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Chapter 30. Cactus Desert (1)
One.
What El Palm Party encountered after crossing the portal was a forest.
An ordinary forest.
It was a welcome development for the adventurer.
It wouldn’t be strange to smile.
But among El Palm’s comrades facing the forest, not a single one was smiling.
“Hey, Kiri.”
He spoke with a more stern expression than when he had entered the prince’s tomb.
“Do you know anything about Bayos?”
It had to be that way.
“He is one of Oz’s disciples.”
The Disciple of Oz.
Because what that means is that Maple World is never a light thing.
“If it’s Oz, then it’s the commander of the Fire Knights I know, right?”
He is one of the five knight commanders of the Knights of Signus, a powerful military group that protects Empress Signus.
Because what it meant was more than everyone thought.
“Isn’t it the 7th circle?”
Oz, right now, there were seven rings on her wrist.
Among the adventurers currently existing in Maple World, only a very small number have reached the level of the 7th Circle.
That wasn’t all.
“That’s right. At the pinnacle of Flame Wizards.”
The fire magic she displayed was so powerful that it was even more powerful than the circle she possessed.
Of course, her disciples were not ordinary either.
“And Bayos, he was the sixth disciple of the Commander of the Knights of Oz.”
So the question was.
“But why isn’t your name known?”
“That’s right, this is my first time hearing about it. Our pirates may not know about anything else, but they are always on the lookout for news from the Knights of Signus.”
Why didn’t I know about someone like that?
“The disciple of the Knight Commander shall not reveal his discipleship until three years have passed.”
“Not making it public? Why?”
“For the sake of fairness.”
Everyone was initially convinced by Kiri’s explanation.
“Everyone is treated equally within the Knights of Signus. There is no special treatment for being the disciple of the Knight Commander.”
Because the Knights of Signus were that kind of group.
“wait.”
Then Devo seemed to realize something and said.
“You haven’t revealed it for three years? Does that mean you haven’t been in the Signus Knights for three years?”
“It was two years ago. From what I remember.”
Only then did others realize it.
“You entered the 4th circle after 2 years?”
Bayos, what a talented man he was.
Despite this, the Knights of Signus, including him, were annihilated.
“What on earth is here… … .”
Everyone swallowed at what that meant.
That was the moment.
“uh?”
The sight El Palm Party was seeing as they moved through the forest changed in an instant.
The forests disappeared and a world filled with golden sand appeared.
And it appeared.
“Cactus desert?”
The giant cacti that filled the desert.
2.
Adventurers who conquer the Mystic Gate say:
“The swamp, the snowy world, they’re all hard. But ultimately, there’s no place harder than the desert.”
The worst environment you’ll encounter beyond the Mystic Gate is bound to be a desert.
The reason why such deserts were the worst was simple.
“No matter how good an adventurer is at fighting or how great their survival skills are, if they can’t find water in the scorching desert, they’ll die.”
That it is a place more disadvantageous to survival than anywhere else.
In fact, when the desert appeared in Mystic Gate, the survival rate of adventurers was only 70 percent on average.
And of those 30 percent of dead adventurers, more than half died not from monsters but from dehydration and exhaustion.
It was a miserable place.
“It’s Katusrani!”
Even the El Palm Party faced the cactus monsters, the Catus, that filled the desert.
It wasn’t the first time.
Before coming to the Tomb of the Knights of Signus, El Palm Party had already experienced the Cactus Desert.
That’s why.
“Fuck!”
So I knew better how scary Catus was.
“Boss, it seems like there are more than that?”
Even the Katus that were coming now were far more numerous than those encountered in the cactus desert.
“It’s also bigger!”
It was also big.
It wasn’t anything strange.
The cactus desert located in the Nihal Desert was a place where many adventurers came and went.
Because there were quite a few valuable cacti in the cactus desert.
Even without that, cacti were one of the few resources available in the barren desert.
Some were edible, and others often contained a considerable amount of water.
Crucially, the Kingdom of Ariant periodically hunted monsters in the Nihal Desert.
It was natural for a kingdom to protect its territory.
That is, the cactus desert of the Nihal Desert is managed to some extent in terms of population.
On the other hand, this place was not like that.
This means there is no such thing as population management.
“Cathus are like mushrooms. If the conditions are right, they reproduce in an unbelievable way.”
This means that in the midst of this bystandership, the Katus here have grown in enormous numbers.
Doo doo doo!
El Palm Party clenched his teeth as he watched the thousand or so Catus rushing towards him, moving their limbs like humans.
Of course, not everyone fell into despair.
“Fuck, let’s give it a try.”
The Mystic Gates that El Palm Party has passed through are not ordinary for them to collapse to this extent.
I was just being prepared.
‘You could die.’
Be prepared for there to be casualties in this Mystic Gate raid.
“everyone.”
Then El Palm spoke to everyone preparing for battle.
“sorry.”
Everyone looked surprised at that unexpected remark.
It was so rare that I couldn’t remember El Palm apologizing like this.
But the surprise didn’t last long.
‘It’s not that easy.’
In other words, it meant that El Palm was in a situation that was different from usual and not easy.
So everyone smiled.
“Boss, what do you have to apologize for?”
“That’s right. It’s nothing to apologize for.”
“Hey, can the leader just say something weak? Okay? Don’t worry. We’ll take care of everything.”
“It’s okay. Rather than saying sorry, you can just give me the money later.”
I smiled happily at El Palm’s words.
