“Huff.”
I was arrested while having a late dinner, but it was already morning by the time I was released.
Moreover, unlike when I was escorted in, most of the security personnel in front of the building bowed deeply to me.
“We apologize!”
“Have a safe trip!”
Yun Ye, who was both a witness and an inspector, admitted his mistake, saying that I had no charges against me. So I was just someone they had unjustly dragged in.
I never imagined that the moment I took his hand, he would gracefully apologize to the security personnel for his blunder.
It was only natural that suspicions regarding Yun Ye’s abilities as well as evaluations from within would arise due to this incident.
It doesn’t look like he has that much loyalty.
It seemed that the title of royal inspector didn’t hold much significance for Yun Ye.
Regardless, my destination was the Lanlan Diner.
Since Yun Ye said he would be leaving in a few hours, I planned to meet Xiao Hu before meeting up with him.
Creak.
“Hmm, what should I do?”
As I opened the door and entered the Lanlan Diner, I found Xiao Hu sitting there, clutching her head and groaning.
The young girl seemed to have a lot of concerns.
The moment I walked in, she flinched and opened her mouth wide dramatically.
“H-How did you come back?! Weren’t you arrested?!”
“I got lucky.”
“L-Lucky? Was that something that could be resolved through sheer luck?!”
Xiao Hu looked utterly confused and was about to say something, but I cut her off.
“After this, I’ll soon be leaving to travel with someone else. And that person is the one who killed the Ancient Dragon.”
“…What?”
She asked back, saying she couldn’t understand what I was talking about, but I ignored her and continued speaking.
“If you wish to take revenge for the yokai and the Ancient Dragon, then follow me. I’ll give you a chance.”
However,
“Although I’d prefer that you stay here.”
I tried to present her with different options. She no longer had her family-like yokai, and her once-secure home was gone.
The girl was now in a harsh environment where she would have to fend for herself.
Even though I said this, I knew all too well the choice she would make.
“W-What’s the point of staying here when there’s nothing left here? I’m obviously going to follow you!”
The girl, who felt like she had lost everything, would choose revenge even if it meant setting herself ablaze.
I nodded, feeling somewhat bitter.
“Then get ready.”
Yun Ye and the hunters, who wanted to kill Deus Verdi,
And Xiao Hu, who wanted to kill Kim Shinwoo.
Ironically, my uncomfortable journey with those who wished to kill me had just begun.
* * *
Yun Ye arrived about three hours after I was released. Upon seeing Xiao Hu, who was carrying a trunk larger than herself, he had a somewhat ambiguous expression, but he did not disapprove of her joining us.
Thus, we departed from this city, which left a surprisingly strong impression despite my short stay.
“Hiing.”
It also seemed somewhat regrettable that Xiao Hu would be leaving the city she had spent the most time in, and a soft whine escaped her lips.
Yet, her steps showed no hesitation, indicating she did not regret her choice.
Leading the way while wearing a conical hat, Yun Ye had a subtle smile lifting the corners of his mouth.
He seemed pretty satisfied with having secured a powerful asset like me and his overall demeanor was noticeably relaxed.
Is that a staff on his back?
It was a weapon rarely seen in the Griffin Kingdom, but one could frequently catch sight of one in the Han Empire, where staff techniques were advanced.
This content is taken from freёwebnovel.com.
Just like Han So, whom I met in the Dream Demon Manor, who fought using the Heavenly Oath Martial Staff.
His exquisite and clean movements were still vivid in my memory.
“B-But where are we going?”
Xiao Hu asked somewhat belatedly.
In response to her question, Yun Ye smiled brightly and answered.
“We’re heading to Wuhua, the capital of the empire. We’ll make a brief stop there, then join up with our comrades before heading straight to Griffin.”
“G-Griffin!”
I could hear her gulp.
Leaving for a distant place she had only heard from rumor seemed to make her quite anxious.
However, for me, it felt rather familiar.
This is good.
Just as I assumed when we spoke in the interrogation room, it was obvious that we would ultimately have to go to the Griffin Kingdom to kill Deus.
