Chapter 181 - The End of the Wait (4)
Azell’s expression was a sight to behold. When his companions started to snicker, he cleared his throat.
“Hmm hmm. You should have told me sooner.”
“You stepped forward like a know it all before I could speak to you. You also like to get the first word in.”
He was at a loss for words.
Azell quietly lowered his head.
“Since you’ve experience being here, please give me advice.”
“I’m not familiar with this region.”
“.......”
“We came deep into this mountain range for training and reconnaissance. However, we never crossed over to this place.”
It was to be expected. The Atisan mountain range was unusually vast. If she had entered from the side of the Plain of Darkness, she would have needed to travel a great distance to reach this point.
Azell queried her.
“Do you think we have enough supplies?”
“I believe we’ll be ok. However, we should start catching animals we come across to prepare in advance.”
“Hmm.......”
They were in the 7th month of the calendar. It was still summer, so the climate wasn’t cold. However, the temperature within Atisan mountain range was noticeably lower than the Albatan forest. As they entered deeper into the mountain range, it would get worse.
Kairen spoke.
“Thankfully we have guides.”
“I guess so.”
The Guardian Shadows had accompanied Azell’s party to the Albatan forest, and they were still present. They were actually leading the way from the front. From the perspective of Azell’s party, it was a fortunate turn of events.
Yuren looked at his surroundings as he spoke.
“Are their numbers growing again?”
It was as he said. The number of Guardian Shadows was growing.
The terrain was so rough that one could only count a limited number of Guardian Shadows with the naked eye. Still, they were pretty open in letting their presence known, so Azell’s party knew that their numbers were increasing.
Soon, the sound of battle could be heard in the distance.
Oooh-ohhhhhh......!
Kwah-roo-rong, kwahng......!
The sounds of fierce roars, cries and explosions were mixed in together as it echoed.
Azell’s party realized that the Guardian Shadows were conducting battles. Kairen furrowed his brows.
“Are they eliminating potential risk factors for us?”
“I believe so.”
Azell realized at some point that there were at least 500 Guardian Shadows, and this was the lowest of his estimates.
“I’m not sure how dangerous this place is, but we won’t have to worry too much unless we encounter a Dragon”
“Still, we have to keep up our fast pace.”
Kairen pointed out this fact. Naturally, everyone turned to look at Laura.
The problem was the Vitan’s Chalice. Their enemies could track them down by locating the Vitan’s Chalice.
This fact hadn’t mattered when they resided within the Albatan Forest. However, they should have realized by now that Azell’s party was once again on the move. If they were lucky, their enemies would have stationed their troops along Plain of Darkness. This would happen if they thought Azell’s party would try to enter into the Plain of Darkness. If they were unlucky.....
“Almarick and Reygus will bring their elite forces against us.”
“It is probably the latter. There is a high probability that they are already moving against us.”
This was why Azell’s party had been in a hurry after they left the Albatan Forest.
They knew that Carlos’ safe-haven was located on the mountain peak of Laus. Laus was closer to the Plain of Darkness compared to the Albatan Forest.
If they were unlucky, their enemies might be waiting for them. They had to avoid that possibility.
‘It’ll also be a problem once I meet Carlos......’
He didn’t know what state Carlos was in. Moreover, he couldn’t predict what he would do once they met.
How would Carlos respond if enemies attacked while they were meeting in his safe haven? Was the place capable of defending against attacks?
He had too little information. Even if he tried to initiate a conversation with the Guardian Shadows, he didn’t think he would gain anything. In the first place, they were short on the ability to converse. They also seemed to know very little.
‘I guess I have no choice, but to go there first.’
Azell could only resign himself to this possibility.
Fortunately, they were moving really fast, because the Guardian Shadows were leading the way. The Guardian Shadows weren’t impeded by the terrain, so their speed was faster than Azell’s party in the long run. The party only stopped for a three to four hour break whenever they found a suitable location. They moved through night and day. This was possible, because the Guardian Shadows took care of most of the fights.
“I think there are over 2,000 of them now?”
Kairen had climbed up to an elevated location, and he was baffled. Azell queried him in a playful manner.
“Why don’t you try to get an accurate count?”
“Ho-oh. It has been awhile, but it seems you want to act like a teacher again. I’ll willingly accept the challenge.”
“Why don’t you try it too, Leticia?”
“Are you trying to create a contest between your students? Hmmm.”
Leticia agreed to do the challenge. The two of them closed their eyes, and they expanded their senses. They started discerning the number of Guardian Shadows present for the competition.
Laura spoke.
“They are doing it inefficiently. Their number is..... Oohp.”
She immediately casted her detection magic, and she was able to discern their numbers using magic. Laura was about to tell them the answer, but Azell covered her mouth with his hand.
“.......”
Laura’s mouth was sealed, so she glared at Azell with a sullen look. When Azell laughed, she pinched the back of his hand.
“That was rude.”
“I apologize.”
Azell lowered his head in a sly manner. Laura snorted.
Soon, Leticia opened her eyes as she spoke.
“At this point in time, there are 2,630 of them. They are slowly growing in number.”
“You already counted all of them?”
Kairen was taken aback. He had counted only half her number.
Azell grinned as he spoke.
“That is the correct answer. As expected, Leticia is good at such tasks.”
“How can this be? Counting people is one of my specialties......”
Kairen’s expression crumpled.
He was a knight, and a lord of a large territory. He was quite good at counting large number of people. He was experienced at it, since he had commanded a large number of soldiers. So how did Leticia count so much faster than him?
Azell spoke.
“I’ve expected this result.”
“Why?”
Kairen asked as if he couldn’t accept Azell’s words.
Azell gave him an explanation.
“You aren’t proficient in the cloning technique. This isn’t the case with Leticia. That is the difference.”