El Palm tilted his head at their appearance.
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Huh? No, didn’t the boss say he was sorry?”
Debo also tilted his head at that fact.
“Isn’t that sorry because it puts us in danger?”
“no.”
“Then what does it mean?”
“Time is of the essence in this strategy. That’s why I’m sorry.”
“yes?”
“Because of that, I lost the opportunity to improve my skills.”
El Palm concluded his answer by saying:
“Fire Arrow.”
3.
“Cheryl, thank you for your hard work on your trip.”
Cheryl shook her head at Sejan’s words, the leader of the Sand Drawing Group.
“I came here to ask for help, but I don’t care about the hardships. Rather, I am grateful that you listened to my rude request.”
Sejan and Cheryl.
The relationship between the two was deep.
“So, how are you, Gerector?”
“Yes, I am fine.”
“I am always grateful to him. If it weren’t for him, the Sand Drawing Group wouldn’t even exist.”
The beginning of the Sand Drawing Group was uncertain and humble in many ways, but the one who gave them strength was none other than Gerector, the leader of the Cross Hunters.
It wasn’t anything strange.
From the perspective of the Cross Hunters who are mobilizing all means and methods to stop the Black Wizard’s plot, the existence of the Sand Drawing Group that can keep the Ariant Kingdom in check after it falls into the hands of the Black Wizard is very important.
And that relationship has now reached a point where if one side collapses, the other side is also fatal.
That was why.
“Thank you again for your kind words.”
Cheryl, it was Sejan who gave his all without a moment’s hesitation in responding to her sudden request.
Actually, that was something very special.
Within the Sand Drawing Group, which pursues the noble goal of saving the suffering people of the Ariant Kingdom, none other than Sejan, a member of the group, is moving for personal reasons.
It was no ordinary day.
It is by no means an easy task for someone like Sejeon who sacrificed his life for the Sand Drawing Group.
But I listened anyway.
It was a request from none other than Cross Hunter.
“It was a necessary process for me as well. Ereska, to buy time to persuade her.”
And from Sejeong’s perspective, it was a time when someone’s sacrifice was needed.
“El Palm Party, thanks to their sacrifice, Eresca will wait for you for five days.”
It was literally a sacrifice.
“I feel sorry for them.”
That is, Sejan had no idea that El Palm Party would come back alive.
“Do you think El Palm Party will die?”
“Of course. I know what kind of place it is.”
It was worth it.
“This is where the Knights of Signus died. And I sent countless comrades of the Sand Knights to find their remains.”
It’s a dangerous enough place.
“It’s strange to even consider the possibility that only five people would be able to enter a place like that.”
Even going into El Palm Party alone?
It’s strange to expect good results.
So, on the contrary, Sejeon was suspicious.
“There’s no way you wouldn’t know that, Cheryl.”
Cheryl said.
Because we need El Palm Party, open the way for them to survive.
“Why did you fan the flames there instead?”
But when El Palm Party was told they were heading to Saji, Cheryl pushed them away.
It’s hard to understand.
“Because I know what El Palm Party is capable of.”
To which Cheryl replied:
“They will come back alive.”
An answer more confident than ever.
And indeed, Cheryl was confident.
“Because up until now, El Palm Party has been willing to do ridiculous things. This time, Mystic Gate is a place where less than 100 people can enter. It’s difficult, but it can’t be more difficult than places where there are more than 100 people.”
Confident with valid grounds.
“More than anything, they are the best at finding an exit and getting out.”
Sejan made a stern expression at the overflowing confidence, and Cheryl smiled when she saw that expression.
“You don’t seem to believe me. I understand. This is probably your first time seeing the El Palm party.”
A smile that shows that I fully understand.
Sejan shook his head at that smile.
“That’s not it. Cheryl, it’s not that I don’t believe you.”
And the smile on Cheryl’s lips disappeared at that answer.
If Sejeon says this, then it definitely means there is something he did not expect.
“What do you mean?”
“I never underestimated El Palm Party’s capabilities. If I had, I wouldn’t have made the offer to him in the first place.”
“Then is there something else I don’t know?”
“Did you know that the Signus Knight who died there was Bayos, the disciple of Oz, the commander of the Knights of Fire?”
“Yes, I know. I think that’s enough to have an El Palm party.”
“Then do you know what items Bayos has?”
At that point, Cheryl’s expression hardened.
Clearly, the adventurer’s skills were important.
However, the items that the adventurer had were so important that they made his skills pale in comparison.
Normally, there was no need to keep this in mind.
Because there was a limit to the level of items that an average adventurer could possess.
Just having one unique is amazing.
The problem was that the person being mentioned was not a knight of the Knights of Signus, but a disciple of Oz, the commander of the Knights of Fire.
“Of course you have unique items.”
Of course, Cheryl had that in mind, and she was looking at El Palm’s possibilities with that in mind.
It definitely was.
But now it was different.
“Is there anything else?”
If Sejeong says this, it definitely means there is something more to it than she expected.
Sejan answered Cheryl’s question, and the moment he heard the answer, Cheryl’s expression turned pale.
It had to be that way.
“The necklace of Oz, the commander of the Knights of Fire, Bayos has it.”
Because something completely unexpected has appeared.
“That’s why I didn’t see much potential for the El Palm Party.”
Sejan now spoke more firmly than ever to Cheryl, whose expression hardened at that fact.
“El Palm Party probably only has a few unique items, right?”
fantasy,
