The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 153 Crossing the Sea
July is the time when most of the Gaia continent is covered by heat, and even the far north border, which is covered by ice and snow all year round, is warmer than in other seasons.

Although for someone from the south, such a temperature is still considered frigid.

"I can't stand it... How can it be so cold?"

"Is it still cold? Wearing two layers underneath is enough to keep you warm."

"...I can't communicate with you northerners."

"Hey, little Vili, you've been here for years, haven't you gotten used to it yet?"

Willy merely glanced at the middle-aged man beside him who had spoken, and continued walking forward without moving his head, because making too much movement would expose his neck to the wind.

"Only two years. And I've been in the South for much longer, over twenty years."

"Why did your Count insist on sending you here? It's been like this for decades. If he wants to understand the situation on the border, he has no choice but to come here in person," the middle-aged man said.

"The Earl is very busy and doesn't have the time."

"Busy making money and chasing women, huh?"

Vili stopped abruptly, grabbed the middle-aged man by the collar, and said, "I've told you many times, Earl Edgar is not the kind of nobleman you think he is. He's a good man. If I ever hear you say that again, you can forget about getting a single penny from me."

"Little Vili, good Vili, I was wrong." The middle-aged man apologized hurriedly. "Without you, who would be willing to buy me wine? I was just delirious from the cold. Look how cold the wind is! I was confused, really confused..."

Vili glared at him coldly, snorted, and quickened his pace.

The Black Ice Great Wall was just ahead; the two of them had come down to go into the city to purchase supplies.

Princess Natalia, who had only been here a short time, paid out of her own pocket to improve their meals. Although it wasn't particularly lavish, being able to eat meat once every two weeks was a significant improvement for them.

Two carts of meat were dragged behind, passing through several recently strengthened guard posts, all the way to the foot of the Black Ice Great Wall.

The final check was particularly strict, not only verifying identity but also conducting a thorough body search. Willy obediently cooperated with his hands raised, while the middle-aged man next to him was quickly found to have a small bottle of liquor hidden in his pocket.

"Confiscated."

"Wait! I didn't drink it, I just carried it with me! You don't believe me? Smell it... Ha—"

"Get out! Have you eaten shit? Your mouth stinks to death. Even if you bring it, it's not allowed. Her Highness the Princess has forbidden alcohol, so not a single drop can be on the Great Wall."

"I'm a cook, not a guard!"

"Do you have a problem with Her Highness the Eldest Princess?"

"...No. But..."

"Hurry over there."

The middle-aged man wanted to argue, but the guard's face turned cold, and he immediately fell silent, lowering his head and walking away.

The cart carrying the meat quickly passed through the checkpoint. Vili had the meat delivered to the kitchen, while he himself slowly ascended via a basket on the city wall, preparing to report to the Princess in the watchtower above.

Having lived here for two years, Willy still hasn't fully gotten used to the cold temperatures and the heart-pounding swaying sensation when he goes up in the gondola.

He gripped the sides of the basket tightly, constantly reassuring himself that no one had ever fallen to their death from it in hundreds of years.

As the gondola rose higher and higher, Willy looked up at the sky, then forced himself to look down at the ground.

So high!

He quickly looked up and cast his gaze into the distance, where he saw a furtive figure approaching.

"Ok?"

Being too far away, Willy couldn't see clearly, but he sensed that the man's motives were impure.

The climate around the Black Ice Great Wall is harsh, and it is deserted year-round. Could it be that they are trying to sneak into the Demon Realm to collect that kind of spice?
He glanced at him from afar a few times, but didn't pay much attention, figuring that person definitely wouldn't get past the next few checkpoints anyway.

Things are different now. After Princess Natalia arrived, the entire garrison of the Black Ice Wall was transformed and became much more disciplined.

Regardless of how long it will last, at least Willy feels safer here.

As the basket ascended and was about to reach the top, Willy glanced back one last time at the spot where he had just been, but the shadowy figure was no longer visible.

He thought they were probably scared away by the heavy guards below.

