CHAPTER 256.1 - MOUNTAIN CROSSING II

Beyond the sixth post, the area became somewhat like a forest again, with more greenery. However, tall trees were scarce, and most of them were thin and slender.

At this point, it was not the trees that blocked our path, but the terrain itself.

「Please handle that, Kyouko.」

「Les goooo」

With a lively shout, the large rock that had blocked the way in front of me melted and crumbled away.

Next, the gravel-like ground solidified firmly and hardened.

「How about this?」

「Nice」

Our Geomancer, Kyouko, took the lead and opened the path for us.

The terrain around here was so harsh that we couldn’t move forward without doing something like this.

Of course, our pace was slowing down since we had to transform the rocks and earth with earth magic to clear the path. But considering the situation, we were still lucky that it was only a slight delay.

Kyouko's earth magic was truly a game-changer. Being able to reshape the terrain to create a path through difficult obstacles must be an incredible asset, especially when we were stuck in tough conditions.

In addition, the Grimgore, which she renamed as Grilin, was a monster with the earth attribute, thus it could easily move the rock or level the ground with a stomp of its feet. The same goes for paths with rolling rocks.

「How's our back, Hayama-kun?」

「Everyone is keeping up properly. As expected, I still can't see the monster.」

We climbed the mountain without leaving a single person behind while keeping an eye on the rear.

I hoped we could push through and arrive at the other side of the mountain by today.

Our goal was the mountain peak… That said, it didn't mean that we had to climb all the way to the highest point. As long as we managed to cross this mountain and reach the other side, that should be enough. What we needed to overcome was not the peak, but the ridge.

Among them, the spot with the lowest ridgeline was the ideal target, but there were also areas with sheer cliffs, so choosing the right route became a crucial part of this expedition.

「Rem, how about that direction?」

「… That's, a bit, slippery.」

「Kyouko, let's move to the left.」

「Roge~r!」

When it came to choosing a route, we could rely on Rem, who had the eyes of a red vulture that could scout our route from the air.

Since the terrain was so treacherous to the point that we wouldn't be able to move forward without Kyouko's earth magic to open the path for us, my shadow couldn't be used to lead the way. The only one who could go ahead and scout was Rem, who could use the body of the red vulture to fly. 𝐑𝖆N𝘖฿Ε𝒮

Although Rem appeared like a young girl, I was certain that her intelligence was not equivalent to that of a toddler. If her past experiences were fully applied, she should be able to judge and choose a path that could be traversed on human feet.

Thus, I decided to entrust the scouting role to Rem.

「Hang in there, everyone. We had almost reached the ridge.」

「Hey, let's have a meal once we reach the peak.」

「We can't stop until we go further down, otherwise, we'll end up as salamander food.」

「Geh」

At this point, I had to snap at Hayama, who was still in a hiking field trip mood, and we finally closed in on the ridge.

「Wah, looks cold…」

「Be careful, not just on the snowy path but also on spots that may be frozen even if you can't see it.」

「Woop, I already slipped.」

For some reason, Hayama, who had fallen on his back, said it with a confident look on his face.

The mountain peak was covered in pure white snow. The ridge we were aiming for wasn't at such a high altitude, but it didn't seem low enough to escape snowfall either. Patches of snow could be seen here and there.

By this point, all traces of greenery had long since gone, transforming the landscape into a rugged wasteland scattered with coarse rocks. The ridge area, mottled with dark-colored rocks and patches of snow, resembled a black-and-white pattern as we continued our climb.

「————『Terra Rampart Defence』」

The towering cliff that stood in our way like a high wall was shattered by Kyouko's full-force earth magic.

It was the advanced AOE earth-attribute defense magic she hadn't used since we secured the excavation site on the Yamata no Orochi's rocky mountain.

This was the most powerful AOE magic affecting a large, wide area, and there was no choice but to use it to cut through the towering cliffs along the ridge.

「Yeah, lesgooo!」

「Good job, Kyouko. Not even the most perilous path can stop us.」

Through Rem's reconnaissance, it had been confirmed that the entire ridge was lined with difficult and treacherous cliffs that were hard to overcome.

Normally, it would be impossible to overcome such terrain, but… with Kyouko's skill in earth magic, she could even tear through the steepest cliff and create a path like this.

Honestly, I'm really glad that we did so much civil engineering work on Yamata no Orochi.

「Let's pass quickly, everyone!」

This was no time to take our time and enjoy the scenery. We quickly formed a line and moved forward to pass through this dangerous area, but————

「Pogugugu! Pugaa!」

Kinako let out a sharp cry as his long ears stood up straight.

「Oi, Kinako, could it be…」

When I turned my gaze toward Hayama, waiting for a translation, he responded immediately.

「Be careful, Momokawa, that guy is coming!」

Hayama informed us of the worst situation with a horrified look on his face, and at the same time, the boss of the mountain arrived.

GUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

A massive roar shook the mountain, echoing through the air.

And in the next moment, the connection inside me was abruptly cut off… This meant the red vulture I had sent out had been taken down.

The moment Rem sensed it, they were enveloped in shadows and started transforming into her Dark Knight form.

Where did that guy come from?

The moment I looked up, a large shadow crossed overhead of us.

One, no, there were two of them.

「Salamanders. Two of them on top of that.」

Were they a couple? Or parent and child? Since both were large enough to be considered fully grown, it must be a couple.

「Kotaro!」

「We cannot defeat them. We have no choice but to run. Kyouko, take the lead and clear the downhill path!」

The other side probably had a similar terrain. Just rushing out wouldn't even allow us to run around properly given the road conditions.

At this point, I'm not optimistic enough to think we could get through this without any sacrifices.

「Roirops and Grim 2 will act as our decoy. Hayama-kun, stay close with me.」

「Wait a second, Momokawa.」

「What?」

「Can you let me handle this situation?」

「… Just remember that this is a race against time.」

This was an emergency situation, but I decided to trust Hayama-kun.

He might act like a fool sometimes, but he wasn't a total idiot. I didn't think he'd say something reckless at this critical moment.

In addition, even if he followed my instructions to a tee, there was no guarantee we'd get through this dangerous situation. In fact, the odds were pretty bad.

Hayama-kun spoke up because he understood that giving such instructions was the limit of what I could do at this moment.

Then let's trust him to handle this situation. At the very least, I could confirm what he was trying to do.

「Heed my call———— Earth spirit!」

Hayama-kun knelt on the spot, clasping his hands together as if in prayer. No, he might be praying for real.

And the effect of that prayer became imminent immediately.

「The sand is moving even though it's not earth magic.」

Something resembling a sandstorm began to rise up around us, enveloping our entire formation along with a deep, rumbling sound.

「Kyouko, come here for a bit.」

Seeing someone else manipulating the earth, Kyouko looked around curiously as she made her way back to my side. Now, everyone had settled within the sandstorm stirred up by the earth spirits.

「What shall we do after this, Hayama-kun?」

「… Just stay still like this for a while.」

Hayama-kun replied with a focused expression, as if concentrating with his eyes closed. Large beads of sweat were running down his forehead, and it seemed like he was expending quite a bit of magical energy.

Honestly, just having this sandstorm swirling around wouldn't be enough to stop the salamanders if they charged in at full force… However,

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

Before long, the distant howl of the salamanders echoed through the mountain range.

As the sandstorm subsided, the figures of two salamanders could be seen flying off into the distance, vanishing into the sky.

「Did they miss us?」

「Well… I had an accidental encounter with a salamander in the forest a while ago. When it seemed like it was about to find us, I also asked the spirits for help to hide us.」

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My first CN project, why waifu though? Well, coz the main heroine's job is buying soy sauce till the end of act 1

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