The expedition continued its journey north without rest.
Although the terrain became increasingly rugged and the temperature dropped each day, the experience itself was not as tense as they had anticipated.
Despite initial hostilities, Riftan and Kuahel made a fine team.
Both valued efficiency over politics.
Although there were still occasional battles of nerves, one always gave in if he found the other's judgment sound.
As a result, they were able to reach the northern region of Balto without much trouble.
Maxi's anxiety grew with each day that Riftan ignored her.
She stroked Rem's mane while casting an apprehensive glance at the back of her head.
So far, all his attempts at conversation had been met with a reserved manner and minimal words.
Sometimes it seemed he found her mere presence intolerable.
She remembered the letters at her bedside and that he had rushed to rescue her, but these assurances did nothing for her deep sadness.
His contempt was slowly eroding his confidence.
“I sense something up ahead,” said Nevin, who had been observing the land with magic.
He tilted his head from the top of his horse.
Since wind mages could survey the terrain, they had been taking turns to look for signs of monsters.
Riftan stopped the knights as soon as he heard Nevin's warning.
Maxi pulled on the reins and looked around.
Dark pine forests surrounded them, and the sky was covered in white fog.
Looking at the shadows of the snow-covered trees, Riftan said stiffly, “Can you tell what kind of monster it is?”
Nevin shook his head after a moment, looking embarrassed.
"There's definitely something there, but it seems hazy.
A spirit or a monster, perhaps, with strong resistance to magic."
Kuahel immediately drew his sword.
“What about the distance?” Riftan said.
"Less than a thradion to the south.
It's not moving, but I sense powerful magic."
“Probably a subspecies of hibernating dragon,” muttered Riftan.
The knights drew their weapons in unison, preparing for battle.
For a high-class monster like a basilisk, a thradion wasn't too far away.
Such a creature could cover that distance in the blink of an eye.
If the expedition was not vigilant, they might be surprised.
Maxi summoned his mana in case he needed to release a spell at any time.
Looking away from the sky, Riftan turned his horse.
"We must go down the mountain.
It will take longer, but it is the safest route."
“Is this really necessary?” Hebaron argued, scratching his bearded chin.
"It'll be slow if it's hibernating.
Killing it should be easy."
Riftan stared at him with an icy gaze.
"We don't know what kind of monster it is or how many there are.
Evasion would be wiser."
“It's too late to turn back,” said Kuahel, pointing to the baggage carts.
"The snow is coming.
If we don't get over this mountain tonight, we'll lose days.
We're already out of time."
Due to the cold that arrived early, most northern regions were hit by food shortages.
They had been unable to obtain enough food or forage in the last town they had stopped at, leaving them with a third of what had previously been a veritable mountain of provisions.
Pulling her cloak tighter, Ruth interjected, “Why don’t we head east to a big city first?”
All the wizards turned to look at him.
Being the thick-skinned man that he was, the sorcerer seemed to have gotten used to the attention in a matter of days.
“I don’t see why we should take so much risk,” he said calmly.
“Why don’t we shelter in town until the snowstorm passes?”
“No city in this area is large enough to feed and accommodate nearly two hundred soldiers for weeks,” Kuahel said bluntly.
"And even if there were, we would find ourselves in the same situation when we resumed.
I'd rather not waste time."
Riftan's expression turned icy at his obstinate response.
"Are you saying that the Temple Knights consider their task more important than the safety of their group members?
What a shocking lack of compassion.
A true stain on their name as Guardians of the Western Continent."
“Well, wizard, you are shamefully far from your title too,” Kuahel retorted.
"You wish to run away because of some hibernating animals?
You've become quite cowardly since I last saw you."The mages exchanged glances as the two commanders got angry again.
After looking at them nervously, Maxi took a timid step forward.
"Can I...
try a tracking spell?
They often reveal more details than wind magic can deduce.
If I try hard enough...
