Of course, Elric's Body Strengthening Art had not yet fully been restored.
There was still much to improve and many aspects to add.
However, theoretically, it was almost fully developed.
Just conveying that alone would be a great help to the beastmen.
‘After all, Body Strengthening Art was originally created for the beastmen. Rather, I might be able to fill in the parts that were missing thanks to them. I might even gain significant inspiration from them. Hehe.’
Of course, this could lead to an overall improvement in the beastmen's power.
Well, what can you do?
‘I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.’
In fact, Elric was eager to encounter potential collaborators or allies from the newly enhanced beastmen, if possible.
The beastmen once posed a tremendous threat to the Empire, reaching as far as its northern borders.
‘Even though they're currently divided into various tribes, forming an alliance with just a few of them would be a significant gain.’
As someone who initially lacked strong patriotism, Elric found this to be natural.
‘I've heard that in the past, my family was on friendly terms with some of them, unlike other human factions.’
Of course, those memories were almost lost to the distant past, so they might not hold much weight now.
‘But anyway…’
Elric narrowed his eyes.
‘How do I find the beastmen?’
He had made a lot of noise with Augustine and the others, but in reality, Elric himself was still pondering how to locate the beastmen.
The Black Snowfield was vast and complex. Trying to find the beastmen there would be like finding a needle in a haystack or a rock in the boundless sea.
‘I hope I get some kind of response from this.’
Elric took out the ice crystal he had received from Otto long ago, wondering if it might be a hint.
"Disciple, is that...?"
Augustine's eyes widened as he recognized the ice crystal.
Hwaa!
Suddenly, the ice crystal emitted a dazzling light and floated gently into the air.
The light felt chilly and eerie.
Then, the crystal spun around like a compass needle before coming to a stop, pointing in one direction.
Elric, with his eyes wide open, saw something from the end of the ice crystal extending like a thread somewhere.
"Karl!"
At Elric's urgent call, Karl, curious about what was happening, opened the coach door and looked in their direction.
"Turn 25 degrees to the northeast. Drive the horses in that direction!"
"What? Okay!"
Startled but composed, Karl took hold of the reins and steered the horses in the instructed direction.
There was no telling how long the ice crystal would continue to guide them so helpfully.
So, they had to move as far as possible within its guidance.
Despite the monsters constantly hindering their advance…
* * *
As Elric speculated, the ice crystal pointed the way for about an hour before quietly sinking back down.
It seemed to have run out of energy.
"Is this really from the Melvinger family? I have no idea what mechanism is causing this to work."
Augustine looked at the ice crystal with interest. Then, as if night had fallen, he glanced around the dark forest and furrowed his brow slightly.
"But... where exactly are we? Ah, can you see anything?"
"I've been releasing familiars since earlier, but they're getting picked off one by one as soon as they leave the forest."
Gility said with an uneasy expression, shaking his head.
"Hmm."
"Since the ice crystal has stopped guiding us for now, let's explore a bit."
Following Elric's suggestion, the group slowly drove the carriage while wandering around the surroundings.
Perhaps because they were still in the outskirts where the Great wall was vaguely visible, there weren't any particularly strong monsters yet. However, Sean and Karl were encountering some challenging creatures here and there.
There were also numerous hungry and thirsty gazes from monsters lurking around, eyeing them eagerly.
And then...
"Ahhh!"
Suddenly, a woman's scream echoed.
Elric and Augustine briefly made eye contact, and Karl tightened the reins and steered the carriage in that direction again.
There was a woman trapped between monsters.
With pointed ears and a long tail extending from her buttocks.
Overall, she resembled a human, but with a hint of feline features.
"...she is from the cat beastmen tribe?"
As soon as the name of the race was known for boasting a considerable number of individuals among the beastmen was mentioned, the monsters lunged at the woman as if they had been waiting.
"Hmm... isn't that a bit too...?"
"Hehe! Isn’t it a bit too obvious?"
Elric couldn't help but chuckle at the overly staged situation, but Augustine just smirked lightly.
"Still, we can't just stand by, can we?"
"Well, considering we finally found one, we should play along for now."
Elric announced that he would take the lead and jumped out of the carriage.
"Let's test out the things I've developed while we're at it."
Activating the Seal of Cruelty, Elric unleashed his mana.
“【Unlock Armament】.”
Whaaa-
As he activated it, the surroundings began to contrast sharply with him as gentle snowflakes started to fall.
“【Swirl】.”
Elric had been experimenting with modifying and enhancing his three main spells, which he primarily used recently.
