Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: 46. Outlaws (3)
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5.
The Frigid Plains were renowned for two things.
One was that it was the coldest place in the Elnas Mountains.
"It's cold on the Frigid Plains because of the Witch of the Snow Mountains."
The other was the Witch of the Snow Mountains herself.
"Isn't the Witch of the Snow Mountains just a legend?"
Yet there were often adventurers who questioned whether she truly existed.
That made sense, since only a scant few claimed to have ever hunted her down, and there hadn't been any in the last thirty years.
"Why wouldn't there be proof?"
From the perspective of some adventurers, skepticism was only natural.
Even so, most believed in the Witch of the Snow Mountains.
Of course they did.
"Every year, ice statues of thousands of adventurers appear on the Frigid Plains. That's her doing."
The Frigid Plains were adorned with countless frozen adventurer statues.
In other words, the frozen adventurer statues were proof of the Witch of the Snow Mountains' existence.
That was why.
"It's certain. This is the Witch of the Snow Mountains' work."
The moment the outlaw parties entered the fourth floor and laid eyes on the frozen adventurers, they were convinced that the boss monster here was the Witch of the Snow Mountains.
And the instant they confirmed it, everyone's faces turned deathly pale.
No outlaw operating in the Elnas Mountains could be unaware of it.
"This is the worst."
What it meant to encounter the Witch of the Snow Mountains.
At least on the Frigid Plains, it wasn't so bad.
That place was vast.
And once you escaped the Frigid Plains, you never had to face the Witch of the Snow Mountains again.
But this was the Mystic Gate. Unlike the Frigid Plains, fleeing wasn't easy here.
"The exit?"
"We'd have to look for it, but it might only appear after we take down the Witch of the Snow Mountains."
Or it might be impossible to escape at all.
At that point, the outlaws' minds grew complicated.
Grumbles arose.
"What do you mean? There's no mention anywhere of the Witch of the Snow Mountains appearing in the Mystic Gate! You sure about this?"
Some outlaws reacted irritably.
That was when Ispa spoke up.
"Quiet down."
In a very low voice.
"I'll kill anyone who makes a racket."
At that warning, the outlaw who had been flapping his mouth shut it.
Ispa's cold gaze made it clear that his words were no mere threat.
And what was Ispa's nickname, after all?
Outlaw Hunter!
He was an outlaw who hunted other outlaws better than anyone—more than anyone, in fact.
Even without that, Ispa was right.
"The Witch of the Snow Mountains commands monsters."
One of her abilities was seduction. It wasn't strong enough to affect adventurers, but monsters were another story.
In short, the monsters here operated like an army under her, hunting down any intruders.
Stirring up noise and encountering monsters didn't mean a simple fight—it meant facing her entire force.
"From now on, even battles need to be handled carefully."
Survival here was difficult in every way.
That was why.
'They're going to abandon us.'
In that moment, Dibo figured that Ispa and the outlaws would ditch them.
And for good reason—the El Pam party was in bad shape right now.
Dibo, Miner, and Kiri were injured; El Pam and Ralph had taken hits too.
All five were out of commission.
Of course, it was all an act, but the performance had the outlaws completely fooled.
As a result, the El Pam party hadn't been of any real help in battles so far.
They were dead weight, plain and simple.
Dead weight that could be ditched at any moment without surprise.
'They kept us around because things were going smoothly until now.'
Even so, the reason the outlaw party had dragged the El Pam party along until now was that the Mystic Gate conquest had progressed very smoothly.
There had been no need to discard the baggage.
But now the situation had changed.
In a place where survival was harder than ever, the first priority was eliminating anything that hindered it.
"Move out for now."
Ispa, who was essentially the leader of the outlaw party, gave the order.
"Look after the wounded."
At those words, Dibo and the rest of El Pam's companions were stunned inwardly.
'Look after the wounded?'
'We're short on supplies already?'
Not only were they baggage, but in this blizzard-swept hell, foraging for food was no easy task.
And after coming all the way to the fourth floor, they'd already used up a good chunk of their rations. Dragging along the wounded made no sense.
It would have been wiser to off the wounded and loot their items and food.
'But they're outlaws?'
Above all, these weren't the Cygnus Knights, who risked their lives for justice. These were criminals who had fled to the Elnas Mountains, outlaws who would kill any number of adventurers for mesos.
But those words weren't a lie.
"Take a rest here for now."
Even after finding a suitable spot to rest, Ispa's outlaw party accommodated the wounded.
"Divide the rations fairly."
They even shared their food with them willingly.
"Those who are less beat up, take watch so the wounded can rest more."
Overly considerate, even.
It was genuine.
Moreover, this wasn't the first time Ispa had acted this way.
He had looked after the wounded before. It was just that the smooth Mystic Gate progress had made such meticulous care unnecessary.
It was hard to understand in every way.
Of course, there was one exception.
'Just as I expected.'
El Pam smirked inwardly at Ispa and the outlaws' behavior.
But only El Pam understood.
"Boss."
