episode_0127

by fnovelpia

Between the dark sky and heavy clouds.

The green and blue aurora flows long and turns the world into a dream.

The gray rock walls pierce the sky, and are a natural armor and a heavenly fortress that blocks wind and water.

At the entrance to the canyon, there is only one cloud bridge. It is the Northgard’s Terran Lake Fortress, which is optimized for preventing invasion by outsiders.

“Just looking at it makes my body stiffen.”

The outpost built at the entrance to the narrow valley is guarded by sturdy sentries. The severity felt even across the bridge makes it difficult to approach.

Even the bridge is made of wood, so I’m worried that it might break when I cross it.

Hargrand must have had similar thoughts. He glanced down at the distant cliff and slowly stepped back.

“Hmm~”

When I saw that, my eyes narrowed.

“Don’t get me wrong, you little brat! It’s not that I’m scared, it’s that I don’t get along with you! We dwarves live in the bosom of the earth, so we don’t get along with you in high places like this!”

“Why are you talking so fast when no one said anything? As if you were stabbed.”

“Look at your expression in the mirror and then tell me!”

Then Assis creates a flat ice and shows it to me.

“You’re handsome.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Even the legendary blacksmith can’t fix your face. Look at me. Short and thick physique. Bushy beard. This is what a man should be like since ancient times.”

“Hmm, is that right? When I first saw the dwarf, I thought it was a pile of dragon excrement without any strategy.”

“This, this rotten, twisted, dried-up bastard!”

Hargran applauded when he got excited.

“~ I remember the elf saying that vividly.”

“Damn, it was the work of those rascals again! That’s just how they are. They act all noble in front of you, but they always gossip behind your back!”

“Of course. You have to know how to speak hotly like a dwarf.”

“You know a thing or two, you punk!”

While the sled was hitting the drums, it attempted to enter the bridge. The bridge swayed violently as the frost wolf stepped on it.

‘Is this going to fall apart?’

Although it is a very dangerous situation, there is no emotional disturbance thanks to the synchronization of the souls. However, that does not mean that anxious thoughts disappear.

Hargran, who had been absorbed in the little things he had done, belatedly realized what had happened. He grabbed the sled handle with trembling hands.

“Kko, do you really have to cross it like this? No matter how much I think about it, this is crazy. At the very least, I should walk… .”

“I don’t mind, but I’m not sure if it’ll fall between my legs while I’m walking.”

“Okay… Then you guys go and come back. I’ll wait here. Come back if anything happens.”

“What kind of Dark Camp are you talking about? You told me to leave it to Northgard, so how can you not come?”

“That’s….”

“Okay, stop talking nonsense and let’s go! You can easily cross the bridge!”

I picked up a hard lump of snow from the ground and threw it at the back of Frostwolf’s head.

Woohooo!

The frost wolf howled, sounding neither like a horse nor a wolf, and kicked the ground. It began to cross the bridge with powerful kicks.

Dulkudung!

“Eeee!”

“Oh, great Bargan─!”

As expected, the cloud bridge sways greatly.

The dwarves, including Hargran, hug each other and scream like girls.

“Wow, this is pretty scary.”

All I felt was a slight thrill, a feeling that was faintly felt by me, who had no sense of fear. Assis stared blankly at the screaming dwarves with a dry expression.

Kuung!

An ominous crashing sound is heard out of nowhere.

It was a sound heard right after the frost wolf’s fierce stomping. The precarious cloud bridge made of wood could not withstand the frost wolf’s force.

The bridge shook violently with a loud thud and the sound of wood breaking.

And right after that.

Knock knock.

The rope, frozen in the cold and losing its elasticity, snapped without a fight.

The bridge is collapsing.

The sled tilts backwards sharply, as if it had been hit by a torpedo at the stern, and then falls vertically.

“Gyaaah!”

“You crazy slave reaper! I won’t forget this even after I die! Become the ghost of my land and I’ll throw you into the abyss! ”

“Hahaha! Even if you become a ghost, your hands are too short to reach me. Above all, I don’t plan on dying like this. Miss Assis?”

Assis stretches his hand forward.

Damn it.

A sliver of ice juts out from the valley wall and reaches out towards us.

A bridge of ice drawing a curve.

Dulkudung!

The bridge, which barely catches the sled, plunges downwards in an extreme downward slope to minimize the impact.

Tsk tsk tsk.

The ice bridge creates a new path every moment. The end of the bridge, which used to be a steep slope, grows and creates a winding path.

Just like a roller coaster course.

The frost wolf runs fast and climbs up the ice bridge. When the sled, which was going up while going around the course, reached the top of the cliff.

Fight!

Frostwolf leapt with all his might and soared over the cliff on the other side. For a moment he felt as if he was floating in the air, before the sled crashed down hard on the ground.

Looking back, I saw the other side of the valley we had just been in and a messy ice course. I managed to get over it somehow.

“Well done, Miss Assis. Thanks to you, I was able to cross safely.”

