Harun

《Something went very wrong》

 “d.a.m.n it! What’s wrong with this mountain? It’s even worse than the rumors!”

 Gitan complained while shaking the monsters’ blood off of his shield. The population density of monsters in the Huk’ran Mountains was simply amazing.

 “It’s because the environment is so fitting for them.”

 Teeno cared to explain for him even though he was very tired.

 “Makes sense,” Haroon nodded.

 The highest peaks of the mountains located by the river Seine were blocking wind from all directions but south. Despite being alpine terrain, warm wind from the south area couldn’t go over the mountains so the average temperature of the mountains was higher than the flatlands’. For the same reason, the precipitation rate was high as well, being a perfect place for plants to grow rapidly.

 Since various types of plants were growing rapidly, herbivorous animals flourished, so naturally, beasts and monsters flourished as well. As they didn’t have to go far away from their region to hunt for food, the monsters had smaller regions bit were densely populated.

 It was on the fifth day after pa.s.sing the Cliff Valley, the entrance of the Huk’ran mountains. Considering the monsters’ they’d met so far, it was a miracle that there was no big deal with lump orcs, whom Haroon thought would be searching with great anger for the culprit who killed their chief. It was even more surprising since they were pa.s.sing the mountain right next to the dungeon. Of course, they’ve encountered some small groups of them, but Teeno found them first and lead the group on an alternative route.

 But that was as far as their luck lasted.

 There were not only the lump orcs in Huk’ran mountains. They’d met six group of goblins and four group of black orcs so far. And they were no small groups, consisting of 20 to 30 units, so seeing their blood was inevitable.

 They frequently encountered black bears that roamed alone or in pairs, got attacked by wild gryphons, and they had to fight with three groups of wolves at different times. Meanwhile, they were fortunate enough to meet and hunt some beautiful alpine foxes. Thanks to Serinn’s greed for leathers her skinning skill was thriving, causing the group to carry heavy stacks of leathers with vast volume, all except Teeno.

 ‘Still, we were fortunate that we hadn’t encountered any ogre nor trolls. We might not have made it this far without Teeno’s scouting,’ Haroon thought.

 He imagined that the northern part of the Huk’ran mountains, the high mountain pastures might not be a habitat for trolls or ogres. Considering how strong the monsters were in those areas, the monsters who lived individually might not be able to deal with them.

 ‘But really, are we there yet?’

 Including himself, the members of the Gusts of Wind got multiple minor injuries, as they couldn’t execute their combat skills as well as before because of their fatigue and lack of sleep. In return, their sense of combat got improved drastically as they were always put on edge. Even without the preplan, their bodies learned to make the most efficient attacks.

 Going through the days of not getting enough sleep lead them to mental and physical exhaustion, but it became a great opportunity to discover their potential. Though Haroon couldn’t make time to check his members’ statuses, he expected them to have improved greatly.

 It’s only been a few months after graduating the basic course of the mercenary academy and the Quad w.a.n.kers’ and his skills were i

ncomparable to how they were back then. Their actions getting sharper proved it.

 When they’d climbed over a rather low peak around lunch time, they were able to hear good news from Hall.

 “It’s over there!”

 Hall, who hardly expressed her feelings, gladly shouted. They all looked to where Hall was pointing at.

 “Ahhh! Finally!” Teeno exclaimed.

 Then they all could see the secret training camp built on the mountain right next to the one they were at.

 The secret training camp they were looking for was built at an ingenious location. Located halfway up to the Huk’ran icecap, the highest peak of the Huk’ran mountain, the front and back of the camp were cliffs. The camp couldn’t be reached directly up, but by using the great slope on the sides of the cliffs.

 Seeing the secret camp, Hall’s remote expression finally changed to a real one.

 “Why don’t we take a rest here, Boss?” Though they could see the camp, it would take a long time to get there as they had to climb down and back up to the mountain where the camp was at. So Haroon decided to take Teeno’s suggestion.

 “Sounds good. Okay, let’s take a rest here!”

 Though the Huk’ran mountains may be full of monsters, it was a great place for them to take a rest as they were on a summit, with only rocks lying around.

 “It is a great relief that we were able to make it all the way here without any mishaps,” Teeno added.

 It seemed like Teeno was secretly being anxious about the journey, seeing the refreshed expression on his face after looking at the secret camp.

 The secret camp covered in thin fog was huge, consisting of five buildings in different sizes, two training fields and three watchtowers. Comparing to the mercenary academy, Haroon estimated that about 200~300 people would be able to stay there at the same time.

 “We’re finally here! You know what? I really need to take a bath.”

 Serinn seemed glad as well. When they were moving by the river Seine, they could wash their bodies at the river or in small pools, but they couldn’t find a place nor a chance to wash their bodies after they entered the mountains.

 “I’m just hoping for a proper sleep.”

 They lacked sleep because of the monsters and beasts that attacked even at night. They all nodded to Ritrina’s complaint, whom needed more sleep than the others.

 As they prepared to move to the highest peak of the Huk’ran mountains with great expectations on their faces, Haroon looked at the training camp for a while. Then he found something odd and looked at Teeno. At the same time, Teeno looked at Haroon.

 “Boss, you thought the same, didn’t you?”

 “Yes, it’s quite strange.”

 Haroon’s face got serious.

 “Why? What is it?”

 Philip and Hall looked at the two.

 “I see no people moving. Not even on the watchtower.”

 On Teeno’s serious words, they looked at the camp. They really couldn’t see anyone in the camp. Although it was quite far from where they were at, it was not so far that they wouldn’t recognize figures of humans.