As the basket was hoisted onto the city wall, the frigid wind blowing directly from the extreme north blew against his body, causing Vili to immediately curl up into a ball.

"It's freezing! It's freezing!"

In a corner of the area he had been gazing at, the demon princess Kiraya was also looking at the towering city wall from afar, her brows furrowed.

The Great Wall, built to block the demons from advancing south, could not stop her from returning to her homeland, but the guards below could.

Why are there so many more checkpoints?
Kiraya still remembers when she smuggled herself here from the Demon Realm a year ago. The guards here were not just sparse, they were practically nonexistent.

The garrison troops basically stayed inside the Great Wall or in the watchtowers on the wall, completely ignoring the people approaching below.

Was it to ambush her?
Kiraya leaned closer to the corner of the wall, her expression wary.

Of the demon guards she brought from the royal court, the last one died protecting her not long ago, leaving her with absolutely no one else to rely on.

Moreover, her trip south this time has completely failed.

"...What did you say? Luca is dead?"

"I personally witnessed the bodies of Chancellor Luca and his guards being dragged back into the city..."

The last guard was sent out to scout the city on the day of the attack, and thus escaped by chance, but in doing so, she witnessed the fate of the others after she fled on horseback.

Thinking back to her naive and ignorant self from just over a month ago, Kiraya wished she could curse herself a few times.

She hated that hypocritical imperialist even more.

"Eric..."

Kiraya gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

After spying from the corner for a long time without finding an opportunity, Kiraya quietly retreated and temporarily left the area.

The Black Ice Great Wall completely blocked the land route. She came here by boat from the ice-free bay at the eastern end of the Great Wall, and that boat was hidden inside. She didn't know if it had been discovered.

Kiraya quietly retreated a long distance before mounting her horse, which was hidden in a secluded spot, and hurried towards the town where she was temporarily staying.

There was one thing she had to thank Eric for: the horse she was riding. It was not only fast but also had exceptional stamina. Without it, she would probably have been caught up with in the outskirts of Lutia, not to mention the near-capture she had experienced a few days ago.

The gold coins he left in his bag were her only source of funds for food and drink along the way.

After riding for a while, they returned to the deserted seaside town. Kiraya pulled her cloak up to make sure her demonic features were completely concealed before riding inside.

Nothing is more challenging than a series of adversities, and she is now very cautious in everything she does.

Back at the hotel where she was staying, she didn't want to expose herself to others, so she went straight back to her room, but she still bumped into a human male.

"Dark elves..."

The latter sized her up and down, his gaze direct and undisguised. "I didn't expect to find such a high-class customer in this run-down place. If I had known, I wouldn't have spent money outside... How much for one time?"

Having come all the way from Lutia, Kiraya now understood what he meant, gave a cold smile, and ignored him.

It's better to be misunderstood than to be suspected.

The man, however, persisted and blocked her path, saying, "Are you in business or not? If you are, then stop talking nonsense and come into my room."

Kiara suppressed her disgust and used a feigned retreat as a tactic, asking, "How much money can you offer?"

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up. If they could negotiate the price, that would be great. "Eighty silver coins, I'll do it once."

She gave a cold laugh. "A customer paid me two hundred gold coins for a month. You're probably not even worthy to compete with him."

After saying that, she walked around him and returned to her room. When she entered, she noticed that the man was still watching her, so she called out to the empty room inside.

"Lord Eric, I'm back."

Once inside, she closed the door and immediately pressed her ear against it to listen.

"Are you crazy? Spending two hundred gold coins to hire a dark elf who hasn't even grown any milk yet... He must be a perverted old man."

The middle-aged man's voice gradually faded away with his footsteps. Kiraya listened for a while longer before returning to bed to rest and prepare to visit the border again that evening.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already dark.

After quickly grabbing something to eat to fill her stomach, Kiraya went outside again and found that a snowstorm was raging outside. Although it wasn't as severe as in winter, the sky was already dark, and she couldn't see very far at all.

This was a golden opportunity for her.

