Monster Riot

Unbeknownst to them, the group had been traveling in the mountains for four days.

The rugged mountain roads, spanning three hundred kilometers in a straight line, would take approximately five to six days to reach the Echoing Pass in the Alkolon Mountain Range, accounting for detours and climbing over peaks. From there, one could get a distant view of the true City of Radiance.

On this particular day, the mountain fog was thick, and dense fog had set in before evening.

The members of the Chamois Scavenger Group, with their extensive wilderness survival experience, selected a campsite and built a bonfire. They then removed the simple steel plates from their steam spider mountain bikes to construct a luxurious all-metal cabin for the Count's wife in the wilderness.

As night fell, the plump cook, Susan, prepared a sumptuous dinner.

As Canossa's personal physician, Rein was the only one, besides the maid Sandora, allowed inside the cabin.

Uncle Sam and the others ate roasted canine rabbit hunted by them around the bonfire outside, while Rein dined with the Count's wife in the cabin.

The dinner was lavish, featuring beef, rich mushroom soup, mountain pheasant, and fragrant charcoal-grilled canine rabbit, all accompanied by top-tier wine.

As they spent more time together on this journey, he had gradually become accustomed to having dinner with the beautiful Madam.

While Rein found the lives of the wealthy to be truly extravagant, he sometimes also found the Count's wife to be rather uninteresting.

Without him, no one even dared to speak to her proactively during the entire journey.

The hired members of the scavenger group were not qualified to strike up a conversation, and even Uncle Sam and his companions, who were usually very easygoing, acted like wooden men in her presence.

"Eat more, don't be shy. You've been practicing martial arts with Sam all day, so eat more to replenish your body and avoid any deficiencies."

Canossa was in a good mood today. She looked at Rein with a smile, occasionally enthusiastically serving him a large piece of meat.

Having this young physician accompanying them for these past few days had certainly made the journey less boring.

"Thank you, Madam."

Rein didn't stand on ceremony and ate the fragrant roasted meat heartily.

Indeed, as she had said, both integrating potions and muscle growth required a significant surplus of calories to avoid leaving any hidden issues in the body. And this energy-rich monster meat was the best source of nutrition.

He had to admit, although Aunt Susan was a bit plain-looking, her cooking skills were truly exceptional.

As he ate, Rein casually asked, "Madam Vanessa, I heard that the City of Radiance is very dangerous. Why are you personally going there?"

Over the past few days, he had gathered enough information about that "City of Freedom" from the hired scavenger team members.

That place was indeed a paradise for scavengers, and it was said that potion prices there were only a tenth of those in the Oma Domestic.

Because the city was constantly on the front lines of exploration, all sorts of potion ingredients were cheap, and prices for everything were low. Furthermore, the city lord had explicitly stipulated that merchant guilds were not allowed to monopolize and resell potions for profit. In that city, as long as one participated in the scavenging missions issued by the city lord's mansion, almost everyone could advance to become extraordinary!

Although exploration was dangerous, as long as scavengers could survive for a few years fighting in the City of Radiance, the savings they accumulated would allow them to live out the rest of their lives comfortably once they returned to their hometowns in the empire.

However, it was truly dangerous there, and generally only desperate scavengers, wanted criminals, and opportunistic merchants would go.

He really couldn't understand why this pampered Count's wife wasn't staying comfortably in a big city enjoying herself, but was instead running off to that place.

Even if she had something to handle, there was no need for her to go personally.

"Because I have a small trading company under my name."

Even Canossa's helpless smile made her seem full of charm.

She said casually, "It's just that I had some business dealings with the City of Radiance, but recently there's been some trouble, and I have to go deal with it personally."

"Oh."

Rein raised an eyebrow noncommittally and glanced at the label on the wine bottle by the dining table. If he remembered correctly, this kind of top-grade Helles was a luxury item among the plundered goods of the Weasel Bandit Group. On the black market, it sold for over a hundred thousand Liso per bottle. If they managed to raid a case of it, those drunken instructors would be happier than if they had a chest full of coins.

Was the profit from a small trading company enough to cover this great lady's daily expenses?

The cost of her trip here was probably enough to send someone ten times over.

However, Rein had no intention of prying further. After all, in his opinion, if she could be friends with a big shot like Ymir, this Madam's identity was probably not that simple.

The two of them chatted casually, without much depth.

But as they ate, Canossa glanced out the window, as if sensing something, and a flicker of surprise crossed her expression.

The Chamois Scavenger Group were experienced guides, and the route they had chosen was one they had traveled many times safely.

However, as the night deepened, the unexpected still happened.

Suddenly, birds took flight in the mountains, and strange sounds echoed from the depths of the forest, sounding like many monsters moving at night.

Before long, loud warnings sounded outside. Bart, the leader of the Chamois Scavenger Group, had arranged for hunters to stand guard around the camp. They had discovered movement in the forest and issued a warning.

"Leader, something's wrong, something might have happened!"

"What is it?"

"I don't know why, but the monsters on the east side of the Alkolon Mountain Range have been agitated. I can hear the roars of high-level monsters in the distance! And I sense a monster horde approaching us."

"All personnel prepare for battle!"

"..."

Inside the steel cabin.

Rein heard the exchange outside clearly and his heart sank.

The road to the City of Radiance passed through large tracts of primeval forest, which was not entirely safe to begin with. Over the years, there had been frequent reports of high-level monsters appearing, leading to the annihilation of some unfortunate scavenger groups.

Now, it seemed they had become part of that legendary "unfortunate group."

Rein's first reaction upon hearing the news was that his "Bad Luck Aura" had acted up again, causing his face to twitch. He felt a pang of guilt for implicating others.

Legend had it that this place was even more dangerous than the "Bakenya Highlands," a deep mountain wilderness. He could only silently pray that no particularly tricky magical beasts would appear.

Thump, thump, thump!

Just then, the old butler, who still wore a tailcoat even when walking mountain paths, knocked on the door with his usual zombie-like expression.

He reported calmly, "Madam, the mountain beasts have rioted. Commander Bart has instructed us to hold our position, and we might need to evacuate at any moment."

Madam Canossa waved her hand dismissively, as if unconcerned. "I understand."

With this situation, Rein felt it wouldn't be appropriate for him, a grown man, to hide in his room any longer. He stood up and said, "Madam, I'll go out and see if I can help with anything."

Madam Canossa nodded, a thought seeming to cross her mind. "Let's go, I'll go out and see too."

The situation was more serious than anticipated.

It wasn't just the magical beasts rustling in the dense forest; even the insects hidden underground were fleeing the cave in swarms.

It felt like a mountain flood was coming, and these small creatures had sensed the danger beforehand.

But they also possessed intense aggression!

"Commander, something's not right! By all rights, the western side of the 'Alkolon Mountain Range' is the truly dangerous area, where high-level magical beasts are concentrated. But judging by the noise, it sounds like there are a lot more big guys in the forest?"

"Yeah, even an earthquake wouldn't cause snakes and insects to scurry about like this. Could something have happened in the mountains?"

"Commander, there's gunfire about ten miles ahead of us! Someone is fighting over there."

"It's probably other scavenger groups engaging the rioting magical beasts. Everyone, be careful."

"..."

The members of the "Chamois Scavenger Group" had extensive experience in scavenging. They had set up numerous traps outside their camp and erected temporary fortifications with their equipment, mounting large-caliber firearms and artillery.

Everyone prayed that the beast tide wouldn't reach them, but alas...

Pairs of eerie green eyes in the darkness had already discovered them!

Thanks to 'Black Mud Big Millet' for the support, thank you~