The Ambush That Was Foretold
Alice, the youngest daughter of the Seraris Viscounty, felt the rising tension ease as her journey neared its end. She glanced at the adventurers positioned around the wagon where she and Nighting sat.
"It's quieter than I expected," she murmured.
"Saying something like that always jinxes it," Nighting replied softly.
"Maybe the Mystery is bored and wants to stir up some trouble."
They chatted or shared silly jokes to shake off the boredom of travel. At first glance, the adventurers in their distinctive armor looked like a disorganized rabble with no unity. But Alice knew better. Not one of them was neglecting their surroundings or letting their guard down. She also knew that neither she nor Nighting could defeat even a single one of them.
Every adventurer they'd met on the way here had been strong. Remembering how they fought against monsters made her shiver. I'd heard the Northern warriors were skilled, but I didn't realize it was this bad.
Aura users seemed to litter the roadside like pebbles. That was why Alice's heart pounded with anticipation. I'm so glad I came to ask Grandfather for help.
If ordinary adventurers possessed this much strength, she couldn't even imagine how powerful her mother's family truly was. At the very least, they should have enough power to crush the heads of the shadowy forces threatening the viscounty.
With Grandfather's help, dealing with those who threaten our house shouldn't be too difficult.
Though young, the wise Alice had sensed the dark clouds gathering over her family. Her parents were doing everything they could to resolve the situation, but she knew escaping this crisis would not be easy. From that day on, she had abandoned her efforts to follow her sister into Orbis Academy and instead searched for something she could do for her house.
But what could a viscount's youngest daughter, who wasn't even an adult, possibly do? She hadn't even considered asking the incompetent nobles of the Central region for help. Hiring people carried the risk that they might be spies for the hidden faction. Trading companies or guilds would demand excessive rights, and above all, her family lacked the funds to pay them.
After a brief moment of despair at being unable to do anything while her house was in danger, Alice suddenly remembered information about her mother's side of the family. The Hornst Baronry—a vassal house of the Edenberg Countship, famous for its vanguard knights. Their patriarch, her grandfather Hornst, had cherished her mother deeply. She'd heard he had adored Alice when she was very young.
Trusting only in that fact, she had come north with nothing but her personal maid. After carefully concealing their tracks to avoid detection, everything had gone surprisingly smoothly once they reached the North. Thanks to the massive adventurer guild that spanned the entire northern region secretly providing them with convenience, they had been able to travel safely through the dangerous North.
With time to organize her thoughts during the journey, Alice gradually realized why the Central powers were so wary of the other regions. The standard of strength here is completely different from the Central region.
In the Central region, people skilled enough to become knights or Gold-rank mercenaries were treated as mere Bronze adventurers here. The troublesome monsters that appeared on the hills behind villages were stronger than trolls. Children who weren't even ten years old ran around with mana wrapped around their bodies. Everything defied her common sense.
The environment of the infamous Demon Realm in the Central region was simply everyday life here.
Just as she was considering contingency plans—wondering if even successfully gaining her maternal family's help might provoke backlash from the Empire—one of the adventurers walking on her right spoke to her.
"Um, you're Lady Alice, right?"
"That's correct. What is it?"
"Just asking, in case."
His name was Argo, if she remembered correctly. From the conversations she'd overheard among the adventurers, he was apparently a promising talent even in the North. Since making connections with the strong could never hurt, she answered kindly. He scratched his head with an awkward expression.
"Are you good at horseback riding?"
"Pardon?"
"It seems the shadowy faction or whatever has caught our tail."
At his words, she hurriedly looked around. But all she sensed nearby were more birds than usual.
"Chirp chirp!"
"Coo-roo-roo!"
"Caw!"
She stared in astonishment as he casually tossed nuts to the noisily crying birds. His nonchalant demeanor made it impossible to believe he was announcing an impending ambush.
Fuck, they brought a lot.
The birds she'd asked to alert her if people approached came swarming in to deliver the news. Argo clicked his tongue inwardly. As promised, he gave them their food. The birds happily snatched the nuts and flew away.
He glanced at them, then turned to meet his companions' eyes. Thanks to his prior explanation, they'd drawn their weapons the moment the birds started screeching.
"You said animals follow your commands. That's a much more useful ability than I thought," Arash said.
"Thanks to you, we can prepare before they make their move," Goro added.
Both men grinned as they checked their sword and bow. If the enemy wasn't idiots, they'd know Alice's destination was the Hornst Baronry. So they would try to finish things cleanly on the road leading into Hornst territory.
"Continuing along the main path would be stupid."
After several days of traveling together, Argo had dropped the formal speech. Everyone nodded at his words.
Judging by the number of birds, there were at least several dozen pursuers. If it were just the three of them breaking through, maybe. But since they had no idea what traps the enemy had prepared, they decided to execute the second plan they'd prepared.
"It'll be a bit tough, but we'll head into the mountains."
"Good. I'm fully prepared to roll around in the forest," Alice said with a determined expression. She and Nighting climbed onto the back of the raptor that had been pulling their wagon.
"I'm counting on you. Avoid attacks as much as possible."
"Kiiik."
The raptor, which resembled a raptor from his previous life, nodded intelligently, understanding his request. Since it was a species created by Northern tamers through crossbreeding with monsters, it would dodge most attacks on its own.
Leaving the evasion to the raptor, Argo loosened up his body. He wrapped mana around himself and tensed his muscles.
"As planned, Argo takes point."
"From here on, you're the party leader, Argo."
"Leave it to me. I just learned a nice technique with my Mystery."
Smiling at the two adventurers' words, Argo snapped his fingers.
Click.
With a crisp sound, five summoning circles appeared nearby. From them emerged the Ikelos.
