The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 279 Survival Game
After drinking a large bowl of meat soup, Eric felt warm and full of energy. He went outside, climbed to the highest point of the abandoned demon village, and looked around.

Natalia trudged through the deep snow to his feet.

"Can I see anything?" she asked, looking up.

“Snowfields and forests, nothing else.” Eric looked down at her. “Not as far as we could see from the cliff yesterday.”

Natalia waited for him to jump down from above, and then said, "Although it's dawn, it's been overcast all day, so we can't see the sun and can't tell which way is which."

Eric looked up at the gray sky and exhaled. "There will always be sunny days. We can't leave here until we're ready."

Natalia nodded.

During the day, Eric planned to look around, while Natalia stayed behind to search the remaining houses to see if she could find more food or other useful items.

Aren't you going to ride this snow sheep?

"No, leave it here. Maybe it can help you carry some things."

Eric glanced one last time at Natalia, who was riding a snow sheep toward another cabin, before leaving the village and heading in one direction.

To avoid getting lost and not being able to find his way back, he marked the trees he passed with his sword as he walked.

Unable to discern directions in the woods, he tried his best to find higher ground.

After walking for about half an hour, a mountain ridge completely covered in snow appeared in front of him. Eric headed towards it. The slope was not high, but it was very long. It took him about ten minutes to climb to the top.

Turning around, he could still vaguely see a few wooden houses in the village where he had rested the night before.

Looking ahead, after walking for a few minutes on the mountain ridge, the situation on the other side came into view.

It was another demon tribe, located at the foot of the mountain ridge beneath him, quite close by, and larger in scale than the village behind him.

Eric leaned against a tree, concealing himself, and carefully observed for a while.

There was no smoke rising from the village, which might mean it was past breakfast time. After watching for a while, he still didn't see anyone.

Is this also an abandoned tribe?

After thinking about it, Eric decided to go down and take a look himself.

It still took quite a while to descend the mountain ridge through the deep snow.

Upon reaching the vicinity of the village, Eric became much more cautious, approaching almost entirely under the cover of tree trunks.

Eric listened for a while after arriving at a section of the wall, but there was no sound from inside.

Once inside, the entire village was completely silent; the only sound was the wind.

Eric approached one of the houses, pushed the door open, and went inside; no one was there.

He wiped away the dust that had accumulated on the floor before he was truly certain that the place had indeed been abandoned.

After searching the house for a while, he found several pieces of abandoned demon clothing. They were fluffy, like the fur of some kind of animal, but the texture was different from that of snow sheep.

But whatever kind of animal it is, as long as it keeps him and Natalia warm, that's all that matters.

Eric wrapped himself in a jacket and immediately felt much warmer—his original clothes were far too thin for this place.

This was also the main reason why he refused to let Natalia go with him. He was strong and healthy and could withstand the cold outside, while Natalia might collapse after walking around in the cold wind with him.

Eric picked up the animal pelts and continued searching, but found no more clothes. However, he did find some stored food in the cellar behind the house.

"This is...dried squirrel?"

In a corner of the cellar, Eric found a string of dried meat hanging on a rope. Because of its shape, he initially thought it was rat meat.

However, one of them wasn't cleaned properly, leaving a few scales on its neck. He had never heard of a rat with scales, but he had seen a squirrel with a ring of scales around its neck in a book in the Demon Realm.

It now appears that these squirrels are one of the food reserves the demons use for winter.

Eric quickly recalled several tree holes he had found on the way here, where squirrels might be hibernating.

Even the perpetually snow-covered Demon Realm has its own winter and other seasons. The winters are so harsh that even the demons living there cannot endure them, nor can the local animals.

Before his thoughts drifted too far, Eric pulled himself back.

Eric removed the string of dried squirrel meat and left the remaining frozen, crispy dried vegetables untouched for the time being. There were plenty left in the village where they were staying, enough for him and Natalia to eat for quite a while.

After moving to a different house, Eric continued searching, turning the house upside down into the cellar, his main targets being jerky and other easily portable foods.

Unfortunately, his luck went downhill after searching the first house and cellar. It felt like he got the guaranteed reward on his first try, but this was the only guaranteed reward in the village.

After searching around, Eric thought for a moment and decided to use this place as a temporary base to continue exploring further.

He had already told Natalia before leaving that he would return before dark. Although it was dark and difficult to determine the exact time, Eric estimated that it was not even noon yet.

He carefully hid the guaranteed win, then left the village and, following his observations from the mountain ridge, climbed back up and walked westward for a while.

A watchtower hidden among the trees appeared before him.

The terrain here is already dozens of meters higher than the surrounding area, and this wooden watchtower is at least ten meters high, offering an exceptional view.

Eric tried shaking it a few times, and the watchtower creaked and groaned. It was clearly not as sturdy as it had been for many years without maintenance, but it should still be able to serve him for a while.

