11



"Yigui?
　Jagged nodded at Kanami's words.
'What's that?'
I don't know. I don't know. I've never seen him before. That's what the merchant said, but...
　Yagud, the village's coordinator, the de facto head of the village, shook his head in layers. His expression was grave and tired.
　Yagud's house, made of sun-dried brick, was airy with square openings and windows. Half of the houses in this village, which has a culture somewhere between nomadic and sedentary pastoralism, are simple structures made of sun-dried bricks, while the other half are tents made of thick fabric.
　Some of the houses were reinforced with wood or built with floors. The houses of Yagudo are also meant to be a reception area for the entire village to receive guests from the outside. For this reason, the house was twice as large as the surrounding houses and consisted of several square rooms surrounding a courtyard.
　In the house of Jagd, Leonardo and his party were talking with Jagd about the commotion they had just witnessed.
What did they hear?　Lord Yagud.
　Regardless of who he was dealing with, Elias's tone remained the same, friendly and yet polite, giving the impression that he was there and polite. In response to the question, Yagd squeezed his goat-like beard a couple of times before he began to speak, remembering.
'I have heard that in the wilds of Aorsoy, there is a bizarre incarnate possession that has been appearing recently. I've heard it's called a plague.
Yes.
　By now, the outside of the window was turning a deep red.
　Inside the room, I could already see the fire in the hearth and the old wife of Yagud boiling water.
'They say the pestilence goes out into the wilderness. They say he's a survivor of a ruined village, or that he's out of his mind, or that he's possessed by a demon. They say that when they are grazing, the sheep are taken from them. They say that they kill the sheep on the spot and eat them. Because of their appearance, they are called demons and plague demons.
　Yagud's voice sounded low and hoarse.
'But they say that the villagers are not attacked. They pass by as if they are invisible. But that is not to say that they do not rage. Sometimes, I've heard that they can be seen in the wilderness, drunk with blood, as if they were mad. And when they see the Adventurers, they attack them.
　Leonardo nodded faintly.
　If the display on the status screen, Ash-Spotted Inuoni, is true, then this is not an unexplainable situation.
　I'm sure that the Ash-Spotted Dog Demon is indeed a wicked sub-human, but it does not attack the Daichijin. They do not attack the Daichijinshi not out of the goodness of their hearts, but because they are cunning and cowardly. They know that if they attacked the Daichijinshi, they would be defended by a group. The Ash-Spotted Demon will target the Livestock rather than the Daichijinshi themselves.
　On the other hand, if the Daichijinsen see an adventurer, they will attack him. The Daichijinshi know that the Daichijins will flee if they miss, but the Adventurers seem to know that the Daichijins are an enemy that has come to destroy them.

　If the boy was the Ash-Spotted Demon, then it makes sense that he would have attacked first Kanami, and then themselves. The Daichijinshi are not worth attacking, they are nothing more than insects to the Ash-Spotted Inuoni.
　However, that may explain the attack on Leonardo and the others, but it did not explain the fact that they had human form.
'Lord Jagd. I have never heard of a pestilence, is it something that has been spoken of in this region for ages?
No, that's not true. It wasn't three months since we first heard about it. It came to us suddenly.
　The old man responded to Elias' words.
'Well, the boy, well,'
Are you from this village?
　The answer to Kanami and Coppelia's question was 'no'.
　It's true that he has the characteristics of an earthling from this region, but he's not from this village.
　I'm sure you'll find him wrapped in a blanket in a corner of the same hall. The spell cure that Coppelia had given him had also restored his torn right arm following his condition, but he had yet to regain consciousness.
　From Leonardo's point of view, the boy doesn't look dangerous anymore.
　It's a good thing that the status is stable: name Sae-Jin, level 2, occupation < pioneer> and notation. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time here. I'm sure it was just a bad dream.
"....this boy...
Coppellia assures me that the boy is not a man of his senses.
　Yagud looked at the boy's face sullenly.
　There was no disgust visible on his face. There is only a labored color to it.
'Does that mean he was dredged up from some village, or is he missing?
I don't understand. The boy's boots were badly damaged. His clothes are tattered and worn. Looks like he's been gone a long way. Looks like he's been lost for months.
　Kanami nodded at Yagud's words.
　Leonardo wondered if Kanami's attitude matched the information he had on hand, but looking at Elias' expression of shrugging his shoulders, it seems that this is not the case. In short, he just nodded his head.
　After that, I asked a few more detailed questions, but I didn't get any more information from Yagud.
　As a result of Kanami's natural charm, Jagd was willing to share the food with me. Of course, it was in exchange for some gold coins, but it was not a large amount of money for Leonardo and the others who are "adventurers," and in such a remote village, they were grateful to be able to share their food.

