Chapter 289
I pulled out my weapons and armor from the hollow bag as soon I returned to the inn . Some clean cloth scraps as well . I soaked them with water magic and started to wipe each piece . The Glampanzer, Schwarz Tempest, Ashikirimaru, Cocytus Lance, Velnoir, and Orthros .
Then there was the wind dragon armor and ice dragon armor . I cleaned the spy equipment set as well . I took my time cleaning them all . By the time I sighed and put down the last piece, Daniela came in through the door .
“Welcome back . ”
“We are to meet up with the others early in the morning before departure . So we should sleep early tonight . ”
“Got it . ”
I had been so preoccupied with thoughts of my equipment, that I had forgotten to ask about such important details . It was a good thing Daniela could cover for me there .
She also bought some dinner, which we ate together at the table . Today, it was fried noodles . She even got some vegetable soup, perhaps in consideration of our health . It was pretty cheap as long as you brought your own container, which made it popular . We chewed noisily on the noodles and slurped the soup . This wasn’t a place where anyone cared about table manners .
“It is nice to have vegetable soup once in a while . ”
“You should have it every day . A balanced diet is necessary if you want to be healthy . So eat your vegetables . ”
“Hmph . It is just leaves . What kind of elf do you take me for . ”
A 22-year-old scolding the 300-year-old about health . Regardless, health was something that would be on the minds of many couples where there was a large age gap . It was quite important .
The next morning . Daniela and I walked towards the north gate as light snow fell down around us . While it was the military district, we had a reason to be here . Leaving through the west or east gates would result in a pointless loss of time .
As the sun had not come up yet, and due to it being the coldest of hours, there were hardly any people walking outside . Well, aside from people like us . Adventurers .
“Hmm… There are more than I expected . ”
“How many do you think there are?”
“Ah… Maybe fifty?”
“Hmm . ”
I looked around with Eyes of the God Wolf . I could see Adventurers in winter gear moving towards the north . Of course, Daniela and I were also wearing our capes . Mine was amazingly warm . And under it, was the wind and ice dragon armor . I also carried the hollow bag . The weapon I had on my belt was the Velnoir . Goblins tended to have swords of poor quality, and so I chose this sword in the hopes of breaking them .
Though, I would also be able to take out the other weapons pretty quickly . I had recently realized that if I put my hand behind my back as if unsheathing a sword, I could put my hand inside the hollow back and pull out the weapon . Of course, I wasn’t the most flexible person, and it hurt my joints a little . My shoulder and back… It’s not because I was old . I was just stiff!
I shook the thought out of my head and continued north, where the others waited .
“You’re late, Asagi . You’re the last one . ”
“Uhhh . ”
That was the first thing Manager said when I arrived . I looked around and saw the others were already there . That was odd…
“Uh . So, where’s Lemon?”
She wasn’t anywhere near Manager . They had been so close the last time I saw them .
“I’m leaving her here . While she has a lot of experience as a guard, stampedes are very different . I didn’t think she would be able to keep up with us . ”
“…I see . Well, we don’t know what will happen out there . ”
I left the grinning Manager and walked over to Adlus, who was standing with his arms crossed . I hadn’t seen him in a while, so I thought I might as well say something .
“…”
“Hey . Been a while . I guess we’ll be working together now . ”
“Ah, there you are . You should know that I am the leader this time . And don’t imagine for a moment that I will make things easy for you . ”
“What?”
The first thing that came out of his mouth was how he would work me like a dog . Apparently, he had been appointed as our leader . This was due to both his popularity and his position within the imperial capital . But, we were stronger…?
“You may think that, but you don’t belong here . I’ve lived in this city for many years . ”
“Well, I see your point . To be honest, I’d hate being a leader, so I consider myself lucky . ”
“Damn it… You would think that someone of your ability would have more ambition . ”
“Hehe . Well, I look forward to working with you . ”
“Aye . ”
Adlus sighed as he extended his fist, I bumped it with my own . He was like a completely different person from before . Almost as if he was free from an evil spirit . At least, I didn’t hate him now . Perhaps we’d even become friends .
The people that were here included me, Daniela, Manager, and Adlus, who were all Rank, and forty other Adventurers who were B-Rank . Some of them would be B-Rank for the rest of their lives . Regardless, they had all gathered here in order to take back the village and help protect the imperial capital . When I stood by Adlus and looked at their faces, I could tell by their expressions that they were eager to do this .
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But, how many of them would survive until the end… No, it was better to stay positive . Keep our guard up and annihilate the goblins . It didn’t matter what they did, we would win .
“Alright, everyone is here now . Let’s go . The battle for Namila’s liberation starts now!!”
Adlus gave the order, and the gates opened . A vast field of snow spread out north of the city . It was up ahead, that the monsters awaited .