Eric rubbed his hands together and began to climb up the wooden ladder on the watchtower, which was often incomplete and missing sections.

He dared not make any big movements, especially after one leap that broke a stepping stone and another that broke a section of ladder with his hand hanging up. The whole watchtower seemed to shake, and he acted as a human damper in the middle, hanging there and swaying for a long time before the watchtower did not fall down.

"It's really terrible..."

Carefully, Eric finally climbed to the top of the watchtower and found a clay pot filled with snow. He wondered if it was the mess box of the sentry who used to keep watch here.

The hard work was worthwhile. The view from here covered a vast area, and Eric could easily spot the village where he had spent the night, as well as other demon villages in several other directions.

But to find a way out...

Eric looked around, paused for a moment on the towering cliff in the distance, and then looked elsewhere.

The vast snowfields and undulating terrain were remarkably similar. Being completely unfamiliar with the Demon Realm, they had no way of knowing which way to go, and any direction could be their escape route.

Eric stared into the distance for a while, then a cold, strong wind blew by, and he shivered. The watchtower beneath his feet creaked and swayed.

After taking a few final glances and memorizing the relative locations of the other villages, Eric leaped down, using the watchtower as a springboard to land safely on the ground.

The wooden watchtower finally reached its limit and irreversibly tilted in another direction, kicking up a cloud of flying snow.

Not far away, an animal was startled and ran a few steps to the side, which is why Eric noticed it.

It's another wild snow sheep.

Eric tried to approach, but the snow sheep ran two steps to the other side. He stopped, and the snow sheep stopped too.

He slowed his pace, stepping through the snow, and walked towards that direction step by step. The snow sheep stopped there and watched him.

By the time he gets close enough, it's too late for the snow sheep to run away.

After several flashes, Eric appeared beside the frightened snow sheep, grabbed its huge horns, and climbed onto it.

Similar to how Eric caught the snow sheep yesterday, after struggling a few times and realizing it couldn't shake off the human on its body, the snow sheep stopped struggling.

Eric stroked the fur on its neck a few times to soothe it, then kicked the snow sheep, guiding it towards the village below.

He surveyed the surroundings from the watchtower and saw no need to explore any further.

Picking up the clothes and dried squirrel he had found, Eric rode his snow sheep back to the village where he had rested the night before.

"start running!"

These snow sheep are the mounts of the demon knights. When charging at full speed, they are quite fast. Even with deep snow under their feet, they don't stop running at all, just a little bumpy.

As Eric was about to return to the village, another snow sheep rider came up to him and stopped in front of him.

"Caught another one?" Natalia looked at the mount beneath him, then at the animal pelt on his body.

“We were lucky to find it on the way.” Eric rode back alongside her, the two snow sheep looking at each other, seemingly lost in thought.

“Also, I found these.” Eric handed her the clothes hanging around the snow sheep’s neck, which contained dried squirrel meat wrapped in dried leaves.

Natalia first lowered her head and sniffed the clothes. "What animal's fur is this?"

“I’m guessing it’s the pelt of a bear or tiger,” Eric said, stroking his mount. “It’s definitely not a snow sheep.”

Natalia touched it too, and compared it. "It really doesn't look like it."

"What about this?" She opened the dried squirrel wrapped in leaves and took a look.

"Rat meat."

"..."

Natalia tossed the dried squirrel far away. "...From the tree."

Eric glanced at her, then controlled the snow sheep and went over to retrieve the bag of dried squirrel meat.

Natalia glared at him. "A squirrel?"

"Ah."

"……are you sure?"

"Look at the ring of scales around its neck, that's what squirrels in the Demon Realm look like."

The preconceived notion was too strong, and Natalia still looked doubtful.

Eric planned to catch her alive sometime later.

"Did you find anything else?" Natalia asked next.

Eric told her everything he had seen from the watchtower.

Natalia was silent for a moment, then her gaze fell on the snow sheep beneath them. "Now that we have snow sheep, our speed can be increased a lot. Once we have enough food, why don't we head in one direction and see how it goes?"

Eric had no objection. "Then let's just assume we came from the direction north for now."

"That cliff?"

"Ah."

Natalia looked back the way she had come yesterday and then nodded.

"So be it."

"Let's go back and stay here, I'm freezing." Eric kicked the snow sheep under his feet and continued forward.

On the way, Natalia told him that she had found something else in the village that day.

"Are they all dried vegetables?"

"Yes, the entire cellar is like that. I haven't touched it yet."

"...How exactly do they grow vegetables in the Demon Realm?"

"Maybe some of the snow will melt in the summer."

"You stayed at the Black Ice Great Wall for a whole year. Did the snow there ever melt?"

"Well……"

Natalia led Eric around several places where they had made discoveries, and when they arrived at the cellar with the largest storage, a look of joy at their find became uncontrollable on her face.

