A motivated fire was kindled in Ark’s eyes.
———————————————————————————————————————–
After that it was like a documentary on human victory. Ark’s kindled motivation quickly disappeared in the snow covered mountains. Even the smugglers avoided these mountains during winter. The place was more dangerous than Ark expected. The piles of snow created an illusion of the ground only to discover there was a crevasse. There were also occasional earthquakes which caused falling rocks to smash the head of the special forces. 10 hours after entering Smuggler’s Pass, the 300 members had been reduced to 200. Without Lariette’s information and Racard’s scouting, the 200 hundred remaining members probably would’ve been killed.
‘This operation has to succeed no matter the cost!’
Ark reiterated again with clenched fists. And they finally reached the last checkpoint of Smuggler’s Pass after all that suffering……
‘Did I come all this way just to die so absurdly?’
Ku ku ku ku, ku kwa kwa kwa kwa!
Ark stared at the huge grey monster of snow. The problem wasn’t dying. If Ark died here than the strategy would fail. In summer, this valley was a place where the road below could be used. But the accumulated snow meant that they had to use a rope to move between cliffs. If Ark died here then the rope would snap and the method to move to the other side would disappear. Racard would also disappear when Ark died so he couldn’t retrieve the rope. The operation would be halted. In the end Haverstein would have his Commander position taken away. And Ark would have too much stock and would become bankrupt. If he had no money than his mother couldn’t even go to the hospital anymore.
‘No. I can’t let that happen! I can’t die like this!’
Desperation ignited in Ark’s eyes.
‘What…..there must be some way!’
Ark considered all the possible measures. Was there a quick way to return to the cliff and avoid the avalanche? He couldn’t be swept away from the avalanche. Should he grab the hand glider from Radun to run away?
‥‥..There must be some way to escape the avalanche.
Should he grab the rope tightly and pray?
‥‥‥.As long as the rope wasn’t swept away by an avalanche.
Every possible suggestion ended in him being buried by the avalanche.
‘Is there really no way?’
Ark worried like crazy. Then sparks flew in Ark’s head as he clenched the rope firmly.
‘Wait? Yes, that’s the way…….!’
Now wasn’t the time to worry about whether it was possible or impossible. As soon as Ark came up with the idea, he took out his sword and started cutting the rope. The rope had a durability bonus so it didn’t break easily. But the rope finally snapped after a few more attempts. When the rope snapped, Ark was swung towards the other cliff. If Ark crashed into the cliff then he would be squashed like a ripe tomato!
“Now’s the time. Riposte!”
Ark used Riposte the moment he was about to hit the cliff. Riposte pushed the enemy back 10 metres. However, it was impossible to force the rock wall back. Instead, the force of the rope’s swing and Ark’s body caused him to stop moving. Then the avalanche was almost upon him. Ark was still clinging to the rope!
“If I stay here I’ll die! Sprint!”
Ark grinded his teeth together and shouted. He turned his body and used Sprint to run up the cliff. Ark hung onto the rope while running up the cliff. That’s right. That was the method Ark came up with. It was a technique to use run up the cliff while hanging onto the rope!
“Damn, it’s still lacking a bit!”
The speed of the avalanche was faster than Ark’s Sprint. The avalanche rumbled and got closer to Ark. The size of the avalanche was also larger than Ark imagined. Despite using Sprint and running with the rope, the height of the avalanche was still higher. Just before Ark was about to be swept away by the avalanche, a skill popped into his head.
“That’s right, Jump!”
Ark stepped on a stone and shouted. The power surged into his thighs and he jumped up 10 metres. Ark grabbed a protruding stone close to him as the avalanche passed right underneath him. Sweat flooded down his back like a waterfall.
“I-I lived……”
“Damn, that guy really has a long life.”
Shambala laughed and muttered from the cliff opposite to Ark. Anyway, Ark had managed to avoid being killed by the avalanche. After the crisis was over, Ark connected the rope again and Shambala, Lariette and the other members climbed over. After that there were no more problems. Once they moved to the cliff, the path was not a relatively gentle slope. When they walked a little further along the slope, a message window appeared in front of them.
-You have exited the Albana Mountains.
-You have entered the Pabiun Canyon area.
“Finally……!”
“We’ve gone through Smuggler’s Pass!”
The tired soldiers cheered as they saw the message. Shambala rolled his stiffened shoulders and muttered.
“The only thing left is to find the Black Obelisk Forest.”
“Not yet.”
“What? Not yet?”
“There’s one place I have to visit prior to that.”
Ark smiled and moved forward. Shambala, Lariette and the other special forces followed him. Then the snow on the ground suddenly moved and an eyeball popped out. It was similar to the eyeball stuck to Ark. The eyeball looked in the direction that the special forces had disappeared.
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