He swept back the hair that had been blown by the wind. Assis’s hair also had traces of having been blown by the wind.

He combs her hair and looks down at the panting dwarves, holding on to the sled railings as if they were lifelines.

“I told you, you can easily cross the bridge.”

“This, this, this… … !”

I didn’t say anything wrong.

Because I must have crossed the bridge.

There are some omissions though.

“If it was going to be like this, why didn’t you just make an ice bridge from the beginning and cross it!”

“Correct answer.”

I gave Hargran a refreshing smile.

“Then you should have told me in advance. There is a timing for everything. Finding the right words at the right moment is also a skill.”

“What the world, this is such a dirty trick… .”

“And it’s not all bad. In fact, you could say it did a good thing for the dwarves.”

Is your mother out by any chance?

Ah, you said he was an orphan from the heavens.

Hargran makes the same expression.

I spread my arms exaggeratedly toward the collapsed bridge.

“Look, the bridge has collapsed. Then we need to build a new bridge. Who is the best builder in the world?”

“Of course it’s a dwarf.”

“That’s right. Instead of that ugly wooden bridge, we’ll build a much stronger bridge. Then the northerners will praise Hargran. They didn’t have to cross the bridge every day, so they won’t have to do that anymore.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. This bridge is a bridge of friendship between the dwarves and the Northmen. If you install a statue of Hargran there, Hargran will become the leader of friendship!”

“Oh!”

Hargran let out an exclamation.

“So, just explain to the Northerner what I told you. That’s why I broke the bridge. Don’t worry, I’ll make a stronger bridge.”

“That kind of thinking… … Huh? Stop whining, you brat! I was thinking about that too?”

“Of course. Then shall we go and tell this good news?”

“That’s right! It’s time to show off the greatness of this Master Hargran!”

“Good. They are coming out to meet Hargran.”

The tightly shut gate of the outpost opens and the Northgards rush in armed. Hargran straightens his beard and steps forward confidently.

Northgard surrounded us.

“What are you doing! How dare you break my leg!”

Hargran slung the hammer over his shoulder as if to show off.

“Hey! Frozen humans! This body is Hargran, the hammer of the master berserker of Doomheim! Bring me the boss, not the bastards!”

Northgard watching each other.

One of them nods and brings his superior from the valley.

A tall person who is at least 2 meters tall.

A stern face shadowed by brown skin and a furry hood.

He was wearing weapons here and there on his back, waist, thighs, etc.

“He is the chieftain of Lake Fortress and the Elderguard Jorn. He is the master of Doomheim?”

“Yeah!”

“What are those ore moles doing here? Why did they break the bridge?”

“I ordered it! That piece of trash is a bridge… . As a dwarf, you should be able to endure it. But don’t worry. Our dwarves are incomparable to that──”

Chae-Ang!

Yorn quickly pulled out a pair of tomahawks that were hanging from his waist.

“Intruder! Arrest him!”

“Yep!”

“What? Intruders, you idiots. I am a prophet who will advance civilization! Do you think you can defeat Hargran!!!”

Hargran lifted his hammer with great grace.

Tsk tsk tsk.

The ice that rose from under his feet instantly turned Hargran into an ice statue. The Northgards who were about to rush in flinched.

Yorn, who had been pretending to look embarrassed, quickly changed his expression and glared at us fiercely.

“Are you guys part of the same gang?”

“We are the victims. This dwarf did everything he wanted. He suggested a way that would not cause harm, but he did it his way… .”

“How can we believe what you say?”

“If the intention was to harm you, wouldn’t the magic just now have frozen you, not the dwarves?”

“… … .”

Yorn keeps his head still and rolls his eyes, looking back and forth between me and Assis. For a moment, his pupils dilate when he looks at Assis.

“If you keep wielding your sword, we can’t do anything. We have no choice but to melt this dwarf and fight together.”

“… I understand. But I can’t let my guard down. I’ll move on like this.”

“I can accept that much.”

“Hmm.”

Yorn nodded to his subordinates.

Hargran, who had become an ice statue, is placed on the sled and the Frostwolf is dragged away. The dwarves and us are surrounded as we begin to move.

‘Wow~ Bloodless entry into Lake Fortress~’

I am a human being.

Are you saying that one of your brains is really working exceptionally?

I’m sorry to Hargrang, but this is a sacrifice for the sake of the generation.

“Asia Miss, that was a good combo… but why are you looking like that again?”

Assis’s eyes were narrowed ever so slightly. It was the look that slaves often gave me when they looked at me with pity.

A glimpse of it was revealed in Assis’ expression.

“What? This is how slave traders originally lived.”

“… … .”

“Anyway, these slaves do everything so they don’t know how hard their masters work. They don’t even know that they’re living comfortably thanks to having a good master.”

If I keep doing this, I might just disappear overnight. Then, when that happens, I’ll be fine.

‘Ah, Master, how did you live so devotedly?’ and regret it.

Just wait and see.

I will create a body that cannot live without me.

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