Episode 20
It was a replica of the market of the Duke of Breyo.
“I bet you paid the proper wages to the Hebron people?”
“Of course.”
Serpens had made a rope 1.3 kilometers long. One was completed, and three more were to be made. It was intended to be used to build a skybridge to the west.
“Where did you learn architectural theory?”
“In the book.”
I had entrusted the construction of the cloud bridge to Serpens, but he never produced a result that I was satisfied with.
They expected it to cost a huge amount of money and doubted whether they could afford the construction costs.
I had no choice but to show them the way. Naturally, they reaped the great benefit of tax exemption. However, the upper part of the serpentine was to occupy a prime location in the new market in Hebron in exchange for helping build the western skybridge.
“Are there any architecture books in Hebron?”
“I have a copy.”
“I heard that this method of building a bridge was first attempted seven years ago. It’s not a widely known method.”
“so?”
“… … You are amazing.”
The questions of the suspense became shorter day by day.
It must have been a realization that it was better to get a little more of the beans that came out of me at the time of picking them one by one.
A cloud bridge spanning a cliff about 1 kilometer wide cannot be built using conventional methods.
The easiest way was the magic bridge, but this was impossible even for a 5th class wizard, Bartman.
Sir Brown and the soldiers of Hebron stood before the western cliff.
After their victory in the battle with Nurha, they stayed in the western region and hunted wild beasts. They also guarded the workers while they were clearing the road leading to the western cliff.
There were three more people at the edge of the cliff besides the soldier and Sir Brown.
It was me, the lord of serpents, and the wind spirit sorcerer El.
Elle’s clothes were so extravagant that it seemed excessive. It was her father’s work. When she asked him to make her a robe fit for a shaman, he finished a piece that was hard to tell if it was a robe or a dress.
“L.”
“Yes, your highness.”
El stood before me with a blank expression. Ever since she made a contract with the low-level wind spirit, she had been naked on the top of the Hebron mansion. There, she learned the wind mana training method that I had taught her, and fortunately, El understood the training method well. Perhaps because the sign mushroom suited her constitution, El did not have a runny nose even once.
However, Elle’s skin looked dull. It was evidence of a hard time. Instead, she gained a large amount of spirit power in a short period of time. This was thanks to the wind attribute mana training method.
‘After all, people have to work hard to live.’
The wind spirit tried to keep her master El from dying, and the spirit sorcerer El tried to survive.
Thanks to the efforts of the two, I was able to accumulate as much spiritual power as I had hoped.
“Can you come and go while holding the rope? You’ll come back empty-handed.”
Instead of answering, El looked back at the wind spirit. The wind spirit, who had a vague human form, nodded.
There was a forest on the cliff on the other side. The area up to that entrance was Hebron’s territory, but it was impossible to manage the territory on the other side because the cliff was split.
Even since the territory beyond that was the domain of the Viscount Zielson, we were in no position to cause a commotion like in the case of Nurha, demanding that they hand over our territory.
“Then go.”
The wind spirit lifted the rope together with El.
The 1.3 kilometer long rope was extremely heavy and consumed a lot of spiritual power.
The reason the wind spirit lifted El was because there was a limit to the distance between the spirit and the spirit magician. The spirit could not leave the magician’s side, but the distance it could be from the magician varied depending on the spirit’s level.
The rope was about halfway up the cliff.
Kuwaaa!
A thunderous roar filled the cliffs. The roar swirled like a whirlwind, went deep into the cliffs, and then burst out explosively, causing the startled animals to run away in panic.
I raised my aura and heightened my vision.
As my field of vision expanded, I was able to see the cliffs on the other side.
There was an orc there, a monster with the mark of a trickster on its forehead.
“… … Why is that there? Didn’t you say that the Jaylesons took care of it?”
I’ve heard rumors of a monster orc appearing in the house of Viscount Zielson for some time now. The knights led by Ambrose were defeated, but I heard that the Viscount raised an army and took revenge.
The top stock of Serpens answered my question.
“I heard that too, but I guess it was just a rumor.”
There were persistent rumors of strange noises coming from the forest beyond the cliff, and the source of the noise was that orc.
“Not only did they defeat the Knights, but they also crippled Sir Ambrose, so they must have kept quiet. They must have thought that since they had driven the orc into a forest where there were few people, it would not be known to the outside world for the time being.”
I called Elle right away.
Since she was a slave, she tried to follow my orders even when the orcs showed up.
The brows of the Serpens senior officer in charge of bridge construction furrowed. He sighed and asked me.
“What should we do about the cloud bridge?”
“I have to make it.”
“Even if we build a bridge, we won’t be able to proceed because of those orcs. And we’ll be attacked by the orcs before we even build the bridge.”
Kuwaaa!
The orc went berserk. It seemed to care about us, and it roared at the top of its lungs and jumped up and down. It was armed with a long sword, presumably belonging to a knight, and it cut down the large tree with it.
“I’ll stop here for today. El, recover your spirit power. Come cross the cliff with me tomorrow.”
“Yes, your highness.”
* * *
“You don’t have to go with me.”
“You might as well cut off my neck.”
Brown was tough. Even though rumors spread that there was a monster beyond the cliff that even the Viscount could not handle, Brown stuck by my side armed.
