Chapter 134

Chapter 134

The shapes of the trees revealed through the mist were completely different from those on the other side of the river. The trunks, which should have grown straight, had been twisted and bent in all directions. The bare branches spread wide and drooped toward the ground as if trying to block out all light.

“Of course, we need to be cautious of those too. The creatures here won't be ordinary,” Ian muttered, looking back.

The landscape beyond the river felt oddly distant and faint. His senses were subtly disturbed and misaligned. It was the influence of the pervasive corrupted magic. Ordinary people wouldn’t last more than a few minutes here before they’d be unable to find their way out.

“Could corrupted beings be hiding here?” Mev asked, picking up her helmet.

Ian shook his head. “I don’t sense any magical circuits or spells. It’s just corrupted magic.”

“...Then it must be influenced by the madness of the Black Wall.”

“Probably. From what I can see, it’s beyond just being influenced....” Ian glanced at Charlotte, who was sitting upright.

“...It’s almost like a demonic realm is about to be completed.”

“A... demonic realm...? But for that to happen, this entire area would have to be completely overtaken by madness,” Philip stammered, his eyes wide.

“It’s nearly impossible for a demonic realm to form without someone deliberately creating it before word spreads....”

“It seems madness is spreading that quickly. Have you forgotten that the frontier is currently at war,” Ian replied flatly, looking down at Philip.

“It means that this place is filled with death and madness everywhere.”

“Th, that’s....”

Screech—

Philip's voice faded as a distant screech erupted. It sounded like the scream of a child who hadn't yet gone through puberty. As Philip's shoulders twitched, the scream echoed far and wide. The cries, which had been continuing as if signaling each other, abruptly ceased. An ominous silence followed.

“...Whatever it is, it won’t let us pass peacefully.” Yôur favorite stories at novelhall.com

“Indeed,” Ian nodded.

Philip promptly halted the carriage, and Ian drew his horse closer.

“Take this,” Philip quickly tossed him the reins to secure the horses.

Charlotte, on the other side, did the same, tethering her horse. They quickly formed a makeshift four-horse carriage. Ensuring the horses and carriage were securely connected, Ian looked at Charlotte.

“Guard the horses. If you can’t protect all, at least save two.”

“I’ll try to guard them all if possible.” Charlotte drew her fang sword. She was the only one, aside from Ian, who could fight while maneuvering atop the horses.

“You assist Charlotte in guarding the carriage, Philip,” Mev added as she dismounted, fastening her helmet and watching Ian dismount as well.

“Was that a wraith’s scream?”

“To me, it sounded like a human voice.”

“That’s a relief,” Mev said, lowering her faceguard and heading to the other side of the carriage.

Ian easily caught her implication. Mev could no longer use her divine power against those who weren’t her targets for vengeance. Thus, she was now just a skilled combat knight, helpless against enemies immune to physical attacks.

Those types will all be my responsibility...

As he thought this, the sound of rustling branches spread. No one mistook it for the wind. Something was approaching from the mountainside, a lot of them.

The sound, like the earlier scream, quickly died down. But Ian didn’t miss the reddish glows that began to flicker through the mist.

“Scouting parties....” he murmured, his eyes glimmering with gray magic. He nodded slightly to Charlotte before darting forward without warning.

Woosh.

His figure shot through the forest like an arrow. The stagnant mist swirled as it was displaced by his swift movement, and the glowing eyes drew closer in an instant.

“Screech—?!”

The creature shrieked in surprise. Despite its girlish voice, it was a disgustingly hideous monster. Its skin was a deep green, its eyes were like buttonholes with bloodshot red pupils, its nose looked like a lump of clay, and its long, frothy lips revealed teeth like broken glass.

The creature looked very much like a goblin commonly found in the frontier. However, its stature was much larger, with a grotesquely developed upper body and long arms disproportionate to its short legs. Ian’s brow furrowed slightly as he recalled a similar creature from the game.

These things... could they be...?

Even as he speculated, his body acted with precision.

Crack!

His sword buried itself deep in the goblin’s neck as it raised its arm reflexively. The creature’s blood was a dark crimson, different from that of a typical goblin.

Altar...?

Ian’s brow furrowed slightly as the goblin pointed its sword at him.

***

With a thunderous roar unlike anything before, a shockwave strong enough to ripple the mist erupted from the forest.

“...?!”

Philip, who was locked in combat with a goblin, stabbing it in the side, widened his eyes. The goblin's pained and angry groan abruptly ceased, and the pressure on his shield vanished. Philip looked up at the goblin, who was staring in the direction of the shockwave. Its red eyes were bleeding into a purplish hue.

“Screech!”

With a shriek, the goblin shoved Philip away. Philip’s sword tore through its side as it ran, fluid gushing out.

Tap, tap, tap—

But the goblin didn’t seem to care as it ran off. Philip barely regained his footing.

“What the...?” Philip gasped, looking at the goblins dashing through the mist like ghosts.

“Ian must have... done something,” Philip said as he approached Charlotte, who was standing nearby, drenched in red fluid.

Charlotte nodded without surprise and flicked the blood off her sword. Philip took in the scene around the carriage, littered with goblin corpses. While he had just managed to take down his third goblin, Charlotte had downed more than twice that number. But what caught Philip’s attention wasn’t the number of goblins.

“They look like goblins in skin and face... Could they be mutated by the madness of the Black Wall?”

“Perhaps. I’m not sure,” Charlotte added, spitting out some fluid that had gotten into her mouth.

“They smell like goblins. But the taste of their blood....”

The moment that Philip asked, “What about the taste of the blood?”

Boom—

A bright yellow pillar of fire suddenly erupted through the mist, not far from where the shockwave had originated. The goblins’ screams pierced the air for a moment.

“...?!”

Flames surged like waves, the heat reaching them despite the distance. Philip, watching in a daze, sighed in awe.

"Truly... remarkable...."

It was clearly Ian’s magic.

An obvious thought crossed Philip's mind: if Ian had such talent, why live as a mercenary? Even in an era of declining magic, securing a high position somewhere would be easy for him. Ian was also a skilled swordsman, a rare magic swordsman from tales of old.

Excelling in both fields was extremely difficult. Despite his abilities, Ian chose to live battling monsters in the wilderness. Philip felt a renewed sense of awe for Ian’s choice.

“Ian must have found a way to lure the monsters....” Mev’s voice followed.

Philip turned to see her, covered in blood, approaching the carriage.“My lord, are you injured?”

“No. It’s not my blood, so don’t worry,” Mev replied, lifting her faceguard and looking beyond the fading flames.

The goblins' screams had ceased entirely. The forest hadn’t caught fire, only thick smoke billowing up. The mist quickly filled in again, mixed with the smoke, tinting the surroundings gray.

Philip muttered. “Is it over?”

“I doubt it. Knowing Ian, he’s likely headed to find the monsters' den.”

“Then we should prepare to follow him,” Philip said, looking at Mev and Charlotte.

Mev nodded, but Charlotte hesitated as she began to nod.

“...Ian tasked me with guarding the carriage. I’ll stay here. You two go.”

“If you say so–-”

Mev’s words were cut off by a calm voice.

“A commendable sense of responsibility, but—”

The group simultaneously turned toward the gray mist.

Ian emerged, coughing lightly. "It seems it would be best if we all go together."

“...?”