Chapter 190
Mental Preparation
“I will now explain the Demonic Wasteland.”
After settling the situation before it could escalate any further, Erika began explaining the expedition site.
“As all of you already know, the Demonic Wasteland is the stronghold of Godwin, the race known as the demon race, and countless monsters. A vast amount of demonic energy still lingers there.”
Demonic energy was the greatest reason the Demonic Wasteland had never been conquered.
“Demonic energy serves as a rich source of nourishment for demons and monsters. To people like us, however, it is like poison that disrupts the natural flow of the body.”
“It doesn’t sound like we’ll be any different. Do you have a way to deal with it?”
“Of course.”
Erika took out a talisman.
“This was provided by the Blue Eye, which sponsors our Adventurers’ Guild. They call it an Anti-Demonic Talisman.”
“Does it purify demonic energy?”
“No. It repels demonic energy from the area surrounding the talisman. In other words, it creates a space in which we can breathe.”
“Then as long as we have the talismans, there should be nothing to worry about!”
It would have been wonderful if matters were truly that simple, but Erika’s expression said otherwise.
“Unfortunately, it cannot repel all demonic energy. Its effectiveness also decreases depending on the concentration, so it cannot be considered an absolute solution.”
“That’s disappointing.”
“I heard the Blue Eye was the greatest authority on magic. Perhaps that reputation belongs to the past.”
“…That may be so, but I don’t believe insulting our sponsors is particularly wise.”
“Urk… My apologies.”
The adventurer immediately backed down at Erika’s words.
The fool probably had no idea how fortunate he was that his head was still attached to his shoulders.
“In any case, that means we’ll still be exposed to demonic energy. Are you saying we must accept that danger?”
“There is no need for excessive concern. The talisman blocks approximately ninety-five percent of it.”
“How much time will we have?”
“Twenty-four hours at a safe level. Even if we accept some risk, we only need to leave the Demonic Wasteland within forty-eight hours.”
“If we want to remain safe, our schedule will be extremely tight.”
“May we ask where exactly we’re going?”
“I’ll show you on the map.”
Erika spread a large map across the table.
She pointed toward a location marked in red.
“We will be exploring this area. According to the information we commissioned from Escholeia, it was once known as Gyeonghui Palace.”
“Do you believe there might be treasure there?”
“In the East, magic was practiced through a discipline known as the ‘Dao.’ This was a place where people trained in that Dao, so it would be closer to a magical training hall.”
“Then there should be magical artifacts.”
It was as though mountains of gold coins had appeared before their eyes.
Magical artifacts were far rarer and more valuable than ordinary gold and jewels.
However, they could not simply allow themselves to become excited.
There were also risks they would have to bear.
As experienced adventurers, they knew how to calculate those risks.
“There is no possibility of finishing this in a single day.”
“Are we absolutely required to accept that level of danger?”
They all shared the same concern.
Could they truly complete the exploration within twenty-four hours while relying on a single Anti-Demonic Talisman?
If the task could not be finished within a day, withdrawing would be the more profitable decision.
Erika had already accounted for that.
“That is why we have prepared a means of shortening the travel time.”
She took out a scroll, slid it across the table, and unfurled it.
It looked unfamiliar to most of them, but Ferda recognized it immediately.
“We will use a transport vehicle known as a mana automobile.”
“A mana automobile?”
“You can think of it as a carriage powered by mana stones created through the compression and refinement of demonic energy.”
They had considered attaching Anti-Demonic Talismans to horses and traveling that way.
However, the demonic energy constantly stimulated the animals’ survival instincts. Before they could travel far, the horses became terrified and fled, forcing them to abandon the idea.
“How much time can this mana automobile save us?”
“According to the results of the test drive, two hours will be sufficient.”
“Two hours!”
They could not help but be astonished.
Traveling on foot would take at least six hours, while even riding horses would barely reduce the journey to two hours.
Cutting the travel time to one-third while operating within the danger of demonic energy was no small achievement.
“However, there is one problem.”
As always, nothing could be entirely convenient.
“Originally, the plan was to replace the mana stones through a detachable system and operate the vehicle for a longer period. I was told that this is impossible.”
“May we ask why?”
“Because the mana stones are made by compressing and refining demonic energy, exposure to raw demonic energy can easily destabilize their nature. Unlike us, they cannot function properly with only a ninety-five-percent barrier. Therefore, the vehicle will be built as a single integrated unit and used only to transport us there.”
“Then the mana automobile is effectively disposable. How long will it operate?”
“Two hours. It can conserve enough energy to reach Gyeonghui Palace, but we will have to return on foot.”
