The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 126

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 126
Chapter 126
To pull the carriages, the first mount I summoned was.
[ Forest Elephant Ivory Whistle ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Type : Mount
Grade : Unique
Requirement : Level 200 or higher, Riding Skill Lv 20 or higher
Description : An ivory whistle that allows you to summon and ride a Forest Elephant, known to symbolize the power of the forest and nature.
A monster called the Forest Elephant.
I blew the ivory whistle Luke had taken out with all my might.
“Pwooooo!”
“Whoa, you startled me!”
“An, an elephant?”
“That’s incredible!”
The Forest Elephant revealed itself.
An elephant with a frame even larger than the carriages.
Grass and vines grew across its body, and a single beautiful flower bloomed adorably atop its head.
‘This is only the second time I’ve actually summoned it myself.’
The Forest Elephant.
A powerful Unique-grade mount, but in truth, there had been no occasion to ride a Forest Elephant in First.
And for good reason—the Forest Elephant was not a mount specialized in travel speed.
The Forest Elephant’s true strength was, above all else, ‘power’.
As evidence of this.
“Could you pull two carriages connected together all at once?”
“T, two of them? Not just one, but both carriages together would be impossible, wouldn’t it? The carriages are heavier than you might think.”
“Two or three carriages—the speed would be the same whether it’s pulling them or not.”
“Well, we should try it first, but….”
When I connected two carriages and had the Forest Elephant pull them.
Crunch, crunch, crunch—
“Goodness!”
“My word.”
“How strong is this thing?”
The two carriages were being pulled with remarkable ease.
One would expect the speed to decrease when pulling two such heavy carriages, yet the Forest Elephant advanced at its usual pace without the slightest strain.
While slow speed was a drawback, the horses pulling the carriages were also limited in their movement speed by the burden of hauling them.
This was more than sufficient to match their pace.
Moreover.
– Activating the skill ‘Riding’.
My Riding Skill, as I guided the direction from the front while mounted on the Forest Elephant.
And when the enhancement ability ‘White Wing’ that I gained from witnessing the Knight Commander of White Wyvern’s power was added to it.
“Mooooooo!”
The Forest Elephant was advancing at a speed that rivaled even the horse.
Especially in forest terrain rather than flat ground.
“How does something that massive navigate between trees so smoothly?”
“Remarkable.”
“In the forest, it seems to move even faster than the horse.”
Rather than slowing down, the speed accelerated further.
Given that the creature’s very name was ‘Forest Elephant’, it naturally received movement speed bonuses in forest terrain.
Thanks to that, the carriage’s movement speed had only increased, never decreased.
Of course, this method had one limitation.
“Once we leave the forest, I’ll feed you well, so let’s push harder.”
“Mooooooo!”
A mount summoned by whistle operated under a slightly different concept than monsters that a typical Tamer would raise and keep with them.
Since it was summoned as a mount, it couldn’t move without a user riding it.
In other words, I had to remain seated on the Forest Elephant’s back for it to move.
Of course, thanks to my newly acquired Riding skill, I could manage to shoot arrows from atop the Forest Elephant.
So then.
“Growwwl.”
“Screech!”
Monsters I hadn’t seen before began appearing around the carriage one after another.
It was because I hadn’t been able to use ‘Scout’.
I wanted to rush out immediately, but since I had to control the Forest Elephant, I couldn’t leave my seat, so I drew my bow.
“Mirain, you must be exhausted controlling such a massive elephant, so rest! We’ll handle these!”
“Let’s go!”
“We should earn our keep now!”
“Show them the power of the Steel Claw Mercenary Band!”
The Steel Claw Mercenary Band rushed forward beside me.
Until now, they had rarely fought monsters since I would scout ahead beforehand.
But they were formidable mercenaries, recently recognized even in mercenary circles.
“Get them!”
“Take them down!”
“Squeal…”
“Screech!”
The monsters charging toward the carriage fell helplessly one after another.
