Genius Corpse-Collecting Warrior - Chapter 76

Tracking (3)

“I heard that you experienced going down into the labyrinth.”

The middle-aged paladin said. Dallen nodded indifferently. What was this person’s name?

I wondered if there was something important to talk about as he, the nominal leader of the group, approached me, but it seemed like he was just there to talk.

“Oh, maybe you don’t remember my name. “This is High Templar Maug.”

“It’s Dallon.”

“I have heard of the dragon slayer’s reputation. Sir Lucia said so. “It is said that as soon as Lord Dallon descended into the labyrinth, he single-handedly devastated thousands of gnoll settlements.”

“I wasn’t alone. “Lucia herself was also there.”

Dallen accepted the message, chewing on some beef jerky. It was jerky made from dragon hind leg meat that Lucia had aged.

She, who has been with Dallan for a long time, decided not to participate in this request and to remain at the headquarters.

His own lack of competency keeps holding Dallon back. Since I had enough practical experience over the past few months, I decided to stay at the headquarters for a while and focus on training.

There was also the purpose of providing guidance to Parn, who had just joined the Holy Knights as a trainee.

In recognition of her contribution to retrieving the Holy Sword and suppressing the rebellion, Lucia was recently promoted to an official Holy Knight.

And as a formal engineer, you are qualified to guide trainees. The timing was just right.

“Of course, I think Sir Lucia is a junior with a promising future. However, I heard that the strategy came from Sir Dallan’s deep insight. “After destroying the scouting party, he used the shell wolf’s homing instinct to raid the residence.”

Maug said excitedly.

Dallen scratched his chin in silence. He was not very used to this kind of flattery between strangers.

Maug continued to tell the story of Daelon’s adventures for a while.

He destroyed the demon Golacap, retrieved the Holy Sword, defeated the Ash Witch, and even burned the Mandrake in the forest.

He probably wanted to become acquainted with the owner of the newly born Holy Sword, so he had been looking around diligently for the past 15 days.

For some reason, I felt like I could picture Lucia being bombarded with questions from this middle-aged paladin.

“…Keuhum.”

However, there was a limit to Maug’s chatter, which reminded him of a certain merchant.

After chatting for a couple of hours, we ran out of material to gold-paint the face, which was a big reason why the people involved reacted sourly.

And after he closed his mouth, no words were exchanged between the group.

After the battle at the Third Sanctuary, Felber became extremely silent for some reason. Tommy also showed a similar attitude as his teacher remained silent.

Except for the occasional chatter between interrogators and high-ranking knights, silence was slightly overshadowed by a subtle awkwardness.

For Dallen, who had been traveling with the same group for a while, it was an atmosphere he had not felt in a long time.

All right. All right.

The group rode their horses at a moderate speed.

As the depth of the valley deepened, the distance between the cliffs on both sides became increasingly distant.

The width, which at first was too narrow for five or six carriages to pass side by side, soon became closer to a hundred meters.

‘It continues to widen like this without any significant changes up to the Estra River.’

Dallen recalled the image deep in the crack he had seen beyond the monitor.

Far-reaching cliffs dozens of kilometers high, spaced several kilometers apart.

As you get deeper, lava and toxic smoke flow from numerous caves drilled into the cliffs, and strange landforms similar to those found in a labyrinth are scattered here and there.

And when you reach the core, the downhill road several kilometers wide eventually divides into numerous branches, intertwined like a maze, turning into a passage leading down to the labyrinth and a part of the labyrinth itself.

‘The lower reaches of the Estra River separate the boundary of the demonic landscape.’

The end of the Estra River, which marks the border between the Empire and the Kingdom of Noria, was in a crack.

The lower reaches of the Estra River, which falls as a waterfall from a height of dozens of kilometers and flows across the center of the rift, forming a natural boundary dividing the realms of monsters and humans.

The party’s primary destination was the Knights’ defense base, the second largest base built on this side of the wide river.

It was ‘Estra Fortress’.

***

Over the course of five days, the party passed through two forts.

There are a total of four fortresses built by the Knights within the rift.

Except for Estra Fortress, which was the front line of defense, it served as a kind of intermediate base and supply depot.

Five evenings like that.

Arriving at the third fortress, the group unpacked and gathered in the conference room.

