Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: 26. Hunter's Memory (1)
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The Allied Forces advanced to the deepest part of the plains.
Along the way, they repelled countless ambushes and smashed every small orc settlement in their path. None of the battles had been particularly tough.
Just when it seemed things would continue smoothly, the feared problem arose.
Supplies had been cut off.
The supply trains that had been delivering provisions to the Allied Forces via Gide and Balshard stopped coming.
The orcs had blocked their route.
Yuri muttered,
"What a shame."
It wasn't a huge issue.
The Allied Forces had stockpiled plenty of supplies.
"The orders are to pay even more attention to provisioning."
"Makes sense."
The Allied Forces had drawn very close to Oqua.
They were now within a distance where the orcs could charge with their full force at any moment.
The decisive battle would happen soon.
"Raymond."
"Yes."
"What the hell do you think that is?"
As they marched, Yuri pointed toward the horizon.
A massive, rock-like protrusion jutted out from the ground overgrown with thick bushes. Its angular shape didn't look natural.
"Not sure."
Raymond tilted his head.
"That stone looks similar to the ones we saw in Balshard..."
"Right?"
"Could it be man-made?"
Yuri was about to respond when the ground shook.
Horses reared in fright, and the marching soldiers hunched down en masse to keep their balance. Weapons clattered against the earth.
"Everyone, stay calm!"
Yuri leaped from his horse and pressed a hand to the ground to assess the situation.
The earthquake continued relentlessly.
Fortunately, there was nothing nearby that might collapse.
Suddenly, the Brioll flag planted by the standard-bearer began to tilt.
Yuri activated his Mana Circulation Method and dashed over to grab the pole.
"S-sorry, Your Highness!"
"It's fine."
The flag-bearing soldier staggered, unable to keep his balance, and fell.
Yuri straightened the flag and looked around.
The entire Allied Forces were thrown into chaos by the quake. He spotted a few flags from other nations toppling over.
Yuri grinned.
"We can't let our flag fall. We've got our pride to uphold, right?"
"My apologies!"
"Not talking about you."
The quake, which had seemed about to end, dragged on for a while longer before finally stopping.
Yuri handed the flagpole back to the standard-bearer and checked on the troops.
The knights were unharmed, though some soldiers had minor injuries from falling.
Yuri personally went around the unit, restoring order amid the disarray.
Once things were mostly under control, Rolang approached.
"Your Highness."
"Yeah?"
"Look at that."
Rolang pointed toward the horizon.
"Huh?"
The shape of the protruding rock had changed. The buried portion had risen above the surface, swelling up like a hill.
"What is that thing?"
Dirt continued to cascade from the uplifted section, gradually revealing its outline.
It was a stone building.
Its style resembled the structures they'd seen in Balshard.
It looked just like an ancient ruin.
"Now I'm curious."
"Shall we take a look?"
"Yeah. Better check it out."
Yuri stared at the ruins as he spoke.
"Guess I need permission first."
Yuri had a strong hunch that he needed to investigate it himself.
The plains still held many secrets.
These ruins might prove useful against Oqua.
Yuri visited Ragna with Rolang.
The empire's response had been relatively calm.
Not only the knights in their black armor but even the soldiers methodically adjusted their gear with expressionless faces.
"Total opposite of Burssen."
He'd glimpsed the Burssen camp earlier as they passed—it was in utter pandemonium. The Proins were running around, calling it an omen of disaster.
As Yuri appeared, the knights' gazes somehow converged on him.
"Those stares sting."
"Indeed."
"They must admire Your Highness's valor."
"Yeah, right..."
Soon, Ragna appeared after checking his troops.
"Yuri. Everything alright?"
"Yes."
"An earthquake out of nowhere. Weird."
"Tell me about it."
"What's going on?"
"Well..."
Yuri relayed what he'd seen from the vanguard.
Ragna hopped onto his horse's saddle and peered at the horizon through a spyglass.
"That definitely looks like something."
"If it's alright, I'll go check it out."
They'd pass it anyway if the Allied Forces kept marching.
"Sun's about to set, so camping near those ruins for the night isn't a bad idea."
"Yes."
"I'll assign some imperial knights."
"Pardon?"
"Don't want them?"
"No, that's fine."
Ragna ordered three imperial knights to accompany Yuri.
They were men of few words.
With their black helmets on, their faces were hard to make out.
"Pleased to meet you."
"Yes."
"Won't be too uncomfortable tagging along with us?"
"Yes."
"No need to babysit you guys?"
"Yes."
"You know words other than 'yes,' right?"
"Yes."
"Good. Let's all stay safe out there."
"Yes."
Yuri added ten Brioll knights to the three imperial ones Ragna had assigned.
The group of fourteen, including Yuri, rode toward the ruins.
Even as the Brioll knights chattered away, the three imperials remained silent.
"They seem just like Death Knights..."
His eyes met Jared's.
Yuri shrugged.
They'd once encountered a skeletal mage together in Erich Brioll's dungeon.
Of course, that one had been quite talkative.
"Looks like this is the entrance."
They soon found what appeared to be a door.
"Let's see..."
There was no obvious way to open it.
Jared groped around the door.
"Need a key or something?"
"Then there'd be a keyhole."