The Steel Claw Mercenary Band was far from weak.
They fought so well that I wondered how they’d managed to restrain themselves from fighting monsters until now.
Especially in Jackal’s case.
“Wahahahaha!”
He was literally ‘slaughtering’ monsters, wielding crescent-shaped sword auras indiscriminately.
Whenever a monster that could withstand sword energy appeared, I’d grow excited and rush forward to cleave it down with my crescent blade.
The Steel Claw Mercenary Band fought so well that they seemed to need nothing from me.
‘Should I get more involved?’
I had no intention of simply remaining still, controlling the Forest Elephant.
Since I’d acquired the Riding Skill, I might as well use it properly.
[ Curved Vine Bow ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Type: Bow
Grade: Heroic
From atop the Forest Elephant, I fired arrows to support the mercenary band’s combat.
Mounted archery was ordinarily a rather difficult attack technique.
But the Forest Elephant moved slowly and provided such a stable riding experience that shooting didn’t feel particularly challenging.
Thwip!
“Perfect timing!”
“Mirain, thanks!”
“Rear support really gives us peace of mind!”
Thanks to that, we cleared monsters even faster.
Fast enough that we didn’t need to stop the carriage even when they appeared.
After traveling at such speed for some time, we finally arrived.
“Just beyond this point lies the Red Lion Plains!”
After our long journey,
we finally reached the Red Lion Plains where the Red Beast Fortress was located.
The Red Lion Plains.
It was a different name from the geography I knew in First, but compared to other places, it felt oddly familiar.
Jackal approached me and started chatting.
“Mirain! This is your first time at the Red Lion Plains, isn’t it?”
“Well, yes.”
Back in First, I’d practically destroyed this place.
But in Second, this is definitely my first time.
“Before the Red Lion Plains was incorporated into the Empire’s territory, it was said to be a place absolutely teeming with savagery.”
“Savagery?”
“The Red Lion Plains is where all sorts of powerful beast-type monsters appear. What’s strange is that unlike other places, there’s no established food chain.”
“Then….”
“Eating and being eaten, then eaten again. That’s the Red Lion Plains—a battlefield of beasts where there are no allies, only two choices: eat or be eaten.”
Hearing those words, memories of my First era surfaced.
Though the name was different, the prevalence of beast-type monsters and the situation of endless hunting and predation among only the fiercest creatures was identical to what I’d known.
“However, after the Red Lion Plains was incorporated into the Empire’s territory, everything changed completely.”
“How did it change?”
“The Red Beast Fortress was built on the mountain range crossing the Red Lion Plains, and all the beasts in the plains were eliminated. The fortress blocked every beast trying to cross the mountain range.”
“Then beyond this point….”
“Probably, from here onward to the Red Beast Fortress, there won’t be any battles. The Red Lion Plains these days are nothing like they used to be—just an ordinary wild grassland.”
To cross a hunting ground and completely transform its nature.
The Baltika Empire’s power must be quite formidable.
In any case, other merchants and mercenaries seem to know that the Red Lion Plains are safe.
The mercenaries, who had maintained strict vigilance until now, were relaxing their guard, and the merchants were leisurely appreciating the surrounding scenery.
After cresting the hill, the moment the Red Lion Plains came into view.
“…Huh?”
“What is this?”
“How is this possible….”
Both the merchants and mercenaries couldn’t help but be bewildered.
And for good reason.
“…Weren’t you saying there would be no monsters?”
“That’s what I thought you said.”
The Red Lion Plains.
Contrary to Jackal’s explanation, the plains were teeming with beast-type monsters.
Lions, tigers, bears—ferocious beasts rampaged and slashed their claws.
But did only carnivores exist in the Red Lion Plains?
That wasn’t the case.
All manner of herbivores and omnivores inhabited the Red Lion Plains.
However, there was one difference from other places.
“Neeeigh!”
Crash!
A massive horse charged at incredible speed and rammed its body into a tiger, then trampled the fallen beast with its hind legs.