Among them, he decided that it would be best to amplify the power of his most frequently used spell, 'Ice Arrow'.
Instead of just endlessly shooting ice arrows at the enemy, he figured that increasing efficiency by enveloping the surroundings with intense cold to immobilize foes would be more effective.
And thus, 'Blizzard' was created.
This spell, combined with 'Swirling Snowstorm' and 'Hailstorm', boasted extreme destructive power within a certain range for a short period.
Just as expected.
Whish!
A gust of wind swept in from somewhere, creating a vortex around the monsters, as solid ice arrows and hails poured down from the sky, unleashing havoc.
Crash! Bang! Thud!
The monsters were pierced and shattered in an instant, their lifeless bodies strewn across the ground, green blood staining the black earth.
"Damn. Should've used that sooner!"
"...Disappointing."
Sean and Karl wore disappointed expressions from all the trouble they had been through battling the monsters up until now. Sean silently resolved to grab Elric later and give him an earful.
Thud!
With the last remaining monster falling, the commotion ended abruptly, like a lie.
"Ar.. Are you okay? You were really surprised, huh?"
Elric approached the cat beastman, who was sitting bewilderedly, and extended his hand.
Watching this, Sean and Karl exchanged whispered comments.
"You know, Young master Elric is not good at acting, right?"
"Well, he got a C in the drama class he took as a general education course."
"He didn't fail?"
"He bought a bottle of fine wine and barely managed to negotiate, you know? The professor happened to be stuck with his research, so he helped him out."
"I see."
Now it made sense why he seemed so much like he was reading from a textbook.
Karl nodded as if finally understanding.
Elric, with his heightened senses, could hear the conversation between the two clearly, but he tried his best not to show any reaction outwardly.
Fortunately, the cat beastmen seemed too focused on the monster carcasses to pay much attention to their conversation.
"If you're injured, I can help with treatment. So please, get up..."
Suddenly, the dazed cat beastmen snapped out of it, her eyes widening before her expression turned hostile.
"I don't need human help."
Before she could finish her sentence...
Swish, swish, swish!
Several figures appeared on the surrounding trees.
"Hands up, and kneel."
Elric and his group were already surrounded by the cat beastmen.
Countless bows and crossbows were aimed at them.
"If you don't surrender by the count of three, we'll consider it resistance and attack. One, two..."
Elric exchanged quick glances with Augustine and the others.
It was a clear message to surrender.
Sean wore a disgruntled expression but was the first to kneel and surrender, as Elric had called him a "bat".
One by one, the rest of the group surrendered, and finally, Elric raised his hands with a playful smile on his face.
“We surrender.”
* * *
Elric and his companions were immediately transferred to a mobile prison brought by the cat beastmen and taken elsewhere.
The wooden prison, pulled by a monster resembling a salamander, seemed surprisingly sturdy.
Was it because the strength of the wood was stronger than most steel?
『Seeing you bound with mana restraints, it feels like your future is being foreshadowed. Hahaha!』
Mephisto burst into laughter as he looked at Elric, who seemed to be the epitome of a sinner.
But...
[Did you enjoy the magic tap dance? Want one more time?]
『...What? How are you using mana?』
Mephisto widened his eyes, staring at Elric.
As soon as the cat beastmen captured Elric and his group, they immediately attempted to restrain their mana.
This was because they felt threatened after witnessing how easily Elric subdued the monsters with magic, fearing they could also be harmed.
But Elric seemed completely unaffected.
[This seems too crude, doesn't it?]
Elric shook the handcuffs and snorted.
Although his mana was gradually being constrained, it wasn't entirely restricted. It seemed that the magic tool's performance wasn't particularly outstanding.
『Come to think of it, the beastmen were originally far from magic. Being pushed to the outskirts like this probably made their skills deteriorate even further. But still, this is a bit...』
[What is it?]
『...For you, who are trying to find the Temple of Flowers, there's undoubtedly a significant stroke of luck in this, or so I was about to say.』
Elric couldn't help but be dumbfounded by Mephisto's shameless topic change, but he didn't bother pointing it out and redirected the conversation elsewhere.
[Anyway, as expected, it's bleak to call this living.]
The mobile prison was now entering what seemed to be a village of the beastmen.
Or rather, should it be called a city?
As soon as they passed through what looked like simple rocks, a completely different world unfolded before them, amidst the forest.
Numerous buildings stretched densely over a wide open space, divided into sections with different functions.
It seemed large enough to accommodate thousands of people.
