TEB Ch 98

The debris that remained like scars showed that there had been casualties here. Even though Liev didn’t want to imagine it, Renard, who narrowed his eyes at the terrible sight that was going through his mind, came over and stayed by Liev’s side. It wasn’t the first or second time he had seen something like this, but it was heartbreaking. He thought I knew it wasn’t necessary, a foolish feeling of guilt in his heart.

“Liev.” 

Knowing that Liev was blaming himself unnecessarily, Renard softly called out his name. Liev quickly regained his composure and asked the resident. 

“Is there anyone here who knows the geography, legends, or folklore of this village well? I have something to ask.” 

It was urgent to find out what those people wanted and where their next destination was. They couldn’t afford to waste time lost in such sentiments. 

“Oh, there is an old woman who used to manage the village affairs until last year. Luckily, she escaped the attack of the monsters, so I will ask if you can meet him right away.” 

“Yes, please.” 

The resident quickly ran out, and Liev looked at his back with a slightly worried expression. He had seen enough of the attack site and had been sick of it, but for some reason, today he felt even more tired. Was it just a bad feeling? He couldn’t understand why he felt so uneasy. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Renard comforted Liev. 

“It’s okay. I’ll protect you, Liev.” 

It’s not that I doubt Renard. However, from the moment he parted ways with Sigrid and the others, an ominous feeling continued to creep over him. He felt uneasy due to a vague, unknown anxiety that was different from before.

After a while, Liev, who was invited to the house of an old man in the village, together with Renard, asked the old man about the place name “Pistel Mountain.” But unfortunately, it seemed like the old man also didn’t know much about it. 

“I think this is my first time hearing such a place name as Pistel Mountain.” 

“I see.” 

The old man knew that the wolf monsters who caused many accidents in this area were not originally from this region. Someone intentionally released the monsters here to cause accidents, and the Empire was involved in these incidents. This was the only thing that was certain. In order to find out the truth behind this, they would have to infiltrate the Empire. Liev let out a sigh. 

“It’s mostly impossible to go with everyone.” 

Renard could use magic to cover everyone with an illusion and change their appearance, but only Rowena, who was fluent in multiple languages, including ancient languages, knew how to speak the imperial language. Liev himself only knew bits and pieces of it and could barely hold a basic conversation. 

What should they do? They were separated from the rest of the group, and they still hadn’t revealed their identities. Suddenly,  the communication device lit up. 

“Ah.” 

At least something had been resolved. But when they connected the call, instead of hope, they heard an urgent voice. 

“Quickly go to Mount Mikel! They say there is a large facility there. If you look down from above, it must be visible.” 

And communication was immediately cut off. 

“What? What’s going on?” 

Liev was flustered and tried to reconnect the call by shaking the small magic ball, but there was no response. He handed the device to Renard as if asking him to do something, and Renard looked at the magic sphere carefully. After observing it for a while, Renard said, 

“The connection was lost. It’s not going to work just by sending a signal from here.” 

What was going on? Regardless, they were in a situation where the strongest people in the world were gathered, so it was confusing that communication was cut off so urgently. What could have happened? Or maybe the person who was tracking them was in a hurry and just gave them an important clue to slowly solve the problem. Either way, there was no time to sit still and wait. 

“If it’s Mount Mikel…” 

Liev carefully traced the map in his head and recalled the geography. It seemed like the mountain could be reached by going a little northwest from the current village. Before he could check the map, the old man suddenly mumbled something. 

“Ah, now that I think of it, I heard that a lot of Pister trees used to grow a lot on Mount Mikel. They went extinct centuries ago when the volcano erupted.” 

If you had that information, you should have told us earlier. Liev grumbled inwardly but still sincerely expressed his gratitude. 

“Thank you! Renard, let’s go to Mount Mikel quickly!” 

The magic stone that had already registered the user’s magical power could not be used by anyone other than the registrant. In any case, it meant that it was Rowena who contacted Liev using the magic stone. If something urgent was happening near Mount Mikel and he needed to know the most important information first, it was best to move quickly. 

“……”

But why has this ominous feeling been holding him back since a while ago? Was it because he was acting alone, separated from the group? Suddenly, the moment when Suhyuk’s life ended came to mind, but now I’m not alone. Like back then, instead of trusting no one and handling everything on his own, he had reliable support right beside him, who would stand by his side and protect him. Whatever Liev wanted to do, Renard would be there to support him. Liev looked at Renard, trying to shake off his unease. Renard seemed to sense Liev’s wavering emotions and asked, 

“Should we stay here instead of going? We still don’t know what’s going on. Or should we try to find out where they are first?” 

Renard, who always had a confident expression, now looked uncertain. That was because Renard was also a bit shaken by his own intuition. The reason for all this unease might be because the Empire might have succeeded in persuading Renard. When Liev realized this, he shook his head repeatedly. 

I promised not to think about it anymore. I made up my mind to trust Renard no matter what happened.

No matter what danger there is, Renard will protect him. Liev regained his composure again and answered. 

“No, let’s just go quickly.” 

He didn’t have a strong sense of camaraderie with his colleagues now, but he felt like he would regret it if he rejected their urgent request. He didn’t want to repeat the pattern of regretting not doing something he could have done. Renard slowly nodded in agreement with Liev’s determination. 

“Yes.” 

The location they confirmed through the map was only a 10-minute distance from here. It would take at least half a day by normal carriage or walking, but with Renard, there was no reason to waste time. 

“Let’s go.” 

Liev hoped in his heart that everything would be resolved safely. He climbed onto Renard’s back, which had transformed into a giant and beautiful monster. 

*** 

We reached Mount Mikel in no time. The trees were short, making it easy to identify the terrain. It had a different atmosphere from other areas, probably because the vegetation had been wiped out once by a volcano eruption. As they passed through the rocky ridges and winding peaks, they soon came across a large area of land that had been excavated for the construction of a massive facility. However, there were no other suspicious facilities or equipment in sight. 

“Is it still in the early stages of starting something? 

But if that’s the case, Rowena wouldn’t have asked so urgently to go to Mount Mikel. In the midst of all the confusion, there were no passing monsters or even mountain beasts to be seen. Is there a possibility that Rowena fell into a trap? Liev pulled out the communication device that he had put in his pocket. Even after injecting a small amount of magic energy multiple times to contact the separated group, the magic ball did not respond. 

“Should we go down and take a look?” 

They will catch attention if they keep flying. Liev nodded in agreement with Renard’s suggestion. 

“Yes, it would be better to approach from a distance and hide our presence.” 

He could only hope that the ominous feeling that had been weighing on his chest since earlier would disappear. All he could do now was wish for it.