Chapter 159 : Altar of the Sea (1)

The ground went beyond being muddy and our feet began to sink deep into it.

A swamp.

We had entered the territory of the Lizardfolk, a natural fortress difficult for other living creatures to approach.

“Ugh… it's so hard to move.”

Keldric shook his head, repulsed.

Indeed, with every step we took, our feet sank deep into the mud, and our travel speed dropped significantly.

Everchen was also having difficulty moving, but he was constantly scanning the surroundings, analyzing the terrain.

His movement speed was noticeably slower as he tried to find places where his feet would sink less.

“It certainly would be difficult to target the Lizardfolk from the outside.”

“I agree. A swamp in front and the sea behind. It seems the Lizardfolk weren't able to accumulate so much power for no reason.”

I nodded in agreement with Everchen's opinion.

The Lizardfolk were known to be strong and numerous, but no one knew their true scale.

The fact that the Lizardfolk's territory was a natural fortress was likely another reason why they were shrouded in mystery.

But his gaze towards me was somehow different from usual.

“What is it?”

“……”

Everchen kept his mouth shut and looked at me with narrowed eyes.

The answer came from a different direction.

“Hey, you cheat! Do you think you can say that while you're just flapping your wings?”

“What can I do if I have wings? We don't necessarily have to roll in the mud together, you know.”

While the two of them were walking with difficulty, I was flying slowly with the [Wings of Ainsitel] spread out.

If they had a problem, they should have gotten themselves a pair of wings.

“Bea is the same! Didn't she run away because she knew it would be a pain in the ass to come here?”

“Hey, what do you mean, run away? Lady Bea said she would come right after she finished her business in Kipaso.”

Currently, Bea was away to stop by Kipaso.

She left word that she would check on the situation of the Elves and Fairies there and return with Nihel.

There was now only about a year left until the Dome opened.

Bea said she would no longer leave Nihel only in Kipaso.

It was a judgment that since she would no longer be working in secret as before, being with the giant Nihel would not be a problem.

“Bea said she's coming back riding Nihel! Then just me and Everchen……”

“You won't be calling Nihel a ride when you see it.”

“Why?”

“It’s frightening. It could swallow you whole in one bite, brother.”

“……”

While Keldric was imagining the giant wolf, Nihel, Everchen, who was leading the way, raised his hand to give a signal.

‘Halt.’

We shut our mouths and stopped.

I folded my wings and landed on the ground for a moment.

Three figures moved in the distance.

Looking closely, they were Lizardfolk.

Beings reaching 2 meters in height with large builds were walking through the swamp without making a sound.

‘Looks like their feet don't even sink in the swamp……. As expected of the Lizardfolk.’

I adjusted the form of Termination, which was always active.

The range of Termination was no longer limited to a circle around me.

I extended Termination long and thin, stretching it towards the three Lizardfolk warriors wandering ahead.

– Three humans. Spotted.

– Fight?

– No, report first. Let's go back.

We were quite far away, but just as we had noticed them, it seemed they had also pinpointed our location.

And the Lizardfolk passed through the swamp as silently as they had appeared.

“……Let's start moving again. And please remember. We……”

“We know. Will never kill a Lizard.”

“Right. It'll be tough, but let's do it.”

When we were heading to the Elf territory from Kipaso, we also moved by only subduing the elves who attacked Bea and me, without killing them.

I knew from experience.

It would not be easy.

Moreover, the terrain here was also disadvantageous to us.

We moved with even quieter steps.

Our movement speed slowed down more than before, but it couldn't be helped.

I, too, folded the [Wings of Ainsitel] and trudged through the mud to avoid standing out too much.

In the meantime, Lizard warriors checked our position several times and returned.

The only fortunate thing was that they only confirmed our location and did not attack.

Nevertheless, the deeper we went, the greater the tension grew.

‘I feel like something is about to happen…….’

Just as we were advancing for a while longer, I felt the movement of five people within Termination's range.

“Above us!”

I alerted my companions and drew Maron.

Fwip-fwip-fwip!

Soon after, five people in black attire jumped down in front of us.

I stopped Everchen, who was about to attack immediately.

It was because they were familiar faces.

“Sir Pinnon.”

“It has been a while, Sir Polarin.”

Pinnon, dressed in the attire of the Black Veil, and four others who also appeared to be members of the Black Veil, had jumped down from the air, or to be precise, from the trees.

They were wearing shoes that were large and flat on the bottom, like flippers.

Perhaps because of that, their feet did not sink deep into the swamp.

The one who participated as a Bigfoot on the way to the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, Pinnon.

At that time, Pinnon seemed like an immensely huge mountain.

If I had fought him head-on, I could never have won.

But at that time, Pinnon was very hesitant to attack me, and with the help of the Branch of the World Tree, I was barely able to defeat him.

‘But now… the situation has changed a lot.’

Pinnon had trained a single Tune to the extreme, but now I possessed a power that could not be defeated by that alone.

I was stronger than Pinnon.

As if Pinnon also recognized this, he smiled faintly as he looked at me.