　However, after discussing it with Kanami and his friends, Leonardo and his party decided to stay in the village for a few days.
　According to the village chief Jagd, the traders would visit in a few days.
　After hearing Kanami's story, Leonardo's desire to become a Japanese server is growing. The story of solving the mystery of the catastrophe is too ridiculous to be understood yet, but the new patch is still an appealing story. It's a safer way to go, with greater combat capabilities. That should also help us when we return to the Big Apple.
　But this Aorsoy land is an untamed wilderness. There may not be any cases like the one we saw the other day. It would be naive to think that we could reach Japan by simply following the rising sun without any information.
　After all, Sekek is a small village. The villagers rarely travel. The information they have is limited. It is obvious that the traveling merchants have more information on the purchase of consumables and the state of the roads. That information would be even more valuable than food when traveling across this vast continent.
　It was the decision of Leonardo and his group that if the trade merchants were coming, it was better to obtain information even if they had to wait a few days.
　In order to make this decision, the group went to the stable to discuss the matter. Of course, they also wanted KR (Keir) to participate in the discussion; KR's hearing was good, and he knew what was being discussed with Yagud from the adjoining stable as well.
　It was convenient for us to keep track of the conversation, but the KR himself was in a very bad mood. He wasn't happy with his stable. He said that the mare in the same cell was making eyes at him.
'KR is not a toy.
Hey Kanami. Motomete is a much nicer strawberry. I mean, I don't want Kanami to tell me that.
　After consulting with Kanami, leaving her mouth agape to argue further when he argued back, they were still determined to stay in the village for a few days. It was also significant that Yagud offered the group a place to stay. A room with Leonardo and Elias. We had one room with Kanami and Coppelia.
　KR, of course, had to be a stable, which was a bit of a complaint, but we managed to convince Leonardo and Elias to intercede. Even if Kanami started saying that it was 'Rabuhotero' or something like that, and at one point almost took a front kick from KR.
'But then again, what the hell is that thing?'
....
　Leonardo's words caused his friends to hold their tongue. When they did to Leonardo, they didn't go in expecting an answer. Leonardo had never seen a status display like that before. I can only assume it's a bug.
'I'm a first time phenomenon myself.
I can't think of anything in fairy lore that comes to mind.
　--an unknown bug.
　Leonardo was horrified by the idea.
　Sejin was an 'earthling', but who can guarantee that this bug doesn't occur to anyone other than the 'earthling'?　It is true that in this world, the Adventurers seem to be immortal. Even if they fall in battle, they are transported to the temple and revived.
　But when they become like that boy. But if they became like that boy, would they still be considered "immortal"?
　If there is a being who can be like that and still not die. That existence would be a calamity in this world, and for that person, it is a nightmare that will not wake up, a purgatory that will fall while living.
"Is that the kind of 'something' that can be dealt with with a state recovery spell?
　To KR's question, Coppelia answers.
'Coppelia judges it differently. Because the status display had already returned to its normal state when Coppelia chanted the relevant spell.
So Leonardo's paralytic attack helped to eliminate the symptoms.
Don't think that idea is out of line either.
　Leonardo puts a hand to his chin and thinks.
'My weapon is a pretty good one, but it only deals additional damage of fire. The speciality I used is also the Paralyzing Blow, and it's not one that has any special ancillary effects other than paralysis.
....
　Even KR, who is usually a little too talkative, falls silent at the sound of Leonardo's voice. No wonder. No one wants to be in a situation like that.
　If you just want to deal with it, it's easy to talk about it.
　It's true that the monsters of the sub-human species have a range of levels. However, no matter how wide they are, they are still the Ash Spotted Dog Demon. Their level is probably a good seventy at the high end. It's not a terrifying opponent for Leonardo and the others.
　But there was something about that eerie symptom that was different from their fighting ability, something that awakened a primal fear deep within their hearts.
　Eyes that opened wide and lost their luminosity. A mouth with outstretched canine teeth that spilled blood-mixed saliva incessantly. Limbs that snaked and bent, trying to forcibly recreate the movements of a beast in a human body. Each one of them wears an ominous and comatose aura.
　Even Leonardo doesn't want to deal with it.

