Chapter 184
Chapter 184
Translator: “Hakou” Editor: “Weasalopes”
The spirit forest spreads across the northern part of the Ost continent.
In the center of that forest is a wooden building built into the world tree.
A meeting was currently being held in the High Elves palace.
「A Heaven’s Gate has been opened, you said? And by a mere human?!」
The high elves shouted.
A female elf merchant was sent to Landbarn to investigate Ambrosia.
Unfortunately, she was defeated by the Grim Reaper and had her Heaven’s Gate opened.
A letter containing this report has just arrived.
「Just what in the world is she doing? That disgrace of an Elf!」
The conference room was in turmoil.
A fat high elf who still maintains his calm, raised his hand to speak.
「If Heaven’s Gate has been opened, they must have gotten a title. And also a spirit beast. What kind of title did they get and what kind of spirit animal was summoned?」
The chairman holds the letter in his hand and shakes his head from side to side.
「About that, it was unknown」
「Unknown?」
「When the Heaven’s Gate was opened, she lost consciousness. And when she woke up, she was already thrown outside」
The Chancellor folds his arms, closes his eyes, and makes a sullen face.
A High Elf, who is as thin as a dead tree, shouted while glaring at him.
「What a useless- nay, harmful, woman she is! We must immediately summon and punish her!」
The Chancellor frowned even more and rebuked him.
「Bringing out a title holder is a painful fact. But we can’t go that far. We’re the ones who requested the investigation after all」
「What do you mean “we”? It was your idea to begin with!」
The chairman’s face twisted at the words as he searched for words to retort.
At that moment, the leader of the spirit exploration team raised his hand.
He must have thought that the conversation would not progress like this. With an indifferent expression, he opened his mouth.
「We have made progress in our investigation. I would like all of you to hear it first」
At those words, the high elf, who was as thin as a dead tree, sat back down.
The little reasoning he has left whispered to him that he should listen.
The other high elves seemed to be doing the same, and the meeting room gradually began to quiet down.
「The concentration of magic near Landbarn had been increasing as of late」
When he snapped his fingers, a magic circle shone for a moment before disappearing, and immediately afterwards a large map appeared on the table.
「After a careful inspection by using the wind spirits, we found that magic was leaking from the surface of the earth. The location is here」
He extended his hand and drew an X on a point on the map with the pen he was holding.
It was southeast of Landburn, or in other words, the wasteland south of Awoke.
「And just the other day, there was a large scale cave-in of the ground in this area Apparently, there was a huge cavity under the ground」
The hole that was created was huge, about a thousand meters in diameter and over five hundred meters deep.
The high elves were buzzing loudly around the table.
「Most of the spirits were blown away by the magic power and shock waves that shot up into the air at that moment. Even you guys could feel it, right?」
Some of the High Elves looked convinced, and most of them looked unamused.
The head of the spirit exploration team always speaks from the top. However, it’s still unpleasant even if you get used to it.
「What was the cause?」
The fat high elf asks while staring at the map.
「The magical power comes from a vein that runs deep underground. It rarely happens, but it must have ascended along a crack in the geological formation or something」
The high elves tilted their long ears.
「The cause of the collapse was the golems. Attracted by the smell of magic, they ate the surrounding soil and rocks, causing this massive eruption」
The head of the spirit exploration team frowned in displeasure. Earthy golems are incompatible with the wind spirits he controls.
「The underground was devoured and a large space was created. And since it could no longer support the surface, the canopy fell. I guess that’s about it」
That is all, he said, ending his speech.
The chairman then opens his mouth with his hand on his chin.
「The Empire, Landburn, and Ambrosia. With all these things in mind, it’s only natural to assume that they have some connection to this big hole」
The conference room begins to stir once again.
They also discussed the possibility of the existence of an underground lake and Zaratan being there.
However, it was decided that this was unlikely. It was hard to believe that there was enough space under the ground to satisfy a two-hundred-meter-long spirit beast.
「Do you think the other world tree is also in there?」
The chairman made a difficult expression at one of the high elf’s questions.
「The world tree loves light, wind, and water. Although it’s rooted in earth, it shouldn’t be possible for it to grow underground」
The world under the ground, which elves do not like.
They didn’t want to think that there was a world tree growing there like a mushroom.
