Chapter 24. Whale Fight (1)

The cold wind breezed through the gaps between my armor.

I was able to block most of the wind, thanks to this set of armor. However, the biting wind occasionally piercing through my skin made my entire body shiver.

The mountain called ‘the Snow Wall of Langnas’ was so huge that the word ‘gigantic’ was insufficient to describe its size.

It was as if its summit was directly touching the sky.

And at the bottom of the mountain with its dizzying height, a large city that looked as if it was embraced by the mountain lighted the area as it faintly announced its existence.

<Langeru>

Passing through the words that appeared before my eyes, the city walls were made of stacked gray bricks. The pavements and buildings were also built with gray bricks which gave the city a cold and dull impression.

However, the scattering snow and piles of it here and there mixed with the color of gray, created a bright and mysterious atmosphere.

‘A shrimp suffers in a fight between whales.’, I remembered the old saying.

The ‘shrimps’ named Mose and Caloir followed after the five ‘whales’ with stiffed movement.

There was zero hesitation to be found in the footsteps of the whales.

The people of Langeru dressed in thick fur coats, could they ever even imagine who those five people walking in front of me were?

The people of Langeru had completely adapted to the cold here, and they laughed and chatted casually and were spending a normal day to the point of making me think of something such as that.

After squeezing through the crowd of people, the place that whales stopped in front of was an unusually tall and large building.

There was snow scattered on the signboard, but the name written on the board was immediately recognizable.

<A Dragon Lying on Snow>

One could tell that it was a very luxurious hotel at the first glance.

Walking through the door with the five of them in front, the inside of the hotel was completely silent contrary to the look of the building from the outside.

It was only after passing through the huge hall floored with a red carpet that we came across a presence from inside.

“I welcome you all in the names of Bellica and Velluce, my brethren.”

A man dressed in a coat decorated with fancy gold like the ones Hire and Seer were wearing walked out from the inside of the hall towards us.

And on top of his head it said,

<Lv. 177 Sire>

He too had a tremendous amount of level. He must have been the one from The Order of the 14 Holy Knights that was sent here beforehand which Hire was talking about back on the ship.

“I greet you all in the names of Bellica and Velluce, my brethren.”

Hire nodded to Sire, and Seer bowed his head to him after Sire.

And as soon as Sire saw Arora, Gohn, and Yvonne, he bowed his head to the extent that his long gray hair tied up in a ponytail fell in front of the top of his head.

“I welcome you, the saviors that answered to the requests from the Order of the 14 Holy Knights.”

“We aren’t the sort of people to be addressed with such a fancy word.”

At his words, Gohn waved his hand away and threw out a cold laugh.

We were all able to sit around the huge round table inside the hall after Caloir and I received his greetings.

“Brethren, did you rent this entire building?”

In response to the question of Seer with a respectful attitude,

“Yes, that is correct. Brethren. I figured we would need a bigger room in order to conduct this mission out as swiftly as possible.”

Sire answered with his head kept low. Then as soon as Arora sat down on his seat,

“Now then, I would like to know the current state of this situation.”

He asked as he wanted to get straight to the main point. Gohn and Yvonne also looked at Sire sharply.

Sire, who heard those words, changed his docile expression earlier and opened his mouth with a cold expression.

And of course, the two of us were stuck in between them, not being able to say a single word.

All we could do was follow them with our eyes as the whales played table tennis with their words just like back in the ship.

“The frequency of red lightning has been reduced for now. Which means, Garnas has stopped its flight and has landed somewhere on that mountain.”

“So it seems like it has been flapping its wings for quite a while now. So the reason why it hasn’t been landing must have been because…”

Yvonne opened her mouth to talk at Sire’s words. Then Hire, who was sitting beside quietly nodded his head as his blonde hair sloshed.

“It is probably thinking of building a nest. The long flight must have been the result of it wanting to make a discrete decision on the location of its nest.”

Gohn started to say as he had his arms crossed and with a calm attitude.

“Or it’s ‘being chased by something’. If not, it might have escaped here after getting wounded. I’d say there are infinite possibilities.”

I squeezed through them courageously to say my thoughts very carefully as I was listening to them.

That was because I was reminded of the boy I ran into while walking on the street of this city who had red cheeks while I was listening to them talk.

“One thing for sure is that this city is in a very dangerous situation, correct?”

All of the eyes in the room were suddenly on me.

It actually felt like my heart skipped a beat for a very brief second. Caloir’s shoulders seemed to have gotten stiff since he was right beside me.

“Yes, that is correct. That is honestly the most important thing.”

“You are right, Sworder of Asparagan.”

Soon after I said that, Hire and Gohn both agreed to what I said, which led the others to nod in agreement.

“Whatever the reason it reached here could be, Garnas will now try to get rid of any factors that could hold a threat against it. But evacuating everyone from this city now would be impossible.”

Sire said very seriously with both his hands clasped on top of the table.

And by the time the heavy atmosphere calmed down a bit, Arora put his thick arms behind his chair.

“Then we will have to solve this problem over the mountains.”

Soon he raised the corner of his lips covered in his beard.

“I will take the position of the vanguard. I will try to block his attacks as much as possible.”

“ I guess individual activities aren’t very optimal here. Then I will leave the front to you, then I’ll take the Sworders and strike it at its back.”

Gohn continued the conversation.

And in a matter of seconds, they started to designate their roles.

Yvonne too started to talk as she had her legs crossed.

“ Then I’d have to tie it up real tight, huh? I can at least slow down its movement.”

Then soon, the people of the Order of the 14 Holy Knights started to join in the discussion.