The problem was...
‘It's so messy. Looks like it could collapse any moment.’
Every building looked precarious, as if it could collapse from the slightest breeze after weathering the storms of time.
Scorched marks of destruction could be seen here and there.
Overall, it exuded a sense of gloom.
"Wow! Did the search party really catch...?"
"Humans! They are humans!"
"Why on earth are humans here? Are they trying to invade our village, or something like that?"
"Why did they bring them here in the first place? Just kill them!"
The beastmen all came out of their houses, staring at Elric with guarded looks.
[I expected it, but are they really glaring at us like they want to kill us?]
『We are not the only ones who lose our homeland because of you humans. Every 'Demihuman' despise you humans.』
Originally, the term 'Demihuman' itself meant a race that was close to or next to humans in status, a human-centric expression.
『So, it's inevitable that they would look at you like they want to kill you. The hatred passed down from generation to generation isn't something that can easily be undone.』
A strange smile appeared on Mephisto's lips as he looked at Elric.
It seemed like he was dismissing him, as if saying, ‘Do you really think you can do it?’ but it also seemed like he had mixed feelings of curiosity, wondering, ‘I wonder how you'll manage this time.’
[Let's give it a try, then. Still, it seems like the perception of us varies slightly among different tribes of beastmen, right?]
『Originally, the term 'beastmen' is just a convenient word used by humans. They are all different tribes with different customs, cultures, and rules. It's actually wrong for them to be grouped together like this.』
Elric nodded as if he understood, then suddenly asked the nearest beastmen soldier, ‘To avoid making mistakes, I need to understand the power dynamics within this city, right?’
"Can I ask one thing?"
"What is it? Mixing with humans is a stupid thing to do in the first place, but since you're going to face judgment soon anyway, I'll answer one question before you die."
Elric feigned surprise, saying, "Oh, scary," and pretended to tremble.
The beastmen soldier seemed to think Elric was genuinely scared, as his nostrils flared involuntarily.
『...Falling for such a bad acting. Are these guys blind?』
Mephisto muttered in disbelief, but Elric ignored him and continued, "Where are we being taken?"
"You are being taken to be judged by the great king of Anthromorph himself."
Elric's eyes widened in an instant.
“… There is a tiger king?”
Of course, Elric's Body Strengthening Art had not yet fully been restored.
There was still much to improve and many aspects to add.
However, theoretically, it was almost fully developed.
Just conveying that alone would be a great help to the beastmen.
‘After all, Body Strengthening Art was originally created for the beastmen. Rather, I might be able to fill in the parts that were missing thanks to them. I might even gain significant inspiration from them. Hehe.’
Of course, this could lead to an overall improvement in the beastmen's power.
Well, what can you do?
‘I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.’
In fact, Elric was eager to encounter potential collaborators or allies from the newly enhanced beastmen, if possible.
The beastmen once posed a tremendous threat to the Empire, reaching as far as its northern borders.
‘Even though they're currently divided into various tribes, forming an alliance with just a few of them would be a significant gain.’
As someone who initially lacked strong patriotism, Elric found this to be natural.
‘I've heard that in the past, my family was on friendly terms with some of them, unlike other human factions.’
Of course, those memories were almost lost to the distant past, so they might not hold much weight now.
‘But anyway…’
Elric narrowed his eyes.
‘How do I find the beastmen?’
He had made a lot of noise with Augustine and the others, but in reality, Elric himself was still pondering how to locate the beastmen.
The Black Snowfield was vast and complex. Trying to find the beastmen there would be like finding a needle in a haystack or a rock in the boundless sea.
‘I hope I get some kind of response from this.’
Elric took out the ice crystal he had received from Otto long ago, wondering if it might be a hint.
"Disciple, is that...?"
Augustine's eyes widened as he recognized the ice crystal.
Hwaa!
Suddenly, the ice crystal emitted a dazzling light and floated gently into the air.
The light felt chilly and eerie.
Then, the crystal spun around like a compass needle before coming to a stop, pointing in one direction.
Elric, with his eyes wide open, saw something from the end of the ice crystal extending like a thread somewhere.
"Karl!"
At Elric's urgent call, Karl, curious about what was happening, opened the coach door and looked in their direction.
"Turn 25 degrees to the northeast. Drive the horses in that direction!"
"What? Okay!"
Startled but composed, Karl took hold of the reins and steered the horses in the instructed direction.
There was no telling how long the ice crystal would continue to guide them so helpfully.
So, they had to move as far as possible within its guidance.
