Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Western Heaven Under Siege
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Clop clop!
Leaving the Lichtenauer Martial Clan behind, the Latent Dragon Squad rode onward along the highway toward the central boundary of the Great Catastrophe, accompanied by Bardek and Glacia.
This was a small courtesy extended by the Lichtenauer Martial Clan to the strike teams heading for the Great Catastrophe's boundary.
Once inside the Great Catastrophe and the mission began, it was a perilously dangerous zone where they couldn't let their guard down for even a moment.
It was meant to let them stockpile as much stamina as possible beforehand.
"Lady Glacia. How long do you think it will take to reach Western Heaven?"
The long silence evidently weighing on her, Sylvia—who had been escorting Bardek and Glacia—finally broke it with a question.
"Well, we'd reach the central boundary in two days at most... but we can't ride horses inside Western Heaven, so it'll take a bit longer. If nothing goes wrong... about three days or so?"
Bardek, bored as well, chimed in on the conversation between Glacia and Sylvia.
"Even so, nothing should happen along the way. The Elf Rangers of Western Heaven patrol those routes regularly. Though, as Glacia says, it's no place spacious enough for carefree horseback travel."
Western Heaven was a key outpost that the kingdom paid close attention to, so naturally, they maintained security there.
Even so, the Great Catastrophe was still the Great Catastrophe. It was best to proceed with as much caution as possible.
"Doesn't living in the Great Catastrophe ever get tough for you?"
Dane asked Bardek.
No matter how thoroughly Western Heaven was managed, it was still a space deep within the Great Catastrophe.
Life there couldn't possibly be as peaceful as in the kingdom's territories.
"Well, it's uncomfortable, sure. Sometimes the monsters' roars at night make my legs go numb."
Smirk!
But contrary to his words about the hardships, Bardek was grinning.
"Even so, we feel alive there. Getting to touch unknown ores first, smelt them before those lazy bums lounging back in the kingdom... that's a perk no blacksmith can pass up."
Bardek, reminiscing fondly for a moment, soon scowled ahead and grumbled.
"Though looking at things now... instead of worrying about dangers on the road, I might die from suffocating in this heavy air."
"Ahaha..."
The Latent Dragon Squad could only laugh awkwardly at Bardek's complaints.
To them, the atmosphere truly felt oppressively thick, making it hard to breathe.
After grueling winter training, this was their first mission in ages.
It was natural to feel tense.
Plus, with Bardek and Glacia's situation, it was obvious they couldn't chat idly like it was a picnic.
Yet the mood was heavier than it needed to be.
The culprit behind it all was Ralph, riding at the front alongside Ian.
No one knew where he'd gone for over a week, and he hadn't said a word about it.
From the squad members' perspective, it was enough to make their insides boil.
At least he'd returned on time for the mission—that was a small mercy.
"...You have no intention of telling us where you went?"
"...No, there's no reason not to. I just... felt too stifled, so I went back to the family for a bit. Sorry for leaving without a word, Captain."
"The family, huh..."
Pfft!
Ian let out a wry smile at Ralph's sheepish apology.
'Looks like I've been too inattentive.'
A guy who hated the direct line of his family more than anyone—how cornered must he have felt to go running back there?
Ian had been the same once.
There were times when frustration and hopelessness drove him to gallop aimlessly across the plains on horseback.
Considering Ralph's current situation... a brief lapse like this was understandable.
For all their talk, Ian's squad members were still just immature teenagers in their teens.
'At least it ended with him just going to the family. Small blessings.'
Vanishing without a word was infuriating, but Ian judged that what Ralph needed now wasn't the whip, but the carrot.
"It's only natural to miss your family when things get tough. What's the big deal? We'll let this one slide."
"...Huh?"
Ralph looked up in surprise at the unexpectedly lenient punishment, but Ian pressed on without pause.
"Why so shocked? We're comrades. Come on, lighten up that face. Look at the guys behind you—they're all holding their breath, watching your every move."
Pat pat!
Ian clapped Ralph on the shoulder and said,
"You're doing great, Ralph. So stop worrying and trust me. Follow my lead. You'll definitely pull through—you're that kind of guy."
With that, Ian turned away.
After vanishing for over a week, there had to be a mountain of questions. Yet Ian asked nothing.
And it wasn't just Ian.
The other squad members kept stealing glances too, clearly worried about him.
...Grip!
Warmed by that flowing camaraderie, Ralph unconsciously tightened his hold on the reins.
The look in his eyes as he gazed at his squadmates—and at Ian—was endlessly complex.
Aside from Ralph's persistently gloomy aura, the journey past the Great Catastrophe boundary proceeded smoothly.
Or more precisely...
Up until just before reaching the highway to Western Heaven.
"Kyaaack!"
Harpies attempted to swoop down onto the well-paved highway.
Boom!
"Kieek!"
The harpies charging in aggressively were struck by Dane's flames and rolled across the ground as roasted sparrows.
"Chit!"
While Dane's magic focused the harpies, goblins tried to climb onto the highway.
Thud, thud!
But they collapsed mere steps away.
Felled by Sylvia's throwing needles and Helena's arrows.
Occasionally, tougher trolls shrugged off such attacks...
Slash! Crunch!
But they couldn't surpass Ryu An's sword or Ralph's halberd, meeting their ends.
"...Whew! What, did they smear honey on this road or something? Why are so many swarming us?"
