Chapter 84 – Dead Ember (5)

The two off-roaders, an eight-seater and a six-seater, advanced without rest.

Continuously, they encountered and fought mutants, reinforced the broken vehicle bodies, and repaired the magic circuit boards.

The reason this was possible was because everyone performed their respective roles excellently in their own positions.

Thanks to that, this grueling journey could proceed smoothly.

It was when a week had passed since they struggled like that.

“Captain, the ember is one kilometer ahead.”

Harley, who was in charge of driving, spoke.

We looked at the crystal ball that served as a navigation device at his words.

Indeed, a blue marker indicating that the Eternal Embers was detected was floating one kilometer ahead.

‘I can definitely feel it. The power of the Eternal Embers emitting immense mana ahead…’

However, I was already feeling it through my mana sense, without even needing to look at the crystal ball.

This was because the wavelengths of mana flowing with the snow and wind were distorted by it and had changed minutely.

“Everyone, pull yourselves together and prepare. We must complete their preparations for the crossing as quickly as possible.”

Sensing that we would arrive soon from the increasingly intense mana wavelengths, I spoke.

Although wearing somewhat displeased expressions, the people nodded.

Because what we had to do, whether we succeeded in persuading them or failed, was to make them leave the ember even by intimidation.

Since the intention was good but the method was rough, it was inevitable to feel an instinctive aversion.

But no one raised a rebellion against me.

Because I was the expedition commander responsible for this plan.

And they had also agreed with my opinion that survival was the top priority on the first journey.

It was around the time the white steam rising while pushing away the snow pouring from the sky ahead drew close.

“Aylen, are you planning to step forward as the representative?”

Jeremy, who was cleaning the mana gun that had become dirty from frequent battles, asked.

Looking around at the expedition members one by one, I replied.

“If there is anyone who is the right fit to be the representative, I will put them forward, whoever it is. But since there seems to be no one more qualified than me among us, I suppose I must be the representative.”

Everyone seemed to agree. Apart from the fact that I was the expedition commander, I was a magic engineer who placed first in the qualification exam and was wearing the gold badge.

There was nothing better than this to give trust to the people of another ember. Since magic engineers were also regarded as the saviors of humanity.

In that sense, there was one more person who had to be with me to have persuasiveness.

“Natasha will also go with me.”

That was none other than Natasha. On the surface, she was an official of the Immortal Embers.

The power of that affiliation was immense, so it might turn out to be an even more powerful persuasive force than the magic engineer badge.

Then, Natasha spoke.

“It would be better to park the off-roaders where they can be seen from below the ember. To let them know clearly who has come from where. In that case, it would be best to leave the mana guns behind. Lowering their guard rather than creating a sense of intimidation will be much more helpful for persuasion.”

“Hmm…”

“Well, although the plan is to migrate them by force anyway, wouldn’t it be better for both sides to be humane? Whether we like it or not, we will be one family in the future.”

Having caught onto my intentions, she advised me a step ahead.

Seeing her judge and plan things on her own like that, I even thought that I should have left her behind at our ember.

Because there was no telling what might happen there either.

My biggest cause for anxiety right now was that I had handed over the manufacturing method of Will Ford’s mana gun, the W701, to the Magic Engineering Department and the leadership.

‘That is why I brought David along so they couldn’t manufacture it immediately, but…’

Of course, it was not that I had left no allies of mine behind at the ember.

Since Will Ford and the Wayne brothers were still guarding that place.

However, they would be so incredibly busy developing the prosthetic hand I had ordered alongside the Magic Engineering Department that they would have no time to pay attention elsewhere.

Above all, they were still insufficient to replace me. One side was too young, and the other side consisted of individuals who did not suit politics at all.

Either side was highly likely to ruin the work.

‘Until the recruitment of talent is finished, I must hold onto Natasha, even if it means bearing some losses.’

While once again feeling the necessity of talent who could fill my void, it was the moment I was falling into worry about where else to recruit such talent.

“Hmm…?”

As we reached the ice wall leading to the ember, Jeremy showed a questioning reaction.

However, because the snowstorm was still raging, the others did not know the reason.

It was when the ice wall loomed close that they showed a similar reaction.

“Sleds? Why are these here…?”

It was a wooden sled placed in front of the ladder leading to the ember. Perhaps because the water-repellent treatment was not done properly, the sleds were rotten black in places and were not in a very good condition.

Getting off the off-roader to touch them, I found that some were so rotten that they crumbled at a mere touch, while others were completely smashed and had lost their original shape.

However, the important thing was not the condition of the sleds, but the owner…

“These sleds… they do not belong to this ember. There is someone else below who is not a citizen of this ember.”

Feeling an ominous premonition, I opened my mana sense, looked down below the ember, and spoke.

Then, the crew members examining the sleds asked in wonder.

“How do you know that? Judging from the crude nailing and lack of finishing, they look like they belong to this ember.”

