Frozen Mountain Range (2)

I signed the subjugation request form, and a day passed.

Northwest of Bridonia. The Kantara Plains.

A huge crowd had gathered at the entrance to the plains. Every single one of them was an adventurer. It was a bit early for the subjugation to start, but many had gathered. Unfortunately, the knight had not yet arrived.

‘Cold.’

I rubbed my chilly hands together, waiting for the knight. The subjugation would probably start around 8 o’clock.

The current time was 7:27 AM. Still some time to spare.

I decided to think about the snow that had been wetting my cheeks.

‘Snow in the summer,이라니.’

Did some ice dragon awaken deep down somewhere? I checked the Mana concentration of the earth, but it was the same as usual. It was a problem that stimulated my wizardly curiosity after a long time, but I couldn’t find an answer.

‘Hmm….’

Clinging to an unresolved problem is also a foolish thing. I stopped thinking and waited for the knight of the Bridonia family.

Thirty minutes of staring at the bonfire with indifferent eyes.

The surroundings became noisy.

Sensing the departure, I got up from my seat and looked for the knight.

The knight was easy to spot.

First of all, she was a woman.

Stylish blonde hair reaching her shoulders.

An impeccable equestrian posture.

Wearing full body armor, but her healthy physique was not hidden.

Above all, a beautiful appearance that did not lose its dignity even in the intense cold.

The female knight, riding a horse, appeared, receiving everyone’s attention. Of course, she couldn’t help but be noticed. Her beautiful appearance was secondary; she was a real knight, not some riffraff adventurer.

Mana flowing throughout her body, even though she wasn’t a wizard.

Clear traces of Aura.

‘Fascinating.’

I knew it in theory, but it was my first time seeing it. Naturally, my interest was piqued. I wanted to bind her limbs and analyze her at the cellular level, but my remaining humanity stopped me.

Let’s leave the curiosity as curiosity.

“Hwi-yu! That ass is killer!”

But some stupid adventurers couldn’t hide their desires.

The female knight glared and began to look for the perpetrator of the sexual harassment. The knight’s senses were sharp. The man and the female knight’s eyes met. He grinned, unaware of what was about to happen.

-Chwaaak!

“Gyaaaaaaak!!!”

“I’ll let you off with just one arm.”

In his own way, it was probably a compliment. After all, he had only learned vulgar words.

Is it any wonder that adventurers get their heads chopped off for insult? Frankly speaking, it’s harder to get punished for insult. If you have any common sense, you wouldn’t say things like ‘Your breasts are luscious’ in front of a noble lady.

“Anyone else want to spout nonsense?”

The surroundings were silent.

“Prepare your luggage, as we will be departing soon! The injured will be excluded! Disobedience will not be tolerated! We are the vanguard! We will cross the plains and head to the Haknar Mountain Range, so everyone follow!”

The knight shouted loudly.

“We will depart in exactly five minutes! Those who have not arrived by then will be ignored!”

It was a departure.

The knight divided the personnel into three groups.

Group 1, which searches the depths of the mountain range with the knight.

Groups 2 and 3, which search the outskirts.

I was in Group 1.

The reason the knight chose me was simply for convenience. A wizard who can control fire shines in cold and barren terrain. So, I was a little disappointed. If the knight was there, nothing dangerous would happen.

Crossing the plains was not difficult. The monsters were frightened by the murderous aura emitted by the knight and ran away.

However, some people suffered from frostbite due to the cold. The female knight abandoned them and maintained the march. Desperate cries were heard, but no one cared.

“My feet are going to freeze.”

“Shibal. I shouldn’t have come.”

And so, we arrived at the Haknar Mountain Range. As it was named after the most arrogant dragon, the sense of intimidation was no joke. Although the snow had fallen and the pulse of life was weak, the winding mountain path, like the dragon’s open jaws, was shouting that it would not forgive those who entered.

‘Hmm….’

Something was strange. The Mana concentration was normal, but the direction it was flowing felt a bit twisted…. Anyway, it was an alien energy. I looked around, but no one else seemed to have noticed it.

