Chapter 159 : Altar of the Sea (1)
The ground went beyond being muddy and our feet began to sink deep into it.
A swamp.
We had entered the territory of the Lizardfolk, a natural fortress difficult for other living creatures to approach.
“Ugh… it's so hard to move.”
Keldric shook his head, repulsed.
Indeed, with every step we took, our feet sank deep into the mud, and our travel speed dropped significantly.
Everchen was also having difficulty moving, but he was constantly scanning the surroundings, analyzing the terrain.
His movent speed was noticeably slower as he tried to find places where his feet would sink less.
“It certainly would be difficult to target the Lizardfolk from the outside.”
“I agree. A swamp in front and the sea behind. It seems the Lizardfolk weren't able to accumulate so much power for no reason.”
I nodded in agreent with Everchen's opinion.
The Lizardfolk were known to be strong and nurous, but no one knew their true scale.
The fact that the Lizardfolk's territory was a natural fortress was likely another reason why they were shrouded in mystery.
But his gaze towards was sohow different from usual.
“What is it?”
“……”
Everchen kept his mouth shut and looked at with narrowed eyes.
The answer ca from a different direction.
“Hey, you cheat! Do you think you can say that while you're just flapping your wings?”
“What can I do if I have wings? We don't necessarily have to roll in the mud together, you know.”
While the two of them were walking with difficulty, I was flying slowly with the [Wings of Ainsitel] spread out.
If they had a problem, they should have gotten themselves a pair of wings.
“Bea is the sa! Didn't she run away because she knew it would be a pain in the ass to co here?”
“Hey, what do you an, run away? Lady Bea said she would co right after she finished her business in Kipaso.”
Currently, Bea was away to stop by Kipaso.
She left word that she would check on the situation of the Elves and Fairies there and return with Nihel.
There was now only about a year left until the Do opened.
Bea said she would no longer leave Nihel only in Kipaso.
It was a judgnt that since she would no longer be working in secret as before, being with the giant Nihel would not be a problem.
“Bea said she's coming back riding Nihel! Then just and Everchen……”
“You won't be calling Nihel a ride when you see it.”
“Why?”
“It’s frightening. It could swallow you whole in one bite, brother.”
“……”
While Keldric was imagining the giant wolf, Nihel, Everchen, who was leading the way, raised his hand to give a signal.
‘Halt.’
We shut our mouths and stopped.
I folded my wings and landed on the ground for a mont.
Three figures moved in the distance.
Looking closely, they were Lizardfolk.
Beings reaching 2 ters in height with large builds were walking through the swamp without making a sound.
‘Looks like their feet don't even sink in the swamp……. As expected of the Lizardfolk.’
I adjusted the form of Termination, which was always active.
The range of Termination was no longer limited to a circle around .
I extended Termination long and thin, stretching it towards the three Lizardfolk warriors wandering ahead.
– Three humans. Spotted.
– Fight?
– No, report first. Let's go back.
We were quite far away, but just as we had noticed them, it seed they had also pinpointed our location.
And the Lizardfolk passed through the swamp as silently as they had appeared.
“……Let's start moving again. And please rember. We……”
“We know. Will never kill a Lizard.”
“Right. It'll be tough, but let's do it.”
When we were heading to the Elf territory from Kipaso, we also moved by only subduing the elves who attacked Bea and , without killing them.
I knew from experience.
It would not be easy.
Moreover, the terrain here was also disadvantageous to us.
We moved with even quieter steps.
Our movent speed slowed down more than before, but it couldn't be helped.
I, too, folded the [Wings of Ainsitel] and trudged through the mud to avoid standing out too much.
In the anti, Lizard warriors checked our position several tis and returned.
The only fortunate thing was that they only confird our location and did not attack.
Nevertheless, the deeper we went, the greater the tension grew.
‘I feel like sothing is about to happen…….’
Just as we were advancing for a while longer, I felt the movent of five people within Termination's range.
“Above us!”
I alerted my companions and drew Maron.
Fwip-fwip-fwip!
Soon after, five people in black attire jumped down in front of us.
I stopped Everchen, who was about to attack imdiately.
It was because they were familiar faces.
“Sir Pinnon.”
“It has been a while, Sir Polarin.”
Pinnon, dressed in the attire of the Black Veil, and four others who also appeared to be mbers of the Black Veil, had jumped down from the air, or to be precise, from the trees.
They were wearing shoes that were large and flat on the bottom, like flippers.
Perhaps because of that, their feet did not sink deep into the swamp.
The one who participated as a Bigfoot on the way to the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, Pinnon.
At that ti, Pinnon seed like an imnsely huge mountain.
If I had fought him head-on, I could never have won.
But at that ti, Pinnon was very hesitant to attack , and with the help of the Branch of the World Tree, I was barely able to defeat him.
‘But now… the situation has changed a lot.’
Pinnon had trained a single Tune to the extre, but now I possessed a power that could not be defeated by that alone.
I was stronger than Pinnon.
As if Pinnon also recognized this, he smiled faintly as he looked at .
“You've beco much stronger.”
