Chapter 123
Chapter 123
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: Abyss Cliff
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Whoosh!
A ship cutting through the waves, kicking up white foam. And far in the distance, the fresh scent of untamed nature.
It was a scene straight out of a painting.
If only this weren't the Dragon Mountains.
'Damn it, we actually made it all the way here.'
Gulp!
Jean was a veteran among veterans on the open sea, but never had land felt so unwelcome.
"Hmm, is that the Valley of Death?"
Luna of the Virgin Palace stepped up to the bow and spoke.
Shoph, standing beside her, spread out a map.
"That's right. Judging by the terrain, that's the wyverns' nesting ground—the Abyss Cliff."
Snap!
Having finally reached their destination, Shoph nodded and folded the map away.
"Captain."
"Y-yes, sir!"
Shoph Marquis called out softly to Jean, who snapped to attention reflexively.
'Damn it! Why are my legs shaking like this?'
Even after Shoph Marquis had his legs severed and then healed by Luna, Jean's legs still ached whenever he got near the man.
The chilling memory from that day gnawed at him relentlessly.
"Dock the ship over by that cliff."
"Pardon? But..."
Jean trailed off hesitantly, and Shoph's eyebrow arched.
"Can't do it?"
Unlike his raised brow, Shoph's eyes betrayed no emotion.
The memory of that leg-severing day flashed through Jean's mind again, and he blurted out desperately.
"N-no, that's not it. But Your Excellency the Marquis, Archbishop Luna, and the others... won't you all be disembarking?"
Jean trailed off once more, and Shoph's gaze sharpened further.
"Of course. We're on a holy mission—every one of us. No exceptions."
Jean's face drained of color at Shoph's words.
"Th-then what about us? Without Your Excellency or the Archbishop, we couldn't survive a single day here on our own."
Shoph looked momentarily taken aback by Jean's plea.
"Hmm... I suppose that's a fair point."
Shoph nodded. But he wasn't truly concerned about this one ship or its lowly crew.
He simply needed sailors to pilot it back after completing the mission.
"Hrm..."
As Shoph pondered, one of the robed figures approached him.
"I'll handle that."
Whoosh!
The robed man tossed something to Jean.
Jean caught it reflexively and examined it—a small bird carving that seemed ready to take flight at any moment.
"It's infused with stealth magic. Take it and wait in a cave near the cliff. We'll summon you when it's done."
Of course. With stealth magic, no monsters would spot the ship.
"...Understood."
With the carving in hand from the man, further defiance was pointless. It might even cost him his legs again.
Resigned, Jean steered the ship without another word.
Whoosh!
The Cimaria churned up white foam as it slowly but steadily approached the Abyss Cliff.
"...Hey. What the hell is that?"
Saladin muttered blankly, bewildered by the unnatural sight before them.
But everyone there felt the same.
It had been a day since they'd followed Aria's detection magic to the source of the heaviest mana noise.
Aside from a few massive earth dragons, nothing had blocked their path, so reaching the noise's origin hadn't taken long.
And there, they found a tunnel leading underground.
But that tunnel...
No matter how generously you looked at it, it couldn't pass for natural.
The ornate carvings embossed around the entrance clearly proved it had been crafted with intent.
Yes, this was...
"...In the world. A dungeon, here of all places."
As Aria said after cutting off her detection magic, it was unmistakably a dungeon to anyone who saw it.
Dungeon.
A place where absolute powerhouses from bygone eras had poured their all to achieve posthumous glory or fulfill lingering ambitions.
They were invariably riddled with traps to deter tomb raiders, hidden in unreachable spots.
But even so, this was overkill. Deep into the Dragon Mountains' Valley of Death? Who would come crawling this far?
"Young master. Wouldn't it be better to return with the lord and the other Hexagons?"
Beskin suggested.
"Whoever built a dungeon here must have held immense power in life. Exposing you to potential dangers is something a knight cannot allow."
Saladin nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. Our goal is wyvern hunting, not dungeon delving. We've confirmed the spot, so let's hunt wyverns first and come back later."
Setna and Aria said nothing, but they clearly had no desire to waste time here on anything but their own objectives.
"......"
But for some reason...
My instincts—the honed senses from countless crises across my past life and this one—were screaming that I'd regret ignoring this dungeon now.
'Whenever I've felt this, my choices have almost always been right.'
"...No. We check the dungeon first."
I decided to trust my gut again this time.
"Ah, why!"
"This dungeon... there's definitely something here. That unease we've felt—it might be tied to this place."
"You're asking us to risk dying based solely on your hunch?!"
Saladin bellowed at me.
I simply stared at him calmly.
"...What? Why are you looking at me like that?!"
"...Nothing."
I brushed past Saladin and turned to Beskin.
"...Why are you staring like that, sir?"
Caught off guard, Beskin asked defensively.
"Nothing."
It was amusing.
The fact that everyone in this little group was hiding their true power.
"Anyway, let's go."
I plunged into the tunnel without waiting for a reply.
"H-hey! Damn it all!"
Saladin grumbled as he followed, his voice echoing inside.
Acting all tsundere when he's coming anyway.
Having moored the Cimaria at one spot along the Abyss Cliff, Shoph Marquis and his group finally set foot on the cliff.