“You've become much stronger.”

“I've worked hard.”

“What brings you to this faraway place?”

“I came to work even harder. Before that, could I meet Lady Soler first?”

Pinnon treated me amicably, but the Black Veil members behind them were not the same.

They were watching us with wary eyes.

It looked as if they might draw their swords at any moment.

The situation was disadvantageous to us.

They seemed accustomed to the swamp, while our feet were stuck in the sticky bog.

But I calmly waited for Pinnon's answer.

At Pinnon's signal, one of his subordinates sent a radio message somewhere.

Not long after, a reply came back, and Pinnon spoke to me respectfully.

“Lady Soler wishes to see you as well. Let's go together. It will be more comfortable to move through the trees.”

“Let’s do that.”

Pinnon climbed onto a tree first, as if to demonstrate.

He looked at me and asked.

“Do you remember what I said when we first met?”

“Hmm, that you said I would become a hero?”

“Haha, so you remember. That day suddenly comes to mind vividly.”

“So, in your opinion, Sir Pinnon, do you still think I will become a hero?”

Pinnon smiled brightly and extended his hand.

“I believe Lady Soler will answer that for you. Please take my hand and come up.”

I took Pinnon's hand and climbed up the tree.

As I escaped the sticky mud of the swamp, I felt a refreshing breeze.

***

The Black Veil took the lead, leaping from tree to tree, and my companions and I followed behind them.

The deeper we went, the more Lizardfolk looked at us with menacing weapons in hand.

But the Black Veil seemed to be on friendly terms with the Lizards, even greeting them as they passed.

‘It wouldn't have been easy to just break through.’

If it weren't for Soler and the Black Veil, it would have been very difficult to enter the Lizardfolk territory.

“This way, please.”

After telling me to talk to Soler, Pinnon no longer engaged in small talk with me.

Tap- tap- tap-.

Only the sound of Pinnon's staff hitting the ground echoed as everyone trudged forward without a word.

A tense atmosphere flowed for some reason.

It seemed to be because of the rumor that Soler had become extremely vicious.

Keldric kept touching his own neck as he followed.

‘Everyone changes over time. Well, it doesn't matter though. No matter how much time passes, a person's true nature doesn't change.’

“Here we are.”

Following Pinnon's guidance, Keldric, Everchen, and I entered the hut where Soler was staying.

Soon, Pinnon also followed us in.

Inside the hut, the woman I knew, Soler, was waiting.

Soler stared at me with her usual dark blue eyes.

I, too, stared back at her. What on earth had made her change?

But I soon realized. Soler was the same as before.

Although she had a slightly sharper air about her compared to a few years ago, she was still the Soler I knew.

We soon smiled and greeted each other.

“Long time no see. You've gotten pretty famous, huh?”

“It's been a while. The same goes for you, Lady Soler.”

And Soler greeted Keldric and Everchen in turn.

“Long time no see, Keldric.”

“Ah, hello.”

Seeing Keldric still looking tense, Soler's reaction was one of puzzlement, but it passed without incident.

“I wanted to meet you too, Sir Everchen. Since we were grouped together at one point.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you. I was not chosen as one of the Five Morning Stars for my skills. The Holy Order just gave me a push so I wouldn't be intimidated.”

“You seem too strong for that to be the case, though?”

Soler looked back at me, Keldric, and Everchen.

“Don't tell me, all of you… what Rank are you? Eighth-Rank?”

My companions and I nodded. At that, Soler shook her head.

Seeing that, Keldric carefully asked a question.

“Soler, what rank are you?”

“Me too… I reached the Eighth-Rank a while ago. To be honest, I was confident I was the first among my peers to reach the Eighth-Rank. But looking at you now, I guess that's not the case.”

“That's right. We reached it a lo~ng time ago!”

For some reason, Keldric's spirits had been lifted.

I could feel Soler's gaze growing colder and colder.

So I quickly cut in.

“We also reached it not long ago. Besides, we were able to do it with Lady Hike's help during the Dragon's Trial.”

“Right… you all passed the Dragon's Trial too. Truly amazing……”

The atmosphere kept getting more and more twisted.

Soler definitely had changed in some ways.

In the past, she was like a noble lady who didn't know the scary ways of the world. But she must have gone through many things as well.

Reaching the Eighth-Rank in her early 20s was certainly proof that she was a genius worthy of being recorded in history.

It was not a level one could reach without any ups and downs.

I gave up on trying to appease Soler and went straight to the main point.

“Lady Soler, I've heard that you have the same goal as I do.”

“The same goal? Ah, don't tell me, the hero?”

“Yes, that you are also striving to become a hero.”

Soler stared at me without a word. Then she suddenly started to burst out laughing.

“Ah, haha! Hahaha!”

“……”

That laughter sounded strangely eerie.

Keldric's facial muscles, which had relaxed a little, began to tense up again.

Soler laughed so hard her mouth seemed to tear, and even shed a small tear.

She stopped laughing as suddenly as she had started and asked me.

“Do you think you can become a hero?”

I was wrong. Soler had changed a lot.