Chapter 127: Lake Fortress
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 127: Lake Fortress
Between the heavy clouds blanketing the dark sky.
A long aurora of green and blue light flowed, dyeing the world in a dreamlike hue.
Gray cliffs pierced the sky, a natural armor and a fortress blessed by nature, blocking the wind and demonic beasts.
At the entrance to the canyon, a single rope bridge stood forlornly. Optimized to repel foreign invaders, this place was Lake Fortress, the home of the Northguard.
“The mere sight of it makes my body stiffen.”
At the narrow canyon entrance, a watchtower was guarded by burly sentries. The strict vigilance I could feel even from across the bridge made it daunting to even think of approaching.
Even the bridge itself seemed to be haphazardly built of wood, making me worry it might break while we were crossing.
Hargran seemed to be thinking the same thing. He glanced down at the distant cliff below and stealthily backed away.
“Hmm~”
Seeing that, my eyes narrowed into slits.
“Don’t get the wrong idea, twig! I’m not scared, it’s just a bad matchup! We dwarves live in the bosom of the earth, so we’re not compatible with high places like this!”
“No one said anything, so why are you talking so fast? As if you’ve been struck a nerve.”
“Look at your own expression in a mirror before you talk!”
At that, Azyeth created a flat sheet of ice and held it up in front of me.
“How handsome.”
“What nonsense. Not even a legendary blacksmith could fix that face of yours. Look at me. A short, stout build. A bushy beard. This is what a real man should look like.”
“Hmm, is that so? When I first saw a dwarf, I thought for sure it was a pile of dragon droppings.”
“You… you rotten, twisted twig!”
As Hargran fumed, I clapped my hands once.
“—is what an elf once said, or so I vaguely recall.”
“Damn it, so it was those knife-ears again! That’s just what their kind is like. Acting all high and mighty to your face, then spouting insults behind your back!”
“Of course. They should learn to speak their minds frankly, like dwarves.”
“You get it, twig!”
While I was humoring him, the sled attempted to get on the bridge. The bridge swayed violently as the frost wolves set foot on it.
I think this thing’s going to collapse.
It was a perilous situation, but thanks to soul synchronization, I felt no particular emotional turmoil. That didn’t mean my anxious thoughts disappeared, however.
Hargran, who had been basking in my bit of flattery, belatedly grasped the situation. He grabbed the sled’s handle with a trembling hand.
“D-do we really have to cross like this? No matter how I think about it, this is insane. We should at least walk across…”
“I don’t mind, but I’m not sure you wouldn’t slip between the planks if you walked.”
“Urgh… Th-then you guys go on ahead. I’ll wait here. If anything happens, come back for me.”
“What kind of dark elf nonsense is that? You were the one who boasted you’d handle the Northguard. Does it make any sense for you not to come?”
“That’s…”
“Now, enough nonsense. Let’s go! We can cross this bridge just fine!”
I picked up a hard snowball from the ground and threw it at the back of a frost wolf’s head.
Uwooooong!
Letting out a howl that sounded neither like a horse nor a wolf, the frost wolf kicked off the ground. It began to cross the bridge with powerful, bounding leaps.
Thud!
Thud!
“Aaaaaaaah!”
“Oh, great Hargran—!”
Just as I expected, the rope bridge swayed violently.
The dwarves, including Hargran, hugged each other and screamed like girls.
“Wow, this is quite the thrill.”
To me, for whom the emotion of fear was faint, it was just a bit of a thrill. Azyeth stared blankly at the screaming dwarves.
KUUUNG!
An ominous crash suddenly rang out.
It was the sound that followed the frost wolves’ powerful stomps. The precarious wooden rope bridge couldn’t withstand the leg strength of the frost wolves.
Crack! With the sound of splintering wood, the bridge lurched violently.
And right after.
Snap.
Snap, snap.
The ropes, frozen by the cold and having lost their elasticity, snapped powerlessly.
The bridge was collapsing.
Like a ship struck by a torpedo in the stern, the sled tilted back sharply and began to fall vertically.
“Kyaaaaaaaah!”
“You crazy Slave Reaper, you son of a biiiiitch! I’ll never forget this, even in death! I’ll become a vengeful earth spirit and drag you down to the bottomless piiiiit!”
“Hahaha! Even if you become a spirit, your arms will be too short to reach me. Besides, I have no intention of dying like this. Azyeth?”
Azyeth stretched her hand forward.
K-k-k-crack.
Ice sprouted from the canyon walls, reaching toward us.
A curving bridge of ice.
Thud!
The bridge, which had barely caught the sled, formed an extremely steep slope to minimize the impact, plunging downward.
K-k-k-crack.
The ice bridge created a new path from moment to moment. The end of the bridge, which had been a steep incline, grew and twisted into a winding road.
Just like a roller coaster track.
The frost wolves galloped fiercely up the ice bridge. As the sled spiraled up the course and reached the top of the cliff…
Thwump!
The frost wolves leaped with all their might, soaring onto the opposite cliff. After a brief moment of feeling as if we were floating in the air, the sled landed roughly on the ground.
Looking back, I could see the other side of the canyon where we had just been, and the chaotic ice track. We had somehow managed to cross.