They circled the entire stone building, inspecting every surface.
The only spot that seemed like an entrance was the door they'd first found.
Yuri led the knights back there.
"How do we open it? Any ideas?"
"No clue."
"Alright."
Yuri placed his hand on the door again. He activated his Mana Circulation Method, ready to smash it if needed.
There was a reaction.
"Huh?"
The moment Yuri activated his method, a faint light flowed across the door as if fueled by mana. Then it vibrated.
And slowly slid aside.
"It opened."
Everyone stared at Yuri.
"How did you do that?"
"Didn't do anything."
Beyond the door lay pitch-black darkness. A musty smell wafted out from the long-sealed chamber.
As the door fully opened, the stagnant darkness spilled out, gradually revealing the interior.
A long corridor stretched from the entrance.
The inner walls were made of the same stone as the outside but polished smooth like marble.
"Let's go."
Yuri took the lead inside.
The other knights tried to stop him, but he stepped in so swiftly they had no choice but to hurry after.
"It's dangerous. Don't take the front, Your Highness."
"I'm good."
Yuri quickened his pace to keep them from intervening.
"It's dark."
They hadn't brought torches.
He could barely see by enhancing his vision with mana circulation, but it was still inconvenient.
Yuri glanced sideways.
Lamp-like fixtures were mounted on the walls at regular intervals, but they seemed long dead from neglect.
He recalled how the door had opened.
Infusing mana had activated it.
Yuri gripped a protruding handle-like section on the wall.
"Your Highness?"
As he activated his Mana Circulation Method, the mana soaked in like into a sponge.
"No way..."
The lights came on.
Not only that, but a whirring sound started as air began circulating. He could feel the ventilation kicking in with wind flowing in and out.
"How did you do that?"
In response to Rolang's question, Yuri answered,
"No idea. It just worked."
He glanced at the three imperial knights.
He was lying.
He got along well with Ragna, but the empire could become his enemy down the line.
No reason to share intel with them.
"Maybe it senses visitors?"
"Could be."
Rolang nodded quickly, catching on. The three imperials trailed silently behind as always.
"Deeper in."
Yuri scanned the interior.
At first, it had seemed empty, but objects gradually came into view.
They found a room with a bed and table.
"Someone lived here."
It was clearly a bedroom.
But there were no further traces.
"No clues."
"It's been buried for ages. Expected."
"A remnant of some ancient plains kingdom?"
"Who knows."
The interior wasn't large. There were several similar rooms, but nothing to reveal the building's origins.
"Everything's been cleared out neatly."
"Hmm..."
This floor held only bedrooms. It felt like a spartan inn.
"Then..."
Yuri looked up.
"Shall we go down?"
Everyone turned to the end of the corridor at his words.
A passage led underground.
Stairs were visible, but beyond them was unnaturally dark.
An ominous feeling settled in.
"Let's hurry. We'll finish scouting before the main force arrives."
Yuri shook off the worry as he spoke.
It didn't seem like a dangerous place. And even if it was, with all these knights, they could handle it.
Yuri led the way down the stairs.
The darkness clung to him like a tangible thing. The deeper they went, the more it felt like cobwebs brushing against his skin.
Then something caught his foot.
Too dark to see.
Yuri groped the wall for a lighting fixture like the ones upstairs and infused it with mana.
The lights came on.
"This is..."
Bones everywhere.
Countless bleached skeletons piled high, rusted old weapons scattered among them.
It looked like a battle had raged here long ago.
Beyond the mound of corpses stood a firmly shut iron door, a single skeleton slumped against it at the base.
This one was different from the others.
Yuri realized why.
"Human."
All the scattered bones were orc.
Had humans and orcs been fighting since ancient times?
Yuri stepped forward and stood before the human skeleton.
The bones bore wounds everywhere.
It was easy to imagine the horrific last stand that had taken place here.
The skeleton seemed to guard the iron door.
Yuri reached for the latch above its skull.
It wouldn't budge no matter how hard he pulled. No reaction even with mana.
"Completely locked."
The moment Yuri let go,
Light burst from the door's seam.
"Your Highness!"
Yuri's body was enveloped in radiance.
The slumped skeleton began glowing white-hot too.
Yuri instinctively gripped Guilty and tried to leap back, but he couldn't move.
"Uh..."
The door opened.
Beyond lay abyssal darkness.
Suddenly, the entire space around Yuri was sucked into the door.
He couldn't resist the pull and was swept inside.
Yuri opened his eyes.
For a moment, he couldn't grasp the situation. As he sat up, he recalled what had happened before blacking out.
They'd gone down to the underground passage, opened the iron door, and he'd been flung inside.
"Is this the inside..."
A faint light hovered overhead, so it wasn't pitch black.
He turned to see the iron door firmly shut behind him.
Yuri pounded on it.
"Hey!"
No sign it carried through.
No sounds from the other side either.
It felt like complete isolation—probably magical.
"Where the hell..."
He remembered falling into Erich Brioll's dungeon in the past.
He placed a hand on Guilty and walked deeper in.
There had been plenty of people, but only he had entered. Why him alone through the door?
He soon found out.
"This..."
Yuri felt something vibrating in his pocket and pulled it out.
The red gem that drove orcs berserk glowed brightly and floated into the air.