Ch.162Chapter 162

“Wendigo? I heard a loud noise from below, are you alright?”

Through the hole in the ceiling, Skadi’s voice could be heard. She covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve while waving her hand to clear away the dust.

Unable to see Wendigo clearly, she climbed onto a sturdy root and descended into the underground.

Wendigo snickered as he watched Skadi coming down with the sunlight at her back. The dust from the wrecked basement was sparkling, shining like a halo above Skadi’s head.

“I thought an angel was descending from heaven.”

“What’s an angel?”

“Beautiful beings that come down from the sky. If they existed, they would probably descend just like you are now.”

Caught off guard by Wendigo’s surprise attack, Skadi stared at him with a blank expression before her face gradually turned red. She was so startled that she began to hiccup.

Skadi covered her face with her sleeve in embarrassment and whined.

“Sometimes I wonder if you have a hobby of teasing people…”

“Your reactions are just too good. If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll refrain.”

“…That’s not it.”

As her hiccups subsided, Skadi lowered her hands and sleeves from her face. Her ears were still slightly red, but not enough to interfere with her duties.

Opening her spiritual vision, Skadi looked around the basement and let out a small gasp of admiration.

The massive magic circle engraved throughout the underground passage to conceal traces of mystical energy was truly impressive… and the epitome of inefficiency.

She examined the magic circle with a bewildered expression, tracing the floor with her fingers.

“I knew the Empire’s summoning techniques were different from ours, but I didn’t expect this much. This seems like… such a wasteful spell.”

“Is that so? I thought it was quite impressive since it conceals the flow of mystical energy in this passage.”

Wendigo was puzzled as he sensed the mystical energy flowing through the passage. Not only was the concealment technique remarkable, but the amount of mystical energy filling the passage was quite substantial.

Like an aqueduct drawing water, the magic circle engraved in this underground passage was channeling the surrounding mystical energy toward the end of the tunnel.

Honestly, concealing the traces of mystical energy felt almost like a byproduct of the energy absorption process.

However, to Skadi’s eyes as a traditional(?) Summoner, the intention behind the magic circle was unsatisfactory.

“A spell of this scale would be drawing all the mystical energy in the area into this underground passage. That means the surrounding area would be drained of mystical energy.”

Land depleted of mystical energy easily weakens and takes a long time for new mystical energy to grow. In that sense, the magic circle was essentially killing the land.

Skadi attempted to damage the magic circle. However, damaging parts of it proved futile.

Just as placing a large rock in the middle of a river won’t completely stop the flow, even if one flow in the magic circle was cut off, other flows existed to replace it.

“It seems we’ll need to head inside to stop this spell.”

“We were planning to go inside to find Dencan anyway, so that’s fine. Will you come with me?”

Skadi answered Wendigo’s question with a smile.

Wendigo and Skadi proceeded deeper into the passage, following the flow of mystical energy.

* * *

Needless to say, the elder and the mustachioed nobleman weren’t the only people Wendigo had killed in the passage.

Dencan’s knights and soldiers were patrolling the passage with torches.

A knight on patrol was sternly warning his soldiers:

“Don’t let your guard down just because the inner fortress hasn’t been breached. Check every corner thoroughly.”

Though knights were far removed from mystical arts and magic, they knew how important the work being done underground was.

There was no news that the entrance to the underground had been discovered by enemies, but the knights under Dencan’s orders were carrying out their duties more thoroughly than ever.

With the knights being so strict, the soldiers were suffering as well.

Having to search every dark corner in an already gloomy underground was mentally draining.

The soldier at the front, holding a torch, grumbled to himself.

‘Damn it, of all people, why did I have to be the one carrying the torch…’

One might think it’s good to hold the brightest light in such deep darkness, but being close to light wasn’t always beneficial.

Being the only one shining brightly in the darkness made the surrounding darkness feel even more intense.

Still, the torch-bearing soldier did have some advantages.

‘Is it night outside already? It’s strangely cold. Without this torch, I’d be shivering.’

Having spent the whole day underground, he couldn’t tell the exact time, but the soldier guessed it might be night.

It certainly hadn’t been this cold until just a moment ago, but now a strange chill permeated the passage.

One of his fellow soldiers, unable to withstand the cold, approached the torch while keeping an eye on the knight.

The torch-bearing soldier looked at his comrade with disdain and scolded him.

“You weakling, instead of shivering from the cold, why don’t you carry the torch yourself?”

“Hey now, you think I came over because I’m cold? I just wanted to keep you company since you looked bored.”

“What nonsense… huh? What’s that?”

About to swing the torch at his annoying comrade, the soldier blinked in surprise at the jerky the other man pulled from his shirt.

The man glanced at the knight, then warmed the jerky over the torch.

After the jerky softened from the heat, the soldier tore it in half, putting one piece in his mouth.

Enjoying the flavor of the tender jerky, he offered the other half to the torch-bearing soldier.

After checking that the knight wasn’t looking, he eagerly reached out and…

“Well, I’ve never met someone with such a generous nature. You could’ve been a wandering poet rather than a soldier.”

“My face doesn’t work on noble ladies, so that wasn’t an option. How’s the meat taste?”

