Chapter 57: An Unexpected Path into a Foreign War (2)

Ebony and her group, after jumping into the watery portal at the edge of the lake, were swept away by a violent current beneath the surface.

After a few moments of holding their breath, the water began to feel warmer, until suddenly the group was shot into the sky, expelled from the water.

When the blonde girl opened her eyes, she saw the landscape in free fall, they had arrived in a snowy land where the cold reigned.

And so, in free fall, the three companions plummeted toward the snow-covered ground, but at that moment Lucian threw one of his blades to the ground before landing.

{{Forest Magic: Cotton Roots}}

In an instant, roots grew one after another, they were soft and managed to cushion the fall of the entire group.

“Holy shit, that was close!” Ebony shouted as she pulled herself up from between the roots, her clothes were completely soaked and her long hair dripped with every step.

“Hey, where are we? Isn’t it supposed to be fall in this part of the continent?” Daniel asked, looking around.

“No, it’s not winter… This is strange, there shouldn’t be snow here, this part of the continent is never supposed to get winter,” the elf said worriedly as he dried his shoulder-length hair.

Just then, a growl caught the group’s attention, when they looked to the side, they saw the lake, and in the middle of the water, perched on a rock, was a gigantic bird that looked like a rooster but with white feathers and a few golden ones.

“Ummm… We were just leaving, nice and quiet, heh… We don’t want any trouble, seriously, we’re going,” Ebony said in a gentle tone with a smile.

That Lord of the Lake seemed annoyed and ready to attack, but the group carefully began to back away without taking their eyes off him, they didn’t want to disturb his peace any further.

After putting several meters between them, the three sighed in relief, then moved through the snowy forest since there was no road nearby, Lucian pulled up his hood to hide his elven ears.

As they ventured deeper into the forest, they began to hear voices, along with the distant neighing of horses.

Out of curiosity, the group moved closer to the sounds, like spies trying not to draw attention, they peeked from behind the trees.

In front of them, in a wide clearing without trees, stood a military camp, there were small tents and several bonfires cooking a couple of boars.

Farther ahead stood a tower, small, barely three stories tall, wide and built of gray stone, and at the top floated a giant light-blue crystal several meters above the tower’s peak.

“What is a camp doing in a place like this? I thought we’d arrive at a hexagon without a ruler,” Daniel asked.

“I recognize the crest they’re wearing, they’re the royal guard of Sapphire Port… It’s strange that they’re here, especially in full armor, in these numbers, and… this close to the Central Tower of this Hexagon… Curious,” Lucian said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

“Yeah, it’s weird, but screw them, let’s get to the city fast, I’m freezing to death,” Ebony said, hugging herself and beginning to shiver as her soaked clothes slowly started to freeze.

“Yes, we’d better leave, whatever their business is, it’s not our problem,” Lucian said as the group was about to step away.

“Who are you, and what are you doing so close to our camp?” a voice asked from above them.

They all looked up, above them was a hooded man with his mouth covered by cloth, he was camouflaged using magic to hide his presence and snow to blend into the tree branch where he was sitting.

“U-umm… W-we were just leaving actually, so there’s no problem, we were just passing by and got c-curious,” Ebony said, trembling from the cold while trying to maintain a friendly smile.

“You look like mercenaries… Do you have business with our city? Or are you here like the others to conquer the Central Tower?” the hooded man asked without moving an inch.

“Conquer? No, no, not at all, we’re from the Pink Unicorn guild, we just came to make a delivery, that’s all,” Lucian said as he raised his hand, showing the guild symbol in the center of his palm.

“I see, interesting, in that case I don’t care, you may leave,” the hooded man said.

“Perfect, it was a pleasure—” Lucian was interrupted by Ebony’s hand silencing him with a gesture.

“W-wait… Sir, if you don’t mind, could you tell me what date it is?”

“Today is September 21st,” the man replied, confused by the question.

