Before they knew it, the group had already spent four days traveling through the mountains.
The rugged mountain route covered three hundred kilometers as the crow flew. Including the detours over mountains and ridges, it would take five or six days to reach Howling Wind Pass in the Alkolon Mountain Range. From there, they could gaze out at the true City of Radiance.
That day, the mountain fog was thick. Before evening had even arrived, dense mist had blanketed the area.
The members of the Chamois Scavenger Group were highly experienced at wilderness survival. They chose a campsite and lit a bonfire. Then they removed the simple steel plates from the steam spider off-road vehicle and built a luxurious all-metal cabin for the Countess in the wilderness.
After night fell, the plump cook, Aunt Susan, prepared a lavish dinner.
As Canossa's personal physician, Rein was, aside from the maid Sandora, the only person allowed inside the cabin.
Uncle Sam and the others ate roasted Canine Rabbit meat from their hunt beside the bonfire outside, while Rein dined with the Countess inside the cabin.
The dinner was lavish, with beef, rich mushroom soup, mountain pheasant, charcoal-grilled Canine Rabbit meat dripping with fragrance, and of course, top-quality wine.
After traveling together for so long, he had gradually become accustomed to dining with this beautiful Madam.
Although Rein felt that the lives of the wealthy were indeed extravagant, he sometimes found this Countess rather bored.
Without him, no one would even dare take the initiative to speak with her during the journey.
The hired Scavenger Gang members were not qualified to speak with her, while Uncle Sam and the others, who were normally quite easygoing, became as stern as wooden statues in her presence.
"Eat more. Don't stand on ceremony. You've spent the whole day practicing martial skills with Sam, so eat plenty to nourish yourself. Otherwise, you'll wear your body down."
Canossa was in a good mood today. She smiled sweetly at Rein and occasionally enthusiastically placed a large piece of meat onto his plate.
With this little doctor accompanying her these past few days, the journey had finally become less boring.
"Thank you, Madam."
Rein did not stand on ceremony either, stuffing the fragrant roasted meat into his mouth in large bites.
Just as she had said, whether he was assimilating potions or building muscle, he needed a large caloric surplus to avoid leaving hidden damage in his body. And this energy-rich Demonic Beast meat was the best source of nutrition.
It had to be said that although Aunt Susan was rather ugly, her cooking was truly exceptional.
As he ate, Rein casually asked, "Madam Vanessa, I heard the City of Radiance is very dangerous. Why are you going there in person?"
Over the past few days, he had gathered plenty of information about that City of Freedom from the hired Scavenger Gang members.
That place truly was a paradise for scavengers. He had heard that potion prices there were only one-tenth of those in Oma Domestic.
Because the city stood on the front lines of exploration at all times, all sorts of potion materials were cheap, and so were all kinds of goods. Moreover, the city lord had explicitly forbidden merchant guilds from monopolizing and reselling potions for profit. In that city, as long as one participated in the Scavenger Missions issued by the city lord's manor, almost anyone could advance to become a Transcendent!
Although exploration was dangerous, as long as scavengers could survive and struggle in the City of Radiance for a few years, the savings they brought back to their Imperial homeland would be enough to let them live comfortably for the rest of their lives.
But that place was truly dangerous. Generally, only scavengers at the end of their rope, wanted criminals, and speculative merchants would go there.
He truly could not understand why this pampered Countess would not stay in a big city and enjoy herself, instead running off to such a place.
Even if she had business to handle, there was no need for her to make the trip personally.
"Because I have a small merchant guild under my command too."
Even Canossa's helpless smile was breathtakingly charming.
She spoke casually. "I had some business dealings with the City of Radiance before, but recently, a few problems arose. I had no choice but to go deal with them myself."
"Oh."
Rein raised his brows noncommittally, then glanced at the label on the wine bottle beside the table. If he remembered correctly, this premium Helles had been considered a luxury even among the goods the Weasel Bandit Group robbed. A single bottle sold for more than a hundred thousand Lisuo on the black market. If those drunkard instructors had robbed a whole crate of it, they would have been happier than if they had gotten a whole crate of money.
