Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 386: Gold Mine [2]

At least, compared to some other Baronies who had territories that were far greater than Westerborn.

However, if one had to choose which territory they\'d want, most people would choose Westernborn.

While it was a lot smaller than some other territories, unlike most territories, most of its land was habitable and usable for agriculture. Coupled with the Gold Mine that resided within, it was a territory that most noble houses would drool over for.

"Stop...!"

The carriages came to a sudden halt as the surroundings turned quiet.

I glanced at Leon and then Evelyn before getting off the carriage. It was dark outside so I had someone shine a light up front.

"Oh."

It was no wonder we stopped.

....I looked at the broken bridge that stood before me and pressed my lips together.

"Looks like we\'ll have to find another way."

Evelyn\'s voice reached me from behind.

I stole a quick glance at her before nodding. Below us, a wide river surged, its turbulent waters crashing violently against the banks, making any attempt to swim across a dangerous gamble.

While it was possible to cross it, the vassals each wore heavy armor, and taking them off was not ideal.

"There\'s another bridge not far from here. However, we\'ll have to go by foot considering that there\'s no direct path that leads to that."

Leon was the one who spoke this time as he squinted his eyes to look ahead. Following his words, the vassals got off their horses and took out lighting devices.

I stopped them right as they were about to light them up.

"No, it\'s probably not a good idea."

"?"

I could see the questioning looks on their faces.

Before I could explain, the captain went ahead and spoke,

"The enemies are probably waiting for us somewhere to ambush us. Turning on the lights will make us walking targets."

Yes, that.

The vassals promptly put away the lighting devices and turned their attention toward the captain who looked at Leon who looked at me.

....Seriously?

I looked at Evelyn.

"What are you looking at me for?"

".....Do you have a way to detect if anyone is ambushing us?"

Evelyn frowned.

She was about to refuse when she stopped.

After hesitating for a brief moment, she nodded her head.

"Somewhat."

I knew it.

I had noticed this before, but Evelyn was really good at this stuff. Although in this case, we weren\'t dealing with possessed people.

\'Well, I guess it makes sense considering that her element is lightning.\'

If my guess was correct, then she could detect \'electrical impulses\' coming from a person\'s nervous system to detect their location.

.... Although, it only granted her the ability to determine if something was alive or not. It probably wasn\'t capable of distinguishing between species.

But that was enough.

"Hoo."

Evelyn took a deep breath before closing her eyes.

Cracka! Cracka~!

Her hair fluttered silently while lighting bolts crackled around her body. They were thin and produced faint purple hues that danced in the air.

"....!"

All of a sudden every hair on my body started to rise as I felt a cold breeze wash over me.

I was taken aback and as I looked around, I noticed everyone experienced a similar sensation. Leon was the only one who appeared unfazed by what was happening as Evelyn\'s eyes fluttered open shortly after.

".....They\'re waiting directly by the other bridge not far from here. I can count over fifty people waiting. I can\'t tell how strong they are, but I know they\'re all there. If we go, we might experience a lot of casualties."

"Hmm."

I stopped to ponder for a moment before glancing at Leon.

.....I was sure he understood what I was planning as he glanced at the other side of the river.

Pursing his lips he looked back at me.

"We don\'t know how strong they are."

"Does your intuition have anything in that regard?"

"Nothing..."

"Then we might as well try."

The plan was relatively simple.

Leon and I would directly go to the other side of the river and ambush the troops stationed in

an ambush. In the meantime, the vassals would directly use this chance to cross the bridge

and join us in the fight.

It was a risky plan considering that we didn\'t know the levels of the troops on the other side,

but it was the most appropriate option for us.

I was confident in being able to achieve this.

"I\'m coming too."

Evelyn spoke, her purple hair fluttering under the cold breeze of the night.

"...I\'m the only one who has an idea of where they are. You two can\'t go alone."

I frowned for a moment before accepting her explanation.

Leon also seemed to be in favor as he turned to the captain and relayed him a few orders. The captain appeared a little taken aback by the plan but soon accepted.

"Follow me."

Sparing me a single glance, the captain marched forward, the vassals following closely from

behind.

Rustle~ Rustle~

I watched as they slowly left and entered the greenery before shifting my attention back to the other side of the river.

Evelyn moved forward a little, squinting her eyes as she judged the distance before us.

Her expression grew more and more concerned with each second that passed.

"How do we cross...?"

"About that..."

I stepped forward and took a look myself. The first thought that crossed my mind was using \'Eatherwave\' to create a rope to help us get to the other side, but I quickly brushed the

thought away after my last experience.

....Just thinking about it gave me PTSD.

"Honestly, the best way would be to just jump."

"Jump?!"

Evelyn looked startled as she looked toward the opposite side. I could understand her shock considering the distance was quite large and no normal person would be able to jump over,

but I knew Leon was capable of doing so if he used his domain.

"Can you do it?"

"I can."

