Chapter 34
The Ice Wall
While Aleksei and the patrolmen stood frozen in place, Ion raced forward at full speed. With the momentum carrying him, he swung Pain in a single downward stroke.
Schwaaak!
One of the infected split cleanly in half from crown to chin.
“Kreeee!”
The severed corpse collapsed onto the ground.
Aleksei snapped out of his daze, lifting his sword.
“Now! Run in at once…!”
Ion quickly raised a hand to silence him.
“Don’t come any closer!”
“…?”
“These infected carry poison! Fighting them risks turning you into one of them—stay back!”
Aleksei and Viktor, along with the other patrolmen, halted and stepped backward.
“Poison?”
“It turns them into those things?”
“Earlier when those things moved, blood sprayed everywhere—what about me?”
“Back off a bit.”
The patrolmen erupted into confusion. Aleksei and Viktor eyed Ion with unease.
“Then, Sir Ion, you’re all right even with the poison?”
“H-hmm? It’s fine, so… I didn’t say not to come closer, did I?”
“Well, that’s fortunate, but…”
“More importantly, there are still four infected ahead. We need to deal with them.”
Viktor’s words drew a worried glance from Aleksei.
Ion sliced the first infected in half and pressed on.
“Kwwaaar!”
He waded into the four remaining infected swinging fists, spun, and cut with his sword. Limbs severed with each pass, thudding to the ground. It seemed too easy.
“Look at that!”
“Skin tough enough to deflect a sword, yet it cuts like butter?”
“Not just the skin—how does it slice bone and flesh so cleanly?”
“You can see it for yourselves! It’s possible!”
The heads of the last four infected rolled and thumped onto the ground.
Ion sheathed Pain, removed the gauntlets, and watched the ring shift from gray to silver, then black.
He stood still, studying the ring. Aleksei, Viktor, and the patrolmen watched in silence, unsure what he was doing yet sensing they should not interrupt.
Eventually Ion nodded, turned, and spoke.
“Anyone with an unusual condition among you?”
Ion placed his ringed hand on each shoulder, scanning them. Some were normal, but a few showed faint color changes as the poison was purged. Those who hadn’t been ringed themselves took longer to return to black.
While checking one patrolman’s shoulder, the man saw the infected corpse and said,
“The one lying there… was Sergeant Mikhailov, the castle commander.” Looking closer, the decapitated infected appeared older than the others and wore armor.
“How did this happen?”
The patrolman answered,
“A few days ago we used escaped free citizens as bait to hunt frost trolls. One was infected. We killed it after heavy losses. When we inspected the body, the commander and others were infected too.”
“A few with signs were isolated in the dungeons. We should check them now…”
While his arm was still raised, the man tried to move and spoke through gritted teeth.
“I came from the dungeons. They’re all cleared out.”
“Ah, I see.”
The patrolman nodded and fell silent. Moments later the ring turned black.
“Everyone’s clean.” The process ended with the final patrolman.
Aleksei approached and greeted Ion, then noticed the fallen infected.
“Thank you. From dealing with the infected to cleaning them up. If it weren’t for you, we’d be just like them. You came here as if to save us.”
“Just coincidence. I happened to be here, and I had the ability to detoxify.”
Aleksei gave a wry laugh.
“We call such coincidences fate.”
“It… could be.”
He had spent his life in the south before dying and wanted to reach the northern Ice Wall. He hadn’t been told to come here, yet here he was, with the strength to defeat infected and the power to cleanse poison. Too coincidental to call mere luck.
After speaking with Ion, Aleksei pulled the patrolmen aside to talk. He needed many hands, so he was trying to persuade them to join. These men had used free citizens as bait. Whether the rescued free citizens would unite with them was uncertain.
A short while later, Aleksei’s group—now including Ion—moved toward the gathering place for the rescued people.
The moment Ion arrived, Igor and Silvio came running.
“Sir Ion! You’re safe!”
“Fortunately, yes. Igor, you arrived safely?”
“Yes. Thanks to you, we made it.”
“The refugees are mostly fine except for a little fatigue. Good work, brother Ion.”
Igor and Silvio greeted him.
It seemed they hadn’t faced any serious problems on the way.
“Yes, we’re glad. Thank you for your hard work too, Priest Silvio.”
“I heard about the infected from Igor.”
Igor had mentioned that Ion had just started fighting when he left.
Ion warned Silvio.
“The appearance of infected is confirmed. Fighting infected monsters is dangerous, and anyone who touches them must be careful. Without a detoxification ring like me, you must be extra cautious.”
“Infected monsters infect people too. Don’t approach anyone who looks sick.”
“Understood.”
Silvio nodded seriously.
Fifty-plus rescued free citizens and fifteen patrolmen who joined after persuasion. The free citizens and patrolmen did not mix, but Aleksei would handle that.
Aleksei, busy arranging the people for travel, pulled aside Niel the frost goat and approached Ion, who was ready to depart.
“Ready to leave?”
“Yes. We should go.”
“What now?”
“We’re here to see the Ice Wall, so we’ll keep going north.”
Aleksei nodded and took a coin purse from his pocket.
“This is payment as promised. As a prince of a fallen kingdom, it’s not much.”
“Thank you.”
“Safe travels.”
“And you too, Sir Aleksei—return safely.”
Ion bid farewell to the rest of Aleksei’s group and headed north.
Ion traveled north, passing through the lands of Robani and Pierre.
Along the way he faced attacks from monsters and patrolmen hunting for coin, but he never encountered infected or infected monsters.
Twenty days later he reached the Ice Wall.
