Chapter 171 – We chased after them!

“This way! Their scent continues in this direction! Mappa’s as well!”

Haines ran like a dog on all fours through the black field.

He was said to have the best nose on the island. And he was able to immediately differentiate everyone’s scent.

However, I suddenly detected a great swelling of magic energy in the direction that he was going.
Then I saw an explosion that reached the sky.

“Tsk?!”

The ground shook as the explosive sound and violent winds forced us to stop in our tracks.

However, this magic was familiar to me.
It was Hell Explosion. Elto had shown it to us before.

“It must be Fule!”

I couldn’t help but shout.
There was no doubt about it. It had been Fule who used this magic.
She must be getting attacked by the Undead that we fought earlier.

“Let’s hurry!”
“Yes!”

And with that, Haines and the Cave Spiders started running again.

Not long after, there was another explosion. But this one was smaller.
Furthermore, while it was difficult to follow, I saw that someone was cutting down Undead.

It was likely that Fule was causing the explosions with magic, while Ashton cut them down with his blade.

“My brother!”

Haines shouted happily.
Apparently, Fule, Taran and Ashton were fighting in the front.

We quickly moved to join them.
However, the fight ended by the time that we reached them.

“Are you all alright!?”

I called out to them, and then Fule turned to face us.

“Ah, Lord Heal! This was nothing at all!”

Fule showed her usual cheerful smile.
Even Taran, who Fule was riding on, waved her front legs at us.

“So you came, Lord Heal. I…am ashamed…”

Ashton said in a voice filled with regret.
While he didn’t have a single cut on his body, he was angry at himself for not being able to rescue Mappa.

“No, I’m just glad that you’re all safe…”

I said, and then Haines asked the others.

“So, where is Brother Mappa?”

Fule had a troubled expression after hearing this, and then turned to look behind her.

A young woman was limp behind her. It was Karla, the guardian.
She was leaning against Fule as if she was drunk.

“Uh… Ashton was following after Old Mappa’s scent, and then Miss Karla here told us that there was an ancient temple in that direction. And so she guided us there…”

Taran must have also worked hard in order to avoid the undead.
Apparently, Karla had fallen during that time.

Ogus, the other guardian, muttered with a conflicted expression.

“How shameful… And you call yourself a guardian?”
“Karla. She always was too weak…”

Vanessa, who was also a guardian, agreed with a sigh. But then she turned to Fule.

“Karla said something about an ancient temple?”
“Yes. She thought that Mappa must be headed towards one of them.”

Fule said, and then Vanessa and Ogus turned to face each other.

And then Ogus turned to me.

“There is a valley farther on from here. And within it is a cluster of ancient temples that are said to have existed before the founding of Arancia. They were seen as holy, just like the World Tree and the Holy Place. But after the World Tree was burned, they were considered to be heathen structures, and so going there to pray was then forbidden.”
“There is such a place… And is there anything there?”
“It is said that great weapons and tools once lay there. But the royals have since picked the place clean, so it should be an empty shell now. I suppose the place may be crawling with monsters… No, with the Undead.”

Why would Mappa head towards a place like that?
There must be a reason for it. Something that even the royals of Arancia did not notice.

I said to Ogus,

“Mister Ogus. Will you take us to this place?”
“Of course. Let us go at once.”

Ogus nodded.
Just then, I detected great magic from far away.

A single human figure was being chased by others of various sizes.

“What? No.”

I quickly took out a telescope from my pocket.

It was the telescope that Mappa had made out of the Leviathan’s scales.
You could adjust the focus by turning a gear on the side. It was a brilliant piece of craftsmanship that allowed me to get a clear image of the horizon.

And when I looked in the direction of magic energy…

“That’s…Mappa!”

It was none other than Mappa.
He was riding on a two-wheeled contraption that I had never seen before.

It was like two metal wheels that were connected by a metal rod. And there was a seat that Mappa was sitting on as if astride a horse.

And it was on this metal horse that Mappa rushed through the field.

“Lord Heal. Did you see Mappa!?”
“Ye-yes. He’s riding on some weird vehicle. Not only that, but he’s being chased by a horde of Undead!”

However, Mappa seemed quite amused by it as he rode on his metal horse.
He would go over hills as if they were ramps, so that the metal horse would fly into the air, and then he would zigzag as he continued.

It looked quite fun…

I wasn’t sure if it was something Mappa had made himself, but there was something very exciting about it.
Well, there was still a horde of Undead right behind him. So I doubted that I would be able to enjoy myself if I was there in his place.

Besides, Mappa didn’t seem like he was running away from them. He was headed towards a clear destination.

While the Cave Spiders and Ashton were fast, the metal horse was their equal.
We would not be able to catch up if we started chasing them now.
In that case, we should just go around.

I pointed in the direction that Mappa was headed in.

“Ogus. What is in that direction?”
“The valley of the ancient temples. The one I was just talking about.”

Apparently, Mappa really was trying to go there after all.

“That is where Mappa is headed. We must go there too!”

And like that, we ran in the same direction that Mappa and his metal horse were headed.

Next Chapter

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