The Last Adventurer

Chapter 140 – Crimson Balrog (2)

4.

The number of instances where the Knights of Signus attack the Mystic Gate is higher than expected.

And there were more cases of failure while trying to attack than anyone thought.

The reason was simple.

“Even if everyone dies.”

They enter the Mystic Gate not just to catch monsters, but to carry out a very important mission.

Moreover, in carrying out that mission, the Knights of Signus never shied away from the word “giving up.”

That’s why it was likely to fail.

“So please take care of me.”

In fact, even though they knew that, the Knights of Signus never asked for help from outsiders.

Nevertheless, the fact that El Palm was hired meant that it was a very difficult task, even for the Knights of Signus.

“We have to make this work somehow. So, can you tell me where the Mystic Gate is?”

That’s why El Palm said this.

“Where is it?”

The location of this Mystic Gate was a top secret.

Not only was it a very important mission, but the Knights of Signus had already had their missions sabotaged several times by spies within their ranks.

The mission was to immediately find Mikhail’s disciple.

So only a few people knew the location of the Mystic Gate, and El Palm was not informed either.

“I know I shouldn’t tell you.”

And if things had gone as planned, there would have been nothing to report.

Viola, just follow her guidance.

So she had no intention of granting El Palm’s request either.

“But this mission cannot afford to waste even the slightest bit of power along the way. So, after figuring out the route, we need to prepare for any possible threats.”

But El Palm’s words left her feeling troubled.

Because it was reasonable enough.

Above all, there was faith.

The possibility that the outsider brought by Oz, the Commander of the Knights of Fire, is a spy is extremely low.

For that reason, El Palm said to Viola, who was troubled.

“I don’t need the exact location. I just need a general location. It’s important to know how to get there.”

The moment she heard those words, Viola stopped worrying.

“Okay then. I’ll let you know. But if anything gets in the way during this mission, then you, El, will be the first person I’ll suspect.”

At the end of her warning, she took out a map from her bosom.

“The location of the Mystic Gate we need to attack this time is… … .”

5.

“Ice Valley?”

El Palm, the expressions on the faces of Divo and his companions who heard the story of this mission from him were no longer relaxed.

“No, no matter how much I think about it, it seems crazy.”

It was something that could happen.

“It’s a matter of finding items until you die, but the Ice Valley? Isn’t that where the White Fang Lair is?”

Regardless of the difficulty of the mission, the Ice Valley where the Mystic Gate was located was rumored to be a dangerous place even in the El Nath Mountains.

A place like the Sleepywood Forest on Victoria Island, where even adventurers or outlaws from the Elnas Mountains do not venture.

It means that even going there is not easy.

“So I made a suggestion to Tiger Eye.”

That’s why El Palm talked to Viola.

“Let’s figure out which route to take first and then move.”

El Palm Party decides to become a search party.

Viola accepted the offer.

“It takes more time though.”

Although time was more precious than gold, the situation was such that I could not do anything reckless.

If you fail, you will lose your life, which cannot be bought even with time, which is more precious than gold.

“So how much do you need?”

Of course, we couldn’t invest endless time in searching.

The deadline has been set.

“Ten days.”

Within ten days, the El Palm Party had to figure out a route to their objective: the Mystic Gate.

“Oh.”

The moment they heard that story, everyone, including Devo, let out a sigh in their own way.

“Oh my god, what the hell is this?”

Among them, the one who let out the deepest sigh was none other than Miner, her.

It was a natural thing.

“I have to go through all this trouble to help Hawkeye’s disciple.”

Hawkeye, the commander of the Lightning Knights, was originally a pirate.

And the pirates of Maple World basically had to follow the rules of the Nautilus.

But Hawkeye ignored the rule rather than following it.

The relationship between the pirates of the Nautilus and the Commander of the Lightning Knights was fundamentally not good.

The bigger problem was that it didn’t end there.

“If the teacher saw me like this, he would have a hole in his head. Helping the guy who took our children away.”

Since Captain Kyrin became captain of the Nautilus, the number of raids by the Nautilus’ pirates has decreased.

Naturally, the damage suffered by ordinary people also decreased significantly, and after the appearance of the Mystic Gate, the concept of looting practically disappeared as people focused on conquering the Mystic Gate.

But it didn’t disappear completely.

Also, because the Nautilus was so powerful, it was inevitable that there would be adventurers with bad records among its members.

And it was one of the roles of the Knights of Signus to pursue and judge such types.

During this process, the Knights of Lightning were the ones who came out most often against the Nautilus.

Hawkeye, who was a former pirate, knew the pirates of the Nautilus better than anyone else, and so he was able to hunt them better than anyone else.

It’s only natural that Captain Kairin and the Commander of the Lightning Knights aren’t on good terms.

The relationship between the disciples was not good either.

“Geumnun-ah, don’t be like that. You seem like a good person. Huh? Unlike anyone else.”

“Hey, are you picking a fight right now?”

“Why are you picking a fight? I’m just stating facts.”

In particular, the relationship between Miner and Tiger Eye was a bit deeper.

“It’s even more amazing. They both have golden eyes, but they’re so different.”

Golden Eye Miner and Tiger Eye, both of which have rare golden eyes.

Also, she is a beautiful woman.

Because the two elements were good for competition in many ways.

“Oh, honestly, it’s a bit hard to compare. Their reputations are different.”

Of course, it was Tiger Eye that always got the best rating in the competition so far.

It was natural.

It was three years ago that Tiger Eye reached the 5th circle.

At that time, Miner was just a rookie pirate who hadn’t even reached the 3rd circle.

“Be quiet. From now on, I’m going to be stronger.”

In other words, things were different now.

Now Miner has also reached the 5th circle.

“Both of you, stop it.”