Despite the monsters constantly hindering their advance…
* * *
As Elric speculated, the ice crystal pointed the way for about an hour before quietly sinking back down.
It seemed to have run out of energy.
"Is this really from the Melvinger family? I have no idea what mechanism is causing this to work."
Augustine looked at the ice crystal with interest. Then, as if night had fallen, he glanced around the dark forest and furrowed his brow slightly.
"But... where exactly are we? Ah, can you see anything?"
"I've been releasing familiars since earlier, but they're getting picked off one by one as soon as they leave the forest."
Gility said with an uneasy expression, shaking his head.
"Hmm."
"Since the ice crystal has stopped guiding us for now, let's explore a bit."
Following Elric's suggestion, the group slowly drove the carriage while wandering around the surroundings.
Perhaps because they were still in the outskirts where the Great wall was vaguely visible, there weren't any particularly strong monsters yet. However, Sean and Karl were encountering some challenging creatures here and there.
There were also numerous hungry and thirsty gazes from monsters lurking around, eyeing them eagerly.
And then...
"Ahhh!"
Suddenly, a woman's scream echoed.
Elric and Augustine briefly made eye contact, and Karl tightened the reins and steered the carriage in that direction again.
There was a woman trapped between monsters.
With pointed ears and a long tail extending from her buttocks.
Overall, she resembled a human, but with a hint of feline features.
"...she is from the cat beastmen tribe?"
As soon as the name of the race was known for boasting a considerable number of individuals among the beastmen was mentioned, the monsters lunged at the woman as if they had been waiting.
"Hmm... isn't that a bit too...?"
"Hehe! Isn’t it a bit too obvious?"
Elric couldn't help but chuckle at the overly staged situation, but Augustine just smirked lightly.
"Still, we can't just stand by, can we?"
"Well, considering we finally found one, we should play along for now."
Elric announced that he would take the lead and jumped out of the carriage.
"Let's test out the things I've developed while we're at it."
Activating the Seal of Cruelty, Elric unleashed his mana.
“【Unlock Armament】.”
Whaaa-
As he activated it, the surroundings began to contrast sharply with him as gentle snowflakes started to fall.
“【Swirl】.”
Elric had been experimenting with modifying and enhancing his three main spells, which he primarily used recently.
Among them, he decided that it would be best to amplify the power of his most frequently used spell, 'Ice Arrow'.
Instead of just endlessly shooting ice arrows at the enemy, he figured that increasing efficiency by enveloping the surroundings with intense cold to immobilize foes would be more effective.
And thus, 'Blizzard' was created.
This spell, combined with 'Swirling Snowstorm' and 'Hailstorm', boasted extreme destructive power within a certain range for a short period.
Just as expected.
Whish!
A gust of wind swept in from somewhere, creating a vortex around the monsters, as solid ice arrows and hails poured down from the sky, unleashing havoc.
Crash! Bang! Thud!
The monsters were pierced and shattered in an instant, their lifeless bodies strewn across the ground, green blood staining the black earth.
"Damn. Should've used that sooner!"
"...Disappointing."
Sean and Karl wore disappointed expressions from all the trouble they had been through battling the monsters up until now. Sean silently resolved to grab Elric later and give him an earful.
Thud!
With the last remaining monster falling, the commotion ended abruptly, like a lie.
"Ar.. Are you okay? You were really surprised, huh?"
Elric approached the cat beastman, who was sitting bewilderedly, and extended his hand.
Watching this, Sean and Karl exchanged whispered comments.
"You know, Young master Elric is not good at acting, right?"
"Well, he got a C in the drama class he took as a general education course."
"He didn't fail?"
"He bought a bottle of fine wine and barely managed to negotiate, you know? The professor happened to be stuck with his research, so he helped him out."
"I see."
Now it made sense why he seemed so much like he was reading from a textbook.
Karl nodded as if finally understanding.
Elric, with his heightened senses, could hear the conversation between the two clearly, but he tried his best not to show any reaction outwardly.
Fortunately, the cat beastmen seemed too focused on the monster carcasses to pay much attention to their conversation.
"If you're injured, I can help with treatment. So please, get up..."
Suddenly, the dazed cat beastmen snapped out of it, her eyes widening before her expression turned hostile.
"I don't need human help."
Before she could finish her sentence...
Swish, swish, swish!
Several figures appeared on the surrounding trees.
"Hands up, and kneel."
Elric and his group were already surrounded by the cat beastmen.
Countless bows and crossbows were aimed at them.
