Chapter 152 : Underground Waterway
Before I knew it, the 4th Special Task Force mbers, excluding Edric, ended up accompanying on this journey.
For a mont, I wondered if it was really okay for things to turn out like this right before sothing so important, but since Edric had given permission, there was nothing in particular I could say.
In the end, it was true that having even one more ally raised the survival rate compared to going alone.
“Hey, by the way, where were we going again?”
“……You said you’d follow along without even knowing that?”
“So what.”
Conlan laughed heartily.
“We’re going to Biarritz.”
We would go to Biarritz, et Guar, the lord there, and then ask Guar to arrange a eting with the Supre King.
I didn’t know whether Guar would accept that request or not, but for now, it was the fastest way to et the Supre King.
“……What? Biarritz is territory on the Eastern Union side, right? How are we supposed to get there in a situation like this?”
“If you don’t like it, you can drop out.”
“W-who said anything about dropping out? I was just wondering how we’d get there.”
Albino, who had been quietly listening beside us, opened his mouth.
“That aside, why are we going to Biarritz? What does that have to do with this war?”
“There’s soone I need to et there.”
“Really? It’s surprising you know soone in such a distant place. Well, it does suit you, though.”
“It’s Squad Leader, not ‘you bastard.’”
“……Hmph. That’s not even funny.”
Conlan spoke again.
“So how are you planning to go? You’re not thinking of crossing the Eastern Mountains, are you?”
Biarritz was a coastal city located in the southeastern part of the Eastern kingdoms, a hub of trade between foreign lands across the sea and the Eastern Union.
In other words, to head to Biarritz, it was inevitable that we would have to pass through the Mülhen Granary Zone and then go through the military city of Hanover.
‘Crossing the Eastern Mountains is an option, but it’s not a good one.’
The Eastern Mountains were the territory of the orcs.
The orcs were extrely sensitive about their territory, and the Eastern Mountains weren’t lenient enough to cross while avoiding their eyes.
Because of that, passing through enemy territory like Hanover was a hundred tis easier and simpler than crossing the Eastern Mountains.
“We’ll go through Hanover.”
“……Well, it’s a relief you’re not saying sothing insane like crossing the Eastern Mountains, but you do know that in the current situation, that’s still a pretty insane idea, right?”
“Is there any other way?”
“Well…… no. Yeah. That’s why it’s so irritating.”
Conlan nodded to himself.
It seed even he couldn’t co up with a better alternative.
Albino then spoke.
“Going through Hanover won’t be easy either. Do you have a plan?”
“There’s a cave connected to Hanover’s underground waterway. We’ll use that.”
It was originally a secret passage used when invading Bernhard from Hanover or sending spies, but there was no need to ntion that much.
“Oh…… You even know about sothing like that.”
“It’s nothing special.”
“You really do know everything. If soone heard this, they’d think you were a spy for the Eastern Union.”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“I’m just saying.”
After the barrage of questions from Conlan and Albino ended.
“Then let’s depart right away.”
There was no reason to delay, so we decided to leave Bernhard imdiately.
The war was close at hand.
If we wasted ti and got swept up in the war, it would be a serious problem.
“Let’s go.”
***
We traveled on foot.
If we moved on horseback, it would be hard to move stealthily in an ergency, so for the sake of stealth, we chose to go on foot.
For the 4th Special Task Force, walking on our own two legs was extrely familiar, but lately we had been moving by horse more often, so complaints naturally started to surface.
The golden land, the Mülhen Granary Zone, spread out vast before our eyes.
Although parts of it had been damaged by the fires not long ago, that was a separate matter.
When viewed from atop the walls, it was a breathtaking sight, but now that we actually had to walk across the vast plains, it felt a bit tiring.
“……Walking all the way to Hanover won’t be easy.”
Conlan shook his head.
We had already experienced the vastness of the Mülhen Granary Zone long ago.
Back then, we had walked back in silence for an absurdly long ti…….
“Stop whining, big guy.”
“Who are you calling a whiner?”
“If not you, then who?”
“Oh really, it’s been a while since you got hit, hasn’t it?”
“Hit? Who? ? Hahaha!”
As always, Conlan and Albino bickered.
In a way, it felt like it had been a long ti since I’d seen a scene like this.
Alicia, who had drawn close at so point, spoke to .
“Vell.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you really okay? Your burns look pretty severe…….”
Alicia hadn’t said anything about my burns until now, but they clearly seed to be bothering her.
“I’m fine. If I leave them alone for a bit, they’ll heal. They’ve already recovered quite a lot.”
“How did this even happen…….”
“There were circumstances.”
“Circumstances you can’t tell again?”
“Well, it’s not that. I fought with a spy from the Eastern Union.”
Alicia looked montarily surprised, as if she hadn’t expected to answer so plainly, then nodded.
“……I see.”
Her face looked slightly flushed.
“What kind of person is the one we’re going to et now?”
I hesitated for a mont, but since she’d find out naturally once we reached Biarritz, I answered honestly.
“He’s the one in charge of Biarritz as its lord.”
“A, a lord?”
“Yes.”
Alicia couldn’t hide her shock.