“As all of you already know, it is most important that we subdue the dragon as swiftly as possible. I will be at Gohn’s side to pour my fierce attack on the being.”

“I will support you all as much as I possibly can. I swear upon the name of Bellica!”

And before long, Sire tapped the table with his hands.

“Alright. Then I will put out a barrier which will keep us undetected by Garnas as we approach the dragon.”

And this was how the plan to face the being which is called a disaster was built in just a matter of seconds.

Not to mention that they are the native people who live in this world, also known as NPCs.

The plan was finished so quickly even though the lives of the people who live in this city depend on their actions.

However, I did not get any impressions that this was the result of anything like their conceit.

The only thing I know was that these people were truly the people who deserved to be called the strongest on this land.

Their calm demeanor and the sensation I received from it, much like a sharp edge of a blade, felt like it was transmitted all the way deep into my bones.

People started to get up from their seats, as the strategic planning time of the whales, which may seem a little trivial at first glance, ended.

I interpreted this entire situation from the gaming perspective.

People assigning roles to face a very strong opponent wasn’t a rare sight to be seen.

However, although a normal game would receive systematic supports, there were many reviews from numerous people that the raid in this game felt very unfamiliar, as one would have to act entirely upon their own decisions to play in the Virtual Reality games.

The roles assigned in this party made of the strongest people in this world were organized as the most optimal raid party that normal players usually think of.

Arora, who was said to take the position of the vanguard, was the tank of our party. Gohn was the main damage dealer of our party. It’s a bit difficult to put us in the same category but Hire, Caloir, and I can be seen as sub-dealers of our party.

Also, I couldn’t quite understand what Yvonne was talking about, but if I were to interpret it from the gaming perspective, then she would be the utility crowd control holder.

And Seer and Sire would be the ones to support and care for the entire party, which would be called the supporter role.

Honestly, this was the most ideal party composition of an RPG which I used to play over a monitor.

We faced a blizzard as we climbed up the snow mountain.

The scattering snow from the wind pecked at my face making it sting.

My vision gradually turned white as if a haze had piled up, but I did not stop walking.

Occasionally, as I was climbing up, red lightning flashed over the top of the mountain, and it felt as if the thunder was echoing inside me.

According to what others said earlier, that was just Garnas flapping its wings just once.

Is there any creature in the real world that could cause a change in weather or supernatural phenomena?

I am currently put in a situation on the verge of encountering an entity that causes supernatural phenomena in this virtual reality game like it’s nothing.

Just imagining it was enough to almost make me piss my pants.

And before long, Arora who was standing at the front stopped his steps.

We took the mountain road located next to the highest mountain in Langnas, and we were standing at the diverging point to go over the hillside.

My lips were turning blue and I couldn’t feel the outside part of my nose before I could notice.

But nevertheless, my inside was still hot from the flame fueled by my nervousness. I could still see my breath as if it was to prove that.

Sire raised his wand in his hand to the sky and spun it around.

And he opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was so loud that I could feel the ground tremble a bit even though I had my feet completely covered in platings.

“The sound of a fountain, ocean, and the deep sea, I sentence you here and now with the powers I was bestowed with. I deprive you of the power of sounds that you possess in the name of I, Sire.”

As soon as Sire stopped talking,

An intangible shockwave burst around him.

The snow that had been there was swept away in a circle that grew bigger and bigger around Sire, and it hit us.

I almost lost my balance in that instance, but somehow managed to stand on my feet.

I couldn’t feel the snow hitting my face through the helmet I was wearing after the shock wave passed. I couldn’t even feel any wind whatsoever.

Overwhelming silence.

It was silent. The snow and the wind too. But I could still see the blizzard scattering up above us.

However, the snow didn’t fall after a certain point up in the sky as if there was something blocking it.

After Seer confirmed the silence, he raised a bell with a white light surrounding it and carefully waved it.

The sound of the bell flowing through this complete silence was the pure crystallization of elegance itself.

“To Bellica of the immortal flames, the one who embraces us with merciful judgment. To Velluce, the one who embraces us with impartiality and orders. The two absolute beings who stand on the pond which we can never imagine reaching.”

Soon, Sire’s ringing voice began to sing. As soon as I felt the spread of the echo pass by me, words began to appear before my eyes.

< You have listened to the Vocal repertoire – Containus, section 34. Buffs will be activated. >

< You will now heal +583 HP per second. >

< Remaining duration: 7,200 seconds. >

< All of your attack stats will be increased by 34%. >

< Remaining duration: 7,200 seconds. >

I could feel the echo of the song pass through my ears and gather within my heart, and then I could feel the warmth around my lips and on my nose, which had been frozen just seconds ago.

Immediately, it felt as if something indescribable was about to pour out of my body, and I was inspired by a feeling that I could unleash tremendous power right away.

This must be the most ideal ‘utopia’ of buffs which only the top supporters could give to their party members.

Soon after, the sound of Seer spread out in this silent space, and a thunderous sound came from the hillside.

It was too deep to be considered a howling from an animal and too full of rage to be considered a sound from nature. And soon enough, with another roar,

That thing stuck out its head.

Every one of its gray-colored scales gave me an impression that it’d be as hard as metal, and it made me question if a catapult that could bring an entire rampart down could even leave a scratch on those scales.

Its snout was engulfed in an eerie light, like an intense volcanic peak just about to vomit its lava from the ground.

Above it, with red eyes flashing over its nose, shaped like a black brick spire, it was the dragon that I had encountered in numerous media until now. Actually, no. It was more than that.

<Lv. 381 Garnas>