"If you don't surrender by the count of three, we'll consider it resistance and attack. One, two..."
Elric exchanged quick glances with Augustine and the others.
It was a clear message to surrender.
Sean wore a disgruntled expression but was the first to kneel and surrender, as Elric had called him a "bat".
One by one, the rest of the group surrendered, and finally, Elric raised his hands with a playful smile on his face.
“We surrender.”
* * *
Elric and his companions were immediately transferred to a mobile prison brought by the cat beastmen and taken elsewhere.
The wooden prison, pulled by a monster resembling a salamander, seemed surprisingly sturdy.
Was it because the strength of the wood was stronger than most steel?
『Seeing you bound with mana restraints, it feels like your future is being foreshadowed. Hahaha!』
Mephisto burst into laughter as he looked at Elric, who seemed to be the epitome of a sinner.
But...
[Did you enjoy the magic tap dance? Want one more time?]
『...What? How are you using mana?』
Mephisto widened his eyes, staring at Elric.
As soon as the cat beastmen captured Elric and his group, they immediately attempted to restrain their mana.
This was because they felt threatened after witnessing how easily Elric subdued the monsters with magic, fearing they could also be harmed.
But Elric seemed completely unaffected.
[This seems too crude, doesn't it?]
Elric shook the handcuffs and snorted.
Although his mana was gradually being constrained, it wasn't entirely restricted. It seemed that the magic tool's performance wasn't particularly outstanding.
『Come to think of it, the beastmen were originally far from magic. Being pushed to the outskirts like this probably made their skills deteriorate even further. But still, this is a bit...』
[What is it?]
『...For you, who are trying to find the Temple of Flowers, there's undoubtedly a significant stroke of luck in this, or so I was about to say.』
Elric couldn't help but be dumbfounded by Mephisto's shameless topic change, but he didn't bother pointing it out and redirected the conversation elsewhere.
[Anyway, as expected, it's bleak to call this living.]
The mobile prison was now entering what seemed to be a village of the beastmen.
Or rather, should it be called a city?
As soon as they passed through what looked like simple rocks, a completely different world unfolded before them, amidst the forest.
Numerous buildings stretched densely over a wide open space, divided into sections with different functions.
It seemed large enough to accommodate thousands of people.
The problem was...
‘It's so messy. Looks like it could collapse any moment.’
Every building looked precarious, as if it could collapse from the slightest breeze after weathering the storms of time.
Scorched marks of destruction could be seen here and there.
Overall, it exuded a sense of gloom.
"Wow! Did the search party really catch...?"
"Humans! They are humans!"
"Why on earth are humans here? Are they trying to invade our village, or something like that?"
"Why did they bring them here in the first place? Just kill them!"
The beastmen all came out of their houses, staring at Elric with guarded looks.
[I expected it, but are they really glaring at us like they want to kill us?]
『We are not the only ones who lose our homeland because of you humans. Every 'Demihuman' despise you humans.』
Originally, the term 'Demihuman' itself meant a race that was close to or next to humans in status, a human-centric expression.
『So, it's inevitable that they would look at you like they want to kill you. The hatred passed down from generation to generation isn't something that can easily be undone.』
A strange smile appeared on Mephisto's lips as he looked at Elric.
It seemed like he was dismissing him, as if saying, ‘Do you really think you can do it?’ but it also seemed like he had mixed feelings of curiosity, wondering, ‘I wonder how you'll manage this time.’
[Let's give it a try, then. Still, it seems like the perception of us varies slightly among different tribes of beastmen, right?]
『Originally, the term 'beastmen' is just a convenient word used by humans. They are all different tribes with different customs, cultures, and rules. It's actually wrong for them to be grouped together like this.』
Elric nodded as if he understood, then suddenly asked the nearest beastmen soldier, ‘To avoid making mistakes, I need to understand the power dynamics within this city, right?’
"Can I ask one thing?"
"What is it? Mixing with humans is a stupid thing to do in the first place, but since you're going to face judgment soon anyway, I'll answer one question before you die."
Elric feigned surprise, saying, "Oh, scary," and pretended to tremble.
The beastmen soldier seemed to think Elric was genuinely scared, as his nostrils flared involuntarily.
『...Falling for such a bad acting. Are these guys blind?』
Mephisto muttered in disbelief, but Elric ignored him and continued, "Where are we being taken?"
"You are being taken to be judged by the great king of Anthromorph himself."
Elric's eyes widened in an instant.
“… There is a tiger king?”