“Hmm…”
Their reactions were mixed, but still far better than before.
It would shorten the journey by four hours, and they would not need to expend any stamina during the two-hour ride.
That meant they would have far more energy to devote to the exploration itself, greatly reducing the risks involved.
What had once seemed like a reckless march toward death had become a challenge worth attempting.
The adventurers’ spirits began to burn with excitement.
Satisfied by their reaction, Erika continued.
“I will now explain the outline of the operation.”
They spent the following hours discussing the details of the Demonic Wasteland expedition.
After three hours of debate, they added substance to the rough outline and established a workable framework.
The remaining uncertainties would have to be handled through the adventurers’ adaptability.
“Then we will depart in four days. Does anyone have any suggestions?”
Someone raised a hand in response to Erika’s question.
The hand was so large that she did not even need to look down to identify its owner.
“Go ahead, Jonathan.”
“Captain Eri, I believe we ought to establish a hierarchy.”
“By establish a hierarchy, you mean…?”
“They say there cannot be two suns beneath the same sky, don’t they?”
Jonathan Sinagestured toward the Armored Knight with his chin.
“Shouldn’t we determine which of us is the strongest member of this expedition?”
Jonathan Cena’s ancestor had been a great northern warrior and one of the Twelve Expedition Heroes, renowned as a man of monstrous strength.
The current Jonathan, his descendant, had likewise become synonymous with overwhelming power and achieved numerous great feats.
He could wrestle a savage ogre without being pushed back in the slightest, and it was said his strength only continued to grow with age.
The room instantly filled with interest.
Such pointless competitiveness should normally have been reprimanded.
“If both parties agree, I will allow it.”
But Erika was privately curious as well.
What would happen if Jonathan Sinaand the Armored Knight faced each other?
I know Jonathan’s potential and the extent of his current strength.
She knew every detail of his ancestor’s bloodline and the current Jonathan Cena’s accomplishments.
But the Armored Knight?
An unknown quantity.
Erika had already witnessed a level of power that would have been the absolute limit for anyone else.
Yet she could not shake the feeling that even that had not been the Armored Knight’s true limit.
Thanks to the warlike provocation of the Sinafamily, she now had an opportunity to see it with her own eyes.
How would the Armored Knight respond?
Erika thought there was a greater chance he would refuse.
However, the Armored Knight instead seemed delighted.
I finally get to try arm wrestling!
Valdrova was overjoyed by the proposal.
Arm wrestling was something men often did to display their masculinity, and the workers at the construction site frequently competed against one another.
Valdrova had always been forced to do nothing but watch.
It was only natural.
Who would dare challenge a woman capable of lifting an entire log above her head?
Unaware of that fact, Valdrova had been deeply hurt by the thought that everyone had deliberately excluded her.
Now, however, she happily clasped the hand that looked as large as a pot lid.
Even though her armor had been made far larger than that of an ordinary adult man, her own hand looked like a child’s in comparison.
“Then… begin!”
At Erika’s signal, thick veins bulged across Jonathan’s hand.
Crack!
His clothes tore apart, unable to contain the sudden expansion of his muscles.
Creak!
Even the sturdy old wooden table struggled beneath the force.
“Hraaaagh!”
Jonathan’s battle cry and the pressure that followed made the entire table tremble.
Valdrova was impressed as well.
This man is strong.
The power she felt through his hand was difficult to believe belonged to a human.
He seemed strong enough that he might even defeat Dragon Spawns in close combat.
He really is strong, but…
That was only by the standards of creatures that walked the earth.
The opponent before him was a dragon.
And among dragons, Valdrova was an embodiment of strength who yielded to no one.
To her, the difference between them was so vast that it felt like arm wrestling with a three-year-old child.
Was that why no one ever wanted to compete with me…?
Now that she was actually trying it, the excitement quickly faded.
“Oh…! As expected of the bloodline of the great northern warrior!”
“This truly is a battle between a dragon and a tiger!”
The spectators raised a commotion as though the outcome remained impossible to predict.
Jonathan burned with even greater determination.
“Hrrrgh!”
Each time he exerted himself, the veins bulging across his body swelled farther, until even those on his head looked ready to burst.
Valdrova was beginning to feel frightened.
She wondered whether he might actually die if the veins on his head continued swelling like that.
Would he resent me if I won like this?
Valdrova did not particularly want to win.
Defeating him would only humiliate him.
And so, she made her choice.
She would lose.
The deadlock ended in an instant, and cheers praising Jonathan erupted throughout the room.
“Oh! The great warrior of the North has won!”
“As expected of the Ogre Slayer!”
If it made someone happy, then that was enough.