I didn’t hate walking in the snow-covered field . I had once lived in a town where it snowed a lot . I knew how to distribute my weight while walking, so I wouldn’t slip . However, it was also kind of tiring . It would only take about 20 minutes for the sweat to start showing from my underclothes . This was the biggest reason people caught colds in snowy countries . It was the sweat from the heat that robbed them of their body temperature .
“This is nice…”
But screw that way of walking . We had a carriage .
“Apparently, we will arrive by the lake at sundown . ”
“That’s quick . ”
“It is all because the military offered us snow carriages . ”
Yes . We were currently in a carriage . While the ground was covered in snow, the carriages moved . That was because these carriages didn’t have wheels, they had skids, which I suppose meant they were sleighs . And as these were used in the army, the skids had fire ore embedded into them, which made the snow melt just enough to give the sleighs more speed . The horses that pulled us were half-unicorns . They were strong and didn’t tire easily .
The sleighs had been waiting for us just outside of the gate . The military could not leave the city . But they were more than willing to lend their sleighs to us Adventurers . This was a massive help .
We no longer had to walk while concentrating on every inch of our feet . Instead, we slid smoothly along the surface of the snow .
As Daniela said, we reached the lake by the time the sun started to set . From what I could see, the lake was about 300 meters from one side to the other . It was fairly large . On closer inspection, I could see that there were several tributary rivers as well, and one of them seemed to lead to the village . It was probably the water that they lived off of .
And it was this lakeside that Adlus had us set up camp . Water was an important part of survival . So it made sense to choose this spot . I took out our ample supply of illuminating magic tools from the hollow bag . These were the ones I gathered after the orc battle . I carried them around for times like these .
“Hmm, that seems like a little too much . ”
“Would you like to eat in the dark?”
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“I was joking . Put them here . ”
I joked while putting them up in Adlus’s ten . Yes, it was better with some light .
There was a table set up inside of the tent, and a map was laid out on it . There was the lake and rivers . And of course, a red ‘X . ’ It was Namila village .
“…Okay . Allow me to explain our strategy before we sit down to eat . ”
Adlus said as he raised his head and looked around him . Currently, it was just me, Daniela and Manager that were here . As we were different from the others in level and rank, the guild was allowing us to plan everything . Of course, Adlus was still the leader .
“We will go upriver and reach Namila village . Both sides of the rivers are surrounded in hills, which will hide us from any eyes near the village . They would have to come close and look down . But there are lots of plants to hide in as well, which should give us ample time before we are discovered . ”
Adlus traced his hand from the lake to the river and then to the village .
“How are we going to cross the river?”
“You, Asagi, are going to freeze it with ice magic . I’m not asking you to freeze the entire thing . Just a part of the surface . Surely you can do that?”
“Uh, sure . ”
Now, if he were asking me to create a dam and freeze the entire thing, I would have frozen him on the spot . But if it was just some of the surface, it shouldn’t be a problem .
“So, we shouldn’t have any trouble reaching the village . Once we are there, I will use the river as a medium and activate my water magic and use it to surround the village . ”
“Really? You can do magic on that scale?”
“It’s only a wall . It won’t automatically attack monsters that approach it . All it will do is move the water to create a thick and tall wall . ”
Daniela still looked like she could hardly believe it, but Adlus chuckled and brushed it aside . Indeed, judging by what I saw at the tournament, it probably wasn’t that hard for him to do .
“And then we will kill the goblins within the village . I think that we shouldn’t have any trouble with two rubies and ten jades . ”
“And what will the other jades be doing?”
“They will kill the goblins that are outside of the village . ”
As we were liberating the village, you would thing the goblins would all be inside of it, but Adlus thought differently . He said that monsters that caused stampedes had a tendency of giving birth to mutants with strangely high intelligence . Perhaps there was one such being here, who was able to strategize .
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“Besides, our information tells us that there are lots of places, such as the hills and shrubs, where you can hide . There will definitely be goblins there . We need all of them to be killed . ”
“I see . It will be safer to kill them all at once . ”
“Indeed . Any questions?”
Daniela quickly raised her hand .
“Who will lead the attack within the village?”
“You and Asagi . Rindo will lead the team outside . I thought that you wouldn’t have any problem with that, Rindo…”
“I don’t . And I’ll do it . ”
So Daniela and I would fight the goblins in the village . Manager would be outside . Adlus would keep the wall up . The others would kill any who slipped passed us .
“Any more questions?”
Daniela raised her hand again .
“What?”
“I am starving . May we eat soon?”
“…”
“…Hehe . ”
“Huhhh…”
Adlus didn’t know what to say . Manager chuckled . I sighed .
“Very well . You are dismissed . ”
Daniela was the first out of the tent . Manager and I followed after her .
When I caught up with Daniela, both of her hands were already filled with food . I sighed again . Naturally .