Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Dragon Mountains Anomaly
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“Raaargh!!”
The guttural roar came from the left, and my right hand moved on instinct.
Slash!
I felt the sensation of flesh tearing under the mana-infused strike of my sword.
Splat! Splat!
Warm, blue blood splattered across my face, leaving a disgusting sensation.
“Ugh, fuck! This is so gross. I can’t even take a bath like this.”
Mercy wrinkled her nose and pulled out a handkerchief. It was already soaked with blood, nowhere near enough to wipe away every drop on her face.
But at least it stopped the blood from dripping down.
Just as Mercy’s vision narrowed while wiping her face...
“Groooar!!”
An ogre burst out from behind the troll she’d just felled.
“Shit...!”
“Miss!!”
Kamit hurriedly began casting a spell, but the ogre was too close to Mercy.
A Wind Cutter could easily endanger her if mistimed.
In a normal situation, Mercy could handle it alone without Kamit’s help, but an attack in her current defenseless state would be quite deadly.
Damn, there goes one arm at least.
Resigned to sacrificing her left arm, Mercy squeezed her eyes shut and raised her shield.
Whoosh-crack!
With a sound ripping through the air, the ogre’s head flew high into the sky.
“Hahaha, little sis. Getting careless in a spot like this? We’re all in deep shit right now.”
Ares spoke from behind Mercy, his body likewise covered in blue blood.
“Tch, unnecessary heroics.”
“Oh come on, sis. You’ve gotta have some conscience. If I hadn’t stepped in, you’d be in trouble. Say something else.”
Mercy raised her sword at Ares, who grinned cheekily.
“Huh? No, that crosses the line. Little... sis?”
Whatever Ares said, Mercy just swung her sword.
Slash!
At the same time, a goblin that had been stealthily aiming a poison needle at Ares from behind was bisected.
“There, debt paid.”
Ares chuckled as Mercy grumbled and moved to help the other soldiers.
“Seriously, she has zero cute charm.”
His playful words lasted only a moment before Ares’s eyes and focus sharpened entirely on the battlefield.
Something’s off. There’s definitely trouble brewing in the mountains.
The initial goblin horde was child’s play.
Even calling the Dragon Mountains a demonic realm beyond human ken only applied once you delved deep into the midsection.
Sure, powerful individuals occasionally wandered down to the lower reaches.
That’s why the Holy Empire stationed one of the three dukes, Kamil, at the western border to handle any contingencies.
Ares and Mercy had brought one of the Six Shields each precisely for such possibilities.
But this overwhelming swarm? It was completely unplanned.
Nothing like this had ever happened before.
“Big bro, looks like we’ve wrapped up here. But we’ve got more casualties than expected, so we should pull back for now.”
Mercy approached, wiping blood and grime from her gladius.
“What do you think?”
“About what?”
“This situation. It’s not normal, right?”
Mercy sheathed her sword as Ares questioned her.
“What else? Shit hit the fan hard. Family records show this usually means one thing.”
Just as I thought. Mercy had reached the same conclusion.
“Some monster—or monsters—in the mountains expanding their territory. Damn thing’s pushing out every freak in its way.”
Spot on.
“Hah! Everything turns to crap whenever Jerome’s involved. That guy must be cursed or something.”
Mercy grumbled, kicking a nearby rock.
“Fucking bastard. Ditching his big bro and sis like that.”
“Again with that mouth! Fix your damn language already!”
“Whatever. So, what’s the plan?”
Mercy picked at her ear as she asked Ares.
With this new variable, were they sticking to the original plan of pushing toward the Beast Forest along the new road?
“What plan? We don’t quit over something this minor if we’re carrying the Carviot name.”
Ares said as he mounted his horse.
“...Hmph! Finally saying something brotherly for once.”
And so, the first expedition to open the road ended having only confirmed the emergence of this variable.
“...And that’s how we ended up here. Oh, by the way, this is the third expedition.”
My brother Ares von Carviot spoke flatly, leaving me speechless.
“Wait, monsters appeared in the Dragon Mountains, right? You knew that—why’d it come to this?”
Third expedition.
I couldn’t believe it.
That meant the second had already failed.
And now, on the third try, we were beat to hell and lying here.
I could accept the first time.
Even brother and sis couldn’t predict tectonic shifts in the mountains’ monster powers and territories.
It was land that rejected human feet to begin with.
But they knew and prepared, and the second still failed?
Prepared by brother and sis, of all people?
Mercy caught the disbelief in my eyes and snapped, furrowing her brow.
