Chapter 34
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: The Vanished City
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Mekel Mountain was Dane's hometown in itself. The place where he had spent his entire childhood had once been the entirety of the world he knew.
The Mekel Mountain expedition weighed on his mind, but the story linking Harac Bar's existence to Mekel Mountain was too significant to dismiss.
It could be connected to him and his parents.
Tuparak spoke calmly.
“The dwarf world originally made full use of the underground Tike Mountains. That dates back to my ancestors' ancestors, and theirs before them.”
The dwarf world was divided into Harac Bar to the west of the Tike Mountains and Hameck Lutanju to the east. But the two kingdoms were like one body, separated only geographically for smoother governance.
The midpoint of their exchanges was the shared city of Gizlut, located underground in Mekel Mountain.
“But... at some point, the path there vanished.”
“The path to Gizlut is blocked?”
“No, that's not what I mean. It just disappeared. Suddenly, as if it had never existed. Nothing but a massive rock wall remained.”
The idea that an entire city had vanished in an instant was hard to accept. And the revelation that it lay beneath the very Mekel Mountain where he had lived.
“Could something like that happen overnight? And then?”
“We scouted the location and tried digging new tunnels, but no technology could breach it.”
“What about the people inside the city?”
“It wasn't meant for permanent residence. As an intermediate hub, only minimal personnel from both kingdoms stayed on like guards. But even they had left the city before Gizlut sealed off—to fight monsters.”
Dane had never heard of dwarves emerging from their underground cities to battle monsters on the continent's surface. Then he recalled the countless carvings etched into the stone walls.
“When did this happen?”
“It was when the World Tree's roots spread across the continent. The era when our previous king fought monsters alongside the continent's other races.”
Dane suspected Tuparak's tale aligned with the “subjugation force” old man Dirk from Leighton Village had mentioned.
Her eyes darkened, as if leafing through the yellowed pages of memory. She continued.
“Back when monsters ravaged the continent in hordes, every race had no choice but to unite. Even elves and dwarves. The Root Path cities weren't established yet—disunity meant certain doom.”
“Were there really that many monsters?”
“Not just the numbers. Some were impossible to handle. They were called colossal types. Those extinct beasts were disasters in their own right, from what I've heard.”
*Colossal types!*
The name alone sent a shiver through him. Extinct? Dane cocked his head.
“Those colossal types... you mean ones like the Dleksadhak carved in that corridor?”
Tuparak betrayed a flicker of surprise.
“As expected of the king of hunters—you even know forgotten names. Yes, that carving depicts the dragon-type colossal, Dleksadhak.”
“Strange that they're gone, then. I've seen one myself while traveling.”
Dane's offhand remark stunned her even more.
“That can't be... Dleksadhak vanished with the subjugation force, or so it's said.”
It *was* the subjugation force. No wonder the stories meshed so oddly.
Tuparak blinked her wide eyes rapidly, urging him on.
“I saw it clear as day. I remember its breath. Even the gale when it took flight.”
Tuparak faltered, at a loss for words. Dane dismissed it as unimportant.
Subjugation force or Dleksadhak—what mattered was the tale of the place he'd called home. Perhaps even his parents.
“Doesn't mean there can't be more than one of its kind. So the Mekel Mountain expedition was really about reaching the shared city Gizlut.”
Tuparak gave a slight nod.
“Unable to pass through the center, we planned to scout from outside. But we never made it to Mekel Mountain. Our true aim was reconnecting with Hameck Lutanju, so we headed straight there.”
“But that fell through, it seems. You're still cut off from Hameck Lutanju.”
Tuparak fell silent at Dane's question, lost in thought for a long while. She sifted through memories, weighing her heart's resolve.
*Maybe... this human would see it differently than I do.*
In the end, she handed the choice to him.
“Before reaching Hameck Lutanju, I learned of a message left by our previous king, who joined the subjugation force.”
“Message?”
“Yes. That's what made me abandon the effort.”
“What was it? Anything about Mekel Mountain or Gizlut?”
Tuparak gazed steadily at Dane.
“I don't know why Mekel Mountain intrigues you so... but if you want answers, see for yourself. The subjugation force left records at Rahasia Hill in the eastern delta.”
* * *
Tuparak clearly wanted to say no more, so Dane resolved to seek the truth himself.
*It's a place I'll reach in time anyway. No rush.*
He methodically wrapped up loose ends before departure.