“I've worked hard.”
“What brings you to this faraway place?”
“I ca to work even harder. Before that, could I et Lady Soler first?”
Pinnon treated amicably, but the Black Veil mbers behind them were not the sa.
They were watching us with wary eyes.
It looked as if they might draw their swords at any mont.
The situation was disadvantageous to us.
They seed accustod to the swamp, while our feet were stuck in the sticky bog.
But I calmly waited for Pinnon's answer.
At Pinnon's signal, one of his subordinates sent a radio ssage sowhere.
Not long after, a reply ca back, and Pinnon spoke to respectfully.
“Lady Soler wishes to see you as well. Let's go together. It will be more comfortable to move through the trees.”
“Let’s do that.”
Pinnon climbed onto a tree first, as if to demonstrate.
He looked at and asked.
“Do you rember what I said when we first t?”
“Hmm, that you said I would beco a hero?”
“Haha, so you rember. That day suddenly cos to mind vividly.”
“So, in your opinion, Sir Pinnon, do you still think I will beco a hero?”
Pinnon smiled brightly and extended his hand.
“I believe Lady Soler will answer that for you. Please take my hand and co up.”
I took Pinnon's hand and climbed up the tree.
As I escaped the sticky mud of the swamp, I felt a refreshing breeze.
***
The Black Veil took the lead, leaping from tree to tree, and my companions and I followed behind them.
The deeper we went, the more Lizardfolk looked at us with nacing weapons in hand.
But the Black Veil seed to be on friendly terms with the Lizards, even greeting them as they passed.
‘It wouldn't have been easy to just break through.’
If it weren't for Soler and the Black Veil, it would have been very difficult to enter the Lizardfolk territory.
“This way, please.”
After telling to talk to Soler, Pinnon no longer engaged in small talk with .
Tap- tap- tap-.
Only the sound of Pinnon's staff hitting the ground echoed as everyone trudged forward without a word.
A tense atmosphere flowed for so reason.
It seed to be because of the rumor that Soler had beco extrely vicious.
Keldric kept touching his own neck as he followed.
‘Everyone changes over ti. Well, it doesn't matter though. No matter how much ti passes, a person's true nature doesn't change.’
“Here we are.”
Following Pinnon's guidance, Keldric, Everchen, and I entered the hut where Soler was staying.
Soon, Pinnon also followed us in.
Inside the hut, the woman I knew, Soler, was waiting.
Soler stared at with her usual dark blue eyes.
I, too, stared back at her. What on earth had made her change?
But I soon realized. Soler was the sa as before.
Although she had a slightly sharper air about her compared to a few years ago, she was still the Soler I knew.
We soon smiled and greeted each other.
“Long ti no see. You've gotten pretty famous, huh?”
“It's been a while. The sa goes for you, Lady Soler.”
And Soler greeted Keldric and Everchen in turn.
“Long ti no see, Keldric.”
“Ah, hello.”
Seeing Keldric still looking tense, Soler's reaction was one of puzzlent, but it passed without incident.
“I wanted to et you too, Sir Everchen. Since we were grouped together at one point.”
“It's a pleasure to et you. I was not chosen as one of the Five Morning Stars for my skills. The Holy Order just gave a push so I wouldn't be intimidated.”
“You seem too strong for that to be the case, though?”
Soler looked back at , Keldric, and Everchen.
“Don't tell , all of you… what Rank are you? Eighth-Rank?”
My companions and I nodded. At that, Soler shook her head.
Seeing that, Keldric carefully asked a question.
“Soler, what rank are you?”
“ too… I reached the Eighth-Rank a while ago. To be honest, I was confident I was the first among my peers to reach the Eighth-Rank. But looking at you now, I guess that's not the case.”
“That's right. We reached it a lo~ng ti ago!”
For so reason, Keldric's spirits had been lifted.
I could feel Soler's gaze growing colder and colder.
So I quickly cut in.
“We also reached it not long ago. Besides, we were able to do it with Lady Hike's help during the Dragon's Trial.”
“Right… you all passed the Dragon's Trial too. Truly amazing……”
The atmosphere kept getting more and more twisted.
Soler definitely had changed in so ways.
In the past, she was like a noble lady who didn't know the scary ways of the world. But she must have gone through many things as well.
Reaching the Eighth-Rank in her early 20s was certainly proof that she was a genius worthy of being recorded in history.
It was not a level one could reach without any ups and downs.
I gave up on trying to appease Soler and went straight to the main point.
“Lady Soler, I've heard that you have the sa goal as I do.”
“The sa goal? Ah, don't tell , the hero?”
“Yes, that you are also striving to beco a hero.”
Soler stared at without a word. Then she suddenly started to burst out laughing.
“Ah, haha! Hahaha!”
“……”
That laughter sounded strangely eerie.
Keldric's facial muscles, which had relaxed a little, began to tense up again.
Soler laughed so hard her mouth seed to tear, and even shed a small tear.
She stopped laughing as suddenly as she had started and asked .
“Do you think you can beco a hero?”
I was wrong. Soler had changed a lot.
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