「We need to do a further investigation on this matter」
Another high elf opened their mouth while looking at the spirit exploration team leader. The silent high elf who was looking at him made a deep vertical crease between his eyebrows.
「There were too many golems. So many that the spirits won’t come down anymore than they could. We can’t do any further investigation」
The high elves looked at each other and exchanged words.
He turned to the spirit exploration team leader and asked for his opinion.
「Do you think the humans are aware of this?」
The ground had collapsed so spectacularly. Even though it’s located in uninhabited wilderness, there’s no way they were unaware of it.
Everyone’s expression grew grim to that answer.
「If we can’t send the spirit down there, how are we supposed to investigate it?」
「There is no other way but to go to the site ourselves and do a visual observation」
After that, opinions were exchanged and a mutual agreement began to take shape roughly.
Finding the right timing, the chairman declares.
「Dispatch a Knight to investigate the Great Pit」
There were no objections.
「Send out five units of B-class Knights to go there」
Upon hearing that, the fat high elf stroked his face with one hand.
「Not C-class but B-class, huh? Well, with how things are, I guess we have no choice but to send them out」
Meanwhile, the old man who was skinny as a dead tree, snorts in displeasure
「It’s not like you’re going to go to destroy a country, you all are overreacting」
The chairman gave him an annoyed look, but did not open his mouth.
He thought that he should not deal with a scoundrel who complained about every little thing.
「Everyone agrees, yes?」
The old man who’s skinny as a dead tree and a few others, turned to the side. But the majority nodded in agreement.
The World Tree, Ambrosia, and Zaratan. All of these were serious matters that would affect the future of the elven race.
If it was the human, they would have sent A-class knights to investigate.
However, the situation was somewhat different in the village of the elves.
The pilots of the A-class Knights were high elves. And they had no desire to go outside their village.
「Dispatch them as soon as they’re ready」
The high elf who was in charge of the Knights nodded.
Elf knights were dispatched to the territory of the human race. It was the first time since the Great Spirit Forest War.
***
Around the same time, in a cheap inn in a corner of the red-light district of the Royal capital.
「I see. A huge hole has appeared to the south of Awoke, and golems are appearing in large numbers there, huh?」
A wooden inn on the verge of collapsing. In one of the rooms, Goblin jii-chan mutters to himself.
On the bed in front of him, an old traveling woman was lying on her face, breathing heavily.
She just experienced the joy of women after being exposed to Goblin jii-chan machine gun-like continuous attacks.
The stimulation and lingering sensation from that was too much for her to move.
「That’s quite valuable information. Keep up the good work」
Saying so,Goblin jii-chan then clutched the old woman’s skinny ass again.
Then he began to move violently, attacking her harder and harder.
Goblin jii-chan poured more into the bowl that had been filled to the limit.
The old woman cried tears of joy and she was grateful for knowing this information and for being lucky enough to pass it on before anyone else.
(I’ll make sure to pleasure you a lot)
This small, goblin-like old man is the guild master of the Kingdom merchant guild.
And the old woman moaning while on all fours is a member of his information network.
Women who are no longer favored by men due to their age, appearance, and various other factors.
Goblin jii-chan gives them so much pleasure that their eyes turn white.
「I’ll do anything! I’ll do anything, so! More! Do me more!」
An unsightly old woman who had just cum, but kept wanting more. Drool continues dripping from the corners of her mouth.
The Goblin jii-chan behind her adds strength to his movements to satisfy her desire.
「Ooohhhhhhhhh!!」
The old woman who slumps over with a scream and turns her eyes upward.
All they want is this feeling of being loved.
To achieve this, they desperately gather information and rush to the guild master.
This was the reason why the old woman and the guild master were clashing with each other at this cheap inn.
***
A few days later, in the middle of the night, in the mountains on the northern part of the Empire.
Five B-class Knights galloped through the land.
Their armor, painted in green and white, was decorated with delicate silverwork that occasionally reflected the glittering starlight.
What’s unique about them is that they are all powered by wind magic spewed from their legs.
This is the same method of movement that the Knight of the Kingdom merchant guild, Old Lady, specializes in.
(There’s no human settlement around)
The Knight sinks his knees rhythmically like a skier doing a cartwheel.
