Episode 157
As soon as Zeke spotted the wolf banner, he ducked behind a rock for cover.
These were men clad in armor crafted from thick monster hides, with claymores strapped to their backs. At first glance, they resembled mercenaries, but there was a fiercer, more menacing aura about them.
“Why are the knights of Himonas here?”
Typically, the Ice Mountains were patrolled by northern rangers, and it was rare for Himonas knights to venture this far unless something significant was afoot. Himonas itself was plagued by frequent monster and beast appearances, leaving them with little manpower to spare for the Ice Mountains.
The presence of Himonas’s most crucial force, the knights, in the Ice Mountains signaled that something was indeed happening here.
Concealed in his hiding spot, Zeke activated his heightened sense of hearing to eavesdrop on the knights’ conversation.
“Damn those central continent bastards. What a mess they’ve made.”
“Knights skulking around like rats. If I catch them, I’ll split their skulls open.”
Northern knights were known for their roughness, but the elite knights of Himonas, under the Northern Duke, were infamous for being particularly savage and fierce.
In his past life, the Empire’s army, which had engulfed the entire continent in flames, never managed to conquer Himonas. The knights of Himonas, rather than surrender, chose to burn their castles and poison their wells, retreating to deeper fortresses in the Ice Mountains.
Even the notorious Draker, known for his ruthlessness, preferred to avoid entanglements with Himonas.
“Those imperial rats and damn Draker bats… If I catch them, I’ll skin them alive.”
Zeke was taken aback by the knight’s words. In Himonas, “bats” referred to none other than Draker’s Black Shadow unit.
“The Black Shadow is here too?”
Zeke recalled a conversation from years ago when Arthur Draker, the head of the family, mentioned an Elder Dragon relic hidden in the Ice Mountains. That was five years ago, when Zeke had just entered the academy. He thought the search had been abandoned due to lack of results, but it seemed they were still on the hunt.
Technically, the Ice Mountains and the northern continent were under the Northern Duke’s jurisdiction, with northern rangers stationed at fortresses to prevent monsters and beasts from descending the mountains. These rangers, though not knights, possessed unique skills passed down through generations, often more effective in the mountains than aura blades.
But this was an exceptional situation. The presence of the hunter unit, which was more like a pack of hounds than knights, and Draker’s Black Shadow had encroached on the rangers’ territory, prompting the deployment of Himonas knights.
“Never thought I’d see those madmen here.”
Despite his harsh words, Zeke felt a sense of nostalgia and affection. In his past life, he had been part of the Northern Alliance, forming bonds with these very knights. But now, the situation was different. Himonas harbored ill feelings toward central continentals and despised the Draker family, making it unlikely for them to rekindle their past camaraderie.
Just then, a shout rang out.
“Rats spotted!”
With that, the Himonas knights drew their swords.
“Let’s go, boys!”
True to their northern roots, the knights charged toward the source of the signal with rough words and fierce determination.
A battle erupted deeper in the forest.
Clang! Clang!
Using his keen sight, Zeke observed the clash between the Himonas knights and the Empire’s hunters.
Thud!
The Himonas knights, swinging their claymores without shields, moved like gray wolves across the snowy landscape. Like wolves that never let their prey escape, they relentlessly pursued the imperial hunters.
“Imperial rats! How dare you defile this place with your filthy presence!”
A Himonas knight’s claymore cleaved a hunter’s head in two. The persistent hunters were nothing more than prey to the Himonas knights.
A sharp whistle pierced the air as the hunters attempted a hasty retreat. But the Himonas knights had no intention of letting them go. They chased the fleeing hunters, driving their claymores into their backs.
The white snow was stained red with the blood of the imperial hunters.
The Himonas knights rifled through the hunters’ belongings, taking what they needed, and severed the heads of the corpses to record their achievements. The heads were counted and used to craft cups or bowls, while the hair was collected for making armor or clothing. The headless bodies were tied with ropes and hung from nearby trees, with traps set around them to catch monsters or wild animals drawn to the corpses.
In the resource-scarce north, not even an enemy’s corpse was wasted.
“Back then, it seemed normal, but seeing it again after so long, it’s hard to get used to.”
After setting all the traps, the Himonas knights moved on to another patrol area, grumbling and cursing as they went.
Once the storm-like presence of the Himonas knights had passed, Zeke finally emerged from hiding.
“Himonas knights, imperial hunters, and Draker’s Black Shadow… The continent’s most notorious groups have gathered in the Ice Mountains.”
Zeke opened his map, carefully examining the surrounding terrain. As he studied it, a realization dawned on him.
“The cave where I found the Elder Dragon relic isn’t far from here.”
In his past life, he had met a brutal end at the hands of the hunters while searching for that relic. Despite the hardships he endured to obtain it, he never got to use it before dying and experiencing the bizarre phenomenon of returning to the past.
“Did I use it, though, since it led to my return?”
Zeke chuckled at the thought, deciding to secure the Elder Dragon relic first. With so many changes since his return, there was no guarantee that the Black Shadow or hunters wouldn’t stumble upon the relic by chance.
“There’s a good chance the relic isn’t there anymore since I used its power, but… I should check just to be sure.”
Thoroughness was key to avoiding future troubles. Zeke retraced his past memories, heading toward the location of the Elder Dragon relic.
“Wow.”
Zeke stood before an endless icy cliff.
“It’s just as dizzying as I remember.”
In his past life, Zeke had discovered the location of the Elder Dragon relic through this very cliff. It had been a series of fortunate coincidences that led him to the cave where the relic was hidden.