Drained from unleashing a barrage of spells to take down the harpies, Dane wiped sweat from his brow and whistled in amazement.
Even on a kingdom-managed highway, monsters crawled out in droves like this.
If it was this bad here, how many more infested the areas off the road?
The other squad members felt the same.
The Latent Dragon Squad were veterans who'd been to the Mountain of Fire and Birch Forest—early zones of the Great Catastrophe.
But unlike those beginner areas, Western Heaven lay deep within.
Truly, the Great Catastrophe's infamy was well-earned.
Yet as if to prove their assumptions wrong, Bardek and Glacia's faces were tense and grim.
"...Something's off. There shouldn't be this many monsters."
Glacia bit her nail anxiously.
"What do you mean by that?"
Ryu An cautiously asked, and Bardek answered.
"This highway is normally cleared regularly by the Elf Rangers. Since Western Heaven was built, monsters have never swarmed like this... not even once."
"...!!"
The Latent Dragon Squad's faces hardened.
Even if the Elf Rangers were absent, this was Western Heaven territory—etched into the monsters' memories.
For them to appear in such numbers meant... they were certain.
No more elves from Western Heaven would show up here.
"Everyone... let's hurry a bit. Seems we don't have much time."
Ian urged the squad, who had just finished the skirmish, but no one objected.
To them too, the situation screamed abnormality.
The sturdy fortress walls had crumbled.
Charred traces on the battlements hinted at the clashes here.
Just from the exterior, it was clear something catastrophic had befallen Western Heaven.
But they'd half-expected this much.
They'd heard that Oro Captain Reglurus had led tributary forces to seize Western Heaven by force, so some conflict—big or small—was inevitable.
But this sight was a bit unexpected.
Smack!
"Aaack!"
A lizardman swung a club, sending an elf crashing down with a shrill scream.
"Kerrr! You stubborn pests...! How many times have I told you—tell the truth, and Lord Reglurus will show mercy!"
"I-I really don't know! Why would we pollute the river...!!"
"Kerrrruk! Is that so? Fine then!"
Unsatisfied with the elf's answer, the lizardman raised his club high again—but he never brought it down.
Smack!
"Keeek!"
Ian's kick sent him sprawling.
"Lexia!"
Recognizing the battered elf as an acquaintance, Glacia rushed over to check on her.
"L-Lady Glacia..."
"What in the world is this?!"
Glacia, always so composed, couldn't contain her rage at her kin's suffering.
She screamed at the fallen lizardman, her face flushed red.
"Lord Reglurus promised humane treatment while we went to the Martial Clan! Is this what you lizardmen call humane?!"
The response to Glacia's indignant shout didn't come from the fallen lizardman.
It echoed from afar.
"I consider it plenty humane."
Thud, thud!
Led by a massive lizardman at the front, a formation of lizardmen approached with disciplined steps, moving as one.
Their aura was sharp as tempered steel.
These were undoubtedly the elite of the Tak Tribe.
"Reglurus...!"
Glacia bit her lip at the sight of the lead lizardman, shrouded in dark sheen.
"I thought we'd built a decent relationship. Is this... how little you think of us?!"
Reglurus scratched his ear casually as he replied to her accusation.
"Oh dear. Seems our definitions of 'humane treatment' differ. Look around you."
Bardek and Glacia scanned the surroundings at Reglurus's leisurely demeanor.
"Ugh..."
"Ow, it hurts..."
Everywhere—here and there.
Only bloodied, wounded figures.
How much had they endured while Glacia and Bardek were away? Their appearances were utterly ragged.
"...What exactly am I supposed to see?"
Glacia ground out, but Reglurus answered calmly.
"My, you're too worked up to see clearly. Calm down and look again. Not a single one's dead, right? As a Tak Tribe executive, I pride myself on this mercy."
"You call this—!"
"Rather, I have questions."
Glacia nearly exploded, but Reglurus cut her off.
His cold tone chilled the air around them.
"Glacia, Bardek. You told me you'd return with the Martial Clan's support to prove your innocence. Correct?"
Swish!
Reglurus brought a hand to his brow, feigning a scan of the area.
"Yet strangely... I see no elite strike team. Just six green human whelps, barely weaned. That's all."
"...!"
Glacia and Bardek flushed with shame, speechless, and Reglurus slapped his forehead.
"Haha, of course not! My eyes must be playing tricks. Right? Unless..."
Whoosh!
"The Martial Clan thinks these six human brats can uncover why the Amatres River's tributaries rotted? Does your clan see our Tak Tribe's home and stronghold—this Amatres River—as some joke?"
As Reglurus unleashed the lizardmen's signature fighting spirit, the air froze colder still.
"Let me ask again. Who's truly looking down on whom? What do you take us Tak Tribe for?"
Rumble...!
"Urgh...! Reglurus, hear us out...!"
Bardek struggled to speak under the crushing pressure, but Reglurus intensified it.
He couldn't fathom why they'd bring such novices as "support," but if this was the Martial Clan's intent...
No reason to hold back.
Sacrificing Western Heaven might sour relations with the Martial Clan later.
But if he didn't, his own neck would roll first.
Swish!
Reglurus's eyes gleamed as he ramped up his fighting spirit.
One of the human whelps he'd ignored moved unfazed through it.
"Enough. Lady Glacia and Sir Bardek... have done nothing wrong."
Whoosh!
Not content with that, the boy began pushing back Reglurus's own fighting spirit.
'...Well, well?'