“We will arrive at the first defense line, Fortress Estra, in two days.”

Maug got lucky.

“Anyway, we will have to move constantly after arriving at Fortress Estra, so I will review the detailed strategy for this mission in advance.”

Sigh.

Maug spread the map on the table. It was a map depicting the approximate shape of the headquarters of the Knights Templar and its divisions.

“This is where the traitor Everlock is believed to be hiding. “It is a realm of monsters that has not yet been touched by the knights.”

A finger wearing a leather glove pointed to a point on the map.

It was a demonic area outside the Knights’ territory called the Devil’s Valley across the Estra River.

“Unlike this side of the river, which continues as one stream from the entrance, Devil’s Valley is a terrain where dozens of large and small valleys are twisted and mixed together. “It’s a place where you’re lucky if you don’t get lost, let alone track someone down.”

Fortunately, the people who participated as mercenaries this time will serve as our guide. Maug added.

“First of all, I heard that Sir Felver, the elder wizard of the Elgaia Tower, has the ability to read the memories of the land.”

“…Unlike humans, the earth does not forget. “If we look into Everlock’s memories of where he set foot, we can find out where he went from there.”

Felber nodded. It was the first time I heard a voice in a long time as I had remained silent throughout the journey.

After hearing the confirmation, Maug turned his gaze towards Daelon.

“And Lord Dallon has an artifact that can track the subject.”

“Here it is.”

Dallen took out the glass sphere he had kept in his chest.

The blue metal arrow inside the glass sphere had been pointing straight in one direction without moving for 15 days already.

“It’s a fragment of the Explorer’s Left Bank. “I heard there are only a few left.”

Felber looked at the glass sphere with interest. Dallen shrugged and put the artifact back into his arms.

Maug nodded with a satisfied expression and continued speaking.

“Then, now that we have reconfirmed the essential solution to the tracking itself, we will discuss the detailed operation.”

The meeting lasted long.

What will be the basic formation after entering the Valley of Monsters? How will the group be divided if necessary?

In addition, small but important discussions were exchanged, such as ways to secure a retreat route and how to provide local supplies in the worst case scenario.

‘It’s been a while since I was in a place like this.’

Dallen quietly listened to the conversation going back and forth with his arms crossed on one side of the table.

I once participated in a similar meeting of commanders who fought against the Apostles of Retrograde in the Labyrinth City.

However, unlike the time when he had to lead the operation himself because it was only five minutes before the start of the battle, the veteran paladins decided on the gist and details of the operation without his intervention.

A plan so solid that even Dallan, who prides himself on being the master of this game, was impressed.

No matter what variables occurred, it seemed like those who participated in the operation would be able to return with at least one life saved.

How many times have you taken a step back from a meeting and only answered questions asking for advice?

Dallen turned his head at the sudden feeling of alarm.

‘…hmm.’

A very subtle but intuitive warning that is difficult to ignore.

Dallen closed his eyes for a moment and expanded his senses.

The vibration under your feet and the subtle sound of water flowing through the pipes between the walls.

Complex and diverse smells seeping through the cracks in the stones.

The detailed changes felt in the magical wind penetrated my nerves and into my brain.

The result of the brain mixing and mixing those stimuli was a warning that was clearer than before.

Now I really couldn’t ignore it.

The combination of his senses and his intelligence and magical power values had already gone beyond the framework of a simple mixture of the five senses.

Talk. Talk.

Just lightly tapping the table with your fingertips attracts the attention of the bustling conference room.

Everyone gathered here is either a warrior or a magician who has been training themselves all their lives.

There was no one who failed to read the subtle change in the air that began with that small gesture.

Dallon said.

“I’m sorry, but I think we’ll have to make the rest of our plans later.”

bang!

As soon as those words were finished, the Holy Knight stormed into the conference room.

Among the paladins stationed at the fortress, he was quite high-ranking and lowered his head with an urgent expression and spoke.

“I’m truly sorry for interrupting the meeting, but I think you should try climbing up the castle wall.”

“What’s going on?”

Maug, nominally in charge of the group, asked. The paladin answered with a slightly trembling voice.

“The gnoll army numbering in the thousands is heading here.”

***

On the castle wall.

The length of the wall here, called the second defense line, was literally a defense line and matched the width of the valley itself.