"Well, well. But, you know what? There can't be many of them.
That's true. The people of this village also claim to have never seen one before. If there are so many of them, it's only logical that there should be more sightings.
　KR took on the words that Kanami was taking back.
　Leonardo nodded at the words, but felt a sense of exclusion. He had a feeling that this case was not going to end as it had, that he would have to get more involved.
　And it was right.



◆12


　The skies are exceptionally clear at night on Aorsoy, as they are everywhere else in the world. Perhaps it's the dry air, but the heavens are high and endlessly clear, with stars twinkling like crushed white sand.
　Unlike the smoky, neon-stained night sky of Midtown, there is no light from the ground, so even the tiny stars that give off a little bit of light boast their presence on the celestial rooftop.
　It was the night of Sekek.
　From somewhere, there was the sound of an insect, like a waving silver bell.
　Two hours have passed since the sun set. The village was already deserted, though it was probably not yet deep enough to be called night. Orange light leaks through the windows, which are made of dried bricks, squared open and covered with wooden lids.
　It was probably time for every house to see if they had eaten dinner or not.
　Leonardo slipped out of the hut where he was assigned and stepped out into the cool night breeze.
　The starry night sky stretched out above Leonardo's head as he stepped out onto the only trodden path.
　Even though it was September, a chilly wind was blowing in the night on the highlands of Aorsoy.
　But that too is not a chill that the adventurer Leonardo can endure. It's more like a pleasant, refreshing breeze.
　It's a good idea to have a good time with your friends. He doesn't have any particular plans, but he barely makes a sound. This is a result of the body movements that Leonardo, the assassin, has acquired, and another reason is that he does not want to disturb this seemingly peaceful village and its silent night.

　This village does not have a solid protective wall. All that is left is a fence to keep out the animals and keep the sheep together. Even outside the fence, there is an area that looks like a plowed field. Even though it was tilled, the soil was coarse and dry, and even to the untrained eye, it was not very suitable for cultivation.
　Leonardo climbed up and sat down on a large rock by the roadside that extended south from the village.
　The rock was huge. In terms of height, it was about two meters high. The whole thing looked polished, angular and humorous, but its top was flat and seemed larger than a bedroom.
　The rocks also seemed to be a lookout for shepherds, and there was a worn cloth around the view of the upper plains.
　Far beyond our view, the mountain range stretched out like a screen.
　It's hard to say how far they were. The mountain range, which stretches to the farthest reaches of my vision, is the wall of the world. These mountains are called Shanmai, the elder Yagud told us over dinner. The name means "the throne of heaven", he said.
　The ridge line, lit by the moonlight with a slight glow of snow in the night, had a divine atmosphere that made me nod to the heavenly chair.
　And stretching out to the foothills of the mountains was the wilderness of Aorsoy. In some places there are bushes and what could be called a forest, but all of this is now sleeping in the moist night breeze.

　With a whirring, whirring sound on that dry ground, Coppelia approached.
　Leonardo, who had noticed her before she came into view, swung around in good time and looked down at the petite girl from the rocks. Coppelia looked up at Leonardo as she came to the large rock with ladylike strides.
'Is it the Sentinel, sir?'
No.
　Leonardo answered Coppella's question.
　This is the village of the 'earthlings', if you will. It's not the same as taking a nap deep in the dungeon. I'm not going to let my guard down, but there's no need to be so vigilant as to have a sleepless vigil.
　Leonardo just slipped out of his room because he couldn't sleep at this early hour. Being a native New Yorker, he loved to stay up late.
　Besides, Leonardo needed time to think.
　He enjoyed talking to his friends, and he didn't mind juggling work with his colleagues, but he would fade away if he didn't have time for solitude. To be a geek, Leonardo knew, was to have that part of his mind somewhere.
'I see,'
Yes.
　The conversation was cut short.
　And as it was, the September night breeze of Aorsoy passed by like a caress on the two of them.
　A low horse cry. The sound of insects - a cloud covered the moon and then passed by.

