Chapter 34: Into the Wildlands IV

She almost couldn't get rid of this thought the entire time, however, before she knew it, Herbert had already finished off the Three-Headed Snake.

With a loud thud, its body fell down on the ground. Alongside the corpse of the monster was Herbert who had gently landed. As he dispelled the materialization of the black feathers on his back and the silver claws on his hand, Herbert looked disturbed at the thought that there was still some blood left on his hands.

He then flicked his hand and let the blood turn into stains on the ground. Even though he was unharmed the entire time, he still felt that it had taken him a considerable effort to take down a rank 9 monster.

Considering his aptitude, he felt like he should have completed it faster and with more ease. He then thought about how long it had been since he had taken live combat and felt that it might have influenced him considerably.

"Quickly gather the monster cores and treat the wounded so we can leave before the smell attracts others."

After reflecting on the battle, he then commanded the guards to gather the monster cores from the nearby snakes. With a quick post-battle scan, he saw that there was non that had been seriously injured or dead. This was good, at least he did not have to bring alongside him men that were too much of a burden.

Although he found that it was quite a pity that he had entered into combat with this group of snakes this early as this would alarm nearby monster liars that something big had happened with the spreading of the bloody stench, Herbert did not pay it any mind. After all, this group should just be a hunting force of a nearby monster lair. If they had taken their entire group out then it would have caused Herbert a lot of trouble as he only planned to deal with one monster lair for today.

Their position based on the map that Herbert had been given was relatively close to the area where the White-Horned Snakes were active.

Because of the huge movement of the Three-Headed Snake, a path of destruction was paved which was in the direction that Herbert needed to go through to enter the area where the White-Horned Snakes were active.

Taking advantage of it, Herbert used it as a road to boost their movement speed. The energy that he had spent had caused his original reserves to drop by forty percent. He had wasted a lot of it when he had materialized the black feathers to form a huge shield so he could protect Princess Amelia and the others.

He had finally started to feel their weight. Bringing them along was burdensome but necessary if he still wants to continue his plan.

As they continued to follow the path that the Three-Headed Snake had made, they eventually entered another area that was separate from the previously filled with trees. It was a rocky clearing that hosted strange rock formations.

From one corner, Herbert could see various cave-like entrances. However, what really caught his eye was the huge opening from a cavern that looked like the mouth of a giant.

"This should be the place. We're taking a short rest, we're already near the target monster's lair, be prepared for another round of combat."

After rushing the entire team, Herbert gave them a temporary rest. Some took out their flasks to drink water and rehydrate while the others only sat down and regulated their breathing. Among those who were sitting on the ground were the pair of Princess Amelia and Lady Elena.

Occasionally they would whisper and talk to each other. Although they had been expecting a mini adventure upon arriving at this god-forsaken place, they did not expect that it would be so terrible.

Their feet hurt and because they had not even moved a finger to contribute during the fighting, they had no right to ask for any privileges that should naturally come to them.

It was frustrating but they also had their pride and appearance to keep. With the knowledge that Herbert would do anything to keep them safe, they at least had the decency to not complain for now.

After a couple of minutes, Herbert had recovered about half of the energy that he had spent earlier when fighting. This time, he felt that his current energy reserves should be enough when considering that he would soon be fighting against an enemy that he assumed should be around the Transcendent rank 1.

According to the comparison that he had based on the original course of events from the information stated in the book and the intelligence report that he had received on the Featherwing Fortress, the White-Horned Snakes should be a couple of steps more or is directly on the verge of breaking through to enter a higher rank.

It has been mentioned that the monster had faced some kind of fortuitous encounter which brought it a higher status among the other White-Horned Snakes. However, the protagonist was only able to find traces of it and was not able to uncover what it was. The only advantage that the protagonist received came from the egg that has yet to hatch. Keeping this in mind, Herbert looked forward to whatever he will soon face.

When everyone has had a couple of minutes of rest, Herbert once again commandeered the group to enter the huge cavern entrance that welcomed them. He was pretty sure that this was the monster lair of the White-Horned Snakes as there were markings left by a previous Ravenmoon scouting party.

Because Herbert had made sufficient preparations, his group had brought along torches to light the way. With him being in the lead, he carried on with his mission.

The cave entrance was relatively warm and dry, if there was one thing that they could change, then it would be its terrible stench. The dried musk of what smelled like rotten meat that had been left to dry for days was unbearable.

However, under the lead of Herbert, none of them spoke a word.

As they continued to go deeper, a soldier made one step that made a crunching sound which alerted everybody. But when they took a closer look, they noticed white bones scattered all over the ground. At the sight of this, Lady Elena couldn't help but make an audible gulp.

Just by seeing such grotesque things, she shivered. She felt all the hairs on her body stand on end. She had a horrible feeling about the place that just told her that she was not welcome.