It’s a wide castle wall, approximately three kilometers long.

However, the number of troops guarding this place was less than 1,000 at most.

Even then, the majority are ordinary crusaders, not paladins who wield the power of sacred tattoos.

‘There’s nothing we can do because it’s a fortress that acts as a supply depot, not the main line of defense. The Holy Knights do not have unlimited troops.’

Dallen thought as he looked at the troops lined up sparsely along the castle wall.

As one of the knights’ defense lines, the fortress’s facilities themselves were strong enough to block even if an army led by a demon invaded.

However, this did not mean that the gap in insufficient troops could be filled only with well-fortified facilities.

Even if you have an abundance of ballista arrows and catapults coated with divine power, it doesn’t mean much if you don’t have enough troops to use them.

“How did you know?”

Maug asked. He was looking at the gnoll army approaching from afar. Dallen gave a short answer.

“I have a feeling.”

“Amazing. By intuition, you predicted an army of 2,000 gnolls. No, I think it’s about 3,000.”

“A little over five thousand.”

Maug frowned at Dallen’s correction and raised the power of his sacred tattoo.

“…Can you see it all through that darkness?”

Dallen shrugged.

The deeper we went into the crack, the faster the sun set. Around the second defense line here, it gets dark even in the early evening.

Additionally, the towering cliffs on both sides blocked most of the light from the moon and stars, creating a darkness deeper than the ground even on the same night.

Of course, it was meaningless darkness to Dallen.

“Some of the shell wolf cavalry are running ahead. “I’m holding a blue flag.”

“Blue flag? It’s Cheonglin’s county. “They are sending an envoy!”

Maug shouted.

Then the commander of the fortress gave an order, and according to the order, the flag bearers stood at regular intervals and waved their flags.

Rolling. Gigi geek.

Some ballistae have a pulley-mounted device that adjusts the firing line. A large arrow, already loaded, was received in the darkness and glowed eerily.

And not long after, the horsemen appeared, accompanied by the rough footsteps of four-legged animals.

They confidently entered the range of the braziers lit outside the castle walls.

Squeak.

Archers who naturally protest. The gunners with crossbows also aimed at the heads of the gnoll riders and the shell wolves.

In a tense atmosphere.

Among the cavalrymen, a huge gnoll stepped forward. It opened its snout.

“Growl! rampart! “Throw it away and go!”

Oh, this guy knows how to talk too.

Thinking back to the gnoll warrior who had a fight in the labyrinth, Dallon slightly raised one eyebrow.

The fact that those dog heads could speak human language meant that they had been given power by a transcendent being.

‘Usually one of the high-ranking demons or evil spirits. In this case, he must have received strength from the true dragon.’

Although they were not as good as evil gods, they were enough to rival demons.

It is said that Cheongrin, one of the rulers of the Rift Deep, has lost a lot of his strength due to old wounds, but he is still at the level of a mid-level demon.

In any case, the fact that he was given power directly by Cheongrin meant that Jinryong was leading this large-scale invasion.

‘This is getting annoying.’

In fact, I had kept in mind the possible situation when Vice-Captain Everlock started an untimely rebellion and fled to Cheonglin’s Nest.

That situation is when Mother Yong Cheongrin directly invades the knights.

The problem was that, unlike typical boss mobs, Dallen had never seen Cheongrin in person even in hundreds of plays.

‘In the game, there was never an invasion of the knights until death.’

In fact, Cheongrin’s existence was like a kind of background setting.

The setting is that it has maintained checks and balances with the Holy Knights for a long time, and at the same time, has developed a powerful force for future invasions.

Cheonglin died from long-term injuries before the game even reached the halfway point.

And the only child who inherits the mother’s strength and power appears as one of the powerful boss mobs in the latter half of the story.

‘Among the corpses that were eaten by that guy… there was that character.’

One of the few results among the hundreds of episodes of Dallon that lasted until the beginning of the final half.

“surrender! Then I’ll just eat the arms and legs! Grrr! The body and head! “I will save you!”

Meanwhile, while he was thinking about the character that was eaten by Cheonglin’s child, Captain Noll was threatening the knights with all kinds of insults.

Of course, the Knights were not the ones to give in to such threats. The commander spoke softly.

“Archer. “Kill that guy. There is no negotiation with monsters.”