“It looks exactly like a hunting sled, and our ember also dragged such sleds in the early days. But it was hard to maintain them, so we often left them abandoned like this. He is right.”

Those were the words of David and Sullivan in turn.

The refutations of those who had lived their entire lives as a blacksmith and a hunter made sense.

However, I could feel it.

The faint residual scent of mana bullets lingering on the wooden pieces of the sled.

‘Are they plunderers…’

The only ones who roamed the snowfields riding things like this while armed with mana guns were plunderers.

However, I was the only one who felt the mana.

Furthermore, being able to feel it meant that I was a mage—a statement hard to accept—so I had no choice but to say something else.

“You might think so looking at the crudeness of the sleds, but it is not a matter of quality, but a matter of quantity. There is no way an ember of only five hundred people would possess twenty sleds.”

“Couldn’t it turn out like that if they piled up broken ones after using them?”

“That could be. However, even in that case, it is equally strange.”

“Why?”

“They too must have heard the news of the incoming snowstorm a long time ago. Although this is a small ember, it belongs to the sector managed by the Immortal Embers. Yet they did not recover sleds that could be used as firewood? In a place where resources are more precious than ours, it is hard to understand.”

Once I spoke up to this point, David, Sullivan, and the others also seemed convinced.

“I cannot see from here…”

Only Jeremy, who had perhaps caught the same scent as me, merely peered down below through the scope of his long-barreled sniper mana gun.

I spoke firmly to the crew members who had finally sensed something from his actions.

“Above all, it has not been buried in the snow for it to be considered abandoned. This is clear evidence that it has not been long since they arrived. And from what I see, there is no good intention visible in the bastards who rode these. Judging by how the sleds are soaked in blood.”

“…!”

“Everyone, prepare for battle. The plunderers are down there.”

Having said that, leaving behind the crew members who were checking their mana guns and mana bullets with rigid expressions once more, I stood beside Jeremy and spoke.

“The plunderers are definitely down there. Since a snowstorm is rolling in, they must have needed a shelter.”

With his eyes still fixed on the unseen depths below, he spoke.

“Well, what do you see? You speak as if you are seeing right through it.”

“Since the snow has blocked all visibility, there is no way it would be visible. It is a guess. One close to certainty.”

“True… there is no way something invisible even through the scope would be visible to your eyes.”

Jeremy, chuckling as if he had said something useless, turned to me and continued.

“Judging by the number of sleds, the number of enemies must be around fifty.”

“I think so too.”

“It will not be an easy battle. Unless it’s bows, if they have mana guns, casualties will definitely occur on our side as well.”

I nodded silently. Because battle was originally like that. A battle where only the enemy was wiped out and one’s own side remained unscathed was something that only happened in novels.

However, the reason I merely nodded silently was because I knew the plunderers below the ember possessed mana guns.

‘I feel like I am pushing people in while pretending not to know that a step ahead is hell.’

I felt a pang of conscience, but it was only for an instant and vanished quickly. Since we would freeze to death in the snowstorm anyway if we did not fight, it was the same.

It was not something that could be avoided just because one wanted to.

“Not that you are the type to run away. Just as it was during the mutant attack…”

Jeremy’s words were exquisite. It looked as if he were reading my inner thoughts. Simultaneously, it also showed what kind of human I was perceived as by him…

Showing a solemn expression, I spoke to him.

“As the expedition commander, I will assign a different mission to you, Jeremy.”

“Speak, expedition commander.”

“Please blend in with the citizens along with Harley and Jenkins. So that you can launch a surprise attack when a battle occurs.”

“Understood. I will do so.”

He respected my opinion as the expedition commander. And perhaps agreeing with my judgment as a former soldier, there was no particular opposition or opinion.

Therefore, I also spared my words. Because in this field, Jeremy was at least a few steps ahead of me.

However, he asked.

“It would be good to assign Natasha as well… why, are you worried?”

A question asking why I did not include Natasha, the top agent of Radiance, in the operation.

Seeing that Jeremy’s expression clearly held a lot of playfulness, he seemed to be imagining something impure, so I spoke.

“…It is not like that. It is just that Natasha was excluded from the operation because her appearance is too outstanding to blend in among the general citizens.”

“What you just said sounds like I have no problem because I am ugly?”

“Think whatever you want. I will excuse myself to prepare for descent.”

Realizing that the joke just now was to ease my tension, I gave a slight nod and returned to the crew members.

They stood with resolute expressions, armed with mana guns. I gestured toward the ember and spoke.

“Although it is not certain, we must assume that the bastards possess mana guns. So hasty actions are strictly forbidden. And Harley and Jenkins will prepare for a surprise attack following Lord Jeremy. They will fire the signal flare. Understood?”

“Understood.”

“Understood.”

Turning my back to them as they answered in loud voices, I stood looking at the ember and spoke in a low voice.

“Then, let us go. To save the ember.”

At that moment, everyone was feeling the cold clouds of war where life and death hung in the balance.