How the Shadow of the Marquis Lives

Chapter 118

The place we arrived at with Tiss’ guidance was bigger than we thought.

An indented basin surrounded by ridges.

The plain area was surrounded by a wide wooden fence, and farmland was cleared in a terraced fashion on the mountain side.

“oh… … .”

Hergé was surprised to see Keldwin’s appearance.

Compared to other cities on the continent, it was of course inferior, but when you consider that this place is in the middle of the land of monsters, the story changes.

It was a spectacle that could even evoke emotion that there was a human domain as diverse and even as wide as that one.

“I can stop being homeless now!”

Erze smiled and said that.

… … Well, that part is definitely not happy.

After leaving Everwhale, he moved to several villages, but after entering the tomb of giants, they were all homeless.

I wasn’t a member whose body would be ruined by sleeping a little, but there would be fatigue accumulated without knowing it.

“So, what are you going to do?”

Hector asked Xian.

He as well as the rest of the party listened to everything Thies explained to Xi’an.

They say that in order to reach the eastern end, you have to go through the territory of the ants, and that is impossible.

“We have to find a way.”

I’ve killed a few ants, but I haven’t ventured into the realm of ants yet.

It was too early to give up already.

“Hey, Tees! What are they!”

As I approached the fence, I heard a sound from up there.

I looked up and saw a man on top of a tall watchtower at the entrance, holding a crossbow and aiming at it.

He was a man of large stature and a bearded brown bear.

“Zach! Get rid of that crossbow! They are my lifesavers!”

“under! So what?”

Despite Tees’s cry, the man called Jacques only snorted and did not remove the crossbow.

Zach more firmly glared at the guys lined up behind Tees.

I couldn’t see their faces from this side because they were all wearing hoods, but it was clear that they were strangers.

At that time, the one standing at the front of them stepped forward to Tees.

“My name is Xian. I ran away from the Empire.”

“Empire?”

Xian took off his hood and spoke. Looking at the face revealed under the hood, Zach clicked his tongue.

He was as big as a fairly tall man, but looking at his face, he looked like a kid who might have been in his twenties.

‘Although they say it’s not a big deal these days, it seems that even the little ones like that are kicked out.’

In recent years, the number of people fleeing from the Empire has increased in Keldwin. Among them were soldiers who had deserted from the army.

Keldwin is a town of fugitives. It was natural for the population to increase when war broke out.

“Are these fugitives? But not everyone can get this either.”

Zach slightly moved the crossbow he was aiming at.

Of course, he held the loaded arrow firmly in his hand so that he could pick it up and shoot it at any time without releasing it.

“Do you have any skills or knowledge that could help? Like knowing how to handle iron or being able to use herbs.”

“technology?”

Xian glanced back at the party, but everyone just shrugged.

“I don’t know the technique, but I do fight a little.”

“Yumma! That’s what all the guys who come this far do!”

Zach groaned at the answer he heard from below.

It is said that Keldwin is relatively close to the entrance to the continent, but we still have to pass through the realm of demons.

Having reached this point, it was tantamount to proving that he already had some fighting power.

“What else is there?”

“hmm.”

Looking down, where there was no answer, Zach snorted. I knew it would be like that. It is surprising that such a young man has arrived here. What more can you do?

Then Xian spoke.

“How about fighting a little better?”

“what?”

Zach furrowed his eyebrows at Xian’s strange words.

Then, an arm brushed his ear from behind and abruptly rose.

“Ugh!”

While Zach was frightened, the thin dagger in his hand cut through the bolt loaded in the crossbow.

In an instant, Zach’s crossbow was hung with only half-cut arrows.

“Oh, how soon!?”

Zach hurriedly retreated and drew the dagger from his bosom. An aura rose from that dagger, albeit faintly.

On the other hand, the woman in front of me calmly turned the dagger and put it in her bosom.

Zach looked down.

Obviously, there were only three Hoods now.

‘I’ve been watching!’

He was obviously holding a crossbow and keeping an eye on them.

But how did one guy fall out before he knew it and climbed up to this watchtower and cut the arrow?

Even at this moment right in front of my eyes, I couldn’t feel the presence properly.

Zach felt completely possessed by a ghost.

“I think this level will be helpful enough.”

Xian’s voice came from below.

Ergé put the dagger fully into his bosom and jumped off the watchtower.

Landing on the ground without a single injury, she jumped and headed towards Xian.

“That, yes. Go in at once.”

Feeling the cold sweat running down his back, Zach finally opened the door to the wooden fence.

If there were four of them, he had no means to stop them even if he wanted to.

Xian took the party and went into the city.

Upon entering, Ergé looked at Jacques on the watchtower and waved lightly.

‘ha… … This guy, who the hell did he bring?’

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Jacques touched his forehead at Ergé’s greeting and sighed.

It would be welcome if it came simply for the sake of hiding, but somehow I thought it wouldn’t be the case.

* * *

“I-I’ll take you to the mayor first.”

Teeth stuttered as he seemed to be even more frightened by neutralizing Zach on the watchtower in one fell swoop.

While crossing the main road and heading towards the mayor’s house, countless eyes fell on Xian and his party.