Thanks to the experience gained from catching the young Nepentula, he'd increased their number from three to five and strengthened their stats.
"Scatter and kill all the pursuers."
"Grrrl!"
The wolf-shaped creatures bared their fangs and scattered in all directions. At the same time, Argo kicked off the ground and dashed into the forest. Arash and Goro followed behind him, while the raptor carrying Alice and Nighting ran in the center.
How long had they been running like that?
"Krrraaah!"
"Guh!"
"Ghk!"
Short groans echoed from afar, and the forest grew noisy.
"Damn it. They've noticed!"
"Don't let them enter the Hornst Baronry!"
The pursuers, realizing the situation from the Ikelos's ambush, moved stealthily through the forest. They seemed accustomed to traveling through woods and approached quickly, but from Argo's perspective, their skills only made him snort.
While Arash deflected an arrow flying toward Alice with his sword, Argo gave orders.
"Left, centered on that fallen tree ahead! Keep running straight, kill the pursuer you meet, then turn right!"
Even while running at full speed, he clearly grasped the surrounding terrain and found paths forward. The reason he could run without slowing down at all was entirely thanks to his skill.
When choosing Pathfinder as his class, the first skill he maxed—Scout—worked overtime, feeding him information about the surrounding geography and living creatures directly into his mind. Since he didn't receive class bonuses, he had to continuously spread mana around to scout, but it was worth the cost.
"Goro! Two pursuers on the right!"
"Got it!"
Thanks to that, every time a pursuer tried to close in, Goro's arrows pierced their heads. Raising a shield was useless. Goro's weapon was a composite bow made from monster materials with iron arrows. The elasticity issue was solved by wrapping them in mana, so his shots easily punched through shields and put holes in heads.
Thanks to that, they crossed the forest with little interference. But Argo frowned at the presence of people he still sensed around them.
"Just how many of them are there?"
They'd already killed more than ten. The Ikelos were rampaging wildly to create chaos, and Goro's arrows hit with perfect accuracy, yet the enemy showed no fear and kept trying to form an encirclement.
Arash, who had been silently deflecting arrows flying from the side, grinned.
"Then we just have to kill them all as we see them."
"From their perspective, every single person is valuable."
In novels, it was common for countless people to die during a pursuit as long as the goal was achieved. Unfortunately, this wasn't a novel—it was reality.
"This isn't 21st-century Earth. Do they think raising humans to use as military power is easy?"
Even disposable pawns had to be limited in number. If dozens died, no matter how low their level, it would be a painful loss for the shadowy faction. Humans were creatures that required significant time and money to raise and utilize. Who would enjoy seeing their immediate combat strength decrease?
Thinking of the pursuit leader who was probably grinding his teeth right now, Argo smirked. He checked the increasingly dense forest ahead and shouted.
"A little further and we'll enter the monster territory! Everyone, stay sharp!"
From here on, they had to watch out for monsters as well as pursuers. If dozens of people ran around fighting, the monsters in the area would have every right to charge in with bloodshot eyes. Even those active in the North had to move carefully here. As for the Central pursuers...
"Kiiiieeeeek!"
"Gaaaah!"
"W-what the—?!"
"Monsters!"
As expected, they were now tasting the North's wilderness in full force. A group of Wood Gore camouflaged as trees had quietly moved behind the pursuers and pierced their hearts. Branch-like forelimbs dug into their bodies and absorbed blood. The pursuers panicked and attacked the Wood Gore.
The commotion drew Black Wolves, who moved through the forest shadows to tear out the pursuers' throats one by one. A few unlucky ones who disturbed a Knight Bee nest were stung by venomous needles and melted away in real time.
Less than five minutes after entering the monster territory, ten had already died. At the horrific sight, Alice—who had been clinging tightly to the raptor's back—turned deathly pale.
"Are you alright?" Argo asked.
"I-I'm fine. Rather than that, let's move quickly."
"Understood."
Impressed by Alice's stronger stomach than expected, Argo increased their speed. So far things were going smoothly, but he couldn't let his guard down. The enemies they'd faced until now were just the chaff. If they were the kind that could be sacrificed without regret...
The real skilled ones who would appear now would be forces that the shadowy faction treated with considerable care.
Crackle!
The connection with one of the summoned Ikelos was severed. It meant the enemy leadership was finally stepping forward in earnest. Argo smiled fiercely and sent his will to the remaining Ikelos.
Rampage until the end and take down the pursuers.
They probably thought that once their summons died, he would recall them. But that was wishful thinking. As long as he had enough mana, he could resummon them anytime. Why would he move according to their expectations?
The Ikelos who read his will moved faithfully. They either bit throats directly or provoked nearby monsters to die together. After the four Ikelos took down ten more before disappearing...
The heavy-bottomed leadership finally revealed themselves.
Clang!
"Ugh...!"
Arash blocked a dagger carrying a weight on a completely different level than before and swallowed a groan.
"Stop."
Since it meant the leader of the small fry had come out, Argo halted their run and scanned the surroundings. From between the thick trees, three men and women appeared.
The middle-aged man presumed to be the leader frowned deeply.
"You've been running wild quite well until now. But the children's games end here."
More than forty had died already. The middle-aged man's mood had soured from the greater-than-expected losses. As he infused aura into his sword, Argo and his companions also raised their aura. Aura wrapped around Arash and Goro's weapons. When Argo snapped his fingers, the Rune Golem and Ikelos appeared.
At that sight, the expressions of the man and woman flanking the middle-aged man twisted horribly.
"We heard the information, but do people here really use aura like it's nothing?"
"What kind of fucked-up place is this?"
They seemed to have prided themselves as skilled within their organization. Their faces were full of wounded pride.
Seeing them act like frogs in a well, Argo laughed mockingly and charged forward.