Ch.116Chapter 116: Running Across the Sky

“If Valt-nim goes with us… it would certainly be a great help.”

Each region is quite far from here. It’s difficult to move such a large number of troops.

But Valt’s group could travel anywhere.

Besides, we don’t know what the orcs who failed in their operation here might do next.

This place is an important strategic point, so defensive forces are necessary.

Valt, who can achieve the greatest effect with minimal personnel, is the most suitable for this mission.

But there’s a problem.

“Hmm… but where should I go?”

This is the major issue. First, we can exclude the area where Grace is.

Grace is a Master-level powerhouse. Moreover, she’s accompanied by numerous 7th-rank level mages and aura users.

Even if an Orc Lord is present, Grace won’t lose.

The problematic areas are the remaining three locations.

The commander was also pondering while looking at the map.

“This is a difficult decision… I don’t have detailed knowledge of their troop situations…”

Besides, it seems battles are raging right now, as we can’t establish contact.

If we wait for communication, it might be too late.

But this is where Lisa shines.

Lisa points to one spot on the map and says:

“If it were me, I’d go here first.”

“Oh? Is there a reason you think so?”

Lisa begins explaining while pointing to other locations.

“The other two places are fine for defense. They can hold out in a siege if necessary.”

The commander nods in agreement with Lisa’s assessment.

“As Lisa said… those locations indeed have terrain advantages for defense.”

The commander, Grace’s trusted subordinate, hadn’t expected this small girl to be so knowledgeable about military strategy.

To create a strategy, you need criteria.

Whether it’s terrain, personnel, weather, or situation.

Of course, Lisa might not yet be able to control all these factors to determine priorities, but with Valt as our trump card, what we need to do is obvious.

“Very well. As it happens, I have a friend in the Lebrol region, so I should be able to contact them. I’ll tell them to focus on defense.”

“Oh? You have a way to communicate?”

“Yes, a long-distance message spell. It’s one-time use, but sufficient for transmitting information.”

Communication through magical communication centers is inexplicably not working.

It’s right to use all available means.

This shows just how valuable the amulets from the Empire’s Grovint Academy truly are.

While they can’t enable ultra-long-distance communication, they can send messages quite far, making them strategically superior.

The only drawback is that they’re extremely expensive, so not everyone can use them.

“Then our destination is decided. Let’s depart immediately.”

The place is called Beltrik. Valt’s group headed to the teleport station without delay.

***

However, a problem arose.

The teleport to Beltrik Castle wasn’t working.

“What’s going on? Why isn’t the teleport working?”

The mage in charge makes a troubled expression.

“I-I don’t know why. There’s clearly no problem on our end… My guess is that there’s an issue with the teleport station at Beltrik Castle.”

Valt’s group unanimously says:

“Dark Society.”

“It’s the Dark Society.”

“Must be the Dark Society.”

Blocking magical communication centers and teleports means they don’t want information about that region to get out.

The situation has become urgent. They need to move, even if it means running.

“Isn’t Beltrik Castle somewhat distant from the battlefield anyway?”

“Yes. It’s about half a day’s journey away.”

When discussing distances, people usually refer to how long it would take by fast carriage.

A half-day by carriage is a distance Valt could reach in less than an hour if he ran.

“And from here to there?”

Lisa, who had checked the map earlier, answers.

“Roughly two days? That’s how long it would take.”

The distance is quite considerable. But there’s no other option.

“Hmm… since Liris can’t use teleport yet… we’ll have to run there.”

Because teleport stations exist and are widespread, it’s easy to think of teleportation as a low-rank spell, but that’s absolutely not the case.

For reference, Blink is a 6th circle spell. Teleport, a higher-tier movement spell, requires a mage to be at least 8th circle to use individually.

“I’m sorry I can’t be of help.”

“That’s not what I meant. How many of those platform spells can you use?”

He’s referring to the platform spell Liris used when helping Valt collapse the mountain.

With that, they could jump through the air to reach the Beltrik region.

