novelraw Chapter 198 : Chapter 198
Chapter 198 : Chapter 198
Chapter 198 : The Desert
BLEAAARGH.
Pat pat.
As Muno patted his back, Imadi, who had been vomiting as if he were about to throw up his own internal organs, glared at him with wide eyes as soon as he regained a bit of his senses.
This is, huff. Huff. This is elder abuse.
You look like you are in middle age to me.
Do you not see the white hair, the white hair?!
Oh, come on. Your face is still quite smooth and firm.
The tension eased slightly through their banter.
Where is the bastard?
He is about 2 kilometers away.
That really is a convenient sense you have.
It is because I have stayed focused on him. In exchange, I cannot sense other demonic energy during this time.
Do not worry about that. I will be the first to notice if any small fry's demonic energy approaches us.
Yes. I will trust you.
It was truly reassuring to have a Seven-Star level Spirit Master on the same side.
In any case, it is a relief that the bastard is a magician.
Yes. That is true.
It was a relief that he was a magician.
Those words were not a joke.
While the group ran themselves ragged on the ground, the enemy flew through the sky, yet it was the enemy who eventually stopped moving first to take a rest.
Of course, if he had not been a magician in the first place, he would not have been traveling by flight.
As expected, that monster we met in the northern mountain range must have been an anomaly…… right?
Magicians were supposed to be this frail.
Ah, that is right. Did you not say you fought a mage? Could you tell me about that in more detail?
That happened when I was in the mountains…….
Just as Muno was about to recall the dizzying experience at Imadi's request.
Muno, why is it pig every single time?
……I caught a pig, huh? Pig?
The topic changed as Lauel, who was turning a whole wild boar over a campfire blooming from the bare ground, cut into the conversation.
It is because you only catch pigs every single time. I am so sick of it now.
Thinking back, it seemed they had always eaten pig whenever they camped out.
Well, I do not know. It just feels like my nose searches for the scents I like, and it also seems like pigs specifically linger around me for some reason…….
Does that even make sense?
But it is the truth…….
Since I had experience catching wild boars in the fields as well, it was not entirely incorrect.
Come to think of it, it was a bit strange.
Is it just good luck?
Luck combined with the instinct of liking pork.
It seemed like a result of those two things combined…… but.
It appeared that Lauel had accumulated quite a bit of dissatisfaction.
Still, please bring something else next time.
Huh?
A person cannot live while eating only the same thing every time.
Right, right. I understand.
Or I will go hunting myself.
No, no. I will do it. Next time, it will be something else. Okay.
……Wait, am I being scolded right now?
I tilted my head, feeling somehow rebuked for some reason.
Chuckling. You are definitely destined to live under a woman's thumb.
Having recovered from his motion sickness in the meantime, Imadi spat out some nonsense with an amused expression.
……Excuse me?
He might have intended to whisper in a small voice, but there was no way he could avoid Lauel's attention at this distance.
I could see Lauel's face turning bright red, even redder than the flames in front of her.
In times like that, you should have said, then you go hunt it yourself, like a confident man.
And if I did that……?
Rather than Imadi's nonsense, I was more concerned about Lauel's reaction, so I gave an awkward response.
You would have been beaten up.
An absurd answer came back.
Beaten, what?
Kek kek kek.
……Stop talking nonsense and just go to sleep.
Seeing Imadi start to laugh after making a joke that was not even remotely funny, I wondered if this young old man had gone crazy from the motion sickness.
My late wife used to be like that.
Eh……?
……Was he leading into it like this?
Living under someone's thumb is not a bad thing. At the very least, you should do your best while there is still someone you can do that with.
As he soon sank into thought with a fond expression, Muno could only give an awkward smile.
N-Next time, I-I will do the hunting, Muno.
Oh, ugh, yeah…….
The added bonus was things becoming awkward with Lauel for no reason.
Imadi, you should rest as well! I have prepared a spot for you here.
Thank you, Lauel. Ah, but is it okay for us to sleep like this? Muno, are you not going to be up all night?
I will set up the iron mesh and sleep too. I have only allocated one part of my consciousness to it, so I will wake up immediately if I feel any change.
Such a thing is possible?
Of course, since I am only half-asleep, my recovery will be a bit slower than usual.
Even so…… hmm, you really are strange.
It seemed Imadi was becoming increasingly curious about him.
If the bastard suddenly flies away, I will set off immediately to follow him, so you must understand even if things get a bit shaky.
At the following sentence, Imadi crumpled his face and lay down on the spot.
After enjoying the small pleasure of finally getting a jab in for a moment.
The open space, where Imadi's spirit flames and his iron chains were set up, soon became a warm haven for the group.
That was, until the target suddenly showed movement again exactly three hours later.
Dammit!!
Muno!
Follow me!
SWISH SWISH SWISH SWISH.
I dashed forward as soon as I retracted the iron mesh.
In the process, I did not forget to scoop up Imadi, who had been sleeping without a care in the world.
Ugh!? Urgh!? Honey, but when we are sleeping, at least……!
There was no time to be considerate of Imadi, who was tossing and turning as if having a nightmare while hanging from the iron chains.
THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD.
Surely not in the middle of the night again……?
Yes! For some reason, I do not know why, but this guy is strangely in a hurry!
Considering that the bastard was a high-ranking magician, it had to be assumed that he moved as soon as his physical strength or mana was recovered, barely sleeping at all.
Acceleration.
BOOM.