　A reasonable amount of time must have passed, but Coppelia just stood there in silence. Her gaze seemed to be fixed on the distant mountain that Leonardo had been watching earlier.
'Do you want to climb it?'
Yes, sir.
　Hearing Coppelia's reply, Leonardo reaches out to her.
　She takes Leonardo by the hand and arrives at a large, rounded rock. Then she brushed the dust off several times with her fingertips and sat down with a neat, tall gesture to avoid wrinkling her skirt.
　Leonardo didn't speak, and Coppelia didn't bother Leonardo with any unnecessary words. The night was quiet, and there was only the low hum of insects and the sound of the wind around them, which rather protected the quietness.
　Another reasonable amount of time passed.
　The stars twinkled and the distant sound of sleepy sheep could be heard in the distance.
'Aren't you bored?'
I wouldn't be bored.
　Leonardo was a little troubled.
　Being a geek, he had little experience talking to women. If he was in the middle of doing something as a game - that is, if he was in the middle of a battle, skill-raising training, production activity or quest, there would be topics of conversation, but this kind of situation was unprofessional.
　But on the other hand, he didn't feel uncomfortable.
　It was a stressful situation to be alone with a woman, but Leonardo himself didn't feel calm or uncomfortable.
'What's Coppelia doing out here?'
"Hunting.
Hunting?
　Leonard asks back.
　The word 'hunting' itself is not uncommon; it's a rather common term used in MMOs. Its meaning is broad and refers to defeating monsters in battle. In a narrower sense, it was a term that referred to the act of simply defeating monsters in search of loot, rather than defeating the monsters needed for quests and the like.
''Yes. ''I intend to move to the southern plains of this village and search for my prey.
Night?
Given the presence of nocturnal monsters, Coppellia decided that would be more expedient.
How do you sleep?
Coppellia doesn't need a lot of sleep.
　Leonardo was somewhat surprised, but then he reconsidered whether that was possible. In the Elder Tail, this kind of player can be seen as it is. It's the kind of style that would rather defeat even a small fry monster and get some gold and goods than waste time.
　Coppelia didn't look like that much of a battle fanatic, but Leonardo had learned from experience that a player is not necessarily a player whose appearance or profession matches his personality.
　So, "Shall I go out with you? The words "I don't know what to do" also came naturally.
　The average level of the monsters I encountered several times before moving from the ruins of Tekeli to this village was around twenty. Even if it was a recovery job and lacked offensive abilities, it wouldn't be a ninety level Coppellia enemy.
　However, if efficiency was important, a pair of attackers, himself and Coppelia, should be much better. Leonardo thought about that.

''There's no need for that. Coppelia's plans have been changed.''
Is that...?
Yes, sir.
　Coppelia replied nonchalantly. I couldn't detect any particular emotion in the sound of her words or in her expression.
　If it wasn't necessary, then it wouldn't be necessary. Leonardo easily abandons his will to pursue it. It should be up to the player to earn and waste time. Coppelia will go along if she wants to, but she's not going to push kindness.
　Leonardo stands up.
　Coppelia's gaze followed him as it was, but when he said, "Never mind," the indigo-haired girl nodded, as if in agreement.
　Leonardo checked the feel of the rock with his toes. It feels solid, heavy and hard. I'm sure it's safe to jump around a bit with this, so I slowly hold my sword.

