The reorganization didn’t take much time. Initially, one reason was that nothing particularly had been expended, but also because the priests of the predator deity left no corpses behind.
As tiny particles of light ascending into the sky, the remnants of the priest disappeared. Aslan watched the granules of light with a bitter expression, and the traveling party looked to Aslan for cues.
Angie felt pity seeing Aslan’s figure. Aslan’s plans were always perfect and meticulously prepared. With unwavering willpower and thorough preparation, it seemed as though there were no obstacles for Aslan.
But even Aslan couldn’t do everything. Neither Aslan’s strength nor knowledge could save the priest. The forest ranger had ultimately died, sorrowfully and regretfully.
Angie noticed that Aslan was grieving and felt sympathy. Realizing that there were things even Aslan’s power couldn’t accomplish, she experienced a chest pain akin to a sense of loss.
Meanwhile, Ereta found deep interest in this unexpected side of Aslan. Unaware herself, she was a masochist who had long taken pleasure in inflicting pain on others over extended periods. Instinctively, she could read Aslan’s pain.
She was sensitive enough to notice wounds and was highly attuned to others’ suffering. To her, Aslan appeared to be in pain.
She knew that Aslan had started gaining fame quite some time ago and guessed that he had gone through similar situations many times.
Despite enduring this pain repeatedly, Aslan remained unbent and steadfast in his grief. Ereta found fascination in Aslan’s resilience.
She wondered what made this man endure so much.
Phey, unlike the other two, was simply watching Aslan. Unlike Angie and Ereta who were seeing this side of Aslan for the first time, Phey had already witnessed Aslan go through such moments.
To Phey, Aslan was not someone who succumbed to such pain.
Indeed, as Phey expected, Aslan quickly shook off the wound.
Certainly, the sight was painful. The evil deity was targeting Aslan.
A suffocating pressure, like the entire world rushing toward him. A weight too heavy for any individual to bear.
But this wasn’t new to Aslan. It was merely another twelve years in the making. Shaking off sadness, anger, and pain, Aslan spoke to the group.
“Let’s go.”
That calm single word carried a poignant undertone familiar to Angie and Ereta.
Only then did they realize that Aslan had endured such pain throughout his journey to become who he is now.
Nothing had changed. The accumulated anguish couldn’t bring Aslan to his knees.
The motive was simple.
If I can’t do it, no one can.
That’s what drove Aslan.
Chewing on the familiar pain, he resolved:
I will kill all the evil deities. It was something only Aslan could do.
Thus, the minor pain was something he could simply endure.
“…It’s fine. You don’t need to worry. It was overwhelming for a moment, but I’m used to it.”
Aslan briefly reassured the two companions who were looking at him. Angie gazed at him with a mix of concern and anxiety, while Ereta observed him with deep interest tinged with worry.
Aslan just smiled faintly at their gazes and calmly moved forward.
The group followed his steps and soon left the Arda Forest.
After leaving the Arda Forest, the group headed southwest. Crossing plains scented with the sea, they rested and advanced towards the Varmanz Mountain Kingdom.
Three days into their journey, Aslan finally saw the towering mountain range appear before him.
The Varmanz Mountain Kingdom.
True to its name, this kingdom was located in the vast Varmanz mountain range, and its structure resembled more of a tribal confederation than an actual kingdom.
Four large tribes divided the land among themselves, each tribe having its own clans.
Socially closer to a tribe than a kingdom, this was the Varmanz Mountain Kingdom.
Still, it wasn’t exactly a tribal confederation because the ruler was a king, and the nation’s form was that of a kingdom.
The land either bordering or penetrating the mountains was divided among four tribes: Honor Tribe, Hill Tribe, Silence Tribe, and Crown Tribe.
At first glance, they seemed equal, but they weren’t.
The Honor Tribe, Hill Tribe, and Silence Tribe were vassals of the Crown Tribe, whose chief became the king.
Thus, the Varmanz Mountain Kingdom was close to a tribal confederation yet still a kingdom. Despite its unique governance system, it had survived for a long time between the Vida Kingdom and the Calus Empire.
“Wow, why are these mountains so huge…?”
And Aslan knew well the reason for this survival. Recalling Angie’s mutterings, he remembered the reasons.
The natural fortress formed by two massive mountain ranges provided easy defense.
The rough and fierce warriors.
A culture centered around warriors, hunting, and war.
All these factors contributed to the kingdom’s formidable military strength.
These elements made the Varmanz Mountain Kingdom strong, allowing it to survive between a great empire worshipping the Supreme Divinity and a kingdom claiming descent from an ancient empire.
As Aslan followed Angie’s gaze across the towering mountain range, memories from a game 12 years ago surfaced.
In the game too, the Varmanz Mountain Kingdom possessed formidable military strength.
Due to the high proportion of warriors, their troop numbers didn’t lag behind neighboring countries, and the quality of soldiers was undoubtedly superior.
The level of mercenaries and reinforcements after forming alliances also surpassed those in other main quest routes.
Back when Aslan was Lee Hyun-woo, he often chose the Varmanz Mountain Kingdom route for main quests due to these reasons.
Based on that experience, Aslan thought:
Collaboration with the Varmanz Mountain Kingdom was not optional but essential in combating the evil deity and creating a different ending.
The problem was that it wouldn’t be easy.
Although reaching the mountain kingdom and completing quests wasn’t particularly difficult, the issue lay beyond that—specifically, at the starting point.
Meeting the king of the mountain kingdom.
Due to its governance resembling a tribal confederation, the mountain kingdom was more closed-off compared to other nations.
