I Became the Martial God's Youngest Disciple

Episode 291

Mir looked at the white-scaled lizardman walking ahead of her. He was amazing. Mir wondered how he could be so silent when he had so many different weapons tied to his back.

Araxad had heard that the nature of this mission was intrusion. Since stealth was the main focus, he'd reduced the number of weapons he carried as much as possible.

Nevertheless, there were still a lot of weapons in Mir's eyes. There were no warriors in the Frostwolf Tribe who could wield so many weapons, so she felt great respect for this lizardman senior.

Araxad suddenly called out, "Stop."

"Ah, yes."

Over the past few days, Mir had learned to speak formally. She nodded and stuck closely behind Araxad.

Araxad squinted as he looked ahead. Then he said briefly, "I can see a suspicious place. It could be a key facility of the church, so let's take a look."

"Yes. Should I wait here?"

"That would be best."

"I understand." Mir replied awkwardly in a formal manner and lowered herself immediately.

Araxad glanced at her with a slightly worried look. He'd never had a child and had no intention of having one. It felt like leaving a child by the river and walking away.

Of course, that was a rude thought. This small girl had to have gone through her own turmoil to become a hero.

Mir watched the departing Araxad and once again felt admiration. He was at least twice her size, maybe three times, but he moved without making a sound. Not even the crunch of snow beneath his feet was audible. A snow troll crawling beneath the white snow would make more noise than him.

"Sigh."

Mir was left alone and vigilantly watched her surroundings. However, drowsiness soon crept in. She knew such a thing was very dangerous.

"Cold often makes you forget drowsiness. So if you feel sleepy even in the midst of cold winds or a blizzard, it is a sign to be cautious. It means your body is in terrible condition."

Mir recalled her father's advice and pinched her thigh. Then she gathered snow and smeared it roughly across her face, forcing the sleepiness away. She didn't know how long she did this.

After a while, Araxad returned. Mir couldn't read the lizardman's expression, but for some reason, she had the feeling that the senior was troubled.

Araxad said, "The security was too tight for me to confirm properly, but I'm fairly certain it is one of their main facilities. There are many troops concentrated there, more than the dueling ground we saw earlier. It is strange."

"What is strange?"

"Usually, they place a lot of troops around places that require the most caution. In other words, the church has decided that it should pay more attention to this unknown place than the arena where many warriors are fighting.'

"Ah!" Mir lacked knowledge, but that didn't mean she was unintelligent. She understood what Araxad meant. "So there might be more warriors over there?"

"Or they might be hiding something valuable. The priest could even be carrying out the ritual inside." Araxad hesitated briefly before continuing. "We don't have the luxury of consulting others. We don't have much time left. My plan is to take control of that area for now. Whatever it is, I doubt it will hurt us to attack it."

"I understand."

At that moment, another voice said, "That is the church's detention camp."

Araxad reflexively reached for the hilt of his sword. Then he saw the source of the voice and relaxed his guard. "Sister Razbet? Didn't you go in the opposite direction to us?"

"Yes. Then I belatedly realized that it wasn't just time; even space is distorted in this cave."

"What does that mean?"

"To put it simply, it means we have to move together from now on. It was a stroke of luck that we were reunited like this."

"Mm." Araxad nodded. It sounded reasonable. He asked, "By the way, what do you mean by detention camp?"

"Most of the northern residents kidnapped by the church are held there. The difference from the arena is that the people imprisoned here haven't lost their will to fight yet."

"Then if we liberate them?"

"Yes. It will add to our strength."

If so, it wasn't a matter of choice but something that had to be done. Their strength had been enhanced with the addition of Verita, at least..

Mir quietly clenched her fists. Her father and her people weren't in the arena. That meant there was a high probability they would be confined in that camp.

Perhaps they were already dead, but she decided not to think like that right now. The Frostwolf Tribe wasn't that weak, after all.

"Let's hurry. There is no time," Verita said.

"Ah. By the way, Sister, are you okay with that wound?" Mir asked.

"Wound?"

"Yes. Your shoulder is still bleeding."

Verita paused and touched her shoulder.

Mir remembered this wound. It had been caused when three demons fell from the sky and attacked.

Araxad remarked in puzzlement, "I know that you are a nun and have the ability to heal. Why are you leaving your wound unattended?"

Soon, Verita smiled slightly and replied, "It is a small wound, so I forgot to stop the bleeding. I'll solve it soon. Let's go first."

"Yes."

Verita let Mir go first before looking down at her wound. She was so used to pain that she hadn't even noticed the wound hadn't healed.

Naturally, she wasn't affected by Dark Qi. Even if this cave was connected to hell and created a strange environment, her abilities wouldn't be affected. Such a scratch would've healed on its own without her being aware of it.

Even though the result seemed obvious, Verita still focused her healing power on the wound on her shoulder.

As expected, nothing happened.

Since the wound was still there, Verita tightened her muscles and blood vessels to force the bleeding to stop. At the same time, a terrible possibility came to mind.

"Don't tell me..."

