Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: 44. Crimson Balrog (2)
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4.
The Cygnus Knights tackled Mystic Gates more often than one might think.
And they failed more often than anyone expected.
The reason was simple.
“Even if it means we all die.”
They didn’t enter Mystic Gates just to hunt monsters—they were carrying out critically important missions.
And in pursuing those missions, the Cygnus Knights never uttered the word “give up.”
That was why failure was always a real possibility.
“So please take good care of us.”
Even knowing this, the Cygnus Knights rarely sought help from outsiders.
The fact that they had hired El Pam meant that, even to them, this was an extraordinarily difficult task.
“We have to succeed this time, no matter what. So could you tell us the location of the Mystic Gate?”
That was why El Pam spoke those words.
“The location?”
The position of this Mystic Gate was top secret.
Not only was the mission of utmost importance, but the Cygnus Knights had already been thwarted several times by spies within their ranks.
The mission to find Mikhail’s disciple was a prime example.
Only a tiny handful knew the Mystic Gate’s location, and El Pam hadn’t been briefed.
“I know you’re not supposed to tell me.”
And under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have been informed.
He just needed to follow Viola’s guidance.
So she had no intention of granting El Pam’s request.
“But this mission can’t afford even the slightest loss of manpower on the way there. That’s why we need to scout the route first and prepare for any potential threats.”
Yet at El Pam’s words, she had no choice but to hesitate.
It was a perfectly reasonable argument.
And above all, she trusted him.
The outsider brought in by Oz, the leader of the Flame Knights, was highly unlikely to be a spy.
As Viola pondered, El Pam added,
“I don’t need the exact position. Just the general area. Knowing the path there is what matters.”
The moment she heard that, Viola stopped hesitating.
“Very well, then. I’ll tell you. But if there’s any interference during this mission, El, I’ll have no choice but to suspect you first.”
With that warning, she pulled a map from her bosom.
“The location of the Mystic Gate we need to conquer this time is…”
5.
“Ice Valley?”
Dibo and the others, having heard the mission details from El Pam, lost all trace of leisure from their expressions.
“No, this has to be insane, right?”
It was understandable.
“Searching for items until we drop dead is one thing, but Ice Valley? That’s White Fang territory!”
Setting aside the mission’s difficulty, Ice Valley—where the Mystic Gate was located—was notorious as one of the most dangerous spots in the Elnas Mountains.
It was like Sleepywood Forest on Victoria Island—a place even adventurers and outlaws of the Elnas Mountains avoided.
Getting there wouldn’t be easy.
“That’s why I made a proposal to Tiger Eye.”
And so El Pam had spoken with Viola.
“Let’s scout the route first, then move out.”
El Pam’s party would serve as the advance scouting team.
Viola accepted the proposal.
“It’ll take more time.”
Time was more precious than gold, but given the circumstances, they couldn’t afford recklessness.
Failure would cost them lives that no amount of gold—or time—could buy back.
“So how much time do you need?”
Of course, they couldn’t spend forever scouting.
There was a deadline.
“Ten days.”
In ten days, El Pam’s party had to map out the route to the target Mystic Gate.
“Ugh.”
The moment they heard that, Dibo and the rest let out sighs in their own ways.
“Whew, what a nightmare.”
The deepest sigh came from none other than Miner.
It was only natural.
“I can’t believe I’m going through this hell just to help Hawk Eye’s disciple.”
Hawk Eye, the leader of the Lightning Knights, had originally been a pirate.
And pirates in the Maple World were bound by the Nautilus’s code.
But Hawk Eye didn’t just ignore it—he defied it outright.
There was no way relations between the Nautilus pirates and the Lightning Knight leader would be anything but poor.
And the real problem didn’t end there.
“If my master saw me like this, she’d put a hole in my skull. Helping the guy who captures our crew?”
Since Captain Kairin took command of the Nautilus, pirate raids had decreased.
Civilian casualties dropped as a result, and after Mystic Gates appeared, they focused on conquering them, effectively ending large-scale pillaging.
But it hadn’t vanished entirely.
With the Nautilus’s massive influence, it inevitably harbored adventurers with shady pasts.
And hunting down and judging such types was one of the Cygnus Knights’ roles.
In that process, the Lightning Knights clashed with the Nautilus more than any other.
Hawk Eye, being a former pirate himself, knew their kind better than anyone—and thus hunted them better than anyone.
It was only natural that he and Captain Kairin didn’t get along.
His disciple wouldn’t fare any better.
“Goldie, don’t be like that. She seems nice. Unlike someone we know.”
“Hey, you picking a fight?”
“Picking a fight? I’m just stating facts.”
Miner and Tiger Eye’s relationship ran even deeper.
“Still, it’s wild. Same golden eyes, totally different vibes.”
Golden Eye Miner and Tiger Eye—both rare beauties with striking golden irises.
Those traits made for perfect fodder for rivalry.
“Ah, honestly, it’s not even a fair comparison. The reputation gap.”
Up until now, Tiger Eye had always come out on top in those comparisons.
Naturally so.
Tiger Eye had reached the 5th Circle three years ago.
At that time, Miner was still a green pirate who hadn’t even hit the 3rd Circle.
