Episode 160
Vroooom!
The portal opened, and Zeke emerged not at the ruins, but somewhere in the icy mountain range. He stretched, feeling the biting northern wind brush against his cheek.
“Ah, portals really are something else.”
Though limited in many ways and a card he preferred to keep hidden, when he could use it, it was undeniably convenient.
Having secured the Elder Dragon’s relic, all that was left for Zeke was to return to Atlas.
As he prepared to descend the icy mountains with a light heart, he sensed movement from the forest beyond.
‘Could it be the Empire’s hounds?’
He would have preferred the Empire’s hounds. If it were the Draker Black Brigade, he would have had to suppress his presence and take a long detour.
Just then, a flag bearing a wolf emblem came into view beyond the forest.
It was the Himonas Knights.
‘Better than the Black Brigade, but they’re still a bunch of lunatics. Best to pass quietly.’
Zeke was about to slip past unnoticed when a loud voice reached his ears.
“Damn it! Sven! Get a grip, you bastard!”
Zeke flinched at the voice echoing through the snowy mountains.
‘That’s definitely Nikolai’s voice.’
Nikolai and Sven. Both were knights of Himonas with whom Zeke had ties in a past life.
Zeke, who had intended to pass by, stopped in his tracks. After a moment’s hesitation, he pulled out northern-style clothing from his inventory and put it on.
Dressed in the northern attire, Zeke slowly approached where the Himonas knights were gathered.
“Damn it! Sven! You bastard! Open your eyes! Stay with me!”
Nikolai, a member of the Himonas Thistle Knights, was desperately trying to stop the bleeding from his comrade Sven’s wound, talking to him constantly to keep him conscious.
But the wound was too deep, and the bleeding wouldn’t stop.
Other comrades nearby tried to pull Nikolai away.
“Nikolai, let it go. It’s too late.”
Despite their attempts, Nikolai refused to stop.
“Shit! Too late, my ass! Sven’s a tough bastard with blood to spare! He won’t die just from losing a bit of blood!”
Nikolai continued to tend to the wound, but Sven’s bleeding persisted.
Even in the cold weather, the bleeding wouldn’t stop, suggesting he had been hit with a poisoned or enchanted weapon.
At that moment, a new voice called out.
“Is there an injured person here?”
Startled by the sudden unfamiliar voice, the knights drew their claymores.
Zeke, dressed as a northern mercenary, raised his hands in a gesture of peace.
“I’m a mercenary heading to support the Ice Wall. I came to help when I saw someone was injured.”
Despite his offer to help, the knights remained wary.
Zeke carefully pulled something from his pocket.
“It’s a potion. Apply it to the wound, and the bleeding should stop.”
In the north, resources were scarce compared to the central continent, making potions a rare luxury.
The sudden appearance of someone offering such a valuable item only made the knights more suspicious.
‘Himonas folks, always so distrustful.’
Understanding the northern mindset well, Zeke opened the potion and took a sip himself.
Only then did the knights slightly lower their guard.
Nikolai stood up and approached Zeke, snatching the potion from his hand and pouring it over Sven’s wound.
Sssss!
The bleeding stopped, but the wound frothed, and the flesh turned black.
Seeing this, Zeke spoke up.
“Judging by the reaction, it seems he’s been poisoned. I have an antidote. We need to treat him quickly.”
After a moment of deliberation, the knights nodded.
Zeke approached the fallen Sven and retrieved an antidote he had prepared in his backpack.
He pulled out a dagger and asked the knights.
“Do you have any Fire Spirit Brew left?”
Fire Spirit Brew was a potent liquor the northerners drank to fend off the cold.
The knights handed over their flasks.
Zeke took one, sterilized the dagger with the brew, and poured some over Sven’s wound.
Then he pierced the area around the wound with the dagger.
Squelch!
Black blood gushed out from the cut.
Zeke let some of the black blood flow out before pouring the antidote over it.
Sssss!
The sound was like flesh burning, and the pain must have been immense, as Sven, who had been unconscious, awoke with a scream.
“Aaaaargh!”
For a Himonas knight, known for their resilience to pain, to scream like that, the agony must have been unimaginable.
Nikolai shoved a dagger sheath into Sven’s mouth.
“Bite down on this, you bastard! Stop whining!”
Sven bit down on the sheath, enduring the excruciating pain.
Zeke treated the most severe wound on Sven’s thigh first, then used the antidote and potion on the other injuries.
After treating all the wounds, Zeke cleaned them with Fire Spirit Brew and bandaged them.
“The emergency treatment is done. If you take him to a healer immediately, his life should be out of danger.”
At Zeke’s words, Nikolai finally relaxed and fell back.
“Ha! Damn it! Sven, you lucky bastard! You really are one hell of a lucky bastard!”
Though his words were rough, Zeke knew Nikolai was a noble knight with deep camaraderie.
When the Himonas Knights were on the brink of annihilation by the Empire’s forces, he had thrown himself into the fray to protect his comrades until the end.
Nikolai and the recently saved Sven had been the captain and vice-captain of the Thistle Knights when Zeke was part of the Northern Alliance.
‘It’s been a while. Seeing people who died in my past life again… it’s quite something.’
Just then, Nikolai approached and clapped a hand on Zeke’s shoulder.
“Hey! Mercenary friend. What’s your name? We owe you big time! Well, Sven owes you, that bastard!”
Zeke grinned at Nikolai’s words and replied.
“Zeke Mareira.”
“Zeke Mareira! That’s a fine name. I heard you’re heading to support the Ice Wall. Is that right?”
“Yes. I’m applying to join the Rangers.”
“The Northern Rangers. That’s a man’s job.”