“We will rest for thirty minutes!”

-Uwa!

-Finally!!

Sighs of relief echoed from here and there. After all, they had been walking for two hours, so it was understandable that they were tired. The adventurers hurriedly started a fire. A rest period of only thirty minutes. There was no time to waste.

But I didn’t rest.

‘The energy of the mountain range is ominous.’

I spread Mana around.

‘The Mana itself is not the problem…’

An alien direction.

I realized that the flow of Mana was abnormal. When approaching the mountain range beyond a certain level, it would twist in a bizarre direction, and then begin to gather in one place. The location was the very top of the mountain range. There was something there.

Troll extermination is the main objective, so I can’t go right now… but I should go there once the subjugation is over. It may be related to the reason why it’s snowing in the middle of summer.

That’s how 30 minutes passed.

“Get up! We’re heading into the mountain range!”

The end of a rain-like rest. I didn’t rest, but I wasn’t particularly tired. The adventurers got up from their seats with zombie-like groans.

“Groups 2 and 3, patrol the outskirts and deal with the trolls! Group 1, enter the center with me! No escape allowed!”

* * *

This is the road leading to the center of the mountain range.

A blue-tinged sword strike cuts through the air, beheading a troll.

-Chwaaak!!

“The trolls feel more violent than before.”

No matter how high the regenerative power of an ice troll is, there was no way to deal with it if its head was cut off with Aura. Naturally, those other than the knight had nothing to do. The knight took care of everything. Occasionally, when several trolls appeared or wolves surrounded them, they could finally move.

Of course, there were no complaints. They could receive the participation reward of 50 Cooper without doing anything. No one would refuse when the knight stepped up to take care of it.

The female knight shook the blood off her sword with force and said.

“And they’re too crowded. Trolls don’t move this organized.”

Trolls are classified as ‘humanoid’ monsters, but they don’t form organizations like goblins or orcs. There was no need to gather and hunt. There were no monsters in the mountain range that could stop the trolls’ unique attack, which involved abandoning their bodies and rushing in based on their immense regenerative power.

The fact that such trolls were gathered meant that a leader had emerged and formed a colony, or that a predator surpassing the trolls had emerged.

“There may be a colony. We can’t go back until we see it with our own eyes.”

Colony.

One of the adventurers, frightened by the word, stepped forward as a representative and asked.

“Then what about the subjugation?”

“Of course, we will proceed until we find and eliminate the colony.”

“Th-Then, is that possible with our personnel?”

“I am a knight. A knight who wields Aura. Do you think I would be afraid of some trolls? If you complain any more, I will consider it an insult to me.”

The female knight was confident.

Well, there was no need to worry. Rather, some people were relieved by the knight’s confident attitude.

What’s the big deal about trolls when you can wield Aura?

One thing that bothered me was the increasingly violent Mana currents as we approached the center.

Should I say this? It was very suspicious.

I frowned and said to the grinding-her-teeth knight.

“Knight-nim.”

“What is it? Are you also trying to insult me?”

“The flow of Mana is strange.”

When a different topic came up, the female knight stopped walking.

But the arrogant expression did not disappear.

“Ha. You seem to be scared. Judging by how you’re trying to incite others.”

“…?”

“Do you think my Mana sensing ability is inferior to a wizard’s?”

“It’s not a lie…”

“It’s the same. Just in case, I raised my senses, but the result was the same as before. If you say any more, I will cut off your head. Stop nagging and follow me.”

I was speechless.

She was blatantly ignoring me just because I was F-rank.

‘That bitch.’

I hate those kinds of people. The kind who think they’re the best and don’t listen to other people’s opinions. Those people drive others to hell with their wrong judgments.

Of course, I like it, no. It’s not that I like those kinds of people, but hellish situations… no, that’s. Ha. Shibal.

I shut my mouth and followed the female knight.

The number of trolls was increasing. As if trying to protect something, they kept swarming as we headed towards the center.

The female knight was getting tired.

As a result, the number of times the remaining personnel moved increased.

