Even the Demon King is worrying about another world today.

One night is but a small fragment in Mikayi's endless life.

Snowbirds flew over the cave ceiling, their calls ringing out. The soldier leaning against the cave entrance yawned and stood up.

Are these people... guarding the cave entrance because they're afraid these adventurers will desert?

"Get up, get up!"

The spears were planted on the ground, and the imperial soldiers shouted loudly, waking up the group of people who were sleeping on the ground.

"Well……"

The person in his arms stirred, and Mikayi looked down.

"master……"

Kuro's eyes were wet, his brows were furrowed, and his expression was as if he had just gone through a painful ordeal.

"Did you have a nightmare?"

Mikayi raised a finger and wiped away the tears from Kuro's eyes.

Kuro seemed to want to say something, her lips moved but she didn't speak. She sat up and put on her black robe.

"Get ready to go up the mountain, Master! Take care of that monster before dark, and we'll have hot soup when we get back tonight!" Kuro turned around, pointed at Mikaela, and said, "I want two bowls, understand?!"

"Yes, yes, yes," Mikayi reluctantly agreed.

The crowd left the cave in a large procession. Although it was morning, it was still dark. Coupled with the blizzard-like weather, visibility was no more than ten meters.

The mountain was extremely steep, making every step difficult. The rocks were buried in snow, posing a constant risk of tripping. There were hardly any flat sections of the path.

The snow fell heavier and heavier. The fierce wind blew the heavy snow, which felt like sharp blades cutting into our skin.

In this situation, it's impossible to open your eyes, and with extremely low visibility, you're practically walking with your eyes closed.

When I had climbed about a third of the way up, the thick snow had already submerged me from my ankles to my waist.

"Hey, hey, hey, with this much snow, are you still going up? Why don't we go back to the cave and wait for the weather to improve before we move on?"

An uneasy voice emerged from the crowd, and almost instantly garnered a number of echoes.

"Exactly, at this rate, we'll have already lost 300 of our own troops before we even see the monsters."

"Hey, where are those Imperial soldiers? Come out and tell us, are you going to keep going or go back to rest?"

People began to look around, searching for Imperial soldiers in their uniforms. But amidst their questions, they discovered something very important.

"Those soldiers... have disappeared?"

"Did they lose track of them, were they eaten by wild animals, or... escaped?"

There were no Imperial Army soldiers among this group.

Mikayi sighed inwardly.

Everyone walked with their eyes closed, so of course they couldn't see the Imperial army retreating halfway.

For Mikayi, who was completely immune to weather interference, he could only watch helplessly as soldiers sneaked away from the crowd.

Judging from their panicked appearance as they slipped away, they were indeed terrified of what was on the mountaintop.

That's understandable, considering the monsters on the mountaintop had already killed the first two groups of adventurers, a total of two thousand people.

"Should we retreat too?"

A trembling voice came through, and the fear made people subconsciously agree with the idea of ​​retreating.

Since the imperial soldiers weren't present, no one would punish them for fleeing at this point. Several people couldn't even wait to escape; they turned and ran straight down the mountain.

"Wait a moment!"

A young male voice came from the crowd, but the boy who spoke was too late; the panicked people had already run several steps ahead.

"Ahhhh!!!"

The mountain was extremely steep, and those running downhill couldn't stop in time. Adding to the difficulty was the large number of rocks buried under the snow, making it impossible to run...

After taking a few steps, those people tripped over the rocks.

Some crashed directly onto a larger rock, while others were thrown two meters high and fell straight down.

"master……"

Mikayi covered Kuro's eyes.

Just a dozen meters away from them, a man's brains were smashed to pieces by a sharp rock, and blood stained the snow red.

065 Evil Black Magic

"Going up the mountain is easy, but going down is hard," the boy said again. "The rocks buried under the snow are harmless if you slowly walk uphill, but if you go downhill, they become sharp blades that can trip you up or crack your head. Everyone, I'm afraid we have no choice but to grit our teeth and go up today."

Mikayi looked into the crowd and saw that the boy was the same red-haired boy from last night.

"I...I brought a rope. If we find a spot to secure it and slowly descend, we can escape safely!"

“It’s no use. The rocks attached to the mountain are not stable. They can’t support the weight, and if the rocks break off, it will trigger an avalanche. None of us will survive.” The red-haired boy looked up at the distant mountaintop. “The rock exposed on the mountaintop, after being exposed to wind and snow for a long time, will be relatively reliable. We can rely on it to retreat.”