"With these dried vegetables and some animals we hunt, we can get through the toughest winter in the Demon Realm," Eric said.

Natalia nodded repeatedly.

In another cellar, she also found something that looked like cheese.

After cutting away the dusty outer layer, a delicate, creamy yellow color appeared inside. Eric scooped out a small piece and tasted it.

"It seems edible... There probably isn't any cow cheese here, it's probably goat cheese."

Natalia also tried a piece and accepted the cheese, which had been sitting for who knows how many years, even faster than him. "Back at the Black Ice Wall, I've seen cheeses that were even older than this. It's much colder here than over there, so it should be able to be preserved for even longer."

“We have a little more dry rations to take with us now,” Eric said.

Natalia smiled.

Climbing out of the cellar with the joy of his haul, Eric returned to the room where he had rested the night before. He suddenly felt a sense of relaxation and satisfaction, like returning to his base after scavenging outside in a survival game.

Especially since there was a beautiful woman waiting for him at the base.

If this is truly a survival game, then for him, there is only one way to achieve victory: escape this demonic realm with Natalia.

"Eric?"

Seeing that he seemed a little distracted after entering, Natalia greeted him.

Eric snapped out of his reverie, glanced at the warm fireplace in the center of the room, and then looked at Natalia: "Judging by the sky, it's still early. I plan to ride my snow sheep to the nearest village. If we're lucky, we can set off tomorrow."

Natalia paused for a moment, then said, "Then I'll go with you."

Before the two snow sheep could even warm up inside, they were pushed back out by the two people.

Natalia was also carrying a bag made of some kind of animal skin, which she said she found in the next house and that it should be able to hold some things.

Before setting off, Eric drew the map in his mind on the snow outside the door, then pointed to one of the points, "We're going here."

"Is it far?" Natalia asked, looking at him.

Eric nodded. "It's a little further than the place I went to this morning, but I should be able to get there quickly on a snow goat."

"Lead the way."

The two rode on snow sheep and headed in one direction, passing through the woods and over a low hill. The village that Eric had seen from the watchtower came into view before them.

“These demon villages are just like human towns,” Natalia said, riding her snow goat beside him. “They’re not too far apart, and they should keep in touch.”

Eric shook his head. "Their connection might be quite different from what you imagine."

"Ok?"

"If the relationship is relatively friendly, why would each village have a watchtower?"

When Eric returned, he noticed that there was also a watchtower outside the village where they had stopped, but it had collapsed, so they hadn't noticed it before.

“This village is probably a small tribe. Even if it’s not a life-or-death situation where only one of them can survive, they are at least wary of each other,” Eric said.

Natalia looked at the approaching village and said, "If this is the case in small tribes, then there must be even more conflicts between larger tribes."

“Yes.” Eric exhaled. “So throughout history, there have only been two Demon Kings who have been able to unify these demon tribes.”

Natalia murmured, "Since the fall of the Black Ice Wall, I thought I would meet the Demon King sooner or later, but I never expected that I would meet the legendary Demon King first."

Eric turned to look at her, then looked ahead.

"Who would have thought?"

As the two talked, the snow sheep carried them closer and closer to the distant village.

They ran without stopping until the snow sheep ran into the village, at which point Eric grabbed the sheep's horns and made it stop.

Natalia stopped beside them and said, "Isn't it too risky for us to just rush in like this?"

“It is a bit risky,” Eric said, “but this place is basically a ghost town, there’s not a soul in sight, so don’t worry too much.”

Natalia looked around, responded, and then tumbled off the snow sheep.

“Find a house and lock these two sheep up, otherwise they might run away,” Eric said.

"Let's start here." Natalia pointed to the house next door, and the two decided to start their search from there.

He herded the snow sheep into the house. Like the two demon villages Eric had visited before, it was empty, with very few things left behind, mostly miscellaneous items that were not easy to take away.

The two hoped to find more fur coats and some dry food to take on the journey, but they didn't even bother to look at things like iron pots and kettles.

"Let's check the cellar." After searching the house without finding anything, Eric and Natalia went to the back of the house and opened the cellar to take a look.

“There seems to be something…” Eric jumped down first.

Natalia climbed down and, as soon as she reached Eric's side, he handed her a piece of cheese.

She paused for a moment, then reached out and took it. "It's a huge piece."

“And then?” Eric bent down again.

Natalia was pleasantly surprised to receive several pieces of cheese from him, saying that she had found so many good things as soon as she arrived, which meant that the village might be very well-stocked.

"Don't get too excited, I suspect it's another guaranteed win..."

"Guaranteed minimum?"

There were only a few large pieces of cheese left in the cellar. Eric told Natalia to climb up first, and he handed her the cheese from below.

She had barely climbed up when, less than a second later, she jumped down.

"There are demons!"

(End of this chapter)