That was what Valdrova thought.
But matters did not end so easily.
Jonathan glared at her with an unsettling look in his eyes.
“What was that just now?”
“You damned bastard!”
His face turned bright red, not with joy, but with fury.
He shot to his feet and tried to grab the Armored Knight by the collar, forcing the other adventurers to restrain him.
Jonathan roared,
“Did you think I would be happy if you deliberately let me win?! Do it again!”
Valdrova could not understand him.
He had clearly been desperate to win, and she had allowed him to do so.
Was that not supposed to make him happy?
Jonathan repeatedly shouted at her to fight him with all her strength, but Erika eventually intervened, and the matter ended without a rematch.
Even then, Valdrova could not understand how he felt.
On the day of the Demonic Wasteland expedition, Valdrova finished preparing inside the cavern beneath Valdrova Castle.
Nothing will go wrong.
All she needed now was to prepare herself mentally.
She sat quietly and gathered her thoughts.
Those monsters appeared yesterday, so things should remain peaceful for a while.
If something happened, she could simply return.
But if that happens… a lot of people will be surprised, won’t they?
Valdrova could not predict how they would react.
Would they rejoice once they connected her identity with the reputation of the Armored Knight?
Or would they feel betrayed upon discovering that the knight they had trusted was actually Valdrova, the evil dragon?
That heavy worry still remained in one corner of her heart.
Valdrova stopped thinking about it.
There was another issue that troubled her far more.
—Why are you trying to enter that land?
She raised her head at the sound of the voice.
The figure of a man stood before her.
Valdrova knew what he was.
That man was nothing more than a weakness created by her own mind.
And that weakness had a name.
“Godwin…”
Godwin, the Side Dragon.
Though he had already died and vanished, he emerged from the darkness and intruded upon Valdrova’s thoughts.
Without realizing it, Valdrova placed a hand over her chest.
Her heart was pounding violently.
—You know it as well, do you not? If you go there, I will appear before you.
He spoke gently, as though it were nothing of consequence.
That calmness only stirred Valdrova’s emotions further.
“Yes…”
—Your anger toward me grants you great strength.
“I suppose it does.”
—But if you cannot bring yourself to feel that anger, you will repeat the mistake you made back then.
“…”
—Look, Valdrova.
At his words, something appeared beside him.
It was Ferda.
A man of boundless kindness.
A man who continued to give her a love she could never believe she deserved.
—Valdrova. Who is this man?
“…”
—Do not believe that I will remain ignorant merely because you refuse to answer. I am nothing more than an illusion you created yourself.
He was right.
Every spirit she saw was something created by her own mind.
—How would you feel if this man died by your hand?
“…”
—Or if my children killed him?
“…”
—Would you become angry with me?
—Or would you merely stand and watch, just as you did back then?
Back then.
Valdrova knew exactly what time he meant.
Godwin had killed the humans she cherished.
What Valdrova had felt then was despair.
And anger.
She hated Godwin.
She hated his Spawn.
She hated everything about him that had thrown the continent into chaos.
And yet, she had been unable to give in to that anger.
Her power was simply too great.
She already knew what consequences her fury would bring.
And so, she had been unable to do anything.
“If Mr. Ferda… were to die…”
Ferda’s image overlapped with the corpses she had once seen.
Valdrova’s eyebrows trembled.
Her head grew unbearably heavy and sank downward.
She tried desperately to avert her eyes.
“Godwin.”
But she did not run from him.
She raised her head and looked directly at Godwin.
The mutilated image of Ferda returned to normal.
Then it scattered.
“I am afraid of you. But I cannot retreat because of that.”
—Are you saying it would not matter if this man died?
“Mr. Ferda… has done so much for me.”
Ferda was human.
A human who would die in what felt like the blink of an eye and return to the earth.
A human who could bring joy, only for that joy to end in sorrow.
But what had that human done?
He was working to rebuild the Far East, a land once known only for despair.
He had shown her how joyful it could be simply to be alive.
“There are many things I cannot do… but I must at least overcome the despair you show me.”
That was why Valdrova intended to move forward.
It would be frightening.
It would be painful.
Even so, she would step forward while refusing to look away from the burden in her heart.
Godwin’s figure gradually began to blur.
As though satisfied, he whispered into Valdrova’s ear.
—It is pleasing to see that you have strengthened your resolve.
“…”
—But you will not be able to do it.
“…”
—You have always been such a being, ever since the moment you first raised your spear for the Primordial One.
—Our King.
With those words, he vanished from Valdrova’s consciousness.
Her mind became still.
Valdrova put on her armor.
It was time to enter the Demonic Wasteland.