Everyone looked up in unison. Indeed, there was a huge rock at the summit, weathered over a long period and firmly attached to the mountainside. Judging by its sturdiness, it could easily support the weight of more than a dozen people.

"But there are...monsters on the mountaintop..."

"Our mission is to slay the monster, right? Everyone, let's kill that monster in one fell swoop, and then we'll go back safely to collect our reward. That's what we need to do next."

The red-haired boy's decisive judgment suppressed his unease.

He boosted the morale of the crowd, and they all rallied together.

"Oh! No matter what level of magical beast that's over there on the mountaintop, it won't survive the night against eight hundred of us adventurers!"

"Hurry up, everyone! Maybe we can get back before dark. Your wives and kids are waiting for you at home!"

The group, who had been listless, were instantly filled with energy after the red-haired boy's brief words of encouragement.

Therefore, red has always been the main color.

Mikayi smiled almost imperceptibly, holding Kuro's hand tightly, and followed the crowd, leaving deep and shallow footprints in the snow.

Mikayi had no intention of demonstrating his abilities in this campaign; he simply wanted to be a bystander, watching the show unfold.

Before they could walk more than a few meters, several pitiful screams erupted from the front of the crowd.

The scream sent chills down everyone's spines. They drew their weapons and gripped them tightly, watching the creature at the forefront warily.

A tense atmosphere spread, with only the howling wind in their ears.

"Awooo—"

The sharp howls of wolves echoed through the sky.

"How could there be snow wolves on this mountainside?" The battle-hardened adventurers relaxed a little, knowing it was just a few low-level magical beasts.

“They were attracted by the blood.” The red-haired youth drew his sword, and the firelight instantly ignited, illuminating his face. “Everyone, be careful. There might be quite a few wolves on this snow mountain.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, raising their guard even higher.

The red-haired boy's judgment was accurate. After the snow wolves were cut in two by the swordsmen in the group, more wolves pounced on them.

Several snow wolves stood in front of Mikayi, their breath hot as they exhaled and their growls a warning.

This adult man didn't look like someone to be trifled with; the snow wolves were glaring fiercely at the cat-eared girl beside him.

Mikayi's fingers twitched, and several wind blades formed between them. Now, with just a wave of his hand, the wind blades would sever the snow wolf's head.

Mikayi hesitated for a second, canceled the spell, picked up his staff, and prepared to begin a pretentious incantation.

Just then, the black light condensed and took shape, and Mikayi turned around in astonishment.

"...That idiot!"

"Dark Magic - Black Lightning Blast!"

Kuro held a short staff, from which dark elements condensed into black lightning, shooting straight towards the snow wolf.

The explosion attracted a lot of attention, and when people saw clearly the magic used by the cat-eared girl, they were even more surprised and their eyes widened.

"That is……"

"Dark magic?"

"There's a dark mage among us...?"

"It's such a pity that he's gone astray at such a young age..."

Mikayi had heard far too many of these comments. If he had to put it bluntly, he was the demon that these comments had made him into.

Black magic is considered ominous, and black magicians are all evil. This perception is shared by both the continents of Galan and Lolan.

With a cold gaze sweeping over the group of people whispering amongst themselves, Mikayi walked over and took Kuro's hand.

A chill ran down everyone's spine, and they obediently shut their mouths.

Just now, they had a feeling of being stared at by something far more evil.

“Master…” Kuro stared at the back of Mikayi’s hand and gripped it even tighter.

"I told you, it's best to avoid black magic, or you'll be ostracized by humans."

It wasn't a reprimand, Mikayi said softly. He placed his hand on Kuro's head and gently rubbed it, soothing him.

“It’s alright,” Kuro said softly, “becoming a dark mage is my own choice.”

Mikayi silently took in Kuro's expression.

sigh.

Seeing that they couldn't gain the upper hand against these humans, the wolves howled and retreated. The adventurers put away their weapons, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

While these low-level magical beasts wouldn't cause heavy casualties, the battle was extremely time-consuming, and if the fighting on the snowy mountain dragged on for too long, the smell of blood might attract even more magical beasts in the distance.

Continue climbing. The higher you go, the thinner the air becomes, and the colder it gets.

The phrase "snowstorm" is no longer sufficient to describe the extent of the snowfall; visibility is reduced to a mere two meters.

Even if a dark object appears in front of you, you have to get closer to tell whether it is a monster or a rock.

The adventurers huddled together for warmth, and the red-haired boy in the very center naturally became their leader.

The red-haired boy emanated fire elemental magic, which was just enough to keep everyone warm.