Ch.435Chapter 435 – Towards the Seal of the Snow Field (2)

Wild wyverns are not known to have a habit of traveling in groups.

However, wyverns tamed by lizardmen could abandon this natural instinct and move in groups according to their tamers’ will. Thanks to this, the surrounding air was filled with the sound of massive wingbeats that would normally never be heard.

Despite flying through the snow, the wyverns maintained their formation perfectly, cutting through the sky as if there were no problem at all.

“Since these already powerful wyverns are traveling together, monsters probably can’t easily attack them.”

According to Noah, there were monsters that hunted wyverns, but they typically exploited the wyverns’ solitary nature. His explanation was that when wyverns traveled in groups like this, predators wouldn’t even approach.

On the backs of the wyverns sat more than ten lizardman warriors, huddled together. Some held arrows, ready for aerial combat at any moment, while lizardmen capable of magic remained vigilant, watching their surroundings.

In short, the massive flock of wyverns was essentially a flying fortress.

“It’s fascinating. I thought wyverns were nearly impossible to tame.”

“By the way, it’s not as cold as I expected?”

In response to Eve and Sera’s comments, Lizzy, who was directly controlling a wyvern, turned around with a grin. Notably, the wyvern she rode was about 1.2 times larger than the others.

“The secret lies in those cloths tied to the wyverns.”

“Cloths?”

“Those cloths are soaked in a special solution. When it evaporates in the wind and blows backward, it spreads warmth around us.”

Lizzy added that if thoroughly soaked, the effect would last for several hours even at a wyvern’s speed.

“With wyverns, we raise them from eggs and feed them certain medicines to greatly reduce their wild nature. So the wyverns we’ve tamed recognize us as their parents and won’t attack easily unless instructed to do so.”

“That’s fascinating. This explains why lizardmen forces are so formidable.”

“The more wyverns we raise, the stronger our forces become. However, they eat so much that maintenance costs are no joke.”

Lizzy added that this was quite a problem in the snow fields where food was scarce. Still, it was rather threatening to know that when all wyverns were mobilized, they could quickly transport most of the warrior corps.

“Speaking of which, you lizardmen have many interesting medicines. Are they passed down through generations?”

“No. A few decades ago, an alchemist taught them to our tribe.”

Lizzy said she couldn’t remember the name. She wasn’t even born then.

“But it’s certain that this alchemist was incredibly skilled. Other lizardmen might remember the name.”

“I see.”

An incredibly skilled alchemist.

An alchemist who came to the snow fields.

We had one person in mind who matched our speculation.

‘Maria Medimaker.’

From what we could tell, she had visited this place at least twice, so it wouldn’t be strange if she had passed down knowledge during her first visit.

Of course, this was just speculation; without records, we couldn’t be certain.

“Noah, at this speed, how much longer do we need to fly?”

“Just a moment. Let me check the terrain… about 10 more minutes of flight should do it.”

“Let’s prepare for landing.”

After saying this, Lizzy took out a flute from her chest and blew it. Whatever the signal was, the flute made several loud sounds, and flute sounds echoed from various directions.

“We’ll land in five minutes. Kay, please be careful not to fall.”

“I’ll be careful.”

I nodded to the respectful Lizzy and looked down.

I was beginning to feel that our journey through the snow fields was coming to an end.

+

The wyverns landed in unison, and the lizardman warriors began to move forward in formation.

“Our warrior corps will handle any approaching monsters. Kay, you just need to indicate the direction.”

Lizzy said with a bow. This was natural, as she had already stated that the lizardmen’s purpose for coming here was to escort me.

I turned to look at Chris, who nodded and approached my side. She closed her eyes briefly, then pointed in one direction.

“That way.”

Immediately, all personnel moved in the direction Chris indicated. The lizardman warriors in particular began to move busily.

“Secure the perimeter!”

“This is the opportunity given by him, we must succeed!”

“Clear the snow! Be careful not to let anyone slip!”

The lizardmen began to pack down the path and move their spears in an orderly fashion. It looked chaotic and somewhat comical, but moving so energetically in this cold was no easy task.

However, the reason the lizardmen were making such a comical commotion was because they were doing it as a form of punishment.

I had instructed them to clear the path to the seal of monsters and to pack down the snow to prevent slipping. When given this simple but seemingly difficult task, the lizardmen surprisingly began working with joy.

My feelings, however, were somewhat mixed.