“Well done, Azyeth. Thanks to you, we were able to cross safely.”
I swept back my windblown hair. Azyeth’s hair also showed clear signs of having been tossed by the wind.
While combing her hair back into place, I looked down at the dwarves who were panting, clinging to the sled’s railing as if it were a lifeline.
“I told you, didn’t I? That we could cross by bridge.”
“Y-y-you…!”
I didn’t say anything wrong.
We definitely crossed by bridge.
Even if a few details were omitted.
“If you were going to do this, you should have just made an ice bridge from the start!”
“Correct.”
I gave Hargran a refreshing smile.
“Then you should have said so earlier. There’s a timing for everything. Finding the right words at the right moment is also a skill, you know.”
“What in the world… what kind of rotten bastard is this…”
“Besides, it’s not all bad. In fact, you could say I did the dwarves a favor.”
Is his mother out? Ah, right, he said he was an orphan. Hargran wore an expression that said as much.
I spread my arms dramatically toward the collapsed bridge.
“Look. The bridge has collapsed, hasn’t it? That means a new one must be built. And who are the best builders in this world?”
“Dwarves, of course.”
“Exactly. You’ll build a much sturdier grand bridge, not some shabby wooden thing like that. Then the northerners will praise you, Lord Hargran. They had to cross that unstable bridge every day, but now they won’t have to.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course it is. This bridge will become a bridge of friendship, connecting the dwarves and the northerners. And if we install a statue of you, Lord Hargran, you’ll be the pioneer of that friendship!”
“Oh!”
Hargran let out a sound of admiration.
“So, you just need to explain it to the northerners as I said. That you broke the bridge for this reason. Tell them not to worry, because you’ll build a much stronger one.”
“Such a thought… Hmph! Don’t get cocky, twig! I was thinking the same thing all along!”
“Of course you were. Shall we go and deliver the good news, then?”
“We shall! It’s time to show off the greatness of this Meister, Hargran!”
“Excellent. It seems they’re coming out to greet you, Lord Hargran.”
The firmly shut door of the watchtower opened, and armed Northguard warriors came running out. Hargran straightened his beard and stepped forward confidently.
The Northguard surrounded us.
“Who are you! How dare you destroy the bridge!”
Hargran slung his hammer over his shoulder for all to see.
“Hey! You frozen folk! I am Hargran, the Berserker’s Hammer, a Meister of Doomheim! Bring me your leader, not some small fry!”
The Northguard warriors exchanged glances.
One of them nodded and brought their superior from the canyon.
A tall figure, easily over two meters.
A stern face with brown skin, shadowed by a fur hood.
He wore armor on his back, waist, thighs, and various other places.
“I am Jorn, tribal chief of Lake Fortress and an Eldergard. A Meister of Doomheim, you say?”
“That’s right!”
“What business do you ore-moles have here? Why did you destroy the bridge?”
“I ordered it! To call that piece of trash a bridge… As a dwarf, I couldn’t stand it. But don’t worry. We dwarves can build something incomparably better than that piece of—”
Ching!
Jorn swiftly drew a pair of tomahawks that were hanging from his waist.
“They’re intruders! Arrest them!”
“Yes, sir!”
“What? Intruders? You insolent fools. I am a prophet who will advance your civilization! Do you think the likes of you can defeat the great Hargran!!!”
Hargran stylishly raised his hammer, and…
K-k-k-crack.
Ice shot up from under his feet, instantly turning Hargran into an ice statue. The Northguard warriors, who were about to charge, flinched.
Jorn, who had feigned a surprised expression, quickly composed himself and glared fiercely at us.
“Are you with them?”
“We’re the victims. This dwarf did everything on his own. We suggested another way that wouldn’t cause any damage, but he went and caused trouble on his own whim…”
“Why should we believe you?”
“If our intention was to harm you, wouldn’t that magic just now have frozen you instead of the dwarf?”
“…”
Jorn kept his head still, his eyes darting between me and Azyeth. For a moment, his pupils dilated when he looked at Azyeth.
“If you keep your blades pointed at us, we’ll have no choice. We’ll have to thaw this dwarf and fight back together.”
“…Understood. However, I cannot lower my guard. We will proceed like this.”
“We can live with that.”
“Hmph.”
Jorn nodded to his men.
They laid the ice statue of Hargran on the sled and led the frost wolves away. They began to move, keeping us and the other dwarves surrounded.
Kyah~ A bloodless entry into Lake Fortress~
This guy, me. My cunning really is on another level, isn’t it?
I feel bad for Hargran, but it’s a small sacrifice for the greater good.
“Azyeth, that was a good combo, but… why are you looking at me like that again?”
Azyeth’s eyes had narrowed ever so slightly. It was the same look my slaves often gave me when they found me pathetic.
A fragment of that look appeared on Azyeth’s face.
“What. This is how a slave trader makes a living.”
“…”
“Honestly, these slaves. I do everything for them, but they don’t appreciate their master’s hard work. They don’t even realize how easy they have it thanks to having a good master.”
They’ll only realize it when I suddenly disappear one day.
Then they’ll regret it, thinking, ‘Ah~ Master, how could you have been so devoted to us~’
Just you wait.
I’ll make it so you can’t live without me.