Kiraya suppressed her excitement and rode her horse at full speed toward the Black Ice Great Wall.

When she arrived near the Great Wall, she was dumbfounded. The area was brightly lit, and the lights reflected off the white snow, making it appear even brighter and illuminating everything around her.

Snowflakes slapped haphazardly against her face. Kiraya watched from afar, her heart colder than the north wind.

Why would these humans investigate the internal affairs to such an extent?
Was it really to intercept her?

In this situation, she had no chance to get close to the shore to look for a small boat.

Kiraya watched from afar for quite a while, then rode her horse to a secluded spot, intending to stake out the area for a while longer and observe the situation.

However, even at midnight, the lights beneath the Black Ice Great Wall did not dim in the slightest.

Kiraya had no choice but to give up; she could no longer approach the coast from this side.

But the imperial garrison couldn't blockade the entire east coast. She rode to the sea, where a layer of ice had already formed on the surface.

It's July now, but the sea still freezes over when it gets cold at night, making it even more difficult to row from afar.

The reason why the ice-free bay never freezes is because there is a giant magic circle underneath, which is to prevent the demons from bypassing the Black Ice Great Wall on the ice surface... This was what Luca told her.

Kiraya gazed at the seaside for a while, then turned back to the town.

There is only one way to return to the Demon Realm: take advantage of the daytime before the sea freezes over, row a boat from a distance, and wait for it to get dark before rowing across the ice-free bay and around the Black Ice Great Wall.

Back at the hotel, Kiraya lay on the cold bed until dawn, then immediately went out to the beach.

This is a dilapidated town. Because it is located too far north, the sea is frozen all year round, and there are not many fishermen. Only a few flimsy boats float on the shore, and it seems that a big wave could smash them to pieces.

If the boat is too big, it will be easily spotted, and one person cannot row it. If the boat is too small, it will be dangerous. Whether it can row smoothly to the ice-free bay is a question. But Kiraya has no choice.

She found one of the fishermen on the beach and bought their small boat—it was chained up, and she couldn't get it without paying.

Kiraya breathed a slight sigh of relief as she rowed the boat to a secluded corner and hid it. The small boat looked old and flimsy, but the hull was still sturdy enough that it wouldn't be smashed by the waves.

Back on shore, she quickly bought some dry food to take with her, knowing she didn't know how long she would be adrift at sea, so it was better to be prepared.

When she arrived at the seaside, she found a tree and tied the horse to it.

This is a good horse; if the road ahead is blocked, she will have to rely on it to escape again.

Kiraya boarded the small boat, rowed away from the shore, and couldn't help but look back at her almost only companion from the journey.

If she manages to escape, the horse will likely freeze or starve to death here.

This was Eric's horse, not hers. It deserved to die...

She tried to dissuade herself, but her hands were already waving back.

She even found a more suitable reason: taking chances and leaving herself a way out is not an option to escape from the overwhelming encirclement of humans!

Back on shore, Kiraya untied the rope, hugged the horse's neck one last time, and patted it gently.

"Go now, you're free. Go wherever you want... Don't let humans catch you again."

Kiraya pushed the horse away, but it would run back after a few steps. She hardened her heart and gave it a sharp slap on the rump, and it finally ran away.

After watching for a while, the horse was still in her sight. Kiraya chose to ignore it, returned to the small boat, and rowed north without looking back.

But after a short while, she felt her arm was sore.

For the same distance, it's much farther to travel by boat than on horseback.

Kiraya could only grit her teeth and persevere. She had to paddle to the waters near the ice-free bay before the sea began to freeze over, and then quickly cross under the cover of night.

The cold wind was like a knife. The lone demon princess kept rowing her boat and finally arrived near the Black Ice Great Wall again at dusk.

To avoid being discovered by the guards, she stopped some distance away, lay down on the small boat, and quickly ate to replenish her strength.

It gets dark quickly.

Kiraya picked up the oars again and noticed that a thin layer of ice was forming on the sea, so she quickened her pace and rowed toward the ice-free bay.