The torch-bearing soldier nodded as he savored the jerky. It was just salted jerky, but few things tasted better than snacks eaten while working.

Naturally, the two soldiers chatted while keeping an eye on the knight.

Nothing extraordinary was discussed. Born as serfs and lucky enough to become soldiers, their stories were limited to tales of their hometowns and comrades.

But in the underground passage where the same scenery stretched endlessly, even such stories were interesting enough.

“There was a peculiar woman in my hometown. She hated wearing clothes, and one day… Ack!?”

About to share a story about an exhibitionist woman from his hometown, the soldier bumped his head against something blocking his path and stepped back.

Rubbing his sore forehead, the soldier held the torch forward…

“What is this?”

Puzzled by the black silk and fur reflecting the light, the soldier slowly raised the torch, lifting his gaze.

As his gaze reached the ceiling, the soldier discovered a deer skull looking down at him from the darkness. Startled, he shouted to his comrade beside him.

“Hey! Do you see that… huh?”

But the soldier who had shared the jerky was in no condition to speak. His comrade’s head had been severed without him even noticing.

He swallowed hard as he watched his comrade’s body collapse with a thud.

The chill he had forgotten suddenly became palpable, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

The soldier wondered if he was dreaming. Falling asleep during rest periods was common after all.

Gathering his last bit of courage, the soldier turned around.

“Sir Knight!”

The knight he served was looking at him with his sword drawn.

The soldier shouted toward the knight with a final hope. Though the knight was known for his bad temper and would kill even his own serfs for disrespectful behavior, this was no time to worry about such things.

The soldier expected the knight to cut down whatever was in front of him in one swift stroke, like in some cheap ballad.

Crack.

The knight’s neck twisted while he still held his drawn sword. Though his expression was hidden by his helmet, even the simple-minded soldier could easily guess that the knight was dead.

The one fortunate thing was that the soldier couldn’t see the roots writhing around the knight’s neck, as the knight was quite far away.

A cold wind blew and extinguished the torch, along with the soldier’s hope.

Was it due to extreme fear?

The soldier stared blankly at the extinguished torch before throwing it to the ground. He turned to face forward.

Before his eyes was a deer skull emitting an eerie glow.

As the sharp teeth that seemed ready to tear his throat apart opened with a crack, the soldier felt his heart stop.

But what emerged from the deer’s mouth wasn’t a curse or mockery that would defile his very soul.

“If you speak only the truth to my questions, I will spare your life. Will you speak?”

The soldier nodded, barely able to breathe properly. He had little expectation of survival.

His instincts told him that the being before him was an unstoppable calamity.

Will it ask why I’m dying? Or how many sins I’ve committed in my lifetime?

Reflecting on one’s life in the final moments is a sad human instinct—hoping that one’s actions had value.

As he was about to shed tears, contemplating how meaningless his life had been…

“How many soldiers and knights are stationed in this passage? Explain approximately how far apart they are as well.”

“……?”

…The soldier who was about to cry found his tears suddenly dried up by such a practical question.

As the soldier looked at him with a dumbfounded expression, the Beast of Death—no, Wendigo—growled with discomfort.

“Don’t tell me you’re an ignorant fool who knows nothing. If you have no information, there’s no reason to keep you alive—”

“Wait, wait! I’ll talk. I’ll tell you everything, just please wait a moment!!!”

The soldier who had been humbly preparing for his end abandoned enlightenment and grabbed the lifeline tightly.

He began reciting everything he knew. How many comrades were in the passage, what was in which direction, and even the fact that there was a shining golden door at the end.

The soldier retraced his memories more diligently than ever before in his life, offering everything he knew, and Wendigo nodded with satisfaction and said:

“You’ve told me more than I expected. If you want to live, go straight in that direction and climb up through the collapsed ceiling. When the warriors approach, tell them the King of Manheimr has accepted their surrender.”

As Wendigo gestured toward the back as if telling him to hurry along, the soldier bowed repeatedly in gratitude.

His knight is dead?

His comrade who shared jerky with him is dead?

None of that mattered. Being alive was best, even if you had to roll through a field of dog dung.

Moved by Wendigo’s mercy, the soldier ran down the passage with tears streaming down his face. Though he had already forgotten the truths he’d realized at death’s door, the soldier was certain of one thing:

Everyone in this passage was completely screwed.

* * *

The information provided by the sage who had been refunded from the brink of death was completely accurate.

Wendigo reached the end of the passage, killing every knight and soldier he encountered.

He burst into laughter when he saw the massive golden door before him.

“I can’t understand why they would put such a luxurious door underground where no one would see it.”

Skadi nodded as if agreeing with Wendigo’s thoughts. If they were worried about people stealing the gold, they shouldn’t have made such a door in the first place—why such extravagance?

Wendigo scratched the golden door with his claw. Despite being made of soft gold, the door remained intact while Wendigo’s claw was scratched.

Through the resistance he felt on his claw, Wendigo immediately realized that Dencan had played tricks with the golden door as well. Looking at his clenched fist, he muttered:

“Still, given who we’re dealing with, I should greet him properly.”

True courtesy comes from giving the best treatment after considering the situation and the other party.

After considering everything, Wendigo courteously kicked the golden door.