Could an ordinary small merchant guild earn enough to cover this great lady's daily expenses?
The cost of her trip was probably enough to send someone else there ten times over.
Still, Rein had no intention of getting to the bottom of it. After all, in his eyes, anyone who could be friends with a big shot like Ymir probably did not have a simple identity.
The two continued chatting idly.
But as they ate, Canossa glanced out the window as though she had sensed something. A strange look flashed across her face.
The Chamois Scavenger Group were highly experienced guides, and the route they had selected was one they had traveled many times before. It had always been safe.
But as the night gradually deepened, an accident still occurred.
All of a sudden, birds took flight from the mountain forest, and many strange sounds rose from deep within the woods. It sounded like a great number of Demonic Beasts were moving through the night.
Not long after, loud warnings rang out from outside. Bart, the captain of the Mountain Antelope Squad, had arranged for hunters to keep watch around the camp. They had noticed the movement in the forest and sounded the alarm.
"Captain, this is bad! Something may have happened!"
"What is it?"
"For some reason, the Demonic Beasts on the eastern side of the Alkolon Mountain Range have been disturbed. There are roars from high-tier Demonic Beasts in the distance! And I can sense a pack of Demonic Beasts moving toward us."
"Everyone, prepare for battle!"
"..."
Inside the steel cabin.
Rein heard the conversation outside clearly, and his heart jolted.
The route to the City of Radiance passed through a vast expanse of primeval forest. It had never been absolutely safe. In recent years, there had often been reports of high-tier Demonic Beasts appearing and wiping out unlucky Scavenger Gangs.
Now, they seemed to be the unlucky ones from those stories.
When Rein heard the news, his first reaction was that his "bad luck aura" had flared up again. His face twitched, and he even felt a little guilty for dragging the others into it.
Legend had it that this was an even more dangerous deep mountain forest than the Bakenya Highlands. He could only pray silently that no particularly troublesome Demonic Beast would appear.
Knock, knock, knock!
At that moment, the old butler, who wore a tailcoat even while traveling mountain roads, knocked on the door. He still had that corpse-like expression on his face.
In an even tone, he reported, "Madam, the Demonic Beasts in the mountains have rioted. Captain Bart has instructed us to hold our position for now. We may need to evacuate at any time."
Canossa waved a hand as though she did not care. "Understood."
With something like this happening, Rein felt that it was inappropriate for him, a grown man, to keep hiding inside. He stood and said, "Madam, I'll go out too and see if I can help."
Canossa nodded. As though she had thought of something, she said, "Let's go. I'll take a look too."
The situation was even worse than they had expected.
It was not just the Demonic Beasts in the dense forest making rustling sounds. Even insects hidden underground were pouring out of their burrows in groups.
It felt as though a mountain flood was coming, and these little insects had sensed the danger ahead of time.
But they had also become fiercely aggressive!
"Captain, something's wrong! Logically, the western side of the Alkolon Mountain Range should be the truly dangerous area, where the high-tier Demonic Beasts are concentrated. So why does it sound like there are so many more big creatures in the forest?"
"Yeah. Even an earthquake would never cause snakes and insects to scatter like this. Could something have happened in the mountains?"
"Captain, there are sounds of gunfire about ten li ahead of us! Someone is fighting over there."
"It should be another Scavenger Gang that has clashed with the rioting Demonic Beasts. Everyone, be careful."
"..."
The members of the Chamois Scavenger Group all had extensive scavenging experience. They set up many traps outside the camp, then used their luggage to build a temporary barricade, mounting large-caliber firearms and cannons atop it.
Everyone prayed that the Beast Tide would not reach them, but unfortunately—
In the darkness, pairs of ghostly green eyes had still found them!
Thank you, Black Mud Big Millet, for the tip and support. Thanks~
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