“Are you talking about the ability to do multiple things at the same time?”
“That’s right.”
One’s aptitude towards the cloning skill was dependent on one’s ability to multitask.
Kairen could use the cloning technique, but he could only use it for a brief amount of time. He usually used it to confuse his opponents.
He couldn’t make his clones have a sense of presence when he moved them
In terms of the cloning technique, Azell had reached the pinnacle. He could make numerous clones look as if it was the real one, and he could maintain them for long periods of time. He could also freely change their shapes.
The Dance of the Shadows technique could be used when one reached such a level. Basically, he was able to reach a state called Incarnation in the Dragon Arts. He was able to give substance to his clones.
This wasn’t something one could do even if one’s standard of technique was high. Aptitude was a big factor.
Spirit Order and Dragon Arts practitioners were divided into two categories. The first category included those that were able to quickly accomplish one task. The second category was those that could juggle many tasks at the same time.
Kairen was in the former category. This meant that he was able to create enormous amounts of power in a short amount of time. He was able to create explosive power, and he could wield it with surprising amount of precision.
Leticia was in the latter category. She used powers of different attributes to use her cloning technique, and she was able to use various high level techniques.
Suddenly, Kairen spoke.
“Is that why Reshoo doesn’t have any profound knowledge of the cloning technique?”
“From what I knew from before, what you say is true. It is still probably true today.”
Azell could tell by looking at Leticia. She hadn’t learned much from Reshoo about the cloning technique. The cloning technique she used was from the Plain of Darkness. She was taught it, because she had been one of the candidates in running to become Almarick’s heir.
She had steeply increased her proficiency in the cloning technique after she met Azell.
‘Maybe, it is because she is of Almarick’s blood........’
During the Dragon Demon war, Almarick had been the best at using the cloning technique if Azell was taken out of the picture. He was second only to Azell.
Kairen grumbled.
“Shit. I have never been jealous of the cloning technique until I met you......”
“One can’t be good at everything.”
8
In the Plain of Darkness, they were moving in a different direction than Azell’s party had predicted.
It was true that troops were being dispatched, but their destination wasn’t the Atisan mountain range.
“We aren’t getting a response. It is worrisome. Is this Albatan’s doing? Or is it Carlos Rizester’s doing?”
Almarick felt leery.
Within the Great Darkness, Aincera could track down the Dragon weapons used by the Dragon Demon generals. Laura was within Azell’s party, so they were able to confirm that his party was residing in the Albatan forest. This was all thanks to the Vitan’s Chalice.
‘Strangely, the precision has been dropping........’
When Almarick had first shown up, Azell’s party had guessed that his ability to track down the Vitan’s Chalice wasn’t very precise.
It was true. The other Dragon weapons of the Dragon Demon generals could be tracked down in an accurate manner. However, for some strange reason, the accuracy of finding the Vitan’s Chalice had always been low.
On top of that, there had been one instance where there had been no response from the Vitan’s Chalice. After its disappearance, it had appeared far from the Albatan forest.
“There is a possibility that they might have left Laura behind......”
<Hue hue hue. You’ve been tucked under like a bear sleeping its winter slumber. You are finally out.>
Reygus didn’t care if Almarick was leery or not. He was excited.
Azell’s party had entered into the Albatan forest. For the past two months, he had suppressed his desire to charge into the forest. It had been hard for him. If Atein hadn’t made a nonaggression pact with Albatan, Reygus would have already charged into the forest. He would have went there by himself if he had to.
Almarick gave Reygus a sideway glance as if he found Reygus to be pathetic.
“Are you just going to ignore all my words?”
<Of course, I’m listening to what you have to say. I’ll leave the privilege of worrying about such details to you. You can worry about it to your heart’s content. In the past, didn’t you complain about the fact that Aunsaurus and Baldazark had the roles of strategists? You have the right to take on their roles now, so you should be thrilled about it.>
“I knew it was going to be like this, but...”
Almarick massaged his forehead. He had changed a lot, but Reygus still remained the same. He was scary in his consistency. It was almost admirable.
“Will you face Azell this time around?”
<I fought him once, and you fought him once. Isn’t it my turn now?>
“Hmm. All right. I hope you don’t get killed.”
Almarick didn’t try to dissuade Reygus. They were colleagues, and both of them were respectful of each other’s sense of value.
Reygus’ voice was full of anticipation.
<Do you think he’s become stronger?>
“He probably is stronger. He might be as strong as his past self.”
<I’ve seen the recordings. He was really nice.>
“It isn’t like you to study up on your opponent.”
<I took a big hit when he wasn’t whole. It is the virtue of a man to acknowledge an opponent’s power especially when that person took me down a peg.>
Reygus shrugged his shoulder. Almarick asked him a question.
“What’s the result from your study? Are you confident you can win against him?”
<Nope.>
“.......”
<In a battle between men, who cares about winning? We just fight.>
“You are incorrigible. If possible, don’t get completely destroyed by him. Your revival will take a long time.”
<Hmmm. The fact that I’m guaranteed to be revived makes it sound cheap. I’ll willingly put my life on line even if I only have one.>
Reygus was an immortal. To be precise, Atein was the backbone of the Great Darkness, and if the Great Darkness remains undiminished, Reygus could always be revived. This was true even if his body was completely destroyed. It just took time for him to revive again..
“However, there will be a vacuum until you are revived once again. This will work against us in a critical way. What if the king is killed again, while you were gone? You might never be revived again.”
<Then I won’t have to see the disgusting sight of you eating meat.>
“Your ill-nature makes me want to cling to life, so I can show you the sight of me eating some delicious meat.”
Almarick snorted.
Reygus queried.
<So what is our course of action?>
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