Chapter 411: A New Destination
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 411: A New Destination
“Aaaaaah!!!!”
With Amelia's scream trailing behind me, I threw myself into the seemingly bottomless canyon.
As gravity took hold and I accelerated, I began to fall at an incredible speed, as if someone were forcefully pulling me down.
In the blink of an eye, I had already descended several hundred meters.
This is because there's almost no air resistance in the initial phase of a fall, causing a rapid increase in speed.
It was a zone of rapid acceleration.
‘This seems much deeper than I thought...’
I'd already reached the 1,500-meter mark.
But there was still no sign of the bottom.
The moment I gathered my mana to use Detection magic.
Kieeeek!
“What is that...”
A giant, monstrous bird appeared, aiming to snatch the prey falling from the sky.
Wasn't that native Earth creature, the Quetzalcoatlus, said to be around 10 to 11 meters long?
But the monstrous bird before me looked to be easily over 15 meters.
Suddenly, I recalled a hypothesis proposed by a biologist I'd seen on NewTube. He claimed that the reason dinosaurs went extinct was the appearance of mana beasts.
At the time, I dismissed it as just an amusing joke, but if monstrous birds like that had truly roamed the skies, even a pterosaur would have been nothing more than a large piece of prey.
Fzzzt!
A golden magic circle bloomed in the air.
I aimed my fingertips at the monstrous bird and deployed my magic.
[Static Bolt]
Piiing!
In that instant, dozens of arrows made of lightning shot out from beyond the magic circle, all aimed at the bird.
Their speed surpassed that of a typical machine gun.
The monstrous bird hastily changed direction to evade the attack, but the gusts of wind whipping through the canyon didn't allow for such a sharp turn.
Whooosh!
The creature's massive body staggered violently in the fierce gale, and I didn't miss the opening.
Fwoosh!
[Pyroblast]
A massive fireball flew toward the monstrous bird.
KABOOM!
Kieeeeeek!
The monstrous bird shrieked amidst the massive explosion.
It seemed tougher than I expected; it was quite impressive that it didn't die even after taking a 4th-circle spell head-on.
But that was its limit.
Engulfed in super-heated flames, its wings quickly burned away. In the end, the monstrous bird let out a final, desperate shriek as it plummeted into the canyon below.
And I, too, followed it, sucked into the darkness.
I must have been falling at least 190 kilometers per hour, but thanks to my barrier blocking the gusts, there was no danger of crashing into the cliff face or colliding with falling debris.
Of course, there were a few more attacks from monstrous birds after that, but none were on the level of the wyverns I'd encountered in the mountains.
Exactly one minute after I began to fall, the bottom of the canyon started to come into view.
“H-Hyun-woo!!!!”
As the ground drew near, Amelia screamed and hugged me with all her might.
I drew upon my mana.
[Levitation]
Fwoop!
In that moment, the feeling of buoyancy surrounding my body vanished.
We came to a halt in mid-air, just three meters from the ground.
“Amelia.”
Amelia, who had been trembling with her eyes squeezed shut, cautiously opened them at the sound of my voice.
She slowly looked around before letting out a sigh of relief.
I carefully set her down on the ground.
“Ah...!”
Was it because her tension had finally eased?
The moment her feet touched the ground, her legs gave out and she staggered.
I quickly wrapped my arm around her waist to support her.
“Are you okay?”
“Th-thank you...”
The tips of Amelia's ears turned slightly red.
Seeing that, a playful urge stirred within me.
“Hoo.”
“H-Heeik?!”
When I blew into her ear, Amelia let out a shrill scream and jumped in surprise.
It seems her ears are sensitive, though not as much as an elf's.
“H-Hyun-woo?!”
“Sorry. I don't know why, but whenever I look at you, I feel like teasing you.”
With my arm still around her waist, I moved my hands a little more brazenly.
“Ah...”
My left hand cupped her breast, while my right caressed her thigh.
Amelia froze, this action having nothing to do with synchronizing our mana wavelengths.
