Chapter 349

Like that, four days passed.

We didn’t run without resting, but took our time; after defeating Jiangshis, we always took time to mourn, and we had meals on time while moving, so it wasn’t very uncomfortable.

However, not having time to sleep properly was the only discomfort. Among us, Marianne and Ruben, who had the weakest stamina, would even nod off on their camels.

When we barely managed to arrive at the Oasis’s domain like that, we pitched our tents and everyone sprawled out as soon as we arrived. Because we had Sylphs who would wake us up if something big happened, and Elwin who could keenly distinguish the inside and outside of the god’s domain, we could rest deeply.

As soon as we woke up, we lit a fire, boiled stew, and praised each other’s hard work.

“Which way do we go now?”

“Let’s see…”

Hugh Benson took out a crumpled piece of paper and showed it.

It was a rough map marking the Goddess’s head stone statue and the holy site of the Sun with simple symbols, and noting the locations of Oasis domains in between. Although it was marked relying solely on Elwin’s memory, since we had already entered Oasis domains twice so far, it was reliable information.

Elwin spoke with the sound of the wind as always. Hugh Benson immediately explained those words.

“He says the Oasis domain ends if we go three more days south from where we are now. Still, since that side is closest to the next domain, let’s head out that way.”

“Then we’ll be able to eat and sleep properly for three days?”

“Yeah. After this, it seems we’ll have to travel for a week eating roughly and sleeping on the camels, so we need to replenish our stamina.”

“A week…? I want to cancel this request. Please let me go back.”

Peter picked a useless joke with a comical face. Hugh Benson also took the words jokingly.

“Should I settle your pay now?”

“No, I was wrong. Please let me go with you.”

What would he do left alone in the desert? It was useless nonsense.

However, pondering the reason the guy made such a joke, there was something I could guess.

“The one calling us right now isn’t the ninth god, right?”

“Surely not, Oasis said so. That god is sulking… …sulking.”

“But he didn’t say where he went.”

That was true.

Didn’t the Third God send oracles to Elwin in Cieron several times even while sitting in the Oasis. If the ninth god also sent oracles to the Owen people from another area, there was no way to know his current location.

We inwardly held hostility toward the ninth god. On top of that, hurrying our journey while seeing the faces of things like Jiangshis, we couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Wouldn’t Peter have also entertained the thought of wanting to run away in vain from such feelings.

However, Ruben, who had been deep in thought, soothed me with an affectionate voice.

“Didn’t he say the ninth god was born together with the second moon. And they say the sun was created before that. If the gods value their respective domains that much, the holy site of the Sun and the ninth god have no relation. Rather, I think…”

“…Rather?”

“I wonder if the ninth god is interfering with us going to the holy site of the Sun.”

Everyone in the group listened to his words carefully. Anne asked cautiously.

“Why?”

“Because we’ve experienced a similar thing once before. When our group was about to enter Owen, the ninth god used an oracle to stop us from entering Owen. And inside, a mercenary kidnapping was happening.”

“…Mm.”

“If the ninth god and the black mage gang, or the ‘Thousand-Faced Evil Ghost’ Mika mentioned, truly have the same goal, and if there is a certain reason they continuously interfere with us. I think there will be an important hint at the holy site of the Sun.”

I was inwardly surprised. I had only mentioned the Thousand-Faced Evil Ghost’s epithet exactly once and hadn’t brought it up again. I was already used to the fact that the people of this land couldn’t perfectly pronounce all the poems, acupuncture points, and some specific epithets I recited. It was extremely fascinating that Ruben pronounced that epithet perfectly.

Ruben made eye contact with the surprised me and smiled brightly.

“It’s a little hard, but let’s gather a bit more strength.”

“…Yes.”

“It’s all done now, take your bowls.”

While we were talking, Leon also distributed the fully boiled stew. As always, the taste was truly good. We once again highly praised Leon’s skill. Having finished the meal, our steps toward the Oasis’s water source to gather drinking water were much lighter.

There was a conviction that whatever it was, we were heading on the right path.

The three days after that were much more relaxed. We intentionally ate our meals more leisurely, and even when moving on the camels, we didn’t bother waking the guys who were sleeping half-sprawled. When we pitched the tents and slept, I stepped forward first to offer my arm as a pillow for Ruben, preventing the same thing as before from happening.

Now the day to travel a busy path again was right in front of us.

A few dawdled and showed their reluctance, but we had already rested enough. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] We couldn’t delay any longer. Still, they were all guys with outstanding stamina, so they quickly regained their strength. Everyone cheered each other on, telling each other to cheer up, boosted their energy, and urged the camels on.

Right after escaping the Oasis’s domain like that.

A couple of Sylphs fluttered around and made a big commotion.

[Five! Five! Five!]

[Three fives! Ten and five!]