I had no money, so I could only walk toward Griffin in silence, but I would be able to travel much faster if I accompanied them.
Ironically, I somehow ended up taking the quickest, albeit most dangerous, route to Griffin.
“…”
Was this a good thing?
That thought did flash through my mind.
Deus Verdi’s body was yet to stabilize. Even if a Land of Eternal Rest were formed inside him, the body would still need time to adjust.
I hoped that Deus’ body would be stabilized by the time we reached Griffin.
Because it felt strange to show my current form to people I knew.
Why?
I still couldn’t pinpoint what was causing that discomfort.
It seemed I had a new problem to solve on my way back.
“H-how long will it take? At least a few months, right?”
Despite Xiao Hu’s continued questioning, Yun Ye answered with a smile.
It seemed that he found her cute, treating her with a warmth that seemed far too friendly for someone he had just met.
This was somewhat different from my initial impression of the man called Yun Ye.
“Normally, yes, but after I deal with a simple matter in Wuhua and quickly join my comrades, it won’t take long. We have some good horses.”
No matter how well-bred the horses were, the distance from the Han Empire to Griffin wasn’t something that could be brushed aside with words alone.
However, his confident demeanor as he spoke sparked a strange trust in me.
Now that she was out of questions, Xiao Hu nodded and said, ‘I see,’ allowing me to take over the conversation.
“What about your other comrades? I don’t believe you were alone when you killed the Ancient Dragon.”
The mana I sensed back then did not belong to just one person. Although I was certain, I purposely asked that to probe him.
“They stayed behind to take care of some other matters. We need to handle the follow-up after the Ancient Dragon was killed.”
Xiao Hu’s expression darkened sharply. Not wanting Yun Ye to catch sight of her reaction, I picked up my pace and stepped between them.
“Follow-up?”
“Yes, we need to organize what we prepared to kill the Ancient Dragon. I’ll give you the details later.”
Yun Ye shrugged his shoulders and pulled his conical hat down low.
An awkward silence ensued.
Xiao Hu’s mood turned somewhat heavy the moment the topic of the Ancient Dragon came up. However, she understood that she needed to keep her mouth shut and hide her fangs for now.
Her tightly clenched lips and puffed cheeks made it hard to see her as a girl who was planning an assassination.
“Even though it looks like this, we’re actually a fairly large organization. We just call ourselves hunters and are laying low for now.”
“…”
“We also have a presence in the Duchy of Valestan right next to the Han Empire, and our vice leader has already left for the Griffin Kingdom.”
My gaze fixated on him immediately.
The fact that the vice leader of the hunters was heading to Griffin was information I could simply brush aside.
“So you’re aiming for the Mountain Lord of the Norseweden Mountain Range?”
I interjected cautiously. After all, the Mountain Lord was the only guardian deity I knew of in the Griffin Kingdom.
I wasn’t sure what their target was, but if they had a primary objective, it was most likely the guardian deity.
“Hmm? You know about the Mountain Lord?”
Yun Ye looked at me with genuine surprise, clearly not expecting me to know about the guardian deity in the Griffin Kingdom.
Xiao Hu also reacted with an awestruck ‘Wow,’ expressing her fascination.
Their reaction was understandable, after all, knowledge about beings like guardian deities was limited due to their secretive and elusive nature.
Yun Ye seemed eager for an explanation as to how I knew about that, but I chose not to answer and instead demanded an answer from him.
He let out a bemused sigh yet nodded satisfactorily.
“I suppose I’m quite good at recruiting talents.”
… That could be one way to look at it.
“Yes, they went to target the Mountain Lord of the Norseweden Mountain Range. Norseweden is also Deus Verdi’s homeland and the territory of the Verdi Household.”
They might stumble upon some clues about where to find me, who had gone missing.
As Yun Ye added this, I bitterly advised him.
“I don’t think it will be easy.”
“The Mountain Lord is certainly a formidable presence. I’ve also heard that Margrave Darius, the Giant of Norseweden, is an exceptionally skilled martial artist…”
Yun Ye smiled meaningfully, showing he wasn’t overly worried.