Click, click——

The small boat pounded against the ice floes as it moved forward. Perhaps because she had rested for too long, she felt that every inch of progress was met with immense resistance.

But she dared not stop, for if the temperature dropped even lower, the ice would freeze even thicker, and then she would be unable to paddle out.

Finally, we reached the ice-free bay, and the small boat suddenly lost all resistance, making for a smooth and easy passage.

Kiraya looked towards the shore, intentionally keeping a considerable distance so that the lights couldn't reach this side of the sea, while she could clearly see the movements on the other side.

After observing for a while, she continued rowing forward, approaching the high wall that stretched into the bay.

She rowed all the way to the foot of the Black Ice Great Wall, then looked up at the towering wall above her.

At the easternmost end of the city wall, there was a watchtower with flickering firelight, seemingly concealing the gaze of the defending soldiers scanning down. Fortunately, the sea was pitch black, and it was dozens of meters high, so it was impossible for them to see her from above.

Kiraya moored the boat at the end of the city wall, lay down, and rested briefly with the swaying waves.

She had already walked most of the way home; now she was just one breath away from her death.

After lying down for only a short while, Kiraya got up and continued rowing, getting closer and closer to the opposite bank.

The high wall was left behind, growing increasingly sore in her arms and receding further and further away from her.

Can’t stop…

Kiraya kept paddling, and even when her arms were almost completely numb, she kept moving.

The bay, which never freezes, wasn't very wide. Around midnight, she finally reached the other side of the bay, her homeland, which humans called the Northern Demon Realm.

As the small boat docked, Kiraya collapsed onto the beach as soon as she stepped off, too weak to even stand up.

The seawater seeped into her clothes, icy cold. She crawled forward a little, then lay down again.

"came back……"

She came back alone.

It turns out that rowing across this bay is so strenuous.

She had never considered such a thing before.

From leaving the royal court to rescuing Luca in the south of the mainland, she didn't contribute much; everything was done for her.

Now, all those guards are buried far from home, and she didn't bring back the human her father valued most, so her hope of regaining her father's love has been completely dashed.

The cold wind howled, and Kiraya lay on the dark beach, unable to hold back her sobs.

Her waning strength quickly brought her back to her senses. Wiping away her frozen tears, she got up and continued her journey north.

To avoid being seen by humans, the Demon Kingdom is still in the far north, but once she finds a demon tribe along the way, she can rest for a while.

Her Demon King father has already unified the entire Demon Realm, so proving her identity wouldn't be difficult for her.

Having arrived here, there was no need to hide anymore. Kiraya took off her hood, revealing a pair of inconspicuous horns on her head.

Compared to other demons whose horns are often a finger's length long, this is the most obvious characteristic of the Demon King's bloodline: the smaller the horns, the purer the bloodline.

Treading through the snow, Kiraya continued northward, searching for any possible demon tribes in the darkness.

However, since this place is too close to the Black Ice Great Wall, she didn't have high expectations.

With the dry rations she had prepared beforehand, and drinking snow when thirsty, Kiraya walked through the snow for two days and nights before finally discovering a small demon tribe.

She rested here for three whole days before riding a long-legged white ram, a species unique to the Demon Realm, and continued her journey towards the royal court in the far north.

The Demon Realm is small relative to the entire continent, but its actual area is about one-third the size of a human empire. Its north-south depth is even greater than the distance from the Black Ice Great Wall to Lutia. Coupled with the year-round cold and harsh environment, it is not easy for the Demon King to unify the demon race. It is even more difficult for outsiders to penetrate the Demon Realm and get a full view of the demon race.

However, on her way back to the royal court, Kiraya encountered a group of fully armed human scouts.

Before being spotted by the last person in the group, she quickly rolled over and fell into the deep snow, while the tamed white sheep stopped in place.

"……What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, just a wild goat."

"Be careful."

Kiraya held her breath, stuffed a handful of snow into her mouth, and made sure her breath left no trace.

Her breathing grew cold, and her gaze turned cold as well.

(End of this chapter)