Chapter 399

Episode 399 Expedition (4)

Day 18 after entering the labyrinth.

Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!

A medium-large warship with thirty sailors on board set sail through the current.

For reference, this is a warship supplied by the royal family, and the owner’s mark has been temporarily transferred to me, the expedition leader.

As the crew went to their assigned cabins and packed up, Amelia approached the navigator at the helm.

“excuse me.”

“So… This is Emily Raines. What’s your business?”

“How long will it take to Ice Rock?”

“We’re estimating about 12 days.”

“Is Ice Rock closer than the Dark Continent? The last time I boarded a warship, it took 15 days to reach the Dark Continent.”

“If you calculate the simple distance, it’s similar, but the ship you’re on is different. The type 7 warship we rode is a mid-to-large sized ship, but it has excellent maneuverability.”

“I don’t understand why you talk about great mobility with only three days difference.”

“Because the Far East Coast is different from the normal sea.”

“Hmm, that’s right.”

Amelia, who had recently shown a keen interest in sailing, nodded in agreement.

“You seem to know a lot about warships, right?”

“Haha, I have to know. I’ve been driving warships for half my life.”

The only navigator of our expedition was a member of the 5th team and originally belonged to the royal military.

Well, when you think about it, Kaislan, it makes sense that you arrived last on the 6th floor.

He didn’t speedrun with the navigator.

“Could you tell me a little about the warship?”

“I’m sorry, but information about the warship cannot be leaked.”

“Is that so…”

“…But since they’re on the same boat, it’s going to be difficult for me to stop them from staring at each other from nearby.”

“I will never interfere.”

While Amelia expressed her gratitude by exclamation points for the navigator’s kindness, I went inside the ship.

A room located in the very center of the ship.

“Oh, they’re all together.”

“Because it’s an order from the expedition leader. Didn’t I tell you to gather here after cleaning up the room?”

In a room designed with a top-level meeting in mind, each team leader was waiting for me, and I quickly asked a question.

“Has anyone been to Ice Rock?”

Only Aqlava and James Carla raised their hands.

“Are there any other than the two of you?”

“It’s probably not an area I go to often.”

“We rarely went to Ice Rock except for a few expeditions to gain credit at the clan level in the past.”

Well, it’s not an environment suitable for general hunting.

I don’t know, but even on this ship with talented flying and crawling people, less than half of them would have experienced ice rock.

“Right.”

After nodding my head, I briefly conveyed only the instructions to be given.

“James Carla. You devote yourself to educating the crew while sailing.”

“What about education?”

“I’m talking about formation or something like that. I haven’t been able to do it for a few days in the city. Everyone is an experienced explorer, so no matter how many times you practice on the deck, you’ll follow suit.”

“All right.”

First of all, it is necessary to increase the command dedicated to the expedition leader.

Otherwise, unexpected damage may occur in an unexpected situation. We are not yet properly prepared for flight or retreat.

“Since the destination is Ice Rock, I prioritize things that can be useful there.”

“It’s nice not to have to talk for a long time.”

Okay, he’s from a large clan that’s good at all sorts of formations, so he’ll take care of this.

“Titana Aqurava. You will take care of the supplies as soon as the luggage is finished.”

“What about the authority?”

“From now on, I’ll leave everything to you.”

The management of exploration-related consumables and equipment was entrusted to Aqurava.

If Jun, a religious faction, or Kaislan, an inflexible soldier, takes that position, there will definitely be a backlash.

On the other hand, Aquraba is a legendary explorer who is old and has a lot of time, so he judged that he would be able to calm down even if there were occasional complaints among the crew.

“Meland Kaislan.”

Next up was the knight.

The guy who gulped his saliva and expressed his anticipation, probably because the two had been given a mission earlier.

Even if you just look at him, he seems a little cute…

“You oversee the security within the expedition. If there is a dispute among the members, you will be the first to run to mediate, and in the unlikely event of an accident, you have to resolve it.”

“It means that I will use Kaislan as my right hand. All right. I will do that.”

Uh why does that mean right arm?

Maybe it’s because he’s a soldier, but his way of thinking is different.

“Then I’ll be the last one.”

When even Kaislan was given a role, the paladin Jun smiled and looked at me.

“How can I help you?”

That day, after we met once, he became strangely friendly

. He had doubts, but he did not show it and opened his mouth.

“I heard that explorers often visit priests when they go out on expeditions?”

“Yes, I have heard that. Because the labyrinth is a place where mental fatigue accumulates.”

“Listen to them and open your ears as much as possible. If there is anything I need to know, let me know. That’s your goal.”

“Heterogeneous races won’t seek me.”

Yes, that’s right. S~eaʀᴄh the Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Tritheism is a religion of humans.

But…

“That’s enough.”

The human ratio is over half. Isn’t it an expeditionary force?

Even those humans are spread across each team.

Just looking at their voices will be of great help in understanding the general public opinion. ”

Then, are these the instructions?”

So she cautiously asked if she could ask a question:

“Question? Try it.”

“Why are you handing over authority to us? Aren’t we your limbs?”

I laughed unconsciously at those words.

‘I thought you were talking about something great.’

There was no reason to worry, so I replied briefly,

“Because it’s efficient.”