Leon frowned.

"....But it\'ll create a lot of sound."

"That\'s fine."

I looked towards Evelyn.

"Right before Leon jumps you can create a lightning or something. It\'s nighttime anyways.

People won\'t really notice a thing."

"No, they will."

"Then do you have a way to muffle his sound?"

"Yes."

||

11

I was a little taken aback. I didn\'t expect her to say that.

"Well, do that..."

I shifted my attention towards the other side and took a deep breath. Closing my eyes, six orbs

appeared in my vision.

||Rage|| --> Red

||Joy|| --> Green

||Sorrow || --> Blue ||Affection|| --> Pink

||Fear|| --> Purple ||Shock|| --> Azure

There was not much of a difference in my \'Concept\' from the time that I had fought Leon in

the Summit. Most of my focus had been on developing my curse magic so I couldn\'t put a lot

of effort into it, but during the last month...

I had managed to develop each orb.

....I was now capable of using all six orbs without a problem.

This was why I wasn\'t worried about being unable to cross the river. It was because I could

easily do so now.

"Things would\'ve been a lot easier during the first part of the Summit if I had this skill...\'Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

I raised my hand and reached out for the \'Shock\' orb.

Immediately the orb wiggled before shooting towards my arm where it started to coat it. My

body began to feel light as I opened my eyes again.

By the time I opened my eyes, Leon\'s eyes had changed.

They were black, and filled with countless stars.

I nodded once before jumping in the air.

My heart almost leaped out of my chest the moment I did as I jumped a lot higher than I

normally would have while also remaining in the air for a lot longer.

\'.... Is this how astronauts feel when going to the moon?\'

I quite liked the feeling.

Thump!

Landing on the ground, I ignored the shocked expressions coming from both Leon and Evelyn

as I canceled the skill and tensed my legs.

The green orb appeared in my mind and every muscle in my leg tensed.

Clenching my teeth, I pressed my foot onto the ground and immediately shot forward.

Bang!

The ground behind me shattered. Thankfully, I was able to minimize the sound with the aid of

the river bank.

At the same time I shot to the other side, I canceled the green orb and shifted to the azure orb.

My body instantly became light and with the added momentum of the green orb, I was able to

cross to the other side without any problems.

Thump!

"Hooo."

Canceling the skill, I landed without a problem.

When I turned my head to look behind me, Leon had already jumped with Evelyn in his arms.

Neither one made a sound as they landed shortly after.

Thump!

Leon let go of Evelyn before looking at me.

"Was that part of your domain?"

"....Yes."

Leon remained silent after that as Evelyn fixed her hair. Considering that we didn\'t have much time at our disposal, we directly shot for the other

bridge under Evelyn\'s guidance as she used the skill a couple of more times to properly assess

where our enemies were.

"They should be up ahead."

Evelyn\'s steps came to a step all of a sudden as she squinted her eyes.

I followed her gaze but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Just a dense thicket of trees lined the

riverbank, their branches swaying gently in the breeze while the water flowed steadily beside

us.

I could also see the bridge from where I stood.

It was a lot thinner than the other one and was made of wood. A simple spell would probably

break it, sending the troops falling onto the river.

While they wouldn\'t necessarily die, they\'d also have a hard time defending themselves.

"What should we do?"

I asked, turning my attention toward Evelyn who appeared to have an idea. Without

answering my question, she pointed towards three different spots.

"....There\'s three people hiding right where I pointed."

"Hm?"

I looked at where she pointed but saw nothing.

\'Some sort of camouflage?\'

It wouldn\'t be surprising since I could also do the same thing with [Veil of Deceit]. Surely

there was some sort of relic that could do something similar.

"Yes, I can feel it. They\'re right there."

"Okay."

Leon nodded, prepared to make a move but I stopped him.

"What...?"

"Let me."

I blinked once, feeling my hand begin to fade as my body blended into the surroundings.

Leon\'s eyes widened in realization and I directly headed for one of the spots Evelyn pointed

towards.

Rustle~

Extending my finger, a purple magic circle appeared as I flicked it in the direction of where

Evelyn had previously pointed.

"....!"

Immediately, the air distorted, revealing the outline of a figure.

I waved my hand immediately after that as his figure once again disappeared before shifting

my attention towards the two other spots and flicking my finger in their direction. Two faint purple magic circles whirred through the air, striking them squarely in the head.

Instantly, Leon and Evelyn materialized nearby, catching their bodies to keep them from

collapsing.

\'Knock them out.\'

I mouthed slowly.

While I had used my new skill on them-Immersia-the effects were still not desirable.

I could only keep them knocked out for several seconds.

Leon and Evelyn didn\'t waste a second and obliged. I did the same for the person next to me

and cast [Veil of Deceit] in Leon\'s and Evelyn\'s direction.

I didn\'t tell them what to do but I was sure they knew as I started to take off my clothes.

....This might turn into a bad habit.\'