‘If only that were the only problem.’
Just as Aslan’s thoughts deepened, someone shouted.
“Next! Foreigners, report your names, composition, and purpose!”
It was a tribal warrior guarding the border of Varmanz.
Clad in a fur cloak and wild leather armor, the warrior stood before the merchants with an axe strapped to his waist and asked various questions.
Each question was sharp, and his eyes brimmed with suspicion.
When the merchant stammered and contradicted himself, the tribal warrior clicked his tongue and issued an expulsion order.
Though the merchant pleaded tearfully with only a modest amount of goods, the tribal warrior silenced him by resting his hand on the axe. Ultimately, the merchant was beaten and chased away.
Seeing this pitiful scene, Aslan sighed, and Angie turned her gaze from inspecting the mountain.
Initially wary of outsiders, the tribes of the mountain kingdom tightened their guard when the emperor changed, causing chaos in the Calus Empire, and when priests began appearing en masse, disrupting the world.
Consequently, most merchants and travelers were rejected and driven away, leading them to either retreat or set up camps near the fortifications.
Aslan’s group also set up camp. It was the second day since arriving at the border.
“I don’t know if they’ll meet with us.”
A muttered remark. Aslan felt at a loss. Though they had arrived, there was no guarantee things would go according to plan.
While combat-related matters might have been predictable, this situation wasn’t something brute force or skill could solve.
Neither could they break through by force. After all, Aslan had come here to form an alliance and clear the main quest.
“Huh? What?”
Ereta, who usually would’ve teased Angie for her naive question, had fallen asleep at the campsite out of boredom, and Phey leisurely stayed behind to watch over the sleeping Ereta at Aslan’s request.
Currently, only Aslan and Angie were at the border checkpoint.
“I don’t know if we’ll get to meet the king. They probably won’t.”
“Hmm, isn’t the emperor the highest authority? Then meeting the king shouldn’t be that hard, right? You’re the master of combat.”
Angie assumed that someone as renowned as the “Master of Combat” would naturally be granted an audience.
Under normal circumstances, in other nations or territories, her assumption would have been correct. The title “Master of Combat” carried immense prestige recognized across both northern and southern continents.
The issue was that the recipient was the king of the Varmanz Mountain Kingdom.
Aslan bitterly chuckled and shook his head.
“Because of that, I think they’ll refuse to meet me.”
“Eh, why? Being the Master of Combat is impressive.”
The reason was simple. Just as Aslan was about to explain, a loud laugh echoed.
“HAHAHAHA!”
A thunderous laugh that caused everyone lined up toward the checkpoint to turn their heads.
Even Aslan stopped mid-sentence and turned his head. The laughter was that loud.
There, upon turning, stood a dragon-person.
An unusually large dragon-person wielding a colossal bow.
The dragon-person, clad in red scales and wearing a fur vest, laughed boisterously before placing a hand on their attire.
“Dragon-person using a bow?”
Dragon-people generally have poor eyesight and tend not to favor ranged weapons like bows. Thus, it was extremely rare—practically nonexistent—for a dragon-person to use a bow.
Yet, this dragon-person clearly held an impressively crafted colossal bow.
Stopping their laughter, the dragon-person began to undress.
“Eh, wha…?”
Angie’s bewildered exclamation spread among the gathered travelers and merchants, eventually reaching the guards.
Naked except for the bow, the red-scaled dragon-person raised it and retrieved an arrow.
“Behold! Watch as Lord Tiya Mal subdues the tallest mountain!”
A resounding shout. The drawn arrow, the massive bow. Even Aslan stared, trying to make sense of the situation.
Unbothered by the dozens of stares, the naked dragon-person drew the bow.
Placing an arrow almost as long as a short sword onto the bowstring, they stretched it as if stretching their arms, pushing it upwards.
Slowly pulling down the drawn bow, a sound akin to twisting steel echoed as the string was tautened.
The strained bowstring groaned audibly, even reaching Aslan far away.
Realizing the situation simultaneously, Aslan and the guards understood.
The dragon-person introducing themselves as Tiya Mal was attempting to shoot the mountain.
Just as the guards hurriedly opened the fortifications and rushed toward the dragon-person, the taut bowstring snapped forward.
ZIIING!
A sound like air being torn by thunder. Simultaneously, the massive arrow shot off faster than Aslan’s enhanced vision could track, disappearing into the distant mountain peak.
-WOOOOM
The delayed sound created a booming echo. Even from afar, the mountain peak visibly crumbling could be seen.
“HAHAHA! Did you see that? Did you?! Hahaha!”
“Crazy bastard, catch him! Catch him!”
The guards charged at the dragon-person, who placed the bow on the ground and laughed heartily.
As the guards tackled him, the dragon-person knelt obediently and was tied up with ropes brought by the guards.
The baffling suddenness of the act, the incomprehensible public nudity, and the hearty laughter left Aslan blinking in astonishment amidst the chaos.
‘Could that… actually work?’
The distance from the kingdom’s border to the mountain peak struck by the dragon-person’s arrow was immense.
Even considering the mountain’s size as a target, no one could shoot an arrow so far and accurately hit the mountain peak.
‘Could they really have hit it?’
At least, no one else besides this dragon-person could.
Recalling the bound and dragged-away dragon-person, a name came to Aslan’s mind.
The name Tiya Mal shouted earlier matched the newly crowned Archer, Tiya Mal Clo, from about a year ago.
And as far as Aslan knew, the surname ‘Clo’ belonged exclusively to dragon-people.