In a state where the fatigue accumulated from catching up with the enemy's flight had not fully vanished, Muno was forced to push himself again.
However, as difficult as it was, I had a strong intuition for some reason.
Surely, where that bastard was headed, the Demon Cult Leader Exlam, or at least a core member of an equivalent organization, would be there.
The only thing that concerned me was the direction.
I suspected it, but…… right?
Yes. It seems so.
When I looked back, Lauel, who met my eyes, also expressed her agreement through her gaze.
The country that appeared if one headed straight southeast from the northeast of the Empire, the Kingdom of Trey.
It was a country I knew nothing about other than the fact that it lived off intermediary trade connecting the East while being hostile toward the Deus Empire.
Of course, I had dealt with a tail of the Demon Cult that was heading there not too long ago.
- The Emperor's written order to help the newly crowned king…….
- The mission to create a system friendly to our Empire…….
Those were the last words of the fellow who could not be distinguished as either a tail of the Demon Cult or a tail of the Empire.
The kingdom of chaos, where the king had been assassinated recently and a new king had ascended the throne, was drawing near.
To make matters worse, the flying magician was not guiding(?) them only along normal paths.
Rather, it was the opposite.
* * *
WHOOOOOSH.
Under the hot sunlight that felt as if it would cook a person alive, a desolate sandy wind blew, and the ground beneath their feet was full of sand that they sank into deeply.
Only a few rocky terrains seen here and there informed them that the infinitely stretched horizon was not an illusion.
The hell on earth that appeared as if by magic as soon as the grassland with its relatively cool breeze disappeared.
The…… desert?
The tailing that had continued for two days.
The bastard crossed mountains and rivers where not a single person could be seen, and finally led them to the desert.
The group, who had repeated their frantic sprinting to catch up with the flying magician, was extremely exhausted.
BLEAARGH. Ugh……. This is a lure. It is obvious. That bastard, he knows we exist. He is doing this to screw with us.
Looking at Imadi's face full of irritation after emptying his stomach repeatedly, I thought that might actually be the case.
If one enters a desert without a guide, even a superhuman can die. At the very least, we need a guide who knows the location of the oases!
Do you know much about deserts?
Have you forgotten where I am from? The biggest obstacle heading toward the Tower of Spirits in the south of the Empire is the desert. Though that is a rocky desert called Bahai.
Ah…….
Decide at this point. Whether to push ourselves a bit more to catch that bastard and go back, or to continue following behind him.
Imadi's expression seemed to desperately want the former.
The man who had burned with fighting spirit, saying he would catch at least one Seven-Star mage in the remainder of his life after being given a limited lifespan, was now making a face that said this was not right.
However.
Let us keep going.
What?
Have you forgotten? The bastard is a magician and he is alone. He cannot hold out better than we can. He will not go deep into the desert.
Even so, that fellow can probably create frost or water at will. Since magic is what destroys the providence of the world.
Can we not also control the heat?
Grrr……. That is true, but.
In fact, if it had been the Muno of the past, even enduring this environment for a very short while would have been difficult.
For him, who had lived in the cold Drasen within the northern Kingdom of Iron, this kind of heat was a first, and on top of that, he was currently wearing pitch-black full-plate armor.
However.
WHOOSH.
Since the red core embedded in the center of Blade was converting the heat penetrating his entire body directly into mana, it was a situation that was manageable enough, though he could not say it was refreshing.
I can endure it too.
Fine, let us say I will control the heat. But what will you do about water? You already eat an enormous amount as it is.
That is because…….
Or do you plan to dig the desert ground with those wriggling chain teeth and pull up water?
……That is not funny.
The shape of the ring-mouths formed by Chain Devouring had become fixed at some point, but they could not swallow actual matter that was not demonic energy.
In the first place, no digestive system was connected to them either…….
……Wait? For a moment?
Back when I evolved last time, unconsciously…….
Just as my head was about to feel a bit itchy for some reason.
My point is, would we not need proper preparation?
Imadi's following words pulled him back to reality.
But the bastard is still over there.
That is why I am saying let us just catch that one fellow and be done with it.
I wondered when he had even presented options, as it now seemed he had completely set his mind on the former.
We cannot stake our lives just to catch one tail, Muno. Truly, that bastard could be luring us.
That is not it. I am sure of it.
If the bastard were aware of them, he would have at least spread detection magic to scout the situation.
And they were maintaining a distance of over 3 kilometers during the day, so if he could see them with his bare eyes without magic, then that fellow should be considered either a Seven-Star or not a magician at all.
Therefore.
Let us follow him for one more day, just one more day.
What?
Muno!?
We are not the kind of people who would collapse after just one day or so. No matter how hellish the environment is, a Great Spirit Master who can completely control heat is right here.
Ahem. Well, that is true, but…….
Even if he can lower the temperature and generate water, as long as he is a magician, he will not be able to endure this barren environment for long. His destination is surely nearby.
At those firm words, the group no longer objected.
Fortunately, as if that guess was not wrong, the bastard landed at a point in the desert before even a day had passed, and then did not move for nearly half a day.
As if he had reached his destination.
However, that did not mean the group's plan had worked.
I do not sense any other demonic energy no matter how much I look. Dammit.
Seeing that he was not moving, it seemed he had arrived, but the presence of other enemies could not be felt.
……Let us just catch the bastard and go back.
It was already the point where the promised day had passed.
Muno also had no further justification to oppose.
Let us go.
And so, at the place where the group arrived, unable to wait any longer, there was the magician staring at some corpses with a distraught expression.