Volume 2 Chapter 99 Quest： Sun Fantasy, Part I
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”So, are you sure it’s okay to infiltrate the fortress, Master?”
”Yeah, we need to check on Christy. We can’t ignore the ‘promise’ scroll.”
”If Lady Christy really does forget to discard the scroll, we should voice a couple of objections, my Lord.”
”That’s right, Natra.”
Kian nodded and then looked at Aliona and Friedrich.
”We’re heading out. Take care on your way back.”
”Yeah.”
”You two be careful too.”
”Yes.”
After the two nodded, he started running from the top of the hill.
He made a large detour along the valley roads to avoid detection, aiming for the massive moat surrounding the fortress.
(There should be a cave-like thing somewhere in the moat that connects to the underground sewer. It should be in a location that’s far from the bounce bridge, geographically speaking.)
’The moat is deep. There are probably monsters living in it. Be careful not to get pulled in by the darkness underwater.’
(Understood.)
With that thought, Kian picked up his pace.
Across the undulating Izerland hills, the flickering lights of the patrolling soldiers’ torches could be seen, casting an eerie glow.
* * *
The moat surrounding the Izerland fortress is like a massive river.
It’s said to have been created by powerful elf magicians and dwarf alchemists long before the Danofen family arrived here.
The outer wall towering over 2 hundred meters is a masterpiece of ancient magical civilization, a grand defense dearu.
It would likely take 3 centuries to complete with mere human labor.
Perhaps technological innovations would come first, leading to construction methods that are now inconceivable.
”Once again, I’m reminded that this is truly the castle of a ruler of the frontier…”
The sound that reached his ears was the sound of waves.
His nose detected the thick, distinctive smell of a water’s edge populated by many creatures, mingled with the stench of rotting mud.
”With a protective barrier in place, a direct attack or infiltration from anywhere but the 4 gates is impossible, making it a formidable military stronghold. It’s also a vital transportation hub, where grain from the north’s Ramsey, maritime trade goods from the south’s Châtillon, and specialty wines from the west converge, a center of the economy.”
Natra mutters a response.
She suddenly stops speaking and her steps, raising her right hand to restrain Kian.
Currently, Kian and his group have reached a point 100 meters in front of the southeastern water moat, between the east gate and the south gate.
They chose this position because there were few patrol soldiers’ torches. Now, the reason is clear.
The 5 hundred-meter-wide moat appears to be a nesting ground for a group of Drowning Ghost.
Drowning Ghosts are a subspecies of Dead Ghosts, similar to ghouls, with a length about the same as a human.
They have sharp claws and webbing on their hands and feet – basically fish-men, you see.
Their intelligence is high for monsters, and they have a sense of society, but they cannot understand humans and essentially see them only as prey.
They mainly eat aquatic creatures such as pike, crabs, and frogs.
Of course, they also eat the flesh of foolish humans who stray into the water domain where the Drowning Ghosts live.
”So the sewer entrance is, like, that thing?”
Serena gestures to a large cave with its mouth wide open on the opposite bank.
The archway is reinforced with stone, forming the base of the fortress’s construction.
As they watch, the dark surface of the water in front suddenly splashes like “splash!”
Maybe a Kelpie is lurking underwater.
”What do we do? Should we detour a bit further south?”
”If we detour any further, we’ll enter Oswald’s patrol zone. If we give up on infiltrating from here, we should head to the sewer exit in the northeast.”
”But, Master, the northeast is the Kelpie’s nest. We’ve also confirmed the presence of Alligator, which prey on Kelpies, so this approach is safer.”
Natra states it flatly.
She once successfully infiltrated the Izerland fortress.
If you listen to her story, she apparently disguised herself, crossed the drawbridge, and entered. But before that, she thoroughly investigated the surrounding terrain of the fortress.
”We can’t be heard. Take out all the Drowning Ghosts. Rufna, crush them with your ‘Pressure.’ Kill any stragglers. Natra and I will take care of them. Serena, act as you see fit.”
Night Wraith, the one who carries the luggage, draws the long sword.
Windsong Blade isn’t suitable for stealth.
The magic sword’s attack power is lacking, but Kian, as a warrior monk, has been training hard. With ‘impact’ and ‘break,’ it should be possible to shatter a monster’s bones in a single blow.
”────, …, ……!”
Rufna’s magic power is stealthily released with a soft “zzzz.”
The advanced technique of ‘Shot’ is ‘Pressure.’
