Chapter 120
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Outsiders and the Great Wolf Tribe (1)
Three days later.
We finished our preparations to leave Foerfront.
We'd bundled up in thick clothes and packed plenty of food.
Everyone was shouldering their packs, stuffed full of rations.
I was no exception.
'At least the familiars make this bearable.'
Gilbert and the six undead knights.
And the golem, Giant.
These guys had bodies that never tired, no matter how long they marched, so they were hauling loads far heavier than anyone else's.
Especially Giant's massive pack—it was roomy enough to fit an adult man inside—and it was crammed full of food, too.
"Let's move out!"
At my shout, the group set off from Foerfront.
Only Randolph and Matilda, the two mages, were there to see us off.
Only a tiny handful of people even knew when we were leaving, so it was just them.
"Heros, take care out there."
That's when Randolph said that and handed me a tightly rolled sheet of parchment.
"What's this...?"
"A letter of introduction from the lord. Looks like he had the Chester Count in mind when he wrote it."
"Please thank Count Dustin for me."
I carefully accepted the letter from Count Dustin.
Then I passed it to Cedric.
He'd keep it safe.
Either way, that made me the guy holding intro letters from both Count Dustin and Count Chester.
No chance of getting turned away at the door in the north or the east now.
Very satisfying.
"It was fun while it lasted. Safe travels!"
After finishing up with Randolph, I glanced to his side.
Matilda stood there, smiling and waving goodbye.
"Thanks for everything, Matilda."
I meant every word.
I had no choice but to.
The rewards I'd scored thanks to her were pretty substantial.
Without her, I never would've gotten the Underground Lady Grimoire, the Strict Earth Grimoire, or the magic tool that replaced Gilbert's broken weapon.
"Thanks for everything, you two."
I gave Randolph and Matilda one last farewell.
Then I turned and walked away.
An hour into our bold mountain hike.
My stamina had already hit rock bottom.
The Savage Mountains.
This place was a nightmare.
No proper paths, and the slopes were so steep that every step choked the breath out of me.
'How are the others holding up?'
I worried about the group and looked around.
Out of the twenty-plus members, only Bear, Conal, Per gal, and my familiars—including Gilbert—looked fine.
The rest were panting hard.
But they seemed better off than me.
I probably had the worst stamina in the bunch.
'At least no fights so far.'
This was the route barbarians took most often to cross into imperial territory.
Meaning we had a high chance of running into them here.
Naturally, weirdos and monsters prowled these passes too.
So I'd been bracing for combat on the climb, but luckily, nothing yet.
'If we can keep this up...'
Per gal said it took half a day to reach the summit.
About six hours.
But this was our first time, and we had to stay alert for surprise enemies.
So it'd take longer.
We might even camp overnight on the mountain.
'No teleport spells or anything? That'd make travel a breeze.'
I let my mind wander with random thoughts.
Distracting myself like that helped me forget the grueling reality, if only for a moment.
But my little escape plan fell apart quick.
Trouble hit.
"Heros-nim, I sense presences ahead."
"Yeah, fewer numbers than us."
Bear and Conal, who'd halted and were staring into the distance.
They reported to me.
You couldn't fool a knight's senses without magic, so their words rang true.
"Gilbert and Giant up front. We'll push straight through."
I chose the direct approach.
Detouring off the path to avoid a fight felt like a bad idea.
We could get lost that way.
Getting stranded scared me more than a scrap.
'Everyone, take point.'
I put Gilbert, the six undead knights, and Giant at the front of the group.
A few minutes later, we ran into the strangers.
'Barbarians?'
I eyed the unfamiliar bunch.
Up front, burly men draped in raw hides gripped swords or hand axes, glaring at us.
Behind them, women and kids—also armed.
They all looked starved, skin and bones, but their eyes burned fierce.
'Three men, two women, two kids. Seven total.'
I finished sizing them up quick.
Right then, the middle-aged man I figured was their leader stepped forward and spoke.
"We don't want to fight."
His accent was rough, but it was definitely imperial tongue.
Communication possible.
