NOVEL NEXT Chapter 23
“Damn it, if we can’t pass through this place today, we might as well consider retreating.”
Bernard, scouting the surroundings with the instincts of a hunter, raised his head and spoke. In preparation for any potential situation, Rose was steadfastly protecting Bernard’s side like a fortress.
Margaret, who had been quietly following behind, looked around after hearing Bernard’s words. Elves were as adept at reconnaissance as seasoned hunters, but the expertise of Bernard and Margaret differed slightly.
Bernard primarily focused on tracking enemy traces and exploring the anticipated locations of game, while Margaret showed remarkable talent in spotting enemies who had come close enough to enter her line of sight, utilizing her superior eyesight and stealth.
There had been no noticeable ambush against the four warriors infiltrating the north along the rugged mountain path. This was partially because the Demon King’s Army had mostly retreated from the border area after the last major offensive, but fundamentally, it was due to Bernard forging the optimal route to evade the enemy’s surveillance.
However, the warriors, who had been climbing the rocky mountains with great difficulty, received the shocking news that if they didn’t escape the mountain by today, they could be ambushed.
“Hellhound, make a decision.”
Margaret said, already making up her mind as she carefully fitted an arrow onto her bow. Walter frowned slightly as he adjusted his glasses.
“Please wait a moment, Your Highness. Bernard? What’s your basis for that judgment?”
“I believe the Lich Lord has set up defenses this far in anticipation of our ambush. I can smell a faint scent of the undead from the artifact. It should be about 45 kilometers to the north.”
“Really, what a fantastic artifact. You can smell the undead from that distance?”
Rose, clad in heavy armor and holding her sword aloft, widened her eyes in surprise. Bernard shrugged, as if questioning why she needed to ask.
“As I said before, the stench of decaying corpses is so overwhelming that it’s easy to detect. The question is how well the enemy can catch our scent from their end.”
“45 kilometers, huh? Princess Margaret, even you might have a hard time spotting from that distance, right?”
“I won’t be able to see it.”
Margaret shook her head. Walter, feeling helpless, turned to Bernard again.
“Bernard, how long will it take for the enemy to notice our presence once they detect our aura?”
“I’m really sorry. The enemy will start responding within at least 6 hours. It’ll be fortunate if all they do is respond. If we end up getting entangled with them, our survival won’t be guaranteed. We need to get out of this mountain quickly.”
“What if we get ambushed from behind during the retreat or get surrounded?”
“Then we were just mice caught in a trap from the beginning.”
Bernard stuffed his hunting artifact into his bag. Unable to borrow Jeongjae’s reconnaissance magic, he had taken up the role of scouting while crossing the mountains in place of Jeongjae.
I had never expected that his absence could be replaced at all. Still, I thought we would at least manage to cross the mountains without issues, but I hadn’t anticipated falling into such dire straits this early.
Walter wiped the cold sweat trickling down his forehead and removed his glasses. This mission to take down the Lich Lord had to succeed, and it had to go smoothly without any problems.
“Hellhound, make a decision. This is the peak of the mountain.”
Margaret clutched her bow tightly again, urging for a decision. Walter collected himself, nodded once, then climbed up to the highest rock nearby.
“Rose, Bernard, have a bite of this.”
As it was lunchtime by normal routine, Walter decided it was about time and tossed a small chocolate bar to each of the two positioned by the side path below.
These chocolate bars, packed with extreme calories into small portions, were quite a bitter meal that one could munch on in urgent situations when hunger struck.
I heard that the reason these chocolate bars were so bitter and unpleasant was to prevent soldiers from neglecting their nutrition during war by excessively preferring easy-to-eat rations, but the party of heroes didn’t care about such things and almost always munched on these chocolates when skipping meals right before battle.
“Walter, giving this now means…”
Rose chewed on the chocolate bar wordlessly, her expression filled with worry. Margaret, with the chocolate from Walter in her mouth, fitted an arrow to her bow.
“Wait, Margaret, what are you doing?”
Seeing Margaret in a stance ready to shoot, Rose exclaimed in surprise. Bernard also looked stunned as he chewed on the chocolate, blinking rapidly.