It is literally a technique that applies pressure from above, crushing the target flat.
Now, Kian saw a dozen fishmen being slammed onto the gravel ground with a splat.
In a leap, he jump forward with Natra.
Using the advanced technique of ‘Leap,’ called ‘Domain.’
He swiftly approach the drowning ghosts that escaped Rufna’s attack, beheading them before they can react.
Natra took down 5, and Kian brought down 3, leaving no fishmen in sight.
They might still be lurking underwater, but as long as they don’t make a noise, it’s fine to leave them be.
”…Sorry, I’m late.”
Due to the bad footing, Serena, who couldn’t move at her usual speed, arrived 2 seconds late.
A month ago, Serena’s movements felt incredibly fast, but now they seem sluggish.
Probably, it’s because Kian’s speed has dramatically increased after awakening more of his vampire physical abilities and learning to use ‘Domain,’ which is faster than ‘Leap.’
”Don’t worry about it. Serena, just support as best you can. That’s an important role too.”
”…Okay…”
”Sir Kian.”
Natra, with blood dripping from his blade, approaches Kian.
”Your activation of ‘Domain’ is too slow. If it continues like this, you’ll always be on the defensive against strong enemies.”
”Uh… I’m sorry.”
”It doesn’t help to just juggle how much energy (ki) you think you need.”
”Yeah. But it’s tough when trying to put it into practice. I can’t get a feel for how much ki I need to gather each time.”
”Please gather more energy (ki) without fine-tuning it. There might be some roughness, and your opponent might read your movements, but don’t worry about that for now. Just get used to using lots of energy (ki). That’s the key.”
”Got it.”
”Hey, Milady, Master. The feedback session can wait. Let’s quickly cross the waterway.”
Rufna points at the water’s surface.
There, an invisible platform made of ‘Wall’ floated about a meter above the water.
As expected, the skill’s completion is impressive.
It’s a makeshift creation, but it looks sturdy enough to hold Kian’s weight.
(I had confidence in my basic techniques, but seeing this ‘Wall’ makes me lose some of that confidence.)
Kian thinks this as he leaps onto the ‘Wall’ above the water.
He has learned from Natra that while techniques like ‘impact’ and ‘Leap’ can be handled with small amounts of ki and can be reproduced with high precision,──
’Shot’, which requires a large amount of ki, and ‘Wall’, which also needs significant ki and special image training, are still beyond Kian’s abilities.
He realize now that the ridiculous movements Natra showed in their battle were made possible because she created a platform in mid-air with ‘Wall’.
He thought ‘Wall’ was just a defensive technique, but it can also be used offensively, depending on how it’s applied.
”────”
As they cross the invisible platform a meter above the water, suddenly a splash erupts directly below them.
It’s not Kian’s imagination; he sees something resembling a whale’s tail about a meter below the surface, diving into the water.
Given the shape, it must be some aquatic mammal──likely a Kelpie.
A monster resembling a horse covered in aquatic plants that drags people underwater.
Its party hunting rank is Rank 5.
Because the area around the short, shallow bridge does not attract them, they are left alone and not hunted as hunting dogs.
Even so, if their numbers grow too much, it becomes troublesome, so every year, specialized adventurers hunt the overpopulated Kelpies or destroy their eggs.
Hunting Kelpies in the fortress is a common intermediate-rank high difficulty quest.
It’s said that diving into the water is very dangerous and requires skill, but because high rewards are promised, there’s no end to the volunteers.
”Ugh.”
He heard Serena gasp quietly behind us.
A yellow eyeball about 20 centimeters in diameter floated on the surface.
Upon closer inspection, a 5-meter-long, slender monster made of aquatic plants swam alongside Kian and the others in the waterway.
”A Kelpie won’t pull in a target unless it’s touched by water. But just to be safe, try not to make eye contact.”
”Yeah… I can’t believe such a monster lives here.”
”This section has a wide river and the moat is extremely deep. Still, that’s one huge Kelpie.”
The creature vanished naturally when Kian and the others approached the shore where the riverbed became shallow.
Eventually, they reached the entrance of a cave on the opposite bank.
Jumping down onto the stone-paved walkway, they finally felt a release from the mental pressure of crossing the water.
The sewer was filled with the smell of sewage, but while the water flow was fast, it wasn’t very deep.
There likely weren’t any large magical beasts living here.
Once again, the party began to move forward in the dark, with Natra leading the way.
”────”
”……”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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