Chapter 42. Heavy rain
Frizcop: We’re starting the new arc: Arc 5. Succubus Country, Vengeful Siblings
It was raining. The sky was lit up by lightning, and large raindrops fell to the ground in response. A strong wind blew so hard that a normal warrior would not be able to stand.
For Bash, it was like a shower after training.
“It’s not going to stop, is it?”
“It seems so.”
It had been a few days since Bash left Lycant, the capital of the Beastmen Nation. The rain that had begun to fall during the journey seemed to stop soon, but it grew heavier and heavier, eventually turning into a storm. The storm showed no signs of abating and continued to shake the forest for days.
“The outlook is a bit bleak.”
Zell climbed to the top of the forest several times to scout, but the rain made visibility so poor that she couldn’t see a hundred meters ahead. However, Zell was an experienced fairy, and she was able to determine the direction of the target using PRV, or “probably,” “roughly,” and “vaguely.” It was perfect.
“The land of demons is that way! The weather is bad, but we can’t let it dampen our spirits!”
“Yes!”
The heavy rains had caused the rivers to overflow, flooding all parts of the forest and filling the supposedly passable roads with muddy water. Bash, sometimes waist-deep in water, continued in the direction Zell led him. The Demons. This race was the one the Alliance feared the most, for it was the strongest of all and the leader of the Federation. So when the Alliance made peace, they decided to push the Demon Nation to the edge of the continent.
The land was barren and surrounded by steep mountains and cliffs in the northwestern part of the continent. They gave the Demons the land of least strategic value and enclosed them. Therefore, to enter the country, one had to cross a large valley.
Argadia Valley. It was extremely deep and wide, with a river flowing at the bottom. The river flowed so violently that even a low-level warrior would have difficulty crossing it without using a bridge.
There were several bridges across the valley indeed, but there were always checkpoints. The bridges were fortified and operated under the control of the Four Races Alliance. That’s how much the Demon race was feared.
“Oh, isn’t that the border?”
Standing high in the forest, she began to see something faintly in front of her. It was a familiar stone structure from the time of the war. It was a Human fortress.
“It’s impressive.”
“It’s a very dangerous area. Borders are also made to be strong. Maybe…”
This was the checkpoint that separated the border with the Demon Nation. Turned into a fortress, the checkpoint was incredibly imposing. Every part of it was painted with resistant paint, and magic circles had been painted at key points. Human architecture, dwarven resistant paint, and elven magic circles. This was Beastmen territory, but each race had worked together to build a place that would serve as a lookout for the Demon Country. Of course, Bash and Zell had no way of knowing this.
The entrance to the checkpoint was locked with a thick iron gate, a human specialty. It only opened when someone with a legitimate pass showed up. Yes, like Bash, for example.
“They’re being careless, aren’t they? They left the doors open.”
“Mm.”
But the gates of such a fortress were open. The thick double doors shook with a creaking sound as they were blown by the violent wind.
“…Something happened.” Bash unsheathed the sword he carried on his back. His lifelong battle instincts had sensed a dangerous presence.
“I don’t smell blood…”
“No sign of people either.”
“I’ll scout around first.”
“I’ll leave it to you…”
Zell entered the fortress. Bash followed, not letting his guard down.
“What is this?”
What was spread out there was an eerie scene.
A desk with papers on it, a collapsed chair. Smashed bookshelves. Letters in pieces on the floor. There had been a fight here, Bash decided. He knew well that this was the kind of scene left behind when someone suddenly attacked a place no one expected.
But something was missing: bodies and blood. If there had been a fight, they would undoubtedly be here. The furniture and letters were too messy for anyone to have cleaned up the bodies and bloodstains.
“…Mmm.”
There was no trace of anyone or anything that could have created this scene. Bash walked across the room, staring blankly, but on guard for anything he saw. Bash passed through the creepy place and reached the end of the passage, the entrance to Demon Country… in other words, the exit from the fortress. At the end of the passage, which was wide enough for carriages to pass, a large doorway swung out into the storm, just as it had at the entrance. Looking inside, through the storm-shattered door, he saw that the stone bridge over the valley was soaked from the heavy rain. The stone bridge was also crumbling. There was no doubt that there had been a fierce battle.
“Mister…” And then Zell came back. She flew around the fortress and informed him of the situation with her body language. “The inside of the fortress is empty. I don’t even know what happened. But I’m sure someone made a fuss in here and made the bodies disappear.”
“I see.”
Bash relaxed his shoulders. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about what had happened here. But it probably had nothing to do with him and his partner.
“But this is a problem. If there’s no one at the door, we could be suspected of sneaking into the country.”
“What should we do?”
“Right…” Zell looked around at the scattered papers. “Yes, that’s right. Humans usually write orders on a piece of paper. So, Mister, why don’t you write on a piece of paper that you were here?”
“I see, we can do that, can’t we?”
“I’ll write it down then. ‘The Orc Hero, passed this way’.”