“Logically, it’s difficult to descend the mountain and break through the enemy’s threats within 6 hours. However, retreating doesn’t make things simpler either. If we get surrounded by the enemies halfway down the mountain, I can’t guarantee all of our safe return.”
Walter said. Margaret gave Walter a look, as if seeking permission.
“So Margaret and I arrived at the same conclusion. If we’re going to fight, it should be now, while we still have ample energy, to take on the enemies at the top of this mountain. Margaret? How well can you confirm the enemy’s outpost locations?”
“Target acquired. I can vaguely see something beyond the clouds. Just like Bernard said, it should be at least 50 kilometers away.”
Both Rose and Bernard were taken aback at the fact that Margaret could see that far, but they quickly realized that Walter had temporarily lent his glasses to the Elven Princess.
Using Harriet’s glasses enhanced the brain’s processing speed or allowed foresight based on Walter’s high affinity, but if it was simply about greatly extending eyesight, it could work for Margaret as well.
As Margaret, wearing the glasses, calmly aimed beyond 50 kilometers, Walter began to explain his plan to Rose and Bernard.
“Listen up, I’m only going to explain this once. Margaret’s arrow will immediately reveal our location and existence to the enemy. Then nearby Goblins and the army of corpses will surely surround and engulf us. If this is the enemy’s alert zone, I suspect there will be a device capable of gathering them here through teleportation.”
“So we lure them in, deal with them all, and swiftly retreat back to the Empire?”
Bernard asked. Walter shook his head.
“No, we will slaughter all the enemies swarming in this direction within 30 minutes, then utilize the gap in the enemy’s manpower to advance straight towards the Lich Lord’s fortress.”
“Are you out of your mind? Of course, if we provoke the enemy now, it’ll only be the watch troops stationed nearby that will rush in! But immediately after that, the Lich’s main force will move too! If that’s not enough, the Demon King might send additional troops to catch us!”
“We will defeat the enemies atop this mountain within 30 minutes.”
Walter emphasized again.
“After that, the risk of an enemy ambush will be considered eliminated, we’ll lift the alert, and swiftly descend the mountain within 3 hours to advance towards the enemy’s stronghold. We will ambush and neutralize their outpost within 2 hours, covering more than 40 kilometers. We will raid the stronghold before the Lich Lord’s direct support unit arrives. We’ll assassinate the Lich Lord and escape within 30 minutes. No matter how quickly the Demon King’s Army reacts, it’s impossible for them to surround us with our main force within 6 hours. We’re going to report the death of the Lich Lord in 6 hours.”
“And what about our return to the Empire?”
Rose asked.
“We’ll advance openly on the main road instead of scaling the mountains. Anyway, if the situation deteriorates, the enemy’s main force will gather towards the Lich Lord’s fortress. Even if we encounter enemies on the way back, they will only be remnants or stragglers. We’ll return to the Empire’s border in 4 hours through non-stop night marching, avoiding the main forces of the enemy while utilizing our small advantages for mobility.”
“Completing the mission and returning in 10 hours? It was supposed to take three days.”
Rose scoffed in disbelief. Walter wore an expression of astonishment, knowing he couldn’t believe it himself.
“Plans tend to change.”
“This isn’t just a change, though…”
Regardless, since it was what the Hero said, there was no other choice but to follow the consensus. Margaret was still gazing ahead while wearing the Hero’s glasses.
“Magic user, lend me your strength. On my arrowhead—”
Margaret, who was about to ask for strengthening magic on her arrowhead, glanced back and realized there was no longer Jeongjae beside her. The Elven Princess pouted, unsure whether to feel embarrassed for her mistake or upset that Jeongjae was no longer at her side.
“Don’t worry, I may not be your man, but I will assist you with this matter.”
“Stop babbling and use your magic, Hellhound.”
At Margaret’s growl, Walter unsheathed the Holy Sword from his waist and began to chant his spell.
“O Holy Sword that has chosen me, now follow my command as I choose.”
As soon as the Hero’s command ended, Walter’s sword began to shine in white light. The radiance flowing from the holy sword gradually moved toward Margaret’s arrowhead, enveloping her completely, starting from the arrow.