We’ve already boarded the same boat.

***

After passing through the windless zone and crossing the reef-filled Grand Rock in the Far East, we finally arrived at our destination. The

total sailing time is 12 days and 7 hours.

There was no error with the exact schedule that the navigator said, and this is thanks to the shortest distance traveled without stopping at any island on the way

.

Aside from the specs of passing the windless zone in an instant, it was very impressive to see the boat on the east coast trusting in the durability of the ship and driving it into the reef. The icebreaking

device attached to the front also looks very sturdy

. It’s not a place classified as a special area like the

‘ Ice Sea’, but it’s a ship that smashes floating ice pieces and

advances

.

Whether it’s paper, sheet metal, or cloth, everyone is wearing a thick coat of fur over their equipment.

This is also a supply from the royal family. ‘

I’m a fan who prefers hot to cold…’

Finished the preparations

and…….

“Hold on tight! The ship is now entering the portal!”

The moment the navigator shouted,

”

We have entered the

7th floor Ice Rock.” “The character has entered a special area.”

“Field effect – ice lock is applied.”

“

Cold resistance value decreases

by -100.” .That

‘s the only change that can be felt right away, but those damn effects must have been applied to our bodies.

The thing that made all explorers avoid ice rock.

「The abnormal state [frozen world] is granted.」

「 Space-related items are disabled.”

Abnormal conditions that cause not only subspaces but also expandable backpacks to fail.

This short line drives people crazy.

“Let’s go! Everyone, let’s not stay still, let’s unload the luggage first!”

Akurava, who is in charge of managing supplies, leads the crew and unloads the supply boxes enchanted with the ‘preservation’ magic to land. That’s because from now on, we have to

drag and move them.

No, where is that? ?

_

_

_

_

_ That’s why you need so many supply boxes.

Most explorers don’t treat this place as a ‘hunting ground’, which probably had the biggest impact.

Because you can withstand the cold but not the hunger.

Food is limited, so you can work here. is fixed.

‘For once, one month with our food.’

That is, of course, assuming that no accident occurs

. Please let me know that we are ready to depart.”

Anyway, the crew moved in unison, so they finished unloading all the supplies they had brought from the ship.

Five sleds on the frozen ground and full of boxes on top of them.

“Then let’s go back quickly. ”

After unloading all supplies, just me and the navigator went down to the 6th floor by boat. After changing to a small ferry, the warship is recalled.

“I entered the ice rock on the 7th floor.”

After that, I returned to the previous place by ferry.

It was a bit cumbersome, but it was a necessary process.

You can’t leave the warship there, can you?

“What about this boat?”

Why should I leave it here?

Still, I hid it well in a corner so it wouldn’t float away just in case.

And with that, all preparations for the expedition are over.

“Each team in formation!”

The members move in order and have formations to move in order to see if they have been well educated.

“depart!”

Soon, at the same time as my shout, the first march of the expedition began.

***

The structure of the expeditionary force is simple in a wide flat formation.

As the first team, we are at the forefront.

Teams 3 and 5 are on the left and right.

There are 4 teams in the rear, and 2 teams in charge of supply management follow us in the center.

cooong cooong coo-!

while making such a heavy sound.

“Mister, is that an ice troll?”

Three ice trolls following the march with five sledges full of supply crates.

It is the Summoner’s Ball on Team Aqurava.

Probably, if it wasn’t for that, it would have been a rare scene where people had to pull the sled themselves.

“stop!”

As they marched eastward and were about to leave the entrance to Ice Rock, the first team stopped.

There was no need to ascertain why.

Tod deed deed deed.

A gigantic monstrous creature that rises from the ice that looked like a cliff.

“It’s Stone Winter!”

Grade 3 monster Stonewinter.

There are as many as three gnomes that are classified as super-large.

Whoops-!

Huh, no matter how much ice rock it is.

From where did the 3rd rank just crawl out like this?

“All troops in battle formation!”

Following my cry, the crew moved quickly.

Fortunately, no one froze their bodies with fear.

Well, with this power, it would be easy to get three levels of 3, right?

With that thought in mind, I also commanded the battle, but it didn’t take long for that expectation to be shattered.

“You have defeated Stone Winter. EXP +7”

Even after the first battle, there was only silence like a funeral hall, let alone shouts.

“…… Avoid it.”

I tried to suppress my miserable state of mind and asked the team leaders of each team, and the team leaders looked at me and answered.

“Four lightly injured and three seriously injured. We are treating the seriously injured first.”

It was good that people were injured.

yes it could be

It’s the first place you’ve ever met, isn’t it?

It’s understandable since three levels came out at once.

It’s just a matter of being treated by a priest.

Just…

“And?”

“…One of the sleds was broken in half and the supplies it was carrying were lost.”

This is the biggest problem.

The super-large monster succeeded in entering the place where the supplies were, and unfortunately, the ground that could not withstand the load collapsed and one-fifth of the supplies were blown away.

“What proportion of food was loaded onto the sled?”

“…all food.”

The moment the words I hated the most came out of Aqlava, a curse came out.

“Damn it.”

It was only the first day after entering Ice Rock.

“From now on, I will speed up more.”

The march of hardship has begun.