chapter 20
Episode 20 .
Aiden walked along the dimly shining blue line in the clear sky.
While traveling from Gielan’s hut to this place, the environment did not change or the temperature suddenly dropped.
It was just that the vast field of snow spread out in all directions, making my mind a little dizzy.
But now it was different.
Darkness descended on the snowfield. A deep ravine blocked the group.
The track of Elohim Derk, which was buried in the clear sky, contrasted with the darkness and showed the way more clearly.
The blue line pointed beyond the canyon.
“This is the beginning. Don’t relax.”
The valley was the boundary between the Empire and the subhuman habitat.
Beyond this, it was frozen soil that never melted, called perennial snow fields. A land where humans cannot dare to live. Even when the Empire hunted Ain, there was no law to cross the canyon.
This is because in the deepest part of the ice cap, there were tribes that could not afford to live.
Of course, there was no way Iden would go that deep. Because I knew exactly where the ruins were, I was able to avoid encountering them.
“Listen, both of you. Subhumans hate humans. Don’t be fooled by the gentle and beautiful appearance. No matter what race you meet, one of them must die to end. Never have pity, never show mercy.”
There is a race of rabbits and humans mixed. Needless to say, the appearance is lovely and cute. However, they use their appearance as a weapon to trap humans.
The hatred of the Miao people for the empire was bottomless, and they did not know what they would do in the name of avenging their own people.
It wasn’t just the Miao people. Most of the inhabitants of the frozen land regarded humans as their enemies.
Aiden looked at Sein and emphasized once more. It was because girls were more easily swayed by their sensibilities.
“Sain, the cuter you are, the more terrible you think it is.”
She nodded with a very nervous expression.
“Daryl, you too.”
“Aigoo, get better. Even if you look at it like this, the jjambab that you ate is quite good. I know their temperament. Hold on to your worries.”
Aiden nodded and headed for the narrowest valley.
It was such a distance that the other side was barely visible.
After Iden pulled out the spear and tried to connect it to the rope, Daryl approached and stopped him.
“Sir, leave this to me. I have something useful.”
After saying that, Daryl took something out of the long box he was carrying on his shoulder and began assembling it.
“The westerners do one of these things very well. A noble of the Burg Kingdom gave this instead of a request. To be honest, I felt dirty at the time…”
The finished product was a uniquely improved crossbow.
The length was a little less than 2m, and the width was very narrow.
“Now I’m using it like this and that.”
Daryl shouldered the crossbow and aimed it at the other side. When the trigger was pulled, the hooked point flew straight ahead.
Chollarak, the connected rope was pulled taut.
Daryl pulls as hard as he can, but he won’t budge.
“Okay. If there is an advantage that there is no sound, it is a big advantage. Don’t animals have keen ears?”
The rope was cut and tied tightly to the raised rock.
Aiden was quite satisfied. If I had thrown the spear with all my might and hit it on the other side, the roar would have reverberated through the gorge.
It is best to avoid risk factors as much as possible.
Aiden nodded and hugged Sein. The seeker of destruction managed to suppress the seizure.
Daryl looked at Iden with a slightly surprised expression.
“Am I better?”
It was because the Aiden he had experienced never gave his brother and sister more than a certain distance.
“Okay. I will go first.”
Iden hung down from the ropes.
I put Sain in the space between the rope and the boat and slowly moved forward.
A cold gale blew from the valley and shook the strings, but Aiden’s core remained unmoved.
Sein felt an extreme sense of security that did not match the situation.
Daryl followed.
*
Within a few steps of crossing the border, Iden felt winter.
A cold chill began to gnaw at his skin.
The fluttering snowflakes turned into a raging blizzard, holding the party’s ankles and drooping.
The white snow, thicker than the darkness, ate away his vision.
“I am better!”
Daryl’s voice was faintly audible in the gust of wind. Even though he was close, his figure looked like an afterimage.
“Hey, are you there!”
If they hadn’t tied ropes around each other’s bodies, they might soon become lost children.
“Calm down!”
If you fall into a panic, it’s literally the end. This was the reason why I left Euron behind.
Aiden looked up at the sky. Through the heavy snow, a faint light was still pointing ahead.
‘Does it still have a long time left?’
Apart from Aiden, he was worried about Sein.
In Aiden’s arms, inside the white fur, she was trembling.
“Sain, there is an ignition stone near the left side of the holy grail.”
It was an artifact given by Tyrun in the Sacred Kingdom.
“You should know better how to use it.”
It was an item that could be started with magic, so Iden couldn’t handle it at all.
It was not a world where magic could be manipulated with a few clicks. Aiden also studied magic at first, but made no progress at all.
Sein took out the glowstone and sent out his mana. At the same time, a red curtain enveloped the surroundings.
‘I’ll have to say hello to Tyrun properly.’
Unlike the replica Euron found, it was of a very high quality. Snowflakes that touched the film instantly melted and scattered around.
The snow-covered ground sank into a hollow, and there was no trouble. The power to break common sense. that was the magic
“Daryl! Come inside.”
Daryl jumped out when he found warmth.
“Ah, I thought the ends of the limbs were all falling off. But better, if you do this, the beasts will surely notice.”
I couldn’t help it. However, beyond this area, a severe cold that even Iden cannot withstand comes.
The use of firestone was inevitable. The problem was that it started operating a little early.
“Once in a while, we are bound to meet. Think of it as thawing your frozen body in advance.”
Cold makes the body dull. The battle was fatal.
The group sped up. The incendiary stone cleared his vision and circulated heat through his body.