***

It was cold enough to bring someone to tears. The tips of my fingers and toes ached as if they were torn open, and my eyelids stuck together as if they were glued together, making it difficult to even open my eyes.

I was overcome by confusion, but I instinctively realized that the situation was dangerous. I really felt like I was going to freeze to death.

The First Fire Technique! I thought.

Crackle!

Flames rose from my dantian. My muscles and joints were frozen, but there was no obstruction to the flow of energy inside my body. Even bitter cold couldn't freeze flowing seawater.

"Huooh." It was only then that I exhaled. Had I been holding my breath all this time?

The icy air filled my lungs, but I couldn't stop gasping for breath. Soon, the energy spread through my body, restoring the normal circulation of blood. Oxygen was finally supplied to my brain and normal thinking resumed.

I forced my creaking body up and found myself standing in the heart of a snowstorm that raged fiercely.

My last memory was of smashing the priest's head and running away. Then I was caught up in a huge snowstorm.

I wondered if I'd been swept away by the blizzard and ended up outside Ymir's body. However, I soon realized that worst-case scenario couldn't have happened.

It was because I was still alive. The cursed mark on the back of my hand still remained. According to Verita, I would die immediately if I moved more than a certain distance away. That meant this strange snowfield was likely inside Ymir's body.

What the hell is going on?

There were limits to how big something could be. If that was the case, the corpse had to be at least a few times, or even dozens of times, larger than a legendary dragon.

I found myself distracted again out of habit. Then I soon came to my senses and thought, What about Ramon?

I looked around. Not far away, I found Ramon buried in the snow. His body was already stiff like a corpse, but I could feel his faint breathing and slow heartbeat. He was still alive.

I put my palm over Ramon's chest. Using an attack like this was risky, but Ramon would die anyway if I didn't do anything. Fire qi emanated from the palm of my hand and entered Ramon's body with explosive force. There wasn't an easy solution when the other person was frozen internally, so I consumed a lot of internal energy.

"Cough!" Ramon coughed as if gasping for breath and opened his eyes.

In the meantime, I looked around. It was too cold here. We needed shelter from the snowstorm, even if it was just for a moment. It was so strong that visibility was greatly limited.

What is that? I wondered. Suddenly, I saw the shape of a building in the distance. No, upon closer inspection, it looked more like a ruined temple.

No matter how big the corpse was, how could there be a building inside a corpse? It was absurd, but I had no time to hesitate. I carried Ramon and headed toward the unknown building.

As I drew closer to it, I realized that it was a ruin that had been neglected for a long time. It was dilapidated and had holes in the ceilings and walls, but I was able to find the most intact building in the ruin.

Once inside, I took out dry firewood and oiled cloth from my bag. Then I snapped my fingers and created a fire.

Crackle!

I quickly created a campfire and warmed up my cold body. Then I touched the area around the campfire and adjusted the direction of the smoke. This building also had some holes in the ceiling, so there was no need for a chimney.

—Messenger, Messenger? Can you hear me?

At that moment, I heard the voice of the Martial God. I melted my frozen hands and feet while replying, Yes.

—Now you can hear me.

Judging from the way he spoke, it seemed that he had been constantly calling me. I didn't have the energy to respond and kept my mouth shut.

—How did you end up here?

Do you know where this place is? I asked.

—I do. A temple inside the frost giant.

If this is a temple, then who is it for?

—For Ymir himself, of course. Ymir was recognized for his achievements in life, so he became a giant after his death.

What the hell is the church trying to do with Ymir's heart?

—They must be trying to corrupt his corpse to use as a vessel for the demon king.

What does that mean? Is there anything different from a normal summoning?

—It is completely different. Even if the ritual is perfect and the finest sacrifices are made, there is a limit to how long such a god-level being as a demon king can stay. That means they will inevitably be sent back to hell. However, the body of Frost Giant Ymir can fully contain the essence of a demon king.

So that means...

The Martial God let out a deep sigh.

—Until Ymir's body is broken, the god of disaster can continue to stay on the continent. For years, decades, or even hundreds of years.

This was really fucked up. My body had warmed up a bit, but my head felt cold again as if cold water had been poured over it.

As a result, I suddenly realized something and asked, I smashed the priest's head, so isn't the ritual a failure?

—Did you kill the priest completely? To the point where they couldn't move any longer?

That isn't the case. The priest had her head smashed but she still moved, just like a ghoul.

—Then can she no longer speak?

Hmm. I think she still can.

The priest's upper jaw was smashed, but a strange sound had come out of her throat. It was no different from the howl of a beast, but that meant she could make noises.

—If so, it is difficult to say that the ritual has failed. Judging from the decay of the heart and the miasma's state, the ritual was already almost at the end. If the priest can move and speak, the ritual will continue. However, the pace will be slower.

Damn, I cursed before saying, Then there is no time to warm up here. How do I get out of this temple?

—You can't.

Huh?

—To be precise, it is almost impossible.

"What do you mean I can't leave? If there is an entrance, there should be an exit, right?

—That's why I told you to run right away.

The Martial God once again sighed deeply.

—Where is that female giant right now?