But she didn't push my hands away or resist.
Instead, she carefully leaned her body against me, making it easier for me to touch her.
I stared at her for a moment before slowly whispering in her ear.
“I'll be looking forward to tonight, too.”
“...”
Her slender body trembled faintly.
The strange atmosphere lasted only a moment; we didn't have the luxury of spending our time idly. There was still work to be done.
I spread out a mat in a suitable spot, set up a barrier there, and had Amelia go inside.
Then, I scanned the surrounding area with Detection magic.
A moment later, I opened my eyes and let out a quiet sigh.
“3,200 meters...”
No wonder the fall felt so long.
The canyon was much deeper than I had first anticipated.
“Climbing back up is going to be a pain...”
I looked up at the sky.
The weather had been clear without a single cloud, but from down here, I couldn't see a thing.
A thick fog completely obscured my vision.
What's more, no sunlight reached this far down, making it as dark as midnight.
‘Are Iris and Sylvia at the 300-meter mark by now?’
Since neither of them could use magic, they were slowly making their way down by reverse rock climbing, rather than just jumping off the cliff like I did.
Of course, as an Aura Master, Sylvia would be able to descend safely without much trouble, even if it took some time.
Besides, their bracelets and chokers had tracking magic embedded in them, so there was no worry of us getting separated.
The same went for the monstrous birds.
I'd already burned dozens of them to death, after all.
We could have all descended slowly together, but the reason I came down first was to identify and deal with any potential threats in advance.
For example, a mana beast stronger than the monstrous birds.
Thump!
“...Speak of the devil.”
“Grrrrr...”
Appearing from the darkness where not even sunlight could reach was none other than a black tiger.
Its eyes were hollow, as if its sight had degenerated, and its grotesque appearance evoked a primal sense of revulsion in anyone who saw it.
It looked to be well over 20 meters tall.
I didn't know its exact rank since I'd never seen a mana beast like it before, but I was certain it was stronger than a wyvern.
Shing—
I drew the Heaven-Shattering Demonic Sword.
Magic was certainly convenient, but sometimes, you need to loosen up a stiff body.
“I needed a highest-grade mana stone. Perfect timing.”
I smiled faintly and charged toward the beast.
KRRRRAACK!
Ink-black Aura swirled through the dark depths of the canyon.
*
Iris and Sylvia arrived at the bottom less than two hours later.
I handed a potion to the slightly exhausted-looking Sylvia.
She stared at me silently for a moment before quietly accepting the potion.
I thought she'd be a little prickly, so this was a bit surprising.
“This is a Devil Tiger, isn't it?”
“A Devil Tiger?”
Iris was examining the carcasses of the mana beasts I had dealt with. Since they were all creatures I'd never seen before, I needed her help to harvest their byproducts.
The black tiger wasn't the only thing I had fought in the last two hours.
I had easily killed over twenty beasts, several of which were comparable to A-rank monsters.
“Yes, I've seen it recorded in texts as a disaster-class mana beast. I heard they were extinct, but to think they still remained in the Lugen Mountains...”
“Are there any useful parts besides the mana stone?”
“Of course. If you remove the toxins from a Devil Tiger's heart, it becomes a magnificent elixir. The records also say it went extinct because of human greed for that elixir.”
“Oh.”
After hearing the recipe for removing the toxins from Iris, I decided to take it to Grandma Marna later and put the entire beast carcass into my inventory.
After that, I looked up at the cliff on the opposite side.
Just thinking about it was suffocating.
It's a given that climbing up is much harder than coming down.
‘If we carve out caves in the cliff to rest along the way, we should be able to make it up in two days at the latest...’
After a moment of thought, I unfolded the map.
As I was examining the local geography, a good idea suddenly struck me.
“Everyone, gather around for a moment.”
I spread the map out in front of the three of them and began to explain the plan I had just come up with.
“Our current location is here, halfway between the Nivia Kingdom's border and the capital. Of course, once we're out of the mountain range, it's all plains, so we should be able to reach the capital quickly.”