Iden and Daryl warmed up in preparation for the upcoming battle.
The red heat of going through the blizzard like that was obvious, so I caught my eye.
A low howl came from somewhere. The voice that coldly grabbed the liver was the cry of a predator when it found its prey.
Aiden immediately pulled out the holy sword.
“Daryl! Figure out the location first!”
“All right!”
Ten sacks of rain soared into the air from Daryl’s arms. He circled slowly around the party, vigilantly in all directions.
ridicule followed. When I turned my head in the direction I heard, blue eyes were shining.
The brightly shining eyes squeezed through the heavy snow and stared at Iden.
The correct shape could not be identified. Something bipedal. That was all I could see through the snow.
Blink, the moment Aiden closed and opened his eyes, the light in his eyes flickered. It attacked Iden leaving a blue haze like a tail.
Bido slashed one of them in an instant and stretched out his arms toward Aiden.
Taang! Aiden raised the holy sword like a shield to block it.
He immediately tried to grab the animal by the neck, but it was gone.
“Goodbye, heaven!”
Aiden cocked his neck. Something was rushing through the air.
When I stabbed the holy sword from bottom to top, the beast turned its body in an instant. Sharp claws ran through Iden’s abdomen.
The Holy Gap screamed. The platinum-plated area was slightly peeled off.
The figure of the beast disappeared again. The heavy snow worked in the opponent’s favor.
‘I’m not an easy guy.’
As Iden glanced around quickly, he heard his voice.
“Oh, is it solid?”
It was a female voice. Wedge love! This time I was aiming for Daryl. In an instant, it approached and wrapped its white tail around his neck and flew up.
Daryl immediately took out the poison bottle, and the beast relaxed its tail. Daryl fell and threw the bottle, but he easily dodged it.
“This one knows how to do some tricks.”
The female grunted happily, hiding in the heavy snow.
Sein jumped out of Aiden’s arms and started casting spells in the air.
“Paladin! It won’t be long, but you can open your eyes!”
As soon as the chant started, a gale blew from Sein’s body.
The heat from the pyrotechnic stone soared into the air on the wind. It heated up the surroundings and opened the area around the son-in-law brightly.
It sank quietly as if only this area was another world. like the eye of a hurricane.
It was a phenomenon created by Sein by applying wind magic to a fire stone.
Only then did the beast reveal its true face.
A hybrid of a human and a snow leopard. Ain, who was covered in pure white fur, had the face of a human woman.
She stood on her feet and licked her lips.
“Isn’t it a strange combination? Two disgusting creatures and a paladin.”
It seemed that her extremely sensitive sense of smell caught the devil’s stench.
Iden sprinted right away before Sein noticed anything.
After detonating the halo to briefly block the beast’s vision, he lowered the sword vertically.
The beast instinctively twisted its body. As it was, I turned around and placed my legs on Aiden’s back.
The moment they touched, Iden bowed. I snatched one foot from the animal that was stuck on the ground.
Confusion crossed Ain’s face as he leaned back. Ten sacks of rain rushed over it.
The beast quickly raises its arm, but allows several shots without being able to deflect them all.
Let’s go! A blade was lodged in the skin.
Ain, who was lying flat, chewed his lips and immediately tore off his left arm.
It was a measure he took before the deadly poison spread to his body.
Daryl couldn’t help but be astonished at Ain’s judgment.
The beast withdrew its scorn. He let out a roar with a frenziedly distorted face.
“A coward hiding in iron armor!!!”
After bouncing his back, he stood up with the recoil, grabbed Aiden’s neck with his left arm, and ran forward.
A new type of Iden came to mind.
The beast held Iden up, pushing it to a rock in the distance and fastening it firmly.
In shock, Iden vomited blood from his mouth. The snow leopard’s tail dug into the seams of the sacred armor.
Its hard tail gnawed between its ribs, causing excruciating pain, but it was ignored.
I gripped her muzzle with my left hand and thrust the holy sword into her abdomen.
Iden and the beast desperately coveted each other’s bodies. To tear the skin and gut the intestines, each of them thrust their weapons in desperately.
There was a crackling, crackling sound of tough leather. Iden didn’t miss the opportunity.
I roared like a beast and thrust the holy sword into her stomach skin. The holy sword protruded from behind, dyeing the white fur of the snow leopard red.
The fountain of blood she vomited drenched Iden’s face.
The eyes of the woman with fangs gradually faded. The pain that pierced his side also subsided.
she grinned. A smile that can charm a male.
“It’s a shame.”
He sat down, leaving only those words.
“I am better!”
“Paladin!”
Daryl and Sain, who ran like crazy, supported Aiden. Iden couldn’t get rid of the thought that the enemy was stronger than expected.
If it wasn’t for Sane and Daryl, we might be in trouble.
His appearance was not even a word.
“I, sir, have a puncture in my side…”
“······Does not matter. Heal quickly.”
It was true.
Daryl didn’t feel like Iden’s body was human. How can a man with a pierced side be so calm?
“Let’s rest for a while.”
The moment Aiden was about to lie down in the snow, the snow leopard wriggled.
Iden immediately pulled out his lance and threw it with all his might.
Kwajik! The lance exploded Ain’s head and impaled it on the rock wall, causing it to vibrate.
Aiden was able to catch his breath.
I don’t have any ill feelings toward Ain, but I couldn’t let him go. What if you lead a colleague? It was the worst.
One wrong decision could ruin everything. like a year ago
Aiden brushed off his thoughts.
“Let’s take a five-minute break and start right away.”