311
Chapter 311
"Lower your weapons. I am not an enemy of the Highlanders."
Even at Zeke's words, the dark-skinned warrior with twin swords and the swordsman with a bastard sword remained silent.
They seemed to be contemplating how to receive his words while maintaining their vigilance.
'In any case, their suspicions are incredibly high.'
The two Highlanders in front of him had a connection with Zeke from a previous life.
'Adnan and Bodmir. It's been a long time.'
Adnan was a warrior from Ishtar who had taught Zeke about poisons and martial techniques. Bodmir was a northern warrior who had been a comrade when hunting barbarian tribes and beasts in the Giant Mountains.
Since the pact, Highlanders were forbidden from external interactions, making their existence known to almost no one. Following the High Table's orders, they would hunt beasts, wait for their next mission, and then move again.
Because of this, interactions even among Highlanders were limited, so they were wary when an outsider mentioned anything related to them.
Zeke slowly took out the mirror given by the Hermit of Stories from his inventory.
"There's no need to be on guard. I heard about Highlanders from the Hermit of Stories of the High Table."
He threw the mirror in front of the two.
They maintained their vigilance, keeping their swords pointed at Zeke.
Bodmir reached out and tapped the mirror Zeke had thrown, then turned to Adnan.
"Seems like it's real."
Adnan relaxed his stance and picked up the fallen mirror.
As he removed his hood, his face was revealed.
Dark skin and a face full of scars.
Exactly the same Adnan Zeke knew from their previous life.
He examined the mirror from various angles and then threw it back at Zeke.
Catching the mirror, Zeke spoke to them,
"My name is Zeke Draker."
Bodmir, with a full beard and a bear-like build, lowered his bastard sword and laughed.
"HAHA! That's the guy! The one who stole Nigel's stone dragon!"
Adnan looked at Zeke and asked,
"Why is a knight of the Draker family here?"
Like in their previous life, Adnan was suspicious and thorough in everything.
Since Highlanders must travel in pairs during missions, the meticulous Adnan was often paired with the relatively free-spirited Bodmir. Such arrangements were also decided by the High Table.
Zeke then recalled.
'My master said the other High Table members find it troublesome and just pass everything to the leader,'
Zeke said to Adnan,
"I came to rescue the leaders of the bird tribe and beastkin race, and the knight of the family, who have been isolated due to the sudden appearance of monsters."
Bodmir nodded.
“As expected of the guy who caught the Stone Dragon.”
Adnan pointed to the hunting dogs behind them and asked,
"What's your relationship with them?"
"As you can see, they're enemies. Those are the Rom Empire's direct troops called hunting dogs."
"Are you saying you have no connection with the monsters and beasts that appeared here?"
"Yes. If it were my doing, I wouldn't be going through this much trouble."
But Adnan still didn't drop his suspicions.
'He's so difficult.'
Zeke clicked his tongue internally and asked Adnan,
"Are they all dead? If any are alive, I'd like to interrogate them."
"We don't handle things that way."
For Highlanders, secrecy was life itself. The moment the hunting dogs saw them, they were as good as dead.
'Adnan is difficult, but he's still someone I can reason with. It might be good to borrow the Highlanders' strength now.'
Zeke spoke to Adnan again,
"I heard from the Hermit of Stories that Highlanders are warriors specialized in beast hunting."
He paused briefly before continuing,
"We need to return to the autonomous district through a canyon full of monsters. If you can help us, we'll pay the price."
Adnan glared at Zeke.
"You're mistaken about Highlanders. We're not mercenaries who take external requests to hunt beasts."
Bodmir suddenly interjected,
"We do sometimes. Just for some pocket money"
Adnan glared at Bodmir, who had added an unnecessary comment.
Bodmir turned his head and whistled, playing innocent.
Zeke spoke to Adnan,
"Anyway, weren't you sent here to handle the beasts? Our side has strong knights, Bird tribe members, Beastkin race members, and even barbarians. Plus, I can use the power of light, which is advantageous for beast hunting."
Bodmir asked with a curious expression,
"Light power? What's that?"
Zeke drew Rolang and spread his sacred light.
WHOOOOSH!
A soft light settled on Bodmir and Adnan's bodies.
"OHO!"
Bodmir drew his slightly glowing bastard sword and swung it around.
Adnan said to Zeke,
"If you have such power, you wouldn't need our help."
"Even with this power, crossing a canyon full of monsters with over hundreds of people isn't easy. Since you're familiar with such tasks, I thought you might know a safe route. It would be even better if you could provide escort."
Zeke's reason for making this suggestion was Bodmir's ability.
From their previous life, Zeke knew Bodmir was skilled at finding hidden paths during missions in the Giant Mountains.
'The system map shows overall terrain, but hidden paths aren't marked... No matter how I look, I can't tell. Bodmir would know a safe route.'
Adnan asked Zeke,
"What can we gain by accepting your proposal?"
"I'll draw their attention, which should make beast hunting easier for you."
Adnan pondered this and looked at Bodmir.
Bodmir nodded to Adnan.
After organizing his thoughts, Adnan told Zeke,
"Draker knight. I'll accept your proposal. I'll show you the way. Escort is impossible. We also have a mission."
Zeke was inwardly surprised at how easily Adnan accepted his suggestion.
'I thought he'd be more difficult. How unexpected.'
Bodmir approached Zeke and extended a bear-like large hand.
"HAHA! Stone Dragon catcher. I've wanted to see what kind of guy you are for a while. You're younger than I thought. I'm Bodmir. That stingy guy is Adnan. He's sensitive, so be careful."
Zeke shook hands with Bodmir.
"I didn't expect to meet Highlanders here."
Bodmir nodded,
"Same here. We didn't expect monsters to suddenly appear. This is our first mission in this region."
From Zeke's memories, these two had never been dispatched to the Ghetto region before.
'They wouldn't have been urgently sent just to hunt beasts.'
Adnan, standing behind, told Zeke,
"We accepted your proposal to complete our mission."
"Isn't hunting beasts your mission?"
"That's natural for Highlanders. We received a separate order from the High Table."
Bodmir was surprised and interjected,
"Hey, Adnan. Is it okay to tell an outsider that?"
Adnan clicked his tongue,
"Bodmir, read the alliance rulebook carefully. For those we cooperate with, properly disclosing mission-related information is a rule."
Bodmir scratched his head,
"Was there such a thing? The rulebook is too complicated. It's fine since you know it well."
Turning back to Zeke, Adnan said,
"Our superiors suspect a dimensional rift has formed here."
Zeke frowned at those words.
'If that's true, it'll be troublesome.'
Zeke knew about dimensional rifts but pretended not to and asked Adnan,
"What does a dimensional rift mean?"
"Literally a gap between dimensions. Magic flows from that gap, and most beasts are monsters or animals that have been transformed by exposure to it."
This was common knowledge among Highlanders but almost unknown externally.
The knowledge was strictly controlled within the Highlanders to prevent potential misuse, like the current Empire might do if such information became public.
Since Zeke knew about the Hermit of Stories and Highlanders, they were willing to share this information.
Most beasts were coming over from the Giant Mountains, and the High Table suspected that a massive dimensional rift behind the mountains was releasing magic-contaminated beasts that crossed the mountains.
Rumors among Highlanders suggested that the High Table's leader was sealing the dimensional rift, which would naturally reduce beast appearances over time, but this hadn't been confirmed.
'If a dimensional rift has formed here, it might infect magic-controlled monsters and transform them into beasts. And if ancient or aberrant species appear...'
As the dimensional rift gradually widened, not only magic but also impure beings trapped in the abyssal space could emerge.
These included more powerful creatures than ordinary beasts, such as ancient or aberrant species.
Zeke asked Adnan,
"Is your mission to close this dimensional rift?"
Adnan nodded,
"Yes. We also need to find out how they opened the dimensional rift."
"Perfect. As I said, I'll draw their attention. After my companions pass through the canyon, I'll detonate magic bombs in various places to further confuse them."
Bodmir grinned at Zeke's words,
"That's straightforward and to my liking. Zeke Draker, was it? Not bad for a Draker."
Adnan also agreed with Zeke's plan,
"Good. We'll accept that proposal."
* * *
Zeke returned to the camp alone, leaving Adnan and Bodmir behind.
Dead beast corpses were scattered everywhere in the camp. Thanks to Zeke's buffs, they had easily dealt with the beasts attacking the camp.
Zeke told Helen, Song of the Crouching Flame, and Bigjo that he had found a path through the canyon to avoid the monsters, guided by the Phoenix.
When Bigjo asked how he found a path they didn't know, Zeke hesitated before answering,
"I discovered a hidden path while exploring the surroundings, where the Phoenix was concealed."
Bigjo and Song of Crouching Flames immediately accepted this explanation. Even Helen nodded in understanding.
'Why is even my sister convinced?'
The Phoenix, with no real abilities, was conveniently used as an excuse in difficult-to-explain situations.
After organizing the situation, Zeke led the troops into the canyon, following the path Bodmir had revealed.
He found a cleverly hidden cave behind a rock.
'It's so well-hidden that even a map couldn't locate it.'
The entrance was narrow, but the cave gradually widened inside.
While checking the map and examining the internal terrain, Zeke realized the cave was spread throughout the canyon like an ant's nest.
'This doesn't seem like a naturally occurring cave, but an artificially created one from long ago.'
Ancient structures and thousands of ancient monsters summoned from the demon realm sparked a thought in Zeke's mind.
'Could this have been the base of the Demon King's army fighting the Chronos Alliance?'
Zeke recalled that the Chronos Kingdom was located where Baranaon is now.
If the Demon King's army were to station troops to attack Chronos, this location would be most suitable, as they would be right at Chronos's doorstep.
'Were these monsters brought directly from here, not the Forest of the Forgotten?'
While he couldn't understand how 2,000-year-old monsters were revived, the Highlanders' suspicion of a dimensional rift here raised his doubts.
At that moment, something caught the eye of the ghost warrior Zeke had deployed.
'The hunting dogs...'
Zeke felt his hypothesis gaining more traction.