Anyway, that was the end of the small talk.

“I don’t have time.”

Time was running out, and they had to find a route to the Ice Valley within ten days.

“We need to move right now.”

It was just as Ralph said.

El Palm said.

“Move right now.”

There was no objection to those words.

There were also no major concerns.

I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I had faith in my colleagues at El Palm.

“Of course, what could be scary when you’re with the boss?”

The belief that El Palm will do it.

“Let’s break the route in ten days!”

El Palm said in that belief.

“It’s not ten days, it’s two days.”

“yes?”

“We will reach our destination within two days.”

6.

El Nas Mountains.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that this place, always covered in endless snow, was hell everywhere.

But even in hell, there is more hell.

The same was true of the El Nas Mountains.

There were three places that even those who lived on that damned land considered to be hell.

The Ice Valley, known as Hector and White Fang’s Lair.

A cold plain where the witch of the snowy mountain appears.

Finally, the abandoned mine where Zakum, the nightmare of Maple World, is said to have been sealed.

In the case of the closed mines, the dimensions were different.

Except for the first adventurer to have ventured throughout Maple World, no one had ever ventured there before.

But compared to the abandoned mines, the icy valleys and cold plains were still like graveyards for adventurers.

The place El Palm Party was headed now was that ice valley.

As the expression suggests, the whole place was a valley of ice.

Sniff sniff!

And it was a place full of Hector and White Fang.

First of all, this was the problem.

Awww!

Hector and White Fang were monsters who lived in groups.

That means, if you fight Hector and the White Fang group, you have to fight every Hector and White Fang in the world at that moment.

That wasn’t the only headache.

Chump chump!

“Everyone, be careful. There’s ice underfoot.”

Beneath the snow cover was an ice rink.

It was not a very favorable stage for adventurers.

Walking itself wasn’t that difficult when wearing shoes called crampons, but it was a different story when you started running.

It was impossible to run properly.

Jumping? This is also not an easy task.

Fighting in a place like that? That was crazy.

“This is a fucking place. I can understand why no one ever sets foot in here.”

A place where you can understand with your whole body why it is called hell.

“If it weren’t for the boss, I would have really died.”

Of course, El Palm was an exception.

Since he became their guide, El Palm Party has never been attacked by Hector or White Fang.

It’s an incredibly amazing thing.

“It won’t be difficult.”

But to El Palm, it was rather a laughable thing.

It wasn’t simply because his abilities were outstanding.

“Because there are no adventurers.”

“yes?”

“Hector and White Fang form groups depending on the situation. In other words, they don’t form large groups unless there is a special situation. They only operate in small groups within their own territory.”

El Palm knew.

“The Ice Valley is a place where adventurers do not come. That means no special situations occur.”

Rather, the place that adventurers call hell is much safer to move around in.

“Therefore, there is a line between Hector and the White Fang group here. And if you move along the line, you won’t be attacked.”

That’s why El Palm moved through the ice valley so easily.

“Boss, only you know the line.”

El Palm didn’t say anything about it.

‘This is basic for a knight of the Lion King.’

The Lion King’s men also know how to move to find that boundary.

So, even if I don’t know about other places, it was crazy to face the Lion King’s knights in the Elnas Mountains.

Of course, to adventurers today, the Lion King is nothing more than a legendary being.

It was hundreds of years ago that the Lion King was locked in his castle.

The only evidence that the Lion King was still alive was the occasional rumor that someone had found the Lion King’s castle and crossed swords with him there.

But El Palm was different.

‘The Lion King will interfere.’

He had to keep the Lion King in mind at this moment.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t worry about anything beyond that, for example, when the Lion King appeared before my eyes.

Because that was a question without an answer.

And there was no time for that.

“It’s here.”

As El Palm had said, on the second day, the El Palm party was able to reach their target, the Mystic Gate.

“Here? There’s nothing here.”

But contrary to El Palm’s words, all that is visible is a plain of snow.

“It’s the same as before.”

“ah.”

But everyone was soon able to recall what El Palm said next.

“Is it sorcery?”

A way to hide the Mystic Gate.

It was just as I thought.

As we walked a little further, the scenery soon changed.

A single Mystic Gate appeared on the empty snowfield.

“uh?”

And the moment they looked at that Mystic Gate, everyone could not help but freeze.

On the surface of that Mystic Gate was written in red.

“The Lion King’s property?”

Who owns it.

“oh my god.”

At that fact, everyone’s expressions, including Devo’s, hardened.

There was no such thing as an owner in Mystic Gate. The one who attacked first became the owner, and even if someone claimed ownership, they were usually ignored.

But in the El Nas Mountains, the name of the Lion King was different.

The moment you conquer this, you will incur the wrath of the Lion King.

Moreover, this was not a common occurrence.

“No, is the Lion King still alive?”

At first, Devo and his colleagues at El Palm were surprised by the very fact that the Lion King was mentioned.

It’s been hundreds of years since the Lion King’s castle closed!

To adventurers today, the Lion King’s existence was almost like a story, like the six heroes.

Of course, I knew that the Lion King’s castle still existed.

But this was the first time such a notable activity had been seen.

So, it was possible to think like this.

“It seems like nothing is ordinary.”

There is something inside that is valuable enough for the Lion King to reveal his possession of it.

‘This is unexpected.’

Moreover, it was different from what El Palm remembered.

As far as El Palm knew, this Mystic Gate was only where the Crimson Balrog came from and had nothing to do with the Lion King.

Anyway, it wasn’t an easy situation.

“I wonder if this will lead to a war later on, since we’re bringing the Knights of Signus here instead of just other kids.”

In many ways.

“No, the Knights of Signus are not taken in.”

“yes?”

To such colleagues El Palm said:

“We’re going in alone right now.”