Once the Yadus monster butchery was complete, Dane and River assembled the kingdom's cooks for a workshop.
They demonstrated and hands-on practiced monster meat traits, butchering techniques, boning, and type-specific portioning with beasts caught outside.
“The key to butchering and bleeding is grasping each monster's traits for speed and precision.”
Some monsters were tricky, others simple. Among the butchers-to-be and cooks, several caught on quickly. The capital's population helped.
Edible results wouldn't come instantly, though. Endless practice was essential—and Yadus would buy them the time.
Dane believed it feasible.
River handled post-portioning prep and cooking methods.
“Monster meat is denser and tougher than ordinary game. Tenderizing aids, precise heat control—that's the core. And don't skimp on extras to kill the gamey notes.”
The skilled ones absorbed her lessons swiftly.
Through Dane, River boasted more monster cooking experience than anyone on the continent—yet the dwarf cooks taught her new tricks.
As with the kabakshuz collaboration, they swapped insights, pushing culinary boundaries further.
Bankers had focused on wagon mods, but it proved tough.
Dwarves like Uralen hounded him relentlessly, demanding heroic tales and his take on the royals' future.
“Meeting the king of hunters? Pure luck. Or maybe the meat scent led me there? Hahaha!”
His post-Dane adventure yarns alone thrilled them, finally freeing him.
The wagon's meat locker was massively expanded with Yadus ore. Leisure space shrank, but Dane and River didn't care.
The reinforced roof plating? Swapped for Yadus ore too.
“Dane, you can butcher right on the roof now.”
The Yadus roof blocked interior heat and let Dane work en route.
Mobility soared. Mobile kitchen wagon now doubled as mobile butchery.
Dane was thrilled.
* * *
Harac Bar brimmed with energy.
Ore mining and smelting on one side, monster hunts, butchering, and taste tests on the other—nonstop.
The kingdom transformed swiftly; trust with the delegation deepened.
Departure loomed.
After finalizing next stops and schedules with the dwarves, Dane rejoined his ready-to-roll companions.
“Dane, Yadus trailer's done.”
He'd commissioned one pure Yadus, sized to haul Harac Bar's butchery—wagon-scale.
“Perfect model home.”
Inside: full butchery kit and fixtures, all Yadus, optimally laid out.
Purely for monster meat portioning and storage.
“So, where to?”
River's vice captain role in the Lucas Hunting Party had faded.
Dane's ore run for meat storage had spiraled into wild adventures and war aversion.
*Yadus ore monopoly on top.*
Root village rank-up tour hit unforeseen tempests. Scale ballooned; next stop unpredictable.
“Mekardo.”
Dane replied evenly.
“Mekardo?!!”
River shrieked.
Fear laced her voice, but Dane chalked it up to long-road jitters.
“Dwarves say it's prime for Yadus trading.”
Linking Yadus ore to monster meat for clueless continentals? Tricky.
Dwarves' consensus: demo an on-site butcher-cook-sell setup.
Enter Yadus trailer. Ideal spot: Mekardo Village.
“Merchant guilds built it—best to prove Yadus profits.”
Park trailer in Mekardo, hawk meat and dishes to traders. Word spreads; demand booms.
“You *know* where Mekardo is?”
River's voice still quavered.
“Yeah. Delta border, right?”
“And you're still going?”
Pre-dwarf chats, he was clueless.
Meat bell had steered him. Leighton and Harac Bar were Yadus targets, but world's layout? Blank.
Delta whereabouts? Common name, glossed over. No more.
“Yeah. Mind's set.”
New goals demanded it—a logical step.
River sensed his resolve but wavered.
*Yeah... figured we'd hit Mekardo on the zone 2 tour someday. Not *this* soon.*
Birthplace return gnawed at her, but Dane was firm. No more protests.
“Already?”
Uralen sounded crestfallen. Lucas economic delegation was packed.
Harac Bar gifted four giant Harac moles to haul the duo of behemoth wagons.
Grad spoke.
“No sun travel, but they'll get you to Leighton Village.”
Gifts for there too.
Dane climbed aboard; moles pawed eagerly.
“King of hunters—truly believe your plan succeeds?”
Tuparak asked the departing. Regret, worry—emotions swirled on her face.
Dane kept his mantra inward: *Meat can't be borne.*
“Contract a fitting guild in Mekardo, I'll reach out. Prep what I asked till then.”
He smiled faintly instead.