“Psst… Pointy ears, what date did we leave the bar?” Ebony whispered into Lucian’s ear.

“We left on September 19th… I think the lake travel stretched time by a day… That was smart of you to ask, I didn’t think of that,” Lucian whispered carefully.

However, the blonde immediately flashed a smile despite her shivering, she was standing before a golden opportunity.

“H-hey, s-soldier, what’s this about conquering the Tower?” Ebony asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I can see your intentions… Be careful where you look with those greedy eyes, woman,” the snow-covered man replied angrily.

“Oh yeah? If I’m greedy, then what does that make you? I doubt a battalion this big came all the way here for a Soldier’s Day picnic, right?” Ebony replied in a cocky, mocking tone, forcing a smile through the cold.

“Fuck off, woman, I won’t tell you anything, now get out of here before I call you intruders and your heads end up on pikes!” the man warned, completely enraged.

Lucian and Daniel exchanged uneasy looks, worried about their companion’s reckless intentions, especially that shameless smile that meant she had a plan.

“Hey, hey, calm down, o-old man, I just want to negotiate,” Ebony said, raising her hands in peace.

“And what business could you possibly have with us, a few messenger mercenaries?” the man replied, then jumped down from the tree and stood upright in front of the blonde.

His heavy coat shed snow as he rubbed his neck, he had been in the same position for hours.

“Don’t play tough, friend, I don’t want to have to hit you, I just want to make a deal, you want to conquer a tower, and we want some gold,” the blonde said, crossing her arms.

“Hah… I guess some people don’t understand until they get hit,” the man muttered, then suddenly lunged forward, trying to punch the blonde.

To the group, the punch was slow, they could see it clearly, Lucian even moved to defend his friend, but before he could react, Ebony responded with a direct punch to the man’s face, sending him flying.

The man crashed through the trees and landed near the soldiers’ camp.

Then the battalion’s Colonel approached the scene, seeing his officer unconscious on the ground, he turned his gaze toward the forest he had come from.

There, Ebony’s group stepped out from between the trees with their hands raised.

“Please, calm down, it was a misunderstanding, I didn’t mean to hurt that man, he asked for a demonstration of my strength and I thought he could take it, that’s all,” Ebony said calmly, holding back her shivering from the cold.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” the battalion’s Colonel asked, he had a blond mustache matching his hair.

“We’re mercenaries, from the Pink Unicorn guild, just passing through on a job… But seeing your situation, I thought you might be interested in hiring our services for your mission,” the blonde said, stepping closer to the Colonel.

“Three mercenaries think they can help in conquering a tower? What kind of bad joke is this? We are the royal guard of Sapphire Port and we were ordered to guard the Tower from intruders who intend to enter, we’re not insane enough to try conquering it ourselves.”

The Colonel, indignant and glaring, lifted his chin proudly as he looked down on Ebony and her group.

“Guard it? What’s the point of that? Don’t try to fool me, old man, you want to conquer this hexagon, and to do that you have to climb that tower,” Ebony replied, crossing her arms defiantly.

“Our Kingdom will send a squad of Champions to conquer the Tower, we don’t need to enter it, and certainly not with the help of mercenaries,” the Colonel said, crossing his arms, trying to overshadow the girl.

“Psst… Just drop it and let’s go,” Lucian whispered into Ebony’s ear.

But the blonde ignored him, pointing her finger at the Colonel with a confident smile.

“Listen, old man, give us 100 gold coins and we’ll take the Tower’s first level. No one will know it was us, all the credit goes to you and your men. That kind of prestige would look good on you, wouldn’t it?”

The Colonel didn’t know how to react to the proposal, not because it sounded crazy, but because of the girl’s confident and proud gaze.

Even surrounded by a battalion of fully armored soldiers, the woman was challenging his patience at the risk of dying right there.

“Interesting… Very well, let’s talk then,” the Colonel replied with a faint smile.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep