Chapter 95: Following the Demon Trail

After bidding farewell to Mona, Lan, and several members of the Black Knight Mercenary Corps, including Uncle Lester and the one with bangs, Miss Vilyric and her companions once again set off alongside the army escorting the magical beasts.

The scale of this convoy was nothing short of immense. Even disregarding the army tasked with protection, the city of Demon Town had prepared over five hundred large carriages to transport thousands of magical beasts, forming a grand procession that marched down the main road.

This was a formal public delivery, so they naturally wanted to display as much grandeur as possible to showcase the stature of a great nation.

The road that Miss Vilyric and her group were traveling on was said to connect Demon Town with the southern part of the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons. It’s also the main route frequently used by merchants for north-south trade, completed over three hundred years ago, extending deep into the mountain range for hundreds of kilometers.

Of course, the United Kingdom’s officials wouldn’t spend money to build roads in foreign territories. This road was reportedly built with funding from several of the largest merchant associations in the northern kingdoms back then, and for humans to be allowed to construct roads within the territory of magical beasts seems to have been made possible by some notable figure smoothing relations several centuries ago.

However, times have changed, and three hundred years have passed. Not only has this official road undergone several renovations, taking on many new appearances, but that great existence, once a bridge between humans and magical beasts, has faded into the dust of history, few remembering their name.

At least, Miss Vilyric couldn’t find out.

Sitting in the carriage, the Priestess peered out the window and took in the wide stone road beneath them, which could accommodate at least five cargo wagons side by side, feeling a bit curious.

This world certainly lacked anything like asphalt or concrete. In the United Kingdom, most major official roads were paved with cut granite slabs, and although magic could assist, the sheer amount of resources and time required for such a labor-intensive project was astronomical.

To build such a wide and smooth carriageway with only civilian efforts was truly impressive, and there must have been a leader behind it—most probably the unknown individual who persuaded the magical beasts to allow humans to build roads in the mountains.

Demon Town wasn’t far from the border of the United Kingdom. Even moving slowly along the main road, the large troop arrived at their destination in just over an hour.

The continuous mountain range unfolded in the distance. Between two towering peaks, the road continued onward, stretching into the horizon.

This was one of the main entrances to the southern part of the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, the closest to Demon Town—the Demon Trail Canyon.

The Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons formed a hilly region centered around the mountain range, surrounded by steep natural barriers, preventing the majority of individuals, especially large groups like merchant caravans and armies with slow-moving speeds, from crossing.

These natural defenses protected the magical beasts within the mountains from external invaders, and a few passages like the Demon Trail Canyon remained tightly guarded by the magical beasts. Thus, even with the Tuls Family and certain individuals from the United Kingdom, or forces from other directions eyeing the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, they could only use previous methods to lure the magical beasts out for confrontation.

Upon entering the Demon Trail Canyon, they stepped into the territory of the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons, where the magical beasts had established fortress-like strongholds utilizing the mountain as their foundation. At the exit, the magical beast troops were already waiting, having received prior notice.

The human general overseeing this escort unit was unknown to Miss Vilyric, but they must have been incredibly reliable for Mona and Lan to feel secure enough to entrust such a significant task for their first cooperation. Since they had already made arrangements, the Priestess didn’t intend to pry too much.

After all, Miss Vilyric was not truly one of the United Kingdom’s people; she was merely lending a hand and traveling with this army.

However, due to a cooperation agreement with Tiyelu, Miss Vilyric had taken on the responsibility of looking after the Moonshadow Clan’s little wolf cub, Noviya, who was currently with them in the carriage.

This little wolf cub, referred to as the Source of Magic by Tiyelu, had been in a constant state of sleep ever since being rescued from the Sealed Magic Box a few days ago.

Miss Vilyric was curious about what was going on but had checked several times to find that Noviya’s life signs were stable; the reason for her prolonged slumber appeared to be that her soul remained in a type of special hibernation.

How to say it… it was a bit like a phone shutting down due to lack of battery; nothing was actually wrong, just a lack of “energy.”

And it seemed this energy wasn’t exactly spiritual points; Noviya herself was like a sealed iron barrel, seemingly unwilling to absorb the magic the Priestess offered her.

After a few fruitless attempts, Miss Vilyric decided to stop worrying about it. After all, there was no danger to life, and as long as they could find Tiyelu’s main body, they would naturally understand everything.

In the distance, the handover between the United Kingdom’s army and the magical beasts still required quite some time, but to be honest, Miss Vilyric had nothing further to do there and did not plan to proceed along with the returning magical beast troops at a leisurely pace.

It was about time, wasn’t it?

“Tap tap tap ~”

A series of crisp knocks on the carriage door sounded from outside, followed by Edwina’s inquiry.

“Miss Vilyric, Mr. Walter is here to see you. Is it a good time now?”

“Oh, he finally arrived. Let him… never mind, I’ll step out myself.”

Initially planning to have Mr. Nan Dao come up to talk directly, the Priestess reconsidered; after all, the carriage was filled with girls, and it would be a bit inconvenient for a big man to come inside.

Nodding toward the Little Dragon Daughter sitting opposite her, Miss Vilyric lifted the curtain of the carriage and gracefully leaped down.

The Oni Warrior Man with a big sword slung over his back stood outside, communicating with the Holy Knight in charge of driving the carriage, and seeing the Priestess appear, he quickly nodded and greeted her.

“Lady Vilyric, you’ve arrived.”

“Mm ~ Can we go in now? By the way, this fortress seems quite impressive…”

Even though she had seen it somewhat through the carriage window, facing it directly made it even more magnificent. She initially thought the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons would be a rough and uncultured type like the Beastmen, but now it seemed to be quite different from her expectations?

Upon hearing this, Walter turned to glance back at the massive fortress built between the two mountains, resembling a colossal gate reaching hundreds of meters high, and smiled proudly.

“Right? Although it’s not as large as the Demon Town of humans, this Demon Trail Fortress, guarding one of the mountain entrances, is certainly no less effective. Many of its defensive features were personally designed by our Oni Warrior Clan. If Lady Vilyric is interested, I can slowly introduce them to you.”

“Ah… let’s talk about that later. According to our agreement, I’ve brought Noviya. What about Tiyelu?”

“Tiyelu has, cough… already returned to the core sacred area a few days ago. Seems she had some urgent matter. Her exact words were for you to take the little one directly to the Moonshadow Clan’s residence, where she has arranged for someone you’ll likely find interesting to host you.”

Mr. Nan Dao chuckled awkwardly and scratched his head.

“You know how Tiyelu is; I can’t interfere with her decisions, so I’m not too clear on the specifics. You might have to wait until you get there to…”

“Hah? What’s that nasty butterfly up to… she’s way too bossy…”

   

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