Chapter 201 - From Climbing the Mountain to Being Sabo (2/2)

“Uhm, Lapis-chan, even though I’m like this, I’m still an Evil God, you know?”

Gula nervously protested at Lapis’s request, but she knew she had to do it anyway and began to use her Predators on the part of the mountain face Lapis pointed to. Multiple mouths, which would normally be invisible, started gnawing away at the mountain surface and swallowed up the crushed stones. Soon enough, a cave opened up on the vertical mountain surface, big enough for three people to lie down.

“That’s convenient.”

“It is.”

“Can you please stop using me for your convenience?”

With Gula’s power, it really was easy to dig a hole, and you didn’t even have to worry about the dug up rocks.

As Loren checked the condition of the newly-dug cave and thought that he might ask for Gulas’ help in this kind of situation from now on, he suddenly put his palm on his nape and rubbed it as he looked around. Gula was going into the cave, thinking that since she had dug it, it would be okay for her to go in first. Lapis was watching her, but she noticed Loren’s gesture and also turned to look around

“What is it?”

“No… It’s probably just my imagination.”

As Loren replied, he asked Shayna in his mind to search the area. In the absence of plants and animal life on the rocky mountain, Loren knew he could rely on Shayna’s senses to tell him if there was any living thing nearby. But Shayna answered that there were no signs of life nearby, and Loren tilted his head as he rubbed his nape.

“Loren?”

“Nothing, just that I thought I felt eyes on me, but I guess it was just my imagination.”

If Shayna didn’t feel anything, then there was probably nothing. But Lapis’ face became a little grim at his answer, and she looked around carefully again. Loren thought there was no need to be that cautious if the King of Death didn’t sense anything, but Lapis had a different opinion:

“Something like a life response can be masked by a type of magic called <<Seal>>. However, the feeling of being watched like you sensed cannot be hidden by any magic.”

Lapis said it was also important to trust your senses. Loren once again looked out from the cave’s opening, but he couldn’t spot anything. Not being sure what to make of it.

“Who will go after us at such a place?”

“Someone who wants this helmet, of course.”

Lapis took out the black helmet from her pack. As far as Loren knew, the only person who wanted the helmet was Magna, the long-haired man wearing black armor.

“Are you saying he’s already here?”

“Even if he hasn’t, we shouldn’t assume that he’s working alone.”

Loren thought about what Lapis was trying to say and eventually came up with an answer.

“You mean he has accomplices?”

“Yes. And if he does, this mountain will be watched.”

Lapis explained that there was a reason why the Demon King had instructed him to throw the helmet into the crater of this very mountain: It was because she had judged that the helmet and other items in the set could not be completely destroyed by any other means. Magna, who was collecting the set, probably knew about this. It would be troublesome for him if any item was destroyed, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he was monitoring the area where the only thing that can destroy these items existed.

“Do you think they will attack us?”

If they wanted to quickly get the helmet from them, they could storm the place, get rid of the three of us, and then retrieve the item at ease. They didn’t know how many accomplices Magna had, but the common sense should be at least the same number as Loren’s party or more.

“It depends on how many people they have, but the first question is whether these accomplices actually exist or not.”

They guessed that Magna might have some accomplices, but they were not certain. It was possible that what Loren sensed was just his imagination, and Lapis’ speculation was overly cautious.

“If Shayna can’t detect them, we’re in trouble.”

“Yeah. But unless Magna could find help from the demons, I don’t think there are many people that skilled. The same number as us at most, if not fewer.”

“They plan to stop us with fewer people than us?”

“That…”

Lapis turned her gaze upwards. Even though the sun was setting and the night was about to fall, the heavy clouds hanging over their heads were still visible. As Loren also looked up, wondering what on earth Lapis was watching, she muttered absentmindedly:

“If they cause a commotion and attract the Ancient Dragon’s attention…”

From the Ancient Dragon’s point of view, any human or demon who set foot in the vicinity of its home would be seen as an intruder, unless the person had a specific reason for doing so. Lapis thought that if Magna’s accomplices could make a commotion to attract the Ancient Dragon’s attention then hide well, they would be able to pin that attention on the three of them.

“In that case, having too many people would become a disadvantage.”

If you were working alone, you only needed to conceal one person from the dragon. If you had three people like Loren’s party, you would have to hide three people, making it very difficult.

“Which means if they raid us, they have more people than us. If they don’t, then they have fewer people than us. Is that correct?”

“You can say so.”

If Magna really had accomplices here, what kind of method would they use to hinder their party?

As if to betray Loren’s expectation that it would be better if they didn’t exist, suddenly, out of nowhere, he saw a crimson flare running through the darkening night. It landed a bit closer to the mountaintop than where their party currently was at, and a huge explosion sounded, followed by a burst of red flames.

“Your keen senses are admirable, Loren.”

They knew the direction where the shot came from, but they didn’t know exactly where it was fired.

In case they were aiming directly at their party, Lapis executed a <

>. The second shot came right that moment, hitting slightly closer to them than the first one, and Lapis grumbled at the explosive sound and flames it brought.

Loren unconsciously looked up at the black clouds hanging thickly in the sky. If you made such loud noise and flames on a bare rocky mountain with no other conspicuous features around, you were bound to attract some attention.