the people of the warm southern nations that did not freeze.
Trash who failed to observe even that paid the price.
The twenty bandits who ambushed the seven travelers (which included a woman, a priest, and a blind man) were bewildered by the fierce counterattack.
“Wait, what!?”
As Colun and Abras in the front drew the swords at their waists and slashed down three or four men in an instant, the leader of the bandits shouted in astonishment.
Why were experts who ought to be knights escorting some high personage wandering around in such shabby attire?
Those in the back, including Shan, did not even need to step forward.
When fifteen or sixteen of them were slaughtered in an instant, the remaining three or four fled in terror, but before long, all of them were shot down by Hakan’s arrows.
The mage Bezel cut their throats to deliver the finishing blows.
“Ugh.”
Seeing that sight, Lysac the priest let out a somewhat uncomfortable groan, but he did not stop them or blame them.
Having been educated, he merely felt instinctual discomfort, knowing full well that it was a necessary act.
Burning the corpses, Abras muttered softly.
“Honestly, what a sight you’d never see in Pendia. Is it because there are no monsters that humans prey upon humans?”
“Indeed.”
Hakan, who hailed from Horais, could not comprehend the mindset of Pendians who found bandits so strange, tilting his head.
Traveling for six days through various twists and turned like that.
The rescue party finally arrived at Tizal, the capital of Ajun.
“We’ve arrived.”
At Colun’s words, Shan checked the surrounding presence, then quietly took off his blindfold and looked ahead.
The walls of Tizal, the capital of the Ajun Kingdom, were not very high.
It was because there was nowhere nearby to procure a sufficient supply of stone.
As it did not swarm with monsters like Pendia, villages lined the area outside the castle walls as well, but buildings erected without any system lined up messily, twisting the roads back and forth.
Had Cheryn seen this, she probably would have been appalled and tried to bulldoze everything to rebuild it from scratch.
Chuckling softly, Shan put his blindfold back on and moved along with the group.
Before long, they were able to step inside after bribing the guard with a few silver coins.
“Where should we go now?”
“Let’s see, we contacted them that we’d arrive around today. Since this way is south…”
“Hey there, by any chance are you folks who came from the east?”
Discussing among themselves in hushed tones, the rescue party raised their heads with wary expressions at the sudden call.
A middle-aged man with reddish-brown hair and black eyes looked at them with a blunt expression.
“I know a decent inn. If you have nowhere to stay, why don’t you follow me over here? The price is a bit high and the facilities aren’t great, but it’s not bad.”
“Let’s do that.”
One might wonder why anyone would go if the price was high and the facilities were poor, but Colun quickly nodded.
For this was a kind of code.
A signal to contact the spy Queen Cheryn had planted in Ajun.
Even while following the man, the rescue party members kept their eyes sharp, staying vigilant of their surroundings.
Because if this man had betrayed them or information had leaked out, they would have to escape immediately.
However, until they entered a somewhat secluded inn, there were no enemies who suddenly appeared to ambush them.
Stepping inside an ill-managed, obviously unpopular tavern-cum-inn, the man closed the door and bowed respectfully at the waist.
“You must have suffered much coming a long way. I am Zad, a disciple seeking wisdom from the Queen of Mysteries.”
Along with his greeting, as he raised his hand and softly chanted a spell, a flame flickered into existence before disappearing.
In the wasteland of magic, right in the middle of Ajun, the most hardcore Old Faith nation, proving that one was a mage was the most definitive proof of all.