Shepherd Wizard-Chapter 217

Translator: Pai_

As expected, Meisa’s declaration that she would temporarily leave Morgen caused tremendous backlash.

In Turan’s case, given the era and the fact that the House Parsha had no traditions to speak of, he had been relatively free to move around, but originally, wasn’t it considered a virtue for the head of a great noble house to remain cloistered within the house?

If it were a war or some special circumstance, maybe it could be understood, but to say she would go off alone for reasons she couldn’t share with others and to simply respond with “Go ahead”, that would have been the truly insane attitude.

To speak plainly, if Turan went with her and suddenly ambushed and killed Meisa, trying to take over Aravion, what could they possibly do?

Meisa Aravion brushed off the vassals’ objections with a scoff.

“What ridiculous worries... I’ll be back soon, so just manage the Birdmen properly.”

“B-but, Family Head.”

“I’m not willing to hear any more, so deal with it.”

Maybe it would’ve been different when she’d just taken the position, but now Meisa was already a proven family head with more than enough accomplishments.

She had crushed and subdued the Birdmen and turned the devastated Takein Plains into a place where people could at least live, that was her doing.

So, using her authority as family head to silence the vassals, Meisa took off with Turan, riding on Bije, flying up near the city of Morgen and heading west together.

“It’s really been a while since the two of us rode together like this?”

“It has.”

“Ah, that tickles, don’t do that!”

“If you push like that, you’ll fall off.”

Spending a day moving together while playing around a bit atop Bije’s black-feathered back.

Even though it had been ravaged by war, the Takein Plains were still fertile. As they passed through and entered the snowy region, they felt the air grow colder.

Even that was only because the two of them were superhuman beings with immense magic power, an ordinary person would have perceived it as a cold harsh enough to freeze them solid.

When he lightly scattered some water from the bottle he carried, it hadn’t even traveled far before freezing and turning into sleet.

“For it to be like this when it’s still autumn...”

“Could it be because of the Yetis?”

“It’s only a possibility, but probably.”

The northern Snowcloud Zone was known for being cold, but if it was always this cold even when it wasn’t winter, there’s no way people could survive here.

Turan recalled a legend he’d heard about the Enril Desert in the past.

Originally, that land had been a fertile plain, but had become a desolate desert due to giants, or so the story went.

Looking at the current state of this snowy land, that legend didn’t feel entirely like fiction.

Even when the ancient Preah God Tribe descended upon this land, the Enril Desert had already been a desert, so no one really knew the truth.

While recalling the old legend, Turan used the tracking magic, setting the target as “human” and the method as “scent”.

Lastly, he limited the range to less than half of what he could actually detect.

Perhaps an ordinary noble of the House Zahar wouldn’t know, but with Turan’s current magic power, if he used this kind of tracking technique at full range, it would be too wide and lose accuracy, so adjustments were necessary.

“Let’s see...”

The first thing he noticed was a familiar, sweet and alluring scent coming from Meisa right next to him, a scent that never got old no matter how many times he smelled it.

He forcefully pushed the scent aside and focused his sense of smell further. Compared to hers, there were several faint but oddly unpleasant smells he picked up.

They were probably from the wandering people who had fled the Snowcloud Zone to the border of the Takein Plains or the residents of frontier areas.

Even when he focused more, there was no scent coming from ahead.

“Nothing’s being detected up ahead.”

“Meaning there’s not a single survivor?”

“Unless, of course, someone’s hiding in a special place that avoids tracking magic.”

Turan answered Meisa’s question, though he believed that possibility was extremely low.

His current tracking magic wasn’t just ordinary magic, it was a skill with efficiency akin to that of the gods. It could easily break through even the concealment techniques of the dwarves.

To block this, something like Kim Woong’s special barrier techniques that obstructed tracking would be needed, but as far as known, none of the gods under Monarch possessed such abilities.

“Ah, it’s a Yeti.”

At that moment, Meisa looked down mid-conversation and spoke.

Turan, who had deactivated the tracking magic, also then finally sensed the distinctive scent unique to Yetis.

“So that’s what they look like.”

His first impression upon seeing a Yeti was that it was incredibly hairy.

Its entire body was covered in such long and thick white fur that, at a glance, it looked like a person wearing a fur coat.

