Ch.747Mountain Range Exploration

The ground-dwelling monsters could be handled well enough just by deploying Demian, but when we encountered flying monsters that appeared occasionally, I had no choice but to join the battle myself.

Unlike ground monsters that couldn’t touch the airship with even a fingertip, flying monsters could attack and destroy the hull itself, so I couldn’t let my guard down.

If their attacks destroyed the floating mechanism, we’d have to walk back to the mainland on our return.

So, I spewed crimson flames from my back and beneath my feet, slaughtering the aerial monsters as easily as sweeping away dust.

The research mages who witnessed this spectacle poured out exclamations with entranced expressions and frantically scribbled incomprehensible formulas on paper.

What was it they said? Something about gaining inspiration to dramatically improve the propulsion system of airships?

Judging by their behavior, I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up attaching jet engines to the sides of ships later on.

—-

After five days passed, we finally reached the entrance to the Sky Mountains.

According to our original plan, four days would have been sufficient, but we inevitably lost time dealing with monsters we encountered along the way.

—-

The air above the Sky Mountains was bitingly cold.

It was a land of extreme cold where even summer sunlight disappeared and exhaled breath froze and sparkled.

Even we, wrapped in werebeast fur from head to toe, didn’t dare rest on the deck—how much worse must it have been for others?

Thankfully, the mana engine’s heat was being used to warm the cabin interior; otherwise, the mages would have all frozen to death and then some.

“Ugh, this was really a place I never wanted to visit again…”

Millia, who had briefly left the cabin to check the outside conditions, returned covered in icicles and lamented while shivering.

Come to think of it, didn’t she and Demian engage in guerrilla warfare against werebeasts inside the Sky Mountains?

To think they did such a crazy thing when they weren’t even Heroes, not even Masters—it was truly admirable.

It’s amazing they survived at all.

It wasn’t just people who couldn’t withstand the cold; machines were the same.

“Baron Median, sir. I regret to inform you of this unfortunate news… but this vessel has reached its limit. If the temperature drops any further, there’s a possibility that the mana engine itself will shut down…”

Eduard, the mage in charge of managing the vessel, carefully reported.

Given the structure of the floating mechanism that uses heat and pressure from mana pipes to generate propulsion, the output and efficiency drastically decrease as the temperature drops.

They had managed to endure until now, but if it got even slightly colder from here, the probability of freezing up and crashing exceeded 80%.

“Right, I understand. We’ll disembark here, and you… well… Ah, yes. Move to Faelrun Castle and wait there until we return.”

I nodded lightly and ordered them to wait at the ducal castle.

That was my intention from the beginning.

A large combat airship might be different, but bringing the prototype “Tears of the Tower Lord” into a battlefield would result in it being shot down instantly.

Yet I couldn’t just abandon such a valuable asset anywhere. So, entrusting it to the Duke of Faelrun until we completed our mission and returned was the best option.

“Yes, sir. I wish you good fortune.”

Eduard responded with a precise salute before returning to the engine room.

Judging by his sharp, disciplined salute, unlike other research mages, he seemed to have some military experience.

Well, that’s probably why he was entrusted with the important responsibility of being the airship’s chief officer despite having only moderate magical ability.

“…Are we going down?”

“Yes, unfortunately from here on we’ll have to walk.”

I picked up a thick fur coat hanging on the wall and asked Nigel to relay this news to everyone in our party.

“Get everyone ready. We’ll descend as soon as preparations are complete.”

The time for enjoying the feeling of being travelers was over.

Now it was time to wander through the freezing mountains and engage in combat.

—-

Thirty minutes later, we descended to the ground in full gear.

Demian helped us again this time.

Watching Demian tirelessly go back and forth between sky and ground to bring down our companions, I was newly grateful that his heroic tale granted him flight ability.

It was something impossible with my abilities.

My flight method involved spewing karma flames like a jet engine and flying using that repulsive force. Naturally, this meant spreading intense heat in all directions.

If I tried to carry someone while flying, I’d turn them into a well-roasted dish.

Ophelia and Asha also had flight abilities, but… they couldn’t perform the same feat as Demian.