　The skill that comes from the icon in my mind is the Deadly Dance. I thrust out my left hand sharply. From this stance (form), with a sharp sound as if filled with cold air, the sword in your right hand flashes out. This technique has a reuse restriction of one second. After one second, you are supposed to select the icon again. The right hand swings again. This attack was sharper than the previous one.
　The Deadly Dance is a special technique. If used in succession, its power will gradually increase. The final maximum increase is on the eighth attack, which deals roughly three times as much damage as the first attack.
　The first attack does only about the same amount of damage as a normal attack, but its form of thrusting out your left hand and sinking into your waist makes it quite inefficient in terms of damage. If you plan on ending it in one attack, you'll be able to deal more effective damage by using other techniques. It's only an attack speciality that is designed to attack in succession.
　Leonardo repeated several times to check his body's movements. The sharp movements are not uncomfortable, as he has become completely familiar with them in the past few months. However, there was a sense that this was a breakthrough.
　My elbows and knees throbbed with pain from the unfamiliarity of the controls.
　The body itself has become an adventurer, and its muscle strength and endurance have increased significantly. Rather than an increase, it was more like a completely different person. The body of an adventurer is the very same as that of the hero Leonardo admired.
　However, if you put a load on the muscles at an angle that you don't normally use, they seem to be able to retain a certain amount of heat.
Healing Light.
　As Leonardo was stroking his elbow, Coppelia cast an immediate recovery spell on him. The strong body of an adventurer would probably heal this level of defect in a matter of minutes, but it was still a pleasant sensation to see the fever recede under the healing spell.
'You wish to be healed, Death?
No, that's good enough for me.
　At Coppelia's words, Leonardo thanked her while stretching the muscles of his body. While opening his legs again and sinking his hips as per his stance, Leonardo asked Coppelia.
'What do you think of the new patch?'
I'm told that Coppellia is being deployed on a Japanese server.
Well. And how about the Japanese server?
Plotted at a high priority as the Master's preference.
　It was Leonardo, who felt that the conversation was inexplicably incompatible.
　Elias and Coppelia, the party is full of participants with strange personalities. Well, to be exact, Elias is not a human being, so that oddity is understandable. Besides, the biggest source of confusion is sometimes Kanami. It's a bit unusual for a loonie to be such a big troublemaker. This is the personnel Kanami gathered, Leonardo thought, so it can't be helped if they are different.
　The fact that the selection includes you is a bit of a lapse in thinking.
'The master of it,'
Yes. Kanami, sir.
　According to what I heard during the day, Coppelia had been found by Kanami during a battle in the meadow and joined his friends. Maybe she was saved in that case. As I've learned over the past few days, Coppelia has a different attitude towards Kanami than she has towards the rest of her companions. She is reverent, as if she were a real maid.
　Leonardo is tolerant of other people's play policies, especially their tone and fashion. To begin with, Leonardo is a fan of cartoon hero costumes, such as the green hood mask and suit. Everyone has the right to be a hero in the game. Whatever you want.
　So I can't argue with Coppellia's attitude.

What's Kanami like?
"--
　Up until now, Coppelia, who had answered Leonardo's questions immediately, showed a thoughtful look for the first time. Leonardo stretched out his body and slowly swung his sword, leisurely waiting for Coppelia's words.
　I don't know how I can stay so calm, even to myself.
　I don't think I've seen a cute little girl her age since high school, and I don't recall ever talking to her intimately from such a distance, not even on the recommendation system. And yet, now I'm just as nervous as I was when I replaced the graphics board on my PC. I don't want to damage the terminals, so I have to do it slowly and carefully, without hurrying. That's how relaxed I am. Or, the mood, similar to compassion, was even stranger.
'The Master is like a dawn,'
What?

　Coppelia pointed to the eastern sky.
'Right now, the sun is rushing across that sky. It's only just setting now, but tomorrow morning, at 0443, the eastern sky will begin to turn white.
　Coppelia's gaze was an infinitely deep blue, reflecting the night sky where the moon had just risen.
'At night, the firmament is dark. At dawn, the eastern sky begins to gradually turn a dark purple. After the purple, the dark blue. Then a cluster of blues. There is still no light in the big sky, which is growing bluer and bluer. But the azure alone is enough for no one to doubt that the morning has arrived. -- the master is such a person.
　Leonardo didn't quite understand the meaning of Coppélia's words, but he did understand that Coppélia seemed to recognize the value of Kanami.
　Leonardo only remembered that, and began to trace the movements of the Deadly Dance again.



