Read Novel Full Chapter 1164 - 1165: Peak Roads
Chapter 1164: Chapter 1165: Peak Roads
He turned toward Ric and Ranar.
"Young Lady."
"Young Master."
"We’re almost at the city."
He pointed toward the distant mountains.
"Once we get past this valley, we only need to cross a narrow land bridge."
"After that..."
"We’ll be there."
Ric nodded.
For some reason Gunter had begun calling them Young Master and Young Lady.
Perhaps it was their mannerisms.
Ric and Ranar ate, spoke, and carried themselves like nobles.
It was the sort of upbringing commoners rarely possessed.
Ric had been raised by Lilith and Renata.
He had learned etiquette from them and had unconsciously copied many of Damon’s habits.
Even the way he held his utensils or sat while eating seemed refined.
As for Ranar...
She was the princess of House Brightwater.
Eva and Luna would sooner die than allow her to grow into a mannerless child.
She had endured countless etiquette lessons growing up.
The group continued through the valley.
Broken homes, long abandoned by time, lined parts of the old road.
Collapsed roofs and weathered stone walls stood like silent graves.
"What happened here?" Ranar asked softly.
Gunter glanced at one of the ruined buildings before waving his hand dismissively.
"Nothing much."
"Just people who got wiped out."
He spoke as though it were the most ordinary thing in the world.
"Some leave on their own."
"Some get destroyed by others."
"And the worst..."
"They’re the ones consumed by the Anarchy Disease."
He sighed.
"A mother strangling her own child isn’t anything unusual around here."
"What’s the Anarchy Disease?" Ric asked.
He had heard everyone mention it several times already, but nobody had truly explained it.
One of the female adventurers hesitated before answering.
She bit her lip first.
"It’s madness."
"Some say it’s the desire for endless war."
"Others say it’s simply violence given form."
She shrugged.
"It’s nothing particularly unusual."
"Most danger zones or unexplored territories have something that causes madness."
"At least it’s bearable here."
"It can’t be as bad as whatever the hell is hiding inside the Duhu Mountains."
"I’ve heard of that place before," Ric muttered, remembering Damon mentioning it once.
She laughed dryly.
"So has everyone and their mothers."
"It’s a nightmare zone."
"I wouldn’t go there for a billion zeni."
"I heard the Fog Sea is just as bad," one of the children whispered.
Ric had never been there either.
He only knew the name.
"That’s where the Cloud Dragon Aethergon lives, right?" Ranar asked.
"Yep."
"The Fog Sea stretches all the way to the Wild Continent."
"They’ve had trouble with that dragon more than a few times."
Gunter let out a relieved breath.
"At least we don’t have disasters like that here in the Anarchy Mountains."
The way they spoke...
One would almost think these mountains were a paradise.
As Gunter climbed the hill leading out of the valley, he suddenly froze.
He crouched low and hurriedly pulled out a spyglass.
"Tch."
He clicked his tongue.
"What is it?" Ric asked.
"See for yourself."
He handed the spyglass over.
Ric looked through it.
His expression immediately stiffened.
A flock of giant birds surrounded the narrow land bridge leading toward the city.
"Rocs," Gunter said grimly.
"A lot of them."
"We can’t get through."
Ric lowered the spyglass.
"How do we get past them?"
"We don’t."
Gunter shook his head without hesitation.
"We can’t reach the city through this route anymore."
"They’re all at least Fourth Class."
His brows furrowed.
"What are they even doing here?"
"Everyone knows better than to provoke the Rocs."
He looked toward the flock again.
"The Rocs are one of the rulers of these mountains."
"Some of them are intelligent monsters."
"They command other monster tribes."
"If they’re searching for someone..."
"...then soon the entire mountain will begin hunting that target."
He slowly exhaled.
"If they’re gathered here..."
"It means somebody provoked them."
Ric stared at the giant birds before scratching his cheek.
"Well..."
"It wasn’t us."
"We didn’t do anything to them."
Ranar nodded in agreement.
"Then... can we just wait them out?"
Gunter immediately shook his head.
"No."
"These ruins aren’t safe."
"We have no idea what could wander through here."
"...or what’s already here."
The female adventurer, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke.
"We can take the Peak Roads."
The moment she said those words, Gunter shot her a sharp glance.
She immediately lowered her head.
"The Peak Roads..." Ric repeated.
He tilted his head.
"What are the Peak Roads?"
Gunter took a deep breath.
It annoyed him, but it was still an option.
"The Peak Roads are a dangerous route that climbs high into the mountains."
"The roads are relatively well made, but the air gets thinner the higher you climb."
"They’re prone to mana anomalies..."
"...and there are lots and lots of monsters."
He paused before adding,
"Bandits too."
"And the mountains themselves are unpredictable."
"There are also the ruins of old villages..."
"...and ancient things that should’ve been left alone."
His expression grew serious.
"The higher you climb, the worse it gets."
"The fog becomes so thick you can barely see your own hands."
He looked at Ric and Ranar one after the other.
"Taking that route is only for absolutely desperate situations."
Ric grimaced before turning toward Ranar.
Their eyes met for a brief moment.
"We’re taking the Peak Roads, right?"
Ranar nodded without hesitation.
Then she looked at Gunter.
"We can’t go back."
"The only path left is forward."
She folded her arms across her chest.
"After what happened with those angel statues..."
"...I don’t like valleys very much."
"So I vote we leave."
Gunter stared at the little girl for a moment.
He honestly didn’t know what to say.
She was stronger than he was.
In the end, he simply sighed before shooting the female adventurer an exasperated glare.
"Fine."
"But we’ll make camp once we’re outside the valley."
"We’ll rest there and spend the night."
He raised a finger in warning.
"And whatever you do..."
"Don’t start a fire."
"And don’t make unnecessary noise."
"The Rocs will find us..."
"...and they’ll kill us."
Everyone nodded.
Without another word, they quietly slipped away from the valley, careful not to make more noise than necessary.
As Gunter walked at the front of the group, he couldn’t help but wonder...
Which bastard managed to provoke the Rocs?