It had been nearly five months since he entered the north.
High mountains with ice cliffs were called the Ice Wall. But the Ice Wall marking the border between the north and the unexplored Extimus beyond was nothing like ordinary mountain ice walls.
This was a vast, continuous wall of ice that seemed built by some ancient hand. It stretched from the eastern to the western edge of the continent, soaring nearly cloud-high.
Ion rode Niel the frost goat and walked along the ice wall. The sheer scale and dominance of the wall itself stirred something deep inside. He had come here simply because he wanted to see the Ice Wall, yet the journey felt worthwhile.
He watched until night fell, then lit a campfire.
Beyond the wall lay a dense pine forest where long conifers grew thickly—likely because the wall blocked the wind.
Ion roasted the frost rabbits he had caught and gave one to Lotte, keeping a half for himself. He gathered snow to build a windbreak, pitched a tent, and prepared a bed.
Kung!
A heavy sound rang out, yet the ground trembled far more than the noise. Ion and Lotte both looked in the same direction.
He tied Niel’s reins to a tree and hurried toward the source.
Kung!
The long pines led deeper into the forest.
Kung!
The location of the sound shifted slightly. The source was moving.
Following the noise, he ran faster.
Kung!
A distant light appeared. But its position was wrong—too high up, swinging back and forth.
Kung!
He ran closer. His senses sharpened, eyesight improved. Night had come, but the moon and stars lit the sky, so he clearly saw the source of the moving light.
“…?”
It was impossible to believe his eyes. A small wooden hut, slightly higher than the surrounding pines, was moving.
Kung!
Two long wooden legs extended like stilts from the bottom of the hut, walking. At the ends of the “legs” were still attached tree roots, like bird feet. The joints weren’t real, so it wobbled as it walked and made the hut rock dramatically.
Kung!
The hut moved a few more steps and stopped in front of Ion.
“Kiriik!”
A portion of the hut floor lowered on a wooden vine rope, like a ladder, descending steadily. Soon the floor was at ground level. It was inviting him to board.
Ion stepped onto the floor without hesitation. Lotte followed.
Kik! Kik!
The floor rose slowly. Lotte, who usually feared heights, felt safe and stayed calm. The higher they climbed, the colder the wind. Lotte licked his nose repeatedly while Ion smiled and stroked his head.
A large pot hung over the stove on the hut wall, bubbling with stew. Warm, savory steam filled the air. On the table sat freshly baked bread and perfectly cooked meat on wooden plates. And at the table sat a blonde woman Ion had never seen before. Yet she felt strangely familiar.
“You must be Rina Schmitz.”
The woman smiled brightly.
“Even without seeing my face you recognized me?”
“Not that. I just thought there couldn’t be anyone else in a walking hut besides you.”
Despite his blunt reply, Rina’s smile remained unchanged.
“Really? Well, this hut is amazing, isn’t it? Would you like to see how it moves?”
“No need…”
Rina snapped her fingers. The hut shot straight upward.
The floor swayed up and down like a ship at sea, yet far less than he expected. Rina laughed and stood.
“Less movement than you thought? Look— the view is beautiful!”
She walked to the window, opened the wooden frame, and stepped aside. Ion leaned forward to see outside.
Trees dusted with snow passed beneath them. The Ice Wall, viewed from below, was already majestic, but from this height it was breathtaking. Ion nodded.
“Traveling like this is wonderful.”
“Isn’t it? If you marry me, you can take this hut with you. What do you say?”
Ion ignored her words and shook his head.
“No thanks. What’s going on here?”
“If you refuse without thinking, you’ll hurt my feelings.”
“Get to the point.”
“Fine.”
Rina wiped the smile from her face and spoke seriously.
“You saw the infected monsters and the people they infected?”
“Yes. I fought them.”
“Such monsters and infected will keep appearing.”
“Hmm… they’ll keep coming? Why?”
“An ancient sealing is about to break.”
“A sealing that trapped something dangerous?”
Such tales belonged in storybooks. And storybooks always featured witches. Rina lightly shook her head.
“…To be honest, I don’t know exactly. I only know it was the sealing of the Demon of Greed.”
“Even witches don’t know everything?”
“For me, it’s ancient history. I’m young.”
Ion wondered how someone whose face changed so often could know their own age.
“Hmm…”
“What does that mean?”
He ignored her answer and pressed on.
“So, you called me to tell me this?”
“No. We must reseal the breaking barrier. Right now we can do it without major resistance or damage. If we miss the timing, it will be difficult.”
“Does that mean I have to perform the sealing?”
Rina shook her head and opened her palm.
“There are five seals. The representatives of the five races know the method and will perform it. You only need to help, Sir Ion.”
“Five races…”
“Humans, elves, dwarves, beastmen, and orcs. The five races. I’m heading to the nearest—dwarves. You must meet their king. I’ll escort you to the edge of the forest.”
“Wait! I left Niel behind!”
Startled, Ion watched Rina laugh.
“When you arrive, he’ll be waiting right there.”
“Waiting? How… I see.”
He didn’t want to ask how. More unnecessary stories might follow.
“It’ll take time to get there, so eat. Or you can sleep if you like.”
“No thanks.”
He had eaten dinner, but only roasted meat. He tore bread into the stew and fed the meat to Lotte in small pieces. After filling their bellies, he stroked the sleeping wolf, leaned back in the chair, and closed his eyes.
He dozed lightly. When he opened his eyes, he was lying on a soft bed instead of the wooden chair. A warm feeling filled the air. Turning his head, he saw blonde hair.
“…!”