After the continental war, Zeke, with nowhere to go, had taken on work for the Syndicate, completing various missions. During this time, he formed a connection with Kay, a Syndicate executive.
Thanks to Zeke, Kay secured a crucial transport route, solidifying his power within the Syndicate. In return, Zeke gained valuable information, including details about a “relic” sought by the Empire’s emperor.
The relic, which the emperor had searched for over a decade, was undoubtedly of immense value. Armed with information from Kay, Zeke ventured into the Ice Mountains.
At the time, the Empire had already located the entrance to the ruins. However, even with all their mages, they couldn’t figure out how to access the relic, leaving it beyond their grasp.
In response, the Empire deployed hunters to scour the entire Ice Dragon Valley for another entrance.
With this knowledge, Zeke trusted his instincts and began exploring the valley, evading the hunters. He adhered to a southern continent adage: hide things where no one wants to go. Thus, he chose the most daunting location to search—the icy cliff.
Northern rangers claimed the cliff was formed from a month-long battle between an ice dragon and a fire dragon millennia ago. Whether true or not, the bottomless chasm instilled a primal fear in humans, deterring even the rugged northern rangers from approaching.
In his past life, Zeke was considered a madman even among the hardy northerners. He clung to the cliff, searching for any trace of the relic.
For over a month, he hung from the cliff, alternating between searching and warming himself in a hidden shelter. One day, while hanging from the cliff as usual, an avalanche nearly claimed his life.
Barely surviving, Zeke noticed a crack in the cliff caused by the avalanche’s impact. Sensing an opportunity, he used a chisel and hammer to widen the crack, revealing a small opening. To his astonishment, the opening led to the cave where the Elder Dragon relic was hidden.
Originally, a more complex process was required to reach the relic from the ruins’ entrance, but the collapsing cliff had created a shortcut.
Recalling his past life, Zeke surveyed the cliff, shaking his head.
“Hmm, I can’t quite remember where the crack was.”
The avalanche had revealed the entrance purely by chance, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact location.
Even with the map, the terrain wasn’t detailed enough beyond a certain range, rendering the pathfinding function useless.
Zeke decided to change his approach.
“I’ll enter through the entrance the Empire discovered.”
At the time, the empire’s mages couldn’t find a way into the ruins, but Sieg was in a different position.
Having already discovered the artifact in his past life and received the title “Blessing of the Ancient Dragon,” the ruins were likely to recognize Sieg as their rightful overseer.
Sieg retraced his memories and moved toward the entrance of the ruins that the empire had once discovered.
Just as he crossed the snowy plains and reached the entrance, he sensed a presence.
“Could it be the empire’s men already?”
Sieg concealed his presence with stealth and scanned the surroundings with his dragon’s eye.
To his surprise, it wasn’t the imperial forces he found.
Instead, it was a group marked by the emblem of two black wings.
The infamous Draker Black Brigade had set up camp near the entrance.
Sieg was taken aback at the sight of the Black Brigade, bearing the black-winged insignia.
“Why is it the Black Brigade and not the imperial army…?”
In his previous life, it was the empire’s soldiers who had camped at the entrance, with hundreds of their hounds guarding the place.
“Has my return changed the past? Or perhaps… it was the Drakers who first discovered the entrance.”
After Abel Draker became the head of the family, everything Draker-related had been handed over to the empire.
In that process, the entrance to the ruins might have also fallen into imperial hands.
Sieg frowned as he observed the Black Brigade stationed on the snowy mountain where the entrance lay.
“If it were just those hounds, I’d sweep them aside and go in.”
The Draker Black Brigade was different from other Draker knights.
While they were an intelligence unit, most of them lacked connections or patron families within the Draker clan.
As a result, Black Brigade members were recruited and trained separately, often during their probation period.
Only after completing a far more grueling training than the Draker knights could they earn the black-winged insignia.
These were Drakers who couldn’t use their family name and lived in the shadows, maintaining strict secrecy.
Thus, the Black Brigade members had a unique sense of belonging and pride in their unit.
Messing with them could lead to serious trouble.
“Better to search for the entrance by knocking on cliffs than to stir up that hornet’s nest.”
Sieg pondered for a moment before a brilliant idea struck him.
“I’ll use the hounds.”
He planned to lure the Black Brigade away using the hounds, then slip into the ruins unnoticed.
Having already scouted the hound camps while crossing the snowy plains, Sieg was prepared.
He summoned his dragon soldiers to launch simultaneous attacks on several hound camps.
Caught off guard, the hounds began to blow their whistles, swarming like cockroaches as expected.
Sieg manipulated his dragon soldiers to draw the hound forces toward the snowy plains.
Then, he detonated the magic bombs he had planted earlier.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The massive explosions put the Black Brigade on high alert.
When news came from their scouts that the hound forces were moving en masse, the Black Brigade left only a minimal guard and moved to assess the situation.
Sieg observed all this from his hiding spot, using his dragon’s eye.
“Good, I can slip inside without being noticed now.”
With his stealth skill active, Sieg quietly infiltrated the Black Brigade’s camp.
True to their reputation as a well-funded intelligence unit, the camp was equipped with the latest surveillance devices.
Fortunately, Sieg’s dragon’s eye could detect these devices, allowing him to avoid the magical detectors and alarms as he moved deeper inside.
Checking the map, he found an entrance to the ruins beneath the snowy mountain, behind the camp buildings.
Sieg cautiously made his way toward the entrance.
That’s when it happened.
Someone emerged from inside the camp.
Sieg quickly hid himself, using his stealth skill and the full power of his concealment technique to erase his presence completely.
“That’s…!”
The person who stepped out was none other than Arthur Draker, the head of the Draker family.