In the cockpit of the Knight in the forefront, a pilot with long ears muttered.
He has his hair up like a host, and his chest is open to his belly button, as if to show off his abs. And shining around his neck is a golden necklace.
(At this rate, we’ll be there in a few days)
Between the Spirit Forest and Landbarn, the territories of the Empire and the Kingdom are spread out. For this reason, they avoided the attention of the humans by traveling through the wilderness at night.
The reason why they set their course similar to that of Heavy Lancer, which aimed for the Royal capital, was probably because they had the same goal.
(Apparently the Knights of humans can’t even travel long distances with wind magic)
The male elf pilot snickered proudly.
(Those fake Knights are an eyesore. I would have destroyed them already if I have the permission to do so)
However, the orders given to them were to investigate.
They are strictly ordered to avoid fighting on the way to and from the site as much as possible, except in case of an encounter on the site.
(Well, I heard that there are a lot of golems in the big hole. I’ll just knock them down to take my mind off it)
With a smile on his mouth, he poured magic power into his Knight.
The wind in its legs increased in strength and accelerated the Knight even more.
***
The setting moves from the mountains of the northern part of the empire to Landbarn, far to the south.
Until recently, this provincial city was part of the Kingdom. However, as a result of the battle, it was incorporated into the territory of the Empire and is now the capital of the Margraviate.
The Margrave, the lord of the city, had received a report from the border guard.
「The ground collapsed and a giant hole appeared you say?」
A bald middle-aged man sitting in a chair asks his subordinate back.
「The location is on the southeast of Landbarn. No, it would be better to say it’s south of Awoke」
A land with only rocks and gravel scattered across the exposed bedrock. It was a barren place, so neither the Kingdom nor the Empire had bothered to touch it.
Putting the past aside, now that Landbarn had become Imperial territory, it was a place that could not be said to be the territory of either the Kingdom nor the Empire.
「That land has no inhabitants and no use value, right?」
Even if they acquire barren land, they will only lose their forces to guard it.
Thinking so, the margrave has no intention of expanding his territory any further.
「Although, it’s a different story if it has a defense advantage」
The margrave lost interest after hearing the location.
Handlebar mustache continues to read the report and speaks to his superior.
「It seems stone golems have been seen inside the hole」
「Hou?」
His expression slightly changes.
Stone Golem is a powerful magic beast, but it is highly valuable. Its body is a mass of valuable mineral resources.
「The area around the hole is said to be leaking a sweltering amount of magic power. According to the investigation, there may be stone golems, heavy stone golems, and even metal golems in the depths of the hole」
The margrave bent his mouth into letter へ and wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.
After a moment’s thought, he slowly opens his mouth.
「It’s a threat to those around it, but it’s also a fantastic and precious valuable mineral resource」
Heavy stone golems contain a lot of minerals that can only be found deep in the earth.
While metal golems are a mass of rare metals.
「It seems a promising mine will be born in our territory. Umu, send a knight there immediately!」
Then he divulges his feelings to the handlebar mustache beside him.
「His Majesty has ordered us to explore the area discreetly. It sure was useful in an unexpected way」
“I suppose it does”, The handlebar mustache nodded.
At that moment, the man in black who had been looking at the view outside at the window turned around.
A tall, hunchbacked, skinny man. The Grim Reaper.
「If it’s alright, I’d like to participate myself」
The margrave’s eyes widened at his proposal.
「No no, this isn’t a very important matter for Lord Grim Reaper to attend to」
Grim reaper and the Margrave.
There is a big difference in the territory and the number of people they can move, but in terms of status, they are almost the same.
He is staying in the territory of the Margrave, but his immediate superior is the emperor, so he is not under the command of the Margrave.
「My body’s getting dull」
The ghost knight has not made a move.
And in Landbarn, the Rose Knights, who are known for their strength, are stationed there.
Honestly, he starts to feel bored.
「If that’s so, then would you please lend me a hand?」
The man with the fierce look nodded quietly.
A dispatch team was immediately formed to the giant hole.
Grim Reaper’s A-class Knight and two B-class Knights from the Frontier knight order.
The three knights formed a single line and started walking towards the southeast.
On the street, the merchants opened a way and waved to the Knights.