Chapter 67

The lodging facility was surrounded by high walls.

There were four watchtowers at every corner and each had two sentries stationed there.

They had the important duty of ensuring that the residents remained safe.

However, the inside of the building seemed to be quite busy, as dinner was being prepared. It was hard to not be distracted by the smell that wafted out.

The sentries were tired. They had suffered from a lack of sleep for several days, and the fatigue of our travels was reaching its peak.

Still, they had to listen to the cheerful voices at their backs as they rubbed their stomachs and continued to stare out into the distance.

I passed by them while staying inside of the shadows.

According to Christan, they had sent more Dragon Masters out for patrol than was usual.

“So, that’s why they were able to see the tents.”

The report was half-day ago, but the running dragons that had been patrolling the area had not seen anything.

The running dragons couldn’t see it, but the flying dragons could.

“It could only be seen from the sky.”

They must have not been able to see through the crack in the boulder.

Well, it was probably a good thing. It might have led to a battle if they did see something.

“The distance is about 10 kilometers from us. …However, everyone would be eating dinner right about now.”

The food had smelled delicious as I made my way out, but this scouting mission was more important.

Christan had probably made some excuse for me. Like I had a fever and needed to rest.

I could only hope he didn’t come up with a more ridiculous excuse, as it would be hard to explain it later on. I really should have made sure of it before leaving.

As for the enemy camp, you had to climb up the rocky mountain in order to see it. I would have to get closer.

Shadow Crossing would allow me to approach them without being seen. So I would be able to observe them for a while and then retreat.

As I didn’t know how many of them there were, getting into a fight would be a bad idea.

Could I really get close to them without being seen? I thought I could.

Alright. It was time to find out what they were doing and how many there were.

I advanced through the shadows while continuing to dive.

There were many large boulders and more obstacles than I had expected. It seemed like it would be hard to climb up.

The higher you climbed, the bigger the rocks were. And they moved under your feet as you walked.

Walking normally would result in the smaller rocks rolling away and the sounds of sand scraping under your feet.

“They sure picked a good place to hide.”

If they were ambushed here, they would catch the enemy very early on.

And this steep slope. It would also be hard to get to the top.

“It’s like a small mountain covered in rocks…oh, a magic barrier.”

Suddenly, everything felt different.

I squinted up ahead and saw what appeared to be a detection barrier.

“It covers a really wide area too. Not only that, but I can’t avoid it even if I know where it is.”

I could see that the air slightly above the ground was colored faintly.

It was like a skin that floated above the surface, you wouldn’t be able to get past it unless you could fly.

“Well, unless you are me.”

I remained in the shadows as I searched to see if there were any other barriers, but I couldn’t find any.

And so I continued to go up until I was over the rocky mountain and was able to see the rift.

“So, this is the place that was in the report.”

I advanced carefully and immediately saw the tent.

I see. This place was well hidden.

It would be hard to find even if you were looking down from the sky.

The Dragon Master who had found them would have had to have incredibly high scouting abilities.

You would really only be able to see a part of it from a certain angle.

“…Now, what kind of people will they be…”

I watched from the shadows.

There were six people inside the tent.

And since there were two guards keeping watch near a boulder, that meant there were eight in all.

They all wore gray robes. And I couldn’t see their faces.

They were just standing there silently. But they didn’t seem nervous.

I got the impression that they were used to waiting for long periods of time.

There was no need for idle talk or to kill time with some activity.

That was a sign of a strong enemy. However, I too was good at waiting.

After a while, they glanced at each other, and two of them left the tent.

The silence continued for a while. And then two others entered the tent.

“…It’s just the guards trading places.”

So there were six inside of the tent again.

Eight in all.

There were about sixty students from the academy.

And a number of Dragon Masters.

This was not a big enough number to take over the facility.

It was more likely that they’d creep in at night and try to assassinate us.

Or at least, that was the only thing that I could think of. Perhaps there were other ways.

It was difficult to attack Dragon Masters once they were riding their dragons.

The lodging facility was made to withstand the attacks of Moon Beasts and was built entirely of stone.

I didn’t think it would be possible for them to use destructive magic to bring it all down at once.

A full-frontal attack did not seem likely at all. It had to be an assassination.

“Then they won’t act for a while.”

It would be some time before everyone would be sleeping in their beds.

In fact, the Dragon Masters would be taking care of their dragons right about now.

They would be able to mount them immediately if they were attacked now.

So they wouldn’t move until at least midnight.

“Alright, I got some information. Might as well go back now.”

This information was only useful if I delivered it. There would be no point if I was discovered or caused them alarm.

On my way back, I went around and checked the surrounding area.

While it was all a wasteland, there was nothing in particular that drew my attention.

“…Hm?”

I suddenly sensed something in the grove that was near to the lodging facility.

When I searched inside, I found two more guards.

“So, they’re monitoring people who go in and out of the building.”

Christan had said that they hadn’t sent scouts out ever since they discovered the tent. And he had clearly made the right decision.

As they were monitoring us, they would have realized that we knew they were here and where they were.

So there were two guards by the rocky mountain and two in the grove. Four guards in all.

I had been able to count ten of them so far.

I would have to return. We could think of a plan after I’d made a report.