"Mind if we talk for a bit?"
Seeing his polite demeanor, I jumped on it and asked to chat.
He seemed reasonable, so I figured I could pry some north intel out of him.
"Hm..."
He grunted at my question.
Scanning our group.
Lingering extra long on Giant.
Worried we'd attack, probably.
So I eased his mind.
"We're not looking to fight either. Just have a few questions."
With that said.
I glanced at his companions and continued.
"You all look starving. How about we share some food and talk it over?"
The moment I said it.
Cedric dropped his pack and started pulling out jerky, dried fruit, and the like.
He got his friends moving to hand it over to the barbarians.
Efficient as always.
Munch munch.
The group took the rations from Cedric.
They eyed us warily but wolfed down the food anyway.
Then the barbarian man, who'd been watching quietly, turned to me and spoke.
"I thank you for your mercy. Ask me anything."
"What's the situation like at the northernmost front right now?"
The Savage Mountains marked the border between barbarian and imperial lands.
So barbarians crossing from the other side should know the far north well.
With luck, I might hear about Eremus's black mages operating there.
I waited expectantly.
But the answer caught me off guard.
"We don't know our homeland's affairs."
"Pardon? Why not?"
"We've stayed in the Uprock Mountains while day turned to night thirty times."
"Uprock Mountains?"
I echoed, and Per gal—who'd been listening quietly—chimed in.
"Another name for this range. Unlike imperials, we call it the Uprock Mountains."
That cleared one thing up.
But I still couldn't wrap my head around the man's words.
Why stay holed up here a whole month?
They could've crossed ages ago.
"Why stay in the mountains so long?"
"Our tribe tried crossing the Uprock Mountains to escape calamity. But our chieftain fell in battle midway. That tied the whole tribe's feet."
"Because you lost your leader?"
"Yes."
The man nodded at my question.
And slowly explained.
"The chieftain's brother and his son. Both claimed the title, locking horns. Time just dragged on like that. Then today, plague-ridden ones attacked, and we slipped away in the chaos."
Per gal, hearing the tale.
He scowled and spoke up.
"Pathetic. Fighting over the chieftain seat, making the tribe suffer? Innocent folks pay the price for those greedy fools."
"Couldn't agree more."
The man nodded at Per gal.
Then turned back to me.
"Anyway, that's why I'm in the dark on homeland news. Ask something else."
What now?
I thought it over but fired off questions anyway.
Thankfully, he answered as best he could.
Problem was, most of it I already knew.
'No new info?'
Plague raging, bad shape. Some tribes allying with outsiders to hit others. Those outsiders command undying armies...
Old news.
Disappointment set in.
Then something juicy slipped from the man—about his tribe.
'The Great Wolf Tribe...'
His group hailed from the Great Wolf Tribe.
Hours ago, attacked by weirdos and monsters. He and his companions fled.
Lots of enemies, so heavy losses.
Tribe might be wiped out.
'Worth a look?'
Their temporary camp was midway up the Savage Mountains.
Two hours from here.
And per the man... seemed like grimoires were there.
'Shaman had several mysterious books.'
The Great Wolf Tribe's shaman.
He told me she owned books with unique covers.
Could be grimoires.
'Plus, he'd seen her do mystical stuff. High chance she's a real mage.'
Not all shamans were mages.
Most were ordinary folk.
Just did seemingly mystic things.
Like divining with beast bones or rambling "prophecies" in a drugged stupor.
But this tribe's shaman moved the earth without lifting a hand.
Earth magic.
So her mysterious books were likely real grimoires.
'Hmm... what to do?'
Possible grimoire haul.
Detour for just a "maybe"?
Tough call.
Bad luck, wasted trip.
Worse, might fight a monster-weirdo mix.
'Still, gotta check it out. Can't pass up a grimoire shot. And knowing me, I'll regret skipping it forever.'
Short deliberation over.
Decision made.
How could the cat walk past the fish shop?
Even if it meant fighting weirdos or monsters at the Great Wolf Tribe's camp, no big deal.
Our firepower could handle it.
So we'd head there.