I might be able to determine the type of monster."
Riftan grimaced, but Kuahel intervened before he could object.
“Please go ahead.”
Maxi promptly jumped off the horse, his heart racing with anticipation.
She was eager for a chance to show off her skills in front of Riftan.
Even so, she couldn't help the nerves that arose just as she was about to begin the spell.
Was I being presumptuous?
Could a novice mage do something that even her superior couldn't?
She took a deep breath to dispel her fears, then circulated her mana along the pattern of a rune.
Soon, his mana path connected to an earth spirit, and his senses sharpened.
She directed her search in the direction Nevin had indicated.
It didn't take long for something to attach itself to the edge of his mana web.
She jumped.
Whatever it was, it was closer than the wind mage had estimated.
As soon as she realized that a huge creature was charging in this direction at an alarming speed, she hurriedly broke the spell.
"I-It's coming this way!
We should launch a barrier now!"
Anette and Armin sprang into action, and a barrier went up around the wagons.
Almost at the same time, the earth shook violently before something erupted from the snow-covered ground.
The sudden commotion overturned one of the carts.
The horses' neighs echoed through the trees, and Rem leapt into the air as the ground began to split.
Maxi pulled on the reins to steady the mare, then threw a shield around the other mages and herself.
At that moment, the monster collided against the barrier with a heavy thud.
Feeling a crack in the walls, Maxi increased the circulation of his mana.
A creature large enough to swallow a baggage cart rose from the ground, swinging its thick, scaly tail like a whip.
Maxi poured more mana into the barrier.
The earth shook as the monster's tail struck.
Realizing she couldn't maintain the defenses alone for long, she looked over her shoulder for help.
“It’s a snake
1
!” Calto shouted, throwing another barrier in front of Maxi.
“Those capable of defensive magic must help the knights!”
Unlike Maxi's shield, Calto's shield seemed to resist the monster's attacks.
Sighing in relief, Maxi removed her helmet.
The knights had already surrounded the monster.
They stuck their harpoons into the serpent's skin and wrapped chains around its limbs.
Once the beast was contained, Maxi had a clear view as the knights retreated.
A dragon's head on a serpent's body “ it was one of the high-class monsters of the dragon subspecies.
"Stand back!
We're going to launch a wall of fire!"
The knights moved away at the wizards' warning.
Soon, Kabala's magicians had the monster trapped inside a gigantic wall of flames.
Since magic was not effective against the dragon subspecies, mages exploited the serpent's aversion to fire by restraining it rather than attacking it directly.
Pierced by dozens of spears, the monster raised its head and opened its jaws wide.
Maxi felt the hairs on his body stand up.
Blue flames formed inside its reptilian mouth.
As its throat expanded as if it would spit fire at any moment, Maxi rushed out from behind the shield.
She was struggling to put up a barrier when Riftan blocked her path.
She looked at his majestic profile, stunned.
Drawing his sword, Riftan kicked Talon forward.
The ebony warhorse charged at the monster like an arrow.
What followed was the most horrific scene Maxi had ever witnessed.
She screamed his name.
He couldn't understand why no one was stopping him.
When she tried to follow him, Ulyseon, who had run after her, stood in her way.
Before she could order him out of the way, she saw Riftan leap straight into the serpent's mouth.
Tilting its head down, the monster's jaws opened wide and spat out a column of fire.What happened next was even more incredible.
Riftan's blade lit up dark red, extinguishing the flames instantly.
A second later, he swung his sword and sent the monster's head flying.
Maxi could not understand the sequence of events, although he had seen it with his own eyes.
She could only stare at Riftan's back in silence, astonished.
The serpent's massive body fell to the snow with a dull thud.
The noise brought her back to her senses.
After calming her agitated horse, she galloped over to Riftan.
At this moment, Kuahel was already casting divine magic on the serpent's severed head.
He grimaced when he saw her.
"The serpent's blood is poisonous.