In contrast, its exposed hands were pitch black and wrinkled, with sharp claws protruding, and there was a faint scent of human blood on it, perhaps from a recent hunt.

In addition, through the power of the Mimic Sacred Relic, Turan could perceive not just the outward appearance, but also the internal structure.

Rather than from the body itself, a stronger flow of power was felt from the fur that covered it.

Just like how Armani’s strength was prominent in his fins, or the elves’ in their ears.

“Let’s see what you can do.”

“I don’t think it needs to be said, but still, be careful.”

“Got it.”

Jumping off Bije’s back, Turan descended straight to the ground and landed with a thud.

Naturally, it wasn’t some earth-shattering boom, nor did the ground cave in.

After all, it was a snowfield, so it absorbed much of the impact, and even aside from that, regardless of his strength, the force applied to the ground was merely equivalent to something weighing just over eighty kilograms falling.

Despite its dull appearance, it seemed to have rather sharp senses, as the Yeti noticed Turan’s arrival and whipped its head around.

“Can you speak, by any chance?”

The only reply to Turan’s question was a sharp roar from the Yeti.

Seeing it bare four long fangs and drool as it stared, it was clear it had no intention of communicating.

‘Its intelligence seems lower than that of the Birdmen. Either that, or it simply doesn’t intend to talk, or perhaps its oral structure makes it impossible.’

Frowning briefly at the sight, Turan soon felt the surrounding temperature drop significantly.

“Oh...”

The weather was already freezing, but at this level, even most nobles would have difficulty enduring for long.

This was likely a unique ability of the Yeti, manipulating cold.

Of course, Turan easily countered it by shifting the Mimic Sacred Relic to the Carmine bloodline.

One of the basic abilities of the Frost Bloodline was precisely resistance to cold.

Perhaps mistaking Turan’s stillness for him being frozen, the Yeti leisurely walked over and tried to slash his body with its claws.

“This is expensive clothing.”

When Turan grabbed the outstretched hand, the Yeti let out a growling sound, looking puzzled.

A look of confusion as if to say, “How dare prey resist?”

Turan began to slowly apply pressure to the hand he had caught, intending to teach it a lesson.

At first, the Yeti was puzzled about why its wrist wouldn’t come free, but as pain surged as if the seized part would shatter, it screamed and tried to strike with its other hand.

Naturally, Turan had no reason to allow that, so he swung the Yeti’s wrist, using it to toss around the creature that was twice his size, all while continuing to assess its combat capabilities.

‘Its strength and durability are about on par with mid-tier nobles not specialized in close combat. Agility’s a bit low... In a normal fight, it wouldn’t be a difficult opponent, but in a snowy field, it could be tricky.’

In a body frozen stiff from overwhelming cold, one wouldn’t even be able to move at half their normal capacity.

In such conditions, if multiple Yetis with this level of physical ability appeared and attacked, it would be naturally difficult to deal with them.

All the more so considering the bloodline of the Nagin wizards who once ruled this region was virtually useless in combat.

Afterward, Turan confirmed, one by one, what types of attacks the creature’s fur could defend well against and which it was weak to, which senses were more or less keen, how fast it could run, and so on.

It wasn’t just about generating cold, the Yeti could manipulate snow to use for attacks or slip across the surface for rapid movement.

Just like Ymir had done once before.

Having toyed with the creature for a while and tested its abilities, Turan created an ice spear over four meters long and skewered the Yeti like a kebab.

Thanks to the freezing environment and abundant snow, shaping ice was as easy as breathing.

“It’s more resilient than I expected.”

Even after its heart had been pierced, the Yeti thrashed its limbs for nearly a full minute before finally dying.

Upon absorbing it, as expected, this creature too had virtually no magic power compared to the strength it possessed.

Having completed his assessment, Turan rose using flight magic and informed Meisa of what he had confirmed.

“I knew they were strong, but they’re tougher than I thought. Do you have any idea how many there are?”

“I don’t know the exact number... but according to the tracking magic, it’s roughly over a thousand?”

“Now I understand why there are no people left here.”

Commoners wouldn’t even dare to confront them, and not even several dozen nobles and thousands of knights could possibly defend against such enemies.

