Volume 3, Chapter 30 – The Vanishing Monsters

A team of over a hundred people marched along the increasingly desolate mountain road.

The eight o’clock morning sun did not bring any warmth to their skin. The rugged mountain path and the gradually dropping temperature left the soldiers with little to say. Only the adventurers would occasionally exchange a few words. A tense atmosphere, as if a great battle was imminent, hung over the team.

The group, marching in two columns, was made up of Count Hermion’s soldiers led by the magic caster Lia, followed by the adventurer teams Blue Sea, the Flame Conquerors, and another unnamed adventurer team.

“It feels so quiet…”

Mary, who was looking around like a child, followed closely behind Yisi.

Yisi shrugged.

“That can’t be helped. Everyone is very nervous.”

Walking on such a narrow mountain path gave people a very dangerous feeling. With many monsters lurking nearby, if one were to relax their guard and be ambushed by a monster from above, they would surely fall off the cliff on the spot.

Yisi craned her neck to look at the scenery below. The towering trees looked exceptionally small from here, and Antonio City was only the size of a hand. According to her memory from yesterday, they would reach a path covered in white snow just a little further up. To be precise, it wasn’t even a path anymore.

Clementine, who was walking in front of Yisi, turned his head. His amber eyes were filled with doubt.

“While it’s partly due to nervousness, Mary-chan is right. It’s too quiet here. It’s as if something happened.”

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“Is that so?”

Clementine’s worry made Yisi tilt her head. When she came here last night, the monsters were already very quiet. Even powerful monsters like the Stone Golems were hiding in their caves, not daring to come out.

“Ah, yes. Normally, even if the Snow Vultures don’t attack from the air, there would definitely be an Earth Dragon lurking around. But today, there’s nothing. You might not know this, Miss Yisi, but the Earth Dragons at the foot of the mountain always keep an eye on people traveling up and down. If the number of people reaches a certain point, the Earth Dragons will see them as food and attack. We were all prepared with Demon-Repelling Powder and Flash Bombs, planning to drive away the Earth Dragons that were sure to come, but we didn’t encounter anything.”

“I see. Maybe the Earth Dragon just wasn’t home today.” ¹ /Bonk!

It’s in my storage.

“Haha, only an outsider like you, Miss Yisi, would make a joke like that. Earth Dragons are very territorial monsters and won’t easily leave their nests.” Clementine laughed and patted the fiery red greatsword on his back. “But we’ll just take it as a good thing. It’s always a good thing not to be attacked.”

As he spoke, Keqiu, the level 12 adventurer who had fought Mary, came up to Clementine, a mysterious expression on his face.

“Guild Leader, when we passed through Hermion City earlier, I heard from the residents that they heard an Earth Dragon’s miserable cry that echoed through the valley for several minutes. After that, the Earth Dragon disappeared. Could it be that something stronger appeared, so the monsters are all hiding?”

“That’s possible…” Clementine frowned, resting his hand on his chin in thought. “But who could defeat an Earth Dragon? Without a large, well-planned team, it’s impossible to kill one. Is there a team like that in Antonio City recently?”

Keqiu shook his head confidently.

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“Definitely not. Otherwise, the Count wouldn’t have hired us.”

“If it was a fight between monsters, it would have lasted for half a day. For it to happen the night before we set out is too suspicious.”

As the one responsible, listening to them discuss this was not good for her heart. Yisi cleared her throat and drew the attention of Clementine and the other adventurer to herself.

“Maybe someone was passing by and just cleared out the monsters along the way.”

“That’s possible, but to call it ‘along the way’ is a bit of an understatement… The Adventurers Guild estimated that an Earth Dragon is at least level 30. To defeat an Earth Dragon alone, one would have to be someone who has reached the heroic domain. And there are less than five people in the entire Hels Kingdom who have reached the heroic domain…”

“No wonder we haven’t even seen a Snow Vulture today. So they were all taken care of by an unknown powerhouse. Ah, did the other monsters also meet with foul play?”

The male adventurer’s mouth slightly agape, he looked at Clementine, whose face also changed.

“Don’t say that… Although I’m sorry for the victims, these powerful monsters are the goals that we adventurers fight to achieve. At least they should have left the Swamp Python for me.”

“Everyone, make sure you hide well so you don’t get found…”

Clementine and the male adventurer offered a prayer together. But unfortunately, besides the Swamp Python that Clementine had specifically mentioned, all the other monsters had been turned into food and raw materials for making magic weapons by Yisi. The Earth Dragon’s horn, in particular, had been turned into the staff in Camilla’s hands while it was still hot.

Yisi smiled awkwardly.

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“Hah, haha, I’m sure the Swamp Python will hear your wish, Mr. Clementine, and hide well so it doesn’t get killed.”

The truth is, I tied it up and hid it in the cave where the Stone Golem was.

With a grim expression, Clementine took a deep breath.

“I hope so. By the way, why did Tiffany-chan also come today? I remember Tiffany-chan isn’t good at fighting, right?”

Clementine and Yisi were in the middle-to-rear section of the team. The team was arranged in the order of Yisi, Mary, Tiffany, and Camilla.

Tiffany, who was holding a white divine staff, looked up. Because she was so short, the staff was taller than she was.

“To heal.”

“Ooh! Tiffany is a healer? She doesn’t seem to be part of the Church, does she? A healer who isn’t part of the Church is a rare existence. Even we Flame Conquerors don’t have one.”

“How can you fight without a healer? Don’t you feel restricted if you can’t heal injuries in time?”

Yisi’s words made Clementine wave his hand, looking quite helpless.

“That’s true, but healers who don’t join a temple are too few. Not to mention there are none in Antonio City, but even if there were, every guild would offer them all kinds of generous conditions. No one would be willing to join without a considerable cost.”

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Kuro, the other male adventurer, chimed in.

“We can still adventure without a healer. We can just use some herbs to deal with our injuries. Being an adventurer is a life on the edge. People who aren’t mentally prepared can’t call themselves adventurers.”

“Is that so…”

It seems my group can’t be adventurers then.

Yisi couldn’t help but smile wryly. In reality, she planned to train Tiffany to be a healer who could cast multiple buffs on others. Compared to healing after taking damage, she preferred a strategy of not taking damage at all, which could be achieved with sufficiently excellent defensive equipment.

As if he could read Yisi’s thoughts, Clementine grinned.

“Haha, a noble like you, Miss Yisi—a rich merchant’s daughter—only needs to have enough power to protect herself. You don’t need to think about becoming an adventurer to get stronger. Honestly, if I were a woman, I would definitely become a thrifty and nurturing wife and mother. Hahaha, it’s so much easier to find a good man and marry than to live a life of fighting with all your might.”

No… even if I were a woman, I’d still have to find a way to make money. Relying on someone else to live is too demeaning.

Just as Yisi was about to respond, the rugged mountain path suddenly disappeared, and the previously cramped view instantly opened up. An incredibly vast white world appeared before everyone’s eyes.

Translator Note

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