“...Which also means there's a higher chance of being spotted by the enemy,” Sylvia noted.
“Exactly.”
The Orsia Duchy was currently in the midst of a civil war.
That meant we could run into rebel forces anytime, anywhere.
In a way, it could be an opportunity to chip away at the rebels' strength, but there was also a definite possibility that we could be the ones to suffer.
I couldn't find it in the battalion commander's memories, but there must be one.
A 7th Circle Mage.
If not that, we might run into a powerhouse equivalent to a high-level Aura Master.
Of course, this was just my speculation for now, but the circumstantial evidence was more than enough.
As I'd said before, the outcome of a war is decided by superhumans like knights and mages.
No matter how sudden the rebellion, it made no sense that the Duke's faction was being pushed back without being able to mount a proper counterattack.
The news that Hadrian Margrave, an Aura Master, had died in battle only strengthened my hypothesis.
“From now on, we'll follow the canyon toward the Bipolun Territory.”
“Weren't we going to cross to the other side?” Iris asked.
“We will. But we'll travel through the canyon to get to our destination.”
Sometimes, humans are more dangerous than mana beasts. Now was one of those times.
“Miss Amelia, you said Baron Bipolun is with the Duke's faction, right?”
“Yes, the Bipolun baronial family is a knightly house that has protected the Grand Ducal family for generations. I heard the succession competition has intensified in recent years, but since the Baron is still in good health, there shouldn't be any major problems for now.”
“That's good to hear.”
Our next destination was set.
If we hadn't descended the cliff, it would have taken three to four days to reach the Bipolun Territory, but by going through the canyon, two days would be enough.
Most importantly, once we reached the Bipolun Territory, we could get to the capital in half a day.
“Shall we get going?”
*
Fwoosh—
Black smoke rose to the sky, as if to swallow it whole.
Amidst the screams of the crowd, helmeted soldiers silently swung their spears and swords.
Dark red blood overflowed from the crudely built sewers, and the streets were covered with the bodies of those who couldn't close their eyes in death.
In the southeastern part of the Orsia Duchy, the city of Montevara, part of the Galloway Territory, was engulfed in flames, burning like a pile of firewood in the dead of winter.
Along with the mansion of its lord, Count Galloway.
“What a spectacle.”
Clink.
A man with an impressive beard smiled leisurely as he set down his teacup.
His expression was as serene as a gentleman awaiting his brunch.
“Kailix...!!!”
At that moment, Count Galloway, the lord of Montevara, shouted as he coughed up blood.
Five spears were embedded deep in his back as he lay collapsed on the floor.
“Hm? You're still breathing? Quite a tenacious life force. I suppose a high-level Aura Expert is different, after all.”
“Why?! Why are you killing the residents too?! Just end it with my life!”
“Haha. I thought you were just a stiff old man, but you have a surprisingly naive side to you.”
Marquis Kailix looked down at the fallen Count Galloway with a mocking smile.
“To think that mere commoners could raise their hands against a noble and survive... wasn't that a foolish judgment from the start? And there's a bit of a contradiction in your words.”
Trickle—
Tea was poured over Count Galloway's head.
It was a clear act of mockery.
“To be precise, you will be the one killing them. If you had just opened the gates sooner, your precious people wouldn't have had to suffer such pointless deaths.”
“Kailix...!!!!”
Tears of blood streamed from Count Galloway's eyes.
“You filthy maggots eating away at the duchy!! I curse you all!! How dare you betray the duchy and the D—!”
Slice—
In that instant, the Count's vision flipped upside down.
As blood scattered through the air, he met his end.
“How long do you intend to play around?”
“...My apologies.”
Marquis Kailix, the leader of the Noble Faction and commander-in-chief of the rebel army, bowed his head respectfully to the man who had just appeared before him.
It was an act of perfect submission.
A gaze colder than a northern glacier fell upon the marquis.
“Lead the army and advance toward the Bipolun Territory at once.”
“I will obey your command.”