Chapter 42. Heavy rain
Frizcop: We’re starting the new arc: Arc 5. Succubus Country, Vengeful Siblings
It was raining. The sky was lit up by lightning, and large raindrops fell to the ground in response. A strong wind blew so hard that a normal warrior would not be able to stand.
For Bash, it was like a shower after training.
“It’s not going to stop, is it?”
“It seems so.”
It had been a few days since Bash left Lycant, the capital of the Beastmen Nation. The rain that had begun to fall during the journey seemed to stop soon, but it grew heavier and heavier, eventually turning into a storm. The storm showed no signs of abating and continued to shake the forest for days.
“The outlook is a bit bleak.”
Zell climbed to the top of the forest several times to scout, but the rain made visibility so poor that she couldn’t see a hundred meters ahead. However, Zell was an experienced fairy, and she was able to determine the direction of the target using PRV, or “probably,” “roughly,” and “vaguely.” It was perfect.
“The land of demons is that way! The weather is bad, but we can’t let it dampen our spirits!”
“Yes!”
The heavy rains had caused the rivers to overflow, flooding all parts of the forest and filling the supposedly passable roads with muddy water. Bash, sometimes waist-deep in water, continued in the direction Zell led him. The Demons. This race was the one the Alliance feared the most, for it was the strongest of all and the leader of the Federation. So when the Alliance made peace, they decided to push the Demon Nation to the edge of the continent.
The land was barren and surrounded by steep mountains and cliffs in the northwestern part of the continent. They gave the Demons the land of least strategic value and enclosed them. Therefore, to enter the country, one had to cross a large valley.
Argadia Valley. It was extremely deep and wide, with a river flowing at the bottom. The river flowed so violently that even a low-level warrior would have difficulty crossing it without using a bridge.
There were several bridges across the valley indeed, but there were always checkpoints. The bridges were fortified and operated under the control of the Four Races Alliance. That’s how much the Demon race was feared.
“Oh, isn’t that the border?”
Standing high in the forest, she began to see something faintly in front of her. It was a familiar stone structure from the time of the war. It was a Human fortress.
“It’s impressive.”
“It’s a very dangerous area. Borders are also made to be strong. Maybe…”
This was the checkpoint that separated the border with the Demon Nation. Turned into a fortress, the checkpoint was incredibly imposing. Every part of it was painted with resistant paint, and magic circles had been painted at key points. Human architecture, dwarven resistant paint, and elven magic circles. This was Beastmen territory, but each race had worked together to build a place that would serve as a lookout for the Demon Country. Of course, Bash and Zell had no way of knowing this.
The entrance to the checkpoint was locked with a thick iron gate, a human specialty. It only opened when someone with a legitimate pass showed up. Yes, like Bash, for example.
“They’re being careless, aren’t they? They left the doors open.”
“Mm.”
But the gates of such a fortress were open. The thick double doors shook with a creaking sound as they were blown by the violent wind.
“…Something happened.” Bash unsheathed the sword he carried on his back. His lifelong battle instincts had sensed a dangerous presence.
“I don’t smell blood…”
“No sign of people either.”
“I’ll scout around first.”
“I’ll leave it to you…”
Zell entered the fortress. Bash followed, not letting his guard down.
“What is this?”
What was spread out there was an eerie scene.
A desk with papers on it, a collapsed chair. Smashed bookshelves. Letters in pieces on the floor. There had been a fight here, Bash decided. He knew well that this was the kind of scene left behind when someone suddenly attacked a place no one expected.
But something was missing: bodies and blood. If there had been a fight, they would undoubtedly be here. The furniture and letters were too messy for anyone to have cleaned up the bodies and bloodstains.
“…Mmm.”
There was no trace of anyone or anything that could have created this scene. Bash walked across the room, staring blankly, but on guard for anything he saw. Bash passed through the creepy place and reached the end of the passage, the entrance to Demon Country… in other words, the exit from the fortress. At the end of the passage, which was wide enough for carriages to pass, a large doorway swung out into the storm, just as it had at the entrance. Looking inside, through the storm-shattered door, he saw that the stone bridge over the valley was soaked from the heavy rain. The stone bridge was also crumbling. There was no doubt that there had been a fierce battle.
“Mister…” And then Zell came back. She flew around the fortress and informed him of the situation with her body language. “The inside of the fortress is empty. I don’t even know what happened. But I’m sure someone made a fuss in here and made the bodies disappear.”
“I see.”
Bash relaxed his shoulders. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t curious about what had happened here. But it probably had nothing to do with him and his partner.
“But this is a problem. If there’s no one at the door, we could be suspected of sneaking into the country.”
“What should we do?”
“Right…” Zell looked around at the scattered papers. “Yes, that’s right. Humans usually write orders on a piece of paper. So, Mister, why don’t you write on a piece of paper that you were here?”
“I see, we can do that, can’t we?”
“I’ll write it down then. ‘The Orc Hero, passed this way’.”
