Chapter 66: The Army

Soon after, the ogres returned to the Skullcrusher Tribe.

Garon stood at the edge of his dragon's nest, his gaze reaching toward the vast mountain range to the south, resembling a dragon's spine. The recent frequent sightings of humans, involving high-ranking mages and mature silver dragons, had him feeling uneasy.

The humans captured by the ogres seemed to be scouts, based on their attire.

After much deliberation, Garon decided to personally head south to investigate the situation.

...

Beneath the sky of the far northern ice plains, a large dragon, twelve meters long, sped through the skies at an altitude of a kilometer, enveloped in a faint mist, making him appear from the ground like a drifting cloud.

Garon carefully used a spell-like ability, Mist Form, to conceal his body within the clouds.

This way, he would not be immediately detected by human magic upon encounter.

With his exceptional vision, he could easily spot others before being noticed himself, provided he kept well-hidden.

Leaving the ice cliff dragon's nest, passing the now-abandoned territories of the ice rivers, and crossing the bowl-shaped Ogre Basin—where the ogres had just contributed prey but had not yet returned—Garon had already crossed the Ogre Basin, flying further south.

Looking down from the sky, Garon noticed that the Ogre Basin lay on a convenient path, without steep ice chasms or towering snow mountains either before or behind it. 

This suggested that Ugar Skullcrusher and his kin encountering humans so frequently wasn't entirely due to luck.

The Skullcrusher Tribe was situated relatively to the south, and their hunting expeditions moved further in that direction, nearing the edge of the far northern ice plains. Beyond that lay the undulating Dragonback Mountains.

Furthermore, without the ability to fly, the rugged terrain of the far northern ice plains didn't offer many viable paths for humans or ogres to traverse.

For humans from the southern countries wanting to enter the far northern ice plains, it was quite possible they might run into ogres under these circumstances.

As time passed, Garon flew south, the Dragonback Mountains coming into clearer view, a lush greenery blanketing the mountains like emerald robes.

Soon, he was directly above the location mentioned by the ogres.

It was near a low snow mountain—or more accurately, a low snow hillock resembling a slight rise on a flat surface.

From within the clouds, Garon looked down intently.

Despite being a kilometer high, his enhanced vision allowed him to clearly see a rather disheveled area below, marked with signs of battle and frozen blood.

"This is where the ogres encountered the human team," Garon noted mentally, marking it on the mental map he was compiling.

With a memory capable of producing image-level precision, the landscapes and terrains he had seen were imprinted in his mind, gradually forming a detailed three-dimensional map that became more comprehensive as he explored.

Some true dragons developed a hobby of traversing entire continents because of this ability.

At the same time, Garon detected a faint human scent.

His eyes sharpened, his wings flapped more vigorously, and he ascended rapidly. Once there were no more obstructions in his field of view, he looked toward the distance.

Several kilometers away, a mass of tiny, ant-like black dots moved slowly but steadily.

Upon closer inspection, these dense dots were surrounded by even smaller groups, likely scouting ahead.

They were fully armed human soldiers, and their numbers were substantial.

Roughly two thousand.

Garon's mind stirred, and the clouds around him thickened, blending him into the white sky, making even a scale invisible.

He then controlled his speed to avoid stirring the air too violently as he flew toward the human army.

Such a sizeable human army would undoubtedly include warriors, casters, clerics, and archers.

To avoid detection, Garon flew high, surrounded by a sea of clouds, with the clear sky above.

As he drew close enough to discern their formation, Garon scrutinized this mysterious human army.

As he suspected, there were about two thousand of them, primarily cavalry.

Their mounts were not ordinary beasts but bore faint elemental glows, indicating magical lineage, which kept them in good condition despite the cold of the far northern ice plains.

The knights were large and robust, clad in thick iron armor, with shields on their backs and swords at their waists. Apart from the sound of their steps, no other noise could be heard; their disciplined formation exuded an aura of battle-hardened solemnity.

Garon noticed a thorn pattern on their badges.

This meant these people were from the Kingdom of Moshar.

"An army from the Kingdom of Moshar…"

"For two high-ranking mages who had died?"

Garon murmured to himself.

The status of casters, especially high-ranking mages, was revered. Often, their allegiances in wars were influenced by national or personal bonds

. Commanding a high-ranking mage was not easy without a suitable cause.

Now, with two high-ranking mages missing, likely dead, on the far northern ice plains, it was obligatory for the Kingdom of Moshar to send troops to investigate, no matter the outcome.

Ignoring this situation would earn the kingdom the scorn of the entire caster community, leading to a continuous decline. On the continent of Noa, a nation without casters had no say.

Given the frigid temperatures of the far northern ice plains, ordinary iron armor would typically freeze solid, killing the wearer.

What struck Garon was that the knights' gear was all magical, the iron armor etched with runes that emitted a subtle glow.

Even as standard-issue, magical gear was costly. For a kingdom to outfit an army of two thousand like this was an enormously expensive undertaking.

"Or perhaps, it's not just about showing commitment—they seem to have a specific objective."

Garon's expression grew contemplative.

This two-thousand-strong force was too elite for a mere demonstration of intent. Summoning ordinary soldiers to die gloriously on the ice plains would have been sufficient.

Furthermore, one knight at the forefront was exceptionally large, towering over two meters, with a broad and powerful build.

His entire face was covered by a metal helmet, revealing only a pair of calm, brown eyes. Garon felt a subtle threat emanating from this knight.

His armor was covered in runes, some inlaid with small magical crystals, glowing brightly.

This likely indicated a high-ranking warrior of substantial physical strength.

On the continent of Noa, other systems of extraordinary powers, aside from casters, also relied on elemental energy, albeit in a much more straightforward manner.

A high-ranking warrior's status and power were generally incomparable to those of a high-ranking mage.

If a high-ranking mage were present, they might have already detected Garon's presence, as mages had many detection methods, and simple Mist Form would hardly evade a high-ranking mage's scrutiny.

However, this did not mean that high-ranking warriors were weak.

Among the cavalry, there were numerous casters and clerics constantly casting support spells to aid the army's march.

None of them particularly concerned Garon.

The sudden appearance of such a powerful army in the rarely traversed far northern ice plains was slightly alarming.

"However, whether it's the two high-ranking mages who pursued their quarry to the far northern ice plains or this formidable army, this has gone beyond mere pursuit."

Pursuit was meant to eliminate enemies to prevent retaliation.

But employing such a force merely to kill Morton meant the costs far outweighed the benefits.

Unless Morton possessed something for which they were willing to pay such a high price.

Garon moved his tongue, touching the space ring under it.

There was definitely something off about the Red Flame Staff.

What could be the source of that elusive sense of connection?