Considering the spirit power of the spirit wizard, he wore light armor instead of full plate, and his weapons were only a bow, a quiver, a long sword, and a round shield.
There was one more person who was not invited to the party.
“Why are you following me again?”
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“Didn’t you swear the oath of mana? If you die, I’m finished too.”
Jansen let out a deep sigh. He had decided that since he was going to die one way or another, he would find a way to survive.
I nodded, meaning that it was time to leave.
Since we weren’t carrying heavy ropes, the wind spirit lifted us up without difficulty.
“Not bad power. Brown, divert the orc’s attention, and Jansen, protect Brown. I’ll cut off his head.”
From the beginning, I had planned to handle it by myself. Rather than taking away Hebron’s talents that were just starting to grow and suffer losses, I wanted to finish it off for sure.
I fought a branded goblin warrior. At the time, I was on the verge of exhaustion due to lack of aura.
On the other hand, I haven’t exhausted even a single bit of my aura yet.
“… … Didn’t you say that Sir Ambrose was attacked?”
“I heard you let your guard down.”
“Didn’t you say that that was just a rumor made up by the Jaylesons?”
Brown seemed to remember everything I said.
“If Hebron is held back by a mere orc, there is no future for it.”
Sir Ambrose de Gilson, the commander of the Knights of Gilson, was defeated by a mere orc.
Such shocking events were happening all over the world.
‘Goblin and orc are just the beginning.’
If my guess was correct, the monsters branded on their foreheads would continue to appear. The world would become even more chaotic, and from then on, only the powerful would likely survive.
Even if the appearance of mutant monsters ceases, it has always been the case that only the strong survive.
Kuwaaa!
Although they had set out before dawn, the orc woke the forest from its deep sleep at dawn. The animals, startled by its roar, fled in terror.
“The bastard noticed our approach.”
Brown pointed with his finger into the forest beyond the cliff.
An orc was glaring at us from between the bushes. A pair of eyes blazed in the twilight of the bushes. The creature’s force daunted us.
‘If I had come alone, I would have been in big trouble.’
Even though Sir Ambrose was defeated, I was confident. I had not only swordsmanship but also intermediate fire elemental skills.
“Inferno, fire bomb.”
Kwaaaaang!
A fireball flew and hit the orc where he was. He didn’t dodge Inferno’s attack. He took it with his whole body as if it was nothing.
The flames clung to the orc’s body, emitting black smoke. Until the flames died down, the orc just stared at me without blinking.
‘Even so, it’s only my fault.’
Jansen said, sounding exasperated.
“It’s solid.”
“I don’t think your magic will be able to leave a scratch on it?”
“… … I will focus on defense.”
Jansen assessed his own skills coolly. It was a great asset to the wizard.
“If you have the time, use binding magic to steal the attack timing.”
“Yes, your highness.”
Kkugugugugu!
As the tree fell, it got caught on a nearby tree. The orc felled all the trees around him, as if he was planning to make a training ground.
“Brown, one good hit will do you no good. Even if you survive, you’ll be in trouble for a while. Dodge as much as possible, and if possible, deflect it.”
“Yes, your highness.”
It wasn’t as easy as it sounds, but Brown could do it. He shouldn’t have to do it anyway.
“El, make the spirits raise dust. Don’t approach the orcs, but harass their eyes, nose, and mouth with the dust from afar.”
“Yes, your highness.”
The time the vassals came was when I couldn’t defeat him in one breath. Watching him run wild, it seemed like it would take a long time to break that solid thing.
“Inferno, inhabit my sword.”
-joy!
Physical abilities were enhanced through the Antaria Aura training method.
The fire attribute aura strengthened the Inferno flames embedded in the long sword.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The sword imbued with fire was lethal. If he could just plunge the sword into his opponent’s body, his internal organs would be burned and he would die instantly.
Kuwaaa!
The orc picked up a rock and threw it. It seemed like it would not reach us from that distance, but it did. It just barely missed us.
The wind spirit shook for a moment. It was impossible for the four of us to be moved separately by the lower spirits. If we couldn’t get down over the cliff, we could have fallen from the cliff and been killed.
I pointed to the bushes on the left.
“You guys just have to get down there. Before that, throw me over there.”
Elle was my slave.
She didn’t question or think deeply about my orders. She literally threw me away.
“Your Majesty, Your Highness!”
Brown shouted in panic, but he remained suspended in the air, while I, on the other hand, fell like a meteor to the side of the clearing where the orc had knocked down the tree.
A leafy tree accepted me. However, that alone was not enough to reduce the impact. I trained my aura to protect my entire body, and held on to the branches to slow down my fall as much as possible.
Kuuuuung!
Even though I was practicing the fall technique, I still felt like I couldn’t breathe.
‘Even if your limbs are paralyzed, there are many ways to free them.’
Fortunately, the accident did not paralyze the area.
Crack!
I bit the tip of my tongue to wake up my mind, and raised my aura to stimulate my entire body.
There was no need to follow a specific method of training. This was closer to a medical technique than a method of training.
Brrrr.
My limbs trembled as if I had been struck by lightning.
Thump thump thump!
An orc was running towards me. I could feel its presence close by.
Without even thinking about it, I jumped up from my seat and ran.