“Shut up. From now on, I’m the stronger one.”
But things were different now.
Miner had reached the 5th Circle as well.
“Enough, both of you.”
The banter ended there anyway.
“We don’t have time.”
They were in a crunch—ten days to find a route to Ice Valley.
“We need to move now.”
Ralph was right.
El Pam said,
“We move immediately.”
No one objected.
Nor was there much worry.
They knew it wouldn’t be easy, but El Pam’s companions trusted him.
“Of course, boss. Nothing scares us with you.”
They believed El Pam would see them through.
“Let’s blaze that route in ten days!”
To that faith, El Pam replied,
“Not ten days. Two.”
“Pardon?”
“We reach the destination in two days.”
6.
Elnas Mountains.
Blanketed in endless snowfall, every inch of this place was hellish, to say the least.
But even hell has deeper pits.
The Elnas Mountains were no different.
Even those who eked out a living on that cursed land considered three spots true hell.
Ice Valley, den of Hectors and White Fangs.
The frigid plains where the Snow Mountain Witch appeared.
And finally, the abandoned mine said to seal Zakum, the nightmare of the Maple World.
The abandoned mine was on another level altogether.
No one except the first adventurer to explore the entire Maple World had ever ventured there.
But compared to the mine, Ice Valley and the frigid plains were still adventurers’ graves.
El Pam’s party was heading straight for Ice Valley.
True to its name, the valley was a world of ice.
Sniff sniff!
Teeming with Hectors and White Fangs.
That alone was trouble.
Awooooo!
Hectors and White Fangs were pack monsters.
Which meant battling one pack would draw every Hector and White Fang in the vicinity.
And that wasn’t the only headache.
Crunch crunch!
“Everyone, be careful. The ground is solid ice beneath the snow.”
Adventurers didn’t have the advantage here.
With ice boots like Eisen, walking wasn’t too bad.
But running? That changed everything.
Proper sprinting was impossible.
Jumping? No easy feat either.
Fighting in such conditions? Madness.
“What a godforsaken place. Now I get why no one sets foot here.”
A place where you felt the hellish reputation in your bones.
“We’d be dead without the boss.”
El Pam was the exception, of course.
Since he took the lead, his party hadn’t been ambushed by a single Hector or White Fang.
A miraculous feat.
“Nothing to it.”
To El Pam, it was almost laughable.
Not just because of his superior skills.
“There are no adventurers here.”
“Huh?”
“Hectors and White Fangs form packs under specific circumstances. In other words, they don’t form large packs without cause. They stick to small groups within their territories.”
El Pam knew.
“Ice Valley has no adventurers. No special circumstances arise.”
Ironically, the “hell” adventurers avoided was safer for travel.
“That’s why the Hector and White Fang packs here have boundaries between them. Stick to those boundaries, and you won’t get ambushed.”
That was how El Pam traversed Ice Valley so effortlessly.
“Boss, you’re probably the only one who knows those boundaries.”
El Pam said nothing in response.
‘The Lion King’s knights consider this basic.’
The Lion King’s minions knew those boundaries too.
Which made fighting a Lion King knight in the Elnas Mountains suicidal.
Of course, to modern adventurers, the Lion King was a legend.
He’d holed up in his castle centuries ago.
Only occasional rumors—that someone had sought his castle and crossed blades with him—proved he still lived.
But El Pam was different.
‘The Lion King will interfere.’
He had to account for the Lion King right now.
He didn’t dwell on extremes, like the Lion King appearing before them.
That was a pointless worry.
And they had no time for it.
“Here.”
As El Pam said, on the second day, his party reached the target Mystic Gate.
“Here? There’s nothing here.”
But contrary to his words, all they saw was a snowy plain.
“Same as before.”
“Ah.”
El Pam’s follow-up made it click.
“It’s illusion magic?”
A way to conceal the Mystic Gate.
Exactly.
A few more steps, and the scenery shifted.
A Mystic Gate materialized atop the empty snowfield.
“Huh?”
But the moment they looked at it, everyone froze.
Crimson letters adorned its surface.
“Property of the Lion King?”
Declaring its owner.
“My god.”
Dibo and the others hardened at the sight.
Mystic Gates had no true owners. First to conquer claimed them, and self-proclaimed owners were usually ignored.
But in the Elnas Mountains, the Lion King’s name carried weight.
Conquering this would incur his wrath.
And this wasn’t commonplace.
“No way—is the Lion King still alive?”
Dibo and El Pam’s companions were stunned just that the Lion King was mentioned.
His castle had sealed shut centuries ago!
To adventurers now, he was as mythical as the Six Heroes.
They knew his castle endured.
But such overt activity? Unheard of.
So they could think:
“This ain’t normal.”
Something valuable enough for the Lion King to claim lay within.
‘This is unexpected.’
It differed from El Pam’s knowledge too.
As far as he knew, this Mystic Gate held the Crimson Balrog—no Lion King ties.
Either way, it was no simple matter.
“Bringing the Cygnus Knights here could spark a war later.”
In every sense.
“No. We’re not bringing the Cygnus Knights.”
“Huh?”
To his companions, El Pam said,
“We go in alone, right now.”