[They’re coming this way!]

What?

The entire personnel immediately entered combat readiness. Placing the camels and the three children in the center, we stood at a distance. In that formation, we slowly moved in the direction we had to go. Just as we always had until now, we intended to keep moving forward until the distance with the Jiangshis narrowed very closely.

Feeling suffocated just watching the group of Jiangshis approaching from afar, I opened my mouth.

“Can’t a few of us go ahead, finish them off, and come back?”

“It’s a different pattern from until now, isn’t it? What if there’s even black magic cast on the Jiangshis? It’s better to just wait until they come. We’ll face them with full power.”

“…Yes.”

Still, it wasn’t difficult for eight martial artists to finish off fifteen Jiangshis. Marianne, who gathered the corpses and burned them all at once, pondered for a moment before opening her mouth.

“Next time, give me the Jiangshi furthest away as my share. I’ll check how much magic works. Just in case.”

So, we did that.

Certainly, a larger number of Jiangshis than before came at shorter intervals than before.

Now even Ruben and Benjamin couldn’t sit on the camels. It was because it would be more dangerous if a camel accidentally fell. Instead, Ruben took position behind me, Marianne behind Hugh, and Benjamin behind Elwin to prepare for any eventualities.

We defeated another group of Jiangshis. This time, Marianne didn’t gather and burn the corpses.

“Magic below the 3rd Circle doesn’t even work. It’s not just that they’re hard, it feels like Mana is condensed and overlaid on them.”

“Does magic work, though?”

“Yes. I just added acceleration amplification to a Wind Cutter and slashed it, and it cut… but the Mana consumption is too severe. From now on, I’ll conserve my Mana a bit as we go.”

“Right.”

After that, the Jiangshis came so frequently that it was cumbersome to get on and off the camels.

The camels, having seen countless Jiangshis come and fall dead numerous times, were no longer afraid. With an expression of ‘Why are humans hurrying their steps so annoyingly?’, they simply followed steadily behind us as we dragged their reins.

When there was a brief moment, we chewed dry bread and ham while walking.

It was a journey of a whole week. Even if our stomachs felt sick after seeing corpses, we couldn’t starve the whole time. Still, occasionally we put the children on the camels to rest a little, and before the camels collapsed from exhaustion, we stopped them and cast recovery magic on them.

We took out and used artifacts for the first time since coming to the desert. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Although no one was injured, because everyone was exhausted and drenched in sweat, we used recovery and Clean magic the most. Fearing the children might get hurt, my nerves were also tightly on edge.

After experiencing swarms of Jiangshis rushing in over ten times like that, everyone’s eyes became bloodshot.

Marianne let out groaning sounds entirely.

“How much longer is left now?”

“Two days.”

“Why? Why…?”

“Ah, what do you mean why! Do you think oases are scattered everywhere in the desert?”

That is also true. When the whining Marianne pretended to cry, Benjamin was seen at a loss for what to do. However, the one who comforted Marianne was not Benjamin but Giselle. She slowly swept down Marianne’s back and accepted all her acting spoiled.

“Aww, is our young miss tired? What to do because you’re tired.”

“Unnie, give me a piggyback ride.”

“The camel is giving you a piggyback ride right now, though?”

“This one keeps spitting and stuff.”

[Five fives! Five fives!]

A Sylph cut off Marianne’s words. John, who looked up at the Sylph, murmured with empty eyes.

“I wish someone would teach the Sylphs how to just say the answer instead of multiplication.”

“I agree.”

Anne replied to John’s words and drew her sword. Twenty-five Jiangshis were approaching this way. Dragging their legs, rattling their shoulders, clacking their open mouths…

We were standing familiarly and watching the direction they were coming from.

“…That, Senior. Senior Hugh.”

“What?”

“That guy at the very front there, perhaps…”

“…Ah, fuck. You’re right.”

Hugh Benson, who strained his eyes and glared ahead, spat out a curse word. The clothes he was wearing, his hair color, and the clear wound on his neck and the hole pierced in his stomach were familiar to my eyes. The cigarette man I had cut and killed was staggering towards us as a Jiangshi from over there.

Holding a longsword in his right hand and a short curved sword in his left, with a face so bright red it looked as if he was covered in blood.

…It was a Blood Jiangshi.

“That guy, he will be able to use a sword.”

“Who will take him.”

I answered immediately.

“I will go.”

“Peter, protect the Prince.”

“Yes!”

“Elwin, you also watch those two from here.”

“Mm.”

Is there anything more to say. Except for the two pointed out, the rest stepped forward. To prevent a sword from bouncing even by mistake, but to be able to immediately look back and take care of things if something happened, we stepped forward exactly fifteen paces and formed a brief line formation.

Soon, the Jiangshis, smelling the scent of flesh, rushed at us fiercely.