‘…I feel like some kind of celebrity.’

I recalled memories of thoroughly cleaning the parade grounds and everywhere else when a high-ranking officer visited. Now I was the one exercising that authority, which made me wonder if this was really appropriate.

Trying not to show my discomfort, I continued along the path, with the sound of wyverns following behind.

After quite some time had passed, Sera asked Chris a question.

“Do you know how much further we need to go?”

“I just know we’re almost there. If we keep going this way…”

Chris answered, then suddenly narrowed her eyes. In an instant, the surroundings changed as if covered in fog, and a snowstorm began.

“A snowstorm?”

“The weather was fine until just now.”

In response to my comment, Eve narrowed her eyes and looked at Noah. Noah nodded and answered.

“While the weather in the snow fields is known to be fickle, it doesn’t change this drastically without any warning signs.”

“Is it a defense system guarding the seal?”

Whether it was guardians or a location extremely difficult to access, Evgenia’s seal had some mechanism to protect it.

This sudden fog and snowstorm must be part of that. I immediately turned to Lizzy and spoke.

“Stop the punishment. If we move carelessly, we might get scattered. Gather the lizardmen together.”

“Warrior corps, cease all movement and assemble!”

With Lizzy’s voice, all the lizardmen began to gather. As Lizanis glanced nervously at me from among the lizardmen, I looked at Chris.

“Chris, do you know the direction?”

“Yes.”

Chris moved to the front, pushing through the lizardmen. Her staff was already glowing with light.

“Please follow me. I’ll guide you.”

Chris began to walk slowly. Beatrice and I walked right beside Chris to guard her, while the rest followed slowly behind. With each step through the snow, our bodies grew colder.

Beatrice quickly used magic to prevent our body temperature from dropping, and looking back, I caught a glimpse of Sera taking out some equipment. The lizardmen also began taking measures against the cold, pulling out tools or wrapping themselves in cloaks.

We continued to move forward. Proportionally, the snowstorm grew fiercer.

As if to prevent those without qualification from approaching the seal carelessly. Or as if to say that even those with qualifications couldn’t approach unless they could overcome this level of challenge.

The fierce snowstorm gradually froze our bodies and made it difficult to move forward.

The one fortunate thing was that monsters probably wouldn’t attack us. Of course, considering that this was because we occasionally saw the corpses of monsters that had frozen to death in the fierce snowstorm, it wasn’t entirely reassuring.

The wyverns in the back were also beginning to struggle, starting to howl, and Sera was clinging to them, trying to somehow keep their bodies warm.

‘Chris.’

I grew increasingly worried about Chris, who was leading the way. To guide everyone, she was at the very front, where the snowstorm was raging most fiercely. Even with magic maintaining her body temperature, she looked like she might be buried in the snow at any moment.

But Chris said nothing. She stood straight, holding her glowing staff to guide everyone, and moved forward slowly.

After enduring and encouraging each other for several more minutes…

“We’re… here.”

In the middle of the snowstorm, Chris said this and then struck the ground forcefully with her staff.

Then something strange happened.

Starting from where Chris had struck her staff, the fog began to thin in a circular pattern, and the snowstorm began to recede. The circle gradually grew larger, eventually becoming big enough to encompass all of our party with room to spare.

At the same time, the temperature suddenly began to rise, and the snow and ice clinging to our bodies began to melt.

The wyverns growled softly as if relieved to be alive, and the lizardmen looked around in surprise.

“It’s like a wall of snowstorm.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this in the snow fields…”

Lizzy and Noah spoke softly as they examined the place we had just passed through. The lizardmen looked out in wonder at the wall of snowstorm that drew a precise boundary and did not intrude inside.

And we focused on the sight before us.

“A statue?”

A statue of a woman with what appeared to be a jewel embedded in her forehead. A statue from which a slight holy power emanated.

Looking at the statue, Chris had a slightly sad expression and said quietly.

“It’s a divine statue of Lady Evgenia.”

“Then.”

“Yes.”

Looking at the statue of a goddess who was no longer in this world, Chris spoke quietly.

“This is our destination.”

Chris quietly declared that we had arrived at Evgenia’s final seal.

+

We had reached our destination.

After informing Noah and Lizzy of this fact, Lizzy immediately began issuing orders to the lizardmen.

“Set up the camp! We don’t know when or how enemies might appear!”