There were no deaths because I skillfully blocked fatal blows every time, but there was a surge in minor injuries.

The female knight bit her lip.

“K-Knight-nim. Really, any…”

“We haven’t found the colony yet! Shut up!”

Did she think it wasn’t honorable to retreat because of mere trolls? The female knight flaunted her petty pride. I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t open my mouth for fear of being beheaded. I have no right to speak.

I was frustrated. Groups 2 and 3 would have been annihilated long ago. There was no way they could face the trolls without a knight or a wizard. Especially the trolls that had become more violent.

The adventurers and the female knight were tired, and the trolls were still going strong. It was questionable whether we could return like this. The female knight seemed to have realized this fact as well, and she gritted her teeth and advanced. There was no retreat now.

Breaking through the trolls’ resistance, we move forward.

And finally, when we reached the very center of the mountain range.

“……Huh…ra?”

The knight’s condition was strange. Not only the knight, but all the surviving adventurers as well. Their eyes were glazed over as if they had lost consciousness. Sensing the seriousness of the situation, I immediately checked the flow of Mana.

‘Shibal. I’m fucked.’

I only realized why the flow of Mana was abnormal after reaching the center.

‘I was hoping it wasn’t….’

Why did I realize this now?

‘The concept itself is the same as a magic circle.’

And, it transmutes.

Thus, it gathers Mana and projects will.

It was the basics of a magic circle.

The problem is the flow of Mana.

This huge flow of Mana all corresponded to ‘drawing.’

Then there is no need to gather Mana or transmute it. All you have to do is project your will. There is no Mana lost in the process of gathering, so the power is purely one hundred percent.

At the same time, I felt familiarity. The incantation-less magic I use is small in scale, but it is done in the same way as this.

‘How the hell?’

Manipulating Mana, which is close to a natural phenomenon, was nearly impossible. Is there a reason why wizards chant and draw magic circles for nothing? It’s all to draw in Mana.

So, except for me, who has reached the extreme of magic, it is only theoretically possible. No sane person would even try it. If you try to use it forcibly, the Mana in your body will backfire.

“What… am I….”

-Kung.

“Uh, ra. What am I….”

-Thud.

Everyone except me loses consciousness and falls.

“I, I… what…?”

-Kung.

Even the knight, who was holding on to her mind until the end, collapsed.

―Geureureuk! Keueoeoreol!!

―Aaaoreol! Hureol!!

The trolls had already approached and began to surround us.

To break the magic circle, you have to destroy the entire mountain range or forcibly twist the flow of Mana.

The problem is the trolls.

Would the trolls watch that happen? I could protect myself and get out, but I didn’t want to abandon the remaining people.

―Puhoreol!!! Aaa! Gaoreol!

―Gaoreol! Gaoreol!

―Gaoreol! Raooreol, Gaoreol!

―Gaooreol!

The trolls shout, Gaoreol, Gaoreol. They only surround us and do not attack. They carefully watch the trolls’ reactions. They didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking.

While watching the trolls’ reactions and neatly gathering the fallen, I heard footsteps.

-Thud.

“Oh my, how are you maintaining your sanity? Are you perhaps a demon? I did set it up so that it wouldn’t work on my own kind, but….”

I see.

The trolls were terrified and couldn’t approach.

“Ugly trolls. Why don’t you get lost?!”

―Gaoreol!

―Gaoreolreol!

“Hmph. Ugly things are so cowardly.”

The woman in front of me flicked her blue hair, which was like the Milky Way, and got angry. Her skin was snow-white. So much so that I suspected she was undead. She seemed to be about the same height as me. So, a shorty. But her voluptuous hips and slender waist, which didn’t match her height, and her watermelon-sized breasts caused an imbalance.

Wearing short leather hot pants and a loose shirt that barely covered her breasts, she looked very tired.

“I barely woke up from my sleep and was trying to gather some strength, but what is this? If you’re a demon, reveal your name. I am Gaolise, the demon of the extreme cold. What is your name?”

The large goat horns on her head proved that she was a demon.