If they ever intended to drive the Yetis out of this land, top-tier wizards on their level would have to step in personally.

Not only was it an environment where average knights or nobles would struggle to operate, but the creatures' long, tough fur probably wouldn’t even be pierced by bullets.

Afterward, as Turan and Meisa moved toward Nagin’s capital, they hunted numerous Yetis they spotted along the way.

They arrived at Doslak, the capital of House Nagin, about half a day later.

***

Doslak, the capital of Nagin, was nestled against one of the few large mountainous terrains in the Snowcloud Zone.

Following the ridge of that mountain range would eventually lead you to the western Sky Mountain Range, which meant its elevation was quite high.

The fortress built in a hollowed-out highland within the mountains was white and transparent, constructed not of ice, but of a different material.

Inside it, a considerable number of Yetis residing in this land were gathered. Judging by the numerous frozen corpses of the humans who had once lived in Doslak, it appeared the creatures were using them as food.

With the current extreme cold of the Snowcloud Zone, it was likely difficult to procure food in large quantities.

“Wow, they’re really packed in there...”

As Meisa landed on the fortress wall and murmured quietly at the sight, the Yetis turned their heads in unison, having heard her. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

They hadn’t intended to sneak in anyway, so the exposure was partly deliberate.

According to their research, the Yetis didn’t have particularly good vision, but their hearing and sense of smell were excellent, and constantly suppressing those senses throughout the investigation would have been troublesome, it was simply easier to wipe them all out.

“They’re coming.”

With a sharp roar, dozens of Yetis simultaneously charged toward the two of them.

Having fed only on frozen corpses for so long, perhaps they were thrilled to finally see fresh humans again.

Among them, some larger individuals let out cackling cries, suggesting they had some form of primitive language system.

Considering how most other non-human races used the same language as humans, it was quite a curious phenomenon.

It was unfortunate that the situation wasn’t exactly suitable for exploring that curiosity further.

“Here we go!”

As Meisa pulled out Heaven’s Punishment and swung it, the bodies of the Yetis that had approached her exploded into pieces.

A violet lightning strike followed behind, sweeping away those a bit farther back, instantly burning their white fur.

Moreover, the electricity that soaked into the snow on the ground traveled back to Meisa, merging with her armor, the Sky Guardian, that she wore on her upper body.

This recovery and reuse of the electric power emitted by Heaven’s Punishment was one of the synergistic effects of Aravion’s two Sacred Relics.

Unfortunately, since Cadrum had taken them and lost them, Badal hadn’t been able to enjoy their benefits.

Had he been able to use them both, quite a few things might have turned out differently.

While Meisa was one-sidedly ravaging the Yetis, Turan remained hidden and sniped down the ones who lost their will to fight and tried to flee, killing them one by one.

In truth, calling it “sniping” was a bit of an understatement, with each steel ball he fired, a deafening roar erupted, and dozens of buildings collapsed, wiping out large groups of Yetis at once. It was practically bombardment.

Among them were several stronger individuals compared to the other Yetis, but in the face of the current two, such differences in strength were meaningless.

After all, when a lion hunts wolves, does it really matter whether the wolf is underdeveloped or the alpha?

Meanwhile, Bije flew outside the fortress walls, striking lightning into the heads of the Yetis trying to escape the city of Doslak.

Among them, the sturdier ones managed to endure a single hit, but once the second or third strike landed, they couldn’t hold on and collapsed, at which point Bije would immediately dive down and tear their heads off with her claws.

How long had the slaughter continued like that?

The entire Yeti horde, numbering over four hundred, a force that would have required an army of several thousand to suppress under normal circumstances, was completely annihilated in about thirty minutes.

Even that time was mostly spent hunting down those who had lost their will to fight after the initial clash and fled into various parts of Doslak.

“Feels like we gave the place a good cleaning.”

“I was thinking the exact same thing.”

It sounded a little strange when Meisa said that while holding a hammer soaked in the Yetis’ pitch-black blood, but Turan didn’t mind.

After all, everything a person you liked did tended to look good in your eyes.

As they chatted, Turan noticed that the temperature had risen slightly compared to earlier.

It seemed that thanks to the mass slaughter of Yetis, the drop in temperature caused by their presence had weakened.

