Chapter 170 – Slipped Out!

“It’s a disaster! Brother Mappa!”

As everyone was drinking the delicious soup, Haines rushed towards us with a desperate expression.

“Haines! So you found Mappa?”
“Yes…yes…”

Haines stopped in front of me and caught his breath.

“O-one of the guards on the wall said that they saw Mappa. And according to him, Mappa jumped down on the other side of the wall…”
“He did what!?”

The other side of the wall. That’s where the black miasma and monsters were swarming.
Even inside of the walls were not safe, as was proven by the dragon attack. And while we had driven it away with magic, there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t attack again.

“My brother, Fule, and Taran have gone down there in order to search the area. Also, a guardian named Karla… But we still can’t find him, and couldn’t go out too far…”

They could not move to that extent on their own.
Besides, Fule and the others were aware of how strong the enemy was.

Alyssa, who had been listening up until now, opened her mouth.

“Your friend has gone outside of the walls? Well, not much time has passed since we last drove them away. So as long as he hasn’t gone too far, he shouldn’t be attacked immediately. We sometimes go out there in order to retrieve resources that were left behind. At the very least, you should have a day.”

But Alyssa continued.

“Sometimes your legs can be grabbed by the dead who lie underground… In any case, it is very dangerous to go out there alone without any preparation.”

Even worse, there was Mappa’s personality. You never knew what he was going to do.

“…We have to rescue him immediately. I’m going out. Lend me a hand!”

I waved at one of the Cave Spiders that was watching the holy place from on top of the wall, and it came down.

“Let’s go and see at once. Rienna, can you stay here just in case something happens?”

Rienna clearly wanted to go with me, and so she didn’t answer right away.
After a brief moment, she nodded.

“Please bring Mappa back safely. You can leave defense of this place to the General and I.”
“Yes. The Princess and I will be able to drive off anyone who might come! As for that Mappa…I’m going to give him a big bump on the head when he gets back.”

Erevan said with a serious expression.

“Perhaps Mappa knows what he is doing… However, do what you must if the people from the holy place attack. Now, we’ll be off.”

I said as Shiel and I got up onto the Cave Spider’s back.

And then Alyssa tried to get on the Cave Spider as well.

“I will go too! You’ll need a guide.”
“Alyssa. You’re the leader of this country. I can’t let you walk into danger.”
“Yes, it is dangerous outside. For someone who does not know the land…”

Alyssa answered. Then Ogus, the guardian, put a hand on her shoulder.

“Your Highness. Please leave this to Vanessa and I. Besides, I’m worried about Karla.”
“Yes. Ogus and I are former Adventurers. We’ve traveled through the sea of miasma before. Your Highness, please stay and continue to negotiate with the people of Sheorl.”

Vanessa said.

Alyssa looked worried, but nodded. She could trust these two.

“Both of you…I’m counting on you. Lord Heal is our saviour. Lead them all safely.”

She said, and Ogus and Vanessa nodded reassuringly.

Like that, we decided to head outside of the city in order to search for Mappa.

“It’s this direction!”

Haines said as he ran through the city on all fours.

However, Ogus raised his voice as he rode on a different Cave Spider.

“Sir Haines! There is only one gate and it’s not in that direction! You are going…”
“It’s fine! We have reliable comrades!”

So saying, Haines climbed up the steps of the wall without a problem.

Then the Cave Spiders followed him as they climbed up the wall.

They extended their hind legs and managed to keep their backs as level as possible.

“Thi-this! It’s amazing!”

Ogus and Vanessa were greatly impressed.

As for me, this sensation of being in a high place still filled me with dread.

However, it did not last for long. We arrived at the top of the wall in no time, and the Cave Spiders jumped down.

Haines had already landed on the ground.

The soil outside was completely black. What looked like iron sand and gravel, and also coal-like boulders spread out as far as the eye could see.

There were also remnants of old buildings and dead trees. Overall, everything was very dark.

“It’s like I’m in hell…”

I couldn’t help but be reminded of illustrations of hell that I had seen in picture books as a child. Even the sky was dark, and there was fear in the air.

“We have to find Mappa as soon as possible.”

In answer to my voice, the fearless Cave Spiders began to run again as they followed Haines, who had already started to run.

Haines shouted.
“Hey! It’s me! Haines!”
“W-wait! Don’t shout so loudly!”

Just as Ogus called after him, the ground right in front of us suddenly started to rise like bubbles.

What came out of the ground then…were creatures of blackened bones. Some were humanoid while others were in the shapes of beasts.

However, unlike the attackers from earlier, they did not emit any miasma. Even their magic was weak.
While I wouldn’t call them normal, they were just Undead.

“Tsk! These things are no enemy of mine!”

Haines unsheathed the scimitar he had hanging on his belt.

And with it in hand, he charged into the horde of undead, and crushed them with a single swing.

I cast Shield around Haines, but it wasn’t even necessary. In a flash, the thirty Undead were defeated as Haines dashed through them.

“A-amazing…”

Vanessa muttered. It was exactly what I had been thinking.
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t really seen Ashton and Haines fight ever since their arrival on the island…

Even Ereven had praised their fighting ability. They had spent any free time they had in the underground training area, so in a way, it wasn’t really a surprise.

After Haines was finished defeating the Undead, he looked at his curved blade with interest.

Mappa had made that scimitar.
I could see just how worried he was about Mappa.

“That Mappa…”

Haines shook his head and then continued.

“Master Heal! Let us hurry! My brother and the others shouldn’t be too far away.”
“Aye.”

And so once again, we advanced through the black field.

Next Chapter

The Cave King will live a Paradise Life -Becoming the strongest with the mining skill?-