◆13



　In the depths of that same night, there was a group of people wandering around, breathlessly wandering.
　It was the scouting unit of the guild, the Raku-Ran Wolf Cavalry.
　There were three members. All of them are adventurers with 90-level training.
What do you think?
South.
　The thieving swordsman, who had been crawling on the ground to examine it, replied in a few words and closed the shutter of his portable cantera. The item was a work of art that had recently been produced by a production unit that combined a mirror for light amplification and a shutter as a cover around a magic item - the Rainbow Pearl of Hunan - that emitted a permanent light.
　After reconfirming the footprints, the group mounted the Great Wolf, which was waiting nearby. This wolf-like creature, which could reach three meters in length, was a riding creature found on Chinese servers.
　The three of them rode on a leather saddle and rode south through the grasslands at night.
　Moving at night is difficult on horseback.
　Although tonight was a moonlit night, the ground was still easily hidden in the shadows, and one wrong move could easily break a horse's ankle. In such an environment, the Riding Big Wolf had an overwhelming advantage over horses.
　But this was not a nighttime chase, so they hadn't chosen to ride the big wolf for the ride.
　In the first place, every member of the Guild of Wulf Wolf Riders rides the Big Wolf for Riding. The giant riding wolf is a trademark of the Wargamers' guild.
　They were originally based in Da Adong, the main city of the Chinese server, as a guild. However, after the Catastrophe, the city's security has only gotten worse. Three guilds that call themselves the Hua Wang have been fighting each other, and each of them have taken over important facilities in the city to keep each other in check.
　Juhang, the leader of the Wulf Wolves of Paradise, decided to flee the capital as soon as possible. Fortunately, the four hundred and eighty members of the group, mainly the large mounted wolves, were not afraid to travel long distances, and all four hundred and eighty of them packed their belongings in their bags and left the guildhall.
　After that, they moved westward and westward. It took them a month to get settled in the grassland city of Simaaikuy, where they opened a guild hall and stabilized it. It took a month to establish and stabilize the guild hall there, but the wolf cavalry found a safe haven. For a Chinese server, the guild was relatively lucky.
　Currently, the work of the Lelewolf Riders is as a patrolman.
　In the Qing dynasty, this job was known as Biaojui. Accompanying the Daichijins' convoy of transporters as their bodyguards, they would protect their cargo and property from monsters and thieves. On the other hand, if the mission failed, they would pay money to compensate the consignor for the failure of the mission.
　Since the days when this world was the Elder Tail game, the Raku-Ronin Wolf Cavalry have often been asked to perform quests, and this is what they have done in the form of patrolmen.
　The city of Simaanaiqui, locally known as the capital of horse milk, was not a small city. In terms of population, it was the center of local trade, with a population of about 15,000.
　It is quite a wealthy city, with shops selling dry goods and curios from the East and West lined up in the main street of the city, which may have originally prospered as a base for relaying merchant brigades.

　But of course, because it is not a player town, there are few adventurers. The presence of a temple was the main reason why the Wargamers chose the city as their base of operations, but there was no bank. The members of the Wargamers have most of their wealth in the guild hall's vaults, where they are protected.
　The wolfpackers are more family-oriented and closely knit than other guilds, and this is what makes them more trustworthy in the eyes of the Earthmen.
　In the Raku-Ronin Wolf Riders, a party is usually sent out in response to a request for an escort. In other words, it is a team of six, with a warrior position that should serve as a shield for the vanguard, a recovering position to heal the warrior and manage the entire party, and an attacking position with a good balance of physics and magic.
　The routes the caravans take vary with each request, and the members selected are adjusted according to the level of difficulty, but as long as the caravan travels on the trade routes, there is hardly any threat in this region that the six members of the Raku-Ronin Wolf Troopers cannot defeat.

　While doing this, the guild leader Zhu Xiang was known to send out many scouts in all directions.
　The adventurers could be excellent scouts if they were willing to do so. Weapons attackers, such as assassins and swordsmen, are skilled in the art of stealth, and magicians often have lights in the dark and special eyesight, and can use summoned creatures for long-distance reconnaissance.
　The fact that all members of the team are riders of the large riding wolf, a riding creature that is resistant to wasteland and mountainous terrain, was a big plus.
　These scouts were designed to prevent the guild members from becoming unaccustomed to the skills of the guild members while they weren't working for them.
　After a month of settling in the new city, the Wargamers had already been recognized by the Earthlings as an important part of the city.

