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Chapter 100: Shahatra’s Mountain (2)

As soon as Henry got their approval, he immediately left the mansion with Khan and Viram.

When they arrived at an empty, open space, Herarion said, “Lord Henry, there aren’t any mountains here.”

“Oh, don’t worry, we are climbing the Shahatra Mountain.”

“Shahatra… Huh? What did you just say?”

“I said we will be climbing the Shahatra Mountain. Your Majesty, please do not let anyone know what I am about to show you.”

“The Shahatra Mountain, huh? What other secrets are you going to tell me…”

Henry began casting a spell, and a huge magic circle with runes appeared under Henry’s feet.

“Lord Henry! What is tha–!”

“There’s nothing to be about, Your Majesty. This is simply Teleportation.”

“Isn’t this magic? Lord Henry, can it be that you’re a wizard?”

“I will tell you the details later, Your Majesty.”

Poof!

There was a flash of light like lightning, and by the time it faded away, everyone inside the magic circle had disappeared.

* * *

There was another flash of light, and everyone appeared in an unfamiliar place. As soon as the transfer took place, Khan and the high priest felt a strange dizziness since it was their first time being Teleported.

“Hagler, bring them some cold water,” said Henry.

“Alright.”

Nausea was a common symptom for those experiencing movement magic for the first time.

After the nausea subsided, Herarion managed to catch his breath and asked, “Lord Henry, are you a wizard?”

“I apologize for not telling Your Majesty sooner. I wield swords, but at the same time, I am the only wizard that is not registered with the empire.”

Since Henry wore a sword around his waist, he looked like a strategist like Aubert. However, it turned out that Henry was a vassal and a genius who handled swords and magic at the same time.

Appalled, Von said, “What does this mean? You mean you didn’t tell them who you really are and just brought them here?”

“I was in a hurry, but it’s alright because we have a secret agreement.”

“Lord Henry, who are these people…?”

“I apologize for not introducing them sooner. They are members of my personal mercenary group, which I was operating before I became a vassal of the Shonan family.”

“Mercenary group? Haha… Lord Henry, you’re truly amazing…”

Henry had well-rounded abilities, but ordinary nobles took that for granted. However, Herarion could see the great soul that dwelled within Henry and didn’t dismiss his past.

“Anyway, we don’t have much time, so I’ll explain.”

There was no time for casual chatter like at a tea party. Henry began to explain why he had brought them and what kind of secret agreement he had with Herarion. Of course, Henry did not mention what he’d gotten in return for the secret agreement.

Herarion spoke in an admiring tone, “How were you able to come up with using Viram to cross the mountains…? You’re incredible, Lord Henry.”

“That’s why I said ‘hiking.’ We will deal with the monsters and High Priest Viram will take care of the barrier, so what could be easier than this?”

It was a method that no one else could have thought of, but it certainly made sense. The monster could be defeated, but they needed a high-ranking illusionist to dismantle the complex illusion barrier.

Herarion asked, “Viram, will you be okay doing this alone?”

“Dismantling the barrier of the mountain is not very difficult because it’s our job to manage the barrier every year anyway, but the problem is the monsters…”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that because everyone here is strong enough to handle them.”

“...Alright.”

‘I didn’t expect to see him again.’ As Herarion reassured Viram, he took a quick glance at Von.

Although Von was using the name Lanber and had undergone Plastic Cosmetics to change his appearance, none of that fooled La’s eyes. ‘His name is Von, isn’t it?’

Around the time Henry began his war of conquest, Herarion had commanded the soldiers as the head of Shahatra and saw several incredible people who were practically inhuman, including Von. ‘I’m not sure why, but it seems like he’s hiding his identity, so there’s no need to cause a fuss by bringing it up.’

Herarion was a wise king because he knew that he had to focus on achieving his goal and not be distracted. ‘But of course, I should be vigilant.’

When everyone understood each other\'s duties, Henry suggested that they depart. “Let\'s get going. As you can see, this is the boundary of the Shahatra Mountains and if we go in a straight line, we’ll reach Shaha, an oasis in the east.”

“Lord Henry, everything sounds good, but there’s a little problem. I’m okay, but Viram is old and doesn’t have the strength to climb a mountain.”

“Then Hagler will carry the high priest on his back. Halger, you can do it, right?”

“Yes.”

“This should do it for now. Let’s get going.”

Hagler stepped in front of Viram and once he had Viram on his back, Henry stomped his feet to cast arming magic on everyone.

Thud!

Whoosh!

They were given the strength of the wind spirit and increased stamina for the hike. They would have to fight any monsters they met, although Henry planned to climb the mountain without coming in contact with any.