“Fuck! Don’t look at me like that, you little shit. Think we didn’t prepare?!”
Mercy groaned, propping herself up from the bed and lifting her shirt.
Her pale skin underneath was marred by a massive, festering gash where none had been before.
“......!!”
“That was a real monster. Forget the expedition—this could turn into a war if we’re not careful!”
“......”
My head spun. What was I seeing? What had I just heard?
“Sis, war? And what’s with that wound?”
“......”
Mercy said nothing, irritably dropping her shirt and flopping back onto the bed.
No more talk. The guests were dismissed.
I glanced at brother, who slowly shook his head.
Not now.
Kamit, having watched it all, spoke up.
“Third Young Master, you must be tired from the journey. Rest first. I’ll show you to your quarters.”
“...Yeah, let’s do that.”
I followed Kamit out, leaving the two behind.
Once outside the tent, I quietly asked as I trailed him.
“What happened?”
“...Care to walk a bit?”
Kamit didn’t answer right away, leading me farther from the tent where Ares and Mercy lay.
Probably out of consideration.
As we walked, I racked my brain over past events.
I’d neglected family affairs, so maybe I’d missed something.
But no matter how I searched my memories, one conclusion.
Nothing like this happened before.
Whatever was going on in the mountains, an incident bad enough to trouble this expedition would’ve reached my ears.
Something was being hidden from me.
How long had we walked?
Kamit stopped and bowed.
“Sorry for the hassle, Third Young Master. The two are quite shaken by this...”
“I get it. Just get to the point.”
Urging him, Kamit gave a wry smile.
“Sigh, where to even start...”
He gathered his thoughts, then began speaking slowly.
After the first expedition’s failure.
Ares and Mercy reorganized the team and formed a new one.
“Hmm, doubling the troops...”
Bacchus tapped the table, eyes closed.
Ares waited silently, offering no excuses.
“Think you can manage with just more numbers?”
The Dragon Mountains anomaly. Could they confirm it and open the road as planned?
“Yes. For now, road-building is secondary. Prioritizing the anomaly investigation.”
“Oh? Weren’t you planning to contact the elves via that road?”
As expected. Father knew everything and had approved anyway.
Even if Jerome’s setup fell through, it was just competition.
“Elf contact matters, but unaddressed anomalies could crumble everything like a sandcastle. This is best for the family.”
Bacchus nodded at Ares’s reasoning.
“Approved. Who’re you taking on the second?”
“Since it’s road and anomaly work, adding knight and mage units to the originals.”
Reasonable, without straining the family’s forces needed against imperial stirrings.
“Granted.”
With Bacchus’s permission, the second expedition began.
“Hmm. Young Master Ares, looks like suppression complete. No more popping out.”
Ares nodded curtly at Hakaren’s report.
“Good work, Sir Hakaren.”
“No need.”
Ares trusted Hakaren’s curt reply, turning his gaze forward.
Surveying the slaughtered monster corpses, he confirmed his judgment was right.
With Volcano Knight Order under Hakaren and Hurricane Mage Unit under Kamit, the expedition progressed far more smoothly.
The mountains still spewed monsters like mad.
Unlike the soldier-heavy first expedition, this one centered on knights and mages.
Much easier handling the riffraff.
“No clear pattern to the monster spawns.”
With more breathing room than the chaotic first, Ares and Mercy analyzed spawn patterns.
“Yeah... Independent entities?”
Mountain power shifts usually fell into two categories.
First: A single ultra-high-tier monster expanding territory.
Rarely affected outer territories much, as it was solitary.
Unless it eyed beyond the mountains, which most didn’t.
Second was trickier: A horde monster gaining power.
When a powerful Lord united them.
Such a unified horde was a massive army threat.
And with mouths to feed, they eyed outside more often.
Ares and Mercy were checking for that on this run.
“Just small fry like the first time. Kamit’s investigating—let’s go.”
Ares’s eyes curved at Mercy’s words.
Good, seemed like the first case. Avoid provoking it, and road-building was fine.
“You’re here, First Young Master.”
Kamit bowed as Ares and Mercy arrived, mid-scene cleanup.
“Sir Kamit, anything unusual?”
“No. Same as first—miscellaneous monsters only. Proceed with road as planned.”
“Let’s see.”
Listening, they inspected corpses.
Ogre, troll, goblin...
Sorted by type.
No imbalances. So, proceed as...Hm?
A strange incongruity nagged at Ares, who’d seen nothing amiss.