　After riding for a while, the three horsemen smelled water in the dark of night.
　It was probably a tributary of the Raoul North.
　A short time after they reached that tributary, the three of them saw traces of it on the river's edge. The trampled grass at the river's edge was black and wet.
　It's not water, but animal blood.
'That's a lot,'
　While stroking the neck of the mounted wolf, who was growling at the smell of blood, the leader, a stolen swordsman, muttered. The bloodstains are already drying up. Whoever had left this place must have left long ago. However, the group remained cautious and did not use the large lights, but continued to use the shuttered cantera.
　The group was a member of a specially formed scouting unit.
　The scouting unit was a battalion whose purpose was to gather information in the southwest direction, and if all the squads were combined, there were over sixty members in it. The main unit should be slowly moving to the true west and integrating information.
　The leader further examines the surroundings while the boy is giving a telepathic message to the main team. The leader further examines his surroundings: overturned stones, trampled mud. Apparently, the party that was chasing after it seems to have joined up with more of their friends here - the Ash-Spotted Demon (Noor).
　The ones who were slaughtered here were probably sheep or deer...or some such creature. After having a bloody meal here, the group set out to move on. The number of Ash-Spotted Demons that crossed the tributaries was more than twenty, but not more than thirty.
　The leader, who has a sub-profession called the Tracker, will tell the priest.
　The content of the report to the main body will be shared with the three-man platoon, as well as the surveillance system scattered in a twenty kilometer radius from the main body.
　The people they were after were the Tribe of the Ash-Spotted Demon.
　The catastrophe seems to have had a great impact on the monster's habitat. The Tribe of Wandering Wolf Riders had seen many tribes of traveling monsters on the east coast of the continent during their journey from the capital to this region.
　Could this group of Ash-Spotted Demons be one of them? About two weeks ago, after the destruction of several caravans, the Raku-Ronin Wolf Riders had sensed their movement and planned and executed a large-scale reconnaissance.
　If there were hundreds of Ash-Spotted Demons, this reconnaissance team alone could eradicate them. Although it was a reconnaissance unit, its members had only been selected for their tracking skills, and their combat abilities were no different from those of an escort or combat unit.
　The Lelewolf Cavalry was a hardcore guild on a Chinese server with many light users, and the majority of its members were at the ninety level.
　If the group of Ash-Spotted Demons were to require a large scale battle, they were considering dispatching a dedicated strike force. In that case, Guild Leader Zhu Xiwan, who was currently standing by at the Shi Maa Nai-Qi, would also be required to go into battle.
Haha. Haha. ''Yes, sir.
　The attitude of the young man who was suddenly tense in the treatment priest's attitude was tense.
''What's wrong?''
I can't seem to get a hold of the fourth team that was ahead of us to the southwest.
So this is it.
　The stolen swordsman glared at the darkness. Did they get into some kind of trouble? 'According to the last communication, the fourth group should be a few kilometers west of them.