“We’re hunters. Our fight is not one of combat but rather a unilateral hunt.”
This meant that they had a way to hunt down the Mountain Lord of Norseweden. I got a sense that this would be a very intuitive yet destructive operation.
Since the Mountain Lord couldn’t exert his strength without the mountain range, they would probably attempt to set the mountains on fire or something similar.
This wouldn’t be a process that would be carried out in just a day or two; rather, they would slowly set the mountains ablaze, thereby narrowing the Mountain Lord’s territory.
I wonder if the Ancient Dragon was in the sewer for the same reason.
Perhaps the Ancient Dragon was also forced into the sewers through a similar strategy.
It was certainly a threatening approach.
The fact that their positions were fixed indeed served as a significant weakness for the guardian deities.
However, I wasn’t overly worried either.
Because…
“As far as I know, in that mountain…”
I had faith in her.
“Lives quite a ferocious wolf.”
* * *
The Norseweden Mountain Range served as a sort of border.
It was a natural boundary that separated the northern part of the Griffin Kingdom from the Clark Republic.
Since it fell under the Griffin Kingdom, the private soldiers belonging to the Margrave of Norseweden were stationed there to guard it.
However, the Clark Republic on the other side had ample means to contact the Norseweden Mountain Range.
Whoosh!
Whalebelter, the hunters’ vice leader, twisted his mouth into a crooked smile as he watched the flames on the tips of the arrows his subordinates were nocking.
They didn’t even have to enter the mountain range to strike the Norseweden Mountain Range and hunt the Mountain Lord.
If they struck from outside the mountain range, the assault would be straightforward.
Moreover, the Clark Republic was literally going through a chaotic time.
As different countries fought over its territory, their own citizens were experiencing a state of necessary chaos.
If such actions were initiated from the Clark Republic rather than the Griffin Kingdom, no one could stop them.
Though it would be a different matter in itself if Margrave Darius led his troops across.
This is easy.
Fire arrows, firebombs, fireballs, etc.
With simple methods, they could easily inflict damage on the Mountain Lord.
Was it morally wrong? What if it harmed those around them?
These hunters were not morally upright enough to care about such things.
The mountains began to blaze.
The black smoke surged high, contaminating the once-white sky that seemed on the verge of snowing.
“I wonder if it is supposed to be this simple.”
After wreaking havoc for about 30 minutes, they would withdraw. If they repeated this tomorrow, the Mountain Lord’s power would inevitably weaken.
That was when they would start their hunt.
Hunters were not fighters.
Only the incompetent, unworthy of the title ‘hunter,’ engaged in life-and-death battles with beasts.
Yes, that was what they thought. However…
At the mountain’s entrance.
Another gray smoke began to rise.
A woman was walking towards them with a lit cigarette in her mouth, her back facing the burning mountain.
Her white hair fluttered in the wind, and the edges of her yellow coat billowed, exuding her presence.
The silver halberd she held, clad in black gloves, radiated a different chill from winter.
“Huff.”
The wolf of the mountain range was puffing smoke from the cigarette, and Findenai’s blood-red eyes were fixed on her prey.
“There’s a certain story in Griffin.”
The veteran hunters recognized her as a foe and immediately aimed their arrows at her instead of the mountain.
Whalebelter also sensed that she was not an ordinary being and rested his massive axe on his shoulder.
“The story of the shepherd boy. It’s a rather bland tale about a shepherd who got in trouble while pulling a prank out of boredom.”
What kind of fairy tale?
It was suddenly baffling to hear such words, but.
“Still, he managed to fool the villagers twice.”
Ssssiiikkk.
Findenai’s lips curled into an arch, her sharp teeth ready to sink into the enemy’s nape.
“Scream as loud as you can. Who knows, maybe someone will come to help—after all, it is your first time.”
A chill surged.
What guarded the Norseweden Mountain Range was not a tiger.
“Shit! The wolf has appeared!”
It was a /genesisforsaken