He immediately noticed that he was an outsider.

“Who was that in the watchtower now?”

“It must be Zach.”

“You mean Zach passed? Then there’s a good chance you’ll become a resident here.”

“I don’t know. what the market will say It could be a tourist who stopped by briefly in the first place.”

“Hey, who would travel to a place like this?”

They too are mostly from outside.

That’s why there was no atmosphere of rejecting them as outsiders, but they couldn’t avoid their curious eyes.

After a while, we arrived at a house slightly larger than the others.

It didn’t feel luxurious at all, just a little big.

“A guest, Tees?”

Soon after, the mayor greeted Xian’s party.

“He saved me from being surrounded by ants.”

“So you brought it?”

“He said he was looking for this place. You can’t ignore the benefactor’s words, can you?”

“If I knew you, I’d probably just ignore you and stay.”

“hahahaha… … . That, then I’m done.”

It seemed as if he was just introducing himself, and Tees ran away.

The only thing left was the mayor and Xian and his party sitting in a chair.

“Sit down.”

“yes.”

Xian and his party were seated in a place facing the market.

Xian looked at the mayor.

He was an elderly man, but, unlike an old man, he had a fairly robust appearance.

He’s big, and his muscles, trained in real battles, are still developing. There was a large scar on his face.

It felt more like a vicious bandit than a market.

“Where are you from?”

“I am from the Empire.”

“Because of the war?”

“That’s it.”

“You look pretty young… … .”

“Because it’s for a while.”

“Right.”

The mayor quickly understood Xian’s history with a few words, as if he had accepted the fugitive once or twice.

And I drew a line beyond a certain point and didn’t ask at all beyond that.

“Seeing that Zach passed it, it seems he has a knack for it.”

“He fights well.”

“huh? good fight Zach passed with that?”

“yes.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

The mayor blinked and looked at Xian.

Zach isn’t the strongest guy in Keldwin, but he’s strong enough to use an aura.

If such a Zach was convinced, it means that he is definitely stronger than that.

‘These young-looking kids?’

I suddenly became curious about the history of Xian’s party, which I didn’t even care about. These are the ones who have been learning since childhood in a family of knights.

Of course, I didn’t ask or ask because I was suddenly curious.

“Are you here to live? There is plenty of space left to live in.”

“I don’t intend to sit down at all, I intend to enter the territory of ants.”

As he said that, the mayor narrowed his eyes.

After choosing his words for a moment, he stopped Xian.

“You’d better quit… … . They are the ones who pushed out all the other monsters and took over this land. It is not a place to go on a tour of joy and pleasure.”

Even this place is dangerous, so I’m thinking about what to do, the mayor added.

However, it was not a plan to give up with a word.

“I’ll give up if it’s absolutely impossible, but it’s not yet time to judge that.”

“Huh… … You may have encountered ants on your way, but you shouldn’t think about it that much. Their power comes from an endless number. Moreover, the guys who appear here are the ones who were culled from their kingdom.”

“Do you?”

“Among them, the ones who were kicked out of the realm because they were too weak.”

It meant that if you enter the realm in earnest, there will be guys who can’t even compare to the ants here.

Not only that, but the number of objects is overwhelming.

‘It must be dangerous.’

Xian crossed his arms and thought, then glanced back at Hector.

Then I asked him a little bit.

“Hector. Even if your body dies, will you go back to hell and end it? It was only Advent.”

“Yeah, that’s right. If you solve Advent, you can go back right away. It’s because you’re tied up because of someone. But why… … .”

Hector, who had been responding well, wrinkled his expression as if he realized something.

“Hey, do you think you’re going to throw me away and run away in case of danger?”

“Not necessarily. One of the plans seems like it could be left alone.”

“Yumma! How is this? Have you ever seen such an evil human being, who the hell is this!”

“If that’s the case, aren’t you good too? You will be forced to return to Hell, but you will still find your freedom.”

“huh? Is that so… … ?”

While Hector, persuaded by the strange logic, was tilting his head, Xian continued his conversation with the mayor.

“hmm… … If you intend to enter the territory of ants.”

“Any way?”

“I don’t have one, but anyone who deserves to know how does.”

The mayor rummaged through the basket in the corner and took out a piece of cloth with a simple map on it.

“This?”

Xian asked.

It was a strange map with lots of winding pictures drawn on it.

“It’s a map of the ants’ territory, but only the beginning is slightly drawn. Is there a part marked on this side here? There must be a person living there.”

“A person?”

Are people living in the territory of ants? Leaving this city behind?

“I don’t know how they live there. But when I see them come down to the city from time to time, they seem to be doing well. Come visit us and ask. Do you know anything about how to avoid ants or something?”

Xian accepted the cloth with her eyes shining.

“thank you. You have heard valuable information.”

“You sleep with a precious person, and all the residents here know it, but what? He’s a famous geek who knows everything if you grab hold of anyone passing by and ask.”

“I see.”

Xian put the cloth in her bosom and stood up.

Then, the urgent matter was taken care of, so the next urgent matter remained.

“Could it be an inn… … Um, no, could I rent a guest house or even an empty house for a while?”

For now, it was first to wash and rest in a place with a roof.