"For the imperial princes' sake, we must return as swiftly as possible. Let's secure the wyvern eggs quickly and head back."
Shoph addressed the four who had shed their robes, aside from Luna.
"From here, it might be best if you take the lead, Marquis Crank."
Marquis Crank!
Unlike Shoph Marquis, who served the Second Prince, this was a man who followed the First Prince alongside Marquis Luck.
While the other marquises mastered orthodox swordsmanship, Marquis Crank wielded the unique Beast Sword style.
A blade that relied purely on senses and instinct.
Thanks to that, in terms of raw perception, even the other four marquises yielded to him.
Even having reached the Abyss Cliff, navigating this treacherous terrain was no easy task.
Thus, Shoph entrusted the pathfinding to Crank's superior senses.
"Got it."
Marquis Crank stepped forward and closed his eyes.
He remained still for a long while.
Then, a plump man beside Luna grumbled.
"Tch! Legs hurting, and he's just standing there instead of moving. What a waste."
The complainer was Boer of the Twin Fish Palace, one of the Twelve Archbishops like Luna.
"Beast Sword from the start? How does some hack with no proper foundation end up one of the four marquises..."
"Boer, watch your mouth."
One of the two burly men behind Crank warned him.
"Crank's sword is ferocious. Brutal. You, with your soft gut, have no right to judge the training it took to reach that realm."
"Dingo...!"
The muscular man was Dingo of the Treasure Bottle Palace.
"Hmph! Defending your fellow First Prince lapdog, huh?"
"Not First Prince—His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince."
"Crown Prince my ass, hilarious. Without Second Prince's support, they wouldn't have even made it here."
"Maybe we should butcher a pig before hunting wyverns."
As Dingo clenched his fist, Boer smirked back.
"Sounds good. Dog meat's supposed to be great for stamina. Beating down a mutt before wyverns ain't bad."
Even among the four marquises and Twelve Archbishops, factions split by allegiance were inevitable.
But Luna judged the tension excessive and opened her mouth.
"Both of you, stop..."
"Found it."
Just then, Crank opened his eyes.
"That way. We go that direction."
"Hm?"
Shoph peered where Crank pointed, his face puzzled.
"Marquis Crank, that's completely the long way around the Abyss Cliff. Is there a reason?"
The path Crank indicated looped deep inland.
Skirting the sheer cliff face before them.
"I know. But... my senses are screaming we must go that way."
His beast-like hyper-senses converged, insisting.
Change course.
The shortest path isn't always best.
Only then would a path to survival open.
'...Better not voice the last part.'
Crank held back.
Though traveling together now, he and the Second Prince faction vied to become the Empire's sun.
No need to reveal too much.
"...Hard to accept. Wyverns are dangerous, sure, but with you and I at the pinnacle of mastery, plus four of the Empire's proud Twelve Archbishops? What threat could there be?"
Shoph still opposed Crank's view.
And he wasn't wrong.
Truth be told, their combined might could wipe out most forces in half a day.
Barring the "off-spec" throne-holders, none could stand against them.
"I don't know. My senses are just screaming it."
Crank replied curtly to Shoph and turned.
"I'm going this way. If you disagree, do as you please."
Dingo and Luna followed Crank. As First Prince loyalists, they respected his call.
"Then we're splitting here. One thing clear: first to the wyvern eggs takes them all."
Shoph smirked.
Shoph, Boer, and Gott of the Scorpion Palace were Second Prince men—no reason to follow them.
"...Fine."
Crank's group moved off indifferently.
'Hmph! Arrogant bastard.'
Shoph sneered at Crank's folly and headed straight for the Abyss Cliff with Gott and Boer.
"Fools. First Prince idiots never get efficiency."
Boer muttered while trudging along the coast.
Sweat poured off him despite the chill.
"...That's also the Lord's teaching, Boer."
Gott, silent until now, cautioned Boer for his recklessness.
"Hmph! Gott, don't make me laugh. Who are we? The Empire's noblest. Even without those guys, we three could sweep wyverns aside. How does a coward like that earn 'Beast' as a moniker?"
"......"
Gott didn't push back much, inwardly agreeing with Boer's gripe.
"Right, Marquis? Don't you think so?!"
Emboldened by Gott's reaction, Boer turned to Shoph.
"......"
Halt!
Instead of answering, Shoph stopped dead.
"Why not show yourself already?"
"Pardon? Marquis, what did you...?"
Boer questioned Shoph's sudden words, but the response came from elsewhere.
Shhh!
"Heh heh heh! You're a tad sharper than the two tails. Noticing my presence and all."
The old man appeared like a ghost, utterly devoid of vitality.
Which only amplified his eerie aura.
"Even a hothead like Archbishop Boer wouldn't sweat like that in this cold."
Shing!
Shoph drew his sword calmly.
"I've known about your barrier for a while."
"Ho ho! And you entered anyway?"
The old man's eyes gleamed.
"Naturally."
Shoph now grasped why Crank had detoured.
To avoid clashing with this elder.
"Slay the old coot, and wyverns are right there. No need to detour, right?"
Shoph gripped his sword tightly.
"Heh heh heh heh! Fool. Die realizing your arrogance in touching my creation has shortened your life more than those who turned away."
Shoph grinned fiercely at the worm-like elder's words.
"We'll see about that."