The two of them then made their way through Doslak, a city now devastated with countless collapsed buildings and soaked in Yeti blood and flesh, heading toward House Nagin’s estate.

Looking at the palace, which was surprisingly well-decorated for such a remote region, Meisa muttered softly.

“What a mess.”

As if to prove the intense battles that had taken place between the wizards and the Yetis, the interior of House Nagin’s palace was heavily damaged.

Passing frozen bloodstains, they slowly speculated on the purposes of the various buildings.

“Judging by the number of small clothes, this must’ve been a place where kids stayed. And this one has a lot of skirts, so maybe the women’s quarters... Ah.”

“What is it?”

Meisa, who had been quietly inspecting the buildings, suddenly spoke as if she had realized something.

“Now that I look closely, the overall layout of the buildings here... it feels similar to Aravion’s main estate.”

“Probably because the same guy designed both. He always seemed to enjoy designing and assembling buildings or cities.”

Even Morgen City, with a population of over a million, had been laid out so perfectly it was hard to believe it was real.

Doslak, though now ruined by the Yetis, had a similar feeling, a sense of meticulousness as if someone had designed each element to adhere to an obsessive level of order.

“So then... the family head’s quarters would be over there.”

“Seems kind of small for that, though?”

“Let’s go check anyway.”

The building Meisa pointed to was smaller and more modest than expected.

Some of the surrounding buildings even looked larger and more extravagant.

There was magic placed on the construction materials, but such enchantments were common for any important building.

Still, it didn’t take long after entering for Turan to realize Meisa had found the right place.

It only looked small and unassuming from the outside.

The true facilities of this building were all located underground.

“It’s huge...”

A massive corridor over five meters tall and twenty meters wide.

When they opened a few rooms along the way, they found all sorts of unknown tools lined up inside.

It seemed this place had served as both Monarch’s residence and laboratory.

“You found it alright.”

“Wait.”

At that moment, Turan sensed something approaching them from below and warned Meisa.

Whatever it was, it had remained hidden even from magic detection and was now climbing up a spiral staircase.

“What is it?”

“It’s moving with magic... this feeling... probably an undead spirit?”

Turan’s guess was spot on.

Whether it had sensed their presence or not, soon a creature presumed to have once been a snow leopard appeared suddenly at the far end of the corridor, now transformed into an undead spirit.

[□■□■□■□■-!]

As expected of a wraith, it let out a bizarre, reverberating roar.

And in the ensuing battle, it surprisingly demonstrated quite a wide array of abilities.

In the past, Turan had seen similar techniques from a leopard magical beast in the Sky Mountain Range, such as hiding and moving within shadows, and now this wraith demonstrated the same, along with the ability to unleash sharp shockwaves from its claws or freeze the blood of those it looked at.

And this creature possessed magical power on the level of a high-ranking noble. With such abilities, it was more than capable of killing most nobles before they could even attempt to resist.

Unfortunately for it, the two people present here were among the most powerful wizards in the world today.

The wraith, darting around the wide corridor, was struck by Meisa’s lightning and reduced to a bluish-green lump of light, leaving behind only its hide.

Watching the scene silently, Turan spoke his suspicions aloud.

“That one... it seems like a test subject.”

“A test subject?”

“For a magical beast, it had way too many abilities. Normally, even powerful magical beasts don’t have that many.”

Bije could wield up to four bloodline spells, but that was a unique power born from pet fusion. That creature’s abilities were clearly things it had possessed while alive, before becoming a wraith.

Considering that one of Monarch’s professions was to manipulate life, it was likely the result of experiments to alter the powers of magical beasts.

Meisa also thought for a moment at Turan’s reasoning, then nodded in agreement.

“In that case...”

“The ones dead here probably starved because they were locked up and no one fed them properly. I doubt a snow leopard would freeze to death.”

In other words, it meant Monarch had returned to this place after the age of the gods but hadn’t properly taken care of things.

And that meant there was now a greater chance of finding meaningful information.

Encouraged by this, the two split up to search for intel.

Turan, after leaving the search of Basement Level 1 to Meisa, headed toward the area where the wraith had appeared just moments earlier, the zone where even Sacred Relic magic detection didn’t work.

*****

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