Chapter 444: On-site Inspection (1/2)

Right after Gloria had left the village, Heintz Lash advised Lithia.

“Quasi-baron Farheight, I think it is too risky to have Miss Gloria go there alone. Having 2-3 people tag along would be much better. If possible, I would like to accompany her myself.”

Lithia was taken aback.

“I-I understand.”

She decided to have two of the skilled horse riders from the soldiers who were stationed tag along with Heintz.

“Mr. Heintz, please be careful.”

Lithia passed them some dried meat and water bottles.

“I’m greatly thankful for your concern.”

After receiving it, Heintz Lash gave the other two their portion and said,

“We’ll be galloping ‘till we reach Miss Gloria!”

As soon as he finished saying, he whipped his horse and sped out. The other two followed after.

Lithia saw them off with a worried look ‘till they were no longer visible.

“Oooii!”

Hearing a call from behind, Gloria stopped her horse and glanced back.

She spotted Heintz and two others galloping towards her. And so she stood and waited.

“…Orders from Ms. Farheight. We’re to accompany you.”

“Understood, let’s go together.”

Gloria and Heintz lined up and advanced together. It was already quite bright outside, with white summer clouds drifting in the sky.

Heintz handed some dried meat and a water bottle to Gloria.

“From Ms. Farheight. You won’t be able to perform your best when needed since you skipped breakfast.”

“That’s true.”

Being knights, they had no problem eating while riding. Even while eating and drinking, they did not slack the reins. The soldiers following also kept up.

“…Well, Mr. Lash, could you tell me more about this monster?”

Gloria asked Lash after finishing eating.

“Yeah… I lost consciousness in the middle of it all so I can’t really speak of it in detail but I think it was at least 50 meters tall. And it had… 4 eyes, if I am not wrong. They shone red.”

“50 meters… eh?”

“Yes. It threw up some sort of liquid from its mouth-and everything that touched, whether it’s some tree or even a boulder, they all started melting, giving off white smoke.”

“T-that sounds terrifying.”

“That’s about all I know. After that, Mr. Machina’s golem guided us to this area which had a silver glow… I don’t remember anything past that. Before I realized, we were in Toka village.”

“I see.”

How did he defeat such a monster? — Gloria could not imagine such a scenario even if she tried.

The path forward was a gentle slope upwards and as they kept advancing, less and less greeneries could be seen. After passing a wasteland full of boulders, they were faced with a sudden uphill.

“We’ll probably reach in about an hour.”

The two of them slowed their pace and proceeded with caution.

“Would it be better to ready ourselves to draw at any time?”

“No, I don’t think we could do anything to it with a sword. I think it would be better to be careful of the surroundings more.”

Heintz answered Gloria’s question with a bitter smile.

And so, another thirty minutes later, the two of them stopped their horses. The soldiers following did the same.

“We should be close to the scene now. Let’s proceed with caution.

Hearing that, the group focused themselves anew and started slowly walking with their horses.

“…There’s a weird smell here.”

Gloria muttered, holding her nose.

“This is the centipede’s liquid’s smell.”

Heintz answered, holding down his nose as well.

The group became even more cautious than before, paying attention to everything around them.