Under Lizzy’s command, the lizardmen began to move in an orderly fashion. They quickly erected tents, lit fires in the center, and began planting pointed wooden barriers they had carried on the wyverns’ backs a short distance from the snowstorm wall.

“I’d like to send up the wyverns, but…”

“Couldn’t they just fly straight up through the opening?”

Noah asked in response to Lizzy’s comment. Perhaps due to the effect of Chris striking the ground earlier, the sky above was also clear between the walls of the snowstorm.

“The sky is too narrow for that. Besides, the wyverns are quite tired from pushing through the snowstorm earlier.”

The conditions weren’t right for flying, and the wyverns were exhausted. Lizzy said they planned to let the wyverns rest in the center of the camp.

“At least it should be easier on the way back. We can just fly straight through that opening in the sky.”

“Unless the wall suddenly closes in again.”

“Don’t say such terrible things.”

Lizzy narrowed her eyes at Noah’s comment. Then she bowed her head to me and spoke.

“We will stand by here, if that’s acceptable? If you don’t want to send an advance party…”

“It’s fine.”

Just like with Alfheim’s seal, it would likely be pointless to enter without Chris anyway. And having more people didn’t necessarily give us an advantage. Rather than risking unnecessary casualties, it was better to go with a small elite group from the start.

“Guard this place well until we return.”

“Understood, but…”

After saying this, Lizzy looked at Noah with a slightly regretful expression.

“Could you at least take this sheep beastkin with you?”

“When it comes to skill, I’m quite confident, you know?”

Noah said with a smile. Indeed, having faced the Shadow Warrior party together, it was clear that Noah’s skills weren’t bad.

“Do you have some complaint?”

“How dare I express dissatisfaction with Kay’s decision.”

Noah quickly bowed his head to me in response to my question. Then he carefully said to me.

“It’s just that since the wolf beastkin who came with you initially is no longer with us, I’m a bit concerned about that gap.”

“You mean Sonya.”

Lizzy nodded at my words. Hearing her name mentioned, Sonya turned her head slightly, wondering what was going on.

And Noah spoke somewhat bitterly.

“Sonya has been through some rough times. Rather than pushing her further, I suggested she remain behind.”

“Again, I’m not expressing dissatisfaction. I just want to recommend taking one more person with you, just in case.”

From Lizzy’s words, I could immediately tell who she was referring to.

“You mean Lizanis.”

“Her skills are good.”

“And if I refuse?”

Lizzy simply bowed her head without answering.

I spoke quietly to her.

“…Thanks to the lizardmen, we traveled comfortably, so I could consider it a bit, but Lizanis is essentially the culprit who caused us trouble twice because of the lizardmen. Moreover, Eve seems quite angry with Lizanis. It doesn’t seem like a situation where we can casually take her along.”

“But she’s too valuable an asset to leave behind. Above all, we came here to escort Kay, so I’m begging you to allow one of our escorts to enter with you.”

And that escort just happened to be Lizanis.

I looked at her with slight displeasure, and Lizzy quietly spoke.

“You don’t have to take her… but if that’s the case, I’ll have to behead my sister with my own hands in the future.”

“Behead?”

“Because she angered the one we must serve, twice. Even though you’ve already punished us, we must hold her accountable separately.”

From Lizzy’s words, I could understand the situation a bit better.

There had been no mention of it, so I thought the lizardmen were letting it slide, but apparently they planned to hold Lizanis accountable after everything was over.

The sister would have to behead her older sister.

“My sister’s foolishness is something I can never apologize enough for. Having angered Kay, she rightfully deserves to be beheaded.”

Lizzy said with her head bowed.

“However, speaking as her sister, my sister was merely foolish and hasty in causing trouble, not disloyal to Kay. Of course, ignorance and lack of knowledge are no excuse for her crimes…”

“So you’re asking for one more chance.”

She was essentially asking me not to create a situation where she would have to behead her family member.

‘This is troublesome.’

Looking only at Lizanis, I honestly didn’t want to get deeply involved. I had been angry at her attitude before, and she had also made Eve angry. Even though some time had passed, my negative feelings toward her hadn’t subsided enough.

But if I left her behind, her sister Lizzy would have to take responsibility and behead her.

‘…This is deliberate, isn’t it…’

She was polite, but I hadn’t expected her to appeal to my emotions to save her blood relative.

And seeing my troubled reaction, Lizzy quietly asked.

“May I beg for mercy?”

I could see Lizzy’s sad eyes.