Taking a deep breath, Margaret let go of her bowstring.
With a sound of ‘ping,’ the arrow flew, encircled by the light of the holy sword, soaring far north like a rocket rather than simply an arrow. Walter, having received the glasses back from Margaret, said:
“Be ready. According to my calculations, we should see a reaction within 15 seconds.”
After roughly 20 seconds, a rumbling sound akin to a massive explosion echoed from the north. Margaret instinctively realized that her arrow had struck the enemy’s spire over 40 kilometers away.
“They’re coming.”
Bernard said. Rose gripped her sword tightly, readying herself for combat, and even the Empire’s finest hunter grasped two daggers, preparing for close-quarters combat. Walter, wearing the glasses, swung the holy sword lightly while glancing around vigilantly.
“They’re here.”
At that moment, Margaret, standing atop the highest rock, shot an arrow ahead. An Orc, struck directly at about 300 meters away, fell backward as it tumbled over. As if that was the signal, the party of heroes began to draw nearer, as zombies and Goblins started converging towards the summit of the mountain.
“Crazy, they’re fast!”
Rose yelled as she swung her sword with all her might, knocking back a zombie that was trying to crawl up to her position. Walter, sword in hand, formed a triangle with Rose and Bernard, resisting the encroaching enemies.
“Remember! We have a 30-minute time limit! If we don’t take care of them within that time, we’ll encounter the enemy’s main force while descending!”
“Isn’t this already quite a sizable force?”
Bernard skillfully dispatched a Goblin using a rope trap, beheading it. Two Skeletons that tried to ambush Bernard found themselves caught in a rat trap he had set up earlier and were promptly dealt with by Margaret’s supporting arrow.
“This is nothing! When we finally encounter the real main force, we won’t even have time to talk like this!”
At the moment Walter swung the holy sword with tremendous power, beams emitted from the blade cleaved through dozens of Goblins that were directly in front of him.
As the remaining enemies hesitated upon seeing their companions split in two with impressive swift attacks, Walter kicked a zombie running toward the beleaguered Bernard away.
“Thanks. If it weren’t for you, none of this would have happened!”
“Why are you saying that? This is an experience I wouldn’t get in a lifetime if it weren’t for me!”
“It would have been better if it wasn’t!”
Despite Bernard’s complaints, he steadily fired arrows at the approaching Skeletons, Zombies, Goblins, and Orcs, taking out his crossbow. Compared to Margaret’s arrows, his accuracy was terrible, but the rapid-fire nature of his shooting proved to be an effective weapon against the enemies advancing from nearby.
Meanwhile, Margaret, shooting arrows from atop the rocks, noticed an arrow drop from her quiver on her thigh and jumped down from the stone, drawing her sword to stab and kill an Orc.
“What a crazy mixed unit. Why are there so many hybrids in a single squad?”
Margaret complained, gracefully beheading a Goblin and an Orc simultaneously. Although the demonic blood excessively drenched the body of the Elven Lord, a distinguished killer of demonic beings, she felt no discomfort with the scent of blood on her body.
“That’s because the enemies that got startled by the princess’s arrows pushed every nearby unit into the fray! I’m relieved! Once we deal with these guys, we’ll definitely be safe during our descent!”
Walter joyfully swung his holy sword, shattering the Skeletons. Rose showcased her renowned impenetrable defense, retaliating slowly and steadily, not receiving even a speck of damage despite the fierce onslaught from the enemies.
While Walter, using the sword light to decimate dozens at a time, and Margaret, skillfully handling multiple weapons, steadily raised her kill count, Rose played a crucial role in maintaining their defensive formation.
Nobody, no demonic creature, could get past Rose’s formidable defense and slip past her. As the party of heroes slashed through the crawling enemies surrounding them from the south, they rushed toward the north where more enemies gathered in greater numbers as soon as the threats from the east, west, and south were all cleared.
It took a solid 28 minutes from the time Margaret shot the arrow toward the enemy until this point. When the first phase of what seemed like an impossible operation was successfully completed, it was still before Harriet had finished her lunch.