CH 154

Chapter 154 – Departure to Lafan

The borrowed horse was hitched to the sleigh, and that was the end of the preparations for departure.

Calmon was in the coachman’s seat. His daughter and wife sat on the back of the cart to watch over the luggage.

Myrril rode on the snow-wolf Moff, and the Battlecry and I rode on the other horse-drawn sled.

This horse-drawn sleigh is apparently a common one used for transportation between cities. When renting a horse-drawn sleigh, we pay a rental fee and a deposit, and if neither the horse nor the sleigh is damaged or injured at the destination, we receive the deposit back. It is a system unique to the Republic, a kind of rental car system.

The Battlecry was happy to be able to use the money they had taken from the hideout.

“Eh, so what was your plan then?”

“Well, we were going to run after Calmon’s horse-drawn sleigh.”

“…How far is Lafan?”

“I don’t know. McCain, was that about 100 miles?”

“No, it’s more like 120.”

These guys are idiots. There is no way they can run 200 kilometers on a snow-covered road with no snow plows. That’s crazy. And there’s no way they can keep up with a horse-drawn sleigh.

“We’ve done it before.”

“You did?”

The two vanguards of the Battlecry, Tig, the tiger-beastman, and McCain, the giant shield-wielding man, are somehow (from a character standpoint) understandably able to go. The martial artist Louis is also a muscle-brain, so she might be able to go. No, she definitely can go. But Eino, the half-elf mage, is a slender woman, and I can’t imagine her running 200 km.

“I kind of know what you imagine, though. Eino is the fastest in the snow.”

The man who approached me was Colon, a half-dwarf whose name I finally learned when he introduced himself.

He is a small man, 21 years old. He is thinner and shorter than Myrril. He is a taciturn man with a craftsman’s spirit who is relied upon in the Battlecry for unlocking locks and disarming traps.

He has a row of throwing knives lined up on his chest, and his skills and other characteristics give him the image of being a thief. By the way, he is not only small in stature but also quite handsome, with a baby face.

“Was that done by magic?”

“Yes. All of us can strengthen our bodies, but Eino can also use spirit magic to control wind and water. Snow is the very essence of wind and water.”

“Heh… that’s quite a feat.”

Colon, who is agile and light in weight, is next, followed by Louis and Tig, who follow with brute force, and McCain, who is buried so deep that his movements are restricted, and even has a shield that he can barely keep up with the rest of the team.

Still, from my point of view, just being able to travel 200km while following a horse-drawn sleigh is not a human feat.

People in this world have too high parameters.

Before leaving, I told the landlady that we would be away for a few days and asked her to leave the room as it was. For an extra charge, I had a large amount of food prepared, which I put in storage. I also have some portable meals, preserved foods, and snacks, so I should be able to cope with any emergencies for a while.

“Let’s go then.”

“”””Oh!””””

The sleigh with the members of the Battlecry team leads the way, followed by the sleigh of Calmon and the others. The following sleigh was escorted by Mir-neesan, who was riding on Moff. This way, regardless of what happened up ahead, we did not have to worry about what was behind us.

When we passed through the east gate of Sarz, Ivan-san was among those who saw us off. I bade him farewell as he looked thoughtful and left the city walls.

Well, let’s try to cause as little commotion as possible.

The sky was clear, and there was no wind or snowfall, but we could see thick clouds hanging in the sky ahead of us, so we knew it was going to be rough. Everyone, including Calmon’s wife and daughter, seemed to have experience camping out in the frigid cold, but this was my first time.

We had all the gear we needed, but stormy weather was not a situation I was happy about.

Tig, who had taken up a position on the coachman’s seat, looked back at me and laughed as I pondered the situation in the back of the cart.

“What’s the matter, Takifu? Are you feeling depressed about splitting up with Mir?”

“I’m not. I just thought it was going to be rough.”

“Of course, it’s going to be rough. Right, McCain?”

“Yeah, I think so. Just continue a little ahead of us. The first challenge is the descent beyond the forest. That’s where the view from Sarz will be cut off. From their perspective, it’s the perfect place to attack.”

Their. I mean the raiders of the bandit’s guild.

The quiet giant man takes a large shield from the back of the cart and holds it up on the coachman’s seat. I, too, have my AKM out, ready for the attack. There was a momentary glance of suspicion from all of them, but I’ll explain later. They looked at me as if they had given up when they saw that I had gone through with it.

“We may need to use healing magic. Eino-san, could you please conserve your magic power? I’ll take care of the attack.”

I stopped Eino-san, who was about to hold up her magic staff next to me and asked her to lie down under the shielding of the cargo bed, which was hastily constructed from scraps of building material. Louis and Colon, who have no long-range means of attack, too.

Or perhaps McCain and Tig are also melee-only. Will the Battlecry be okay?

Eventually, we descend from the edge of the flat road in a gradual arc. The slope seems to be higher than expected, and the horse neighs as it stomps on its feet. The sleigh slows down with the brake, and we move slowly down the slope.

McCain, who had been keeping a watchful eye on things, quietly announces that we are about to meet the enemy.

“Behind a large overhanging tree on the left, three bowmen and two swordsmen.”

“Copy that. Everyone, cover your ears.”

The distance was less than a hundred meters, but it seemed that they were waiting for us, and their bows were already drawn. When I fired the AKM continuously with a single shot, the bowman was hit in the torso, rolling one after the other, and the arrows flew away in the wrong direction. I finished the elimination of the threat by finishing off the sword-bearer who was standing with a stick. I only used about ten rounds, but I had to replace the magazine just in case.

“A-aaah, my ear!”

“I told you. McCain, any other… No, it’s okay. I can see them already.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw six cavalrymen in heavy armor under black cloaks coming toward us.

Two with long spears and four with magic staves. A magic light, like a magic circle, was twinkling in front of their armor.

They seemed to be mage troops whose compatibility with guns was not so good.