170 Chapter 170: Toward the Mountains of Madness (2/2)
”Please don't do that. If you destroy everything, we won't be able to find out what they are up to, how far they have advanced, or get some clues as to what their plans are or how far they have progressed with their research. Besides, there are mountain communities out here, with some people living in the mountains. Let's try to avoid accidentally killing innocent people unless we really have no choice.”
Avoid. Meaning that if there was an army of monsters running down the mountains, Dad would just consign them as collateral damage. Sacrifice the extremely few innocent people living in the mountains in order to save the thousands, if not millions of people living in the nearby city. And the village here as well.
”Let's go.” By now, Dad had finished collating whatever traces or clues he was searching for, and he turned toward the road.
”Yes, Dad.”
I summoned a couple of Pegasus, and we hopped onto the winged horses and began riding along the road. It would be too slow and inefficient to proceed across a clear, open road on foot, and we would draw too much attention by flying over on Cygnus or Aquila. Besides, Dad wanted to keep his eyes close to the ground, to ensure that we didn't accidentally miss out on any clues or trails. If the convoy suddenly veered off at a fork, or took an alternative route (a dirt path along the sparse grass rather than continue along the main road), he wanted to know.
As such, I didn't disturb Dad while he was keeping his eyes on the road. Once we were out of the village and beyond the protection of its barrier, a bunch of monsters lurked and stalked us, barely able to keep pace with my Pegasus. I largely ignored them, because if I slaughtered them, a new pack of monsters would just show up, and it just wouldn't end. I would be wasting too much mana on needless battle.
On the other hand, if we let them tag along for now, the current pack of monsters would keep other monsters off our backs. Once they were exhausted after trying to keep up with Pegasus, they would be easier to finish off anyway.
Dad would look up occasionally to tell me which direction to take, especially when the road diverged into a fork, or when the vehicle convoy moved into a different terrain, as expected. I obeyed without question, my mental connection with Pegasus allowing us to veer toward the new route before I needed to vocalize anything.
”Wow, these Constellation spirits of yours are really convenient,” Dad remarked with a grin. ”If I was alone, I would have to rent a rover. And sometimes, villages like the one we just left don't have many vehicles to rent out, so I would have to make the journey on foot. We save money this way, as well as have a backup plan in case we can't get the resources we need for a mission.”
Now that I thought about it, Dad didn't actually have any other spirits or soul beasts except Angelica. She was his only summoned spirit. I wondered about that.
”Dad, don't you have any other summoned spirits?”
”No. Angelica is my only one, and will be my only one.”
There was something in Dad's voice that stopped me from pursuing the topic, and I fell silent. as if to ease the mood, Dad perked up.
”We're almost there. I think it's that mountain.”
The vehicle tracks went up to a certain mountain, which had a road carved along its surface. The convoy then disappeared into what seemed to be a cave at the base of the mountain.
”Time to get off and move on foot.” Dad glanced at the Pegasus he was riding, a look of pity on his face. ”Sorry, Richie, but your horses are a bit too conspicuous. You might want to dismiss them. We're going to hide in the shadows for now.”
”I understand.”
Hopping off, I dismissed both Pegasus, and then joined Dad in disappearing into the shadows. Melting into the darkness of the environment, we stepped into the mountain.
For the first few minutes, we saw nothing. Not because it was dark – evidently someone had hollowed out and repurposed the interior of the mountain. Concrete and metal replaced rock, and dim lightings hung from the ceiling, providing illumination for whatever vehicle convoys drove through here. Dad kept a lookout for security cameras and cast a fire-type illusionary spell to ensure we were invisible.
”The place is huge,” I murmured in awe. Well, duh. It was a mountain. Even so, it reminded me of some secret base.
”There's no mistaking it. This is one of their facilities.”
Dad's voice was grim. Having already razed two of the enemy's facilities, he was familiar with the layout and patterns. He strode forward with a purpose, as if he knew where to go, and I hurried to keep up. Glancing around cautiously, I wondered about the lack of people, but this was just the transport tunnel. Of course all the people would be inside the base proper.
And not a moment too soon. Dad held up a hand and gestured for me to stop, right when a huge, metallic door loomed out in front of us.
”We're here.”
My jaw dropped as I studied the massive double doors, which seemed mechanized and made of reinforced titanium. Whatever this place was, the owners certainly did whatever they could to fortify their positions against attacks. I doubted if even my Sagittarius's Alnasl arrow could pierce through those heavily armored doors.
No…they might have designed the doors that way to keep something inside, to prevent something from escaping from within their facility.
I shuddered, feeling a sudden chill run down my spine. Gulping, I turned to Dad.
”So…how do we sneak in?”
”Who says we're going to sneak in?” Dad replied, grinning as he began casting a fire spell. His hand lit up as a gigantic fireball began expanding exponentially above his palm. ”We're going to blast our way in through the front door.”