''The main unit is requesting confirmation.
　We don't need to worry about it. Since they were the closest, they would have to investigate. Under the direction of their leader, the Thief Swordsman, the three of them mounted.
　The big mounted wolf didn't even wait for a signal before riding off into the night.
　Riders in the Rambling Wolf Riders are like family, in a realm where they no longer need instructions from their masters. They sensed their master's nervousness and rode through the dark night without a single groan.
　The wind that cut their ears was painful.
　It was still September, and the season could be called summer.
　However, the wind blowing down from the high mountains is sharp and cool, especially when you are running in it late at night. It was even more so when they were riding through it in the middle of the night.
　The Rakuwolf Riders, who were used to this kind of mission, put up the collar of their furry jackets and buried their faces in the nape of the rider's neck. The warmth of the beast moving in their arms was so warm that they didn't mind the slightest bit of cold, as long as they were buried in their pelts.
　Eventually, as the moon began to descend from the midpoint, a huge pillar of blackness appeared on the horizon.
　It looked puny due to the distance, but when you think about it calmly, it was incredibly tall. I don't know exactly how tall it was due to the lack of an object, but it looked like it was well over 30 meters high.
　In this world without modern architecture, and towering in the heart of the wilderness, it was so unrealistically huge that it was visible even from a great distance.
　As it got closer, it finally began to show its majesty.
　The structure, which looked like three pillars put together, perhaps made of steel, did not appear to have an interior. This is why I described it as a building - that is, a pillar rather than a tower. Its prickly exterior, like an ancient armor, even seemed to threaten its surroundings.
　Columns Ruins, Tonesgrave.
　The leader of the reconnaissance team muttered quietly in his mouth.
　An accurate map of this region didn't exist.
　To the traders of the Earthmen, routes were everything, and they didn't need a detailed map of the entire region to do their business. And the more experienced a trader is, the more careful he is about keeping his knowledge and experience out of his head.
　Adventurers need maps, and indeed they make them, but Aorsoy is an undiscovered region, untouched by adventurers. There isn't enough information available to make a map yet, or at least there isn't one that can be called a complete map at this time.
　However, gathering information that could lead to a map was one of the usual duties of this reconnaissance team. The leader of the reconnaissance team, a thief swordsman, has done many rounds of this area due to his sub profession, and is well versed in the local rumors. So he immediately understood that the scene he saw was the "Columnar Ruins of Thornsgrave" as the old man had told him.
''Halt!''
　His words brought the two companions to an immediate halt.
　In the depression to the right of their direction of travel, they saw a shadow that moved slightly.
　When he looked closely, he saw that they were ''Ash Spotted Dog Demons''. Far more than a hundred, maybe even more than a thousand, Ash-Spotted Inuoni were advancing through the hollow without making a single sound.

　The three of them had been hiding behind the wolves for a while, but there was no sign of them. When the Ash-Spotted Dog Demon finds an adventurer, it has a propensity to attack as if it were out of its mind. However, as long as you're riding on a large mounted wolf, the danger is not so great.
　The speed at which they travel is different. You could escape even if you were surrounded by them. However, in that case, the disadvantage exists that it would be difficult to continue the reconnaissance. If they didn't notice, that would be much appreciated.
'Why are they so swarmed?
　He shook his head from side to side as the young sorcerer spoke to him in a whisper.
　There is no way to understand such a thing.
　But for now, there seems to be no doubt that the fourth group that came in contact with these guys has encountered some kind of trouble. After hesitating for a while, the leader sent a signal to the priest for treatment. It will be a small piece of paper, but we should put in a report first.
''Report what you see, then retreat for about a hundred meters.
　The leader jumped down from his mount as he watched his big mounted wolf colleague, sinking low, recede. He lightly tapped his loyal partner's wet nose and began to creep forward.
　I want to get a little closer, just a little bit closer, to see what the 〈Age Spotted Dog Demon〉 is doing and where they are going. The fact that such a large group of people were advancing without making a single wrinkle in the first place was somewhat disconcerting.
　He activated his tracker skill to block out any sign of them, and then proceeded cautiously to stay out of sight on the ridge of the hill.
　He took not a moment to approach the Ash-Spotted Demon.
　The drooling, hyena-like sub-humans were just staring at the pillars in the distance, their eyes longing for something to happen. They looked like opium addicts, giving their leader a lurid feeling that sent a chill down his spine.
　His instincts screamed at him to escape.
　But he screwed it up and continued his approach. Another ten meters and he could step into the distance where he could check his status.

　Even though he was sweating fat, the statuses he confirmed as he approached were still monsters such as the Ash-Spotted Dog Demon and the Ash-Spotted Dog Demon Dark Magician. Subhuman monsters are often divided into several different professions within their own species. The Goblins and Orcs are also divided into tribes, including warrior and priestly ranks.
　The gray spotted dog demon in front of us is made up of necromancers, assault soldiers, and wolfsbane captains, and its level is somewhere between 60 and 70.
　The leader decided that he had obtained the information he wanted.
　Further reconnaissance would not only be useless, it would also be dangerous. If we were to engage in a battle with an enemy group of this size, we would need to raise a guild - at least a Legion raid class force. A scouting team of three men would not be able to do much of anything.
　He thought about that, and slowly turned around to announce the withdrawal.
　But what he saw there was the moon, sharp as the Grim Reaper's sickle, and a single giant black dragon swooping down against the moon.
　In the raw fountain, his vision was instantly cut off as his vision turned to monochrome.