“Umm… creating one at a time isn’t difficult, but… right now I’d need to make at least four. Creating four simultaneously is quite challenging.”

“Is that necessary? One is enough.”

“What? If that’s the case, getting to Beltrik won’t be a problem.”

Valt plans to carry everyone and jump.

“Great! You’ll have to teach me that spell later too.”

***

Valt, having completed preparations, gets ready to run in a somewhat comical posture.

“Liris, you create platforms as you see fit, and I’ll jump on them, understand?”

Liris, her face slightly flushed, answers.

“Y-yes, Valt.”

Valt’s current state was with Lisa riding piggyback, his left arm holding Arias, and his right arm embracing Liris.

Valt’s sturdy arms were wide and comfortable enough for Liris and Arias to sit on.

Arias, tightly held by Valt, also blushes and says:

“If you get tired or thirsty, just say so. I’ll take care of that much.”

‘S-suddenly such an event! I’m so glad I came along!’

Undine, circling around Arias, shares her emotional state and just giggles with a big smile.

“Thank you, Arias. Alright! Let’s go! Lisa, hold on tight so you don’t fall!”

Lisa looks genuinely excited. Since Valt is incredibly tall, Lisa always climbs on his body, but the view she’s seeing now is truly extraordinary.

The view from standing in the air on Liris’s Blood Seal magic made Lisa’s heart soar.

In truth, many people wanted to accompany Valt.

Ivan would have followed Valt if the teleport station had worked. But he couldn’t come along in that posture, so he could only watch.

People gathered below to see Valt’s group off.

“Have a safe journey! Please keep in contact!”

Thanks to 7th circle Liris and Martina, they could mark communications, enabling long-distance contact.

“We will. Hah!”

KWANG!

With a powerful shout, Valt leaps forward.

But after waiting a moment, no platform appears, and Valt and his companions begin plummeting toward the ground.

“KYAAAAH!!”

“Wh-what?! Hey!! Liris? What are you doing!? We’re falling!!”

“J-just a moment! I didn’t know Valt would jump so far! Co-coordinate generation! Blood Seal!”

A platform forms directly beneath Valt.

KUUNG!

There must have been quite an impact due to the falling speed, but to Valt, it was nothing.

While the three women were panicking, Valt precisely landed on the platform and leaped high again.

“Making it slightly diagonal would be good too. Very nice.”

Unlike Valt, Arias and Lisa feel like they’ve aged ten years.

“Whew… I thought we were going to crash…”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s fine! It’s impossible to predict Valt anyway, so it’s natural.”

To move this far with just one leap.

Liris marvels at Valt’s physical abilities.

While magic and aura are important, basic running like this largely depends on one’s innate physical capabilities.

SWOOSH-

“Haha!! This is refreshing!! Valt, it’s so exhilarating!!”

Having found their rhythm, Liris and Valt began racing through the air with fantastic coordination.

The people watching from below could only stare in disbelief.

“Haha, he’s really jumping through the sky. What a rare sight.”

***

THUD-

THUD-

THUD-

The massive sound echoing from the sky.

It’s the sound of Valt stepping on platforms as he jumps.

There were many villages on the way to the Beltrik region, and the villagers were bewildered by the thunder-like sounds from a clear sky.

Among them, a child who saw Valt jumping through the sky was teased as a liar by his friends, causing a minor incident.

“How much further?”

“We’re almost there!”

The moment Valt says that.

After crossing a massive mountain in front of them, the Beltrik plains unfold before Valt and his companions.

Dark objects visible in the distance.

It’s clearly the human expedition force and orc army engaged in battle.

Fortunately, it seems the battle hasn’t been going on for long, as the expedition’s forces appear relatively intact.

But soon after, due to the orcs’ strange abilities, the human formation is thrown into confusion, noticeable even from this distance.

“There!! Hurry! We need to go quickly!!”

“Right! Let’s go!”

And so, Valt’s second orc battle began.