“Let’s depart now.”

They began to climb the nearly perpendicular cliffs, performing godly actions. The boundaries were clear. When they passed through the empire’s territories covered in vegetation and entered the Shahatra Mountain, the hot air of the mountains instantly engulfed everyone.

‘Faster!’

Time was money. There was no time to waste. Henry had only three days to get everything done.

“Are you alright, high priest?”

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

“Alright.”

During the entire time they were moving, Hagler checked on Viram. Although Viram was a highly-ranked illusionist, he was also a weak old man, and it was crucial to keep him in good condition since he was the key to getting past the Shahatra Mountain.

Crack!

After passing the perpendicular cliffs and running through the mountain’s for a long time, the ground suddenly began to show cracks. Herarion raised his hand. “Back away. It’s crustaceans.”

The horns on the crustaceans’ back were like shark dorsal fins rising from the cracked ground. Crustaceans were about ten meters long and had hard shells that couldn\'t be destroyed even with Aura.

“Crustaceans have poor eyesight and they find their prey by sensing vibrations, so try to stay still.”

“But how do we catch it by standing still?”

“That…”

“One person should act as bait. I’ll go.” Von stepped forward while unsheathing his sword. “I’ll be back soon.”

As Von slowly walked forward with the power of the wind spirit, the hostile crustacean immediately rushed toward him.

“You live like a worm but sure do have a grand name.”

The crustacean made the ground shake as it ran towards Von. As he looked at the crustacean, Von raised his sword behind his head and started to condense Aura on the blade.

“Is he trying to attack the crustacean?” asked Herarion.

“I think so.”

“It’s reckless. It likes to attack from the ground, and if he faces it head-on like that, he’ll…!”

“Lanber is attacking this way exactly because it\'s a creature that hides underground.”

“What?” Herarion knew how strong Von was, but he didn’t think this was a good tactic.

Von’s blade began to fill with blue light, which grew fainter as the blade began to grow longer and longer until it was like a spear shining pure white.

“That’s…”

It was a beautiful light reminiscent of a holy sword.

Herarion was gazing at the bright light when…

“Khaaa!”

The crustacean charged from underground and opened its huge mouth, appearing right in front of Von.

“Huff.”

Flash!

Von put his forearm back and then launched it forward like a catapult. A bright light flashed like lightning.

“...”

The mountain was dead silent.

The crustacean seemed to have frozen with its ferocious mouth wide open.

“...What just happened?” asked Herarion.

“What do you mean?”

“I was sure that he had swung his sword, but why is the crustacean…”

“You’ll see the crustacean move soon.”

“What?”

Slash!

It was a single blow. The Aura on the blade disappeared in an instant and Von slowly sheathed his sword again, and…

Crack.

Crack.

Slice!

The crustacean’s face began to split vertically.

Thud!

The crustacean split in two and collapsed without a sound, creating a cloud of dirt.

“Wind.”

Henry used wind to blow the dirt away. Herarion found it hard to stop gaping at the shocking sight.

“What was that…?”

It wasn’t just the head of the crustacean that had split. The snake-like body that stretched all the way underground had also split in two.

Hagler began explaining, “My master has already reached the highest level of swordmaster and his main skill is lengthening a blade. That’s why he can do this.”

‘I knew he was good, but not this good…’

Swordsmanship was evaluated differently in Shahatra. Even though Herarion had seen their power countless times during the war, he never had time to study it in much detail. However, the incident allowed Herarion to take a closer look at Von’s mighty power.

Henry thought to himself, ‘Tsk, I’ll have to learn how to use Aura soon so that I can also have a main skill.’

Every time Henry saw the power of a mighty swordsman, his envy only intensified. Henry was truly walking the path of a true swordsman.

- Master.

‘Huh?’

Klever rarely spoke unless there was something special.

‘What is it?’

- I would like to eat that carcass, but only if you allow it, Master.

‘You?’

- Yes! It’s just too tempting, so I’ve dared ask you, Master.

‘Hmm, right, you’re a being like this. I get it. You can eat that guy.’

- Thank you, Master.

‘But you’ll have to eat it in secret after we\'re all gone, so no one finds out.’

- Of course. I’ll make sure to be careful that I don’t get caught.

‘Alright.’

Kelver was a monster and monsters preyed on beings that were stronger than themselves in order to evolve into more powerful beings. As a result, Klever coveted the crustacean.

The party started moving forward again.

Once everyone had left, Klever spread his fog-like body wide to eat the carcass of the crustacean.