That reaction was understandable.
The lord of Biarritz was a great noble with considerable influence even within the Eastern Union.
Since the Eastern Union itself was ford by the unification of nurous large and small military powers and kingdoms, that ant he was a force with significant sway even within it.
‘If it’s the Guar I know, he probably doesn’t care much about that, though.’
Guar took interest in managing his territory and in diplomacy directly related to it, but he wasn’t very active in politics.
That didn’t seem to have changed much even now, judging by how few posts on the Anonymous Bulletin Board ntioned Guar at all.
It was proof that Guar was still focused solely on matters within his territory.
“How did you co to know the lord of Biarritz?”
“We had a connection in the past.”
“……I see. As expected, a mage of your caliber would have ties even to such a great noble.”
If I corrected that misunderstanding, things would probably get more complicated, so I didn’t bother.
‘First, I’ll have to let Guar know that I’m Cain.’
With Luna, she herself had been searching for , so persuasion wasn’t too difficult, but how would it be with Guar?
‘I’ll only know once I face him directly.’
The Guar I rembered was soone with an unusually peaceful disposition for a World of Justice Online user.
In the first place, not many players liked playing at being a lord, because unlike typical gas, World of Justice had extrely detailed territory managent, which ant an overwhelming amount of work.
Of course, the benefits were just as clear, so there were players who handled territory managent alone like professional managers, but they weren’t very nurous.
Well, setting that aside…….
In any case, given Guar’s personality of caring deeply about his territory, he would likely look unfavorably on this war.
So he wouldn’t be able to refuse my proposal, which might stop this war.
Probably.
“How much longer?”
“At this pace, about three more days.”
“……This is driving insane.”
Our group’s movent speed was quite fast.
Since I was pushing the schedule hard at the front, the other Special Task Force mbers had no choice but to match my pace.
Even so, no one complained or fell behind.
The 4th Special Task Force was steadily growing stronger as well.
It was just that I had been growing at such an outstanding rate that I hadn’t noticed it until now.
“eting the lord of Biarritz at a ti like this ans there’s a reason. What is it?”
“I can’t say yet. I’m not completely sure myself.”
“Ah…… I see.”
“What’s certain is that if things go well, we might be able to stop this war.”
“I really hope so.”
Alicia smiled faintly.
There was sothing about that smile that put people at ease, and for a brief mont, I was able to relax.
***
Three days had already passed since we left Bernhard.
To maximize stealth, we didn’t light fires even when camping, and we continued approaching Hanover.
“This is it.”
On the day three and a half days in, we finally arrived at the cave connected to Hanover’s underground waterway.
“There’s a cave in a place like this…… If you didn’t know beforehand, you’d never find it.”
“Knowing this kind of thing makes you suspicious, though.”
“Enough pointless talk. From inside the cave onward, don’t make noise unless absolutely necessary. The fact that it connects to the underground waterway ans our intrusion could be detected outside.”
“Hmph, obviously.”
“Got it.”
“Understood.”
“Then let’s go.”
We began entering the cave in earnest.
Since this cave’s original purpose was to serve as a secret passage connecting Hanover to the outside, the path was reasonably maintained, even if it wasn’t exactly clean.
Of course, the internal routes were tangled like a maze, but for , who already knew the way, it wasn’t difficult.
Perhaps because they were surprised that I already knew the path, Conlan, Albino, and Alicia all looked at with wide eyes.
The way they followed instructions and kept quiet was almost cute.
And then…….
At last, we reached Hanover’s underground waterway.
***
Hanover’s sewage and drainage system was known as a facility so well built that even the Empire praised it.
Because of that, Hanover’s underground waterway was also famous for its imnse scale, to the point where there were even rumors that you could reach anywhere in Hanover through it.
In any case, because the underground waterway was so vast, vagrants and criminals naturally gathered there, and they eventually ford a massive force of their own.
‘That works in our favor.’
The fact that people gathered in the underground waterway ant that we, who had infiltrated through it, could blend in with them and naturally enter Hanover.
In practice, it was quite easy to push into the deeper sections of the underground waterway.
The vagrants and criminals did notice us, but they didn’t show much interest.
It was probably because Conlan’s intimidating build and the atmosphere we gave off made us look capable.
As I was walking through Hanover’s underground waterway like that, I suddenly felt a strange sense of dissonance and stopped.
“What is it?”
“Vell?”
At first, I thought it was just my imagination.
But as we reached the deeper sections of the underground waterway, I beca certain.
‘This isn’t just in my head.’
That odd dissonance I’d felt from the mont we entered Hanover’s underground waterway.
I kept thinking, trying to recall what that dissonance was, but it didn’t co easily.
And only now did I understand.
What that dissonance ant.
‘A magic circle.’
Hanover’s underground waterway spread across the entire city like a spider’s web.
Feeling the dissonance of a magic circle from the middle of such a place—what did that imply?
‘……Supre King.’
At that mont, the vague outline of the Supre King finally began to co into focus.
The Supre King had no intention of winning this war at all.
From the very beginning, Hanover itself had been nothing more than an offering for him to perform his magic.
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