“Squeeeeeal!”
A boar the size of a house charged madly, goring through and flinging aside the ferocious beasts blocking its path with its tusks.
“Squeak, squeak.”
“Squeeeak—.”
A swarm of rats fearlessly rushed forth, covering the beast’s body and tearing it apart savagely.
Yes.
Among the beasts here, no ordinary food chain existed.
Only the law of the jungle—survival of the fittest—prevailed.
And there was yet another difference.
“Were all the monsters in the Red Lion Plains originally this red?”
“No. In the past, there were supposedly many beasts with reddish fur, but I heard they nearly disappeared after the Red Beast Fortress was built.”
Most of the beasts in the Red Lion Plains were red.
Bears, horses, tigers—animals with reddish hues didn’t merely have a reddish tint but displayed a deep, vivid crimson, and boars, reindeer, hyenas and other beasts normally unrelated to red coloring all possessed scarlet fur and hide.
Because of this.
“It’s as if the plains are drenched in blood.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
I agree with you.
The entire plains appeared crimson.
Well, it wasn’t an exaggeration either.
Not only were the beasts of the plains red, but the endless predation had splattered blood across the earth, drenching it in crimson.
It was a terrifying sight, but the real problem was something else entirely.
“So what you’re saying is, we have to push through those beasts to reach the Red Beast Fortress?”
“That’s… yes.”
This wasn’t merely a spectacle to observe.
To reach the Red Beast Fortress, we absolutely had to cross the Red Lion Plains.
There was no alternate route.
Even the mercenaries who had appeared so confident until now had lost all their bravado—they couldn’t fathom pushing through those beasts.
But I had no intention of giving up after coming this far.
“I have an idea, sir.”
“Really? If it’s Mirain’s idea, it must be trustworthy!”
I began explaining the plan I had devised on the spot to Jackal and Robert.
These two had always been the type to believe in me, no matter how absurd my words might sound.
“…Hmm.”
“Isn’t this far too dangerous?”
Both of them expressed hesitation upon hearing my plan.
It was likely because my plan was so audacious.
But.
“We can’t turn back now, nor can we defeat all those beasts and advance, can we?”
There was no other option at this point.
Robert and Jackal understood this as well.
“We’ll trust you, Mirain.”
“Wahahahaha! Let’s charge ahead!”
They had no choice but to accept my plan.
* * *
“Is this really going to work?”
“It’s Mirain’s plan, after all.”
“Well, if that’s the case, it should work, but…”
Ten carriages from the Simmons Trading Company.
Lanterns hung from both sides of all ten carriages.
That is, twenty lanterns in total.
Their true nature was.
[ Lantern of Beast Repulsion ]
( Non-Tradeable )
Form: Torch
Grade: Rare
These lanterns possessed the effect of preventing beast-type monsters from approaching, true to their name.
Of course, it wasn’t perfect.
This was merely an effect to avoid irritating the temperament of beast-type monsters; it would not stop them if they charged forward openly.
So in addition to the lanterns, I had several other means of blocking the creatures’ approach installed on the carriages.
After that.
“Here, drink this.”
“Neigh?”
I had the horses pulling the carriages drink a potion.
A Tempest Sprint Elixir.
It was a potion that greatly increased the movement speed of those who consumed it.
And the armored rhinoceros pulling the carriage I rode in at the very front was no exception.
“Roooooar!”
Since the armored rhinoceros had to lead two carriages this time, I gave it a far more potent potion than the other horses.
The Tempest Sprint Elixir to increase speed and the Savage Might potion to boost the strength needed to pull the carriage.
The moment I had it drink the Iron Skin potion to raise defense and the Giant’s Serum to temporarily increase its size.
“Depart!”
“Let’s go!”
Together with the armored rhinoceros, the Simmons Trading Company’s carriages began to charge down the hillside.
Toward the Red Lion Plains teeming with crimson monsters.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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