Though both the Himonas Knights and the Northern Rangers were rough around the edges, they respected each other.
Nikolai slung an arm around Zeke’s shoulders and said.
“If you’re heading to the Ice Wall, why not spend the night at our camp? I’ll talk to the captain and get you a recommendation for the Rangers.”
Though he wanted to leave, Zeke accepted Nikolai’s offer, knowing refusal might arouse suspicion.
The Thistle Knights, now with Zeke in tow, skillfully crafted a stretcher for Sven and began their ascent of the snowy mountain.
Zeke followed the knights to their camp.
Nikolai, watching Zeke keep pace without showing any signs of fatigue, was impressed.
“You’re quite adept at traversing the snowy mountains. Are you originally from the north?”
“Yes. I was born near Gorka in the north but left home to make a living with the sword. I’ve been wandering as a mercenary ever since. I heard the Rangers were recruiting at the Ice Wall, so I was on my way.”
Zeke smoothly spun his tale.
Nikolai, convinced by Zeke’s flawless northern accent, nodded without suspicion.
“Where did you learn your medical skills? Your emergency treatment was impressive.”
“Though I’m a mercenary, I’ve spent a lot of time in dungeons. After roughing it with adventurers, I picked up the skills naturally.”
Nikolai nodded at this explanation. Knowing Zeke was an adventurer explained why he had potions and antidotes on hand.
Adventurers often carried such items due to the bizarre poisons of the monsters they encountered.
Engaged in conversation, the Thistle Knights, with Zeke, reached the nearest camp with Sven.
Though called a camp, it was more like a fortress.
The rugged terrain of the icy mountains made it a natural stronghold, and the Northern Rangers had fortified it with earth and ice to fend off monsters and beasts.
Creak!
The fortress gates opened, and Zeke entered with the Thistle Knights.
“Hahaha! Zeke Mareira! Drink up! Drink!”
Nikolai filled Zeke’s cup with Fire Spirit Brew. Zeke accepted and downed it in one go.
The knights and rangers whistled and clapped at the sight.
As Zeke continued to drink without a change in expression, Nikolai cheered.
“Zeke Mareira! The savior of Sven and the one who will conquer the world with drink!”
For saving Sven, Zeke was being treated as a hero among them.
Though familiar with northern customs, it had been a while since Zeke had received such a boisterous welcome, making it a bit challenging to take it all in stride.
Still, without showing any discomfort, Zeke accepted the Fire Spirit Brew offered by others and asked Nikolai.
“So, how did you end up with such a severe injury? Did a vicious beast appear in the mountains?”
At Zeke’s question, Nikolai took a deep swig of the brew and gritted his teeth.
“A beast would have been better. Damn Empire rats have been defiling our territory for years.”
As expected, it was the work of the Empire’s hounds.
Though Zeke was immune to all poisons, it was a different story for ordinary people.
On the battlefield, poison often claimed more lives than blades ever could.
Zeke recalled the traces of poison left in Sven’s body.
“If I hadn’t used a bit of healing magic, Sven would have died. It wasn’t just any ordinary poison.”
He suspected it might be one of the synthetic poisons secretly developed in the Empire’s hidden laboratories.
Nikolai slammed his drink down and shouted through gritted teeth.
“Those damned Imperial bastards and those arrogant Drakers! I’ll hang every last one of them, I swear it, by the red hair of Nikolai Eiriksson!”
His outburst roused the others, who began pounding their mugs on the table in agreement.
Zeke watched the northern folk’s raucous display with a shake of his head, amused by their antics.
Nikolai, still riding high on the excitement, plopped down next to Zeke.
“Let’s drink, Zeke Murray! A knight of Himonas never forgets a debt!”
Zeke took a sip of the fiery spirit, then spoke slowly in response.
“The Himonas Knights. They’re under the Northern Grand Duke, right?”
Nikolai nodded.
“Yes, the Northern Grand Duke. It’s a tough position, especially these days.”
Zeke understood the weight behind Nikolai’s words. Around this time, the previous Grand Duke had passed, and the duchess was set to take his place. Power always attracted those with less than noble intentions, and the North was no exception.
He thought of her, the woman who had risen to the rank of Grand Duke amidst the fierce northern lords.
Zeke turned to Nikolai, about to ask, “How is the Grand Duke faring these days…?”
Just then, the door burst open with a loud bang.
The revelers, caught off guard, grabbed their weapons, ready for anything.
A man stormed in, shouting, “We’ve captured some suspicious Central Continent folks!”
Nikolai and the rest of the Thistle Knights and Rangers rushed outside.
Curious, Zeke followed them out.
They gathered around a makeshift prison, a deep pit with a spiked wooden entrance.
Nikolai yelled at the prisoners, “You damned Central Continent scum! What did you crawl all the way here for, huh?”
Suddenly, a fireball flew in, setting the wooden entrance ablaze.
Nikolai stumbled back in surprise.
From the pit, someone climbed up, grabbing the claymore Nikolai had dropped, and shouted something unintelligible.
”■■■■! ■■■!”
Speaking in the Central Continent’s tongue, the northerners couldn’t understand a word.
“What the hell is that bastard saying?”
“Who cares? Let’s just kill him.”
At that moment, Zeke stepped forward, translating the man’s words into the northern dialect.
“He says he wants to know why you attacked them and who you are.”
Nikolai turned to Zeke, astonished.
“Zeke Murray! You surprise me! You speak the Central Continent’s language?”
“Picked it up during my mercenary days, rolling with adventurers.”
Suddenly, the man with the sword shouted urgently.
“Zeke Murray? Could it be you, Sir Zeke? It’s me! Rick! The adventurer you helped in the Giant Mountains!”