I advise you not to come any closer until the purification is complete."
"O-Okay.
I know how to do detox magic."
Although it was clear that the Temple Knight had not finished speaking, Maxi trotted past him.
Riftan stopped cleaning his bloody sword when he saw her approach.
His face darkened into a grim frown.
“Weren’t you told to stay away?”
Ignoring him, Maxi dismounted his horse.
"I-Is everything okay?
Are you hurt?"
Walking straight towards Talon, she looked up to examine Riftan from head to toe.
She still couldn't believe he had charged straight into the serpent's mouth.
Although he had heard the incredible story of how he had advanced against Dragon's Breath, witnessing it in person was completely different.
Almost panicked, filled with worry, she scrutinized her armored limbs.
Riftan, who had gone rigid under his grasping hands, swore under his breath and dismounted.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the monster.
Staggering, Maxi shouted, "R-Riftan, you were hit by the serpent's flames.
You might be hurt.
Let me treat“"
"I said, I can absorb magic.
I did that years ago with Dragon's Breath, albeit temporarily.
That was nothing in comparison."
When they were a safe distance from the snake's corpse, Riftan stopped and released it.
His eyes roamed the length of his body.
If it had been any other time, she would have been overjoyed about it.
At that moment, however, almost beside herself with worry, she didn't register the way he was looking at her.
She frantically tugged at her cloak.
"I-However, let me heal you, just in case.
Take off your armor.
Absorbing that much magic at once would have taxed your body.
We should first“"
“That’s not necessary.”
"T-This won't take long.
I need to be in contact with your skin so I can“"
“I don’t need healing!” Riftan growled, slapping your hand away.
Maxi froze in shock.
The blood drained from her face as she looked up, her eyes filled with pain.
Their jaws clenched as if they were trapping their emotions.
Soon, a familiar mask of indifference settled over his face.
"Stop trying to waste your mana.
Take care of yourself instead."
With that, he turned and headed towards the knights.
Maxi's distant gaze fell as she watched him leave.
How many times had he turned his back on her in the last few weeks?
Was he really walking away so coldly after giving him the scare of his life?
His suppressed emotions erupted like an erupting volcano.
Furious, her eyes scanned the place before landing on a fallen pine cone.
In one movement, she picked it up and threw it at him.
It was as if he could see through the back of her head.
Spinning around, he caught the object coming towards him with one hand.
He looked at the pine cone and then back at her, staring silently, demanding an explanation.
Ignoring him, Maxi began grabbing and throwing more forest debris one after another.
Riftan grimaced as a pine cone hit him square in the forehead.
“What the hell“”
“Y-You stingy man!” Maxi shouted, scanning the area for a larger projectile.
When she found nothing, she gathered up a pile of snow and threw it at him.
He caught the flying snowball with his other hand.
Without giving up, Maxi furiously packed more snowballs and started throwing them at his face.
The approaching storm eventually made Riftan lose his temper.
Pushing his hair back to get rid of the snow, he was in front of her in just two steps.“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he growled, grabbing your wrists.
"I-I'd like to ask you the same question!
How long are you going to keep ignoring me?
Why don't you...
tell me what makes you so upset?
You petty man!
You're a fool and an idiot!"
When she began to kick and try to twist her arm to free herself, Riftan clenched her jaw and turned her head toward the spectators she was attracting.
After giving the others a sharp look, he picked up Maxi with one arm and carried her into the forest.
Rocking at his side, she fought like an angry mare while hurling insults.
"You...
arrogant!
Fool!
You have...
no consideration of what it must have been like for me?
Do you have any idea how much I studied so I could get back to you as soon as possible?
I-If you were just going to ignore me...
why the hell did you follow me here?!"
"And you?"
He lowered her to the ground beneath a huge tree.
Maxi pressed her back against the trunk as he approached.
“Do you have any idea… what the last three years have been like for me?”
It's like a giant snake
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