◈ Episode 447: Intruder of the Border (1)
Vierano realized that Ludger’s stern reply made no sense.
He tried to tell the others to persuade Ludger.
I immediately realized that I couldn’t do that.
Hans, Alex and Bellaluna.
It was because the three of them naturally stood up from their seats as if they had accepted this absurd fall from a high altitude.
‘Are you really going to jump?’
I wasn’t worried about the risk of falling.
The biggest problem is the decision to enter the ‘forest’ without any preparation.
The moment you enter, the forest will immediately recognize the presence of an outsider.
All kinds of flora and fauna scattered everywhere do not miss beings that enter their home.
It is said that there is a Bellaluna that is so good that it can hack the World Tree, but even that ability can only be achieved by contacting the surrounding area.
However, it only takes one minute to fall from the sky and touch nearby vegetation.
In the meantime, the data flowing in was enough to be passed on to the [Crown] family in charge of information.
‘Is it because he was so impatient to save Sedina as quickly as he was forced to take such an action even though he should have heard enough of the explanation?’
Or is it because there are other ways?
Ludger’s expression was too calm to be impatient.
Vierano finally decided to trust Rudger’s judgment.
At least because he was there, these people were able to gather.
“Goes.”
Rudger said so and jumped out of the airship.
Bellaluna swallowed her saliva and closed her eyes tightly.
Hans took a step backwards without realizing it, perhaps because he was afraid to jump, but then Alex grabbed Hans and jumped outside.
“I’m still mentally ready… … .”
“Okay, just go.”
Finally, even Vierano jumped off.
As I fell from a high altitude, the wind that blew my eyes.
Even at high altitude, it takes less than 10 seconds to reach the ground now that it has started free fall.
But it was enough time to activate the magic.
Vierano called the spirit of the wind.
The strong wind that blew subdued to less than a gentle breeze, and the rapidly falling body slowed down as if time had stopped.
When I checked the others, Ludgar was protecting them all with flying magic.
But I couldn’t help but admire it.
The slowly approaching forest hinted that there was not much time left before they were discovered.
At that time, Rudgar activated the next magic.
Suagh.
The magic power sprayed thinly in all directions gradually turned black like water soaked in ink.
The magical power that turned into pitch-black covered the body of the caster, Ludger himself, and everyone in the party like a curtain.
“Dark attribute magic?”
Vierano was surprised.
He knew that Ludger was dealing with light attribute magic.
In the first place, using light attribute magic was incredibly strange.
Because it was one of the very rare cases among attribute elements.
But what about the dark attribute?
It made no sense.
Even more so when using the light attribute.
Aren’t the two properties completely incompatible?
But whether Vierano was surprised or not, the rest of the party took it for granted.
He already knew that Rudgar used this type of magic.
‘Miss Rudger. What are you… … .’
The five, who received the protection of darkness, safely landed in the forest.
The silent forest did not notice the intruder’s presence at all.
“Bella Luna. Start.”
“yes.”
Bellaluna immediately went to a nearby tree and raised her hand.
I closed my eyes and concentrated, but the green light lingered and permeated the tree.
The time was not that long.
It took about 3 seconds.
Bellaluna opened her eyes and spoke with a confident voice.
“All information in this area has been blocked. No one will see us anymore.”
As soon as Rudger finished speaking, he turned off the dark magic.
Vierano was again surprised by Bellaluna’s words.
I knew that she was a person with the ability to access nearby vegetation and block information.
But finishing it in 3 seconds was another thing.
‘Even the watcher of the crown family wouldn’t be able to connect this fast.’
Forest Wardens were those who could contact trees and manipulate data.
Most elven families have their own forest watchers, but among them, the most outstanding family was the [Crown] family, which oversees the entire forest network.
Forest watchers belonging to the Crown family were much more skilled than other families.
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Even such forest wardens would consume at least 10 minutes for this kind of moderate hacking.
But Bellaluna finished everything in just 3 seconds.
‘I noticed it because I secretly accessed the World Tree, but it’s a truly overwhelming talent.’
If you belong to a family anywhere, you have the ability to live with great hospitality.
Even so, Bellaluna escaped the forest and lived in the human world.
Vierano saw Ludger and the others again.
Ludger, who uses both light and dark attributes, and Belaluna, an elf who hacks the World Tree.
Even swordsman Alex, who defeated even a druid at once.
If so, it was certain that Hans, who was living with him, had some hidden skill.
“It moves. Because I don’t have that much time.”
Vierano, who regained his sanity at Ludger’s words, nodded.
“yes. We will guide you to our family first.”
* * *
Robert shut the airship door wide open.
He licked his tongue as he looked inside, where a gust of wind blew.
“no. I thought it was just words, but he really jumped.”
I vaguely sensed it from the actions that looked like something, but it seemed that I was not an ordinary person.
but. So Walter Rosshen must have hired him.
Even if he pretended not to, he, who cared for his daughter terribly, hired only five people.
In other words, it was because the skills of the five people far surpassed those of quite a few people.
It’s safe to say that Walter Rosshen’s human eye is the best.
“iced coffee. Captain here. Lieutenant Commander. You can go up now.”
[All right.]
“From now on, the second shift of hell begins. Can you afford to work overtime?”
[Do you get overtime pay?]
“I can’t do that because it’s not official business. Instead, I’ll give you the grace to joke around with me all day long.”
[I’d rather die.]
However, the vice-captain was also a person who worked for Walter like himself, even if he said that, so he was fully prepared.
“You have to keep your mind straight. Even on the outskirts, this is the territory of the elves. The moment they get caught, it could turn into a national problem. If you twist the steering wheel once, you will fly. know?”
[That’s a very powerful cheering phrase. Take good care of the captain.]
“I am always good. I’ll just check the cargo hold and go back, so wait a little bit.”
After finishing the communication, Robert headed to the cargo bay at the very end of the airship.
When departing, the entire cargo compartment was filled with artifacts.
Of course, all of them were kept in a storage case exclusively for artifacts.
That number alone was not enough for only five people to take.
In addition, the cargo compartment was not opened, so it was necessary to check if any items were left there.
However, Robert’s concern turned to horror the moment he saw the cargo hold.
“what. Why is there nothing?”
The cargo hold, which was obviously full, was empty with not a speck of dust left.
“… … No, you really took all of them? how?”
Are wizards capable of such things?
Robert couldn’t close his gaping mouth, like someone who had seen a ghost.
* * *
Vierano led the party and walked in the lead.
Since there are no roads in the dense forest, it was difficult to tell whether the direction we were headed in was the right one.
But Vierano’s movements were unstoppable.
He lightly jumped over roots raised above the ground, and climbed tall rocks with ease.
“It’s going to be incredibly tough.”
Hans murmured as he followed.
Even a fairly well-trained person would get tired quickly after walking through this forest path.
Nevertheless, it was all thanks to the power of the artifact that Hans and the others were fine.
Hans muttered as he looked down at the bracelet on his right arm.
“There’s a reason why backcountry explorers love it so much.”
The fine mana flowing from the bracelet on his right hand spread throughout his body, invigorating him.
The performance was similar to physical enhancement through magic that magicians can use by default.
In fact, it was less efficient than that, but it was characterized by long durability.
There was nothing like this when I was walking on a rugged forest path like now.
Even this artifact alone was quite expensive, but this was not all of the artifacts that received support.
‘This is what it feels like to be wearing real money.’
With that thought in mind, Hans glanced over at Ludger.
It wasn’t noticeable because it was in the middle of the dark, but Hans, whose eyesight at night had gotten particularly better, could see.
A black shadow scattered like a haze outside Ludger’s clothes.
It was [Ater Nocturnus], a magic beast Ludger often used.
Maintaining it from the moment it entered the forest would mean that Ludger was just as thorough.
At that moment, Vierano, who was leading the way, opened his mouth.
“From here on, it is the territory of the Dentis family. Our family’s forest guards are in charge of this area, so you don’t have to worry about being caught.”
The spirit of the tense party slightly softened.
If Vierano spoke with such conviction, it was trustworthy enough.
Then Rudger narrowed his eyes and stared to one side.
“Miss Vierano. Let me ask you one thing.”
“Yes, something. Mr. Rudger.”
“Have you contacted the Dentis family elves separately that we will be arriving at this time?”
“no. It didn’t. As you can see, we arrived sooner than expected. But why are you asking that?”
“It looks like a guest has come.”
“A guest?”
Vierano looked at the darkness Ludger was staring at.
The forest was so dark that nothing could be seen at night.
The only elements that can be trusted are the starlight in the sky and the light emitted naturally by some grass insects.
But Rudger saw something.
Vierano, just in case, summoned the wind spirit and sent out a reconnaissance.
The wind spirit, moving secretly, eventually conveyed what he had seen to Vierano through the breeze.
“what… … !”
Vierano was horrified.
In the vicinity of the border that touched the territory of the Dentis family, there were unknown elves.
They noticed the existence of this side and were secretly building a siege.
“Judging by the reaction, it seems that this is a situation that Mr. Vierano did not expect.”
What this one noticed, the other also noticed.
The covert movements became explicit.
Fuhuaak!
Ather Nocturnus, which was wrapped around Ludger’s body, inflated like a balloon and created a barrier of shadow as if protecting the party.
Arrows that pierced through the darkness landed on top of it.
Vierano let out a sigh as he looked at the arrowhead of the arrow that fell helplessly to the floor.
“It’s from the Shade Warden.”
“No matter how borderline the territory is, is it common for elves from other families to stay so blatantly?”
“It can’t be.”
“That means, Mr. Vierano’s home is not in a very good situation either.”
“… … I guess so.”
Fortunately, the other person hadn’t been able to properly grasp this side’s identity yet.
If only I knew who this was.
I wouldn’t have approached it so openly.
“Alex.”
“uh.”
“Can you?”
“In the middle of a dark night like this, to fight the elves in their home ground, the dense forest? alone?”
Rudger nodded.
Alex laughed and drew his sword.
“It will be the best revenge match.”
* * *
Sedina stood up.
I reflexively looked around, but my son-in-law seemed lost in the darkness.
‘Where is this place?’
My skull was pounding and my mind was still dreaming.
It was as if the memory had been interrupted in the middle.
‘Did you pass out? why?’
Sedina remembered what she had seen before she collapsed.
okay. Clearly there was a follower.
So, following Alex’s instructions, we decided to stay at a crowded restaurant and try to keep our guard down.
‘I did, but I suddenly smelled a familiar scent from somewhere.’
Sedina checked her physical condition.
My body was still tired like wet cotton, and it felt like there was a fog in my head.
‘Familiar smell. The state of the body as if it had fallen asleep. Could it be that he used sleeping incense?’
Sedina’s expression hardened.
I passed out and woke up in a place I had never seen before.
He had no choice but to admit that he had been kidnapped.
‘This is not Leatherbelk. Where is it?’
Sedina found herself lying on a soft bed.
Kidnapped, not in a dungeon, but in a place like this?
‘Besides, the air is clear. Why is the atmosphere so familiar?’
It felt like I was in my own classroom, as if I had a flower garden with all sorts of plants.
No, there was a much clearer air around him than that.
“You finally opened your eyes.”
At that time, in the darkness, the inside of the wall shone like a star.
Sedina realized later that it was someone’s pupil, not a jewel.
To that extent, the other person was secretly erasing their presence.
“Welcome, Plante’s child.”
The being in the dark slowly rose from its seat and approached Sedina.
As the distance got closer, Sedina, accustomed to the darkness, could see her opponent’s face.
Beautiful appearance and gorgeous hair color. With a graceful appearance and pointy ears.
“How does it feel to return to your bloodline’s hometown?”