A bit more time passed—about half a day since entering the fourth floor—when Dibo finally spoke cautiously.
"This is getting tricky."
"Tricky?"
"I don't think I can kill that Ispa guy."
Kiri nodded at Dibo's words.
"Same here. I can't bring myself to kill someone that decent."
"Agreed."
Miner chimed in as well.
"The pirates of our Nautilus don't kill those who help others. Even if a gun's to our throats."
Her mentor, Captain Kairin, had never taught her to kill good people.
In truth, it wasn't something that needed teaching.
It was common sense for any adventurer—justice, plain and simple.
"I can kill him. There's five million mesos on the Outlaw Hunter's head."
Ralph was the exception, of course.
"As bitter as that is."
That was it.
The other three—excluding Ralph—felt such strong aversion to hunting Ispa and the outlaws that they voiced disagreement despite being ready to follow El Pam's orders unconditionally. Ispa's consideration had earned their gratitude to that extent.
"Got it."
El Pam gave a curt reply to his companions' opinions.
That was all.
He said nothing more.
Because he knew.
'Perfect timing.'
There was no need to explain.
'And they're coming.'
They'd find out soon enough.
Awooooo!
A howl echoed in that instant.
"A Hector pack is coming!"
The source of the howl was Hectors.
"Over a thousand of them!"
6.
Whiiiiiing!
The relentless blizzard whipped on.
Awooo!
The moment they spotted the pack of over a thousand Hectors charging through the blizzard, Ispa and all the outlaws thought the same thing.
'Can't handle this quietly.'
Until now, when facing monsters, the outlaws had either slipped away silently or overwhelmed them with firepower to eliminate them quickly.
But against a pack of over a thousand Hectors, those tactics wouldn't work.
And it wasn't just a thousand—it was clearly more.
Given the blizzard obscuring their view, the actual number could be far beyond what they imagined.
Above all, Hectors were wolves, with noses sharper than most.
Once they fought and a Hector caught the scent of outlaw blood, escaping the pack became practically impossible.
'Battle it is.'
Naturally, Dibo and El Pam's companions assumed a fierce fight here and were ready to do their part.
That was the plan.
"Run!"
'What?'
But Ispa's order in that moment was to flee.
'What?'
Everyone, including Dibo, was shocked by the command.
'Fleeing's impossible here, though?'
No matter how they sliced it, properly escaping that Hector pack was out of the question.
'And the wounded?'
Especially with the injured—it was even more impossible to outrun the pack.
It basically meant abandoning the wounded!
'No way?'
In that instant, Dibo realized something and looked to El Pam, who said to him:
"No need to repeat myself. I chose them."
Only then did everyone understand.
El Pam would never have chosen decent outlaws.
Of course, El Pam had known from the start.
There were no good outlaws in the Maple World.
"You wouldn't know, so let me explain."
Furthermore, what Ispa and the outlaws had shown toward the wounded wasn't consideration.
"In the outlaw world, it's hard to hire bait slaves on the spot. You never know when trouble might hit. So usually, anyone too injured to fight becomes the bait slave."
It was just care to keep the bait alive and bait-like for dangerous moments.
That was all.
Far from any act of kindness.
"Believe me—I used to be bait slave myself."
El Pam had experienced it countless times.
And now his companions knew too.
"They left us behind."
Ispa's party had cut loose the El Pam party first as bait.
"Guess we looked like the easiest mark."
In other words, from the first floor onward, Ispa and the outlaws had planned to use the El Pam party as bait.
All their hospitality and goodwill had been efforts to keep the bait alive.
"They grabbed the other wounded and bailed."
Now the El Pam party was left alone.
Awooo!
The Hector pack's howls grew rapidly closer toward them.
Grrrrr!
Soon, it wasn't howls but the sound of Hectors—the starving beasts with prey in sight.
That was the moment.
"Fire Arrow."
With El Pam's low murmur, sounds began echoing through the blizzard.
Pffft!
The sound of El Pam's Fire Arrow mercilessly piercing a Hector's skull.
From that signal, his companions sprang into action.
Dibo, Kiri, Miner, and Ralph.
They dropped the injured act and revealed their true selves.
"Slash Blaster!"
"Solar Slash!"
"Magnum Shot!"
Dibo's polearm, Kiri's sword, Miner's gun unleashed merciless barrages on the Hector pack.
Bam!
And Ralph's fist shattered a Hector's skull.
It happened in an instant.
Yelp!
The howls filling the blizzard—the fierce beast roars—turned in a flash to the whimpers of terrified dogs.
Even that didn't last.
Soon, not even Hector cries could be heard.
Whiiiiiing!
Only the unceasing roar of the blizzard remained.
"There were two options. Conquer the Mystic Gate smoothly and see how things played out."
El Pam's voice rang out in the cold silence.
"But with the Witch of the Snow Mountains appearing, smooth conquering is impossible."
A voice colder than the blizzard.
"That leaves one option."
With those words, El Pam declared:
"Time to start hunting outlaws."
No one uttered any more protests.