Ophelia’s flight involved controlling air currents with mana to lift her body, making it difficult to maintain stability near the airship, while Asha’s small frame made it impossible for her to carry others during flight.

So Demian was our only option for bringing everyone down.

Having wings must be nice.

He’s become a hundred times more capable than before.

—-

And so, we began our exploration of the Sky Mountains, heading in the direction indicated by the soul compass Ophelia produced.

It wasn’t a pleasant hike.

Thanks to the heat emanating from Rurik’s fur and the flames created by Ophelia, we could somehow endure the extreme cold, but trudging through snow piled up to our waists and mountains covered in ice was tiresome and exhausting in itself.

With each step forward, our feet either sank deep or slipped completely, until I finally lost patience and used the rune of fire to melt everything in our path as we advanced.

Though the melted snow would freeze again into an ice sheet within a minute, at least we could walk properly for several dozen seconds. That was enough.

“Sis, aren’t you tired? I should just get down and walk…”

“It’s fine. You’re not heavy at all.”

I carried Lena, who had relatively less stamina, on my back while spewing flames as I moved forward. As a mere priest, Lena would struggle to endure the Sky Mountains’ environment.

“That fur… I should have kept that fur…”

Asha was clinging tightly to Ophelia’s side, shivering. Without spare Rurik fur, she was wearing only ordinary Champion leather clothing.

The mechanical parts she wore over it, rather than adding warmth, emitted a freezing cold typical of metal.

If not for those machines, someone could have carried her, but with mechanical parts larger than her own body attached all over, there was nothing we could do to help.

She was probably regretting following us all the way here.

“How… how much further do we need to go?”

Nigel, trembling slightly, approached Ophelia and asked. His expression suggested he’d heard of the Sky Mountains’ infamous reputation but never expected it to be this cold.

“I don’t know. We’re definitely getting closer, but… I can’t tell how much longer it will take unless we actually find it.”

Ophelia sighed while looking at the quivering soul compass. Her breath escaped through gaps in the fur, freezing white and scattering like powder.

“It’s unusually quiet. Didn’t you say that fairies and dragonborn were engaged in a battle of nerves to monopolize the dragon’s corpse?”

Jahan, who had somehow approached me while looking around as we walked, expressed his doubt in a low, almost whispering tone.

“They probably don’t know the direction either, so they’re likely wandering aimlessly throughout the mountains.”

Considering the size of the Sky Mountains, the probability of encountering them before finding the Worm Dragon was close to zero.

“Well, we might run into them as we move around… or even if we don’t, they’ll come running when we fight the Worm Dragon.”

When the battle begins, the dragon’s roar will echo throughout the mountains. They’ll come rushing like hungry dogs as soon as they hear it.

“…We could end up being attacked from both front and back if we’re not careful.”

“Yes, that’s why we need to find and deal with it as quickly as possible.”

If our battle with Nidhogg drags on and these other races arrive before we can finish it off, things will become very complicated.

—-

About eight hours after beginning our search, we stopped advancing and prepared to make camp.

The sun was already setting, and once it disappeared completely beyond the horizon, the cold would become even more severe.

Our camping preparations weren’t anything elaborate.

We simply packed snow and ice together to form dome-shaped igloos, lit magical flames in the center, and laid out sleeping bags around them.

We filled metal pots with snow and ice, threw in dried ingredients to make a stew to warm our cold bodies, and then crawled into our respective sleeping bags to sleep.

Until the freezing night air gradually subsided and the sun finally rose again.

We continued like this for two days.

The only creature we encountered during that time was a snow bear with incredibly thick fur.

Despite fur as thick as my thigh, it was pitifully shivering, apparently struggling with the Sky Mountains’ cold.

So, we kindly guided the bear to its winter sleep. A winter sleep called eternal rest.

Why, what? It is hibernation, isn’t it?

Animals’ hibernation involves sleeping through winter and waking up when spring arrives, but here there’s only winter year-round.

Since spring will never come to the Sky Mountains, hibernating here means sleeping forever, doesn’t it?