 A camp of that scale would have watchmen at least, even when it is resting time, but even the watchtower was empty.

 “Maybe they temporarily went somewhere else to train?”

 Philip looked at Hall. He expected Hall to have an idea at least. But even she was glancing at it quizzically.

 ‘Devron once mentioned their messengers went missing, right? It seems like something really did go wrong.’

 The sense of relief of arriving at the destination dissipated at a burst. Devron also said that his men training in this camp would be the secret weapon of the Briella faction. If something happened to these training knights, the Briella faction might need to give up partic.i.p.ating in the Golden battle. These knights in training were that important to them.

 “We don’t know what’s going on, so let’s move to the slope by the ridge so they can’t see us.”

 Haroon quietly ordered to his members who sensed the strangeness, and to Hall, who seemed evidently nervous. He went ahead of the group.

 They decided to move by the ridge, which was quite rough terrain. There were no trees, only sharp, huge boulders and rarely appearing pastures, dense with silver gra.s.s.

 They moved to the slope on the opposite side of the mountain so the ridge would hide their presence. They were able to move quickly since there were no monsters nor beasts as the ridge itself was quite high and steep.

 They found a way down to the training camp as they reached a point where they could see the camp from above, presumably the route those training knights used during their training or in emergencies. Following the route, they stopped at a point where a few trees were naturally forming a large place.

 “Let’s take a rest here. We’ll move after having lunch.”

 “What about these loads, boss?”

 “We’ll have to hide them somewhere for now. Since we don’t know what’s going on down there.”

 Serinn seemed happy about putting the load down, that was taller than her height. She was the weakest person in the group, and she was carrying over 50 leathers on her back, so it must have been hard for her.

 Teeno and the V.I.P. Hall were the only ones who were not carrying any leathers.

 To be practical, the reward of the quest was nothing compared to the leathers they were carrying. The leathers of lump orcs, gryphons, black bears and alpine foxes were very valuable items.

 After dealing with their hunger with bread, jerkies and water, they hid their loads between the trees and moved by the route.

 “Something must have happened,” Haroon worriedly spoke, seeing the gra.s.s on the way.

 It was a route formed by people going up and down for many decades, but it seemed like the route had not been used lately, because of how tall the gra.s.s was. As soon as Hall realized this fact, her face got even more serious.

 “Everything will be fine. If it is not, we’re going to make it fine so don’t worry, Hall”

 “Thanks.”

 Serinn tried to cheer her up, but it was not that easy.

 Haroon and the others stopped at the point where they could see the tall wooden fence in the distance. As always, Teeno went ahead to scout, but there was no signal from him yet. ‘He must have arrived at the wooden fence by now’, they thought. It still took a while for him to come back to the group.

 “I’ve checked the watchtowers and peeked through the gaps, just to find no one. But I could hear footsteps and the sound of doors opening and closing, and it suggests that there are quite a number of people inside, but it is hard to figure out what’s actually going on.”

 Hall stood up with a still face as soon as she heard him. It seemed like she’ll just charge through at any second. It was the first time they saw Hall losing her composure.

 “Teeno and I will sneak into the camp and check the situation inside. Stay here and rest, and wait for my signal. If things are fine, I’ll give you the signal from that watchpoint.”

 Haroon ordered, but Hall’s face was getting even more stiff.

 “I’ll go with you.”

 “It’s too dangerous.”

 Teeno stopped Hall but she insisted. She usually went along with the plan but she acted differently this time. Not listening to Teeno, she determinedly checked her wand and her equipment. Perplexed, Teeno looked at Haroon.

 “……She’s a magician but also an a.s.sa.s.sin, so there should be no problem with that. But remember, we are just checking the situation, so please follow my orders when we are inside.”

 “I will. I will follow your orders.”

 Hall candidly promised. Philip and Ritrina tried to stand up as well, but Haroon looked at them, giving signal that he wouldn’t allow them to follow. Then they headed to the camp.

 There were no trees near the wooden fence, only dense gra.s.s. It seemed like they chopped the trees that blocks their vision.

 “I’ll check the building in the middle. Teeno, check those two buildings on left. And Hall, check the building on the right. We are not going to make any moves for now, so get out as soon as you grasp the situation.”

 “Copy that, Boss.”

 “Okay. Then please, I beg you to manage your parts all right.”

 Unlike the carefree behavior she’d shown so far, she bowed low and begged the two to take good care of the situation.

 Strictly speaking, the Gusts of Wind had no reason to help her as their request was only to escort Hall to the secret camp. The reward that was promised to them was nothing considering the countless battles they had on the way. But Haroon and his members were willing to help as if it was their concern. She was moved by seeing how much they actually cared for the whole situation.

 “If you see a man with a giant scar on his forehead, please take good care of him. He is the person in charge of this place, Viscount Savaan Evans,” said Hall. “He is also my father,” she quietly added.

 Then Teeno and Haroon could understand why she was acting in such a way. It was her father who was in charge of this place.

 “Don’t worry.”

 “He should be fine.”

 After rea.s.suring her, they ran at the wooden fence. Their movements were silent, stealthy enough that others couldn’t notice them if they didn’t see them with their eyes, and yet they were fast like gusts of wind.

 To be honest, she wanted to check the building in the middle as it must be the main building, but Hall trusted Haroon. On the way here from Viscounty Paros, from the metropolis to be exact, she saw what he was capable of and how firm his character was, so she trusted his ability over her capability as an a.s.sa.s.sin.

Translated by Channy
Edited by Tom and Kmatt